The importance of the Spleen in studying Classical Chinese Medicine
I’ve been trying to find a way to make my Year of Sagely Living posts interesting to folks who are not specifically following my progress in that area. To that end, I have created a Year of Sagely Living page of the website where you can see more regular “updates” of my progress, as well as easily access all of the information about the project. When important insights come from that activity, I will expand them into full blog posts here on the main blog. My first insight of enough interest to generate a post involves the symbolism of the Spleen organ system.
脾 Pi - Spleen : Lessons learned from Yin Earth
Earthly Branch Si - The Snake : Lesson - You can take in a lot more than you think, but don’t overdo it
The Spleen is associated with the 6th Earthly Branch 巳 - Si. This is one of the few earthly branches that actually is a picture of the animal that came to be associated with it - the Snake. However, I should note that many people also posit that it is a picture of an infant. The oracle bone figures look more like snakes than babies to me, and as a picture of a snake is how I learned it, but certainly you may disagree.
The snake is a fascinating animal that both attracts and repulses most people. There are many characteristics of the snake that relate to the Spleen in structure and function. I’d like to just mention one that has been particularly helpful to me this week. As the title of this section suggests, I’m interested in the ability of a snake to consume prey much larger than itself.
Now, on the one hand, the Spleen really doesn’t like to be asked to do too much at once - as anyone can attest after a big Thanksgiving dinner. So, perhaps it’s not a perfect symbolic match. On the other hand, the function of the Spleen is to take whatever has been consumed and release the pure essence of that sustenance at a reasonable rate to the rest of the body. Often, even with big meals, we surprise ourselves with our ability to take it in and use it with some effectiveness. As a student, I am consistently asked to shove more information into my head than I think is possible. However, by approaching things deliberately and with confidence, I consistently surprise myself. No jaw dislocation required.
Phase element Earth - the Center : Lesson - Having a solid substrate allows for great transformation
The Spleen is the Yin Earth organ of the body, and as such serves as the stable substrate through which all of the activity of the body takes place. One of our professors mentions how people talk about the Spleen in an inappropriately “active” way. In fact, it is the organ that exemplifies that Wu-Wei principle of getting everything done while doing nothing. It is the rich humus that nourishes everything, yet serves as only a medium for that nourishment - not an active partner in it. Sure, mycobacteria and various little critters serve a vital function in keeping plants healthy, but these are not part of the Spleen principle. The Spleen Earth serves as a healthy place for these organisms to do their work, simply that - and that is more than enough.
Creating a super stable life management system for myself has been vital in my success. Still, it is always a work in progress. Unfortunately instability in my system was one of the keys behind why I was not so productive this week. I thought my system was more or less functional, and that I could work out any kinks quickly and simply. I was wrong. Several scheduling issues emerged that required my immediate attention. I had not fully “cleared my mental inbox” during my last Weekly Review (leaving many projects in an implicit mental stage, cluttering my mind). Most importantly, I had not settled my finances and finished budgeting. Thus, about 80% of my time this week was devoted to rectifying those situations. By the end of this weekend, all of that work will be done and it will serve me for the rest of the term. It will be the medium through which I am able to do all of the other work I do.
Clock pair/hexagram pair with the Triple Burner : Keep a balance between Yin and Yang
Around the organ clock, we can find many interesting relationships among the organ systems. The relationship between Spleen and Triple Burner is particularly interesting because these organs are united by their hexagram relationship and their actual position around the clock. When two organs are directly across the organ clock, we call them clock pairs and as I’ve mentioned before, we were taught to think of them as being able to “take one another’s shift” so they share some type of functionality. Hexagram relationships are more subtle and difficult for me to understand. Here is a diagram I drew during my first 
year at NCNM showing the hexagram relationships around the organ clock. The drawing is, admittedly, a little shaky. :)
The Spleen is associated with Hexagram 1 - 
Qian 乾, often translated as force, heaven, the creative and, sometimes, simply as Yang. It is made of six Yang lines, and is the most Yang hexagram of the Yijing. Funny considering what I just said about Earth and the Spleen! That’s the way of Chinese medicine philosophy sometimes. The hexagram of the Triple Burner is #2 - Kun 坤, often translated as
the receptive, Earth and sometimes, simply as Yin. It is made of 6 Yin lines and is the most Yin hexagram of the Yijing. Unlike the Spleen, this makes a lot of sense for the mysterious and seemingly immaterial Triple Burner organ system.
