In 2018, the Consciousness and Healing Initiative and Miraglo Foundation, with the additional support of Medicine of the Soul Foundation, Rising Foundation, and the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation, facilitated a team of researchers and healthcare practitioners to travel to several sacred sites and ashrams in India. Our goal was to foster cross-cultural, collaborative dialogue and research on collective spiritual practice, as well as scientifically explore the spaces that support them. Previously, we reported on our findings at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, where we explored EEG coherence between individuals during meditation.
One of the sacred places we had the privilege to visit was Sripuram, located in Vellore,Tamil Nadu, in India. Sripuram is a Hindu place of worship, which the founder, Sri Shakti Narayani Amma, has designed to be aligned with a 6 pointed star, called the Sri Yantra (sacred geometry). In the center of the Sri Yantra is the Maha Lakshmi Golden temple. Within the Sri Yantra is also an important sacred object we called the Durga Stone, which also has a 6 pointed star or Sri Yantra upon it.
Research team members: CHI Board Member Paul J Mills, PhD (3rd from left), CHI Healing Practitioner Council Member Rev. Tiffany Jean Barsotti, PhD (4th from left), CHI Founder and CEO Shamini Jain, PhD (5th from left) and CHI Board Member Daniel Vicario, MD (9th from left). Far left: CHI Board Member Rauni King.
“Durga” means the invincible in Sanskrit or Goddess of Protection. Visitors to the temple routinely encounter the Durga Stone / Sri Yantra by placing their hand on top of it, during which time they recite a mantra, “Durga Devi Saranam” (I take refuge in the Goddess).
While at Sripuram, CHI Healing Practitioner Council member and biofield scientist Dr. Tiffany Jean Barsotti, headed a team to explore the effects of the Durga Stone / Sri Yantra on the human energy system.
The study was recently published in the journal Explore, and is freely available and shareable on the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed.
Summary of Our Findings
The Bio-Well device was used to capture the data. The Bio-Well uses Gas Discharge Visualization (GDV) technology to capture ‘gas discharge’ images from the fingertips. This discharge is captured by a charged couple device camera and video processor, with multiple images taken per second. These images are then layered and ultimately mapped with the Su-Jok Korean Hand system and Jing Well Points. Both of these ancient systems have a homunculus of the human body’s multiple organ systems at the fingertips. The Bio-well technology provides information on the endocrine, gastrointestinal, autonomic nervous system and the chakras.
For this study, 17 individuals were studied on three separate occasions: assessment 1, at the hotel the day before to the sacred object; assessment 2, on the temple grounds immediately prior to exposure to the sacred object; and assessment 3, on the temple grounds immediately following an approximately 3-minute exposure to the sacred object. Three aims and associated primary, secondary, and exploratory hypotheses examined effects of exposure to the sacred object on a set of variables including emotional pressure, energy state, L/R symmetry balance, multiple physiological systems, and chakra energy and chakra alignment.
The study findings were as follows: The emotional pressure and overall energy state readings of the study participants were significantly elevated following exposure to the sacred object. Similarly, each of the organ systems examined showed significant increases across the 3 assessment points. The overall chakra energy readings too were elevated following exposure to the sacred object.
The findings from this novel study, and while keeping in mind the study’s several limitations (including the lack of a control group and specific controls for expectation), suggest that short-term human exposure to this particular sacred object, the Durga Stone with Sri Yantra, may be associated with significant changes in the human biofield. We encourage readers to read the full study.
While we did not systematically capture qualitative data for this study, it is noteworthy that along with these findings, persons encountering the Durga Stone reported a sense of expanded energy after placing their hand on the stone and saying the prayer.
These interesting findings are just scratching the surface of what we know about sacred spaces from a biofield and psychological perspective. CHI, along with its funding partners, looks forward to continuing to investigate the impact of sacred spaces and collective healing practice, on healing for humanity.
The Durga Stone with Sri Yantra
Learn More About the Scientist
Tiffany Barsotti, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned medical intuitive, spiritual healer, clinician, and researcher of subtle energy and biofield therapies. Dr. Barsotti’s published in prominent Integrative Medicine journals and books on topics of integrative medicine, consciousness studies and the human biofield, sharing co-authorship with clinicians and scientists from academic institutions around the United States.
She’s presented her work at numerous venues including the annual Science of Consciousness Conference, Science and Nonduality Conference, the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine Conference, and The Chopra Center for Wellbeing.
Tiffany is a favorite on Gaia TV, has been featured on the Shift Network’s Science of Healing Summit, and is a Visiting Scholar at the University of California San Diego’s School of Medicine.