But, for a moment, let’s look at the structure of the atoms a little more closely. We usually tend to think of those atoms as little balls, or maybe little star-shaped “things”. However, if you could take the atoms and magnify them enough, you would see that the atoms really are more complex than that. Take the sodium atom, for example. Sodium is a soft metal. It’s poisonous. It’s unstable; in fact, if you were to take a little pea-sized piece of pure sodium and drop it in a bathtub of water, it would burst into flame in that water.

Up above here is an illustration of a sodium atom, but it’s far from realistic. One thing that isn’t shown here is, the nucleus is composed eleven protons and twelve neutrons, but it is accurate in that it shows eleven electrons orbiting around the nucleus.

Each of those electrons, and each of those protons, is not really a solid ball, though. Instead, each is actually a little bundle of energy, in the form of an electric charge. The electrons are negative charges, and the protons are positive charges. The eleven positive charges of the protons, balance the eleven negative charges of the electrons. (Oh, the neutrons? They have no charge, and are neutral, thus their name.)

Something else that’s very important that isn’t shown here, are the relative sizes and distances involved. Those electrons don’t travel in nice, neat little circular paths that are only a couple of electron diameters wide. Instead, they race madly around the nucleus, frenziedly traveling at “warp speed”, in paths that (if you could see them) would look like a hazy shell, or cloud. Now they DO stay pretty much at their own distance from the nucleus, but they are racing around the nucleus in those paths at unbelievable speed… and at relative distances from the nucleus that are impossible to illustrate here with a picture.

But you can get an idea of that with this analogy. IF the nucleus were the size of a basketball, then the first two electrons would be about the size of flies, and would be orbiting about two miles away from that basketball-sized nucleus.

The only thing holding that atom together, is energy. And the only thing that keeps the sodium atom attached to the chlorine atom in our little salt molecule, is energy. If you could somehow, magically, take away all the energy in that molecule, it would fall apart. There would be nothing to hold the nuclei together. There would be nothing to keep the electrons in their orbits. In fact, the electrons and protons wouldn’t exist without their energy charges—they would all be neutrons, dull and boring.

Think of it like the prom in a high school. Students are the protons and electrons who are energetically dancing with each other, and the neutrons are the dull, boring, chaperones. Consider what would happen if, by some stroke of magic, all the students suddenly lost their energy, and everyone there looked alike: same age, same face, same clothes, etc. No one would be attracted to anyone else. All the students would wander around aimlessly, getting mixed up with the chaperones. The prom would break up and everyone would leave.

Essentially, without energy, matter cannot exist. That’s because matter IS energy, made up of tiny energy packages called atoms and molecules.

So, why does this matter?

(You see what I did there?)

It is important because the human body is made up of trillions of different molecules, each with its own energy charge of some sort. Energy charges are cumulative, when they are aligned properly. Think about it: a flashlight with six D-cell batteries in it will shine brighter than a flashlight with two D-cells. Conversely, if you take one of those batteries in that flashlight and turn it backwards, the flashlight won’t work, because the electrical energy is not aligned properly.

I worked in electronics for years. I taught the electricity and electronics at the high school level, the college level, and in the military. What if the energy gets blocked or impeded? I’ve seen how those kinds of problems can happen with electronic or electrical equipment. Sometimes it’s because a fuse blows to protect a circuit when too much energy flows, or if there is no fuse, sometimes a wire simply will burn through. Sometimes it’s because the conductive surfaces (contacts) become corroded or dirty, and this impedes energy flow. Sometimes it’s because the position of a switch is changed.

These same sorts of conditions can happen in the human body. Our body is designed to protect itself autonomically at some levels. Have you ever seen someone faint when they see something that is simply too frightening? Or how about how when people are exposed to something so horrible that their mind simply blocks out that memory? These occurrences are like blown fuses or tripped breakers: they stop energy flow to certain areas, to protect our minds.

What about the dirty contacts? We can have emotional or mental ideas that may not totally stop the energy, but do slow it down. Maybe you have a fear of flying that doesn’t keep you from boarding an airplane, but to make it through the flight without panicking, you “self-medicate” with alcohol. Perhaps you are a runner, and you’ve plateaued—just can’t get past that (reasonable) threshold of speed, no matter how hard you try. The fear of failure may be keeping you from getting better. Or, perhaps PTSD from a car accident, a close brush with death, or trauma during military service, keeps you from doing things that you once could do easily—like shopping in a mall, driving on the interstate, or simply leaving your house.

Occasionally what happens is a re-routing of energy—flipping a switch­—such as when we are in a life-threatening situation, and our body changes the path of energy flow. Imagine one of our ancestors, being faced down by a hungry saber-toothed tiger. More blood flow went to her muscles, to enable the “fight-or-flight” action, and blood went away from her digestion (for example) because the body knows that, at that point in time, it’s more important to be safe than to digest that food. Your body may even decide to “get rid” of the food, because it’s extra weight in the stomach and can’t be digested right away.

It’s great that, in today’s modern society, we are seldom faced with being eaten by a tiger, or run down by a rhinoceros. Unfortunately, our bodies have adapted to apply the same re-routing to modern stressful situations: being confronted by an angry boss, facing an impossible-to-meet deadline, or running late for an important appointment. Even worse, sometimes these reactions in the body tend to linger on, even after the stressful situation has passed… especially when we face several stressful situations over a relatively short period of time. And this is not good for the emotions, nor for the body.

How Energy Therapy Helps

Energy therapies such as Reiki, EFT, sound therapy, PEMF, or various other techniques, are all about working with the energies in the human body, to help the body return to health, or to maintain good health, whether that is physical health or mental/emotional health. And don’t misunderstand—your mental and emotional health impacts your physical health. Tension headaches, back pain, ulcers, rashes, and many other physical ailments can have their roots in emotional or mental distress.

These energy therapy methods act to restore proper balance of the energies in the body, to make sure it is flowing where it should go and not where it shouldn’t. By doing this, people have seen results such as:

• Speedier physical healing of wounds and other ill-health issues,
• Relief from physical pain,
• Freedom from painful memories that can cause physical and/or emotional pain,
• Freedom from phobias and fears that hinder us from doing what we wish to do,
• Releasing beliefs that are holding us back from achieving our best,
• Overcoming bad habits such as smoking, overeating, and nail-biting,
• And more!

By the way, energy therapy of any kind is NOT intended to replace nor supplant conventional medical care. Rather, it is intended as a complementary therapy to aid in healing, alongside traditional medical practice. Sometimes energy therapy CAN work without conventional medicine. (I’ve used Reiki to relieve muscle pain, headaches, and upset stomachs, for example, without taking any medicine, and Reiki treatments to my shoulder gave me total healing, and kept me out of the operating room, for a torn rotator cuff.) But a legitimate, ethical therapist will never tell you to abandon your physician or medicine; rather, he or she will advise you to consult with your doctor and ask him or her what would be best.

If you are interested in seeing what energy therapy can do for you, feel free to contact me, or some energy therapist closer to you. I’ll be happy to discuss your particular needs with you, and make recommendations based on that discussion. What do you have to lose?