Originally published in Energy Magazine: The official Publication of the Healing Touch Program June  2006 Issue. 

Welcome to Energy Magazine! I am so happy to be part of this inaugural issue! This new endeavor represents another stride in the growth of energy medicine in general, and specifically for the Healing Touch Program.

I took my first Healing Touch class in 1992 when students were still receiving a folder with dozens of loose pages of hand-made drawings as educational handouts. Since those early days of the program, I have enjoyed watching and participating in the professional growth, growing acceptance in health care and consumer circles and increased media coverage of Healing Touch. I literally have met thousands of people who have been positively touched by Healing Touch: students, patients, families, administrators, health care practitioners, spiritual communities, and of course, skeptics!  The skeptics were more challenging to talk with years ago because the research was sparse and what was out there was criticized for not being the much acclaimed randomized, double-blinded and controlled studies that scientific circles strive for. By the time I took off my hat as Director of Research in early 2000, I had spoken with quite a few skeptics. Over time, I learned that until someone is ready to be open to a new way of understanding life, no matter what I said or did, Healing Touch would be “hokey” or “too woo woo” for some. Gradually, I learned to just respectfully speak my truth in a sentence or two and let it go, trusting that perhaps I had planted a seed for later fruition.  It is now 2006, and we have a respectful collection of Healing Touch research, along with studies in related areas of science, that support our work. Although hard-core skeptics continue to exist, they have less ground to stand on as the scientific underpinnings of energy medicine gradually uncover the unbreakable bond between science and spirit … and the reality of the existence of ENERGY! Research increasingly supports that human beings can facilitate mind-body-spirit healing in themselves and others through the understanding and practice of energetic principles, such as those taught in the Healing Touch Program. It is with pleasure that I introduce this first issue of ENERGY and the articles written by our many contributors who will tell you how Healing Touch has changed their lives in an undeniable way. Thanks to all our writers testifying to the power of Healing Touch! Get yourself a cup of tea and cozy up to your computer for a wonderful read with our first issue of ENERGY Magazine!