Since the middle of the previous century, the field of neuroscience (study of the brain and nervous system) has grown exponentially. With the aid of modern technologies, neuroscientists have continued to significantly advance our understanding of how our brain and nervous system functions, how it regulates our health, our life experience, our emotional and psychological well-being and more. Today, neuroscience discoveries are influencing the directions of a wide array of professional disciplines, including medicine, psychology and psychotherapy, education, linguistics, law, ethics and even sports.
In this blog post, my goal to give you a better understanding of the extent to which Esogetic ColorpunctureTM acu-light therapy has utilized the findings of neuroscience. Since he first began creating Esogetics over 40 years ago, Peter Mandel has consistently placed a priority on developing light treatments to support healthy brain function. In so doing, he has used each new discovery in the neurosciences to inspire and guide his work.
Like all Esogetic Colorpuncture treatments, these protocols usually involve applying frequencies of colored light to a series of points on the skin. Each treatment combines a particular set of points and particular light frequencies in order to send a precise regulating signal into the brain. Some of the points were derived from Chinese medicine and others were discovered by Mandel through his years of clinical research. To understand why light can be so useful as a treatment medium in this situation, it might help to remember that the optic nerve is not the only way that signals of light enter the brain. In fact, many areas of the brain, and even the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, have been found to contain light sensitive cells capable of receiving and relaying the information of light. And this is without even mentioning the light sensitive cells and acu-points on the skin of the body that are also capable of transmitting light signals throughout all of our physical structure.
We generally call the Esogetic brain regulation treatments “Coordination Therapies.” This term conveys an understanding that the brain coordinates the functioning of the systems and organs of the body. As a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist, Mandel realized early on that, in order to help the very ill people who were coming to his clinic, he had to treat not only their bodies, but also their brains, as a higher or superordinate level of control for their bodies.
Mandel developed his first brain regulation treatments in the late 1980’s. In doing so, he was inspired by the research of Dr. Paul McLean, the neuroscientist who developed the evolutionary model of the Triune Brain structure. According to McLean’s theory, the human brain actually consists of three brains — the reptile brain at the bottom, the limbic brain in the middle and the neocortex on the top. Mandel developed simple light treatments aimed at stimulating improved communication within this triune brain structure. We still use these treatments today. For example, we use them to relieve stress or for children with learning disabilities.
Subsequently, more treatments were created, based on concept of the triune brain structure, that are used to surface subconscious memories of trauma or, as we say in Esogetics, “conflict stress.” Our most stressful memories are often stored in the lower layers of the brain. In Esogetics, we use Conflict Resolution therapies in working with clients with chronic health issues, whenever we feel that their suppressed subconscious stress may be adversely influencing their health and immune function. The light treatments gently surface these memory imprints from the lower layers of the brain into the neocortex, where they can be more easily processed and released.
Hemispheric laterality was another early focus of research and treatment development. From his diagnostic assessments using Kirlian EEA photography, Mandel often observed differences in the quality or type of the radiation seen in the patient’s two hands or two feet. Moreover, he found that patients with these radiation phenomena tended to be more difficult to treat. Based on his own clinical research, Mandel began to suspect that what he was seeing in his photos was evidence of hemispheric laterality issues in the brain — meaning the two hemispheres of the brain were not communicating in an even, balanced way. In researching the possible causes of this issue, he was particularly impressed by the work of Dr. Martin Teicher, director of the Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program at McLean Hospital. Teicher was studying the neurobiological consequences of early stress and childhood maltreatment. He observed that childhood stress and abuse tended to reduce the size of the corpus callosum, the grizzly band of nerve tissue that connects the two brain hemispheres and allows them to exchange information or process experiences together. Mandel decided that an imperative first step for clients whose photos showed these “laterality” phenomena was to administer light treatments to help improve inter-hemispheric communication. Thus, for many years now, Esogetic practitioners routinely use laterality treatments as a first step when treating certain clients, in order to ensure that subsequent colorpuncture treatments will be more effective.
