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
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Tags: academics, chinese-medicine, discipleship, students, study, studying, theory-to-practiceRelated posts
Acupuncture is more than just needles
I consider myself an herbs man, primarily. During my first year in school, I decided that I was going to try to focus as quickly as possible. Now, granted, I need to learn as much as possible about the medicine as a whole. I need to know points, channel theory, point combinations, herbs, formulas, modifications, general theory and all its subdivisions, patient-doctor communication, business management and all the rest. I need to know where to access resources when I need them and I need to be a competent overall practitioner. However, this medicine is so vast that it is extremely dangerous for a person as enamored with it as I am to operate without a particular focus. Having focus will allow me to increase my abilities in my chosen field while helping me to avoid overwhelm and avoiding becoming a jack-of-all-trades. It will also help me choose a thesis topic, mentor and help me to know who to work with in clinic. Not everyone takes this view, and I realize that.
Regardless - I love my herbs and I love formulas and I feel uncommonly blessed to be at NCNM - home of so many incredible scholars of Classical Chinese herbalism. However, this term I am learning a deep love and respect for acupuncture as well. Although some have argued that NCNM does not have a Classical acupuncture program, I beg to differ. We do learn points as other schools do - memorizing them and learning what sorts of standard actions are commonly ascribed to them by the profession at large. However, this teaching is mediated by a much broader and more Classically based view of channel theory and, most importantly, techniques. Currently in our classes with Dr. Youping Qin we are learning the principles of Shen management as well as a host of Classically based needle manipulation techniques. It’s freaking AWESOME.
I’m especially interested in the Shen management portions of lecture and it has done a lot to change the way I needle. These are the five things I’ve taken from those lectures. I’d be delighted to hear your thoughts in the comments.
1. You must needle without distraction.
The most important point I’ve taken away from the lectures so far is the vital importance of focus. This is, at least in part, the process of focusing your Shen completely on the needling. The idea is to focus everything on the tip of the needle, sensing the tissues and energies around it. When you get this kind of focus, you can drive the Qi, you can sense whether you are dealing with evil or even Qi and your treatments will be more effective overall. When I started marshalling all of my resources and not thinking about irrelevant things or even thinking about my performance, I found my insertions improved greatly and I grabbed the Qi much more quickly.
2. You must self-cultivate.
This partly follows from the last point. Focus doesn’t always come easily. You have to be able to step outside your problems or at least let them live somewhere else for a while. You have to be able to be totally present for the patient. Even some of my most beloved doctors have trouble with this, but I do think it is very important. Being needled by a doctor who is wholly focused on the treatment and not on talking to me about the latest football game score seems far more effective on the whole. Self cultivation will also enhance your ability to correctly access and interpret Qi, and probably increases the efficacy of your manipulation. That’s on top of all the other benefits.
3. You must have good contact with the patient and maintain that throughout the visit.
In more than one class we have talked about the fact that the treatment actually begins with your very first contact with the patient. Even the most practical of doctors have to admit that the conversation between the doctor and the patient - including your body language and speech quality - have a sometimes huge influence on the treatment effectiveness. Given that eyes are the windows of the Shen, having good eye contact is quite important in the Shen management part of any given treatment. I have to admit I am a little confused about this part - the pragmatist in me wants to reduce it down to easily analyzable behavioral actions and reactions. But somehow I know that it’s more than that.
4. You must study technique as well as point location.
As usual, I take from my studies a strong urging to study. The greatest needle manipulation techniques in the world aren’t going to matter much if you don’t hit the point. Regardless of recent studies that indicate that “sham” acupuncture is as effective as “real” acupuncture - good location and excellent understanding of channel theory are a huge part of great treatments. I can’t even imagine how you would go about challenging this - one simply needs to get a few treatments from someone only recently trained, or hastily trained and then turn to someone who has been practicing and improving the health of patients for 30 years… you’ll see the difference. However, beyond knowing points and channels it is also vital to learn techniques for manipulating the Qi and actually USE them. We have learned reduction and tonification techniques, and this week began to learn “joined needling” and “joint needling.” I needled through my partner’s ankle! It was awesome! The more I learn about techniques and apply them in my limited experiences the more I see their power.
Tags: Acupuncture, channels, chinese-herb, Learning, Personal Development, study, theory-to-practiceRelated posts
Acupuncture/moxibustion or herbs?
I’m still adjusting to the new school flow, I’m taking 23 credits and trying to work outside the blog along with raising my family - so the adjustments are difficult sometimes.
