Electricity is a vital component of nature. Sometimes, we experience it straight from the clouds as thunder and lightning flashes on a stormy night. At other times, the phenomenon is more gentle, for example, when you see your hairs rise from the static load of your sweater. As one might remember from physics classes, the human body is a good conductor of electricity. But what is often misconceived is that electricity only exists outside us, maybe in the clouds on a stormy night. While we do harness it and consume it for our different purposes, electricity is in fact a vital, dynamic component in the architecture of our body system—much more significant than we realize.

As every element in nature carries specific electric charges, so do those in our body (sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium). These charged elements are called ions and can be used by our cells to generate electricity. Now imagine that inside your body, small electrical signals, barely noticeable, are guiding the shape of your limbs, the regeneration of your cells, and the very organization of your body. This isn't science fiction. It's bioelectricity—the flow of ion currents and voltage gradients across cells and tissues—and it just might be one of the most overlooked forces in biology.

The direct implication of bioelectricity is that we are all electrical beings, constantly generating, sensing, and responding to invisible signals. Extrapolating from this information, we can perhaps say that if the body and its parts have optimal, healthy frequencies, then one's immediate electromagnetic fields can be stimulated to vibrate in a desired frequency by sending an appropriate amount of current through it.

There are two hypotheses to consider here. First, stimulating the body or specific parts with electricity of certain voltages could possibly lead to healing from various illnesses and diseases. Second, even without externally supplying electricity, we can achieve the same thing through manipulating our mindset—not only for healing itself, but also for affecting people and objects outside of itself through the emanation of a subtle electromagnetic field, resulting in superhuman feats.

Relevance in the Mainstream Paradigm

Mainstream biology has long acknowledged bioelectricity. It's in your neurons, in your heart, in every cell that fires or flows. Think of the pacemaker cells in your heart, sending out rhythmic electrical pulses. Think also of the action potentials that race through your brain every time you read, move, or feel something.

But here's the catch: in the mainstream view, bioelectricity is largely a consequence of life, not a driver of it.

Modern developmental biology still focuses mostly on genetics and biochemistry. Genes tell cells what proteins to make. Those proteins build everything else. Electrical signals are seen as important for communication—like messages on a phone line—but not necessarily as the architects of growth and healing.

This framework works incredibly well for many diseases and therapies. It's the reason we have modern neuroscience, cardiac medicine, and life-saving diagnostics. But it also hits a limit. Why can some animals regrow lost limbs while humans can't? Why do flatworms regrow exact copies of themselves—even with their heads cut off? Why does healing sometimes fail completely, or go wrong (as in cancer), despite all the right genes being present?

Alternative Science: Bioelectricity as the Master Blueprint

If mainstream science sees bioelectricity as the messenger, alternative researchers ask: What if it's the message itself?

In the 1930s, Harold Saxton Burr, a Yale neurobiologist, discovered voltage differences around developing embryos and tumours. Through various experiments, Burr showed that if you send electricity through a living organism and measure the change in voltage, there are patterns of correlation with physical aspects, including disease in early development. Based on this, he proposed the idea of an “L-field” or “life field”—an electrodynamic structure that guided development itself. It was a radical idea, and largely dismissed at the time.

Fast-forward to the 21st century. Researchers like Dr. Michael Levin at Tufts University are resurrecting these old questions with modern tools—and finding astonishing results. Levin's lab has shown that you can “reprogram” an organism's body plan using bioelectric signals. In one study, they induced flatworms to regenerate heads at both ends of their bodies—without altering their DNA. In others, they triggered eye formation in places like the gut of a frog, simply by tweaking bioelectric gradients.

These experiments suggest something powerful: cells might be reading not just a genetic code, but also a bioelectric map—a kind of voltage-based GPS guiding them on where to go and what to become. It's as if bioelectricity is the software, the operating system, that interprets the hardwired DNA. Change the software, and you change the output—without ever touching the code.

