The Valor of the Healing Process

Healing can be a fascinating process when we surrender to it. At times it can become the center of our lives: requesting our time, our energy and focus.

We all lead busy lives: especially those of us who live in New York City. It can be rare for us to slow down. Many of us are resistant to slowing our pace. There are many people to see, so much to accomplish. The great food of the city, late night excitement and competitive drive to be better can keep us in constant motion.

The process of unraveling an old knot takes times and focus. This is a metaphor frequently used to describe a stubborn condition of the body, mind or spirit. When we lack energy, time or willingness when confronted by an environmental and/or emotional issue, the issue can become sublimated into the deeper areas of the body. The sublimated material, be it a virus or emotional conflict, gets placed into a type of "closet" within the body. These include the joints, the throat, the "spare tire" around the belly and the blood vessels.

Whatever has been shoved into the "closets" of the body does not go away: it lurks. The body uses its resources to keep the sublimated material hidden from the conscious mind, or primary systems of the body. Resources that would normally be used to support daily activity and growth are diverted toward managing the old sublimated issues. We literally becomes depleted by repressed physical and emotional material we have not resolved.

The healing process within Chinese Medicine often involves allowing sublimated material to come out of the closets. Unresolved toxins and mental-emotional conflicts are brought to the surface level of the body where they can be fully resolved by the conscious mind and/or immune system. This stage of the healing process is known as "the healing crisis." The condition may appear to get worse during this time. Flu-like symptoms may arise: either through the respiratory or digestive system; emotions may become more volatile; hauntings from the past may come back into the conscious mind and/or dream-state.

The condition is not getting worse during the stage of healing crisis: it is being brought out of its parasitic, lurking state where it can be completely resolved. This critical stage requires the energy, time and focus the person was unable to devote to the condition in the past. This is why a healing crisis is often delayed within treatment until strength and willingness to handle it are cultivated.

Willingness is a major factor in the complete resolution of a condition. Conditions can be managed for a long time. Management is a valid choice which must be respected by the acupuncturist. I believe the true responsibility of the acupuncturist is to educate the patient about the process occurring in her body, so she can make a choice as to how she wishes to work with it.

The healing crisis can require a period of slowing down, nurturing oneself, going to sleep early, spending more time alone, managing cold symptoms without suppressing them, or facing uncomfortable memories and emotions from the past. A woman with a newborn baby probably will not have the time or energy to devote to this type of process, for example.

The power of the healing crisis can be life-changing. A patient came to me a few months ago with memory loss. She knew there were extremely traumatic events in her past, which she thought she' d worked through. However during treatment, memories began resurfacing. The patient was led into a period of despair and deep depression. She would sob during treatment, expressing tremendous grief. I continued to support her body's resources to allow her the strength to move through her healing crisis. She said the emotions she was feeling were those of a tremendous traumatic loss that occurred years ago. I explained this was the process of fully resolving them: getting them out of the body so they would cease to consume her blood and energy. The healing crisis hit a peak, after which the patient began to look years younger. She described feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart. She said she had stopped feeling sorry for herself: a major change she'd not experienced since childhood. When her spirit had stabilized, we moved onto resolving chronic tension in the shoulders, which brought out more memory, emotion and redemption.

A healing crisis is like a spiritual quest. We encounter many challenges throughout our lives. Chinese Medicine views these challenges as necessary in the cultivation of our spirits. Within Taoist philosophy, anything not resolved in this life gets carried onto the next. They don't go away. Sooner or later they have to be faced. Challenges are not meant to torture us, but to help us evolve. The time and energy required for the resolution of physical and mental-emotional challenges is worth it. It is a path toward freedom. Often it requires tremendous faith and courage. It calls to mind the name of an acupuncture point along the Lung Meridian called "Valiant White." White represents the ability to let go of something. Valor is the heroic courage it requires to do so. Becoming free requires nothing less.

Freedom from the past: Working on the Blood.

