Deepest Health: Exploring Classical Chinese Medicine

Chinese medicine question of the month : intro to a new method of engagement

Eric — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:27:58 +0000

As a first-year student, I was so blown away by everything I was learning in school for Chinese Medicine, I couldn’t keep my mind straight. I was being rearranged, challenged on every level. I really couldn’t have blogged about the questions I was having if I tried. During my second year, things were less windswept but busier – that was my strongest blogging year during my tenure at NCNM. My third and fourth years were *much* busier in terms of work at school, work outside of school – the blogging clip declined. Also, while I was more able to formulate relevant questions, I was less likely to actually pose them. Why? Part bravado, part fear, part exhaustion.

Bravado might be the wrong word, let me explain. Learning something new, especially something as new as Chinese medicine was to me, is always a meandering path of discovery. You don’t know who to listen to, you don’t know how to even find the right information – it’s all just surprise after surprise. As you progress, things come into focus a bit. In a field as vast as Chinese medicine, even a little focus feels like an incredible accomplishment. However, if you’re a humble person (or even just a marginally intelligent person) you realize that this little bit of focus is a REAL little bit and you’ve got several lifetimes of work to do.

But imagine… you’re a second or third year student, a year or two to go. You’ve invested lots of time, energy and money into learning a profession. You’re looking to make a career of the thing. At some point you realize that you’re basically just going to escape school with enough knowledge to avoid killing people. This is scary, because you want to graduate with enough knowledge to be as good as your teachers. At least close, anyway.

You have a couple of choices at this point. First, you can act like you know more than you know. Many people take this approach. Ill advised. Second, you can become despondent and drop out. Equally ill advised. Third, you can become despondent and a pain in the butt to the school administration, your fellow students and the profession in general. Please don’t do that. Finally, you can do some version of what I’ve done – hunker down and get to learning.

The problem with how I’ve done the latter is that I stopped being vocal. I stopped asking questions, even when I had them. It’s sort of like this – as soon as I think of a question, I see how it is attached to a million other questions and I don’t even know where to begin. So, I shut my trap. This is NOT GOOD FOR BLOGGING. It’s only when I had a particularly crystal clear question that I was able to pull something together for a post. Those posts tended to generate a lot of discussion, but they were few and far between.

What I want more than anything is for Deepest Health to grow into a vibrant community for students and practitioners of Classically oriented Chinese medicine. A place where we can come together, discuss issues, get to know one another and get busy becoming the future of the medical profession. A place where we can exchange news, resources, advice and anecdotes. A place for the genesis of new ideas that will help our patients. I’ve been working the last couple of weeks to figure out how to make this vision a reality. If you read the last 30 or so posts on DH, you might see that I’ve actually been working on this for a couple of years! :D

In service of all of this, in service of the work I’m doing to write a book, in service of the work I’m doing to be a good teacher to my fine students at NCNM – I am going to try something. Each month, I will search my soul to find a topic that is most standing out to me and will focus on that for the majority of my posting during that month. I hope that this will help us, as a community, to engage more deeply with a topic while also keeping me focused and motivated to blog. In some ways, it’s an extension and development from the Year of Sagely Living and other “grand projects” that have been discussed here. In other ways, it’s just a representation of my own development as a scholar and practitioner. It seems like an interesting possibility. The timeframe may contract or expand, depending. The topic may be vast (reading Classical Chinese) or very narrow (Mahuang in Shanghan Lun formulas) – I will try to trend a little closer to the former. We’ll just see how it goes.

We’re a little far into January, but I have to start somewhere. This month is all about flavor, wei 味.

I’ll post some introductory thoughts shortly. Thanks, as always, for your support.

。

Chinese medicine question of the month : intro to a new method of engagement

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Mahuang (ephedra) and it’s utter legality for Chinese medicine practitioners

Eric — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:00:52 +0000

Many practitioners and proprietors of herbal pharmacies are under the mistaken impression that the purchase, storage and prescription of Mahuang (Ephedra) is illegal. It isn’t. I guess I could just keep this post short like that, because it’s really all that needs to be said, but let’s be a little more verbose – shall we?

