A New Look at the Essence of Healing

We all experience healing in many forms throughout our lives. Our physical bodies heal with healthy food, vitamins, minerals and herbs. Our minds heal with positive thoughts and affirmations. Our spirits heal with prayer and intention. We heal on these levels because we exist as mind, body and spirit.

Many methods of healing seem disconnected as if they had nothing to do with one another. Nutrients seem to have nothing to do with intention or meditation. Affirmations seem to have no connection with healing energy. Reiki and medication could not be further apart.

With all of these methods working in seemingly different ways to heal, could they ever be explained by a common theory? Is there a fundamental process connecting all systems of healing?

In order to find such a common underlying process we must look deep into the essence of life. We must look deep into our bodies and the molecules that form them. When we do we find a fundamental process that is common to all life. We find that life has the special ability to evolve to higher levels of organization.

This ability is special because life exists in a universe that becomes more disorganized over time. Life's special ability has to do with having a constant supply of something that keeps it from degenerating into disorganization. That something is called information.

The relatively new science of information theory may continue our understanding of the universe where quantum mechanics left off. Quantum mechanics shows that all things in the universe are connected. Information theory describes the universe as a large information processing unit.

Not only are we connected but we also exchange information with living and non-living things. A growing number of elite scientists now believe that all matter and energy consist of information. Information is at the essence of all things.

Leading edge biologists now know that life must have a constant supply of information from the universe in order to survive and evolve to higher levels of organization. Life's ability to receive and integrate information is what makes it so special. We exist in a field of potentially active information. Whenever we breath, act or think we are in essence communicating with this field.

We commonly think that the information contained in life resides in DNA. Yes, DNA is an incredible repository of information and a product of billions of years of evolution. But you may have the intuitive sense that you are more than your DNA.

Your existence extends beyond your cells and physical body. Your being extends out making connections with the universe around you. These connections communicate information between you and the universe.

The new science of epigenetics has discovered other complex information systems residing outside of DNA. These systems affect how DNA is expressed. They connect with our bodies and minds producing a kind of an information feedback system to DNA. This means that both actions and thoughts can affect the expression of your genes.

You are an informational system. In order to keep on living you must somehow gather and integrate information into your being. The same goes for healing. Healing is an extension of the same underlying process of living.

Think of how one heals. Generally there is some sort of process in the body that causes disorder. For example a cancerous tumor may spread disorder throughout the system. Healing occurs when order is restored. Decreasing disorder is a result of the infusion of information. Perhaps a sick individual uses a number of information sources to restore order or heal from the cancer. They may consist of such modalities as medications, nutrients and mind-body techniques.

We can view ourselves as existing on several informational levels. For example, the molecules of your body contain information in how they are put together. Exposing these molecules to information sources such as nutrients constitutes an exchange of information.

The molecules of the nutrients interact with the receptors on cells and transfer information to elicit changes in the cells. Nutrients can be seen as information sources with the purpose of restoring order to the body.

Likewise healing prayer may also restore order by sending information non-locally to the body. There are a large number of studies examining healing prayer as well as the effects of intention on others and machines. The work of researchers such as Dean Radin at Princeton University has opened up whole new vistas of how human intention can affect the physical world.

Radin and his colleagues have conducted a number of scientific studies that show that human intention can have a measurable effect on people and machines. All of this research serves as support for the existence of a communication of information that occurs outside of the known laws of physics.

What are the prospects of understanding healing in terms of information? For one, all healing systems can be described as essentially doing the same thing, which is sending healing information to the body. Alternative and mainstream systems become part of the same underlying information-transferring process.

Second, we can organize sources of information according to levels of complexity such as molecular, energy, mind and spirit so that all can be used to support healing. Third, we can apply concepts of the science of information theory to fine-tune the exchange of information for each individual.

If all healing systems are seen as information transferring systems then seemingly disparate systems have equal footing when contributing to healing. Reiki is now seen to be as important as medication because it transfers information just like medication.

Reiki may work on a different level than the molecules of medication but both have the same effect of transferring information in order to maintain the order of the body and not letting it degenerate into disorder. The same can be said for all healing modalities. All have the same result of communicating healing information to the body.

How can you use information to heal? The beginning of all healing should begin with intention. Intention solidifies your purpose to heal and directs your actions so that healing information flows to you. Next you can look at all healing modalities as sources of information and trust your intuition. Your belief in a certain healing technique can really work to open up channels in order to maximize the flow of healing information to you. Also be aware that there is power in synergism.

For example using a variety of modalities like nutrition, Reiki, mind-body healing and Chiropractic can have a more powerful effect than using each one separately. Lastly, you can use feedback. All life relies on feedback in order to maintain order. If something is not working for you then either decrease the frequency or intensity of it or stop it completely.

Understanding healing in terms of exchanges of information may open up new fields of study such as informational medicine or informational healing. New systems of healing could emerge that combine techniques that may have previously seemed unrelated.

In the future alternative and mainstream practitioners may be able to communicate and work together with a common understanding of healing. If science is already beginning to understand matter and energy in terms of information perhaps the healing arts will soon follow.