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ADEPTS 17
CONTROLLED TESTS
BY WILLIAM C BUSHELL
In the previous installment of this series, I presented descriptions of direct observations made by members of my scientific research team (including myself), of demonstrations of bioelectricity or bioelectricity-like phenomena by certain adepts (or adepts-in-training) working in an East Asian Taoist yogic tradition (see above). These descriptions were presented solely as preliminary data (or evidence) of a classic anthropological observational nature, not as examples of conclusive scientific demonstrations. As such, they may be considered to constitute a form of “clinical medical anthropology” (eg, Phillips 1985), and were based on careful clinical observations by 6 members of our research team, including two professionally trained medical anthropologists, and two medical doctors (MDs), both latter with extensive experience working under a broad range of field conditions (see Bushell et al, in progress).
These descriptions were of the following:
The production of muscle spasms, twitching, and contractions in volunteers through the application of touching to the limbs by practitioners, putatively solely caused by the endogenous electricity (or electricity-like energy) of the practitioner
The production of intense sensible electric shocks (or electric shock-like phenomena) in volunteers solely through the application of practitioners’ hands alone (purportedly the conduits of the endogenous bioelectrical energy source)
The production of distinctive small, but largely painless, blisters on the skin of volunteers, through the putative transfer of endogenously generated and channeled heat (from innate bioelectrical or other sources of the human body)
The production of sufficient heat from the hands to incinerate a combustible material, such as a newspaper
During some of the demonstrations witnessed by our team, efforts were made to simulate controlled conditions. For example, in some cases, practitioners were requested to remove all clothing (except for shorts) in order to attempt to rule out the use of devices hidden in the clothing or attached to the body. In one case of alleged newspaper combustion through heat emanating from the practitioner’s hands, the observer’s own newspaper was substituted for the newspaper offered by the practitioner himself, in order to rule out the possibility of clandestine sources to cause the incineration (see Bushell et al, in progress; see also similar strategies for safeguarding against potential deception by others in the following: Blair L, Blair L 1988; Danaos 2000; McDuffe nd. See also Greenebaum & Barnes 2019 for accurate scientific terminology describing electrical effects such as shocks, spasms, etc).
While such safeguards may have had some efficacy, these descriptions are presented solely as preliminary data, with the intention of providing sufficient initial data primarily to inspire further research, particularly of a more definitive nature. To that end, our group proposes and sketches out certain key aspects of the following protocol in order to move in the direction of a much more rigorous experimental design: as we have stated before in this series, as an ongoing theme, in the words of the great scientist and science popularizer Carl Sagan, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” (see earlier installments of this series). We would therefore insist on the following experimental design components:
All subjects would be screened with state-of-the-art X-ray technology in order to rule out the utilization of ingestible, insertable, or implantable devices that could be producing the putative electrical/electromagnetic phenomena
All subjects would demonstrate the putative phenomena within a shielded setting, such a Faraday cage, in order to rule out the possibility of concealed remote sources of the demonstrations
All subjects’ demonstrations would be subjected to state-of-the-art, leading-edge technology for detecting and measuring electrical/electromagnetic activity in, around, and emanating from the human body (see, eg, Hieda & Nam 2013; Hand 2008; and Greenebaum & Barnes 2019), in consultation with leading experts in the relevant fields of science and technology
The entire study design would be developed with a consulting panel of professional performing magicians (as these demonstrations may also be performed fraudulently)
In the next installments we will continue considering the extremely exciting new discoveries about bioelectricity in the current “Bioelectricity Revolution” which is in the process of erupting on a weekly basis in contemporary science (see recent installments of this series), and how these described adept demonstrations represent much more than simply intriguing anomalies, but rather have most profound implications for the furthest reaches of “human potential,” especially regarding horizons of optimal health, functioning, and longevity.
References
Blair L, Blair L (filmmakers). Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey. SavEarth Media LLC, 1988.
Danaos K. The Magus of Java: Teachings of an Authentic Taoist Immortal. Inner Traditions, 2000.
Greenebaum B, Barnes F, eds. Biological and Medical Aspects of Electromagnetic Fields, Fourth Edition, 2019. Routledge, Taylor & Francis.
Hand JW. Modelling the interaction of electromagnetic fields (10 MHz-10 GHz) with the human body: methods and applications. Phys Med Biol. 2008 Aug 21;53(16):R243-86. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/53/16/R01. Epub 2008 Jul 24. PMID: 18653928.
Hieda I, Nam KC, 2013. Electric Field Measurement of the Living Human Body for Biomedical Applications: Phase Measurement of the Electric Field Intensity, International Journal of Antennas and Propagation, Article ID 305362, 6 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/305362.
McDuffe J. Bio Electrical NeiGong. Scribd, nd.
Phillips MR. Can “Clinically Applied Anthropology” Survive in Medical Care Settings? Medical Anthropolo
gy Quarterly 16(2): 31-36.
