Senso-perceptual Experiences in Healing Practices: A Survey Study
Keywords:
sensorial experience, energetic healing, spirituality, therapeutic touchAbstract
The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the proportion of practitioners who claim to carry out various types of spiritual healing practices, along with their sensory modalities, and compare two groups of healers, the newly initiated and practitioners. The digital and printed versions of the Healing Experiences Scale (HES) were administered to a sample of 404 practitioners from a wide variety of centers who specialized in various spiritual healing practices. The results showed that the most frequently used techniques were Reiki and the laying-on of hands. The most frequent sensory modalities subjectively perceived by healers in their practices were the kinetic modality and the “feeling of liberation” of the client in the course of healing. Other sensory modalities were visualizing lights, colors, and flashes of light, hearing words or phrases, or hearing music or songs. In addition, the results for both groups (Newly Initiated, n = 244, and Practitioners, n = 160) showed, first, that practitioners tended to be more visual and auditory, and, second, that kinesthetic and olfactory elements were important to them, which suggested that regular practice and experience increased the multisensory traits of healing techniques. In addition, the healing experience contained a transcendental quality capable of changing the sense of identity and worldview of the experienced practitioner.
References
Appelbaum, S. A. (1993). The laying on of health: Personality patterns of psychic healers. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 57, 33-40.
Barasch, M. I. (1993). The healing path: A soul approach to illness. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Benor, D. J. (1992). Healing research: Vol. 1. Research in healing. Munich, Germany: Helix.
Benor, D. J. (1994a). Healing research: Vol. 2. Holistic energy medicine and spirituality. Munich, Germany: Helix.
Benor, D. (1994b). Lessons from spiritual healing research & practice. Subtle Energies, 3(1), 73-88.
Benor, D (2001b). Healing Research: Volume I, Professional Supplement, Southfield, MI: Vision Publications.
Braud, W. (2003). Distant mental influence: Its contribution to science, healing, and human interactions. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads.
Cooperstein, M. A. (1992). The myths of healing: A summary of research into transpersonal healing experiences. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 86, 99-133.
Cranston, R. (1957). The miracle of Lourdes. New York, NY: Popular Library.
Crawford, C. C., Sparber, A.G., Jonas, W.B. (2003). A systematic review of the quality of research on hands-on and distance healing: clinical and laboratory studies. Alternative Therapy and Health Medicine, 9(3), 96–104.
Dossey, L. (2006). The extraordinary healing power of ordinary things: Forteen natural steps to health and happiness. New York, Ny: Harmony Books.
Edwards, H. (1953). The evidence for spirit healing. London, England: Spiritualist Press.
Engebretson, J. (1996). Urban healers: An experiential description of American Healing Touch groups. Qualitative Research, 6, 526-541.
Engebretson, J., & Wardell, D. W. (2012). Energy therapies: Focus on spirituality. Explore, 8, 353-359.
Greenfield, S. M. (2008). Spirits with scalpels: The cultural biology of religious healing in Brazil. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Harvey, D. (1983). The power to heal: An investigation of healing and the healing experience. Wellingborough, England: Aquarian Press.
Haynes, R. (1977). Faith healing and psychic heating: Are they the same? Parapsychology Review, 8, 10-13.
Helmsley, M. S., Glass, N., & Watson, J. (2006). Taking the eagle’s view: Using Watson’s conceptual model to investigate the extraordinary and transformative experiences of nurse healers. Holistic Nursing Practice,20(2), 85-94.
Krieger, D. (1979). The therapeutic touch: How to use your hands to help or to heal. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Krippner, S. & Villoldo, A. (1995). Los reinos de la curación. Mexico: Diana.
Krippner, S., & Achterberg, J. (2000). Anomalous healing experiences. En E. Cardeña, S. J. Lynn, & S. Krippner (Eds.), Varieties of anomalous experience: Examining the scientific evidence (pp. 353-395). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
Krippner, S., Winstead, C. W., Ill, & White, R. A. (2002). Phenomenological analyses of first person reports of “healers” and “healees” in unexpected recoveries. Exceptional Human Experiences, 17, 64-80.
LeShan, L. (1974). The medium, the mystic, and the physicist: Toward a general theory of the paranormal. New York, NY. Viking Press.
Levin, J. S. (1996). How prayer heals: A theoretical model. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2(1), 66-73.
Maher, M. C., Vartanian, I. A., Chernigovskaya, T., & Reinsel, R. (1996). Physiological concomitants of the laying-on of hands: Changes in healers' and patients' tactile sensitivity. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 90(2), 77-96.
Moga, M. M. (2017). Exceptional Experiences of Healers: A Survey of Healing Touch Practitioners and Students. Journal of the Exceptional Experiences and Psychology, 5, 24-35.
Regan, B., &Hirshberg, C. (1993). Spontaneous remission: An annotated bibliography. Sausalito, CA: Institute for Noetic Sciences.
Remen, R. N. (1996). Kitchen table wisdom: Stories that heal. New York, NY. Riverhead Books.
Ritenbaugh, C., Nichter, M., Nichter, M.A., Kelly, K.L., Sims, C.M., Bell, I.R., Castañeda, H.M., Elder, C.R., Koithan, M.S., Sutherland, E.G., Verhoef, M.J., Warber, S.L., & Coons, S.J. (2011). Developing a patient-centered outcome measure for complementary and alternative medicine therapies I: Defining content and format. BMC Complement Alternative Medicine, 11, 135-145.
Schouten, S. A. (1993). Applied parapsychology studies of psychics and healers. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 7, 375-401
Shealy, C. N. &Freese, A. S. (1975). Occult medicine can save your life: A modern doctor looks at unconventional heating. New York, NY. Dial Press.
Snel, F. W. J. J., & van der Sijde, P. C. (1997). Defense strategies in health care professionals. European Journal of Parapsychology, 13, 54-61.
Solfvin, J. (1984). Mental healing. En S. Krippner (Ed.), Advances in Parapsychological Research4(pp. 31-63). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
St. Clair, D. (1974). Psychic Healers. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Teut, M., Stöckigt, B., Holmberg, C., Besch, F., Witt, C.M., & Jeserich, F. (2014). Perceived outcomes of spiritual healing and explanations. A qualitative study on the perspectives of German healers and their clients. BMC Complement Alternative Medicine, 14, 240-250.
Van Baalen, D. C., Gondrie, M. T., & De Vries, M. J. (1987). “Spontaneous” regression of cancer: A clinical, pathological and psychosocial study. Human Medicine, 3, 1-14.
Van Dragt, R. (1980). Paranormal Healing: A Phenomenology of the Healer's Experience. Doctoral dissertation, Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Psychology.
Wallace, A., &Henkin, B. (1978). The psychic healing book. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.
Warber, S. L., Cornelio, D., Straughn, &J., Kile, G. (2004). Biofield energy healing from the inside. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 10(6), 1107-1113.
Weil, A. (1995). Spontaneous healing: How to discover and enhance your body's natural ability to maintain and heal itself. New York, NY: Knopf.
Weston, W. L. (1991). Healing, reason and miracles. Pickerington, OH: Advocate.
Wilson, S. G. & Barber, T. X. (1978). The Creative Imagination Scale as a measure of hypnotic responsiveness: Applications to experimental and clinical hypnosis. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 20, 235-249.
Wisneski, L. & Anderson, L. (2009). The scientific basis of integrative medicine, Second Edition. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Worrall, A. A., & Worrall, O. N. (1965). The gift of healing: A personal story of spiritual healing. New York: Harper & Row.