Bioelectricity has also been implicated in the development of cancer, supplementing Burr's research findings: “Cancer cells are too positively charged, compared with healthy cells, and some research has shown that restoring malignant cells' voltage through ion channel regulation tends to return them to a normal, non-malignant state.” From an extremely crude view, it would appear that inducing an influx of negative ions into the cancer cell would subsequently “fix” the situation. A less crude way to put it would be that the electrical charges in our cells need to be in balance for the body organs to function efficiently. However, if the bioelectric current happens to flow in some special ways, they may lead one to experience an altered state of consciousness.

DC Direction and Bioelectric Stimulation

A 1998 study in the European Journal of Neuroscience outlines the distinct direct current (DC) changes that take place throughout the brain in our sleep stages including REM. The DC shift in the brain towards the positive charge during REM correlates with an increased respiratory rate during this phase. Per Robert Becker's book, The Body Electric, DC shifts in the brain coincide with DC shifts throughout the body.

 Becker, through experiments, found that changes in the direction of the DC current occur with changes in states of consciousness. When a person is awake and alert, the frontal potential of the brain is negative, while the back is positive. When a person is asleep, the direction reverses and the frontal potential of the brain is positive while the back is negative. However, in significantly altered states of consciousness, such as during hypnosis, meditation, rhythmic breathing exercises, etc., it has been observed that slow-wave amplitude increases (theta/delta) simultaneously with fast-wave spikes (gamma). This alludes to the notion that instead of a steady current in a clear direction, it is now a strong, very rapidly alternating current that is circulating through the brain regions. This seems to imply that instead of running electrical currents through one's body or body parts, there is the option to alter frequencies with the mind.

Bioelectricity vs. Bioelectromagnetism

Every time an electrical current flows, it generates a magnetic field. This is physics 101: electricity and magnetism are two sides of the same coin. And the body is no exception.

Bioelectromagnetism is the study of the magnetic fields produced by the body's electrical activity. A simpler way to understand this is that if bioelectricity is the signal, then bioelectromagnetism is the aura it casts.

The brain's electrical activity creates magnetic fields that can be detected with a magnetoencephalogram (MEG). The heart's bioelectric activity produces magnetic waves strong enough to be measured a few feet away. These fields don't just exist—they can interact with other tissues, influence nearby cells, and possibly even carry information of their own.

Thus, bioelectricity and bioelectromagnetism influence each other. Change the electrical activity, and you alter the magnetic field. Conversely, when you expose tissue to external electromagnetic fields (like in transcranial magnetic stimulation), you can modulate electrical activity in the brain.

Relevance of the Bioelectric Matrix

At the heart of all our thoughts, feelings, and actions is a bioelectrical network. Every cell holds voltage. Every thought is an electrical spark. Every heartbeat, a coordinated pulse of ion flow. This bioelectric matrix, as researchers like Michael Levin have shown, can guide cells to regenerate, form new patterns, even override genetic defaults. It acts like a control system—a kind of software directing the hardware of biology. But software, as any programmer knows, can be hacked. And that's where things get interesting.

The idea of “supernatural” abilities has been around forever. From yogic masters slowing their heart rates to stories of remote viewing, healing touch, or heightened perception—these claims are easy to dismiss. But across disciplines—neuroscience, psychology, energy medicine—some patterns start to repeat.

Heightened control over bioelectric states seems to be a common thread:

·       Healers show unusual EM field activity in their hands during “energy work.”

·       Meditators demonstrate shifts in brain wave patterns and local electric fields.

·       Subjects in flow states often report a sense of merged awareness coinciding with large-scale synchronization across the brain—an electrical resonance.

These aren't magic tricks. They're perhaps signs of bioelectrical coherence. Take attention, for instance. When you train attention (through meditation, breathwork, or mental discipline), you're not just “focusing”—you're literally reshaping electrical rhythms and thus tuning your internal frequency.

Meditators—especially those with thousands of hours of practice—consistently show higher gamma synchronization. Their brains aren't quieter—they're coherently electric. Let's say you enter a meditative state. Your brain waves shift to alpha or theta. Your electric activity down-regulates stress circuits. Cortisol drops. Serotonin rises. Dopamine pulses. In both meditation and “supernatural” reports, we often see the same biological signature: relaxed alertness, high coherence, and a hormone profile geared for healing, awareness, and insight.

