Sometime last year, I was invited to a round-table discussion with a mix of people from the healing and mental health space. We had psychologists, therapists, counsellors, and energy healers from all kinds of modalities. The goal was to explore how mainstream therapy, especially for mental health, could work together with alternative healing methods for a more holistic approach.
After everyone introduced their work, one of the representatives from a conventional therapy centre shared about what their organisation offers. And I remember very clearly how she kept repeating that everything at their centre is “backed by science.” That phrase came up a few times. “All the modalities we use are backed by science.” “We only provide what’s backed by science. Like yoga.”
It caught my attention. Not because I have a problem with yoga or with science. But because I realised how many people still don’t quite understand what “science-backed” really means. And more importantly, how fast they are to dismiss other forms of healing just because they don’t come in a familiar-looking package. As if anything that doesn’t come with a research paper or an official logo cannot be real or useful.
It remains a fact that 90% of the world population still follows mainstream trends, which means most people still think energy healing is woo-woo. Even with growing evidence from doctors and medical experts that energy healing is not just imagination but something that can genuinely heal, the mainstream still leans heavily on what’s labelled as ‘science-backed’ as though that’s the only way something can be trusted or safe.
What we used to call miracle or magic often turns out to be logical, and in many cases, already supported by science. Yet, it’s still brushed aside. Why?
Most people don’t come across this kind of information not because they’re not intelligent, but because this kind of thing is simply not shown to them. If we follow where the funding goes, we will understand why. But that’s another story. If we go into that, this letter will become one about politics, money, media control, and the history of the world. So, never mind. I would rather just bring you straight to the unpopular information. Hopefully, this brings more healing to you. Sometimes, just knowing that you’re not alone and not insane is already healing.
8 real-world studies that show how energy healing is already working:
1. Patients show positive changes with energy healing in clinical studies:
So there was this group of researchers who decided to review a whole bunch of clinical studies involving energy healing methods like Reiki, Healing Touch, and Therapeutic Touch. These were done on patients dealing with real health conditions like chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and osteoarthritis.
Instead of one big study, what they did was pull together results from many smaller trials. Some of these showed actual physical improvements - less pain, reduced medication use, and better joint movement. These are not “I feel better” kind of feedback. Doctors could actually measure the changes.
What stood out is this: even with limited funding and small sample sizes, many of these studies still showed positive results. Imagine what we would discover if these healing methods got even half the research funding that drug companies get.
2. Healing Touch helps veterans recover from PTSD:
Some soldiers come back from war, but inside, they are still on the battlefields. The body cannot rest well and the mind just can’t switch off. Even when they are physically safe, their system is still on high alert. This is PTSD. It is not something you can see on the outside, but the person lives with it every day.
So, a group of veterans with PTSD was given Healing Touch, as part of a hospital study. This is not massage or talk therapy. No machine or medicine was used. Just trained hands placed gently over the body to move energy.
After some time, the veterans started sleeping better. Their fear calmed down as their body slowly learnt it was no longer in danger. It was not a miracle, but it helped where many other treatments had not. For some of them, this was the first time in years they felt safe inside their own skin.
3. Reiki helps cancer patients feel less pain and more calm during treatment:
If you have ever sat beside someone doing chemotherapy, you will know it is not easy. The person may not say much, but you can see it on their face. There is the pain, nausea and deep exhaustion. Just walking into the treatment room can make the heart feel heavy. Some people try to act strong but inside, it is fear and stress every time.
So some patients received Reiki during their chemo sessions in a study done in 2022. The result reveals that those who received it said they felt better, less pain and less fear too. They were also more at ease during the treatment. It felt like they were more looked after. (I personally think the results could be even stronger if it was done without chemo but I would probably get slammed by the scientific community for saying that.)
Maybe you are thinking this still sounds a bit soft, not strong enough. That’s okay. Read the next one. This one might surprise you a bit:
4. Energy healing helps mice fight cancer without any physical contact
Okay, okay I know we are not animals. Quick side note on why the scientists use mice here: Mice don’t have beliefs, expectations, or cultural conditioning the way humans do. They also cannot become monks. That means they cannot experience placebo effects in the same way we do. (Placebo means pretending to treat someone, just to see if the belief alone will help.)
So the US scientists doing this animal study at MD Anderson Cancer Center gave a group of mice with cancer either a real energy healing session or a “fake” one.
The result: The mice who received real healing had more dead or dying cancer cells. Plus their immune systems showed a spike in activity. So again, these are mice that don’t know placebo, and they don’t care about your chakras or your Instagram following. Their bodies only respond to what is actually happening at the biological level.
The energy from a human healer triggered a biological response in another living being - more immune cells, and therefore, more healing. This is biology responding to energy.
5. Meta-analysis confirms real energy healing works better than placebo
Some people still like to say energy healing only works if you believe in it. Like it’s just some mental trick or feel-good moment. But there is something more recent to chew on. A new meta-analysis (that’s just a study of studies where they combine results from many smaller ones to see the bigger picture) was just done this year.
This one focused on Reiki. (Reiki is a gentle Japanese energy healing method that uses hands-on or hands-off techniques to support relaxation and healing.) They looked at 11 good-quality trials, involving 661 people. Not random people, but cancer patients, people with chronic illness, and others from the general public. Some got actual Reiki, some got fake Reiki (that’s to test if just thinking you're getting healing works), and others just had normal hospital care.