It’s easy to see the relationship between these two hexagrams - they are opposites and create the dynamic Yin-Yang tension that characterizes the fundamental state of the entire Universe. I’ll briefly explore the Triple Burner-Spleen relationship, but certainly there is much more to say about the shared symbolism of these two important organ systems.
The Spleen and Triple Burner are both responsible for aspects of fluid metabolism, in a way they help to keep a balance between wet and dry in the body. Another organ with a relationship with wet-dry balance is the Lung, which is united to the Spleen in its 6 conformation assignment as Tai Yin. Wet and dry are two obvious manifestations of Yin and Yang, respectively. Another Yin/Yang symbol within Spleen and Triple Burner is the relationship between being in the world and being removed from it. The Triple Burner is the mysterious organ system of deep darkness and in-between-ness. The Spleen is more straightforward, and engaged in the vital business of getting things done in the world, despite it’s passivity that I discussed before.
Extending these analogies, I found myself considering the vital importance of balancing two categories of intellectual activity. First, the more “Yang” activities of memorization, reading and listening to lectures, and studying explicitly for tests. On the other hand, the more “Yin” activities of contemplation, creative thinking, and experiencing Chinese medicine principles as they operate in nature. When I don’t achieve a balance between these two types of activity, pandemonium results.
I was experiencing strange digestive and mental symptoms all this week, and found myself really perplexed by it until I thought of Spleen. It is often said that student life harms the Spleen and Heart the most. The Heart because of the incessant use of the mind, which is related with the Heart in Chinese Medicine. The Spleen because of its association with pensiveness/overthinking and worry. When we find ourselves thinking something to death or being obsessively concerned with some event - our Spleen suffers. This was certainly happening to me and I definitely noticed. As a solution, I have decided to look at my schedule again and find a way to incorporate more straightforward “study” (memorization, reading and rewriting notes, etc) with more contemplative creativity. Although the latter may not help me on tests, it will definitely help me as a practitioner and help keep my Spleen from suffering overmuch.
Archetype : The Great Yu - Channel things away instead of damming them up
One of the archetypes we learn about being related to the Spleen is the Chinese folk hero the Great Yu. It is said that he was able to stem the great flood when his father failed. His father’s strategy was to create huge earthen dams to hold back the floodwater, which inevitably broke. Yu took a different perspective, creating great ditches to lead the water away to the ocean. We are often taught in Chinese medicine school that the Spleen does something similar in water metabolism of the body - guiding dampness away from the body at a steady clip, instead of trying to create barriers to keep it away from vital organs and processes.
I learned this Spleen lesson gradually through the week. A number of projects dumped on to my lap and it was only listening to David Allen’s Getting Things Done Fast on audiobook that jolted me into healthy Spleen mode. One of the things that Mr. Allen recommends is to look at every project/action you have in front of you and figure out whether it actually BELONGS to you. Many times we take on projects that are not properly or best left with us. Delegate! Delegate! Delegate! Lead the floodwaters away. :)
There’s plenty more to say about all of these symbols, as usual - I’ve only just scratched the surface of the surface. Noone knows this stuff like Heiner Fruehauf, my esteemed teacher. Be sure to visit his website at Classicalchinesemedicine.org if you’re interested in learning this kind of information in more depth from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about! Also be sure to visit the Year of Sagely Living page and consider joining us in our quest to be the best human beings we can be.
Eric
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Tags: academics, balance, Character, chinese-medicine, classical-chinese-medicine, etymology, habits, hexagram, Learning, Organ systems, snake, spleen, study, studying, symbolism, Year of Sagely LivingRelated posts
Term in review part I : On shift with Arnaud Versluys
I’d like to go back over Fall term 2007 and distill what I feel to be the essence of what I learned in each course or clinic shift. It’s really fascinating to me how full of importance every single class turns out to be, regardless of my feeling of any one class at the onset. Over time this has taught me to be utterly open to the content of every course, the offerings of every teacher.
At NCNM, we begin our clinical education working in the Chinese herbal medicinary, and then graduate to Observation shifts, finally moving on to Internship the summer of our third year. Observation shifts are well named - mostly you watch. To some this may sound boring, but it is anything but. Trying to follow the doctor’s reasoning, observing the minute action of fingers on the pulse, the flashes of understanding as the patient reveals some seemingly minor detail… it’s all so valuable. We are able to take the pulse and look at the tongue, and with some doctors we are able to ask questions of our own. Some doctors have students remove needles or do some of the less intrusive therapies, like indirect moxibustion. During the “down time” when patients are lying with their needles inserted, some doctors will teach in quite a formal way, others simply take questions, still others like to joke around and get to know their students. We are in Observation for two years, beginning in the second year.
