Science Proves All Living Things Emit Light

One evening when I was in massage school, we had a visitor-a woman with a camera that was supposed to take pictures of your aura. I didn't get one myself-she was charging more than I could afford-but I was interested in the photos she took of some of my classmates, and especially of one of my teachers, who was pregnant at the time. The colors swirling around the heads and shoulders of the people in the photos-and in the case of the teacher, the small spot of light in her abdomen-were really pretty, although I had no idea what they meant. (It's possible the photos came with an explanation that I missed.)

I've heard that some people can actually see auras (without using a camera, that is). And I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't believe in them. But I've just recently discovered that the human body does give off light-in fact, all living beings do. This light can be measured by instruments recently developed by German scientists.

The light is called UPE, for "ultra-weak photon emissions" ("ultra-weak" because they can't be seen with the naked eye). Japanese scientists have observed it coming from the forehead, the palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet. These scientists, trying to find out the source of the light, did a little experimenting and discovered that it becomes stronger when exposed to heat or to oxygen. They formed a theory that the light is actually the product of a chemical reaction taking place under or in the skin, similar to the reaction that produces light in fireflies. Scientists in Germany also believe that the light from the forehead and from the hands pulses, and they've observed a change in the this pulse in people who are ill.

And now for the obvious question: "Who cares?"

It seems that there's a lot of potential here for the field of medicine. If the quality of the UPEs changes in the presence of disease, it may make diagnosis easier and less invasive. Yes, there is technology now to basically "take a picture" of the human body to visualize tumors and other abnormalities. But this technology is expensive and does emit radiation, however small the amounts might be.

UPE research could also be useful in evaluating the success-or lack thereof-of treatment. It's already been used just as an experiment on men who do transcendental meditation. Why not use it for someone who's taking medication for an illness that's already been diagnosed? "Before" and "after" UPE images could help determine if the medication is having an effect.

This technology could also be really useful in the study of some forms of alternative medicine, especially those which are difficult to measure, like energy work (Reiki, therapeutic touch, and the like). Most people who do this sort of work believe that the hands have chakras-energy centers-that assist with the transfer and balancing of energy in the person they're treating. I think it's interesting that UPEs have been observed especially in the hands and in the forehead, which according to the chakra system is the location of the sixth chakra-also known as the "third eye."

I wonder if scientists have been able to determine if UPEs come in colors, as auras supposedly do. But whether or not the two are related, and even whether or not you believe in auras, science has proven that all living things are "beings of light." Now it's time to see what we can do with that information.