THE SUBTLE ENERGY OF LOVE

Abstract

That love promotes health surprises few people and yet from the perspective of poets, philosophers and healers who for millennia have understood the powers of love, the scientific study of love and physical health is in its infuncy. Because love has many facets and is manifested in many ways as described here, it was banned from Western Science that insisted upon observable and simple independent variables. In this article we present data indicating the salutary effects of love on physical health; these data are from several areas-psychology, sociology, medicine, epidemiology and healing-and together form a foundation for understanding and enhancing love and its effects. Three processes are formulated to explain the health promoting effects of love-psychophysiologic, psychophysical and psychosocial/behavioral. Love is described as an energy by virtue of its capaciry to produce effects; it is subtle, not because its effects are subtle, but because it has been ineffable to science.