Living Between Worlds: A Scientist’s Journey into Energy Healing
Opening the Door Between Two Worlds
t. Today marks the first time I’m speaking publicly about a side of my life I’ve mostly kept quiet. By day I’m an immunologist who spent years studying how gut microbes shape health and disease. Off the clock I’m a Reiki practitioner, tracking subtle currents that science still struggles to measure. I used to keep those identities in separate boxes. Not anymore.
A Scientist by Training, a Seeker by Instinct
My career began in the lab, surrounded by data sets, peer review, and the comforting rigor of controlled experiments. That discipline shaped how I think, how I solve problems, and how I judge evidence. Yet even while publishing on microbiome–disease links, I felt drawn to the unseen—to energy work, psychics, séances, and every haunted-house documentary I could find.
That curiosity led me to Reiki. The practice claims to channel universal energy through the practitioner into the client, restoring balance and promoting healing. I booked a session out of sheer intrigue, never expecting the experience to shake my worldview.
Meeting the Bear
The timing could not have been worse for my gut. Severe dehydration had left me doubled over with cramps and near-paralysis from constipation. I considered cancelling, then decided forty-five minutes on a table couldn’t make things worse.
Soon after the practitioner placed her hands near me, I drifted into a vivid dream. I flew above damp, grey clouds, descended through pine trees, and landed in a clearing where a calm brown bear awaited. Just as we locked eyes, the session ended.
While we debriefed, the practitioner casually mentioned seeing a bear around my energy field. I hadn’t told her a thing. My logical brain wrote it off as coincidence. My body had other ideas: I stood up without pain, the cramps faded, and within days my gut settled. Was it placebo? Maybe. But the experience lodged itself in my mind.
From Client to Practitioner
Grief pushed me deeper towards energy healing. My mother died of cancer, followed six months later by her twin sister. Traditional coping tools failed me, so I enrolled in a weekend Reiki course. During the attunement, when the instructor draws ancient symbols on each student’s hands, my palms felt as if they erupted in heat. That night my friends felt it too when I hovered my hands above their shoulders.
I completed a second course a year later and began practicing on friends, family, and occasionally brave strangers. Each session became a mini-experiment. I tracked sleep, heart rate, digestion, mood. Some effects made sense: slower breathing, measurable calm. Others, like the relative who burst into tears the moment I reached their heart space, didn’t fit any textbook.
One client triggered a loud ticking sound inside my head. Later he told me his favorite memory was learning to count by the kitchen clock at his grandmother’s house. It was his go to “joy” memory and something he was thinking about during our session. Moments like these are impossible to file under “artifact.”
These moments happened to me. I witnessed them. So I cannot pretend they were imagined or label them as fiction. They are part of my lived experience, even if science cannot yet explain them. That truth forces me to stand in both worlds. One is grounded in molecular biology. The other is shaped by sensation, intuition, and presence. I have come to believe that closing the door to either world limits the fullness of life.
Biofield Energy in Plain Language
Researchers call the body’s subtle emissions the biofield—an informational matrix that seems to regulate biological processes, much like an energetic nervous system. We can’t measure every nuance yet, but we can record plenty:
Infrared radiation shows up on thermal cameras.
Electromagnetic fields from the heart and brain are detectable with sensitive equipment.
Electrical conductivity shifts at acupuncture points when our physiology changes.
Scientific literature supports more of this than many people realize. The body’s infrared output is common in diagnostic imaging. The heart’s electromagnetic field is the strongest produced by any organ and correlates with emotional states. Controlled studies show that meditation and energy-based practices lower cortisol and systemic inflammation. Researchers have also documented increases in beneficial gut bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii after regular mind-body practice, species linked to improved digestion, immunity, and mood. Even without a complete map, the terrain is real enough to explore.
Why I’m Speaking Up Now
Academia often greets energy work with polite silence (or an eye roll). I worried that sharing this part of my life would undo years of scientific credibility. Then I remembered that science thrives on uncomfortable questions. It asks us to explore even when the answers are incomplete. History shows that science and mysticism were once neighbors. Alchemy became chemistry. Astrology’s star charts paved the way for astronomy. Observation, ritual, and experimentation once shared the same bench, and can again.
Modern life rarely offers genuine rest. A Reiki session does. For forty-five minutes someone focuses entirely on you. That stretch of stillness might be enough to nudge cortisol down, soothe the gut, and reset the nervous system.
The Plan:
Living fully means honoring both the microscope and the mystery. Science keeps me curious; Reiki keeps me human. I’m done choosing between them.
After years of study, practice, and quiet exploration, I’ve decided to begin offering Reiki sessions to others through my own practice. This isn’t a side project or a contradiction to my scientific background—it’s a natural extension of it. I’ll be combining energy work with my academic training, using my PhD and deep expertise in gut microbiology, nutrition, and inflammatory disease to coach and guide clients who feel out of balance. Whether you’re struggling with stress, digestive issues, fatigue, or just feeling disconnected from your body, I’ll bring a holistic approach that integrates evidence-based science with intuitive healing. My goal is to help people regulate their nervous systems, restore their gut health, and reconnect with their inner resilience. Whether you’re curious, skeptical, or somewhere in between, I’ll meet you where you are.
If you’re a scientist, healer, or curious skeptic, I invite you to follow this journey. My podcast and blog will dig into stress biology, gut health, mindfulness, and biofield research—no side taken, all sides welcomed.
I’d love to hear your experiences, questions, or challenges. Drop a comment, send an email, or find me on social media. Let’s explore this frontier together.
