Introduction

Before you embark on this adventure suspend your intellectual left-brain activity for a moment. Let your-self wonder and feel the connectedness of all things.

Life is far more than we can know by peering through a microscope or reducing something into its smallest parts.

Just as we cannot know how the cell communicates with the rest of the organism by studying its chemical components, we cannot know the complex associations and mutual interactions of the human body by studying the tissues.

We cannot predict the behavior of a species by knowing its parts. To know something does not mean we understand it.
The Kirlian effect cannot be understood simply by an application of the laws of physics as we know them. We need to consider how a complex, interactive biological system reacts when subjected to the Kirlian process and to do this means we have to go beyond what we think we know. Here it is necessary to suspend judgment so we can investigate further.

If you are interested in using electro photography on living systems you need to consider what a living system comprises of. Living organisms fall into a category known as ‘open systems’.

Open systems are defined by their ability to actively engage in the exchange of material and information with their environment and to build up, assimilate and breakdown this material to maintain their integrity. An open system is actively engaged in the process of life. A stimulus applied to an open system is not a passive affair.

The open system will intelligently modify its reaction to the stimulus, unlike a closed system that is limited by the laws of physics. Basic physics is mainly concerned with studying closed systems.

In Kirlian electro-photography a mild electrical charge of a specific frequency and voltage with very low current (micro amps) is applied to the subject. The resulting Kirlian electrograph displays an interference pattern created through the interaction between the subject and the Kirlian signal. An electrograph of an individual in a calm and relaxed state will show a different flare pattern around the fingers and hands than an electrograph of an individual in a stressed and tense state.

This suggests that the state of the subject is somehow modifying the Kirlian radiation field. It appears that states of stress and relaxation modify the field flow and the Kirlian corona discharge makes this visible. Considering living organisms as open systems may help us to interpret the information received through the Kirlian process. Because the Kirlian process reflects changes in the state of the system its potential as a diagnostic tool becomes apparent.