Science is now validating some crucial ancient energy medicine principles. For instance, scientists at Seoul National University have confirmed the existence of the body’s meridians, which they call the “primo-vascular system” and see as a critical part of the cardiovascular system, as well as the physical basis of the Acupuncture Meridian System (these acupoints are, of course, the key to the energetic effects of shiatsu massage, qigong, tai chi, yoga postures, etc.

We’re at a pivotal, powerful moment with energy medicine. In the coming years, there will be a rush by medical and technology companies to further crack the code on how energy networks organize our bodies and brains, and they will use that knowledge to design interventions into our electromagnetic and biophotonic fields to prevent disease and boost physical and mental health. It will create entirely new medical approaches, new products and new business models.

Both “wheat” and “chaff” will appear in consumer markets, as energy healing is particularly susceptible to exploitation and quackery. Hard science will validate some ancient energy approaches and invalidate others. Ancient energy medicines will teach Western medicine a few things, and scientific breakthroughs will point the way to new directions in wellness. New common ground leads to new conversations.

The wellness world focuses more on self-awareness and emotional and spiritual healing and connectedness, but, as physicists, biologists and neuroscientists uncover the mechanics of human energy fields—how they mesh with other people’s energy fields, and how we all mesh with the energy fields of the universe—the new energy medicine may solve a pesky little mystery that’s been preoccupying humans for millennia…consciousness, itself.