Journey To Health: The Living Matrix Defined and Introducing Biological Coherence

by Dr. Brett Hightower

This article is the second in a series designed to share with you some of the exciting changes taking place in the field of alternative healing. Before we get too deeply into it some clarification might be helpful. The term itself deserves discussion because "alternative healing" is poorly defined. There is a growing body of thinking and a growing group of practitioners around the world who are seeking to use the latest information that scientists of all ranks are developing, and they are seeking to apply these new discoveries and technologies to help advance human health. These practitioners fall under many titles, including body workers such as rolfers or massage therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, homeopaths, ayurvedic physicians, and herbalists, to name but a few. The common attribute of these people is that they are largely outside of the traditional MD-centered, third party payor system of health care. That is the genesis of the term alternative or the more recent version complementary and alternative, or CAM, designations. To my thinking these terms are insufficient as well.

The forward-thinking physician of any specialty realizes that our advancing knowledge mandates an understanding and inclusion of all fields of science. In my 20 years of studies from a range of healing disciplines, I have come to the conclusion that the most appropriate term to describe this growing approach to better human health falls most appropriately under the banner Energy Medicine. This series of articles will seek to impress upon you why that is the most appropriate title for physicians such as myself. These topics will be presented in a simple, clear manner to help you fully grasp the profound implications that they have on the future or health and healing. This coming together of modern science and ancient traditions is what excites and moves me as a physician. It is sometimes referred to as the third enlightenment (Kimura, 2000).

The science behind what we will discuss is impeccable. It may lead our discussion far beyond what you might consider the parameters of normal medicine. We are now, as never before, able to study and understand how electric energy animates us and keeps us healthy. Our guiding belief is that once you have a deeper understanding of the basics of Energy Medicine you will be in a better position to make intelligent decisions about the choices that you face on your road to better health.

The Living Matrix Defined
In our last article we introduced the concept of the living matrix. We discussed how acupuncture addresses this system of energy flow when it speaks of meridians of electrical energy. These are the pathways for the flow of Chi. Chi, one of the ancient names for bioelectricity, is produced by our neural activity, by our thoughts and movements. It, like all forms of electromagnetism, has a magnetic as well as an electrical component, so it easily permeates our tissue and radiates into the space around us. We now know beyond any doubt that what the mystics have always said is true-we do not end at our skin.

The subject in this issue of Innerchange is how the liquid crystal semiconductor matrix of the human body provides a basis for understanding how acupuncture, chiropractic, and other types of body therapy can have such powerful curative effects for those who use them.

We need to understand the role of fascia in the living matrix. Fascia is defined as a type of connective tissue in anatomy textbooks. Until fairly recently the fascia was thought to have little function other than support. Connective tissue is dense and, in most biological research work, settles to the bottom of the test tube after centrifuging, where it is discarded so researchers can focus on the supernatant, the liquid solution where most cellular chemistry takes place. This is one of those interesting cases of the error of reductionism, where information about the whole system is lost in reducing the system to its component parts.

When I speak of fascia I am including the desmosomes and tonofilaments that are the structural framework for the cell. We often think of the cell as a bag of saltwater with a thin membrane, the cell wall, surrounding it. In this model, which is accurate to some degree, a puncture in the cell wall should result in the oozing out of the contents of the cell. This, in fact, doesn't happen. Cells have a large degree of structural integrity precisely because of the fascial framework, the desmosomes and tonofilaments. The most striking feature of fascia, when defined this way, is that it is so pervasive in the body. It literally connects every part of our body directly to every other part in a profound and meaningful way. More about this in a minute.

The other striking feature of fascia is it is highly organized and tightly bundled. It is, in fact, so regular and repeating in the way it is organized that it meets the definition of a liquid crystal. It also functions as a liquid crystal; that is to say that we can generate and transmit piezoelectricity. Don't get put off by the big words if you are new to this. Piezoelectric is what powers your gas grill sparkers, lighters, and watches. The idea is that physical stresses are converted by piezoelectric materials into electricity. What this means for us is that any movement of our bodies will generate an electrical signal that is carried to literally every cell we have. This important insight, that the fascial elements of our bodies can transmit and store information, explains the fundamental importance of exercise and gives us a direct method of understanding "body memory." Any experienced body worker, any good chiropractor, any healer of any type has been fascinated by the links between painful areas and memories. Patients with extensive health histories will, once healing has begun, speak of events and emotions that are associated with the site of injury. This is because fascial tissue stores and transmits information with every single movement. This is a large part of what constitutes consciousness, and it is what we define as the living matrix.

Introducing Biological Coherence
But what good is scientific understanding unless it leads to a deeper understanding of existing therapies and the development of new approaches. The living matrix model does both. By understanding the living matrix in this way we can turn our discussion to another concept- biological coherence. In essence, biological coherence happens when the fascial system and the nervous system (which exists within it) are fully functional and free of interference. When scar tissue is present, when structure is compromised, when pathogens or toxins are in the system or nutrition is inadequate, the biological coherence of the system suffers, and symptoms and disease begin to develop. This is not news. Ancient Chinese and Indian texts talk of disease resulting from a compromised flow of life energy. The only thing new is our understanding of why and how the lack of biological coherence affects health.

Our focus of the study of energy medicine, should center around how to restore biological coherence to the system so that the living matrix can function fully, bringing vitality and energy to our entire lives. A new tool has been developed and approved by the FDA called a cold, pulsed therapeutic laser which I believe accomplishes this aim nicely. This amazing device uses coherent light of a precise wavelength, 635 nanometers, then pulses that energy over a variety of frequencies to increase biological coherence. By doing so, a good clinician can effect different organ systems and disease states in a powerful way. Acupuncture practitioners, chiropractors and all types of healers can cite cases of seemingly miraculous results for a variety of conditions. The concepts of the living matrix and biological coherence give us ways to understand, validate and explore these diverse experiences and unite them under the banner of Energy Medicine.

In our next issue we will talk about defining our personal health goals and the ten steps necessary to improve our health. These steps are the same for everyone, though everyone starts at a different point and have different health outcomes. Later in the series we will broaden the discussion to include attitude, spiritual beliefs, communication skills and other topics that don't involve visiting a doctor but are essential to living a truly healthy life.