To work with the mental-emotional level within acupuncture means to work with blood chemistry. Altering blood chemistry affects brain chemistry. Practicioners within alternative medical therapies often speak of "blockages" as a simplistic way to describe what's going on inside the body. What does blockage mean? Blockage of what? Within acupuncture language, mental-emotional disturbances are often due to blockage of blood.

Chinese Medicine acknowledges ageing and degeneration as due to the stagnation of blood. Blood is seen to conduct consciousness: the mind and spirit. Stagnation of blood is stagnation of the mind: rigidity and fixation. My teacher uses the term "psycho-sclerosis" to describe this process: the hardening of one's attitude. Buddhist spiritual teaching describes enlightenment as becoming like a child once again: regaining the ability to see the wonder of the world anew at each moment. The ageing process occurs when we become stuck: seeing the world through the filters of the past.

When the blood becomes stuck in a particular channel, it fails to nourish the areas of the body the channel travels to. It also blocks the channel's mental and emotional development.

For example, when the blood becomes stagnate in the Kidney Channel, it can result in paranoia and obsessive compulsive behavior. In health, the Kidney channel governs willpower and faith. When the blood becomes stuck, the Will becomes misguided: acting out compulsively, often in destructive ways. The Will becomes fixated on a particular objective, becoming obsessive. The power of the Will begins to act in ways not socially acceptable, even detrimental to the safety of the self and others. Stagnation of blood creates deficiency of blood within the channel, leading to paranoia. The spiritual attribute of the Kidney fails to be nourished, as the blood is being channeled into the obsession, leading to lack of faith. The person is out of touch with his truth, thinking and acting in ways unnatural to him, often contrary to the well-being of himself and others. The Kidney governs the ears, which in this case are not being nourished by clean blood: the person begins to fear others talking about him. Perhaps he is afraid the world is out to get him: to take away what he is obsessively craving, or punish him for the anti-social behavior being acted out.

Treatment of blood stagnation can be very powerful. I have seen people's entire demeanor change quite quickly. A woman came to me a couple years ago. Her chief complaint was emotional. She was unable to control her emotions. She felt extremely vulnerable around others, and would cry uncontrollably whenever confronted. The confrontation could be as benign as being given constructive criticism. Any type of tension within a social situation would lead to hysterical crying, which she was unable to control. I diagnosed the patient with blood stagnation in the Pericardium Channel leading to blood deficiency. Her symptom is classic to disruption of blood within this channel. After treating only two points on her arm, the patient had a large emotional release, and left my office feeling very calm. The next week, she returned to report that her emotional symptoms had disappeared. They never returned.

Sometimes resolution of a chronic symptom happens that fast. Other times, it takes longer to process the trauma to the channel. Often a period of strengthening the body must occur to prepare for release of the blockage.

My experience of working on the mind and emotions via the blood is a process of redemption from the traumas of the past. I've seen it as a way to become free, like the innocent child the Buddhists describe as the enlightened being.

Blood Carries the Spirit: The 9 Heart Pains

Within Chinese Medicine, the body consists of 12 Primary Energy Channels, each corresponding to a major internal organ. Each channel possesses a role within the normal functioning of the body. The channels are also associated with various stages of psycho-social development, emotional expression and cultivation of the virtues. The channels support physical development and function, as well as mental-emotional-spiritual development and function.

The Heart Channel and its partner the Pericardium Channel are associated with a concept known as "The 9 Palaces." A palace is a type of life-lesson to be reckoned with throughout life. Chinese philosophy names 9 main life-lessons: Health, Wealth, Prosperity, Relationship, Children/Creativity, Travel/Adventure, Career/Vocation, Wisdom and Family. Through working through these palaces, wisdom and enlightened evolution is achieved. When a person becomes stuck in a palace, unable to come to terms with its lessons, it becomes a "Heart Pain." The 9 Heart Pains can manifest physically, mentally or emotionally. Their origin is from a spiritual struggle to transcend one of the 9 Palaces.