I was reminded about this issue by a student at NCNM, my friend Tim Rudowsky. He’s an enterprising fellow, always researching, and apparently this issue piqued his interest. See, at the NCNM school pharmacy, students are unable to use Mahuang. Students and professors who have a strong preference for Classical formulas often lament this fact. It’s an issue of particular concern during this time of the year in the cold, wet, windy Columbia River Gorge area. We need our Mahuang!

I wrote a short, simple article about the qualities and uses of Mahuang a while back. I do not use it frequently, but do use it when it is necessary. What would Mahuang Xixin Fuzi Tang be without Mahuang? Has anyone ever had success replacing Mahuang in Gegen Tang or Mahuang Tang?

I thought I had already written on Deepest Health about this important issue. However, it appears that my post never made it out of draft stage. Instead, I had sent an email to my friends and colleagues through our student email list. I’ll post some of the information from that email here:

“I’ve been investigating Mahuang. As you know, there is simply no substitute for it in our materia medica or any other. It’s hard to find, although people in Portland have secured sources. My research indicates that the major herb companies don’t carry it because they are worried about getting into trouble from the FDA – but that research only involves two herb companies – anything but rigorous. Does anyone else have any information?

Anyway – I have not seen any compelling evidence to suggest that we, as licensed acupuncturists, could ever get in trouble for using Mahuang. Read this FDA document about Mahuang, check around page 28. It specifically states that licensed acupuncturists are exempt from the restrictions placed on the major herbal product distributors. I have been searching for some time, and cannot find any evidence that the rule has been amended in any way, so this information would appear to be correct. The same holds for Xixin. You just have to FIND IT, and then you can use it, as far as I can tell.

Here is a short excerpt of the email that my friend Tim sent me about his experience researching Mahuang access:

After an incredible amount of leg-work, I got in contact with the NW FDA rep who sent me the most recent official ruling on the use of Mahuang. No one seems to understand how the herb is to be legally handled, and, in fact, our own medicinary manager is convinced the herb is illegal for prescription in the US. This Federal document explains that Mahuang is completely legal for use by licensed Chinese herbalists as long as it’s not being used, long term, to induce weight loss. (He references the same document that I link to above)

The fact is that despite the fact that there’s no compelling reason for us to stop using Mahuang, it is getting harder and harder to purchase. Qualiherbs, an East coast distributor of Chinese herbs, used to carry it in granules but no longer does so (though I believe they still have some granulated formulas containing Mahuang). I don’t know of any major bulk herb distributors that carry it. What are we to do, as practitioners, to gain access to the herbs we need for the complete practice of our medicine?

AAAOM, our professional organization in the United States, claims to make herbal access one of their main legislative priorities. I don’t have a lot of contact with the organization, so don’t know what they are doing around this issue. However, it has been my experience that working on issues like this is usually made more successful by utilizing the power and legitimacy of a membership driven professional organization. Thinking about this issue makes me more inclined to consider being involved with the AAAOM.

I’m interested to hear from readers on this issue. Do you use Mahuang in your practice? If not, why not? Do you have any more information about Mahuang and its use in the United States? Have anything to say about the AAAOM and their handling of this issue? Have any thoughts about strategies to ensure our access to the herbs we need?

Mahuang (ephedra) and it’s utter legality for Chinese medicine practitioners

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Looking back – two and a half years of Chinese medicine blogging at Deepest Health

Eric — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:29:51 +0000

I started writing at Deepest Health in earnest in June of 2007 – about 2.5 years ago. Since then, there have been almost 300 articles posted, about 20 of those being podcasts. Topics have ranged from my personal habits to larger movements in politics and society. I have blogged about veganism, the use of animal ingredients in Chinese herbalism, about acupuncture, dietary therapy, business and the shifting energy of the seasons. I have run a year long program of self improvement called the Year of Sagely Living as well as dabbled with multimedia explorations of the natural world. Deepest Health has had a fairly active community, weighing in through almost 2000 comments (thanks everybody!)

