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The San Francisco Tesla Society
presents a free presentation featuring
Beverly Rubik, Ph.D.
"Frontiers of Biofield Research"
Sunday, February 11, 2007 1 - 5 p.m. at
San Francisco Public LibraryTheories and claimed perceptions of a life force or subtle energy have been honored by most cultures as revealing the quintessence and meaning of life. However, ever since the “cell doctrine” and theory of evolution were advanced in the nineteenth century as a material basis for life, modern biology has rejected all forms of vitalism as unscientific.
Yet in recent decades the life force had been revisited by frontier scientists as the “biofield” (popularly known as the “aura”), the study of which has played a key role in the scientific foundation of energy medicine. This area of complementary medicine embraces a wide range of therapies, including laying-on-of-hands by energy healers and the administration of a variety of signals emitted from bioelectromagnetic devices.
What are some of the latest concepts of the biofield? What scientific techniques have been used to explore it? Dr. Rubik will discuss a number of the technologies and methods that she has used in her research—including the Gas Discharge Visualization (GDV) camera from Russia; electrical conductivity measurements of the acupuncture points; Polycontrast Interference Photography (PIP) from England; and the analysis of human biofield influences on microbial culture growth—and explore their significance in characterizing the human biofield in health, healing, and altered states. She will also review the implications of the results of her recent NIH-funded studies on Reiki and discuss prospects for future research.
Beverly Rubik earned her Ph.D. in biophysics in 1979 at the University of California at Berkeley. Her main area of focus is research on the subtle energetics of living systems, including spiritual healing. She has published over 60 papers and 2 books. Dr. Rubik serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, and Integrative Medicine Insights. She has served on the advisory boards of various groups, including the Program in Integrative Medicine under Dr. Andrew Weil. Dr. Rubik was one of 18 Congressionally-appointed members of the Program Advisory Board to the Office of Alternative Medicine at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1992-1997, and chaired the NIH panels on electromagnetic medicine and manual healing. This was the precursory organization to National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Dr. Rubik founded the Institute for Frontier Science (IFS) in 1996. In 2002, IFS was awarded an NIH center grant for frontier medicine research on biofield science in consortium with researchers at the University of Arizona. Dr. Rubik was a project director in this consortium and supervised studies on Reiki, a form of Japanese spiritual healing, and on qigong therapy, a healing practice that originated in China. Beverly Rubik has appeared on numerous television programs throughout the US and worldwide, including “Good Morning America” (ABC-TV). She serves as a consultant in the health care industry on maverick health and wellness products and as a holistic health consultant to individual clients.