Both the Heart and Pericardium channels govern circulation of blood within the body. The Heart is also involved in the final production of blood. Within Chinese Medicine blood is given a very important role. The spirit and mind are believed to reside within the blood.

Western medicine sees blood as the vehicle by which nutrients and oxygen are transported to the tissues of the body; it is also the way waste is removed. A similar process is seen to occur relating to the mind and spirit in Chinese Medicine.

To fully understand the role of the blood in relation to the spirit and mind, the Chinese Medical Classics created images of the organs as officials within an imperial court. The Heart is the Emperor, while the Lung is the Prime Minister and the Pericardium is the Imperial Eunech (or chief of the secret police). These are the 3 main channels involved in circulation.

The Heart, as emperor, is the residence of the spirit. The Lung assists the Heart in carrying its decry to the entire kingdom, including all the other officials within the government. The breath of the Lungs helps pulsate the blood, which carries the message of the heart (spirit and mind) throughout the body.

Taoist and Confucian philosophy believe each person is born with a curriculum: or lesson to explore within life: similar to the belief that every person has a purpose in life. This curriculum creates the person's life circumstances prior to birth. The curriculum is born from combining the spirit and the essence (bestowed by the parents during the copulation process). The spirit chooses parents from which it will be able to explore its desired curriculum throughout a lifetime. We're born to live out our spirit's desired lessons, as well as to work through the lessons carried through the family line: whatever has not been resolved within the family is passed on to us.

The blood carries the message of the curriculum throughout the body. Every cell of our body receives this message. From this, our desires are created, as is the way we see the world, our physical constitutions, and the experiences we draw to ourselves.

The spirit brings us into our Palace. It may be a palace the spirit desires to explore, or it may be an untranscended palace from our families. When we become stuck in a palace, this creates a heart pain. The Heart channel provides the secrets to overcoming the heart pains.

A disturbance to the spirit can stagnate the blood: a disappointment, trauma, disillusionment. Sometimes this can manifest with chest pain; sometimes with personality disturbances, or the inablilty to control the emotions. For example, if the disturbance is translocated into the Lung Channel, a person may be unable to stand quiet or being alone: needing to always be busy. If the disturbance is in the Gallbladder Channel, it may manifest as hopelessness and depression. There are many possible manifestations to the Heart Pains.

It is the Pericardium Channel that assists in letting go of long-standing Heart Pains. The Pericardium is described as the head of the secret police. It has a tendency to be repressive. It often requires the unconditional love of the Heart and the unconditional acceptance of the Lungs to open and release.

I've shared this information to help illuminate the power of acupuncture in both the spiritual path, as well as psycho-emotional wellness. In my experience, this is the true power of the medicine. Treatment of pain: yes. But what is underneath the pain can be life-changing. It can provide understanding of the struggles you are going through, as well as support resolution of them. A Tibetan Buddhist teacher once said to me: "we don't meditate to be good, or to be spiritual people, but to become free." The same can be said for acupuncture treatment. While being an extremely effective physical medicine, it can also support the spiritual path to freedom.

What's Your Body Trying To Tell You?

The most frequent symptom acupuncture is used for in the United States is pain. Low back pain, stiffness of the shoulders, carpal-tunnel, limb weakness, foot pain, arthritis, headaches, gastro-intestinal pain, sinus pressure: I've treated all of these in my office. Pain cannot be ignored. No matter how many aspirin, or cortisone shots: the pain demands to be heard. The pills and shots temporarily quiet the shouts from the body, but I hear everyday from patients: they come back. People come into my office desperate everyday, often because they have gone to many doctors and tried many pills and shots, and even surgeries, yet their pain remains. They come for acupuncture with little hope, which I understand: nothing else has worked, why should acupuncture? Yet, I've seen conditions completely resolve that patients were certain would not go away. I've seen it many times.

