Ear Candling in Cancer Therapy
by Patrick Quanten MD, United Kingdom
and Greg Webb RMT, Canada
Ear candling, an ancient ritual and healing art which formed an integral part of cultures such as Egyptians, Aztecs and North American Indians, has found its way into our culture and alternative medicine. It has captured the imagination of many through its amazing effects and its simplicity. People all over the world are astonished how different they feel when they have been "candled". And the growing interest, together with the absolute safety of the ear candling process itself, has allowed a great variety of people to be exposed. This in turn delivers many personal experiences and testimonies, including those suggesting that it is of great benefit to cancer sufferers. But don't we hear that about every so-called-new treatment? Maybe so, but as regards ear candling we can actually explain how and why it will improve your health, even when you are suffering such a devastating disease. But first, we will have to enlighten you on the disease process which leads to cancer. And you thought that nobody knows how someone gets cancer! Think again, it has been known for a long time; and at the same time it has been vehemently denied because accepting this knowledge would turn our whole medical culture bottoms up. The process which leads to disease has been known to man since the dawn of time, long before cancer was "invented". How people get ill has not and can not change throughout the ages, the only thing that changes is the expression of the disease. So what is this disease process which has been written up in ancient texts across the globe, surviving time and cultures?
The Disease Process
In spite of common belief no disease happens quickly, no disease is acute; some expressions may be, but the process has to have been going on for quite some time before the medical profession recognises it as a "disease". Naming and labelling is extremely important to doctors, it is part of their prevention strategy as well as their therapeutic approach.
However, diseases are caused by a persistent imbalance within the system. Rather than naming the disease, it is about recognising imbalances and correcting them, before they damage the system and make us ill. Because all diseases are caused this way, it follows that essentially there are no "new" diseases, only variations of the same basic disease-causing factors.
Imbalance within the system, meaning what exactly? Well, the system (body and mind) has an unbreakable contract to keep you well, fit and healthy. It has a complete and accurate knowledge of every cellular function, every biochemical activity and every aspect of our energy system. Every second it performs billions of actions without ever making a major mistake. (Fancy our computers doing that!) If a tiny thing is not entirely right it will recognise and rectify it straight away. Trust your system to be 100% committed to your health and well-being. It will do the very best that is possible, given the material it has been handed by you. And that is where most of the time the struggle starts! For the sake of simplicity we will consider this "imbalance" as any kind of deviation from "the norm", or from what the system considers normal. This deviation we call toxic. A load of toxins puts the system out of balance, a prelude to ill-health. So, a toxin is per definition: anything which, at that particular moment in time, the system does not need in order to maintain its health balance. These toxins can enter the system from outside or can be entirely produced inside the system as part of the way it handles whatever life throws at it. Toxins, created internally as well as those interring the system from the outside, can be unnatural products that are alien to the system; they can be inappropriate or excessive items even though they are natural; wrong timing, and wrong combination of actions can also result in toxins.
These toxins now accumulate in the places where they have been collected and/or produced, mostly the digestive tract. These cause very few minor disturbances such as very occasional distension, constipation, acidity, anger, indigestion, heaviness, or fatigue. As more and more toxins collect the symptom pattern will increase both in frequency and severity. However, all the symptoms are vague and are quickly dismissed because everybody complains of those things and you just have to live with it.
As the collection site is getting fuller an overflow will occur into other parts of the body causing a different set of symptoms. Depending on the organs and tissues that are affected one can have complaints such as dry skin, stiff joints, headaches, cough, constipation, lack of energy, swollen glands, fever, vomiting, dizzy spells, diarrhoea, tummy pains, etc. These symptoms occur more persistently and doctors will now start to take notice. However, all the medical tests will come back as normal.
Those sites that are the weakest and most vulnerable will suffer the most. These particular locations will start to show signs of being unable to cope with the increasing amount of toxins coming their way. Symptoms will now be fixed in certain positions, corresponding with the troubled organ or tissues and it is at this stage that the doctor declares you have a particular disease such as asthma, diabetes, arthritis, cancer or whatever it may happen to be. Finally we can all be happy because they have found out what the matter is with you. Congratulations, you have just graduated from hypochondriac to patient!
