In 2023 I had the pleasure of getting to know Shamini Jain and decided to get involved with her organization, a 501c3 social-profit, Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI). Her organization was bridging the gap between the ancient shamanic healing traditions and new data research supporting the effectiveness of many types of vibrational or energy medicine. Our missions couldn’t be more aligned! For some it may be simplified by saying bringing science to the woo, but anyway you say it, it is vastly important that we remove any stigma around this form of healing. Starting conversations and bringing these communities together is Shamini’s passion and her biggest project to date will bloom next year with the premiere of the documentary, The Energy That Heals! The movie, along with a learning center designed to support both practitioners, scientist and those wishing to explore and receive these therapies is on its way and we need your support! Come along with me on a conversation with Shamini as we discuss this and so much more, as well as, sharing a sneak peak of next years film.
Earlier this year at the Celebrate Your Life Conference: Gregg Braden, Shamini Jain, Kim Roach, Anita Moorjani and Bruce Lipton
Kim – How did your background as a psychologist and scientist inform your passion to create a non-profit focused on bridging the gap between Western medicine and indigenous and alternative healing modalities?
Shamini – It was actually being a child of East Indian descent growing up in the deep South, that fueled my initial passion for bridging worlds of understanding together to catapult human flourishing. My friends were all Baptist Christian, and I grew up in the spiritual tradition of Jainism. We spent a lot of time learning about each other’s traditions and the role of spirituality in our lives. As I grew older and learned about neuroscience and health from some of the USA’s best universities, I wondered why spirituality and energy weren’t part of the health conversation. I was actually bewildered by the fact that (at that time, in the early 90s), speaking about the science of consciousness, let alone its effects on health, were taboo. I had a sense that modern medicine, while miraculous in many ways, was missing a whole lot of knowledge explicated in indigenous healing systems like Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine, on how healing works. I remember a time when a prominent professor (in statistics) at the University of Arizona actually told me that Ayurveda was “primitive medicine”. Needless to say, I was floored – not only because his comment was downright wrong (he clearly didn’t know about the published scientific studies on the health effects of Ayurveda), but clearly stemming from a very myopic, ethnocentric view. Interestingly, he happened to be an older, white male, who hadn’t studied nor experienced the effects of Ayurveda. Luckily, more and more scientists are actually interested in uncovering the scientific truth of healing – no matter what tradition it may have come from.
Kim – What are biofield sciences and how can they help us better understand whole person healing?
Shamini Jain, scientist and social entrepreneur
Shamini – Biofield Science is a term used by western researchers, that refers to the scientific study of fields of energy and information that guide our health. Some of these fields are measurable, and some are not. One “mainstream” example of biofield science include manipulating voltage gradients across cell membranes to grow new neural tissue (check out Mike Levin’s mindblowing research at the Tufts University Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology). Another example of biofield science is creating and investigating different biofield devices (which go all the way from non invasive brain stimulation to scalar wave devices) for health. Some of these devices put out measurable amounts of bioelectromagnetic energy – others purport to use more subtle energy. Regardless, biofield science studies will examine whether these devices are actually helpful for health conditions – including pain, inflammation, mental health, and brain health. But biofield science goes beyond devices, into exploring the effects of time-honored practices, including what has often been called, “energy healing”. Even for the fields that aren’t measured directly (for example, that healers say they feel and use) – we can measure the effects of biofield healing practices on health. There are over 425 clinical trials, for example, on biofield therapies like Reiki, Healing Touch and laying on of hands, as well as Energy Psychology (like tapping) practices on mental, emotional, and physical health. These studies are showing that these biofield/energy healing practices have profound effects on health – including reducing pain, anxiety, and post traumatic stress. These effects are being found in the body as well, with studies showing changes in hormone and immune function in cancer patients and survivors. The studies on biofield healing practices with cells and animals are also showing profound effects, including the reduction of cancer spread or metastasis in the body, in carefully controlled, replicated experiments in research centers including Harvard, University of Connecticut, and MD Anderson Cancer Center (I cover all of this and also share helpful self healing practices in my book, “Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health”).
Kim – What are some of the most common misperceptions you see when it comes to alternative healing modalities?
Shamini – The most common misperception is that label – “alternative”. Most people aren’t using holistic health practices as “alternative”. What they are doing is seeking practices like herbs, supplements, acupuncture, yoga, meditation, chiropractic, energy healing, psychotherapy – as part of their quest for whole-person care. That is where we need to go – whole person care that supports a patients’ physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social health – because they are all connected. The more we address health and healing from a whole person perspective, the less disease we will have personally and societally. The evidence in various disciplines – neuroscience, psychoneuroimmunology, epigenetics, and psychoneuroendrocrinology, absolutely supports that.
Kim – How are non-profits like CHI, and the upcoming documentary The Energy that Heals, generating conversation and understanding amongst the general public and scientific communities about the benefits and authenticity of vibrational healing techniques?