My own experience with acupuncture was similar to these patients. The first time I received acupuncture was for chronic asthma, which my doctor told me could not be cured: only controlled through numerous medications. A friend brought me to his acupuncturist, and after a few sessions, my asthma was gone. I continued seeing the acupuncturist, and never needed my medications again. I had felt for years that the steroid-laden medications I was being prescribed were weakening me. When I was finally able to give them up, I felt my entire system strengthen. The acupuncture helped restore my vitality, as well as clear the phlegm and inflammation within my airways.

I didn't understand how acupuncture could help me in ways my doctor couldn't. How could a treatment that didn't use any internal medications treat my lungs? Why did I feel stronger and lighter with acupuncture treatment than with the drugs I'd been using for over 20 years? I didn't understand, but I couldn't help becoming a believer. I liked feeling strong and breathing deep. I was happy to be able to run again, and be out in the cold without wheezing. So it really didn't matter that my practical mid-western mind wasn't completely comfortable with what was happening. I had a condition which had affected my quality of life since childhood, which had disappeared. Needless to say, I continued treatment.

Years later I wanted to be able to help others the way I was being helped. My acupuncturist sent me to study with her teacher. Now I have the grace to witness similar transformations in my own acupuncture office.

I'd like to share an exciting transformation that occurred in my office a few months ago. A patient came to me with debilitating wrist pain. He was a musician who was forced to discontinue playing because of chronic wrist weakness and pain. He'd been to many specialists, endured cortisone shots and many medications, yet could not find lasting relief from the pain in his wrist.

After only one acupuncture treatment the pain this patient endured for years disappeared. It was a simple treatment too. He was a patient who had little faith acupuncture would work. I see these types of patients frequently: who come to acupuncture as a last resort. And it worked. He was amazed. He wanted to understand what had happened. How could two acupuncture points on his arm do what all the fancy drugs and western treatments couldn't: take away years of chronic pain? I explained the science of what had happened to him. He still couldn't believe it: perhaps because his orientation (along with most of ours) is Western biological science. What I was describing was the 2000-year old science of Chinese Medicine: which sometimes sounds simplistic, yet proves sophisticated through its effectiveness.

It is not everyday that a chronic condition will resolve after one simple treatment. I am always open to this occurring, but usually chronic conditions take a while to unknot themselves. This is especially true if the pain has a psycho-somatic root.

Pain is seen as a blockage of blood and energy within Chinese medical thinking. It can result from the invasion of external climatic factors into the body. Pain can also result from the inability to release and resolve emotional or mental material within the body. Chinese Medicine speaks of two major types of "pathogenic factors," or causes of disease: those originating from outside the body, and those from the inside of the body. From the outside, there are germs, climate, injuries, overuse. From the inside, there are thoughts and emotions. In both cases, it is the body's ability to process and let go of these pathogenic factors that prevents problems. When the immune system is insufficient, it fails to fully release external pathogens, which become stuck in the body. Allergies are a good example of this. The symptoms of seasonal allergies resemble a type of head cold that comes and goes. It is a condition the body never fully resolved. Or sinus issues that come and go. Same thing.

Internal factors: emotions and thoughts can create similar blockages. An experience a person was never able to fully let go of. Or a feeling never fully processed. Or a mental pattern. All of these internal factors can create disease and physical disturbance to the body just as strong as something coming in from the outside. Chronic fear can cause back pain just as intense as a slipped-disc.

If the symptoms fail to respond by focusing on the physical body, the emotions or mind often need to be addressed.

In all conditions, I ask: what is the body trying to tell this person? Sometimes it is merely that they are overworking, or not getting enough sleep, or eating too much sugar. However, at other times, the body is trying to convey a deeper message.

Acupuncture, at its root is spiritual medicine. It is not allied with any particular religion. It is based on Taoist philosophy. It can be said that Chinese Medicine is the science of Taoism. Its goal is treatment of pain and disease, as well as supporting patients in their evolution. Most of us wish to be free from pain. However, is it only physical pain we wish to be free from? How about freedom from fear? Or anger? Or a low self-image? Or a traumatic memory from the past? Regardless if mental-emotional material is causing physical or emotional pain, acupuncture supports patients to free themselves from the burden.