Further accumulation of toxins will induce a more widespread breakdown of tissues which is generally known as the disease complications.
Cancer
Cancer has many causes, as we all know, including our toxic environment, devitalised foods (produced and presented by the food industry), sedentary lifestyle (lack of appropriate exercise), and lack of spiritual purpose or effort in life. Its basis often is suppressed emotion or emotional stagnation, which causes accumulation of toxic material, the manifestation in physical (chemical) form of feelings. This was well known in the early days of Western Medicine when cancer was described as a disease of melancholy or black bile, which also translates as suppressed emotions. Hence, physical remedial measures are usually not enough to restore health, as our current track record in cancer treatment confirms.
The build up of toxins happens because the digestive fire and other energy sources are low. When there is little energy available to digest and absorb food, a rotting process starts from within the food in much the same way as it would when you leave food items for any length of time. The fermentation is responsible for the bloatedness, the distension of the abdomen, for constipation and/or diarrhoea. These rotten products - toxins - have to be dealt with by the system which quickly makes them safe and "stores" them. As there is almost a constant influx of toxins because of the continuing low inner energy, the accumulation grows larger almost by the day resulting in major stress on the system, which eventually will lead to a collapse when it is no longer able to cope with the workload.
Effective treatment as well as prevention has to concentrate on the increase of inner energy and digestive fire. No treatment can be effective without it. Ear candling as a treatment has proven itself time and again as a very efficient method of increasing the quantity and quality of "inner energy".
Ear Candling
How can sticking a hollow candle in your ear and burning it do you any good at all?
The crucial factor is the heat that is generated by the flame. There is no direct heat exchange between the candle and the body (the ear) of the person as the bottom of the candle never even gets warm. Yet the heat on the top of the candle is just as important as the heat in the open fire burning in the winter. You do not need to sit in the flames in order to absorb and benefit from the heat produced by the flames. The reason for this is radiation; the air around the fire warms up and transports that heat to the air which is in contact with your body. As the air immediately surrounding you warms up you become warm and feel cosy.
In a similar way, the fire on top of the candle heats the air inside the hollow candle. This creates a movement of air as the top part of the air column is much warmer than the lower regions. The warmer air starts to spiral downwards towards the bottom of the candle (observed by anybody who has ever done ear candling), taking with it the energy from the fire rather than just the warmth from the air. In the example of the open winter fire the air moves linear from the fire to your body and creates a direct heat transfer. In ear candling the air moves spirally whereby the air molecules in that particular motion transfer the heat (temperature, kinetic energy) from the top into an ever increasing vortical movement, which cools the air but highly charges it. So, the temperature of the air moving quickly down inside the candle is cool but the energy is high. When this air now comes close to the layer of air-body contact it releases that energy into the body. It is this energy input which will make all the difference to the state of health the body is in.
Yet another view of how ear candling transfers healing energy to the human body is to draw an assimile with the ancient Chinese practice of moxabustion. A type of treatment performed by acupuncturists to stimulate energy into systems of deficiency, creating an improved level of health function in the corresponding area. The herb mugwort is compressed into a finger thick cylinder shape, of which one end is set on fire. This end is held either proximal to the area requiring stimulation or over an acupuncture point relating to the area. Ear candling is equally about having a flame, which creates and transfers energy, close to an area and acupuncture points relating to areas in need of healing. The region in which the ear candle is burning (the ear) is a complete acupuncture point diagram of the entire body in the shape of an upside down foetus. One could easily conclude that there would be a marvellous influx of energy into the whole of the acupuncture meridian system.
Methods of studying the effects of ear candling
The authors have used various methods of research to gather a clearer understanding of which systems are affected by ear candling and to what extent. The primary methods are active observation of clinic results and improvements in a variety of health conditions, Kinesiology Muscle Testing (Touch For Health) and Live Blood Analysis.