Anyway - I do have a quick question that I will follow up soon with an analysis of a Neijing chapter. In modern practice, many Chinese doctors use both acupuncture/moxibustion and herbs. Some use one or the other - when there is a single treatment type it is usually acupuncture, at least in this country.
In a particular Neijing chapter (more information to come soon) Huangdi and Qibo discuss the degenerating condition of people. Writing from the Han dynasty (over 2000 years ago) they lament that people in their time are already full of desire, living out of harmony with nature and easily getting sick. Because of this - they claim - one has to use herbal medicine which is a more heavy treatment to cure disease. Prior to that one could use Qi healing or simply acupuncture.
How must the situation be today?!? If we were out of balance 2000 years ago, certainly we must be much more so now - and what does that mean about the possibility of treating disease solely by acupuncture?
Adding to this - there is always a lot of discussion around whether acupuncture or herbs are good for this and that. For instance, can acupuncture tonify? Don’t scoff - there are many people who would suggest that acupuncture is almost always slightly reducing. Some people claim that herbal medicine is really no good for psychological illness - that only acupuncture can reach the spirit/mind of human beings.
What do you think? My sense is that we should use both tools, but that herbal medicine is probably very desirable for the majority of human diseases today because of its ability to transfer both heaven and earth energy. If you are in practice - what has been your experience of using one, the other or both?
Thanks for your patience as I rearrange my schedule.
Eric
Tags: Acupuncture, chinese-herb, chinese-herbs, herbs, scope-of-practice, theory-to-practiceRelated posts
Living in Harmony with the Seasons: Part II - The essence of Autumn
This is the second part of a ten part series on living in harmony with the seasons. Read Part 1: Introduction to living in harmony with the seasons.
In the sheet of announcements and farm stories included in my family’s weekly vegetable share from our local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share from Wintergreen Farm the author struggles to understand when she knows that Fall has arrived in the Willamette Valley. In the end, she was talking about the energy of the season. Which got me to thinking about writing the article you’re reading right now. When I conceived of this series on living with the seasons according to Chinese medicine, I knew I really wanted to provide something of value. It would be too easy to throw up a set of traditional correspondences, make some vapid suggestions about eating squash instead of tomatoes and just leave it at that. But, this living with the seasons thing is too important to me for that. Although it is commonly neglected by patients and practitioners alike, seasonal living is a clear command of the ancients. It is a primary pillar in the prevention of disease, and certainly plays a part in the rectification of illness already underway.
I am going to list and explain below what I believe to be the most important pieces of symbolic information commonly associated with Autumn in Chinese medicine. These relatively concrete items represent nodes in a web of representation - they do not complete the picture, they begin it. In the next article, I will expand on these slightly but mostly I will share how these symbols can be used to align yourself with the energy of the season so that you might live more healthfully and appreciate this ever changing world of ours.
Tags: autumn, Classical Texts (general), fall, neijing, Organ systems, seasonal-living, symbolism, theory-to-practice
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5 ways I use the 5 element model to be 500% more productive
I’m moving this week - thus the light posting. Nothing makes me think about productivity like moving - because usually my workload doesn’t slow down and I have to simultaneously deconstruct and reconstruct my entire living situation. Must stay motivated!
As I’ve discussed in my article Staying Motivated Using Symbolism one of the most powerful things about Chinese medicine is its use of symbols. Symbols are useful both because they utilize our evolutionarily enhanced skill in visual processing and for more inexplicable reasons - symbols are somehow hooked into a dynamic spiritual component of our Selves. If you use symbols on a regular basis for your own personal development, you will see that this is true. One well known use of symbolism in Chinese medicine is the model of the 5 Elements or 5 Phase Elements.
This theory organizes all possible information about the universe into 5 categories that are interdependent and interacting. The categories are all associated with a single elemental phase: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. There are two interactive cycles of the elements, the creation cycle and control cycle. The creation cycle moves in the direction listed just above (Fire creates Earth creates Metal creates Water creates Wood creates Fire, repeat). The control cycle moves like this: Fire controls Metal controls Wood controls Earth controls Water controls Fire, repeat. For productivity purposes, the control cycle has been the most helpful for me - but you could easily find ways to use the creation cycle. Let’s get started…
First, I will briefly describe the elemental phases as I understand them:
- Fire: To get the feeling for the fire phase element, consider a campfire. It is dynamic, ever changing and consuming. It brings people together, provides needed comfort in the cold and dark and can help us to sustain ourselves. Yet it can quickly get out of control in it readiness to consume fuel so it must be contained to be used effectively. In our bodies, Fire resonates with the Heart, Small Intestine, Triple Burner and Pericardium. In nature, Fire resonates with the sun, with the core of the Earth and with flying and feathered creatures. In human life, Fire resonates with intimacy, with inspiration and focus, with family and with sexuality.