Through all this blogging time, my personal life and the world I live in has changed a great deal. I’ve written a thesis, passed my boards, graduated from school in Chinese medicine, started my practice and learned a ton about my profession and myself. I’ve studied with masters, been the President of my school’s student body, watched my daughter become a teenager, witnessed the election of our country’s first African American president, and enjoyed the beginning of my third decade of life.

A lot has gone on in this scant two and a half years. It’s been a tough adjustment, moving from blogging as a student to blogging as a practitioner. There’s just so much to do! However, today I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Things are calming down – settling out into a more predictable stream of work and play. I appreciate that and hope it means that a new golden era of Chinese medicine blogging at Deepest Health is on its way. Who knows what will come in the next 2.5 years? I’m excited to find out.

In celebration, I thought I would do something I hate doing (haha) – highlight some of my old posts. I’m one of those people who doesn’t read my old journals, you know? I don’t like looking back and seeing how much I didn’t know, or how badly I wrote. Even worse, I hate finding out that I knew more then. :D I thought I would feature posts that didn’t get much interest when they were posted. So, sit back and relax with a cup of tea and enjoy this exploration through the archives. I’ve also linked to a couple of less read posts in the blue links throughout this post, check them out!

Two quite different ways to learn and practice Chinese medicine

Neijing says: yes, your doctor should be meditating

The Chinese organ clock and the pericardium : emotional health

Why does Chinese medicine seem so complicated? (A guest post by friend and colleague Michael Givens)

Chinese herbal medicine and the doctrine of signatures

Looking back – two and a half years of Chinese medicine blogging at Deepest Health

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Let’s learn Classical Chinese together : encouragement and an interview with Richard Goodman

Eric — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:11:21 +0000

Hey everyone,

Well, the winter holidays are upon us here in the Northern hemisphere. For those of you in school, that means you’ve probably got some free time coming up. Why not use some of that to get going on the honorable project of learning to read classical texts of Chinese medicine? Sounds like fun to me. I wrote recently about a special deal for Deepest Health readers on a bundle of two books – Richard Goodman’s Classical Chinese Medicine Texts. These are great books for learners, ideally set up to take complete newbies through the steps of picking up critical language skills.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I will be heading up an online study group around the texts. We will work through a Google Group and have weekly “assignments” and discussions, and even try to put together a hosted chat every now and again. The hope is that by going through the books as a group, we will be better able to commit to learning, and have a group of people to help us work through particular challenges. Goodman has even offered to be a part of the group, in whatever capacity the group wants him to be. If you are interested in joining up with the group, please send an email through the contact form letting me know. You will need both books and a willingness to participate on at least a weekly basis. It should be a wonderful experience.

Now, I have a treat for everyone. Richard Goodman agreed to a short interview about his books, learning Classical Chinese and even some tips for aspiring writers in our field. Hopefully, this information will be useful, but will also convince you that learning Classical Chinese is worth doing, and worth doing now! Get the books, and join the group!

—-

Deepest Health (DH): What is the biggest impediment for English speakers in learning to read Classical chinese?

Richard Goodman (RG): “Every aspect of Chinese, and especially classical Chinese, is different from English. From learning and memorizing characters to grappling with a grammar that has no tense, much of what we encounter in Chinese is difficult to understand. When I was finally at the stage that I could start approaching classical Chinese medical texts, I was overwhelmed-where does one begin? The vast number of medical books written before the 20^th century is alone enough to scare people away. This combination of learning a language that is different in every way from English with the sheer volume of classical texts available overwhelms people and even the most well intentioned people never begin.”

DH: How do your books help folks with that?

“My overall goal was to address as many of the frustrations I had in my own studies as I could in one series of books. The two I mentioned were two of my biggest frustrations and I addressed this first by just selecting texts that are fairly easy for beginners. Volume One starts out very slowly and builds very purposefully on the characters and grammar already taught. In both Volumes One and Two, 95% of the characters will be found in every medical text. I didn’t want any “filler” or terms that were rarely found. I was never trying to “wow” readers with impressive texts, but instead made language learning the priority. This does not take away all of the difficulty in learning Chinese, but learning slowly and building upon an ever increasing vocabulary makes the task seem a bit less daunting.”

