Radio waves, cosmic rays, neutrino bursts, cell phone carrier waves, ultraviolet light and sound are all invisible, but very real, physical phenomena. Similarly, the human energy field is invisible, but very real.

Our language reflects our ability to sense this mysterious but palpable phenomenon. We say things like, “I feel so energized today,” “My energy is so low, I can hardly move,” or “The energy in the room shifted as soon as she walked in.”

Most people feel energy, and some people can see it. Others monitor their energy consciously with practices such as Reiki, tai chi, qigong and yoga to take better control their life. But some people deny that energy exists, even though their lives depend on it.

Medical school disappoints many medical students because it does not address the most fundamental question: what’s the difference between alive and dead? In fact, it is this very energy that makes a person alive one moment and dead the next. Brainwaves, electrical activity in the heart and the muscles, breathing, thinking and consciousness itself are obvious manifestations of the living human energy field.

While many doctors witness more deaths than they care to remember, few of them speak about the moment of death when the energy field seems to retreat from the body, package itself in a neat little invisible dot and simply leave. Perhaps the best word for this condensed human energy is the spirit that rolls itself up and leaves as a puff of intangible but totally real smoke.

Cultures that are more reflective than ours have studied the human energy field by exploring the sensations it produces in the body and observing where emotions reside; fear in the kidneys, anger in the liver and love in the heart, for example.

In China, physicians map the energy field with acupuncture meridians. In India, they identify seven major energetic vortices, called chakras. These constitute the energy anatomy of a living human, along with the direction of flow and the blockages that can cause physical illness if not relieved.

Learning to consult the body in emotional situations can prevent acting out blindly. Feelings can be diffused once identified, denial becomes tougher, and interactions can become more conscious through recognizing and dealing with emotions early, rather than letting the pressure build until the top blows off. Meditation is the royal road to healthier emotional expression.

There’s more to us than chemistry; there’s physics, too. Studying the location of energy and its movement in our own body can be enlightening and it’s also good preventative medicine for body and spirit.

Dr. Carol Roberts, M.D., practices internal medicine at the Perlmutter Health Center, 800 Goodlette Rd., N., Ste. 270, in Naples. For more information, call 239-649-7400.