7 Ways to Keep Focused on a Lifelong Journey

classical chinese medicine shiftToday, I truly start my experience as a practitioner of Classical Chinese Medicine.  It’s my first shift at Pettygrove Classical Chinese Medicine clinic in Portland.  I have the honor of learning from David Berkshire, LAc - a local practitioner who specializes in a variation of Worsley style five element acupuncture.  I have been excited about this for a long time.  At the same time, I’ve been anxious about my abilities and worried that I’ll do something horribly wrong!  :)  Also, as I enter Year 4 of this medical training, I am beginning to feel a little fatigued.

My situation is familiar to many of you.  Anything worth doing takes time.  This medicine is complex and worth working on for a while.  Nonetheless, I have a family and a life and hopes and aspirations and sometimes I’d like to just get on with it.  :)  Regardless of your profession or stage in life, I think you can appreciate this sentiment and the situation that inspired it.  Consider this got me thinking about how to keep energized when the road before one is long and potentially bumpy.  I figured I’d share my thoughts with you.  Please share your reactions and your own words of wisdom in the comments.

1.  Inspiring literature : One of the easiest ways I have found to stay focused is to maintain a small library of books that easily inspire me.  For my part, I choose writing that is closely related to Classical Chinese Medicine.  A partial list of my “inspiration library” reveals:

  1. Dao De Jing(Star Version)
  2. Huangdi Neijing
  3. Learning to be a Sage
  4. Notes from classes taught by Arnaud Versluys, Heiner Fruehauf and others
  5. The Web of Life
  6. Wholeness of Nature

2.  Old journals/writing : I’m not super reliable in my journal writing, but it is consistent enough that I can read back through and get a sense for where I was in the recent and distant past.  It is helpful for two reasons.  First, I can see how far I’ve come and become energized by my progress.  Second, I can sample my youthful (!) enthusiasm and use that to propel me through.

3.  Go back to the source : Everyone came to their profession/topic for a different reason.  When I get a little distant from my passion, I just think back to what motivated me in the first place.  For me, the essence is twofold.  First, I love the Classical Chinese way of thinking about human beings and the natural environment we live in.  Also, a deep desire to be part of a profession that demands of me total integrity and closeness to nature has always been part of my driving force.  To revisit these, I need to simply sit in a beautiful place (Portland abounds with them) and consider those things.  I might spend 20 minutes considering the interplay of Yin and Yang in everything around me.  Alternatively, I might vision the kind of practitioner I see myself being.

4.  Talk to people further along on the path : Talking to experienced Chinese medicine physicians goes a long way in keeping me energized.  When I am privileged to hear someone like Heiner Fruehauf talk about his method of treating patients and the beauty of those interactions, I feel renewed.  When I make time to talk with my friend Abdallah B. Stickley about his prolific and inspired practice, I am buoyed.  It’s also been helpful shadowing with some of the recently graduated interns during their rotations - watching the effortless way they interact with patients and wield the needles helps calm my fears and excite me about my future.

5.  Talk to people further back on the path : Nothing gets me going quicker than talking to folks new to the field of Classical Chinese Medicine.  It’s one of the reasons I love being associated with an institution of higher education.  Every year, new students come in - full of enthusiasm and wonder.  It lightens the heart and makes me forget my worries about my future or my irritation with the present.  At NCNM, we have a mentoring program where older students take on the responsibility for helping out new students.  That has certainly been a good experience.

6.  Brainstorming : Sometimes none of the above seems to work.  So, I start mindmapping.  I’ll put my central concern or question in the center of the page and just start working from there.  For instance, I might put the question, “Why become a physician?” in the center of my page.  From there I let the ideas flow.  “To have the privilege of accompanying fellow human beings on their path through life,” “To alleviate suffering in those who need it,” “To get paid to consciously work with my own energy,” and the list goes on.  From there I often get sparked to think of my chosen profession in new ways.  In fact, many of my blog articles come from brainstorming sessions like that one.

7.  Spiritual practice : Certainly there is nothing better to align me with my purpose as a student of Classical Chinese Medicine than my spiritual practice.  Whatever tradition (or no-tradition) you come from, simply dwelling in that place of spirit can deeply nourish every part of your life.  I find that when I am doing meditation, prayer, Qigong and reading sacred texts, peacefulness about my path comes without my forcing it.  If I sat down to meditate with worries on my mind or heaviness in my heart, I scarcely remember it when I stand back up.

