1996

Professional MAP
A HEALING TOUCH
by Albert Schatz, PhD

This report includes a case history written by Peter who tells in his own words the story of his back problem, what medical treatment he received, what I did and the results he experienced. What he wrote is not edited. However, I added my comments in brackets to explain Peter's comments, which immediately precede my sentences. His comments needed my clarification because I did not tell Peter about my Professional MAP Team.

I use the term contact (hands-on) healing because that is what many people would think I was doing if they saw me with my hands resting lightly on Peter's shoulders. I did this for ten minutes three times a week for a fortnight. This is the only physical contact I had with him. I scanned him with L-rods before and after each healing. His energy field was asymmetrical in his lower back area before each healing but was balanced and increased symmetry by 50 to 100% after each healing.

I have been doing different kinds of healing for several years. However, working with my Professional Team for contact healing has given the most striking results. When I become more experienced with the Perelandra Organizing Process, I shall also surrogate test with that process.

Peter's Case History
I am a 43-year-old male with a history of back problems. I believe my back problems were caused by a genetic predisposition toward back problems. Both my mother and her brother have had back problems and back surgery, and I was told when I was in junior high that I had "lumbar lordosis." I was placed in a remedial gym and told that I might have back problems later in life.

During my early working life, I performed jobs that required a lot of repeated heavy lifting. I routinely would carry weights of 40 to 80 pounds in awkward situations: up and down steps, lifting and twisting in cramped quarters, etc. Plus, I was never educated as to the proper techniques of lifting and the importance of back care. I considered myself to be a strong young man and I welcomed physical challenges that other workers couldn't or wouldn't tackle.

The combination of genetic predisposition, job demands and lack of understanding of back care eventually resulted in me having a case of painful sciatica when I was about 34 years old. I saw an orthopedic surgeon and he told me I had a ruptured disk. He recommended the conservative treatment of three months of bed rest to see if I improved. I did not improve, so I underwent a "diskectomy" that eliminated the pain in my leg.

I returned to my active lifestyle, albeit with limitations on lifting and a new understanding of how to treat my back. Part of this lifestyle included playing basketball on Sundays. One Sunday, after chasing another guy on a fast break, I crashed into a padded wall. My sciatica returned big time, and I was in pain for about two weeks. After the two weeks, the pain subsided, but I was left with numbness and weakness in my left leg. My big toe and areas on my front calf and top foot were numb. I could no longer raise my left foot or toe, even with much force.

I saw a neurosurgeon at this point, and he told me that although it had appeared that I had suffered some more disk damage, my numbness and weakness had not resulted in any severe loss of function. Since I was not in much pain, and since the leg numbness and weakness had not resulted in my being unable to do things I needed to do, he recommended I simply live with this new condition. He suggested I continue with the exercises I had learned in physical therapy. He also told me that at some future point, I would probably require another surgical procedure.

A few years later, I once again started experiencing severe sciatica. I had an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and went back to the neurosurgeon. This time I saw the original neurosurgeon's partner. He told me I should try bed rest again, which I tried with no improvement. He then told me he thought I had a condition called "spondylolisthesis." Here is an abstract of this condition and the remedy he suggested I would need: "Spondylolisthesis is a partial forward dislocation of one vertebra over the one below it. Severe, symptomatic spondylolisthesis is usually treated with spinal arthrodesis (surgical fixation) and fusion of the joint without correction of the deformity. The goal of treatment is decompression of the nerves and long-term stabilization of the spinal joints by fusion." He also explained that the technique he used included placing screws and a bracket in the back.

During my period of bed rest, however, I also saw the orthopedic surgeon that performed my original diskectomy. After examining the same MRI that the neurosurgeon did, he concluded that I did not have spondylolisthesis and that I had simply re-ruptured the disk I had originally ruptured. He suggested I wait a few more weeks to see if it got better on its own, or he would try another surgical procedure to remove the protruding disk material.

Since I had already been in major pain after four weeks of bed rest and had already missed three weeks of work and was looking at missing more work with no end in sight, I decided to go ahead with the surgery. I went ahead and scheduled the surgery for the first available slot the hospital had, about three weeks hence.

During that three weeks, I talked with Al Schatz about Therapeutic Touch. [I told Peter about Therapeutic Touch because it is a well-known way of working with an individual's energy field, and I would be working with his energy field when I scanned him with L-rods. However, I did not do Therapeutic Touch.] Al encouraged me to come see him; maybe he could help. He told me that the healing techniques he would try were non-intrusive, would do no damage and might help. At this point, I was so frustrated and in such pain that I thought "what the heck, there is nothing to lose and maybe something to gain."