This term, I had the distinct pleasure of being one of four students on Arnaud Versluy’s Observation II shift. I have been on three other observation shifts so far, all of them were wonderful learning experiences and each so unique! However, Arnaud’s shift was a different animal altogether. I’m not sure if this is just because of something inherent in Arnaud or if it is because of my deep resonance with his basic medical philosophy and enjoyment of our interactions - either way, I learned so much on this shift I wish I could repeat it for my remaining Observation shifts!
Pulse taking
All of our doctors use the pulse in their diagnosis, but none so far have done so in such detail as Arnaud did this term. This may be due to the fact that he is a scholar and clinician in the Shang Han Lun tradition and in this school the pulse is emphasized. We began to learn a whole Shang Han Lun based pulse system, but really had to piece things together for ourselves. I believe he reveals more about this system in his mentorship tutorial, which is a fourth year opportunity. From what I can tell, the system has similarities to that espoused in the Nan Jing especially in terms of pulse positions and incorporates a system of formula differentiation as distilled from the Shang Han Lun text. The idea is to learn the pulses and their correspondences so well that as soon as you feel a pulse, you prescribe a formula without much question. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule - but our trust in the pulse should be above our trust in the patient’s ability to fully articulate their pathological process.
This makes sense to me, above all, because of my own experience as a patient. It is rare that I can tell a doctor “what’s wrong” and while I can sometimes articulate very strange, and very diagnostically helpful symptoms - most of the time, I just don’t feel right. :D
We also learned some basic pulse taking mechanics. It’s funny, because for all that we learned pulse qualities and the history of the view of pulse positions - we never learned “how to take a pulse” in any systematic way. Sometimes these basics get lost in the shuffle, I suppose. Arnaud gave us those basics on shift and I can tell you that my ability to learn from each pulse I take increased immeasurably.
Modular character of classical formulas
Arnaud is a formula guy, first and foremost. His point selections are intriguing, but it is in the realm of formulas that his brilliance is clearest to see. The easiest way to get him to talk a blue streak was to ask an insightful, but simple, question about a particular formula or formula modification. I’m sad to say that I probably didn’t take enough advantage of this resource - but when I did, the results were both deep and broad.
What I learned most was that the nature of classical (or canonical, as he likes to say) Chinese herbal formulas are exceedingly modular. What this means is that if you take half a dozen of the most used Shang Han formulas you will see numerous overlaps that make it simple to combine formulas without adding too many ingredients or making the formula too big. This creates an extremely wide therapeutic output with just a small number of different herbs. It also means that the dosages and combinations in classical formulas are EXTREMELY tight. If there are 9 grams of Gui Zhi and 9 grams of Bai Shao in a formula, changing one of those dosages to 6 grams produces an entirely different effect. So, the practice of willy nilly modifying formulas based on wanting “a little more of this and a little less of that” probably isn’t a great idea.
Thinking about formulas this way has completely changed the way I study them. Instead of looking at formulas in relative isolation or placed in arbitrary categories (as found in most formula text books) I look at formulas as in relationship with one another. All of the formulas that contain a similar ratio of two herbs are going to be related in some deep way. This allows me to more fully understand the function of the formulas and be more effective with them in clinic. Practically, whenever I learn a new formula, I spend some time searching for related formulas usually using electronic resources I have created myself. Then I read all I can about these related formulas, particularly anything included in the Classical texts. I seek to comprehend the similarities and differences. In some cases, I have also looked at all formulas with a particular two or three herb combination, regardless of dosage. This is also instructive.
Learning to ask good questions
As I’ve already mentioned, we usually got the most out of shift when we were brave enough to ask bold, yet succinct, questions. I tend not to speak up in academic group situations. Because of the rambling and pointless nature of some questions asked in many classes (Chinese medicine or not) I tend to wait until I have a truly important, well-informed and brief question to ask of a professor before I’m willing to put myself out there. However, I know that this policy has probably negatively impacted my educational experience in some small ways. My academic relationship with Arnaud is helping me to get better at quickly coming up with relevant and insightful questions. I hope this skill continues to develop.
In sum, my term with Dr. Versluys was quite enriching. I’d be interested to hear the stories of other people, even in other schools, about their early clinical experiences. Any disasters? Any moments of earth-shattering insight? Let us know in the comments. If you’re interested in hearing more about my experiences in medical school, be sure to subscribe to this blog via RSS feed or via email.