In the context of this discussion, thus, meditation can be viewed as a powerful practice of bioelectric regulation. Indeed, studies show long-term meditators can influence involuntary functions—immune responses, gene expression, even body temperature (c.f. WHM practitioners). Some of this may come from deep bioelectric entrainment—subtle voltage patterns repeating through tissues and organs, guided by sustained neural rhythms.

Approaches for Measuring the Body's Electrical Activity

Since bioelectricity refers to the electrical potentials generated by biological tissues, particularly neurons, muscles, and glands, these potentials can be measured in various parts of the body using electrodes and simple circuitry. The following are the most popular approaches for observing the bioelectricity within yourself:

1. Electroencephalography (EEG): Observing Brain Waves

EEG is used to measure the brain's electrical activity, specifically the voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic currents within neurons. Consumer-grade EEG headsets such as OpenBCI or NeuroSky offer accessible platforms for real-time monitoring of brain waves. These systems allow you to observe how brain activity changes with different states such as focus, relaxation, sleep, or meditation.

2. Electromyography (EMG): Monitoring Muscle Activation

EMG detects the electrical signals produced by muscle cells during contraction. DIY EMG setups using sensors, like MyoWare, can be integrated with microcontrollers such as Arduino, enabling users to visualize muscle activity in real time. This can be particularly useful for studying how different exercises or motor tasks influence muscle activation.

3. Electrocardiography (ECG): Tracking Heart Function

ECG, or EKG, measures the heart's electrical activity and is used clinically to assess heart rate and rhythm. Affordable DIY ECG kits and sensors such as the AD8232 allow individuals to record their own heart signals with reasonable accuracy. These setups can be used to explore how the heart responds to various stimuli like breath control, physical exertion, or changes in posture.

4. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR): Measuring Emotional Arousal

GSR involves measuring the skin's electrical conductance, which varies with moisture levels due to sweat gland activity—often a marker of psychological or emotional arousal. A simple GSR circuit can be built using an Arduino and two electrodes attached to the fingers. This method allows users to test their physiological response to emotional stimuli, stress, or relaxation techniques.

Detecting Bioelectromagnetism: Magnetocardiography and Magnetoencephalography

While bioelectric signals are relatively easy to measure, bioelectromagnetism—the magnetic fields generated by these electric currents—is significantly more challenging to detect without specialized equipment.

Magnetocardiography and Magnetoencephalography detect the magnetic fields produced by electrical activity in the heart (magnetocardiography, or MCG) and brain (magnetoencephalography, or MEG). However, such fields are extremely weak and typically require highly sensitive instruments like Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs), which are impractical for personal use due to their size, complexity, and cost.

Experimental Ideas for Self-Investigation

There are several compelling ways to experiment with these phenomena in a controlled manner:

• Meditation and Emotion Studies: EEG and GSR can be used together to observe changes in brain activity and emotional arousal during meditation, breathwork, or exposure to emotional stimuli.

• Muscle vs. Brain Signal Differentiation: By recording both EMG and EEG during movement, we can analyse how cortical and muscular signals differ and interact.

• Biofeedback Loops: Using ECG or GSR in a feedback system, we could learn to modulate our physiological responses consciously. For instance, by observing how breath control affects heart rate variability, one can improve relaxation techniques.

This goes without saying, but safety is paramount when conducting bioelectric or bioelectromagnetic experiments on yourself. It would be best to use only passive, non-invasive sensors and to avoid applying any electrical current to the body unless using medically approved devices, such as a TENS unit.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is that bioelectricity isn't just abstract theory. It's where science meets potential. Electromagnetic therapies are already in use—helping bones heal faster, treating depression, even restoring motor function after injury. Researchers are further exploring how bioelectromagnetic fields can help guide stem cells, stimulate regeneration, and correct cellular miscommunication in cancer or neurodegenerative diseases.

Ongoing research in the field of bioelectricity might soon lead us to the realization that perhaps the phenomena we label “supernatural”—intuition, healing, telepathy, peak awareness—are just extreme expressions of natural laws we don't fully understand yet.

Sources for further reading:

• Book: The Body Electric by Dr. Robert Becker

• Website: www.dmtquest.com