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July 3, 2008 · Filed Under Learning, Student Life, The profession

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Experiments in Chinese herbalism : on the dangers of Yin Qiao-itis

errors_in_chinese_medical_thinkingWhat follows is a guest post by my friend and comrade in Shang Han Lun love, G. Michael Reynolds over at the Lifegiving Sword.  I think it demonstrates a couple of things.

  1. That experimenting with herbs can - obviously - bring mixed results.  :)
  2. That there’s real peril in standardized systems of medicine.  I believe, in general, they tend to make lazy practitioners.  I mean, seriously, do you see Yin Qiao in that tongue?
  3. The power of Classical formula principles.

For any members of the general public currently reading, please don’t become too alarmed by this story. In all systems of medicine, there are ok practitioners, good practitioners, great practitioners and a few folks who shouldn’t but somehow DO make it into the practitioner pool.  The difference between Chinese and allopathic medicine in this regard is that Chinese medicine is highly unlikely to kill people even when practiced badly, while allopathic medicine is somewhat less blessed.

This is one reason I am so passionate about the style of Chinese medicine that I am learning.  In my experience the kinds of mistreatment problems described below are far less likely to happen within Classical styles.  Enjoy this fun read.

Eric

__________________________________________________________________

From Michael:  “This story involves a whole host of mistakes, the first and second of those made by me personally, the rest made by three different supervisors in the school clinic. The 3 doctors who led me down the wrong path will remain nameless, however I will point out that the doc who set things to rights is none other than our own Abdallah Stickley.  Make what you will of it!”

So here’s the story. On a Sunday evening, I get suddenly sick right before bed.  I mean instantaneously sick. My ear started kind of hurting, throat bothering me a little, was sort of dizzy, a slightly productive cough appeared, and some urethral pain (which i have sporadically anyway, but it changed quality a little and intensified). I went to bed determined to do something about it in the morning.

In the morning all the symptoms were the same, but with a little added intensity and a headache that would only appear at pinpoint locations on the GB channel (like GB-2, GB-14, GB-20) and only on one side.  Also some retching, mostly due to the cough.  I checked my pulse as best I could (always dodgy when you’re sick) and it seemed to me like it could have been considered (in TCM pulse parlance) rapid, slippery, and a bit tight, but also a bit deep at the same time. A mid level pulse, not coming up to the Qi level.  So, determined to handle this via SHL style medicine, i wrote the following formula:

Chai Hu
Huang Qin
Gan Jiang
Ban Xia
Bai Shao
Zhi Gan Cao
Fu Ling
Wu Wei Zi

At this point I made a fateful mistake which this whole story turns on. I probably could have booted the whole thing out of my system had I added Gui Zhi. However, I panicked and did not put my full faith in the method I was using. Instead of thinking “quick onset, minor ear and throat irritation=Taiyang, Urethra and bladder pain=Water inhibition=Shaoyang,” I thought “TCM says ear pain is treated with Long Dan Cao. It also treats Liver channel issues like urethral pain. The throat part is covered by the Shaoyang part of this formula” and instead added Long Dan Cao. This formula was made with Teacher #1’s blessing.

That evening I woke up with the same symptoms more or less (adding in sneezing), except now I was getting some dark urine, a tiny bit of dark phlegm, and my pulse was now showing superficial, rapid, and slippery over all. I really panicked at this point, as I begin to think that I did the whole thing wrong.  I started to think that the pathogen had time to turn into a heat condition,  that despite evidence to the contrary, SHL formulas cannot treat Heat conditions, Wen Bing is right, TCM is right, and a whole other host of lunatic thoughts brought on by someone with Phlegm-Fire problems getting hit by a phlegm producing illness and waking up in the middle of the night….

In my panic I made my second mistake. I took a big hit of Yin Qiao Pian. It will not surprise you to know that within an hour I found myself on the couch thinking “wow…im FREEZING now…” In the morning, I took another YQP dose but half that of the previous one and trotted off to school, feeling worse. I decided that I’d swallow my pride and find a clinic supervisor to look me over and tell me what they thought, because clearly I had blown my own diagnosis and treatment.  So, Teacher #2 gave me a looking over and suggested that I stick with the YQP, as it sounded like a heat condition due to the rapid pulse (which was now back down to the Blood depth again) and the dark urine in the morning coupled with the small amount of yellow phlegm. I complied and finished off my YQP that night.