“One thing I have heard from people over and over is that they did not feel overwhelmed by these books, and that is satisfying to hear because that was definitely one of my goals. Learners need confidence and they need it quickly.”

DH: Have you seen real clinical impact when people learn to read the classical Chinese medical texts? Why do you think this is?

“I think this very much depends on the type of practitioner one is when they begin to study classical texts. If one practices in a way that relies upon starting with a disease, moving on to its standardized differentiation, and then giving the formula and point prescriptions based upon that, that type of practitioner will not find classical texts clinically useful. There are virtually no classical texts that proceed in that way, which is why I suspect most people read translations of the classics and then decide learning to read classical texts is no longer relevant to modern day practice.”

“For practitioners who rely on understanding the underlying theories of Chinese medicine to treat patients, the classics are a treasure trove of information. Even rudimentary concepts like Qi, yin and yang, and the five phases are used to describe healthy and ill states with a depth that is quite astounding and much more refined than anything I have seen in English. I personally never had a really firm grasp on these basic ideas until I began reading them in the context they were originally discussed.”

“A lot of practical information also exists in the classics. For example, my views on pulse examination have transformed many times over by reading classical authors’ methods. Just one practical example is the relationship between the breath and the pulse. Most modern books teach us to use a watch, but rapid and slow pulses are determined in relationship to the number of times the pulse moves per breath. This changes the pulse dynamic considerably, leaving the focus entirely on the patient. Additionally, the terms for the pulses make much more sense to me in Chinese and the translations, such as slippery or choppy, do not really capture the image. Having access to all of the more detailed information on virtually every aspect of Chinese medicine, from prescriptions to diagnosis, will most certainly create a more refined practitioner.”

DH: Do you plan to write more books on the topic?

“There will be one final volume in this series which will focus more on herbal texts and their theories. I have already selected all of the texts and I expect that book to be available by early 2010.

I have already started working on what I am currently calling “learners’ editions” of the classics. That seems to me to be the next logical step so that people can continue studying while also tackling entire books. These will not be translations per se, but people who are not interested in learning the language could still use them as such. All together, I have about 10 books planned to come out over the next two years and all of them are related to Chinese classics and language.”

DH: What advice do you have for people in the field looking to write books? Any sagely advice? Tips and tricks? Things to avoid?

“I think the best advice I can give is simply do not try to force a book out of yourself. Everyone is different and I can really only share my own experience. I never really had the intention of writing books at this stage of my life and I just kind of fell into it. I found work as an editor at a publishing company to support myself while I studied Chinese. As my Chinese got better, I was moved to their Chinese language department and started translating Chinese language textbooks.”

“After editing what was probably hundreds of language teaching books, I got a real sense for what worked and what didn’t. My life circumstances were such that this series was just a natural extension of what I had been doing for the past five years. This is not to say that there weren’t times I struggled with the writing, but the idea and outline was very easy to come up with. Just write what you know and ask for help from others once you have something written—no one can write a book alone. “

Let’s learn Classical Chinese together : encouragement and an interview with Richard Goodman

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

New and Improved Deepest Health Podcast – Ep 1 – Intro & Insurance

Eric — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:49:23 +0000

Hey everyone,

I’m going to jump on the Podcast wagon again. In this episode:

Why am I doing a podcast AGAIN?
Talking about starting a business
To take insurance or not to take insurance : a one-sided debate
It’s fun to use my microphone again
Yes, I know one channel is almost silent – I’ll fix it next time, promise.
If you ask nicely, maybe a videocast is in our future…

Check it out and come back here to let me know what you think in the comments!

