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Whether you do energy healing research, or magick, or entrepreneurship, we all create new paths. This week, my path with Healing Lab got jostled, and I want to share how I got through being daunted and found a vision I’m even more excited about.
This week, Dr. Melinda Connor spoke with me about Healing Lab. She researches energy healing at Akamai University in Arizona, has published books and papers on the subject, is more or less doing what I want to be doing. A few notes from our conversation:
- Publishing a double-blind study requires a bunch of hoops. It’s not something I can do alone.
- There are already studies comparable to what I had planned to do. It’s not wrong to do more similar studies, but it’s probably not the highest-impact place to focus.
- Despite all that, she was genuinely encouraging. She wasn’t trying to rain on my parade — it’s more like, there was already a bunch of rain on the way, and she was the one to point it out.
I spent 24 hours feeling daunted. Too big, too difficult, why bother… Three ideas helped me work through it:
- Everything is harder than we expect. Sometimes it’s 100x harder, and maybe we give up. But this one is 10x harder. I can work with that.
- The fact that people are already doing similar work is good, it means it’s possible. It means that, if I want to, I can follow their path.
- Other people are doing some of the projects I’d planned (like double-blind trials), and they’re better at those skills than I am. That’s OK. It lets me focus on what I’m best at. All I have to do is figure out what that is.
When I daydream about Healing Lab, it’s not running trials or speaking at conferences. I daydream about developing new techniques for energy healing, sensing the biofield, or communicating with spirits (and maybe humans). Engineering, along with developing the scientific models to support it. That’s what I’m uniquely good at.
It’s also what we need. Because we’ve been researching and publishing about energy healing for decades, and it’s still drowning in stigma. But if we had techniques that produced even more obvious results, things that were even harder to dismiss or deny, that might move the needle on acceptance.
I’m going to use the word “engineering” for creating new techniques, and “publishing” for doing double-blind trials to demonstrate that those techniques work.
The rest of the path became obvious: Engineer the techniques, publish enough to convince other energy researchers that the techniques work and are worth studying, then collaborate on the really definitive publications. So instead of being 50% engineering and 50% publication, now I’m envisioning maybe 75% engineering, 25% publication — a shift in focus that feels relaxing and liberating, more aligned with my skills and interests.
(And the next step is still the same: Publish some case studies to prove I’m serious.)
Jostles aren’t bad. Being daunted isn’t bad. These are things that happen. And if you’re lucky, you’ll emerge with an even better plan.
Announcements
This is the last week of the double-blind sigil experiment. It’s a great way to build confidence in your skills. Please try it. (If you already tried one sigil, please try the other.)
I’m teaching Beyond Tantra: Intermediate Erotic Energy Techniques this Thursday, 7pm at Wicked Grounds in San Francisco.
And Dr. Connor wants to connect with other energy healing researchers. She gave me great info and sincere encouragement, and I’m very glad I reached out to her. I’m not posting her email because I don’t want spambots to bother her, but if you’re doing research in energy healing and want some input, drop me a line and I’ll connect you. (And I’d be happy to talk with you too.)
If you liked this post, consider visiting my current blog at mikesententia.com.Tags: Business, Resistance, Science
I know this is an older post, and I’ve been wanting to comment. I had to sort some stuff out in my head first. I’m glad you spoke with an energy healing researcher, I didn’t even know there was such a profession. Very cool. It sounds like after talking with her you’ve reached some clarity as to the direction you want to take Healing Lab. I think sometimes we need help coming up with a better plan especially from someone in our field who has more expertise.
Does the same stigma and misinformation around energy healing exist in other countries or is it mostly the USA? I’ve always been under the impression that some countries are more open-minded and sophisticated in their thinking and beliefs. Just a thought.
It’s stronger in the US than other countries. There are certifications in Canada and some countries in Europe. And traditional systems of energy medicine like acupuncture are respected in their native countries. Yes, at some point it may become worthwhile to do this research in another country, though no specific plans at this point.