Significant Enhancement of Biological Activity of Cardiac Cells by Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Meditation Energy
Guohua Liu*
Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics
ABSTRACT
This work reports that Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong)
meditation energy (1-2) enhances the biological activity of cardiac cells, as
detected by a conventional muscle research technique (4-14, see Methods). The
papillary cell isolated from a rat ventricular wall was exposed to the
meditation energy field generated by an experienced Falun Dafa practitioner, who
positioned and held his hands beside the cell at a physically non-influential
distance (~30 cm away from the cell). This meditation energy increased the
muscle cell contraction force by 75.4% on average, with repeatable result,
providing direct scientific evidence of Falun Dafa's positive, energetic
influence over a biological system, thereby verifying the existence of a Falun
Dafa cultivation energy field. The intention of the present work is to
substantiate Falun Dafa's significance to the discipline of science, thereby
encouraging more people to learn this profound cultivation practice.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A small papillary muscle bundle (2-5 mm x 200-500 m) was
isolated from the right ventricular wall of a rat, mechanically, under
microscope, in Krebs-Henseleit solution (K-H) saturated at 21 C with 95% O2
and 5% C O2 (14, Wang et al., 1999). The tendon end of the muscle was
attached with stainless steel tweezers of a liner motor and the other end was
attached to the force transducer tweezers. A 3 mm diameter cylindrical cuvette
was slipped over the preparation and perfused with 95% O2 and 5% C O2
saturated Krebs-Henseleit solution. Guth Muscle Research System was used to
simultaneously measure the muscle contraction force (13, Guth and Wojciechowski,
1986). The mechanical parts of the apparatus consisted of a force transducer,
capable of measuring 1000 mg, with a response frequency of 800 Hz, a servo
motor, feedback circuit, and power amplifier capable of making a 7 mm length
change in 3 ms. The muscle was perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution
continuously throughout the experiment. The cell was stimulated at 1.0 Hz
through the two tweezers attached to the ends of the preparation. Once the
preparation was mounted in the apparatus, muscle length was adjusted, until
maximum active twitch force was obtained. Each data record consisted of one
control and one test run. The control record was taken over a 30 min period,
before a test run, to ensure that the cell had a stable contractile activity.
After a 30 min stable control was recorded, the Falun Gong
practitioner, (who had just done the five sets of Falun Gong exercises in a
remote room), entered the experiment room, and held his hands beside the muscle
cell, at a distance of ~30 cm away, without touching any part of the equipment
or the preparation. While the experiment was being conducted, the practitioner
sustained the meditation practice, in the posture of "holding Falun (Law
Wheel)." The contraction force was directly recorded and digitized by a
computer that interfaced with the Guth muscle research system.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
As shown in Fig. 1., after 30 min of constant amplitude of
the cell contraction recorded as control, the practitioner applied the energy
field, positioning and holding his hands beside the cell, after and during
practicing Falun Gong exercises, resulting in a graduate increase in amplitude
of the cardiac cell contraction. About 5 min after the application of the Falun
Gong energy field, the cell contraction force increased by 35%, and stayed at a
constant level for as long as the practitioner was present in the experiment
room (note that the muscle cell had no additional biochemical substance such as
ATP, enzymes or calcium ions (Ca2+) supplied artificially during the
experiment). The practitioner had never physically touched the cell or the
equipment, ensuring that there was no artifact interfering with the testing
sample or with the recording system. The practitioner's hands were held at ~30
cm of distance away from the cell, which was saturated in a circulated solution
at constant temperature control, therefore there was no temperature change
caused by the influence of his hands. The recording was performed by another
research associate, who is not a Falun Gong practitioner.
Fig. 1. The Falun Gong cultivation energy field increased the
contraction force of cardiac papillary cells. The muscle cells were attached to
a force transducer in the Guth Muscle Research System and placed in a chamber
filled with circulated Krebs-Henseleit solution saturated at 21 C with 95% O2
and 5% CO2. An electrical stimulation at 1 Hz at a voltage 20% greater than
threshold was continuously applied to the cell. After a 30 min recording of a
stable contraction force in the absence of the energy field, as control, the
Falun Gong practitioner, who had just practiced the 5 sets of Falun Gong
exercises, applied the energy field with his hands by holding Falun (the Law
Wheel) in front of the abdomen (practice set 2). His hands were kept ~30 cm away
from the cell, and far enough away from the recording system to avoid
influencing the temperature, which would cause artifacts in the recording.
Compared to the regular practicing posture, the hands stayed away from the body,
and the palms were facing each other beside the cell, ensuring that there was no
physical contact to the cell by the practitioner. As shown, after the energy
field was applied, the contraction twitch tension force started increasing up to
35%, compared to the control, and stayed at a stable level. The same experiment
showed that no change was detected with other non-Falun Gong individuals. This
type of experiment was repeated more than 5 times, with similar results, as
shown in this figure. Extent of the increase in the cardiac cell contractile
activity by the energy field was by 35% ~ 111%, depending on the physical size
of the cell and its initial condition after cell isolation, and the
practitioner's meditation state. No decrease in cell contraction by the energy
field was detected.
In order to ensure that the effect shown in Fig. 1., is
indeed due to the energy field of Falun Gong, after the practitioner had
increased the muscle cell contraction up to 100% in a different experiment (Fig.
2), the practitioner left the room and stopped thinking about the cell to see if
the cell contraction would change. As shown in Fig. 2, the cell contraction
force gradually returned to the control level. This indicates that the increase
in the contraction force was due to the practitioner's energy field. The
experiment shown in Fig. 1. and Fig. 2. were repeated at least 5 times with
similar patterns in results, showing a 35~111% increase in the contraction
amplitude.