The results: people who got the real Reiki felt less pain, less stress, less tired, and less anxious. Some even said they felt more supported during treatment.
These results are pointing to one thing: If it’s true that the body only reacts to medicine or physical treatments, then why on earth is it reacting to energy healing? That means the energy used in energy healing is not just invisible nonsense.
6. Scientists find healing energy can be stored in water and cotton
One of the more interesting studies I came across was done in the 1960s by Dr Bernard Grad at McGill University. He was really curious about whether healing energy could do something you could actually measure.
So instead of using humans, he used rats and plants as they are living things that react purely to what’s happening around them, without the influence of belief or expectation.
What he did was he got some healers to “charge” water and cotton with healing energy. After that, he gave this water to rats, and placed the cotton in contact with the plants. That’s it. And what happened as a result of this experiment was the rats recovered faster, and the plants started growing stronger. Nothing else besides water was given to the rats and plants except water and cotton charged with healing energy.
Then he tried a different version. This time, he asked people who were very sad or mentally unwell to hold the water. The outcome: the water lost its vitality. And the plants that received it didn’t grow so well anymore.
From here, he saw that:
✓ energy can be stored in materials
✓ energy can be passed on
✓ energy can be influenced by the emotional state of the person handling it
It didn't stop there. He went further and tested the water itself and he found that the way the water molecules connected had also changed. Even the surface tension (the way the water holds together) was different.
So it tells us this: energy and emotion are not invisible fluff. They can affect real, physical matter. If that’s what it can do to rats, plants, and water, imagine what it’s doing inside your body every day.
7. A Qi Gong master uses intention to change how bacteria grow:
Head to China, where Dr Fong Li-Da did a very interesting study together with a Qi Gong master. (Qigong is a traditional Chinese practice that moves energy through the body using breath and gentle movements. It’s also considered a form of internal martial arts.)
He gave the master three test tubes, each filled with the same E. coli bacteria. All three were put in the same environment and same timing. The only thing that was different was what the master did with each one.
For the first tube, he just held it. No thoughts or intention. And as expected, nothing changed.
For the second one, he focused his mind on killing the bacteria. Later when they checked, the bacteria count had dropped by half.
Then came the third test tube. This time, the master focused on helping the bacteria grow. And what happened was, the bacteria population increased seven to ten times more than before.
This tells us that intention, when it’s clear and focused, can actually change how living things behave. This means intention is not a passive thought. It becomes energy when it’s purposeful, focused, and emotionally charged.
8. People use their mind to send healing energy across long distances:
This one is by Dr William Braud. He wanted to see whether the human mind could actually do something to red blood cells that were just sitting there in a salt solution. No need to touch, chant, or use any special tools. Just pure mental focus.
He didn’t just test it once. He did it many times, in proper lab settings. And again and again, he found the same thing:
When people focused their mind on protecting those cells, the cells actually stayed intact longer. Think about that. Just the power of attention and intention could stop something from breaking down.
Later on, another researcher, Dr Daniel Benor, looked at 191 studies to see if this kind of thing was common. He later found that 64% of them showed strong results. And some of these were done with the healer in another city or another country.
So let’s not complicate it. It's proven that the human mind can send energy without needing to be in the same room. As long as your focus and intention are clear, healing can still happen. Whether it's Zoom, another country, or while you are sound asleep, energy goes where it's told to go.
So “science-backed” simply means something has been tested under certain conditions and written up in a journal. But that doesn’t mean other healing methods are unscientific. It just means they haven’t gotten the same attention or research budget yet.
And these are just 8 out of probably thousands of studies and experiments that have been done independently, in research labs, and many that were not even properly publicised.
Now that you have seen a glimpse of it, can you imagine? After doing this energy work for years, I still get asked how this works and how come I can even do it from a distance.
I mean, I’m glad they ask. It means they care and want to understand. I get it. I didn’t read, write, or collect all this information to convert or convince anybody. I did it first for myself since a long time ago because I am a logical person (of course, some of my family members and friends who have no idea what the hell I’m doing still think I’m nuts or are into some mid-life crisis, or falling into “New Age magic nonsense”).
And yes too, I’ve upset a few spiritual folks along the way. Because instead of incense and healing music, what they get for my session is just a Zoom link, a quiet clearing, Q&A, and a PDF on what got cleared during their sessions. Not very mystical, I know.
But now that you’ve read this far, you know none of those is needed for this work to be effective.
If you’re new here and curious to know more about energy healing, some of the past letters might help clear that up for you:
Energy: The Healing Language Science Can’t Agree On
Spirit Attachment: The Evidence Science Ignores
How To Choose The Right Healing Modality
That’s it. I hope this helps calm your mind. If there are still doubts, reach out to me with your questions. Happy to help with clarity and inner peace. :-)
Until the next letter,
Shaya Ang
Disclaimer:
The self-healing methods shared in this letter are intended to support your emotional and energetic well-being. They are not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Results may vary, and it is important to consult a licensed healthcare or mental health professional if you are experiencing severe symptoms or distress.
