TITLE: Alpha power increases during energy healing. EEG studies of healers, mystics and shamans AUTHOR: Acosta-Urquidi, J. OBJECTIVE: This study addressed two questions: 1.What is the healer’s state of consciousness (ie. the EEG brainstate) during the act of healing? 2. Does the client that is receiving the healing treatment also exhibit a shift in brainstate, and does it share common features with the healer’s? The efficacy or the outcome of the healings were not investigated. MATERIALS/METHODS: This comparative QEEG (quantitative electroencephalography) study examined and 3 groups who volunteered to be tested: 1. A sample of bioenergy healer practitioners (N=20) from diverse traditions, including Reiki, Pranic, Johrei, Faith Healing, Shamanic, Spiritual, and Quantum Touch (healing state, HS group). 2. Clients who volunteered to receive a healing session (” receiving healing, RH group, N=11), were also tested and 3. A control group of non-healers (” sham healing ” , ShaH group, N=9) was also similarly examined. QEEG data (19 channels, 0.1-40 Hz bandwidth) was recorded from the 3 groups during a baseline (control) condition and during HS in the healers group, during RH condition for the client group and similarly for the ShaH group. A statistical within group comparison (paired correlated t-tests, P values) between the QEEG absolute power values before (baseline) and during HS, RH and ShaH was achieved. FFT spectral analysis, topographic brainmaps, numerical tables and a summary group comparison bar graph plot reveal the findings. RESULTS: During the healing state (HS), the healers and clients brainwaves exhibited some changes across all frequency bands: Delta (0.3-4 Hz),Theta (4-8 Hz), Alpha (812Hz) and Beta (13-40 Hz). However, only the most consistent, reproducible and statistically significant result is reported here, viz. a robust increase in global Absolute Alpha power. For group 1 (HS), the increased Alpha power was (mean % increase +-SEM): 98.05 +-15.10, N=20,P<.0032. For group 2 (RH), the increased Alpha power was also highly significant : 112.5 +-21.9; N=11, P<0.0002). 3. For group 3 (ShaH, N=9), there was no statistically significant change in Alpha power. CONCLUSION: This scientific comparative study provides objective data demonstrating that Energy Healers (Bioenergy Healers) from diverse traditions can shift their EEG to produce more Alpha power when engaged in the act of healing (local and distant). Moreover, clients receiving the healing also produced robust increased Alpha power. The unexpected finding that different healing traditions all share a common denominator, viz. increased Alpha power during HS, and that the Alpha power increase is also measured in the clients during RH is discussed.