I recall treating a middle-aged woman a few years ago who was dragged to my office by her daughter. Literally dragged. She was afraid of needles. That was her excuse. My feeling was, she'd given up hope. That was why she was so resistant. This was my first impression of this woman. She's stopped taking care of herself. She described every part of her life as a burden. Through our subsequent treatments, she described traumatic events from her past, and a long history of sorrow. I saw how weighed down she'd become by the past. She was in bondage: feeling as if she was losing the battle. I gave her a seldom-used, spirit-focused treatment, intent on helping her release the ghosts from her past. Simple. Five points. The next week, I saw a changed woman come into my office. Her complexion was different: no longer pale and drawn, but smiling and full of healthy color. Her hair was curled, she was neatly dressed, and her posture was erect and full of energy. I asked her how she was. She said she didn't know what I'd done, but suddenly she'd begun cooking for herself again and felt lighter than she had in many years. She felt free. Weeks later, after a few more treatments, the buzzing in her ears, which was her chief complaint, ceased.

This is an example of the way acupuncture treatment can work. Sometimes the chief complaint resolves quickly. Other times, it will take some time. Yet in the meantime, the patient can experience other areas of their lives improve, and even transform.

Most of the time I cannot predict what the patient's body is going to tell us during treatment. It's my job to locate the blockage, give a treatment to move the blockage, strengthen the body's ability to heal, and wait for the next message. Who can predict that a cyst on the back is the result of suppressed career aspirations? Yet, when the cyst was treated, and the emotional level was gently probed, a patient came back to my office certain this is what the cyst was communicating. After the body had been heard, the cyst disappeared: it's services were no longer needed.

Did I mention that I love my job?

Acupuncture as Body, Mind, Spirit Medicine

The history of acupuncture spans more than 2000 years. Some of the greatest medical and philosophical minds of the Chinese culture created the medicine. Medical professionals were philosophers as well as scientists. Being a philosopher in ancient times meant also being a psychologist. Psychology is applied philosophy. Psychology, philosophy and science are all based on observation of the nature of the human being: mind, body and behavior. Within ancient Chinese culture, the body, mind and spirit were considered inseparable, seen to always affect one another. Therefore, within Chinese Medicine, body, mind and spirit are always taken into account when working with a patient. "Every needling must be rooted in the spirit," teaches the medical classics. Each time a person is treated (or diagnosed), their state of mind, emotions and spirit must be taken into account. To just examine a person's body is an incomplete diagnosis. To only treat a person's body is an incomplete treatment. The whole person must be acknowledged and treated.

The beauty of Chinese Medicine is it always treats the individual. A person may come with a diagnosis or have symptoms that fit a disease pattern, however each person is acknowledged as unique within Chinese Medicine. We all have our own stories, our own histories, and our own paths. Each of us will manifest our pathologies in a different way. Each acupuncture treatment is individualized to fit the uniqueness of the patient, taking into account the symptoms of their body and mind, as well as their constitutional strengths and weaknesses.

In practice, it is rare to treat two people with the same condition in the exact same way. For example, a condition of gastritis may have originated from diet in one person, and worry in another. The two people may have similar symptoms. Yet the two people may have very different ways of looking at the world as well as different constitutions.

A person with Gastritis from a dietary cause may have a constitutional sensitivity to certain types of foods. Or perhaps the stomach issue comes from using food to self-medicate. Whereas a person with Gastritis resulting from worry may be constantly afraid something bad will happen, clench his stomach, creating a tremendous amount of stomach acid which leads to an ulcer. To adequately treat these two individuals, the acupuncturist must take into account what is causing the problem. If it is a matter of diet, the food being eaten must be adjusted, and treatment will focus on rebuilding the digestive system. If it is a matter of using food to self-medicate: eating too late, or eating foods that calm, yet aggravate the digestive system, the mind and emotions of the patient must be addressed with the acupuncture treatment to stop the behavior causing the problem. The underlying issue being medicated by the food must be addressed. If the issue comes from chronic worry: to stop the process that is causing the ulcer, the root of the worry must be addressed including the way the patient sees the world and responds to stress.

