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| '''Radionics''' is |
'''Radionics''' is an ] practice that claims to use ] to send healing energy at people, animals, or plants, from a distance. It is named after the supposed "broadcasting" of healing.<ref name="uk_healing">http://www.radionic.co.uk/What_is_radionics.htm</ref> The ideas behind radionics originated in the early ] with ] (1864-1924) and have neither been accepted by the science nor have been the subject of any scientific journal. It uses specially-created instruments and some item from the patient, such as a drop of blood or some hair to provide the connection. | ||
| In his 1927 book "The New Medical Follies: An Encyclopedia of Cultism and Quackery in these United States", ] savaged radionics as ], and described several prosecutions and deaths caused by the practice.<ref>Fishbein, Morris, ''The New Medical Follies, etc''. reprint by New York AMS Press, 1977</ref> | |||
| Radionics practice is not limited to humans, veterinary alternative therapy as well as horticulture and agriculture are also fields of practice.<ref name="uk_healing"/> | |||
| Radionics is considered a practice within the field of ]. It is said to be " a technique of healing using ] (e.s.p.) and an instrument" <ref name="uk_home">http://www.radionic.co.uk/</ref>. | |||
| This method is often classified as a ], however, its practicioners don't propose it as a ] but as a ] or ] for ] <ref name="uk_healing"/> and as such it is considered an ] practice. In Great Britain it established itself with legal status as a self-regulating profession in 1948.<ref name= "Report"/> . It has been also declared as a complementary medicine method with no need for statutory regulation , by the House of Lords (2000)<ref>{{cite book | last = Lee Treweek| first = Geraldine | title = Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Structures and Safeguards| publisher = Routledge| date = 2005| pages = pp 64-65| isbn = 978-0415351638}}</ref>. | |||
| Radionics is not, at present time, recognized as a scientifically proven medical method and its theory of operation has not been endorsed by conventional scientific journals or publications.<ref>{{cite book | last = Saks| first = Mike | title = Professions and the Public Interest: Medical Power, Altruism and Alternative Medicine| publisher = Routledge| date = 1994| pages = p 198| isbn = 978-0415018050}}</ref> | |||
| == Background== | |||
| ===Description of Radionics=== | |||
| Radionics is a form of ] premised on the existence of a ] surrounding each living being, <ref>{{cite book | last = Tansley| first = David V. | title = Radionics and the Subtle Anatomy of Man| publisher = C W Daniel Co Ltd | date = 1972| isbn = 978-0850320893}}</ref> and a non-physical connection and unity (sometimes called the "universal mind" <ref name="uk_healing" />) between living beings that is indifferent to the physical space between them. It holds that this field: | |||
| : ''"... sustains and vitalises it . If the field is weakened, for example by stress or pollution, then eventually the physical body also becomes weak, leaving it susceptible to illness. The aim of radionics is to identify the weaknesses in this field and to correct them, and thereby alleviate or prevent physical or emotional dis-ease. This subtle field cannot be accessed using our conventional senses."'' <ref name="uk_healing" /> | |||
| Radionics practitioners use techniques similar to ] to focus their own senses, identify weaknesses in the "energy field" of the patient or target and assist in the selection of healing remedies and frequencies to be set in the instruments for broadcasting the "healing energy".<ref name="uk_healing" /> These techniques include both physical instruments (as the designed by Abrahams or by ]} as well as the use of an item "unique to the individual", usually a sample of hair, as "witness" or "tuning" aids for the practitioner may find the correct settings in his/her instrument.<ref name="uk_healing" /> <ref name= "manual">{{cite book | last = Williams| first = John | title = Radionics Manual| publisher = Consumertronics Co| date = 1990| isbn = 978-0934274227}}</ref> | |||
| The description of these fields and related connections as universal and non-physical also means that according to its practitioners, Radionics is not directed at the physical body but at the subtle energy fields, "those fields undetected by the normal senses but which support life and are essential for its functioning. The patient can be with the practitioner or many miles away - distance is irrelevant". <ref name="uk_healing" /> | |||
| === Conceptual precedents=== | |||
