The Human Biofield
Although I have always (since the late ‘80’s) enjoyed the term “aura” the scientific community (The National Institutes of Health (NIH)) coined the term "biofield" in 1992. The term was a more innocuous scientific expression to describe the central organizing biological field that healers interact with. The term biofield was meant to be a way to unify many energetic practices, but I don’t think that biological field quite captures the fullness of what it really is.
To really get to the meat of the matter is to delve into the true spiritual nature of our being – a concept that many still find to be in the realm of smoke and mirrors, because it is difficult to define in only physical terms. There are even conflicts that can arise between the terms “spiritual” and “religious.”
Going back to the Vedas, 3700-year-old Hindu writings about the spiritual nature of the human being, are the concepts of the “Three Yoga Bodies.” That is, that there are three dimensions of individuation, the physical, astral and causal dimensions. Both the astral and causal dimensions are beyond time and space, yet we still have an astral and causal body and mind, though no internal glands or organs, but still uniqueness, or personality.
The chakra system, centers of energy and consciousness, exist in all three dimensions and the biofield is not a physical phenomenon, but rather combination of the chakras and other components in the astral and causal dimensions that hold the physical body-mind in time and space. In short, the biofield radiates and holds your 60 trillion cells in space/time from a higher dimension of yourself!
That may be a lot to digest and integrate, but this is the era in which we live where teachings of 3700 years ago are now being researched through science.
The term “subtle energy” is related to the biofield and its effects on the physical dimension. Science today is using intriguing methods to quantify what cannot be directly measured as the measure of our physical and energetic body’s health.
Instruments like the AMI (apparatus for measuring the meridians and associated internal organs), GDV (Gas Discharge Visualization) and Biofield Viewer, are two of many devices that indirectly access and measure the human biofield for clinical purposes. The AMI is an electrodermal screening device which, in the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine, measures the electrical resistance of the skin at the terminations of the meridians on the fingers and toes. The GDV uses Kirlian photography of the digits on both hands, measuring the energy field to assess the physical and energy bodies. The Biofield Viewer uses a technique called PIP (Polycontrast Interference Photography)(see the image accompanying this blog) to visualize the biofield, indicating areas of high and low energy.
The biofield energizes the meridians of your body through the chakra system. For instance, the solar plexus chakra converts higher Psi energy into qi (Jim chi, prana, it is known by many names) and sends it to the spleen and the spleen sends the qi into your blood. Acupuncturists access the qi of your body through the meridians and have a deep understanding of the chakra/meridian system as radiated from the biofield.
The biofield, through the chakras, also streams consciousness between the dimensions of individuation. It is much like a two-way street. Seekers and spiritual practitioners use techniques of prayer, meditation, chanting, yoga philosophy and practice and many more forms of accessing and revealing the truth of their spiritual nature, which leads to greater realization.
The Earth also has a biofield. In fact, all material matter has a biofield of sorts. The Earth does have the equivalent of chakras, and her meridians are called “ley” lines. Where they cross are popular vortex points all over the planet and that is an entire lecture in itself with much history. Earth has an individuation like you and I and we can attune ourselves (see the blog Alignment to the Seasons) to those frequencies of Earth as many ancient, advanced cultures have done for millennia. To say that the Earth is alive is not a stretch!
When seeking an Integral Health practitioner, it is probable that they have such knowledge of the human biofield and its seamless interaction with the four archetypes. Real functional medicine, by definition, must include this understanding of the biofield.
Blessings,
Dr. Richard Jelusich, Ph.D.
