EFFECTS OF DISTANT HEALING INTEN'TION THROUGH TIME & SPACE: Two Exploratory Studies

Abstract

Two double-blind experiments explored the effects of healing intention directed wwards a distant person. The distant person's respiration, heart rate, fingertip blood volume, and spontaneous electrodermal activity were continuously monitored during 20 randomly counterbalanced oneminute "treatment" and control epochs. The first experiment examined the effects of a group's healing intention directed in real-time at volunteers isolated 200 meters away. The second experiment studied the effects of Umbanda mediums who directed their healing intentions from Sao Paulo, Brazil wwards volunteers who wefe monitored two months earlier in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first study showed that the groups' healing intention was associated with an increase in breathing rate (p 0,053, two-tail) and a decrease in electrodermal activity (p 0.055, TWo-tail) in the distant volunteers. The second study showed that despite a separation of 6,000 miles in space and 'TWO months in time, the mediums' healing intention was associated with an increase in fingertip blood volume (p 0.013, TWo-tai/) and an increase in electrodermal activity (p 0.031, TWo-tail) in the distant volunteers. Possible alternative explanations for the reponed effects are considered, and the experimental outcomes and methodological implications are discussed.