A non-Falun Gong practitioner then imitated what the
practitioner had done. The result was that the non-Falun Gong practitioner was
not able to change the cell contractile activity, indicating that Falun Gong
energy from cultivation practice is essential for significant increase in cell
contraction force to occur.
Fig. 2. Cardiac cell contractile force was increased by 100%
by the Falun Gong energy field, and returned to the control level, after the
practitioner left the experiment room and stopped thinking about the cell.
Except for the following modifications, all experiment conditions and procedures
were the same as described in Fig. 1. After the cell contraction force was
increased by 100% with the energy field applied to the cell, the practitioner
stopped holding his hands beside the cell, but kept sitting in the room at a
distance of ~3 feet away from the cell. The contraction force remained at the
increased level. Interestingly, when the practitioner left the room and stopped
thinking about the cell, the cell contraction force gradually returned to the
control level, indicating that the energy field applied by the practitioner is
essential for the increase of the cell contractile activity. This experiment was
repeated more than 5 times, with similar results, as shown in this figure. The
first arrow indicates the time point when the practitioner positioned his hands
beside the cell, and the second one indicates the time point when he left the
room.
Fig. 3. Cardiac cell contractile force was increased by (75.4
+ 17.34)% in average by the Falun Gong energy field. As a summary of experiments
described in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the increase in the papillary cell contraction
force was averaged over 10 different individual cell preparations (numbers from
1 to 10 labeled in horizontal axis). The control for each isolated cell
preparation was normalized to 100%, and plotted in a bar to the left for the
corresponding sample indicated by each of the numbers (1 to 10). The contraction
force in percentage of the control (after the Falun Gong energy field was
applied) was plotted in a bar to the right for the corresponding sample. The
averaged percentage values were illustrated by the pair of bars to the extreme
right in the figure, for the averaged control (left bar. 100%) and increased
force (right bar, 175.4%), respectively, as labeled "average." The
standard error for the averaged percentage of contraction force was + 17.34.
In summary of experiments shown in Fig. 1. and Fig. 2., Fig.
3 shows that the Falun Gong energy field increased the papillary cell
contraction force by 75.4% on average over 10 individual experiments, using
different isolated cells. The significant increase in the cell contractile
activity by this meditation energy was repeatable over an increasing range from
35%-111% depending upon the initial condition of the cell and variables with
regard to the practitioner. From the viewpoint of muscle research, muscle
contraction is involved in many complicated cellular and molecular processes of
excitation-contraction coupling, such as calcium transport from the cytoplasmic
pool, calcium release from the intracellular calcium store sarcoplasmic
reticulum through the ryanodine receptor/calcium channel (4-12). Which step(s)
among those processes Falun Gong energy interacts with, is still unknown,
leaving the subject open to future investigation. The real intention of the
present work is to evidence Falun Gong's scientific significance, to tell people
that this cultivation meditation is not superstition and it is most profound
science for spiritual enlightenment and mind-body health.
From general knowledge of the field, we know that an
enhancement of muscle cell contractile activity requires supplementation with a
biochemical energy source, such as ATP, enzymes, calcium ions, or some other
physical energy source, such as heat, or electrical or magnetic energy added to
the cell. In the present experiment, however, there were no such means used,
with the exception of the practitioner positioning his hands beside the cell,
while he practiced Falun Gong exercises. Obviously, the energy substance of an
unknown content, responsible for such a dramatic increase in the contraction
force of the cell, must have a correlative relationship to the energy field
transmitted by the Falun Gong practitioner. This raises various questions: From
what source was the energy substance transformed? Why does this energy have such
a dramatic and beneficial influence over the biological activity of the cardiac
cells? How has this energy been cultivated by a Falun Gong practitioner? To help
answer these questions, the author recommends Falun Gong's guide book, Zhuan
Falun (1), and suggests that readers try to experience this exercise and
meditation by themselves, finding the way reaching the peace, health and the
truth of the universe.
This work provides scientific evidence for the healing
benefit of Falun Gong meditation, and also help scientific open mind to discover
the new field. Although there are still many unanswered questions regarding the
mechanism of Falun Gong-enhanced cardiac cell biological activity, this research
could prove beneficial to non-Falun Gong practitioners, for the purpose of
encouraging people to seriously explore cultivation practice for themselves.
This could also prove helpful for those who have misunderstood Falun Dafa,
enabling them to reconsider this practice, or correct their misguided activities
towards Falun Dafa. The author is also sincerely hopeful that this work would
provide many thanks and encouragement to the people who show their
understanding, support, and help to Falun Gong practitioners in China who have
been and are being badly persecuted.
Science will never completely explain the profound Buddha
Law. Contrary to what the scientific world may think, Buddha Law can enlighten
people, and enable science to discover the truth. "The Buddha Fa is most
profound; among all the theories in the world, it is the most intricate and
extraordinary science. In order to explore this domain, humankind must
fundamentally change its conventional thinking. Otherwise, the truth of the
universe will forever remain a mystery to humankind, and everyday people will
forever crawl within the boundary, delimited by their own ignorance." Li
Hongzhi (1).
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Author is grateful to Ms. Estelle C. Morgan for English
corrections.
* Guohua Liu, Ph.D., scientist in the field of biophysics and
biochemistry of molecular and cellular muscle research (4-12), biomedical
software engineer, healing music composer, and a genuine Falun Dafa practitioner
(since 1994). He graduated with B.S. in physics and computer science from China,
Ph.D. in Biophysics and Physiology from Japan, and trained through medical
schools in the United States, with more than 10 years experience in the research
field. He and his research associates have carefully developed this experiment
in the medical school's laboratory to investigate how the Falun Gong energy
field affects a living cardiac cell. They have succeeded in finding evidence of
the beneficial influence of this meditation practice in cardiac cell biological
activity.
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Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2000/6/14/1448.html
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