SQUIDs are excellent at detecting magnetic fields. Not the squids you find in the ocean, the SQUIDs invented by John Zimmerman and employed inside magnetometers. Unfortunately, magnetometers of this sensitivity are still experimental and not widely available. They have been successfully used to discover the tiny electromagnetic fields emitted by touch therapists and other healers, but they are not available for use on a regular basis to evaluate everyone’s energy health.
The classical approach by healers in the East to detect and monitor the flow of Chi in a patient has been to develop the healer’s own ability to sense these flows of energy. Not everyone can do this. Nor can this be learned quickly. Ayurvedic or Daoist training to sense the multiple pulses of energy found in the wrists that indicate the health of the organs can take eight years or more. What would be ideal is a simple instrument, portable, and that can be operated with just a few weeks or months of training, not years. Such instruments have been created starting in the 1950s and the number of offerings has been expanding ever since.
The AMI
In 1971 Dr. Motoyama developed an instrument to detect and measure the function of meridians. He called the device the “AMI,” which stands for “Apparatus for Meridian Identification.” The AMI, as described in Dr. Motoyama’s own words, is “a device developed to measure energy transfer through the meridians.” The AMI electrodes are attached to both hands and feet and a small electric current is applied. Four electrical values are measured and recorded in a computer.
After analysis by the computer, normal or abnormal results are presented to the operator. The trained operator evaluates these readings in terms of meridian function, general physical health, and pathology (illness). The system also recommends specific points for optimal acupuncture treatment. Also detected is the functional status of the chakras. Based on all of the above, a diagnosis is possible with regard to the subject’s physical constitutions and personality.
There is more information available on the AMI at the California Institute for Human Science (CIHS); however, for a full report on all the scientific studies of the AMI Dr. Motoyama’s book Measurements of Ki Energy, Diagnosis, & Treatments is recommended. Unfortunately this book is hard to come by. Also, unfortunately, Dr. Motoyama has not built many AMIs; obtaining a reading is more difficult than getting an MRI scan.
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