The next morning, I felt worse (keep in mind that I’d already felt bad enough to leave school after an hour or two on both Monday and Tuesday). While in the truck, I got the Missus to take a picture of my tongue, which I present here:



(It may be hard to tell since this is a photo, but that coat-outside of the back area-is definitely a WHITE coat)

I went to school again, toughed it out for my half day class, arranged to be absent from my clinic shift the following day, came home, crashed.  The next day, I was still worsening. By the end of the day, I broke down and went back to the clinic hoping to find another supervisor to evaluate. I managed to catch one on her way out the door and Teacher #3 gave me 10 minutes worth of diagnosis and prescription.  She wrote a formula which I dont have in front of me, but which I think goes something like this:

Huang Qin
Long Dan Cao
Yu Xing Cao
Xing Ren
Gui Zhi
Wu Wei Zi
Ban Xia
Bai Shao

(It actually had 13 herbs, but these are the only ones i can remember. I’ll get the full list off my chart tomorrow. Basically its a cold, cold formula.)

So I filled this one, took it, next morning woke up feeling like I was going to suffocate. i had to cough for about 5 minutes solid to establish normal breathing. Not happy. However, continued to take the formula. Over the course of the next few days (Fri-Mon) I got marginal improvement at best but still felt horrendous. On Tuesday, I had class followed by clinic. By Clinic time I felt like I was going to die, so I threw myself on the mercy of Dr. Stickley, who did the diagnostics and Rx’ed the following formula:

Chai Hu
Huang Qin
Gan Jiang
Bai Shao
Ban Xia
Fu Ling
Wu Wei Zi
Gan Cao (we were out of Zhi gan Cao in the pharmacy)
Jie Geng

I took a dose in the clinic and then went home afterwards and went to bed.

Next morning, 75% improvement.

So there you have it. I still haven’t finished kicking this thing but I’ve only been on the sensible formula for a day. I’m thinking it may need a little Gui Zhi at some point if it doesnt resolve itself.

G. Michael Reynolds

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June 1, 2008 · Filed Under Herbal Medicine, Learning, TCM v CCM

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Understanding Chinese herbs using Classical Chinese Medical thinking

deeper_understanding_of_chinese_herbsSometimes I learn small things that turn out to be very useful. I would like to start sharing these as bite sized treats interspersed in between the thicker cuts that many of you are accustomed to here on Deepest Health. Today, I would like to offer one of those which is a way of thinking about herbs (and, thus, formulas) that I initially learned from my mentor, Dr. Arnaud Versluys. It’s a simple thing, maybe, but hopefully helpful to you.

In our Classical Chinese Medicine education here in Portland, OR, we are given a variety of types of information. I’ve talked about this several times before. We are sometimes told that truly Classical Chinese Medicine includes the information in the standard TCM system and includes information in the Western/allopathic system, but then goes outside of those reaching back to the Classical texts and cultivated ways of knowing. All of this information must be explored and, ultimately, integrated. We are encouraged to find that which really drives us and dive deep into that, but always asked to keep our minds open to the whole symbol field of information that human striving has uncovered.

In that spirit, consider the study of Chinese herbs. There’s a huge amount of information one could associate with any given single herb. The information has many different aspects - let us consider the relative materiality and the relative size (in time and/or space) of the information. We can create two axes. One from grossly material to highly immaterial, and one from microscopic to quite macroscopic. We can find useful information anywhere in the field created by these two axes. Let me provide a partial list of information along these two axes that I use to understand single Chinese herbs. The information will be listed from more material and more microscopic to less material and more macroscopic (obviously not a perfect gradation).

  • Specific biochemical constituents, chemical bonding (for example, discussion of specific alkaloids)
  • Classes of biochemical constituents, herb-herb interaction (for example, what are alkaloids?)
  • Western medical physiological understanding (for example, discussion of the endocrine system)
    • This might include information from Western medical studies/clinical trials
  • Habitat and other botanical information (what kind of plant is this?)
  • Chinese herbal category information (qi, flavor, channel affinity) and dosage information
  • Contradictions (both Chinese and Western)
  • Use of the herb through history in China (what formulas? what doctors? what contexts?)
  • Understanding via various systems of differentiation (Ba Gan/8 Pillars, 6 Conformations, 5 Element)
  • Information in various Classical texts concerning this herb other than what’s already been covered in another category
  • Symbolism behind any of the previous categories of information (for instance, given the relevant habitat in which the herb grows - how can we understand it symbolically)
  • Use of categories of information associated with the organ clock (If this is a Spleen herb, how can the symbolism of the snake help us think about it?