- Earth: When I want to fully understand Earth, I just go into my garden and reach into some finished compost. This dark, nourishing material is the essence of many things that come from the Earth and represents the life sustaining bounty of our planet. Earth is the substance from which everything comes and is thought to be the center of the five elements - it provides the substrate for the movement of all the other elements. Its weakness is its inability to move on its own - leading sometimes to bogginess and stagnation. In our bodies, Earth resonates with the Spleen and Stomach - our organs of nourishment and taking in from the outside world. In nature, Earth resonates with arable land, with the springy living forest floor and with the silty dirt of river deltas. In human life, Earth resonates with the maternal principle, with mutual support and with integrity.
- Metal: Metal is possibly the most difficult to understand - given that it isn’t an unrefined substance like the other elements. I think it’s easiest to think of Metal as Ore - while incorporating the idea that Ore contains potential that human beings exploit through metalworking. Metal is the refined essence of the Earth, concentrating all of the purest and heaviest elements of it down into something impenetrably solid. When we refine Ore further into Metal implements we can use them to nourish or to kill. In the body, Metal resonates with the Lung and Large Intestine - organs that deal with purity and impurity. In nature, Metal resonates with metal ores, with pristine mountain glaciers and with dramatic tundra landscapes. In human life, Metal resonates with the ability to stand one’s ground, with selflessness and the ability to stay impartial in emotional situations.
- Water: To understand water you can either spend time at the edge of a vibrant river or on the beach near the ocean. Water is changeable, yet moves in a recognizable pattern. It cleanses and purifies - it brings life and in fact creates the unique conditions under which life exists on our planet. It is deep and mysterious, sometime dark and frightening and like many of the elements carries an aspect of danger implicit within it. In our bodies, water manifests as the Kidney and Bladder, organs of water metabolism and of deep storage of our essence. In nature, water resonates with rivers, oceans, waterfalls and monsoons and of course all of the creatures of the water. In human life, water represents true wisdom, the passing on of knowledge and characteristics through the generations and the principle of self-preservation.
- Wood: A teacher I had says that we shouldn’t use the word “wood” but instead use “flora” to capture the living, growing principle of the Wood elemental phase. Indeed, to fully understand Wood one need only spend time in a place of green and growing things. Although an ancient forest is a wonderful place to learn about trees - it may be better to learn about Wood by spending time in a place with disturbed ground being colonized by “weeds.” This is the Wood principle, growth almost for the sake of growth - ever reaching towards the sun, ever looking towards the future. Pure movement. Pure life! In our bodies, Wood is represented by the all-powerful Liver and the often overlooked Gallbladder. In nature, Wood is represented by all plants, by young animals and human beings, and by the regenerative powers of some insects and reptiles. In human life, Wood manifests as compassion, as drive and productive energy and as the impulse to start something new.
Now, I will describe some possible manifestations of elemental imbalance as it pertains to productivity and show how I use the control cycle to rectify these disturbances
As in most things in Chinese medical philosophy, an element can suffer by being too much or too little, or excess and deficiency. For brevity, I will stick to reviewing only the excess conditions at this time.
When Fire is in excess one becomes extremely easily distracted especially by social factors such as phone calls, emails, water cooler conversation and the like. If you find yourself itching to answer an email from an old friend despite the fact that you have a full inbox and deadlines looming, maybe you could consider using the control cycle to get yourself back on track. Here are two ways I have used Water, controlling elemental phase of Fire, to resolve these problems with good success.
- I quickly list the five most serious consequences to following the path of distraction I am experiencing. I carefully consider those consequences and what they would mean for my hopes and dreams for my life. This is using the self-preservation and fear aspects of Water to control the over-exuberance of Fire. Perhaps a little draconian…
- Meditation can be a great way to get in touch with your inner wisdom and overcome the short sightedness of Fire. It can be a little difficult to meditate in an office environment - sometimes I have used the bathroom for this! Simply carve out ten minutes for yourself in the most distraction-free environment you can find, close your eyes and breath - counting your breaths. When thoughts enter your mind, do your best to bring your consciousness back to the breath. Then return to work with the resolve to stay focused on work.