Esogetic Colorpuncture also includes a number of light treatments that focus on particular structures within the brain, structures that are considered especially important for our health and well-being. These include the hypothalamus (a midbrain structure responsible for maintaining homeostasis in the body, among many other things, the pituitary (the master endocrine gland of the body), the thalamus (where all sensory information is received and then relayed to other areas of the brain), the medulla oblongata (the vital switching station for signals relayed between the brain and body), the pineal gland (responsible for the circadian rhythms of the body and the production of a powerful antioxidant called melatonin) and the limbic system (the midbrain structures involved in learning, emotional processing and more). Later, as the understanding of the role that the limbic system plays in trauma and PTSD grew, specific treatments were also developed for the amygdala (the part of our brain that identifies and responds to threats), the hippocampus (our memory storehouse), as well as for communications between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex.
Another interesting development in the neurosciences has been a growing understanding of the important role that the glia cells or the neuroglia play in our nervous system. These are the non-neuronal cells that vastly outnumber the neurons of the brain and perform a variety of supportive tasks, including forming the matrix or platform that holds the neurons in place, supplying nutrients and oxygen to the neurons, as well as protecting the neurons and destroying pathogens in the brain. Once again, in Esogetic Colorpuncture, we now use particular treatments to send regulating light signals to the neuroglia. Recently, neuroscientists have also discovered the “glymphatic system” or lymph system of the brain. This system involves certain glial cells that function like the lymph cells of the body. They remove waste products and excess fluids from the brain. Some neuroscientists believe this is the missing link in their understanding of the brain’s immune system and that its discovery can offer clues for the possible treatment of Alzheimers. Mandel has recently begun developing colorpuncture treatments designed to support this important brain detoxing system.
Over the past 70 years, neuroscientists have also discovered that we humans not only have a brain in our heads. It seems we also have a brain in our gut (the abdominal brain enervated by the dorsal vagal nerve) and a brain in our heart (as per the latest findings in cardioneurology). Each of these complex nerve centers appears to have a capacity for independent functioning as well as for the production of important hormones and neurotransmitters. In Esogetics, we are particularly interested in using colorpuncture treatments to improve the communication between these three brains as a way of promoting bodymind healing.
Finally, I have thus far been describing the Esogetic treatments that use colored light frequencies. It is also worth mentioning that Mandel has long been interested in the use of brain wave frequencies as a potent therapeutic medium. The different brain wave frequencies of beta, alpha, theta, delta and gamma are generated in the brain and relayed into the body throughout the daily 24 hour cycle. They influence or activate a wide variety of bodily functions. For example, the theta brain waves produced while we sleep generate REM sleep or dream sleep. Concluding that brain waves are one vital way that the brain communicates with the body, Mandel has experimented for years with applying brain wave frequencies to acu-points prior to applying the light frequencies. The goal is to enhance the delivery of the light information into each cell of the body via these brain wave signals.
The Esogetic Colorpuncture therapies used to support healthy brain and nervous system function are both gentle and effective. We use them on children and adults in a wide variety of circumstances. As I have said, Mandel’s interest in developing light treatments to regulate the brain began as he contemplated how best to treat his patients suffering from physical illness or pain. However, these protocols have also proved very useful as an adjunct therapy in the psychotherapeutic setting, as I explain in my book “Energy Psychology Using Light and Color”. The treatments are taught in the professional certification trainings of Esogetic Colorpuncture, along with the Esogetic methods for assessing when specific brain regulation treatments might best be used. In conclusion, I hope this blog post helps you to appreciate the extent to which Esogetic Colorpuncture has been continually informed by neuroscientific discoveries and how this research has contributed to the remarkable precision and specificity with which Esogetics endeavors to support healthy brain function. If you are interested in learning more, contact us at www.colorpuncture.org or look for a certified Esogetic Colorpuncture practitioner in your area.