I saw Al a few times a week for two weeks. During those times, I simply sat in a chair while Al talked to me about my condition and about balancing my energy fields. Usually, but not every time, he would have me stand up while he approached me with two metal rods that he held in his hands. He said he was examining my energy field. Then he would put the rods down and fold his hands and close his eyes while he consulted his "chi." [When I folded my hands, I was consulting my Professional MAP Team and doing kinesiology. I often close my eyes to avoid distraction when I consult with my team.] Then he would put his hands on my shoulders for a while. After that, we would talk some more and then I would leave.

The only thing I noticed after Al's sessions was that I usually slept well that night. One night, during this period, I dreamed my condition improved.

My surgery was scheduled for a Thursday. The week prior to that, I had seen my doctor for a pre-surgery exam and went to the hospital for the pre-admissions testing. I was all set to have the surgery and was looking forward to being relieved of the pain and returning to regular life. The Monday before the surgery, I woke up and I knew something was different. The pain, although still present, was noticeably decreased. This was after five weeks of constant agonizing pain with no improvement. I got up and walked around and looked for things to do that would keep me on my feet to make sure that the improvement was real. I went down to the kitchen and washed the dishes. This took about 30 minutes. My pain did not increase. I did a few other things around the house and the pain did not increase. I called the surgeon's office to report this change in my status. He called back and said that we should cancel the surgery. If I was getting better, we should leave things alone for now. We could always reschedule the surgery if I needed it.

That was seven months ago. Although the numbness has spread slightly into my left knee, I remain mostly pain-free. I have returned to work and have resumed all of my regular activities. My loss of function remains limited and I avoid any heavy lifting. I do engage in light lifting, bicycling, coaching my son's little league team, housework and most of my other regular day-to-day activities.

I am grateful to Al for taking the time to teach me about healing and for expending his energy on my behalf. I believe it probably spared me from an unnecessary and unproductive surgical procedure. For this I am grateful to Al and to the people that have developed the techniques he used. I would recommend it to anyone, as there is little to be lost and much to be gained by trying this mode of healing.

How I Work with My Professional MAP Team
I work in a co-creative partnership with nature by connecting with my Professional MAP Team for contact (hands-on) healing. I would open the coning to connect with this team shortly before or soon after Peter arrived, and would close the coning soon after he left. I tested myself with essences when that was appropriate.

When I opened this coning, I visualized the symbol that I selected for this team — hands held palm to palm, in front of me, with fingers pointing up. Many people pray in this position. I do not hold my hands in that way. Nor do I pray. I simply visualize the symbol to facilitate my connecting with my Professional MAP Team for contact healing.

The contact-healing procedure I do is different for each individual and may vary from time to time when I work on the same person. There is no one standard contact-healing procedure for everybody or even for a series of healing for the same person with the same problem. I obtain advice and other information from my team by kinesiology. I frequently get information intuitively, but I always check the validity of that information with my team.

For Peter, the only thing I did was contact healing because that is all I was advised to do. More specifically, I was advised when I should work on him, what position he should be in, where I should be while I worked on him, where I was to place my hands, how long each healing should last, whether I should see him again — and, if so, when. I put my hands gently on his shoulders for about 10 minutes each time I saw him. I sat in a chair behind his head when he was lying on his back; I stood behind him when he was sitting in a chair.

Even when the advice makes no sense to me, I do what my team advises. For example, it would never have occurred to me to place my hands on Peter's shoulders, which is precisely what my team advised me to do. His case history does not refer to any problem with his shoulders. Nor did he tell me that his shoulders had ever bothered him.

The procedure I follow each time I request information is more or less the same. When I think I should do a contact healing, I connect with my Professional MAP Team for contact healing, clear myself with essences and ask that team for advice.

I usually ask the individual I am working with not to tell me what his symptoms are or where they are located until after I have scanned his energy field with L-rods to get information. I do that because when I scan the energy field I do not want to know his symptoms and their location. This way my scanning is not influenced by my already knowing.

The individual and I then discuss his health problem, and I request advice from my Professional MAP Team. The first questions I always ask are, "Can I be of help to this individual with this problem, and if so is it appropriate for me to do that now?" If the answer to either question is "No," I ask "Should I refer him to someone else?" If the answer to this question is "Yes," I ask questions to find out to whom I should refer him.

If I am told I can be of help at that time, that I may do so, and that contact healing is an appropriate modality, I ask questions to find out how I should do the healing, and whether I should also do other things such as balancing and stabilizing, a basic flower essence test, telegraph testing, and, if so, in what sequence.

I have been doing different kinds of healing for about twenty years. These modalities include the spiritual healing of Harry Edwards, the world-renowned British healer, and Therapeutic Touch, developed by Dora Kunz and Dolores Krieger, R.N., Ph.D. However, I feel most comfortable and believe I get better results when I work with a Professional MAP Team.