Live Blood Cell Analysis is a marvellous tool to use in regard of treatment studies. It clearly shows in an almost snapshot manner the state of health function of our being as well as revealing health tendencies a person has experienced through various periods of life. One observes under very high magnification the blood and its constituents on a life one bloodcell thick layer preparation. The health of our blood cells, the presence of foreign pathogens and the activity level of the cells, in particular the immune cells, can be directly evaluated. The cells of the immune system become much more active following ear candling treatment. They seem more able to sense the presence of foreign toxic material, move towards it with much greater speed and accuracy, and engulf the material with much greater ease. This fascinating direct observation helps to confirm why so many people note a rapid improvement after ear candling.
These visual findings have been confirmed in more detail through muscle testing. Kinesiology Muscle Testing (Touch for Health) is utilised by health professionals all over the world. The application of muscle testing is done by the practitioner pressing on the clients limb to ascertain if that particular muscle holds steady (locked) or lets go (unlocked). As every cell and every part of the body holds all information about everything that the system has ever experienced, the muscle will also have this "data base" at its disposal. The scope of information gained through muscle testing is only limited by the knowledge and skills of the practitioner and the desire to unearth true answers. It is thus that kinesiology confirms that not only the function of the white blood cells has become more precise and effective, but also that other aspects of the immune system have improved tremendously. All lymphocytes', phagocytes', T-cell and B-cell activity is more targeted and direct, as well as improvements in the function of the spleen and thymus glands. The whole of the immune system is more alert, more mobile and more assertive after each ear candling session.
- Effect on Body Systems
We all know that it is crucial in cancer treatment to maximise the immune system's potential. By destroying or inhibiting the function of the body's natural fighting mechanism we will leave the body weak and vulnerable, unable to defend itself. If ear candling is going to be of any use at all in cancer treatment it will at least have to provide support for the immune system, as indeed all cancer treatments should - unless you are not particularly bothered about the effect of the treatment on the whole patient.
Visual findings of improvement in immune function have been confirmed in more detail through muscle testing (kinesiology). Not only has the activity of the white blood cells become more precise and effective, other aspects of the immune system have also improved tremendously. The overall effect is that the whole of the immune system is more alert, more mobile and more assertive after each ear candling session
Lymphatic drainage, which apart from being an essential tool in the clearing out of toxic material also houses a vast array of immune cells, improves significantly with ear candling. Dramatic visual descriptions of swollen lymph glands disappearing under ear candling treatment as snowballs in the sun, have been reported. More commonly diffuse lymphatic swelling in the neck and throat area has been seen to disappear after treatment. Even finger swelling has diminished as reported by individuals because of loosening of rings they wore. The initial drainage is most notably seen in the area from the ears upwards, including the cranial cavity, the sinuses, the area around the eyes, the middle and inner ear areas. This also establishes an unceasing of the cranial sutures (blockage of these causes a lot of problems as demonstrated in cranial osteopathy), a re-establishment of the articulation of the cranial sutures and of the smoothness in rhythm of the cerebral spinal fluid pumping mechanism as well as the cranio-sacral articulation pump (again, such problems highlighted in osteopathy). Further sessions drain the lymphatic system from the collarbone up; from the mid-chest up; from mid-abdomen up; down to the thighs and working its way towards the toes until the entire body's lymphatic system becomes really clear and functioning. Not only does this indicate the role ear candling plays in the cleansing of the body but it also shows the accumulative effect of regular ear candling sessions whereby the clearing and cleansing of tissues continues down the body structure, rather than having to start from scratch each time when we allow too much time to lapse between sessions.
A commonly recommended treatment schedule is 3 treatments of 2-4 candles per ear within 10 days. Three additional treatments of 2-4 ear candles per ear over the next 3-4 weeks. The number of candles per ear depends upon body size and level of congestion/illness. The bigger and sicker a person is the more they will benefit from additional candles in each treatment. After this 6 treatment protocol re-evaluate and proceed as required aiming for 3-4 bursts of 2 sessions back to back per year. This will build a very strong level of health within the person on many levels.