| Subtle energy fields and non-physical linkages between people are proposed in various other healing and spiritual traditions. ]s are one common description of personal energy fields, ] and ] are other alternative medicine practices of healing by means of energy, and both modern ] concepts and ancient ] and ] concepts are supportive of the idea of a universal non-physical connection or "all living beings being one".<ref>{{cite book | last = Graham| first = Helen| title = Complementary Therapies in Context: Psychology of Healing | publisher = Jessica Kingsley Publishers| date = 1994| pages = p 54 | isbn = 978-1853026409}}</ref> | |||
| The idea of subtle energy is also paralleled by terms in other fields, including ], ] and ]. Similar to the subtle energy fields proposed in radionics, these concepts were unrecognized by the scientific establishment until the appearance of ] in ]. At present time, subtle energy healing is still not recognized by medical science, nevertheless, the emerging field of ] is trying to apply or to understand the principles of ] when applied to living beings.<ref>{{Citation | last= Fellows| first= L. E.| year= 1997| title= Opening up the 'black box| periodical= | publication-place= | place= | publisher= International Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine| volume= 15| issue= 8| pages= 9-13}}</ref> | |||
| ==Radionics and healing== | |||
| Radionics as a healing technique is based on the idea that all life and matter contains subtle energy fields with unique frequencies which radionics seeks to "tune in" for re-establishing their natural balance.<ref name="freq">{{cite book | last = Gerber| first = Richard | title = Vibrational Medicine for the 21st Century: A Complete Guide to Energy Healing and Spiritual Transformation | publisher = Piatkus Books| date = 2001|isbn = 978-0749921873}}</ref> | |||
| According to this idea, a healthy person will have certain 'energy frequencies' patterns when healthy which will show different patterns when a health disorders is present. Radionic devices are purported to diagnose and restore persons to health by applying healing frequencies to balance out the 'discordant' frequencies of sickness. <ref>{{cite book | last = Wheeler-Wingate| first = Sandy | title = Healing Choices: Your Guide to Complementary and Alternative Healthcare | publisher = Trafford Publishing| date = 2006| pages = p 198| isbn = 978-1412039956}}</ref> Radionics borrows the word ] to describe an imputed energy type and differs from usual meanings since it does not correspond to any property of the known forms of ]. | |||
| === Types of radionic devices === | |||
| The first complete report on Radionics was compiled by Edward Wriothesley Russell in his book "Report on Radionics" , Neville Spearman, First Edition 1973, ISBN 85435-002-0(1983). There he describes that Dr.] was who first proposed the method and created the first radionic instruments. ], founder of Delawarr Laboratories was who first made an intensive use and development of radionic devices, standarising some of these. | |||
| An study conducted in 1925 by Sir Thomas Horder and a committee, resulted in the publication of "The Horder Report", one of the initial supporting studies of radionics in Great Britain.<ref>{{cite book | last = Scofield| first = Tony | title = Radionics and the Horder Report| publisher = Trencavel Press| date = 2007|isbn = 978-0954578633}}</ref> | |||
| There are two main types of radionic devices. The first is simply an analysis tool, that is said to determine what is wrong with the subject being diagnosed. The second is a treatment tool used to attempt to heal or cure the subject of whatever is thought to ail them. These two may also be combined into a single device. | |||
| The typical radionics analysis device has a metal cup referred to as the well, a large collection of knobs numbered 0 to 9 on each dial, and a metal plate covered by a thin rubber layer referred to as the stick plate. A cable may also be used to attach a sensor plate to the body of the person receiving treatment. | |||
| A radionics treatment device has all the base components of the analysis device, plus additional wells to be used to hold the material used to heal the subject. It may also have a power cord that is said to provide a base frequency to send the healing rate into the patient. | |||
| Section references: <ref name="freq"/><ref name= "subtle">{{cite book | last = Tiller| first = William A. | title = Science and Human Transformation: Subtle Energies, Intentionality and Consciousness| publisher = Pavior Publishing| date = 1997|isbn = 978-0964263741}}</ref><ref name= "manual"/> | |||
| === Device usage === | |||
| To operate a typical radionic device, a sample material is placed in the well, such as hair, blood, saliva, or urine. The knobs act as a counter and are used to estimate the frequency at which the sample is thought to be vibrating. The stick plate is operated by the analyst who drags a finger across this plate while adjusting the knobs. | |||
| As the knobs are adjusted, there is a point where their finger sticks more firmly to the plate than at any other settings. This is referred to as "getting the stick." This point of greatest sticking is the setting for that knob. The analyst then moves on to adjusting the next knob to the point of greatest stick, and so on, until all knobs have been adjusted. The final readout across all knobs is described as the frequency for the sample material. | |||
