Chinese medicine, the Earth and the Center

If you like what you read here, you may want to keep updated by using my RSS feed. Want to know more about RSS/feeds? - read more here. Thanks for visiting!

When talking about the five elements, particularly as applied to the organ systems of Chinese medicine, it’s easy to find an angle from which to proclaim the supremacy of any of the elements. Fire gets four organs, for instance, one of those being the Emperor – surely it’s the most important. Water, on the other hand, lies at the depths – no element is more revered than water in the cultural literature of the Chinese (the Dao is often said to be like water, the supreme man is said to be like water in taking the lowest place, etc….). Surely water is “top dog,” then. But what of Wood? Wood begins the cycle of the elements from most perspectives – it is the animating principle of the whole system – Wood must be the most important.

So on and so forth. The answer to the question, “Which is most important,” is the absurdly easy and frustrating, “None.” However, Earth could have a better reason than the rest to lay claim to this elusive prize. Earth is the center – the center is the axis upon which everything else spins. Without the center, you just have a group of unassociated pieces, functioning on their own in vain. The center brings it all together, ensures that it functions.

There are two ways to think about Earth seasonally. One perspective holds that Earth is associated with a kind of “late summer,” just before the fall rains begin. Another, which I prefer, holds that the Earth occupies an interstitial space between each season – the 14 days or so around each solstice and equinox – the transitions from one season to another. I’ve heard a variety of perspectives about the actual length of time and the precise arrangement of those periods, but this seems to be a consensus. Regardless, this “in between” nature of the Earth element makes it vital, it governs our transition from one energetic state to another.

Sunday, I went on a beautiful hike in the Columbia River Gorge. I decided to try to open my senses and not impose anything in particular on my experience. The overwhelming message, again and again, spoke of the Earth element. The sweet smell of decay – cloying, almost – with the merest hint of rich wine or butter or something I can’t define. No matter what part of the trail – metallic/mineral rock faces all around sharing their sharp, clean scent – deep, watery pools of clarity lending a weedy, fresh aroma – high and dry grassy plain full of pungency and heat… behind was the deep Earthen bassnote, emanating everywhere. Now, we are not officially in the period around the autumnal equinox, though we are technically within that “late summer” period perhaps – but the working of the Earth energy was present everywhere I looked.

The overwhelming idea that came out of all of this exploration is simple. Earth is at the center, and you must always look to its health. This is why dietary therapy is the root of most successful treatment plans. It’s also why so many of my patients seem to need a simple Earth tonification formula (such as Xiao Jian Zhong Tang) after any other series of formulas. In fact, from now on, I will be carefully examining that possibility with every patient. I feel that this is, in some ways, superior to the rampant practice of throwing some heavily tonifying formula at a patient after a big illness. The idea behind it is the same, but it is actually looking at the source of weakness and not the branches.

(Photos taken by Eric and his family, August 2008)

August 25, 2008 · Filed Under Learning, Seasons, The Project, Theory

9 Comments

Open For Business…I Think

This is the second of three articles written by Bonnie Koenig about the first steps in starting a business. You can read the first in the series by clicking on I’m an acupuncturist, not a business person! You can find Bonnie’s bio here.

____________

Starting a business after having been a student for years can come as a shock. Instead of being told what to do and what to study, now you are in charge and have to start figuring out what to do and what to study. It seems like there is so much to do starting out that it can feel overwhelming, particularly because there is always the fear of forgetting an important piece of legal work.

The first step in creating a business is creating a plan. Creating a plan can be as formal as writing up a formal business plan or as simple as creating some goals. In either case, it’s important to have a vision of what you are doing in the business and how the business looks. For instance, are you working with other practitioners? Are you the one running things? Are you just a partner who does your own work and someone else takes care of most things? Are you renting your own room from someone else? Is there someone making your appointments or are you doing it yourself?

The clearer your picture of your ideal practice, the easier it will be to create that ideal practice. For instance, if you see yourself in charge of others or intend to start out with an employee, such as a receptionist, you will need to find out minimum wage laws and OSHA laws, whereas if you are going to begin by doing everything yourself or working in someone else’s office, you don’t have to worry about those things.

If you have a hard time envisioning your ideal practice, it might be a good idea to find help. Business coaches abound and many specialize in helping small business owners understand their vision. If you know what you want to do when you start up your practice but don’t know how to get that done, there are places that can help you with that too and not all of them are expensive.

The government offices you work with can also be very helpful when they understand you are just starting out. I’ve had to do this for a small company I worked for. This was a huge advantage because I was far less nervous when I did the same thing for my own business a few years later. Yes, the government does want their cut, but the people working in these offices understand it’s far easier to train someone right than try and correct mistakes and misperceptions later on.

After you have set up your business and know what it is you want to do, you may need help with running your business. What sorts of help depends upon your own skills and what you like. If you aren’t sure but are feeling overwhelmed with running the practice, you may again want to seek out a business coach to help you define what roles you really want to play (in addition to healing) and what roles can be given to others.

Office help can range from someone who just answers the phone and appointment scheduling to hiring someone to take over all the administrative tasks. Obviously you need to pay someone who is doing your bookkeeping, phone answering, insurance billing and overseeing other employees more than you would someone who just answers your phone.

If you aren’t ready for an employee you can still find help. You can hire out your accounting to a bookkeeping firm. You can hire insurance billers to do your insurance billing. There are companies that will come in and pick up your laundry. Cleaning people are typically hired as contractors rather than as direct employees.

Every time you hire someone, there will be a cost. Very often we only look at the dollar amount. However, you also need to factor in your time. Money is wonderful and in the beginning we are often struggling and have to maximize our financial income. However, at some point, we need to create a life not just a living wage. At that point we can think about hiring or contracting help with the tasks that are the most burdensome to us.

Some people really enjoy the day to day challenge of running a business. Ultimately being in charge means that if you have extra space you can rent out that space or take on associates, thereby increasing your income further. The more amenities you have in an office, (such as a receptionist), the more you’ll be able to charge for others to use your space.

Some people think the idea of setting up and running a business seems overwhelming. The money isn’t really that important and all they really want to do is practice their healing modality. That’s a valid practice vision as well. There are practitioners who have run their business for awhile and who want assistance in their practice, taking the overflow and allowing more patients to come through the doors. There are many models, some of which include just renting space and assisting in paying any employees. There are also more formal models of working as an associate, which is basically becoming an independent contractor to a practitioner who pays you per patient.

The challenge in all of this is finding the people who can help you with the areas you are less comfortable with. In the next post in this series, I will point out some good places that you can look up in your local area and online.

Bonnie

August 25, 2008 · Filed Under Business Planning, Getting Started

Comment