Why did the 1980 movie “Resurrection” starring Ellen Burstyn have such an impact on you?
That movie blew me away! Burstyn brilliantly played the role of a hands-on healer. The way she could relieve people’s pain and suffering mesmerized me. Suddenly I was overcome with the realization that I could be a healer, too. I ran out to the bookstore the next day to find books on the subject (there weren’t many in 1980) and took two home. One book instructed me to focus my mental powers on my hands, bringing healing warmth to them in order to heal people. The other book explained how I needed to concentrate on seeing multi-colored lights emanating from my fingers.
Unfortunately, I found it very difficult to focus my mind like that. I could never see colored lights flowing from my hands, but sometimes I could bring heat into them, and occasionally relieve a friend or relative’s headache or other affliction. But usually my hands remained uselessly cold and the method didn’t work. And it failed miserably when I needed it most—to help alleviate my daughter’s agony when she suffered from viral meningitis. That’s when I knew I needed to find a reliable healing technique, and thankfully, I found Bio-Touch.
In the simplest of terms, what is Bio-Touch and how is it different from other hands on healing methods?
Bio-Touch is a touch-healing technique that uses the first two fingers of each hand to touch on someone’s skin, lightly as a butterfly, on specific points on the body. The combination of light touch and specific points seems to encourage the body to heal itself, alleviating pain, reducing inflammation and stress, and relieving symptoms of disease. Bio-Touch is different from other hands-on or touch-healing methods because it’s easy to do. There is no need to concentrate or focus the mind on anything, or create hot hands and breathe in a special way, or believe in any philosophical or religious principles. There are no levels of mastery, so everyone is effective the first time they try using Bio-Touch—even children! Bio-Touch is also different from other techniques because it’s inexpensive to learn. The Bio-Touch Center in Tucson, Arizona offers introductory classes for only $48. There are also affordable online correspondence courses. And the training manual can be downloaded for $18 on the Bio-Touch website at www.justouch.com.
Are you and Paul Bucky kindred spirits? How so?
Paul Bucky is the man who discovered Bio-Touch 25 years ago and is the co-founder and co-director of the Bio-Touch organization, a non-profit teaching foundation. He teaches Bio-Touch classes at the Center and gives Bio-Touch sessions, along with a staff of volunteer practitioners (of which I am one) to everyone who comes in the door for no charge! Donations only are accepted! While writing my book, I interviewed Paul about his unusual and fascinating past that led him to discover Bio-Touch in a small town in Colorado. As he spoke, I was stunned to discover the parallel paths our lives had taken—how many similarities there were. Many of the same things happened to us at the exact same points in time—even though we didn’t know each other, didn’t live close to one another, and lived under very different circumstances for many years.
Six years ago our destinies finally brought us together, working at the Bio-Touch Center. He is like the teasing, yet caring, big brother I never had. He calls me “sister.” We bug each other and hug each other. He gives me good advice, and has become my spiritual mentor, having been on a path to find enlightenment since he was only five years old. So yes, I’d say we are definitely soul siblings or kindred spirits.
Have you and Paul ever had a major disagreement?
Most of our disagreements have been rather innocuous, similar to what siblings might have. But one major disagreement, which I included in detail in my book, took place on an especially hot summer day in Tucson. We argued over the setting for the thermostat on the air-conditioner at the Center. I was boiling hot; Paul was frosty cold. I set the thermostat lower by just one degree, and as soon as I walked away, he raised it back up. We went back and forth like that a couple of times, and then tempers flared. Though ultimately a learning experience in communication and compassion for both of us, it certainly wasn’t our finest moment.
Talk a bit about Curtis’ testimonial. How did Bio-Touch help him?
The Bio-Touch Center in Tucson has a notebook filled with testimonials from people who’ve been helped by Bio-Touch. There are many wonderful stories in the notebook, but I think the most amazing testimonial was written by Curtis more than twenty years ago. Curtis was a 74 year old man who suffered from a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa, which causes blindness. Half the men in his family went blind, slowly and steadily, every other generation. In his own words, Curtis wrote, “Needless to say, I’ve been blind…totally blind…for about five or six years.”
In his beautifully written testimonial, Curtis explains that he learned about Bio-Touch from “a fishing buddy” who was a “brittle diabetic…in very bad shape,” whose condition improved after receiving Bio-Touch sessions. Although a self-described skeptic, Curtis was impressed with what Bio-Touch did for his friend, and “acquiesced to being treated.” Curtis describes his experience with Bio-Touch and its impact on him. Curtis wrote, “Then I began to think…goodness I can see the light by the window…a glow of light, and I got quite excited.” Well, Curtis went on to see more—his face in the mirror (“There I looked in the mirror and saw the ugliest old man I had ever seen!”), trees and sunsets. His vision was fuzzy, and the images he saw slowly disappeared, but he was so grateful to be able to see after being in the darkness for so long.