Each person will require a different treatment strategy, as each person possesses a uniquely different constitution, as well as a unique way of looking at the world. We all have different pasts that have created our beliefs. We have emotional and mental patterns set up during childhood. And genetic predispositions inherited from our family line.

People are made of body, mind and spirit. The acu-points along the body reflect this. The body is made up of 74 energy meridians. The meridians travel to every part of the body: into organs, muscles, bones. 12 of these meridians are named after their associated organs. For example, the Stomach Meridian travels from the sensory organs of the face down the throat, into the chest, deep into the stomach and pancreas and down the leg into the second and third toes. The Stomach meridian possesses 45 points. Each point takes up an aspect of the Stomach meridian: digestion, assimilation of experience and emotion, perception of the world, ect. The point Stomach-4 for example is named "The Earth Grainary." This is a point that may be chosen for the patient who is using food to self-medicate. Psycho-spiritually it is a point that addresses how a person is using food: how they are nourishing themselves, along with any dysfunction in this process. The point Stomach-8 is called "Head Tied in Knots," which may be a good point for the patient whose gastritis stems from worry. By needling these points, an energetic message is sent throughout the Stomach Meridian to readjust the alignment of the patient's mind. Spiritually, it can be said that these points will open the patient's perception, reconnect them to a time when they were free from worry. Scientifically, the points release endorphines and affect the brain to treat addictive tendencies or imbalances in brain chemistry.

Some points exert strong physical effects on the body, some work very strongly on the mind, and others are spirit-oriented. Most points possess attributes on all levels. Putting together a point combination for a patient is a process of treating them scientifically, yet also honoring the entirety of their condition. The person with worry will recieve a treatment that addresses the burning in the stomach, rebuilds the mucosal lining of the gut, as well as acknowledges the worry. Perhaps they also suffer from insomnia as well: points will be added to address this as well. Maybe the worry is rooted in a difficult relationship with the mother: points can be added to address this.

To enter the world of the ancient Chinese mind, one must allow oneself to become the philosopher-scientist. We are all body, mind, spirit beings. Most of us will acknowledge this. It makes perfect sense to me that our bodies reflect this. It also makes sense to me that a medical system reflects this as well. I sometimes have the image that the acupuncture pathways on the body reflect the pathways in the cosmos. We are reflections of the universe, as we are part of the universe. The highly cultivated philosopher-scientists of ancient China created a system of medicine that acknowledges this. In the acupuncture system, there are portals into every aspect of human existence through the acupuncture points. Points to awaken consciousness; points to rebuild the body; points to return a person's functioning back to a state of health; points to resolve issues from the past. This is what is meant when my teacher calls acupuncture "a complete system of medicine." To me, it is a system to view and honor the complete human being: body, mind and spirit.

The Myth of Ageing: or the Secret to Maintaining Youth

As I was updating the website for my acupuncture practice, I allowed myself to be inspired by the opening words of the medical classic in which all Chinese Medicine is based: The Nei Jing Su Wen or "Simple Questions." The book begins with a conversation between The Yellow Emperor and his Sage teacher Qi Bo. The book is written in the same style as Plato's dialogues: a conversation between a wise teacher and his student. Simple, yet profound.

The Emperor within the Nei Jing is described as being very interested in the workings of the universe: how health and illness come about, and the way to maintain health and cure illness. He asks his teacher, "Why did the men of ancient times maintain their vitality into their 100th year, while most people nowadays begin to decline at50?"

The Emperor's question is very moving to me. It makes me recall a statement my teacher Jeffrey Yuen, spoke about while I was in acupuncture school. He said the path of age and decline is not absolute: there is not a set date when a person must decline and fall apart, as is often believed in our society. "You're just getting old: that is why you are losing your eyesite, have joint pains, fatigue, depression, ect." I've heard this statement over and over, especially from my family back in Nebraska. However, this is a myth, says Jeffrey.