With almost absolute predictability the healing energy delivered to the body by the ear candling process will be delivered to the systems most in need. The body is a completely conscious being, knowing precisely what is happening with every cellular structure at all times. It will therefore provide the largest amount of corrective power to the systems in greatest need, a balancing effect to the areas less in need, bringing virtually all systems to an even platform of function, then raising the capacity of function across the whole board up to an ideal optimal health level. In other words, what is most urgent will get the extra energy input first, and sometimes it isn't at all where we would have expected it.
- Emotional Effect
Research in the last two decades has been able to demonstrate not only the fact that emotions influence our state of health but also that all feelings and emotions are translated into chemicals in all systems within the body. When a person is in a stressful state, their body biochemically produces stress-related chemicals. Those stress-related chemicals have health reducing effects such as: the stomach produces more acid and the duodenum more digestive juices in an erratic way, the mobility of the stomach and gut increases dramatically, the circulation is constantly kept high, the breathing becomes much more rapid and shallow. This serves to reduce the digestive fire for the burning of the food we consume, leading to a toxic build-up. The senses are heightened, the adrenals show a massive increase in activity, muscles are in a state of permanent tension, and so on. Stress also changes the blood flow patterns in the brain, in the limbic and endocrine systems draining blood away from those centres most responsible for clear cognitive emotionally balanced states of living. On the other hand, when a person is calm, peaceful, in a loving-centered state, that state of mind produces positive healing chemicals. Parts of the endocrine system which are more active in a relaxed calm state will be primarily, the pineal gland, the pituitary gland, the thalamus and the hypothalamus. Both states, stressed and relaxed, result in neuro-chemical activity: one producing highly toxic substances, the other very powerful healing chemicals. We have the ability to choose through our thoughts and actions the state we live in, stressed or relaxed. We do have the choice!
When a person is joyful, calm, peaceful, in a loving-centred state, that state of mind produces positive healing chemicals. Parts of the endocrine system, which are more active in a relaxed calm state, will be primarily: the pineal gland, the pituitary gland, the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The amygdala and hippocampus (two parts of our limbic system controlling primal behaviours which monitor the presence of danger and sensory information, as well as mood control) will command less control in a relaxed calm state. Chemicals, produced as a direct result of our emotions, are responsible for how we physically feel. It is the long-term direction, which these chemicals give to the tissues they govern that will produce either a long, well balanced, non-stressful cell life or a disrupted, unbalanced, damage inducing life. Cancer is certainly one of many eventual outcomes of a long-standing stressful and unbalanced cell stimulation or suppression.
A well documented and universally agreed effect of ear candling is a feeling of complete relaxation. People always comment on how they could "go to sleep" even during the treatment. This state produces the appropriate chemicals to reverse any negative and stress induced effects which the body may have been living under for a considerable time; in other words, a healing state . The overall benefit on the health of the person in view of the above is now obvious.
W.A Chapman's book "Your Cosmic Destiny" in which he describes experiments in the psychology laboratory, they found that hatred, anger and jealousy caused different coloured condensates from calmness and contentment, which upon analysis contained deadly poisons. The poison of a few minutes jealousy is enough to kill a guinea pig. An hour of hatred produces enough poison to kill 80 guinea pigs; on the other hand, happy, loving peaceful emotions produce some of the most powerful healing chemicals known to mankind. If you have somebody who is in the cancer therapy treatment protocol, the thing which causes cancer to grow faster than anything else, is fear. Fear causes cancer to grow faster than anything else they have been able to identify. If a person is in a fearful state, there is automatically a fight/flight state which is prolonged for the whole time the fear resides within. The adrenals as well as the amygdala and hypocampus will be kicked in a very high functional level and the chemicals produced in the body as a consequence will be of a very toxic nature. Ear candling will instantaneously normalise the level of overexcitement in the function of these glands while dramatically boosting the systems that are in a low energy state - the pineal, the pituitary, the thalamus, the hypothalamus - systems responsible for producing very powerful healing neuro-chemicals. Ear candling instantly affects the entire glandular system and brain region energy distribution in a very positive manner. Within the space of a few treatments ear candling works to bring the entire glandular and limbic system to a very harmonious ideal state of function. This is commonly achieved by the sixth session. As a result people are more emotionally balanced; they are more enabled, feel more capable, relaxed, less threatened, and have more hope. Hope is a powerful "molecule".
