Pure Energy

What is energy? According to physicists, energy is the capacity for something to do work and work is the transfer of energy to move an object a certain distance. They describe two kinds of energy - potential and kinetic. Potential energy is stored energy. Kinetic energy is the release of potential energy to create motion. Energy has six different forms which are electrical, thermal, chemical, radiant, mechanical, and nuclear. Whew! That's a lot of stuff. So, where is the energy that new age spiritualists and healers claim to exist? That’s a good question. Let’s see if we can find it.

Energy, according to new age spiritualists, is a universal force that you can tap into. It creates energy fields and it can be balanced. It stems from auras that surround our bodies. These aura can be cleansed. This energy is believed to be the source of life, but it isn’t the kind of energy that physicists describe. Basically, new age practitioners have co-opted the word “energy” for their own use. And for some reason, this kind of energy isn’t measurable by an known scientific instrument. It’s everywhere but scientists can’t detect it. Think about this a minute. If we can’t detect this energy, how do we know that it’s there?

Energy is a key component in many pseudoscience practices such as aura therapy, reiki, rolfing, reflexology, and therapeutic touch. A pseudoscience is something that sounds scientific but isn’t. These practices draw on scientific terms to make them appear valid. Many concepts in science aren’t very well understood even by smart people. If a pseudoscience uses scientific jargon, it must be complicated and it must be real. Let’s go back to our example of energy. Energy is an important concept in physics. If a pseudoscience practitioner refers to a mystical vital energy then it must be real. However, as mentioned earlier, energy is the capacity to do work and it is neither positive nor negative.

After all this discussion, a new age advocate might concede that their practices aren’t meant to be scientific. Then they will say that there’s nothing wrong with believing in these things if they make a person feel good. I don’t agree with that statement. People will often turn to alternative medicines and new age techniques when they are in distress. If these techniques don’t work, then the person’s time would be better used pursuing other treatments. Not to mention, the new age practitioners are making money on their services, books, and videos.

I’d like to wrap this up by telling you about a student I had when I began teaching. She told me a story about what happened when she first discovered she had major depression. She told me how she was severely depressed and didn’t think her life had any direction. Because of her distrust in traditional medicine, she decided to visit a new age practitioner and have her “aura cleansed.” The aura cleansing didn’t do anything for her. Her depression worsened and she ended up attempting suicide. After that, her family got her into psychotherapy along with medication and she started to improve. I’m not sure how she’s doing now, but having her aura cleansed instead of seeking other treatment methods almost cost the young woman her life.

So, you can’t tell me there isn’t anything wrong with believing these things. New age practitioners should be held to the same standards as doctors in the traditional medical community. Alternative, homeopathic, or whatever, these techniques should stand up to the same scrutiny as other medical techniques. Otherwise, it’s a crime that these practitioners prey on emotionally vulnerable people, take their money, and give them false hope. That sounds like a lot of bad energy to me.