Our labels: how we mark the evidence

Every article in this library carries a label at the top. It tells you at a glance how strong the evidence is for the article’s main claim: what research shows, what comes from tradition, and what is still an open question.

We’d rather be honest than impressive. The labels are there so you can see where each idea stands and make up your own mind.

The four evidence labels

🟢 Well studied

Consistent findings from many good-quality studies, or established physics. This label is about how solid the finding is. It says nothing about curing or treating any illness.

🟡 Early evidence

Some studies exist, but they are small, few, mixed or limited in how they were done. Promising, not settled. We look at these articles again at least every 12 months.

🔵 Tradition only

Comes from Chinese medicine, Qigong tradition and history. Worth knowing and often full of meaning, but not scientifically tested, or not testable in the way it is usually stated.

🟠 Speculative

A hypothesis or popular claim that goes beyond, or conflicts with, current evidence. We present it so you can judge it for yourself. Presenting it doesn’t mean we endorse it.

The extra label: 🟣 Lived experience

Some things come up again and again in practice that research simply hasn’t looked at yet. The 🟣 Lived experience label is for those. It describes what I notice in my own practice and what participants in my immersions consistently report.

It always appears beside an evidence label, never instead of one. So you might see, for example, “🟠 Speculative · 🟣 Lived experience”: the research is lacking, and here is what we notice in practice.

Lived experience is an honest account of what people notice. It is not proof, and it is not a promise that you will notice the same. Everyone’s experience is different. If good research appears on the question, we’ll add it and update the evidence label.

How to read the labels

• The label is about the main claim. It rates the central claim of the article, not every sentence in it.
• Mixed articles get the cautious label. When an article covers different levels, we label the sections inline and give the whole article the lowest level it seriously discusses. The exception is pure physics explainers, which are labelled by the physics.
• 📜 Documented history marks sections about well-documented historical facts, such as where a name or a method comes from. For example, in our Solfeggio article the history is documented, while the health claims made for the tones are labelled 🟠 Speculative.
• A label is about evidence, not value. “Tradition only” or “Speculative” doesn’t mean worthless or wrong, and “Well studied” doesn’t mean something will help you personally.
• No label is medical advice. Not even 🟢.

Labels change when the research changes

Research moves on, and so do we. Every article shows a “Last reviewed” date. When new studies come out, we read them and update the article and its label, in either direction: an idea can move up from 🟡 Early evidence to 🟢 Well studied, or down if better studies don’t confirm it.

If you know of a good study we’ve missed, we’d love to hear about it.