| This method of operation is highly subjective, since it depends on an analyst experienced with moving the finger across the stick plate and interpreting what the sensations mean. | |||
| To broadcast the alleged healing energy to the patient, the practicioner either selects a previously known rate (or frequency) for healing the ailment or places, in the same well (or in a secondary plate), a remedy. The concept is that when the rate of the patient or target is combined with the remedy's frequency or the remedy itself and broadcasted, the subtle energy field of the patient will be re-balanced through ]. | |||
| Section references: <ref name="freq"/><ref name="subtle"/><ref name="manual"/> | |||
| ===Assessment of devices=== | |||
| Radionic devices do not accord with the theories of biology or medicine. At present time, the merging field of ] is attempting to understand how new concepts in ] can be applied to the understanding of ] or remote action. | |||
| The effect of radionics is said to lie in the rates or frequencies it measures and then feeds back to the patient. Although a healing remedy can be directly used to feed healing frequencies back into the patient, the substance is not actually needed if its frequency rate is known. | |||
| Internally, a radionic device is very simple, and form a conductive ] with no power supply . In radionics, the wiring in the analysis device is simply used to conduct the frequencies from the well, across the measurement knobs, and to the stick plate. No actual electrical current flows. A radionic device does not use or need electric power, though a power cord may be provided so that the power line can provide a "reference rate". Some devices may use electrical power and/or a ] amplifier for enhancing the broadcasting capabilities of the device.<ref name="freq"/> | |||
| ===Criticism=== | |||
| The main criticism of the method is that it bases its alleged effects on an unproven subtle energy field. The structural simplicity of its instruments as well as the subjective "sensitivity" of the practicioners, both of basic importance in the quality and quantity of the results, at present time can only be explained through ] (ESP) theories<ref name="uk_healing"/> which themselves are not accepted by mainstream scientists. <ref>{{cite book | last = Henri Broch| first = Georges Charpak| title = Debunked!: ESP, Telekinesis, and Other Pseudoscience| publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press| date = 2004| isbn = 978-0801878671}}</ref> | |||
| The use of terminology commonly used in Physics as "frequency", "subtle energy", "entrainment" and the use of instrumentation resembling electronic or electrical circuits is sometimes inducing the acceptance of this method as scientifically based, however, these are loaned terms to describe an unproven theory of operation, with no relation whatsoever with the same terms used in current ]. The instruments themselves are solely conductive circuits with no circulating electrical or other power which may be measured by conventional instrumentation. | |||
| Diagnosis through Radionics is not scientifically validated.<ref>{{cite book | last = Monty S. Losowsky| first = R.V. Heatley, J. Hilary Green| title = Consensus in Clinical Nutrition| publisher = Cambridge University Press| date = 1994 | pages = p 211 | isbn = 978-0521441346}}</ref> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
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Revision as of 15:34, 2 October 2007
This article refers to the method of Radionics in alternative medicine and not to the medical instrumentation produced by the company Radionics (Burlington, MA) for use in Neurosurgery and Radiotherapeutics
Radionics is an alternative medicine practice that claims to use extra-sensory perception to send healing energy at people, animals, or plants, from a distance. It is named after the supposed "broadcasting" of healing. The ideas behind radionics originated in the early 1900s with Albert Abrams (1864-1924) and have neither been accepted by the science nor have been the subject of any scientific journal. It uses specially-created instruments and some item from the patient, such as a drop of blood or some hair to provide the connection.
In his 1927 book "The New Medical Follies: An Encyclopedia of Cultism and Quackery in these United States", Morris Fishbein savaged radionics as quackery, and described several prosecutions and deaths caused by the practice.
References
- http://www.radionic.co.uk/What_is_radionics.htm
- Fishbein, Morris, The New Medical Follies, etc. reprint by New York AMS Press, 1977
See also
External Links
- Radionics in the Skeptic's dictionary
- British Radionic Association
- Radionic and Dowsing informations