Eric
Tags: academics, arnaud versluys, Character, chinese-herb, clinic, education, ncnm, pulse, studyRelated posts
Contemporary discipleship in Chinese medicine
One of the things I see as inherent in a Classical approach to Chinese medicine is the recovery of a sense of discipleship. The passing of knowledge from Master to Student has always been a part of the medicine, as far as I can tell. This is not a foreign concept in general, the use of apprenticeships and master-student relationship are present in most arts and sciences through time. But it is a pretty absent feature of contemporary American life, in my experience. Chinese medicine education - for the most part - is done in the same ineffective way that most education is done. Lecturers lecture. Students listen, or at least try to listen. Lab time is neglected. Standardized tests are seen as a viable way to measure performance. People graduate who really don’t know what they’re doing or why.
Through every step of my education, I have sought real mentors. People with diverse life experience who can help me navigate not just the material, but life. The first is, perhaps, primary - but if the second isn’t present in some way I don’t really feel as though I am learning anything of value. I have been fairly successful finding people who I resonate with who have excellent information to share, a love for teaching and also many words of wisdom in life to pass along.
When I learned that the Classical Chinese Medicine program at NCNM had as an integral feature a restoration of true mentorship, I was very excited. I have to say that while there have been efforts to materialize this ideal, it has been no easier for me to find mentorship in this program than it has been anywhere else. I think the consciousness of the importance of mentor-mentee relationships is there, and various structures exist to help manifest those relationships. But, as everything, it’s a work in progress.
What does discipleship mean in contemporary society? Is it truly an integral feature of learning Chinese medicine? These are questions I consider heavily many times each day.
Recently I’ve been in conversation with a respected friend and colleague about this issue. We’ve gone back and forth about what constitutes discipleship and, perhaps most importantly, whether the exchange of money should be involved between mentor and mentee. What is gained or lost in this situation? One argument I have made is that in the past, frequently trials were required from the mentee - involving considerable investments of time. Further, in the end we have to admit that if the mentor simply did not like the mentee, they would not come into relationship. At least not frequently. Many of us these days have money but not time. Or, rather, we trade most of our time for money. Does this make money a good substitute for time in this situation? It is sometimes a trial to come up with money. :) Also, does this somehow democratize the mentor-mentee relationship? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
I’d be really interested to hear folks’ thoughts on this and related issues. Please add your voice in the comments. Also, if you would like to have more articles about topics like this brought to you directly be sure to subscribe to this blog via RSS feed or via email.
Eric
Tags: academics, chinese-medicine, discipleship, students, study, studying, theory-to-practiceRelated posts
If you’re not memorizing, you’re not paying attention
Note: I’m working on write-ups of the AAAOM conference in Portland. I’m writing something about Nigel Wiseman’s talk on Chinese medical translation and my general support for his ideas. I’m also writing about the national student organization meetings and my renewed optimism and excitement concerning the viability of our profession in the US. I’d also like to talk about a few new companies I had contact with and discuss issues around purity and quality of Chinese herbs.
I was just reading an article in the latest National Geographic magazine about memory. It is an interesting article as a whole, but more importantly it really got me thinking about the role of memorization in education. The article talks about the times before easily available printed material, when most everything had to be memorized if it was to be accessed at some future date. One sentence in particular really struck me - it’s actually a quote from the author of The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture 
“In a world of few books, and those mostly in communal libraries, one’s education had to be remembered, for one could never depend on having continuing access to specific material.” (Mary Carruthers, in National Geographic Magazine, November 2007)
It is my understanding that to this day, memorization of texts is still a valued (and even expected) component of Chinese medical education in China. All of my professors that learned the medicine mostly or entirely in China can recite maddening amounts of text verbatim from many classical texts. Additionally, they have memorized uncountable phrases, rhymes and poems used as mnemonic devices for various types of information. It’s amazing, quite frankly. We’ve had a few conversations in classes about this subject. One generalization I’ve heard is that for the Chinese, memorizing the material is primary and you are not expected to form opinions about it until you’ve had it in your memory for some time. The idea, I think, is that having the information coded in your head allows you to make connections between that text or information and other texts you are reading as well as between the texts and your clinical experiences. If you don’t have that information ready at hand - er, mind - then you’re not going to be able to make those connections as easily if at all.