I knew I could never paraphrase his incredibly moving words and that is why I included his testimonial in its entirety in my book.
Is there any scientific evidence and research supporting Bio-Touch?
Yes, three doctors conducted independent studies on Bio-Touch: Dr. Gary Schwartz, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Arizona, Corporate Director of Development of Energy Healing at Canyon Ranch, and author; Dr. Carole McKenzie, Ph.D., CNM, R.N., Associate Professor of Nursing, Texas A&M University – Commerce; and Dr. Kenna Stephenson, M.D., principal investigator on a Bio-Touch research project at the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, Texas.
Each study produced results showing that people experienced a reduction of pain, stress, and restlessness, had lowered blood pressure, and enjoyed feelings of well-being and relaxation after having Bio-Touch sessions. In the words of Dr. McKenzie, “Our research confirms that Bio-Touch has an immediate and sustained favorable effect on bodily pain and physical conditioning in addition to an overall improvement in Quality of Life Scores in patients.”
A summary of their work is posted on the Bio-Touch website (www.justtouch.com).
How has Bio-Touch made a difference in your life? Have you used the technique on family members?
Bio-Touch has made a huge difference in my life. Now that I know how to use it, I never have to feel as helpless and hopeless as I did when my daughter was so sick. I can use my fingertips to help people feel better in any situation, and in conjunction with mainstream medicine. It gives me some measure of control in a frightening situation.
My husband, Howard, an initial skeptic, now asks me to work on him whenever he has muscle pain or feels like he’s coming down with a cold. It’s proven itself to him; he knows it works. My daughter likes me to work on her metabolism and bring down her stress levels. And I’ve been giving my 95 year old mother Bio-Touch sessions regularly as she struggles with congestive heart failure, memory loss, and other symptoms of aging. Somehow, Mom always remembers the name Bio-Touch, and smiles throughout the entire session.
Why did you decide to write the book?
One day while working with Paul at the Center, he said he wished someone would write a book about Bio-Touch so everyone in the world could know about it and share it. Immediately I felt like I should be the one to write it. I had so many stories to tell about the incredible ways I had seen Bio-Touch help people. And although my only writing experience consisted of years of creating short stories for my own pleasure, I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Bio-Touch means hope for people who are in pain, stressed out, or struggling with symptoms of disease. I wanted to help fill those suffering people with that hope.
What was your approach to writing the book?
Early on I decided that I had to tell the story of Bio-Touch in my voice rather than in the third person. I wove stories of my past, including my journey of personal healing, and my experiences as both a student and certified practitioner of Bio-Touch, with stories of Paul’s past, including his spiritual journey and discovery of Bio-Touch, along with basic facts about Bio-Touch. I interviewed Paul every Thursday afternoon for several months, and through those interviews, found the information I needed to fully develop the story of Bio-Touch. Readers will find that my book is filled with stories of love, loss, learning, healing, and most importantly, hope.
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Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH, author Debra Schildhouse grew up in a close-knit, loving family. She met her husband, Howard, while attending the University of Cincinnati. Relishing a traditional marriage, she became a stay-at-home mom, raising two children, Jill and David.
After watching the movie “Resurrection,” starring Ellen Burstyn as a hands-on healer, Schildhouse became fascinated with the subject. She began “healing” friends and family by willing warmth and energy into her fingers. The technique failed her when she needed it most. In 2009, her daughter was struck by a mysterious, debilitating illness. After her daughter recovered, she was desperate to find a technique that she could count on, so she’d never have to feel so helpless or hopeless again. Her search ended when she discovered Bio-Touch. In 2010, Schildhouse became a Certified Practitioner of Bio-Touch and joined the other volunteers as a staff member at the Bio-Touch Center in Tucson, Arizona. There, she has given hundreds of Bio-Touch sessions on a donations-only basis.
Schildhouse also sits on the Board of Directors of the International Foundation of Bio-Magnetics (IFBM), the educational arm for the Bio-Touch organization, and writes web content, blogs, newsletters, and articles for IFBM. BIO-TOUCH: Healing With The Power In Our Fingertips (Select Books; $16.95) is her first book. For more information, visit: http://www.debraschildhouse.com/