Let’s just look at a quick example on a very basic level using just some of the partial list above. Bai Shao, anyone?

白芍 Bái Sháo (Yào)

chinese_herb_peony

Biochemical constituents/other minute level Western information

  • Paeoniflorin, albiflorin, oxypaeonifloring, benzoylpaeoniflorin, paeonin, hydorxypaeoniflorin (glycosides), gallotannin, d-catechin, eugeniin (tannins), benzoic acid, proteins and other constituents
    • To extend this into the next category, we might be interested to look more deeply at the general function of glycosides and tannins, their function in the body and the families of things on the planet that either create or use them in high amounts. Of course this must all be evaluated symbolically.
    • Herb-herb interaction? We might consider that Bai Shao is often paired with Gui Zhi, look into the chemical constituents of Gui Zhi and investigate, from a Western standpoint, what those interactions tend to produce.
    • Herb-drug interaction? What drugs does Bai Shao resemble? What drugs does Bai Shao work poorly with? For instance, one is asked to have care when using Bai Shao for patients on anti-coagulants. What does this mean?

We could definitely find many clinical studies about Bai Shao and isolate what pharmacological effects allopathic medical researchers have found. A quick look tells me that some researchers have found that Bai Shao has:

  • CNS suppressant, gastrointestinal, antibiotic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-platelet and cardiovascula effects

Habitat and other botanical information

Bensky tells us that Bai Shao is Paeonia lactiflora with the bark removed and that Chi Shao is a wildcrafted version of the same species - with bark intact. It would be interesting to know more about this distinction and to understand whether this distinction held during the Han dynasty. Anyone with information to that effect?

It is native to a large part of the area from Tibet through China up to Russia. It enjoys a wide range of habitats and the entire plant can be used medicinally or as food. This may help us to understand its rather broad range of effects and its extensive use in the classics.

Chinese herbal category information, inclusion in formulas

  • Wei/Flavor: Bitter and sour
  • Qi/Temperature: Slightly cold/cool
  • Channel affinity: Liver and Spleen
  • Dosage: Typically 6-15 grams

A quick search at Rootdown.us shows us that Bai Shao is included in 48 formulas. As the formula database is not complete on that site (it’s growing every day!) I’m certain the number is much higher. We could look at the usage of Bai Shao in each of those formulas and come to some conclusions about what kinds of effects it has and use those findings to further dive into the symbolism associated with the herb.

Use of the herb through the history of Chinese medicine, inclusion in various Classical texts

How did Zhang Zhong Jing use Bai Shao? How is this different from the way later physicians used it? What is said about Bai Shao in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing? This entry is getting a bit too long already, so I won’t delve into these questions — but you can see how the information would be very useful in coming to a full understanding of Bai Shao.

Understanding some of the above information more symbolically

Just as a quick example take the broad habitat adaptation of Bai Shao. It’s a relatively easy plant to grow - and it grows quickly. The Earth seems to want to give it to us in abundance. An herb that adaptable has to be important for the basic physiology of the body - one might think. Perhaps it lends itself to a certain adaptability in us as well.

Various systems of differentiation

Again, to save time I will be very brief. One way to understand Bai Shao is that it backs Wood off of Earth. This doesn’t mean that Wood has to be very excessive. Earth merely needs to be a bit under the weather (so to speak) and the normal amount of Wood will be too much for it. This is part of the way we can come to understand Bai Shao’s use in Xiao Jian Zhong Tang. One symptom one might find in a XJZT syndrome is mild muscle cramping or mild abdominal cramping due to a weak Earth being unable to resist the basically “normal” Wood energy. Bai Shao mildly backs Wood off of Earth so it can recover.

Organ clock and other high level theoretical constructs

Bai Shao is basically a Wood herb. How can we use the symbolism behind the Wood organs - Liver and Gallbladder, to come to a fuller understanding of Bai Shao? We can consider, perhaps, the symbol of the Ox or the Wood constellations in Chinese astronomy. We could look at the clock pair of the Liver and try to uncover any mysteries there.

—

Ok, so this turned out a little longer than I expected. My gut level instinct is simply this. While I am not personally interested in going down every little rabbit hole that the current information culture serves up for me, I am certainly open to embracing a wide variety of information sources. I find that when I am able to see an herb (and by extension a formula) from many angles, my relationship with it deepens. I can only assume that this is molding me into a better clinician. I’d be very interested to hear anyone else’s thoughts on this topic in the comments. Go on - take a chance!