When Earth is in excess one can become excessively bogged down in unimportant features of the project at hand. Perhaps your goal is to write a great blog article about the five elements, but you find yourself trying to figure out how to change font colors in the post body. Perhaps you feel so sluggish upon beginning the project that you can only stare blankly at the screen. Counting out the possibility that you just need a vacation, here are two ways I have used Wood, controlling element of Earth, to overcome these problems with good success (including this article you are reading!).
- Get your body moving! Exercise, even briefly, can really help break through the kind of stagnation I am talking about. Go outside and do a couple of laps, do some stretching - just keep moving vigorously for ten minutes or so. If you have longer - go for longer! Take a brisk walk to the park, run around with your dog, climb a tree, go for a hike! Yes, this cuts into your time doing work but you were just spinning your wheels anyway. This is a far healthier and ultimately more productive option.
- Switch tasks. This flies in the face of so much I have read about productivity. But the problem with so much literature about productivity is that it assumes that most barriers to productivity have a similar flavor. In cases where your Earth principle is bogged down, making lists or reviewing value statements isn’t going to help. Pick another task on your list of things to do and get it started. The newer the project, the better. Work on this for half an hour or so and then return to the prior project. I find this really activates the Wood in me and allows me to push through any stagnation.
When the Metal principle has gone wildly out of control you are most likely to find yourself paralyzed by extreme self-criticism or criticism of others. When this happens to me, I’m not happy with anything I write - I consider it all to be terrible and I just sit there going over and over my words looking for the slightest flaw. On the other hand, I might be distracted from my work by thinking about something stupid someone has done or reading a ridiculous blog post online. Neither of these activities are productive. Here are two ways I use Fire, controlling element of Metal, to help these issues.
- Call a friend or family member who is generally affirming. Tell them about the problem you are having and they are likely to help you with some uplifting information about how great you are. Alternatively, dig out old letters or emails praising your virtues or simply review old school assignments or performance reviews. Often just remembering the great things we have done in the past can help us to see that we are perfectly capable of whatever task we are facing.
- If you find yourself being critical of others, remember that this is someone’s son or daughter, maybe someone’s father or mother. This is a real person with real feelings and who is trying to express themselves in one way or another - perhaps they need work, perhaps you don’t agree with their point of view, but this doesn’t negate their humanity. You are simply not served by directing that kind of energy at anyone - instead try and write or otherwise produce something similar to what you are being critical of and correct those deficiencies you saw - but do not direct it at the original person. If you’ve read a blog post about politics that you find reprehensible, simply post one that represents your point of view to your own blog and leave it at that.
This brings us finally to Wood. When Wood is in excess, it’s like weeds in a garden patch - overgrowing the things we want with things we don’t want. We may find ourselves starting out fine with a project, but quickly becoming diverted by other projects or subprojects that need our attention. Soon we are trying to complete 15 projects and end the day simply feeling overwhelmed and frustrated! My mother calls this “scurryfunging” and talks about it when she is cleaning the house and finds herself going from dusting the shelves to washing the dishes to arranging the flowers on the deck to doing laundry all without finishing a single task! I’m doing a lot of this while moving and here are two ways I’ve found using Metal, the controlling element of Wood, to get past it.
- Simply resolve to finish a task before moving to the next one. When you begin a task, decide what “finishing” will look like. For instance in moving, I resolved to empty all of the kitchen drawers. Even when I felt pulled to pack my desk or prepare my houseplants for the move, I simply cut off those thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand. In the world of office/school work, this may involve turning off email notifiers, silencing your cell phone and removing your to-do task list from sight. Pick a task and finish it, be damned the consequences.
- Use the 80/20 rule to keep yourself focused on the most important tasks. Simply, the 80/20 rule says that 20 percent of our activities account for 80 percent of our results. Thus, it is very important that we find that 20 percent and ignore the rest! This is an effective use of time and resonates very strongly with Metal. At the beginning of the day, review what you think you need to do. Pick those tasks that you think are likely to bear the most results and resolve to stick to those only. When you find yourself “scurryfunging” and letting your garden get weedy, return to that list and remember the power of the 80/20 rule.
These are just a few quick ideas. I’d love to hear how you think the five elements might be used to enhance personal productivity - just leave a comment! I always answer comments.
Eric
Tags: 80/20, Character, five phases, habits, Personal Development, productivity, theory-to-practice
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