New and Improved Deepest Health Podcast – Ep 1 – Intro & Insurance

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The concept of constitution in Chinese herbal medicine

Eric — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:00:41 +0000

I have to admit to some weirdness around the concept of “constitution.” This is absolutely unfounded, I have no clinical or theoretical information to back up my feeling. I think I’ve just seen this concept be misused. Once you get an idea in your head that a patient is a “Chaihu person,” or a “Bladder CF,” or a “Shaoyang patient,” it seems to be a little difficult to think outside that box. It offends my desire to meet the patient where they are without preconceptions.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I realize that this is part of what WE DO in Chinese medicine in particular and natural medicine in general. We look at the gestalt of the patient, and we make a helpful generalization about their condition and the treatment that is likely to rectify it. We look into past and future and consider how the patient came to be where they are and where they might be going, and treat them based on all of this information. I have no problem with that. But, I find myself a little worried when I persistently think about a person as, say, a “Chaihu” person, even before they come in – and use that lens to view whatever it is they might be presenting with in the current moment.

Before you click on the comment button prematurely – know that this is an attitude that is changing for me. The more patients I see, the more I see really weird cases. These cases involve patients who present with a certain picture that so strongly speaks to a particular treatment strategy but for whom that treatment strategy does not work. Searching for a remedy usually guides me in a very unexpected direction. In retrospect, looking through the patient’s case, I usually see a certain pattern emerge.

Here’s an example from my time in the student clinic.

A patient presenting with very serious symptoms (serious blood stasis, ongoing memory loss, digestive chaos, emotional instability and more) also had a *very* excess pulse – pounding, tight and wiry at all depths with some choppiness throughout. A dong (flicking bean) pulse was found on both sides between the first and second positions. A lot of stasis in the tongue. The supervising doctor and I discussed the case for a while, trying to seek out the best formula. For the next six or eight weeks, we used some variation of Taohe Chengqi Tang + Zhishi Xiebai Guizhi Tang with some incorporation of Guizhi Fuling Wan. We wanted to treat the most excess, the most “outward” of the symptom picture first.

As the treatment progressed, however, it… uh, didn’t. The patient’s symptoms didn’t lessen much, the pulse picture didn’t change. We decided to work from another direction. Following the recommendation from one of my mentors, I used a modification of Shenqi Wan with some additional blood movement incorporated. The patient found almost immediate improvement and continued to improve for the next several months. Later acute episodes found us changing our formula strategy a bit, but Fuzi has always been involved and when the Fuzi is removed, the patient worsens.

Now part of this is just my clinical immaturity and maybe my inability to see signs that, for a more experienced practitioner, would seem obvious. I’m sure there are several of you in the audience shaking your heads sagely – ah yes, of course, Fuzi. But, one could easily see something about “constitution” in this case. I’ve had similar experiences otherwise. It’s not always obvious in the pulse, it’s not always clear in the history, but when you go with it – improvement is found on all levels.

There doesn’t seem to be something that binds these cases together in every case. For instance, I am in no way convinced that if a different person with a similar presentation as above were to come to the clinic that I would be able to resolve their situation in the same way. But, I may be able to look at this person and – over time – learn some basic characteristics that help me to identify patients who might need this approach… this is, to me, constitution.
I’ve been reading the Classicalformulas.com blog over the last couple of months, though I have not yet read the book “10 Formula Families.” I’ve recently requested it on Interlibrary Loan and will review it as soon as I am able. Anyway – a recent post got me thinking about the constitution question again : http://classicformulas.com/constitutin-formula-scope/ . Has anyone read this book yet? Find it valuable? Definitely leave your impressions in the comments.

I’m wondering about others’ experience with constitution, or similar concepts. Have you seen a constitutional approach be crucial in your success with patients? Have you seen problems with the approach? If so, what were they? How did you resolve them? Where is the classical support for this method? What have you been learning in your classes and seminars about constitution? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

—–

Site updates : Please notice the “Follow Me” tab on the left side of your screen. If you’re on Twitter and don’t already follow me – you can click that button to read my tweets. You can also check out the Twitter feed for my clinic, which is in some ways more tightly focused on Chinese medicine, but intended primarily for patients. Finally, please consider joining the burgeoning Classical Chinese language online study group, mentioned in my prior post about Richard Goodman’s fine texts. If you are interested, please contact me sooner rather than later. It should be a good time!