There’s a serious amount of resistance to this notion among most US-based Chinese medicine and acupuncture students I am acquainted with. Most of us know that we need to memorize things in order to pass tests - but few people seem to see solid memorization of material (and continued renewal of that memorized material to keep it solid) as a foundational aspect of their educational program. The first year of study at my school doesn’t involve much memorization. It’s mostly about acquainting students with the cultural and philosophical foundations of the medicine, while getting their feet wet with basic Western and Chinese medicine concepts. There are few tests of one’s mental rigor, though lots of great intellectual growth takes place regardless. The second year, then, is a rude awakening for most students. It’s then that we take points, herbs, Chinese pathology and more Western medicine. Nearly all the classes have testing, and one professor in particular is notorious for his frequent (very frequent) testing and exacting standards. Many students fail his first midterm.
People underestimate the amount of information they will need to memorize VERBATIM. Many of them complain about what they see as “rote” memorization, they fail to see the value of this kind of learning for their future career. These folks and, I think, American culture in general puts a much stronger value on analysis of information and the formation of opinions and judgments. In my school in particular, I think folks tend to have a pretty philosophical frame of mind and thus are constantly trying to see patterns and interconnections among the various pieces of information. Education in some way is seen as a creative pursuit.
In my experience, it is only information that I have thoroughly committed to memory that is actually useful to me in the higher order creative activities I’m describing. The absolute base for this process is simple memorization. Information must be placed in the memory and repeatedly accessed until it becomes as familiar as all of the television commercial jingles we all undoubtedly have memorized. You might object, saying that you cannot retain material that doesn’t have relevance, material that doesn’t MEAN anything to you, yet. It’s true that it is difficult to commit something to memory that you have no context for, it is NOT true for any of us that this material we are studying has no context in our experience. While you may not know much about, say, 茯苓（Fu Ling, poria) with a little effort you can most certainly associate it with aspects of your experience. By studying a little about the applications of the herb you can help relate it to your life, perhaps with a time that you suffered from excess dampness. Also, there are numerous memorization techniques that help you build an infrastructure in which you can place any amount of seemingly meaningless information. When you do this, and do it well, it will begin to seep into your entire being and you will begin to understand.
I’d like to write a couple more articles about this, focusing on different memory techniques and resources that are available to help increase memory. Until then, I’d like to hear your thoughts on memorization in Chinese medicine. What role has it played in your education?
Tags: academics, Acupuncture, chinese-herb, chinese-herbs, cultural-differences, education, exams, memorization, students, study, study-methods, studyingRelated posts
Five simple methods I use to take advantage of my time in Chinese medicine school
I’ve talked about the habits I’ve formed to be an honors student, I’ve revealed some of the low-tech items I use to stay organized, I’ve discussed various study methods I use for acupuncture and chinese herbs - I continue to use all of this information in my Chinese medicine school experience. But I have to admit that I have been strained nearly to the breaking point with this new year. The information is more complex, my involvement with non-academic school related efforts is greater and I simply haven’t kept up the way I need to. I think even if you aren’t involved in much outside of school, the simple amount of information tossed at us in any medical training program is simply too much to be efficiently absorbed. However, we should make every effort to do so! Instead of suffering from a nervous breakdown, I decided to look at my problems critically and figure out some rules to help guide me from overwhelm to overachiever.
Upon figuring out these five principles, my feeling of desperation immediately dissipated and in just a few short hours I’ve managed to get on top of a lot of what was spiraling out of control. Not bad, eh? Let me share these with you and let me know if you have any additions, revisions or experiences by adding to the comments!
1. Keep up
This is common sense. You need to stay current with your classes. This has been said so many places and in so many ways it has become almost cliche. But it cannot be overemphasized. If you’re feeling overwhelmed right now you need to sit down and list out everything you need to do, class by class, to get to a place where you feel “current.” For me, this includes having the materials read for my next weeks’ classes, having study materials prepared for upcoming exams and being in an appropriate place in the writing process for any projects I have coming up. I repeat - if you are feeling overwhelmed, go through this process. Step-by-step through your syllabi, call professors or fellow students if you have to - and make concrete lists of what you need to have done to be “caught up.” Don’t wait to do this - do it now.
When I have my list put together, I don’t think much about where to begin. I know there are a lot of methods out there for helping you to be most efficient in going down a list of tasks. However, I find it’s best to just start at the top of the list and move down it. You need to get current NOW. Take this weekend to get current with all of your projects and resolve to stay caught up from now on. You can use a system like “Getting Things Done” or simply use to-do lists, do whatever you have to do to avoid slipping behind again.