The Life Force and Healing
The energy systems of our being; aura, chakras and meridians interface with our bodies electrical system, the nervous system. The intertwined function of this group provides the electrical grid that delivers life force energy to all parts of our being, to each cell of our body. If the energy grid experiences disrupted flow, then a direct result will be a reduction or a disturbance to the function of the particular physical part supplied with this "less than optimal energy". This will directly reduce the health capacity of that part of the body. On the other hand, strengthening the energy systems provides us with excellent resistance to ill health.
In Chinese medicine the key factor to health is a strong balanced acupuncture meridian flow carrying Chi "life force" to all body parts. In particular the kidney organ/meridian Yin energy is seen as a vital store house of life's energy. Strengthening the state of kidney energy and its distribution is essential to any form of healing process. Clinical research has shown that, of the systems receiving healing energy from ear candling, the Yin aspect of the kidney meridian is very often in the top three. This whole concept is of extreme importance to our health and it is no surprise that in Chinese medicine the ears relate directly to the kidneys. Cold is damaging to the kidneys. With ear candling the heat of the flame creates a reverse flush of energy back down to the kidneys filling them with warmth and vitality, providing a storehouse of "life energy".
In East Indian Medicine it is the flow of Prana "life force" which determines the capacity for vitality in all body parts and aspects of our lives. The central part of the Prana movement, the "spine" as it were, is from the base of the physical spine upwards in a kind of double helix fashion around a central straight channel. The chakra at the base of the spine, called the root chakra, houses the "Life Energy" and therefore has a very close connection with the physical body. It provides it with vitality and strength, and relates to our survival instinct and procreation. The root chakra has been shown to react very quickly and positively to ear candling, gaining power and strength. From here, more energy will be distributed all the way up the spine fanning out into all body tissues. The upward movement of this energy, our life force, travels into the brain region, stimulates key areas, and then opens and strengthens the crown chakra. This chakra - the place of the fontanel (soft spot on the baby's head) - provides us with access to the universal healing energy (Yang Energy).
We find evidence of this in clinic research showing the posterior aspect of the pituitary gland (a Yin consciousness building centre) to be the most common number one priority system to receive healing energy from ear candling. Clients often develop a greater inward strength and knowing of "self" from continued application of ear candling (Yin consciousness), often translated into less fear and greater personal assurance.
The free flow of "life energy" is enhanced as a result of ear candling, clearing and strengthening all aspects of chakras, meridians and aura. Hence the entire energy grid is much improved in its ability to deliver life force energy to every cell in our body. Cells in a state of ill health will rely on the powerful input of this life force energy to be able to regain health.
Conclusion
As shown, illness is created by a long-standing stress on the natural processes. The accumulative effect of this situation leads to physical malfunctioning, such as cancer. As the only thing that caused the disease is the body and mind itself, so it is the only thing that can ever heal it. The healing will have to come from within, and can only be achieved by supporting and sustaining a natural balance within the functions of the whole body-mind person.
In order to relieve the stress caused by progressive malfunctioning one has to "clear up" the system as best as one can. This can be achieved through stimulation and support of the elimination systems. To this effect it is essential to reduce the negative influences and build-up of toxins, to strengthen the immune system, and to increase elimination. All of these processes require extra energy input. Ear candling not only delivers that extra energy, it also mobilises the immune system throughout; it increases lymphatic drainage allowing areas to be cleaned up; and it delivers through positive mood changes a series of balancing chemicals which brings the whole systemic function back into a smooth operation, creating an environment conducive to healing and the building of health.
Greg Webb R T M, Calgary, Canada
is a leading authority on the internal bodily effects of Ear Candling.
June 2002