By the way – If you’re confused about Twitter and Social media in general, I’ve got some excellent beginners information for you. Links to some incredible, simple instructional videos. Definitely watch these in a place where you can listen to the audio.

About social media in general : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE
About Twitter in particular : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

The concept of constitution in Chinese herbal medicine

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Learn to read classical Chinese medical texts – special deal for Deepest Health readers

Eric — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:41:32 +0000

I’ve been a little slow out of the gate with this one, folks, and I’m sorry about that. Richard Goodman, author of the excellent Classical Chinese Medical Texts: Learning to Read the Classics of Chinese Medicine Vol I has released Volume II of the series! I have to say that I have never encountered a clearer, more enriching text about Chinese language anywhere. For those of us who don’t have easy access to someone to teach us classical Chinese in person, this text is a great resource. Even if you are already learning Chinese (modern or classical) you will find tremendous benefit in the book.

As I’ve discussed in many places, I believe that learning to read the Classical texts of Chinese medicine is one of the most important, and least appreciated, skills for the contemporary Chinese medicine practitioner. While nothing can replace clinical experience and the one-on-one education one receives in discipleship, delving into the roots of our medicine is not only intellectually stimulating but often directly applicable with patients. While this is not a simple task, it is well worth the effort. Texts like what Rick has written are a master key in acquiring this important skill.

A review of the newest volume on Amazon.com says:

“Since reading the first volume, I can now get through medical texts at a much faster rate and find that I need to rely less on the software I was using. Both volumes are mind opening due to the fact that the author uses texts that provide information that is now rarely taught. Most importantly, this series has given me the language skills that have allowed me to access the classics-I have learned more about Chinese medicine in the last 6 months than I had in the previous 5 years. I hope that eventually this series is used as required reading for Chinese medicine students.”

You can read many more reviews on Goodman’s site at Windstone Press.

The texts are further enhanced by the fact that Goodman is now teaching a free online class to accompany the text – the six lessons already out will be an incredible addition to your Chinese language learning. I’m sure there will be more to come. You can check out the class by clicking this link. You can also get free MP3 files and PLECO flashcards to enhance your learning experience. What more do you need, really?

Only one more thing is needed – the commitment to make Chinese language learning a central part of your study going forward. If you plan to make this commitment, why not announce it in the comments of this post? If enough people express interest, either in the comments or by private email, perhaps we could go through it as a group. I’d gladly start over in exchange for some company in the journey.

If all of this wasn’t enough, Rick has offered a special deal for Deepest Health readers. By using the link below, you can get both volumes of Classical Chinese Medical Texts : Learning to Read the Classics of Chinese Medicine for 55.95 with free shipping. On Amazon.com right now you could by both texts for just over $58. However, by purchasing using my link, a small portion of the sales will go to support ongoing writing on Deepest Health. Further, as I said, if enough people buy through my link and commit to going through the books, I’ll put together a special part of the site just for our collaborative learning process. More details on that if it becomes reality.

To take advantage of this offer, and help support Deepest Health by doing so, click on this link to purchase Richard Goodman’s texts, both Volume I and Volume II.

You can also, of course, buy the texts through Amazon or another outlet. That’s the option you’ll want to choose if you only want one of the books, as well.

Thanks for reading!

Eric

Learn to read classical Chinese medical texts – special deal for Deepest Health readers

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The sages of Chinese antiquity stood facing South

Eric — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:51:45 +0000

Today, on a walk I was taught an important lesson by some late migrating geese. In the late summer and autumn, we get a whole lot of geese flying overhead in my neighborhood. We live pretty close to a couple of wildlife refuges, one being specifically devoted to waterfowl. In general, in Portland, the autumn is always accompanied by the resonant, melodic sound of Canadian geese fleeing Canada. It’s one of those things that is commonplace, yet never seems to lose its magic. I’ve noticed a lot of things in Autumn are like that – the leaves turning, the miracle of the harvest, the start of formal schooling and so on.

