John G. Kruth | Subtle Energies, Photons, & Physiology
Rhine Research Center, Durham, NC, USA
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Physiology examines the workings of the body, including autonomic processes, to reveal how the body functions and the mechanisms that may contribute to human experience. Autonomic activity often reveals hidden factors that contribute to health, illness, and psychological states like emotions, stress, and relaxation. Many psi events occur spontaneously, unconsciously, or unintentionally, and the mechanisms behind them remain a mystery. A natural extension of psi research is to explore the physiology of the body looking for correlates to psi experiences. The Rhine Bioenergy Lab measures ultra-weak photon emissions (UPE) in the near-ultraviolet to low visible range (350–700 nm). Previous studies have produced evidence that UPE increases when some people focus their intention on tasks such as meditation, martial arts, energy healing, or psi performance. Over 12 years of research have established standard procedures and identified participants who reliably increase UPE with very significant results. This study examined whether physiological activity correlates with photon counts during moments of increased UPE. Five participants completed 50 sessions, with physiological measures including heart rate, heart rate variability, electrodermal activation, blood flow, and skin temperature monitored continuously. Results strongly confirmed that participants produce significantly more photons during periods of focused intention than during rest. Across all sessions, mean photon counts jumped from 3.75 at rest to 49.07 during focus. Sixteen sessions showed six-sigma variations. Physiological analysis revealed that increased heart rate and greater heart rate consistency were strongly correlated with UPE expression, with reduced blood flow also weakly correlated. These findings suggest that UPE may carry information communicating healing intention or aroused states, opening the possibility that healing has less to do with energy transfer and more to do with an exchange of information through light.
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John G. Kruth is the Executive Director of the Rhine Research Center in Durham, North Carolina. He directs the Rhine Bioenergy Lab, where he has spent over 12 years studying ultra-weak photon emissions and their relationship to intention, healing, and psi phenomena. His work is supported by the BIAL Foundation.
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The Parapsychological Association is an international professional organization of scientists and scholars engaged in the study of psi (or ‘psychic’) experiences, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, psychic healing, and precognition. The primary objective of the PA is to achieve a scientific understanding of these experiences.
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Published on May 7, 2026