Eric

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May 28, 2008 · Filed Under Herbal Medicine, Learning, Science

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Classical Chinese Medicine resources on the web

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about what’s available on the web for people interested in Chinese Medicine. Living in Portland, OR, I have so many amazing wellsprings of knowledge and experience all around me, I sometimes forget that other folks are relatively more isolated from the information they seek. The Internet is a fantastic source for both the more and the less isolated. You just have to know where to look! I’m in the process of updating my Resources page, but I thought I would do a more in depth review of a few of the most promising resources.

1. ClassicalChineseMedicine.org : Internet home of Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, PhD the founder and continued inspiration behind the incredible Classical Chinese Medicine program at National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR. I’ve talked many times about Heiner Fruehauf on this site, but let it suffice to say that he is what drew me to this medicine and what he has taught me has helped me to expand my ideas not only about health and healing, but about the world and my place in it.

There are some articles available for free available along the top of the main page, including basic information about Classical Chinese Medicine, some partial translations of Classical Chinese texts and more. You can also access information about upcoming lectures, Dr. Fruehauf’s clinic and a list of excellent links. There is some incredible paid content available as well. For $195 a year, you have access to an ever expanding collection of video and written material from leading voices in the field of Classical Chinese Medicine. This is content you simply will not find anywhere else. You can also obtain NCAAOM continuing education credits through the Associates Forum, which more than justifies the cost. You can check out a preview of the Associates Forum if you haven’t already. I’ve really benefited from the use of this site and I think you will as well.

2. Arnaudversluys.com : Website for Dr. Arnaud Versluys, PhD, leading scholar and clinician of Chinese Medicine in the Shang Han Lun tradition. There are a few gems here, although I think the best is still yet to come. I want to point out the incredible resource that is the Forums section of his website. There are some pretty intense theoretical discussions going on, plenty of food for thought in an environment of open inquiry. I would love to see more people putting their questions out there and sharing their wisdom. You have to sign up to access the forums, but there is no cost and you will not be spammed! You won’t get a follow up email once you register, just try your username and password later the same day to see if you’ve been given access. You can also find information on the now forming Journal of Classics in East Asian Medicine, Dr. Versluys’ diagnostic services, his clinical practice and the upcoming addition of Continuing Education material.

3. Not strictly Classical, but an invaluable and rapidly developing resource is the Chinese Medicine site, Rootdown.us, my go-to source for basic info on herbs and acupuncture. There are 7 basic portions to the site: Herbs, Formulas, Acupuncture, Tests, Community, Pearls and CEUs. The first three sections are basic information about Chinese Medicine presented in a very accessible format. The databases for these three sections are expanding and being cleaned up all the time. You can also add your experiences with these categories through the “suggestions” tab - such as special clinical information that you’ve learned about a particular formula. Through this tool, I think this section can grow to be a repository of great Chinese medicine information!

The last four sections are incredibly exciting! The testing section is new and is growing daily. Here you can take tests on a variety of Chinese medicine subjects for free, both California-only information and information on the national Board exams. What an incredible asset! I don’t have space to discuss the rest of the sections right now, but they are all well worth your time. Accounts are free - if you sign up, be sure to add me as a “buddy” as the social interaction with colleagues all over the world is one of the primary aims of Rootdown.

4. A newly launched Classical Chinese Medicine wiki was started by a NCNM student. If you don’t know, the idea of a Wiki is that anyone can edit the information and through the power of the group, a rich and accurate resource is created. While it is true that “anyone editing” means that “anyone can add incorrect information,” in general the group will correct any misleading passages quickly - particularly when the amount of subject material is relatively small. I suggest you check it out and add what you know!

5. A couple of resources for research purposes: You can do a Google Book Search for “Classical Chinese Medicine” and restrict it to give you only books that have partial or full previews, then read full pages of various texts. If you’re working with Chinese language texts and would like more information on a particular character, including ancient forms of the character, check out the Chinese Etymology Home Page. Finally, definitely check out all of the articles available for free with Blue Poppy’s “TCMInfo” online database.

6. Finally, I’ve recently come across a number of great Chinese medicine related blogs to add to my daily reading list. I’d like to list them (as well as my old favorites) here and ask you to check them out.

