The Distinction Between Energy Medicine and Trauma Medicine…

The Distinction Between Energy Medicine and Trauma Medicine…

The distinction between energy medicine and trauma medicine is an artificial distinction. No one thinks of their car mechanic as performing energy repair on their car and yet that is exactly what they are doing. A car has fuel, which combined with oxygen and a spark produces combustion, which creates energy that moves physical components by which motion is created. A mechanic works on the system by which energy is produced, regulated, and flows, but we only tend to see the mechanism. We see the sludge in the pipe or the broken seal, not the energy itself. The energy itself is not visible, but can be seen in the movement of the parts the way wind is invisible unless we see the leaves blow. In our medicine we don’t see the qi itself, but we see the qi within the movement of the blood or fluids, in material transformation, or in the signs of heat presentation. We do not see heat, we see signs of heat. Just as yin and yang are inseparable and always in relative relationship so too is energy and matter. We work on blood in order to effect qi and we work on qi in order to effect blood. We clear physical damp so that qi can flow, just as the mechanic clears the pipes. When we regulate qi it is not so different than adjusting a carburetor. When we regulate systems that clear heat from the body it is not so different than optimizing a car radiator. We like to think that western doctors are acting like mechanics, merely fixing the parts, while Chinese Medicine doctors are somehow more elevated, working on the “energy” of the system. At the same time Western doctors don’t like to think of themselves as working on “energy”, which they may deem unscientific. How exactly are we defining energy in this paradigm?

Some people can move physical objects with their mind. Is that physical or energetic? Studies show that prayer can be effective medicine and that people have made tumors disappear with prayer, intention, or qi gong. If the tumor disappears is that physical or energetic? When people meditate, their vital signs change. Is that physical or energetic? When people think, PET scans show that brain waves change. Is that physical or energetic? Why do we feel the need to separate these two intertwined, interconnected, and inseparable aspects of existence that permeate everything in our entire universe. Everything is qi in greater or lesser densities, faster or slower speeds. Call it matter or call it energy, but that is about linguistics and world view more than anything.

EF Block points out in his article, “The Myth & Reality Of Energy Medicine,” that there is something special about the energy of life that non-living beings do not share. He describes “energy fields” and “vital energy,” that cannot be measured by the tools of physics. While energy fields may not be easily measured by the tools of physics it does not mean that they necessarily fall outside of the realm of physics or measurability. Just because we cannot explain or easily measure something does not necessarily make it less real nor necessarily “special.” It only means it is not yet understood within the existing paradigm. Block points to chakras as unique energy vortexes. The planet also shares energy vortexes. Is feeling them sufficient evidence for their existence? Our medicine relies on anecdotal evidence based on a patient feeling better. We believe that a patient feeling unwell is enough to indicate imbalance and we don’t require that an external objective test prove it. When I feel happy or sad I do not need to take physiological measurements to prove it. It is clear to me and everyone around me that my mood or “energy” has shifted. It is also clear that I have different physical energy levels depending on my mood. Does it matter if I can exactly identify the physiology underlying that shift or is it enough to be able to effect such a shift? 

Western medicine has become very good at breaking down and explaining the physiological component parts by which such shifts occur, but they have not figured out how to effectively catalyze a shift, because the component parts don’t fit their paradigm. They are unwilling to shift their paradigm for fear of what it might unravel and so they prefer to measure component parts and claim they don’t make sense rather than consider a theory that explains their findings, but might require a different world view. Chinese medicine practitioners have been very effective at inducing these energetic shifts for thousands of years, but don’t always understand the mechanisms underlying how such shifts take place. 

I can understand how fast the wind is blowing by how many leaves are on the ground or I can use a machine to take a measurement. I can measure someone’s physiology with an expensive machine to know whether they are stressed or I can take their pulse. If life is so different from inanimate objects, why would an inanimate machine be more sensitive to the subtleties of living beings than living beings themselves? In the end it is all just measuring and effecting energy by different means. You can’t work on energy without also working on structure and you can’t work on structure without effecting energy. Trauma medicine and energy medicine are each looking at different sides of the same coin through a slightly different lens, but their primary distinction is not their focus on energy or structure. Their primary distinction is more about looking at a whole system versus looking at component parts and a different interpretation of the relationship between the microcosm and the macrocosm.