2. Keep it together
Keep all of the materials you need for a given class or project in one place. For instance, I have a midterm in acupuncture theory coming up. For this class, I have electronic notes as well as paper notes, several books and a few websites that all help me to understand the material. Because the majority of this material is non-electronic, I’ve decided to print off what is electronic and keep all that material together on my desk. I may have to use one of the books for something else, so I’ve made a list of the materials that I consider essential for my test preparation. That way, when I’m ready to study I can consult the list - make sure everything is there - and then study in a focused manner without having to stop and search for something.
To implement this you really need to think through each project, test or course. For instance, if you’re studying Chinese herbs - what do you need to most effectively learn this material? You may have a Materia Medica, a formulas text, a set of class notes, some herb samples, some audio notes and a set of pictures of different Chinese herbs. Think carefully - is this all you would need to study the subject? Maybe pen and paper? Access to the Internet? A pot of boiling water? Make a list of each item you consider essential for study, and keep all such notes together in one place where they can be easily accessed. Do your best to keep the relevant materials together in one place and use your notes to augment when things get scattered.
3. Keep perspective
There are a lot of perspective problems I run into in my Chinese medicine study. I lose my perspective on the importance of a single class, a single test or a particular book or professor. I lose my perspective on my time left in school or the given term. I lose my perspective on the balance of work, school, play and cultivation that I require to stay healthy. To combat this, I’ve created some more lists as well as implemented a Weekly Review as advocated by David Allen in his Getting Things Done. I’ll explain both briefly.
I have created several lists to keep me grounded. One list shows all of my responsibilities for a given term identified by my role in each. For instance, I am a Student in Chinese herbs IV (Formulas) and I am a Father to my daughter. Another list shows all of the assignments and tests required in each class. Another list indicates my personal priorities when it comes to a balanced life. A couple of lists aren’t really lists - I keep a copy of the academic calendar close at hand and I keep a pristine personal calendar listing dates/deadlines for all academic, work and personal aspects of my life. A couple of times a week, I take an hour and carefully examine all of these items. It seems too simple to work, but just reminding yourself of your responsibilities, priorities and the “lay of the land” as far as your term/year is concerned can have a powerful effect on your ability to keep perspective.
I also instituted a Weekly Review as advocated by David Allen, though I’ve modified it for my own purposes. In the Weekly Review, I check out my “hard landscape” which is composed of things I must do at a particular time. I make notes of potential problems so I can be prepared for any particularly hectic days. I also review my lists of assignments and check my progress on each, normally within the context of my GTD system. I also do a little bit of “visionary” work - just thinking about my place in life, where I’m going and what might need to shift to move me farther along my chosen path. Sometimes that requires I eliminate projects, move deadlines, or add new habits. I don’t think I could do this without GTD - but any system that works for you… works for you. :)
4. Keep focused
Every morning I remind myself why I’m in Chinese medicine school. I read the oath that we will be reading at our graduation out loud and I meditate a little bit on why I am where I am. This little exercise helps me keep focused on what is my goal for these four years I am learning Chinese medicine. Although keeping balance is important, making new friends is vital and being involved in extra curricular activities is a vital part of my life ultimately I am here to learn Chinese medicine in the deepest way I can. I know that my education will continue for my entire life, but this is a special time in the process and I need to make the best of it.
It is virtually impossible to truly keep balanced and still glean everything necessary from the educational environment. In my opinion, entering into a program like this one requires that you abandon your hopes to spend a significant amount of time socializing, doing outside reading or engaging in other non-academic activities. People who need those things to stay whole should look into slowing their program down significantly - may students in my year chose to do this with the program, turning a 4 year program into 5 years or more.
For my part, I’d like to get through this phase of my training so I can get on to more practical experience and individual mentorship with willing professors. I also hope to teach so that I might learn more deeply. This requires intense focus and a willingness to understand that this, too, shall pass.
5. Keep a sense of humor
Human beings are funny. Tiny tiny tiny, but with such big aspirations - we sometimes let our best intentions get the better of us. I am careful not to let my dreams become monsters, devouring my Qi, my joy and my family. I may not be able to keep all the plates spinning that I intend, sometimes they will fall to the ground with a clatter. I may not be able to learn everything I feel like I should learn RIGHT NOW. Sometimes, I just need to take the afternoon off and watch a movie, go for a hike, or laugh with friends and family. Most of all, I need to be able and willing to laugh heartily at myself at every moment because the second I become too serious, I become rigid and we all know how easy it is for rigid things to break.
So far, so good.
Eric
Tags: academics, Acupuncture, chinese-herb, chinese-herbs, education, erics-habits, Learning, Personal Development, scholar, students, study, studying, Technology
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