Muriel Agnes, Canada
Energy Medicine, PhD Program
Holos
University
920
The Vascular Autonomic Signal (VAS) is a physiological response of the whole body to information being brought into its energy field that can be read through a pulse felt at the radial artery. Dr. Paul Nogier, a neurosurgeon in Lyon, France, discovered this signal in 1966 by noticing a pulse change when he touched the skin of a patient. Dr. Nogier had earlier discovered that the ear holds all of the acupuncture points of the body as a microsystem, and systematically mapped these points, opening up the field of auricular acupuncture, also called auriculotherapy. His further discovery of the VAS, a signal change when stimuli is brought into the energy field of ear acupuncture points, brought an energetic diagnostic tool to the world that became the cornerstone of auricular medicine. The potential of this discovery has yet to be fully realized.
Although the term “signal” as in the “Vascular Autonomic Signal” is the common term adopted to refer to this phenomenon, current practitioners see the term “response” as being more accurate. The VAS represents the body’s specific reaction, or response, to the question posed by the introduction of a stimulation into the energy field.
Biophoton research has found that when a body system is stressed, the electromagnetic field extends further out than when healthy. It is theorized that this is due to an increase in disorderliness and quantity of photons, or electromagnetic emissions, projected by the body when under stress. Thus any disturbed organ or other disturbance of the body can result in a stressed electromagnetic field being projected from one or several acupuncture points from the microsystem of the ear. When a substance or colour (in the form of a “filter”) that holds the same resonance as the disturbance is brought close to a stressed acupuncture point, the minute irritation caused by this stimulus changes the felt quality of the pulse.
Highly developed protocols of auricular medicine have since developed through the experimentation and clinical experience of Dr. Nogier and currently, his students. These protocols involve the use of various filters of information brought into the energy field of the patient while the doctor reads the pulse response. Due to the sophisticated nature of the VAS, the practitioner can discover not just the best treatment for a current symptom, but ever more subtle levels of information about blockages to healing, layers of pathology and their appropriate priority for treatment, as well as subclinical and causal level issues. Auricular medicine “is essentially a diagnostic vocation”, an art of listening to the body. The chosen treatment following the diagnosis may involve auricular acupuncture, or any of the other tools available to the practitioner.
In approaching the task of a dissertation in my area of focus, auricular medicine, in this Energy Medicine graduate program, I initially considered researching the effectiveness of auricular medicine through a particular protocol developed by Dr. Tony vanGelder of Rotterdam, a student of Dr. Nogier. The more I delved into the subject, however, the more I realized that there was a question behind any of the protocols used in auricular medicine that seemed to be unanswered.
What are the mechanisms that allow the VAS to be such a
refined tool for discrimination, enabling it to offer to the practitioner the
subtle information of a person’s symptomatic as well as deep causal pathology?
The current understanding of the science behind the VAS seems to be inconsistent and preliminary. Without a clear model of understanding the VAS, I feel that our confidence as practitioners is limited, and that the field of auricular medicine is limited in its potential for expansion. How can a student learn and practice the use of a diagnostic tool without confidence in the source and pathway of information that it entails? It seems to me that a better understanding of the communication pathways and mechanisms behind the VAS will generate greater belief in and reliance upon the information being carried. To move toward a common and expanded model of understanding how the VAS works has the potential to benefit the field of auricular medicine by generating greater confidence and greater unity amongst practitioners, and by increasing interest from other health professions. My hope is that this dissertation will contribute to that development.
Our way of thinking about something, the model or metaphor we use, frames the possibilities we are prepared to entertain. If our model is inadequate to explain the fullness of a phenomenon, then our insight and our confidence are similarly limited. The purpose of my dissertation is to move toward a model of understanding the VAS that will enable a more expansive view of just how potent and effective is this diagnostic tool. Applying an integral energy medicine perspective will, I believe, expand understanding and open a fuller, more holistic understanding of this incredible discovery of Dr. Paul Nogier.
Energy medicine holds that all of life is energy, operating at different frequency patterns with varying degrees of density, the lowest of which manifests as matter. Subtle energy is considered to be the prior and causal level for form, with every physical atom being intimately connected to the higher frequency level of subtle energy. A fundamental premise of energy medicine is that there is an inherent unity, connecting all vibrations, all manifestations of energy – a ubiquitous nature to life. The assumption is that there is order in the universe that is reflected in every molecule and in every molecular change process. An integral approach to energy medicine ensures that the study includes the valuable information that can be gained from subjective experience, at the personal as well as cultural levels, to add to objective studies of the phenomenon.
Dr. Nogier noted that the nature of living organisms is that the human body is a highly sensitive and powerful instrument, responsive to subtle energy changes. The VAS seems to be a physiological “readout” of this sensitivity. An exploration of the science behind the mechanisms of the VAS from an integral energy medicine approach has the potential to expand understanding, and will involve the following in this dissertation:
à The VAS from both objective and subjective experiential (i.e. the practitioners’ experience) points of view;
à Investigating the assumption that there is an animating force involved in our biological systems that has the intelligence to try to maintain homeostasis;
à Examining an assumption that we are living, open systems that dynamically respond to both physical and subtle information; and
à
My hypothesis that the VAS is a reliable
tool for dynamic communication with the coordinating intelligence of the human
energy system.
An initial review of the relevant research and theory is presented in the paper, “Toward an Integral Energy Medicine Model for Understanding the VAS.”
Manuscript Outline
I.
Introduction.
A. Auricular Medicine and the VAS.
B. The Research Question.
C. An Integral Energy Medicine Approach to the Question.
II.
Literature Review.