Abdallah B Stickley writes about Chinese Medicine, Islam and clinical practice at Even Unto China

G. Michael Reynolds writes about Asian martial arts, Chinese medicine and many topics at The Life Giving Sword

Yael in Israel writes about many facets of Chinese Medicine and clinical practice at Chinese Medicine Notes

Ross Rosen writes eloquently about Chinese medicine practice and other facets of daily life on his blog

The recently started Five Minds holds a lot of promise in discussing some more esoteric and personal aspects of Chinese medical theory and practice.

Portland Acupuncture Blog is just getting started but covers some specific conditions and provides a ready example of how blogging can be used to promote CM businesses

I don’t mean to leave anyone out - these are just the few that stand out in my mind as being quality sources of Chinese medicine related information with relatively frequent updates.

If you think I’ve missed something vital - add it in the comments and maybe I’ll edit the post and add your choices! Don’t be afraid to self promote… if I missed you and you think I shouldn’t have, it’s probably just because my mind is melted after having PASSED MY CLINICAL ENTRANCE EXAMS. Oh yeah!

Eric

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April 19, 2008 · Filed Under Blogging, Learning

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On entering into a philosophical morass: Chinese medicine and Western science

Let’s get something straight. I’m very confused about the role of Western scientific research as it is currently practiced in verifying the claims of practitioners of Chinese medicine. Various studies, including the famous “sham acupuncture” study seem to challenge the premise that the theoretical bases of Chinese medicine are an accurate description of reality and our interactions with it. For instance, concerning the study referenced above, if any old needle through the skin will cure migraines - what of channel theory? What of our highly developed ideas about acupuncture techniques? Similar doubt is cast on Chinese herbalism by placebo controlled double blind studies showing no significant improvement in patient outcomes with the administration of various herbal extracts or even, in some cases, whole herbal formulas. What gives? Why spend all this money to learn a highly nuanced medical system if that system can’t stand on its own two feet?  (Yes, I know, there are plenty of studies that verify CM’s efficacy, but that’s beside my specific point here).

I’ve talked in various articles on this site about my basic opinion about the relationship between Western science and Chinese medicine. At my school, NCNM, we talk about these things quite a bit in classes, in the hallways, in subversive meetings around Portland, Oregon. But, to be totally frank, the conversations don’t often delve deeply.  This isn’t because we don’t want to go beyond the surface.  Sometimes it feels like these concepts are coated with Teflon - the mind so readily slips off. It’s such work just to get through the program, I think most of us just don’t have the mental energy to work through this kind of analysis. Further, most of us weren’t attracted to the medicine because of analytical research indicating that it is effective. To some extent, it’s a gut level reaction. Or you could say that it’s a spiritual attraction - whatever you like.

I find, though, with my dual background in Western philosophy and Western science, I simply can’t let the matter lie. Believe me, I’d rather it be any other way. So, I’m going to attempt to unpack this issue - it’s going to take some time. It’s going to take a lot of reading and a lot of thinking and I’m not even sure what kind of result I can expect.  I want to make it abundantly clear that I fully believe that Classical Chinese Medicine *does* stand on its own two feet, that it is deeply rooted in a science that needs no independent verification.  I simply want to understand, for myself, what that means.  In a sense, for me, this (long) journey will be an intellectual exercise.  Perhaps an important one.  We’ll see.

In a preliminary way, I can imagine that my exploration is going to have to go over some of the following terrain:

1. What is the nature of Western science as it is currently practiced? Essentially, what assumptions does Western science take for granted and how are they being challenged? My sense is that I’ll have to look pretty deep into the gaping maw of materialism in this part of my journey.

2. How do modern research standards grow out of the above assumptions? How are they independent from them? How have modern research standards evolved and how are they currently evolving?

3. How can the ideas of a non-material essence to the human being come back into acceptance by science? Is that desirable or necessary? What would that mean and what are the philosophical and practical implications?

4. Is there merit to the assertion that the scientific system that grows out of one world view cannot be adequately assessed or criticized by the scientific system that grows out of another? If so - what does this mean for an increasingly globalized world where many different worldviews are forced to interact?

5. What produces the most favorable patient outcomes and how would we measure those outcomes?

I’m going to have to look into a lot of disciplines in which I don’t have much expertise.  That’s okay with me.  I’ve come to accept that in any endeavor, there’s probably someone who knows more than me.  That’s the benefit of this kind of public dialogue - lots of folks can contribute.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Eric

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April 10, 2008 · Filed Under Learning, The profession, Theory

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