Sufi SpiritualEnergy Wound Healing: The New Paradigm

1
Sufi Spiritual/Energy Wound Healing The New
Paradigm

• Howard Hall, Ph.D., Psy. D.
• Case Western Reserve University
• Rainbow Babies Childrens Hospital

2
The Three Eras of Medicine

• Larry Dossey, M. D. (1993) outlined Concepts of
  Medicine from 1860 to the present.
• Era I The era of physicalistic medicine that
  dominated medicine from the 1860s to about 1950
  (and is still very influential).
• Era II The era of mind-body medicine that
  developed in the 1950s and is still evolving.
• Era III The emerging era of nonlocal science
  and medicine (e.g. spiritual and energy healing).

3
Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage Phenomena
(DCBD)A contemporary Era III Islamic Sufi
Phenomenon

• DCBD refers to feasts where individuals cause
  serious damage to the human body, yet with
  complete control over bleeding and infection, and
  unusually fast wound-healing (Hussein Fatoohi,
  1995).

4
DCBD

• Hammering daggers into the skull
• Insertion of spikes and skewers in the body
• Chewing and swallowing glass and razor blades
• Resistance to fire and venomous snakes

5
DCBD

• DCBD Involves No Harm to the Body
• Control of bleeding, infection and pain
• Rapid wound healing within four to ten seconds

6
(No Transcript)
7
Sufism

• Reports of DCBD from a Sufi School in Baghdad
• Sufism is Islamic Mysticism
• The Sufi school is called Tariqa Casnazaniyyah
  (the way of the secret that is known to no one).

8
Tariqa Casnazaniyyah

• This Sufi order has followers in many countries
  including Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, and India.
• The current master is Shasikh Muhammad
  al-Casnazani a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad
  through a chain of masters.

9
Similar Reports Worldwide

• Sun Dance of North American Natives (Skewers
  through the skin)
• Hindu devotees (pierced their bodies with
  needles, hooks, and skewers)

10
Similar Reports Worldwide

• Indian mediums beating themselves with swords
• In Sri Lanka people hang from hooks through their
  body
• Brazilian Trance Surgeons

11
Mirian Dajo The Dutchman, After the Second World
War
12
Jose ArigoSurgeon of the Rusty Knife (Brazil
late 1950s)
13
John of God Eye Surgery
14
Early Scientific work done on Unusual Healing

• Elmer and Alyce Green (1977) Beyond
  Biofeedback
• Conducted scientific laboratory studies on a 46
  year old Dutchman named Jack Schwarz (like a
  Sufi).
• Heart rate, respiration, GSR, hand temperature,
  and brain-wave activitiy.
• Schwarz could insert unsterilized knitting
  needles through his biceps.
• Voluntary control over bleeding, pain, and rapid
  healing.

15
Eric Peper et al. (2006)Applied Psychophysiology
and Biofeedback

• Studied a 63 year old Japanese Yogi with 37
  years of experience and practice with the title
  of Sumrat (i.e. the highest level of proficiency
  in his discipline)
• Pierce his tongue with a skewer with
• No reported pain, no bleeding, nor physical
  injury.
• QEEG was also recorded. During piercing
  decreased slow EEG content (sub-delta, delta and
  theta EEG) suggesting turning off response to
  external stimui.

16
Tongue Piercing by a YogiPeper (2006)
17
How to Scientifically Study Sufi Healing?

• Is this phenomenon real or fake?
• Is it Hypnosis?
• How can it be scientifically documented?
• What measurements should be used?
• Conventional tools or new instruments?

18
Scientific Examination of Sufi Rapid Wound
Healing

• Direct observation and Video recording in Baghdad
  at this major Sufi School in November 1998
  (Support from Kairos Foundation of Wilmette,
  Ill.).
• My personal experience With DCBD of having my
  cheek pierced.

19
(No Transcript)
20
Can DCBD Observations Be Exported to the United
States?

• If so, how and what should be measured?

21
The Cleveland Demonstration

• In 1999 invited a Sufi to the US to demonstrate
  DCBD of inserting a 13 c. skewer through both his
  cheeks (Support from Kairos Foundation of
  Wilmette, Ill.).

22
Measurements included

• Radiological
• Immunology (CD4, CD8, Total T cell) pre/post
• baseline to one hour
• EEG (40 Hz brain rhythms)
• Random event generator (non-randomness)

23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
Results from demonstration

• No major differences between Sufi and 3 controls
  on CD4, CD8, and total T cell compartment.
• 40 Hz EEG could not be detected because of scalp
  muscle overlap.
• REG had trend toward non-randomness Chi-square
  3.05, P.07.

26
Three Self Replications of Sufi Healing

• 2001 World Congress on Complementary Therapies in
  Medicine, Washington, DC
• 2002 private meeting with scientists at The Fifth
  World Congress on Qigong, San Francisco, CA.
  (Support by Friends of Health, Washington, DC and
  Gary Schwartz, University of Arizona).

27
National Geographic Filming with Gary Schwartz
U.of Arizona

• Obtained permission from the Sheikh to do
  demonstration with EEG, and GDV recordings.
• Did about 90 minute meditation before piercing my
  left cheek with a 5 inch ice pick.

28
Gary Schwartzs measurements

• Center for Frontier Medicine in Biofield Science,
  University of Arizona)

29

• 19 channels of EEG. 10-20 system, electrode cap.
  Lexicor Neurosearch 24. EEG recorded at 256 hz.
  Eyes closed. EEG spectral analyzed, five minute
  trials (1) first five minutes of meditation, (2)
  last five minutes of meditation, and (3), five
  minutes with ice pick inserted through cheek.
  Eight frequency bands of absolute power were
  calculated and displayed topographically (1)
  delta, (2) theta, (3) alpha 1, (4) alpha 2, (5)
  SMR, (6) beta 1, (7), beta 2, and (8) gamma.

30
Sufi Energy / Spiritual Healing
ResearchDeliberately Caused Bodily Harm with
Rapid Wound Healing(Hall, Schwartz, and Lewis,
2005)
31
GDV Analyses Pre and Post
Pre Insertion Post Insertion
32
EEG Absolute Power
Start Meditation End Meditation
Post Insertion
33
How can these phenomena be explained by
mechanistic science?

• Fraud?
• Hypnosis?
• Placebo effects?
• Group Think?
• Spirit-Assisted Healing?
• When you hear hoof beats,
• dont think Zebras.

34
Video Presentation
35
SUFISM uniting ERAs I, II, and III

• Allah (God) created order in this world causing
  seed to sprout, the rising and setting of the
  sun, rain to fall, etc. (695-99)
• Such is the judgement and ordering of (Him) the
  exalted in Power, the Omniscient (696)_
• (The Holy Quran)
• This is consistent with the mechanistic views.

36
SUFISM uniting ERAs I, II, and III

• the sword does not cut because of its nature,
  but it is rather God (Allah) who cuts with it.
• fire does not burn because of its nature, but
  it is rather God (Allah) who burn with it.

37
SUFISM uniting ERAs I, II, and III cont

• food does not satisfy hunger because of its
  nature, but it is rather God (Allah) who
  satisfies hunger with it.
• water does not quench thirst because of its
  nature, but it is rather God (Allah) who quenches
  thirst with it.

38
SUFISM uniting ERAs I, II, and III cont

• The same applies to things of all kinds, it is
  God (Allah) who uses them to produce their
  effects and they are only instruments in His hand
  with which He does whatever He wills.
• Sufi Shikh Gaylani Jilaal-Khatir
  Purification of the Mind