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Beyond Biofeedback – Drs Elmer and Alyce Green

When I asked Jack how he prevented infections, he gave an answer that reminded me of Swami Rama's. He said, essentially, that if the body understands that it is not to interact with or react to any foreign material, there is no way that an infection can start. He said he had done this demonstration hundreds of times and had never had an infection from it. The skin of his arm was free of marks and as smooth as a baby's.

Apropos of Jack's comment on infection, when we were conducting a biofeedback workshop in Australia, Alyce and I met a physician who, hearing about Jack's explanation, told us that he had been using hypnosis (which is a method of attention control) for the relief of excessive pain in many of his patients.

Some time ago he had decided that it would be useful to be able to demonstrate pain and bleeding control by doing it himself. Coincidentally, he chose to use the same method as Jack. He did this many times and never developed an infection. Then one time, during a demonstration at a hospital, just as he was about to push a needle into his arm, the medical director suddenly said, "Stop, you haven't sterilized your needle. I will get one that is sterile." And he obtained a sterile hypodermic needle in a plastic container.

On that one and only occasion, our workshop participant said, he got an infection.

Question: Did the body get confused, or lose confidence as a visualization of infection was planted by the concerned physician? In order to control germs in a mechanical way, as in an operating room, it is necessary to clean the skin also, and the unconscious (as well as conscious) knew that had not been done. Controlled research with brave subjects might shed some light on the relationship between infection and belief.