Distant Healing Intention (DHI)

Mahendra Kumar Trivedi et al. (2024) · Neuropsychopharmacology reports

This 2023 randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of remote biofield energy therapy on cognitive and motor functions in adults with perceived neuropsychological problems. Biofield energy therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention that utilizes the energy surrounding and permeating the human body to enhance healing and well-being. The study involved 114 participants aged 20 to 55 years, who were randomly assigned to three groups: a control group, a sham control group, and a biofield intervention group. Cognitive and motor functions were assessed using the NIH Toolbox at baseline (day 0), day 90, and day 180. Results indicated that the biofield intervention group experienced significant improvements in language function (p < 0.0001), working memory (p < 0.0001), and episodic memory (p < 0.0001) scores compared to both the control and sham control groups. Additionally, significant enhancements were observed in locomotion, standing balance, dexterity, grip strength, and muscle endurance (p < 0.05 to p < 0.0001). No adverse effects were reported, suggesting that remote biofield energy therapy is a safe and effective non-invasive intervention for improving cognitive and motor functions in adults with neuropsychological impairments. However, this study had limitations, including a small sample size and the need for further research to validate these findings across diverse populations and settings. Larger randomized controlled trials are necessary to establish the efficacy and mechanisms of biofield energy therapy in clinical practice.

Luís Carlos Matos et al. (2021) · International journal of environmental research and public health

This narrative review examined how scientists have tried to measure what happens during non-contact energy healing practices such as Reiki, external Qigong, Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, and Johrei. These practices rest on the idea of a biofield — a proposed field of energy and information within and around the body — known in traditional systems as qi (the vital functional energy of Traditional Chinese Medicine), ki (its Japanese counterpart), or prana (the life force in Ayurvedic and yogic traditions). Practitioners work near the body, or even at a distance, holding a focused intention to support healing. Rather than running a new experiment, the authors gathered decades of quantitative studies and organized them by measurement strategy: physical detectors (electromagnetic, acoustic, and thermal instruments), chemical reaction dynamics, biological materials such as cultured cells and bacteria, living sensors like plants and seeds, and measurements taken on the human body itself. The collected findings are striking but inconsistent. One laboratory reported that external qi sped a glucose-oxidase chemical reaction by up to 400% from several meters away. A Reiki study found increased light emission and cartilage-related gene activity (collagen II and aggrecan, p < 0.05 — meaning unlikely due to chance) in cultured cells. One biofield treatment study reported 41% more cancer-cell death alongside 64% less death in healthy brain cells. Yet replication kept failing: an initial Qigong effect on cell growth (p = 0.036) vanished across 60 repeat experiments (p = 0.465), and Johrei produced no reproducible cellular response at all. A Brazilian team found laying-on-of-hands with inhibitory intention slowed bacterial growth (p = 0.002), but only when that specific intention was held. The honest picture: laboratory signals exist, replication is the field's central problem, and no clinical treatment claim can be made from this evidence. The authors call for standardized designs, ways to verify practitioner competence, and focused research on intention — useful directions for anyone following the science of energy healing.