Shamini – Most people don’t realize that there is actually evidence that points to the power of energetic and spiritual healing for health and personal transformation. Nor do we realize the power of nurturing the spirit to undo things like post-traumatic stress and cancer symptoms and progression. The healing that people can experience with these types of modalities is profound – mostly because it leads them back to their essence, a deeper sense of who they are beyond their pain and suffering. That is where the real healing begins. A few years ago, our nonprofit the Consciousness and Healing Initiative did a deep dive into the healing space. We interviewed over 60 stakeholders in policy, science, technology, practice and more to determine what we could all do together, that would help place healing in the center of healthcare, selfcare and community care. (You can access the report, as well as our Roadmap for Systems Change, and much more, free at our website – http://www.chi.is). One of the things we realized is that we needed to give the public not only the actual science behind healing to help us move from “woo” to “true”, but also to provide HOPE – hope that healing is possible, and that it’s also a lifelong journey. We know that public demand is what changes the system. When consumers demand services, markets respond. When constituents demand that holistic practices like energy healing be researched, NIH budgets change to help support research. But if the public remains unaware of our abilities to heal ourselves and each other, we stay powerless and more vulnerable to forces that makes us feel like we can’t heal ourselves, like we are broken. However, nothing can be further from the truth, and we feel it is time for all of us to be awake to our healing power. Along with the science – the stories that are featured in our upcoming documentary The Energy that Heals – from real patients who have successfully navigated cancer, autoimmune, PTSD and more because of their encounters with energy healing – are living testaments to the power of awakening to the human spirit to help heal.
Kim – The upcoming documentary, The Energy That Heals, is due to premier in 2025, what do you hope people take away from the movie?
Shamini – I have been showing the trailer at my speaking and teaching events (see above) and many people get tearful just from seeing the trailer. Film, like any art form, has a way of touching our deeper knowing, in a way that words simply cannot. I hope when people watch this film, it touches that deep knowing of and connection with their divinity, and capacities to heal. I want people to walk away knowing how possible and real our healing power is – and that we are all agents of healing change.
Kim – CHI works with local practitioners, indigenous healers, as well as, with scientists and medical doctors, what do you believe stands in the way of weaving these healers together to create systems that support whole person healing?
Shamini – Time and money. They are willing, but it takes funds to create sustainable systems that will work for the good of the whole. In the meantime, our dedicated groups, including CHI’s Scientific Advisory Council, Healing Practitioner Council, and luminary Board come together on at least a quarterly basis to share updates and synergize. Most of this is done online, and we share wisdon from the collective through activities including our Free Friday webinars, and our Energy that Heals Summit. They were also very generous with their time as we filmed many of them for our Energy that Heals Documentary. But the real juice of creative emergence will flow when we have funds to get these diverse wisdom holders all together in one room. Then we will all benefit.
The Energy That Heals Summit coming this October – Click on the image to Join for Free
Kim – Do you believe a more proactive approach to wellness would lead to an overall increase in health and life satisfaction? How does consciousness play a role in this?
Shamini – Great question. The more we allow ourselves to be present and open to the flows of energy and information in the present moment, the less we will drive ourselves to disease.
Kim – As CHI works to create community and conversation in the exploration of biofield sciences, how can others get involved to further their own process and show their support?
Shamini – Definitely come join us for our free events, to be nourished by the wisdom of our community! You definitely want to check out The Energy that Heals Summit. And for anyone who wants to learn more and support our 501c3’s social profit work, including our documentary as well as our research and public education activities, please feel free to contact me directly at shamini@chi.is.
To find out more please connect to CHI here.
Dr. Shamini Jain is Founder and CEO of the 501c3 social-profit, Consciousness and Healing Initiative (CHI), an international collaborative of scientists, healing practitioners, educators and artists who lead humanity to heal ourselves. She also serves as an adjunct professor at UC San Diego’s Department of Family Medicine, where she supports education within UCSD’s Centers for Integrative Health. Dr. Jain is a clinical psychologist and an award-winning researcher and author in psychoneuroimmunology, integrative health and biofield science.
Dr. Jain is an international keynote speaker and self-healing teacher, integrating her background in clinical psychology, psychoneuroimmunology, Eastern spiritual wisdom, and vocal empowerment to teach others how they can best heal themselves and live joyful, fulfilling lives. She teaches regularly at major conferences, corporations, and leading retreat centers, including Esalen, Sivananda Ashram and Omega Institute. Her online courses in the science and practice of self-healing and personal transformation can be found at CHI, Shift Network and Humanity’s Team.
Dr. Jain’s two-time award winning book, Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health is available from booksellers world-wide. Her breakthrough, genre crossing debut album, “Kaliyuga Blues”, can be found on your favorite music streaming platform under the name, “Shamini”.