Healing - Entropy Measurement Program
Principal Investigators: Cindy Crawford, BA; Wayne B. Jonas, MD; Roger Nelson, PhD; Margaret Wirkus; Mietek Wirkus
Affiliation: Samueli Institute for Information Biology and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Background: Entropy is a measure of disorder in a physical system. One way to measure the impact of intention and consciousness is to demonstrate deviation from randomly occurring order (or entropy). Deviations from normal Random Event Generator (REG) measurements have been shown to occur under the influence of human intention and consciousness.
Objective of the Study: To determine whether alterations in random events, as measured by a REG, occur in association with a bioenergy healing practice.
Method and Design: Two REGs were set up and run in parallel: one in a bioenergy healer's office and another at a local library as a control. Two multi-day sets of data were collected in each setting. A third set was collected in which a reduced amount of attention was placed on the REG by the healer. REG excursions were calculated and compared for 1) overall days in the library and bioenergy healer's office, 2) healing and non-healing phases in the healing office, and 3) overall excursions during high (sets 1 & 2) and low attention (set 3) by the healer..
Results: In the presence of a healer, a REG produced greater than chance excursions more often than a control REG in a library setting. The healing and non-healing phases demonstrated inconsistent results. REG deviations were not influenced by the amount of attention directed toward the machine.
Publication: Crawford, C.C., Jonas, W.B., Nelson, R., Wirkus, M. and Wirkus, M. "Alterations in Random Events Measures Associated with a Healing Practice." J Altern Complement Med 2003; 9(3): 345-353.