A. Historical and Cultural Background of the VAS.
B. Understanding and Application of the VAS in the Current Field of Auricular Medicine.
C. Pathways of Response of the VAS:
1. Physiological Research and Theories
2. Energy Medicine Research and Theories.
III. Practitioners’ Experience of the VAS in Clinical Practice: Summary of Interviews of Selected Practitioners.
IV.
Clinical Demonstration of the VAS as an Energetic Assessment Tool.
A. Methodology.
B. Identification and Interpretation of Findings.
V. Conclusions.
A. Summary of Findings from Literature, Interviews and Clinical Demonstration.
B. Limitations.
C. An Integral Energy Medicine Model of the VAS: Conclusions and Recommendations.
Clinical Research Protocol
Principle
Investigator:
Muriel Agnes
Research
Title: A
Demonstration of the Vascular Autonomic Signal (VAS) as an Energetic Assessment
Tool for the Determination of Auricular Acupuncture Pain Points.
Purpose:
To determine the reliability of the VAS as a guide for the clinical
assessment of the location of auricular acupuncture points that can effectively
be used for the treatment of chronic pain.
The focus is on diagnosis, not healing of the pain.
Whereas an immediate change in pain will be used as a research indicator,
longterm relief of pain is not an expected outcome.
Subjects:
Fifty self-selected participants who are currently experiencing pain, and
who have been experiencing the pain for at least 3 months.
These participants will be respondents to advertisement flyers in
hospitals and doctors’ offices describing the research and offering one free
acupuncture treatment.
Methodology:
à
Sign a consent form
à
Fill
out a pain history assessment form
à
Fill
out a McGill Pain Questionnaire to determine pre-test levels of: 1) pain rating;
2) pain intensity; and 3) pain location.
2.
Participants will then move to an adjoining room where they will be seen
by the principle investigator, a certified auricular acupuncturist trained in
auricular medicine, who will:
à
Test
for scar blockage (as a major blockage to diagnosis) using the scar filter; and
treat with a needle if found, using the VAS to direct the needle placement. (Or
place scar filter on head to remove scar information?)
à
With
the morphine filter on the participant’s arm (sympathetic zone to intensify
reactions), use the VAS to determine point locations with the nylon cord filter
initially, followed by the black and white hammer for more specific locations of
up to four active points (i.e. positive VAS). Points will be tested for those responding to both black and
white side for priority (VanGelder), followed by those only showing with white
side. These selected points will be
marked with a pen on the ear.
à
Map
the location of these active points on an ear map.
à
Check
these points for electrical conductivity with the NETII as a second measure of
activity. Record existence or lack
of electrical conductivity on VAS-located points.
à
Check
these same points for tenderness with the hammer as a third test of activity.
Record existence or lack of tenderness on VAS-located points.
à
Treat
the VAS-located points (whether confirmed by NETII and tenderness or not) with
acupuncture needles, along with active Master Points as part of a pain treatment
protocol (e.g. Master Sensorial, Thalamus, Point Zero, Shen Men).
The same supplementary points will be tested for activity with the VAS
with all patients, and treated only if active.
3.
Every second participant will be assigned to the control group.
The investigator will follow the same method as in #2, except that the
points that will be marked, mapped, tested for conductivity and tenderness and
treated will be points with no VAS response.
4.
Participant returns to assistant in next room who will ask him/her to
fill out the McGill Pain Questionnaire for a post-test measure of pain rating
and pain intensity. Information on
auricular acupuncture and auricular medicine will be provided to the
participant, and any questions answered, with follow-up provided if requested.
Control group participants will be informed at this time, and given an
opportunity to book an appointment to return for a free treatment.
5.
Principle investigator will later analyze data for each participant to
determine:
à
Concurrence
between anatomical indications of VAS-located points and location of pain as
mapped by participant prior to treatment.
à
Concurrence
between VAS-located points and 1) NETII readings of electrical conductivity and
2) tenderness.
à
Changes
in pre- and post- pain rating and pain intensity scales.
à
Comparisons
with control group data.
Expected
Outcomes:
The
reliability of the VAS as a clinical assessment tool for indicating active
auricular acupuncture points that can effectively relieve chronic pain will be
determined by:
à
Level
of concurrence between point locations found on the ear by the VAS and the
location of pain as mapped by the participant.
à
Level
of agreement between VAS-located point and NETII and tenderness tests.
à
Degree
of effectiveness of acupuncture treatment of VAS-located points in changing pain
rating and pain intensity scales between pre- and post- test ratings.
à
Comparisons
of results with control group results.
Research
Control:
The
focus of this study is the reliability of the VAS as a tool for clinical
assessment. As such, the
“control” is provided by: a)
the investigator not being given information about the participant prior to
assessment, and so relying completely on the direction of the VAS; and b) the
variety of methods used to compare the findings of the VAS with other measures
that would indicate the correctness, or reliability, of the direction provided
by the VAS. It is not seen as
necessary to have a control group, which would be more appropriate if the study
was to compare the effectiveness of the treatment.
Limitations:
The
contribution of this research study is intended to be a demonstration of the
VAS as a reliable clinical assessment tool. In no way does this study address the refined healing
protocols of auricular medicine, and appropriate healing approaches.
While for the purposes of this research, the VAS is being used as a “pointfinder”,
this study should not be seen as encouragement for the use of the VAS without a
context of understanding of the field of auricular medicine.
Bibliography
The bibliography will include the following key resources:
1.
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for Inner Peace.
2. Ackerman, John. 1989. The Biophysics of the VAS. In Energy Fields in Medicine. Kalamazoo, MI: The John Feltzer Foundation.
3.
Adams, Michael. (1998).
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4.
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5.
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Ca.
6.
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Findhorn Press.
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