Jeffrey is perhaps such a respected teacher for the very fact that he appears to live what he teaches. We, his students, see him as the brilliant teacher. At one time he described himself as "the old man teacher." Yet, his appearance does not suggest age. He still looks like a young man, perhaps even a boy in some respects. His energy appears to be without limit, and his spirit and sense of excitement is strong. Perhaps this is why so many across the world are drawn to him.

Qi Bo, the Sage teacher within the Nei Jing replies to the Emperor's question by stating that the men of antiquity followed the Tao, maintained balance, walked the middle path, avoided excess, lived in line with the seasons and the rise and fall of yin and yang: this is how they were able to maintain their youth and vitality so as to live a full life. The rest of the chapter details the specifics of living in harmony with nature and the universe.

The first chapter of the Nei Jing is a profound reminder that man is part of nature as well as part of the universe. In Taoism, Humanity is seen to be situated between Heaven and Earth within the structure of the universe: influenced and connected to both. Therefore, man is subject to the natural laws of the universe, and the movements of nature.

The Five Element tradition of Acupuncture, as popularized by Professor J.R. Worsley, places special emphasis on seeing the elements and seasons of nature within the human being, and living in harmony with these elements: both within the body, as well as within the outer world. However, it is Classical Chinese Medicine, as transmitted by my teacher that has brought the profound Taoist message of Qi Bo into my practice.

Within my own acupuncture practice, I see imbalance within my patients relating to the disconnect from Heaven and Earth. Mental-emotional distress from being out of touch with the spirit, or physical distress from being out of line with the natural world. Most of the people I see are interested in discovering a way to reconnect. In my experience, there is a lack of guidance within our culture in regards to staying connected to the laws of the universe and movements of nature. I find that many who come for treatment are unconsciously (or sometimes consciously) seeking guidance onto the path back to health and balance. They know something is not working: they have pain, feel out of sorts, or blocked in their lives.

The Sage teacher describes a state of being which sounds profoundly appealing: "At peace in their heart, they felt no fear. They worked hard and were not exhausted...Each followed his desire and all we content. They were content with their food, satisfied with their clothing, happy with their possessions. High or low, they felt no jealousy...They were no longer subject to cravings and desires that tire the eye...The ignorant and the learned, those with talent and those with little feared nothing and no one. They were one with the Way (Tao). Thus they could reach 100 years without their activity declining, their virtue perfect, sheltered from all danger."

The description of the state of being found in "the men of high antiquity" resounds with images of contentment, peace and calm: people content with what they have, secure in who they are, free from fear. This is certainly a state of being I would like to live in. Free from fear, especially!

By being "one with the Way/Tao," comes contentment, peace of mind and the sense of safety, suggests the Sage teacher. The Tao represents the natural laws of the universe and the inherent movements of nature.

When a person gets to the place where he knows, in his heart, that he belongs in this world, the heart and mind can relax. How many of us feel somewhere in our selves that we don't belong: that we are all alone in the world? This has often been the root of my own neurosis: the root of my fear, depression, addictive behavior. Yet to be reminded, by someone who has devoted their life to becoming one with the Tao, that I am not alone, that I am not separate, feels like a cool drink of water from a magical fountain of youth. This is what brought me to study and be treated with Chinese Medicine: my search to reconnect with Heaven and Earth, so I may claim my natural position between the two.

I am still on my journey. And through devoting my life, helping others discover their own path back to the Tao, I am touched by the wisdom of the Chinese Medical Classics every day. Within the treatment room, we help one another remember our innate wisdom as members of the universe and children of nature.

Through reconnecting, we can find that state of peace or "eternal youth" Qi Bo declares. It is possible!

At times "the path back home" can seem arduous, even impossible. Yet, in my mind, we must have something we can look to for inspiration. Qi Bo, in his benevolent transmission of the Tao provides this to me. This blog is my way of extending this inspiration.

May we all enjoy the journey!