Anyway, today I had one of those magic moments – fog bank just rolled in, walking on a hill in clear view of the setting full moon and the rising sun reflecting pink and crimson off of morning clouds. Mushrooms bursting from beneath damp fallen leaves. People out, coffee in hand, walking overly excited dogs. That nestled place between Lung and Large Intestine time – things cracking forth, but the calm and presence of the early morning still laying on its soothing balm. Very nice.

Then there were the geese. There were seven or eight of them, so just a paltry flock. There was some confusion (not uncommon) where they seemed to be trying to figure out which way to go. Now, I know enough about geese to know that just because they seem to be flying North doesn’t mean they’re lost – often they’re just heading to a feeding or resting ground. It’s the larger direction that matters, not my little snapshot views. But, that doesn’t matter for my story. There was some confusion in the sky, and about half started heading clearly North, the other half clearly South. One goose was caught – she flew North, she flew South, she started calling loudly – she seemed pretty distressed by the whole thing.

Finally, she broke South – doing double time to catch up with her chosen group and they continued off into the distance. As I watched them cruise, I got a series of images as I faced South – the direction that all Sages must face, the direction that helps us make sense of so much Chinese medicine physiology and pathology. Mostly, I just got a sense of great peace, of openness, of newness and warmth and a bright future. I thought – good choice, little goose.

Now, I’ve been particularly prone to reading signs in everything these last few weeks, so pardon me. But, the whole drama (!) seemed curiously familiar. I think it might seem familiar to some of you, as well.

At NCNM, I was introduced to a wide variety of schools of thought regarding medicine – herbalism in particular. Without getting too much into it, let’s just say that people can get a little spirited about what they see as the “truth” of the matter. I certainly have been guilty of this. As students, I think we were looking for something to hold on to. Something to call our own – or rather – something to say, “This is right, this is true and I know it, I subscribe to it.” Some way to make sense of the seemingly insurmountable task of learning a medicine that is thousands of years old and must be translated into what we have available in contemporary times.***

I’ve sometimes felt torn because of my particular proclivities and the wrinkles and folds of my personal situation. I had moments when I didn’t want to practice medicine at all. It seemed too impossible to figure out what was right – the clinical stage didn’t clarify things any better than the classroom and I just felt totally overwhelmed. I had moments where I wanted to have a time travel machine and visit Han dynasty and ask Zhang Zhongjing what the whole deal was really about. There were also times when I felt pretty confident, pretty sure, and even a little fanatical about what I was learning. Those times were always followed by a lesson (pride precedes a fall, afterall).

In the last month, things have settled out. I felt very much like that goose for the last year or so, and I’ve started flying in a particular direction. It hasn’t been without its consequences. Moving towards one thing almost always means leaving another behind. Some good goose friends had to be parted from, on some level. I only have so much time and attention. I have had to repeatedly remind myself that the direction I’m turning away from is not WRONG, just different. Demonizing people who think differently from we do only serves to make us demons in the eyes of others. It never serves the quest for knowledge and healing.

You know? Darnit if I don’t feel just like I felt on that hilltop watching those geese disappear. Warmth, openness, a surge of energy, signs from all over God and Creation. It’s not that the other way is wrong, it’s just that this way is right. It leads to more, not less. It opens me into an endless realm of possibility and sweetness. I have already seen the results in my acupuncture, in my herbal prescriptions, in my presence with my patients, and in my bank account.

So, to any of you who are feeling this – particularly you students – take heart. You will find your way. Sit quietly with yourself, go on walks, get treatment, sing songs, talk to animals and go through your rebirth. Getting born is rarely pain-free, but it always opens into a whole universe of experience that was previously unavailable to you. I promise.

—

***Note : I’m not saying that ancient medicine isn’t directly relevant to contemporary times and people. Please. I’m just saying that some of the things they had available, we don’t have available – or very nearly (Fulonggan, for one – Sheng Fuzi for another – there are legal implications for some acupuncture techniques). Further, while there is truly nothing new under the sun – people do have a different way of living, eating, and even dying today and we would be idiots not to at least consider that fact sometimes, even if we are just “treating what we see,” and even if we are (correctly) not taking into account Western disease names and categories, etc…

The sages of Chinese antiquity stood facing South

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.