Spanish researchers have come up with what they say is a scientific explanation for the halo-like auras some “healers” claim to see around people.
University of Granada researchers said their study of self-proclaimed healers has found many appear to have the hallmark symptoms of “synesthesia,” a mingling of the senses that allows some people to “see or taste a sound, feel a taste, or associate people with a particular color.”
In such individuals – known as “synesthetes” -- the brain regions responsible for the processing of each type of sensory stimuli (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell) are cross-wired, which causes the senses to be more interconnected, the researchers found.
The study, published in the scientific journal Consciousness and Cognition, was conducted by University of Granada psychology experts who said theirs is the first scientific explanation for auras -- supposed energy fields of luminous radiation surrounding a person that are imperceptible to most people.
"Not all healers are synesthetes, but there is a higher prevalence of this phenomenon among them,” the researchers wrote. “The same occurs among painters and artists, for example."
For the study, researchers interviewed and examined several well-known healers to reach their conclusions.
Some healers, they concluded, "have abilities and attitudes that make them believe in their ability to heal other people, but it is actually a case of self-deception, as synesthesia is not an extrasensory power, but a subjective and 'adorned' perception of reality."