classes in which students had half the group stimulate with the Giga frequencies and half do massage and visualization of the same stimulation of the Ring of Crystal. I found that the students reduced free radicals just as much with massaging, tapping, and visualizing the Ring of Crystal as they could using the Giga frequencies to stimulate this particular circuit. The acupuncture meridians, as seen in ancient acupuncture sketches (see page 29), are quite different from the Ayurvedic nadis of the pranic philosophy and clearly have been proven to have very specific physiological and symptomatic benefits.
Interestingly, there is a wonderful book, Esoteric Acupuncture: Gateway to Expanded Healing by Mikio Sankey, Ph.D., which incorporates traditional acupuncture theory along with the Hindu chakra system, sacred geometry, and the Judeo-Christian Tree of Life. The primary focus of esoteric acupuncture is the balance of chi within the various body systems, balancing the chakras, and establishing a strong and harmonious system with the higher spiritual realms. Dr. Sankey believes there is a common thread between the Chinese medical system, the Hindu chakra system, Theosophy, and Eastern philosophy, and focuses on the correction of energetic imbalances by working with the seven physical body chakras. Through acupuncture patterns (called harmonizing patterns), chakra alignment patterns, and new encoding patterns, the encoding concept utilizes “stored intelligence on the cellular/noncellular level.” Sankey states that imbalances in the chakras reflect a number of imbalances in the body and life in general. (Incidentally, his associations are similar to those that Caroline Myss and I use.) We identify the chakra-associated problems as follows:
Root Chakra: rectum problems, constipation, hemorrhoids, day-to-day survival issues, excessive family attachments, leg problems
Sacral Chakra: sexual, bladder, uterine, prostate, low back problems, finances, pelvic, and colon problems
Solar Plexus Chakra: digestive, liver, pancreas, small intestine, kidney, adrenal problems, and self-esteem issues
Heart Chakra: immune deficiency (thymus), heart, lung and breast problems, judgmentalism, love problems
Throat Chakra: throat, mouth, thyroid, parathyroid, ear, neck and arm/ hand problems; problems with expressing personal will, needs, or desires
Crown Chakra: headaches, mental disorders, brain/mind problems, epilepsy, paralysis from brain injuries
Dr. Sankey has developed patterns of acupuncture needling for balancing each of these chakras, and this is one of the most fascinating evolutions of this ancient treatment process.
Egyptian Sleep or Dream Temples
Therapeutic sleep temples are known to have existed in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and other cultures. People with illnesses would come to the temples, where a number of therapies were applied. Some people consider the earliest forms of hypnosis were likely practiced in the Egyptian sleep temples, which were used during the reign of Imhotep.
Although we don’t know a great deal about the details of sleep temples, they appear to have been almost like sanitariums today. Treatment consisted of chanting, putting the person into a trans-like or hypnotic state, and analyzing their dreams. Meditation, fasting, baths, and sacrifices to the patron deity were involved.
Kline, Egypt, was a sacred place where sick individuals reclined for entering the dream state. We know that patients were kept in a trance for up to three days, during which time the priests used suggestions to help heal the individual, to make contact with the Divine, and to be cured. To a greater or lesser extent, these priests were essentially what we call shamans today, a term more commonly used with indigenous “medical” practitioners throughout the world.
Sleep temples also existed in the Middle East. In Greece they were built in honor of Asclepius, the Greek God of Medicine. The Greek process, called incubation, focused on prayers to Asclepius for healing. The mythical roots of Asclepius go back to a real, second millennium-B.C. individual whose work elevated him into becoming a temple demigod. The daughters of Asclepius were Hygeia and Panacea: thus we have the words panacea and hygiene.
Perhaps not as sleep temples but at least the concept in ancient Judaism of kavanah involved focusing on letters of the Hebrew alphabet and saying the names of the ancient tribal deities. The incantations were to induce a state of ecstasy.
The Romans also adopted the use of healing sleep incubation temples throughout their empire devoted to the god, Apollo. A Roman temple of this type was found at Lydney Park, Gloucestershire in England in 1928. Interestingly, in parts of the Middle East and Africa, sleep temples are still used for the mentally ill.
Qi Gong
Another important use of Energy Medicine can be found in the ancient Chinese practice of Qi Gong (or Chi Gong), the foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that combines movement, meditation, and regulation of breathing to enhance the flow of chi in the body, improve blood circulation, and enhance immune function.
The principles of Qi Gong date back 3,000 years and begin with the concepts of yin (feminine) and yang (masculine) energies. The balance between yin and yang is essential for health, it is maintained, as imbalance creates disease. As in yogic practice, breathing and meditation have always been important components of Qi Gong. Specific breathing techniques are used to concentrate chi. When chi was incorporated into Qi Gong (ca. 500 when it was a martial art), it was observed to improve health, increase physical strength, as well as improve fighting ability.
Philosophically speaking, there are five forms of Qi Gong:
• Confucianist seeks to attain the highest moral character and intelligence.
• Buddhist seeks to liberate the mind.
• Daoist Qi Gong emphasizes preserving the physical body and higher levels of spiritual cultivation.
• Martial arts emphasizes self-defense.
• Medical focuses on healing of self and others.
Qi Gong employs meditation, mental concentration, and visualization combined with very slow, specified movements and sensory awareness of the flow of chi in the body. The starting point, as with pranayama, is quieting of the mind.
Qi Gong has many similarities to Tai Chi. Some fifteen plus years ago, Roger Jahnke, a Tai Chi Master, and I were talking, and I suggested that I would take up Tai Chi when I was seventy-five, as I figured it would take a full year to learn this complex system. His response was, “Norm, Tai Chi is simply movement meditation. You know how to meditate and you know how to move.” Thus, I began doing what I call free-form Tai Chi which I have done daily to some extent for the past thirty-five years. Basically it consists of my “listening” to,
