The Ninth Annual International Energy Psychology Conference

Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D., and Tim Brunson DCH

by Tim Brunson DCH

I recently attended the Ninth Annual International Energy Psychology Conference, which was held April 18 through 25, 2007, at the Westfield's Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia. This was the annual conference for The Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology, a leading-edge organization of psychologists and other professions. It was good to see old friends and colleagues as well as meet many new ones. I've been interested in the fields of energy psychology and medicine since I met Fred Gallo Ph.D., David Feinstien Ph.D., and Donna Eden at The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM) conference four years ago.

Two of the highlights of the conference were the plenary sessions by Her Holiness Sai Maa Lakshmi Devi, which appealed to my right brain, and Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D., which appealed to my left brain. Both of these speakers left the audience wanting more. In fact, I could not resist registering on site for the evening session with Dr. Sheldrake.

The conference organizers made a great selection when they asked Christine Page, MD DCH to give the final plenary presentation. For me this was a condensed version of the Alchemical Healing workshop that I attended with Dr. Page back in December. However, I welcomed the refresher. Dr. Page is most definitely a unique speaker and a very special person.

Other than the plenary sessions, there were over 50 breakout sessions that ranged from practical to theoretical. Although I struggled with the decision of which sessions to attend and which to purchase on CD, I did manage to attend several excellent presentations by such experts as Gregory Nicosia, Ph.D., Raven Lee, Ph.D., Dawson Church, Ph.D., Michael Mayer, Ph.D., Asha Clinton, Ph.D., and many others. It was nice to see Carol Look, DCH, Maggie Phillips, Ph.D. (my "conference buddy"), Sandi Radomski, ND, Mary Sise, LCSW, Nan Lu OMD, and several other presenters who I have studied under previously.

One of the "discoveries" that I made at this conference was Dawson Church, Ph.D. If you appreciate the work of Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., you'll love how Dr. Church has furthered Lipton's work (and added a dash of Ernest Rossi, Ph.D.'s insight regarding gene expression) and put together a presentation that will knock your socks off. If like me you are one of the "show me the literature" skeptics, you will see that his comments are well documented and professionally presented. My big disappointment was that he had not been selected as a plenary speaker. (I would surely like to see NICABM recognize his talents and get him as a keynote address – hint, hint Ruth!)

In all I would like to salute Larry Stoler, Ph.D., the current ACEP president, and all his team for one of the best organized conferences that I have attended for the past several years.