In energy medicine, the human energy system is thought to be comprised of the following five components: meridians, chakras, biofield or aura, hara and core star. A description of each follows.
- Meridians are pathways in which energy travels within our tissues that run on each side of the body. There are 12 major meridians, with one side mirroring the other. Each meridian correlates to an internal organ.
- Chakras spin and draw in this energy so that the all our life issues are kept in harmony, the body’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. The chakras are the issues system.
- The biofield, aura, or energy field includes both the chakras and their corresponding fields. They are two aspects of one system. The biofield is our buffering system.
- Hara is the unique energetic presence that you chose to bring with you from Source and is essential for the human’s full spiritual and physical manifestation on Earth. The hara is where we hold our lessons, traumas, contracts, and karma.
- Core star is the energetic expression of one’s core essence, Source’s expression through one’s personal experience. The core star is how we bring our light into the world.
The goal of energy medicine is to elicit a relaxation response. Introducing energy medicine modalities at end of life provides a valuable opportunity for the dying and their families to transform fear into feelings of acceptance, peace, gratitude, or joy. Energy medicine techniques can stabilize the human energy system while the dying navigate their journey back to Source.
In these unprecedented times, many of us find ourselves to be in a constant fight or flight response. The fight or flight response, or stress response, is triggered by a release of hormones either prompting us to stay and fight or run away and flee. Our life situations and stressors can manifest in our energy system as congestion or blocked energy. Using energy medicine techniques during life transitions will help relax us, and when the physical and energetic bodies are relaxed, the end-of-life transition phase, in particular, becomes effortless and peaceful.
Often a family member or loved one will ask a medical professional, “What is keeping them here?” or “Why are they hanging on?” Essentially, the human energy system is expressing with an energetic compromise, whether that be pain and discomfort, past trauma, anxiety, or fear of the approaching death.
Energy medicine practitioners assess, diagnose, and treat the human energy system. When nearing the time of death and the physical body is comfortable and supported, the spirit or energy body needs nurturing. This is when the dying must go inward to prepare for the courageous, lonely, and sacred journey home.
Healing Touch is a holistic energy medicine-based modality that helps one connect with their spiritual self. Healing Touch Practitioners use gentle hand techniques to help re-pattern the patient’s energy field and accelerate body-mind-spirit healing. According to Healing Touch, all human beings are energy fields in constant interaction with others and the environment.
My client reported the following: “My 59-year-old mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and remained very angry while her health rapidly declined. Her final hours were challenging as she lingered and fought to stay alive. After a long night of physical struggles, Jean shared with my Mom that a Healing Touch technique, the chakra spread, might help her relax while supporting her transition. As Jean offered the technique, a full-body method gently opening the chakras and blending the fields supporting body, mind, and spirit, my mother’s facial lines started to soften and disappear. The room filled with a sacred essence, and soon Mom looked serene and at rest in her soul sanctuary. As mom bathed herself in the process, she settled down and a serenity washed over her as well. While holding my mother’s hand and heart, the last hand position for the chakra spread technique, she quietly took her last breath.”
Death is a natural part of the cycle of life. What if we were all consciously able to create a soul sanctuary, a space of quiet voices and slow movement in a sacred atmosphere, as we moved into our final days? Knowledge of these energetic patterns may provide guidance to hospice care providers and identify supportive activities for the bereft family as the terminally ill transition into death.