Healing journeys

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The following is from Gye's " Treatin An Earth " Causative Factor "

Patient Using Clasical Five-Element Acupuncture " :

 

" As Spirit Points I choose St20 (Receive Fullness) and Sp16 (Abdomen

Sorrow). Again concentrating on the Middle Jiao with spirit points

and moxa will help her to feel supported and more full or satisfied

in herself. St20 helps the person feel they can process and receive

energy from outside, whether that is love or simply attention. It

supports them in braking the cycle of having to give to others

constantly - hoping to get. Abdomen Sorrow has the spirit of

letting the person get in touch with the sadness around his or her

own emptiness. When they have felt that sadness, they then are more

able to let it go and move on. "

 

The names given to acupoints are descriptions of (part of) what they

do. For example, the Stomach 36 point is called " Three Miles (of the

foot) " . What this refers to is that working St 36 can give an

exhausted solder enough energy to march 3 more miles (li). Among

other things the point tonifies Qi and Blood.

 

Some acupoints do have emotional and spiritual effects as well as

physical ones. It can be argued that since TCM recognizes no

divisions between the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual,

that all points will result in changes in all four aspects. But,

when talking to Westerners, one frequently will need to indicate if

something is primarily physical or emotional or mental or spiritual.

At least in the beginning.

 

The usual Western understanding of the mind-body connection is that

it is one-way from the mind to the body. Yes, lip service is given

to the concept that the body also can influence the mind and

emotions, but more often than not this is ignored in favor of a very

simplistic and erroneous model in which once the person is medicated

with psychoactive drugs or able to identify and " talk " out what is

bothering her/him, s/he will " take up his or her bed and walk " . In

other words, instant cure.

 

Sometimes this approach does work, but in most cases it fails. For

one thing, this model ignores the 4-way, holistic connection of mind,

body, emotions, and spirit. For another, it can take years for a

person to be able to identify and work through " unfinished

business " . In the meanwhile the person continues to suffer

physically, in some cases even dies. This model also ignores the fact

that a person who is relatively healthy physically is going to be

more inclined and more able to " face and deal " . Take some of the

physical pressure off, strenghten the body, and the person is going

to be in far better shape as well as more willing to work through

some issues.

 

Another problem with the simplified Western model is that it often

assigns " cause " where none exists. For example, the unresolved

issues or the messed up brain chemistry is the cause of the physical

health problems. What is usually the case is that the mental or

emotional is not " causing " the physical problems, all the problems

are coming from the same Root. It is no coincidence that people who

have Severe Mental Illness (SMI - a psychosis) also have some heavy-

duty physical medical problems. And it is not a case of the mental

problems causing the physical, but both coming from the same Root

(which frequently is Phlegm-Fire Harassing the Heart).

 

What often happens is that co-factors will act to produce a Root.

Some of these co-factors can be emotional. But this is not the same

as the emotions causing the physical problems. Everything is working

together.

 

The Western idea is that once the person faces and deals with what is

troubling him/her, the person's physical medical problems instantly

will disappear. It rarely works this way in the real world. What

usually happens is that as the person obtains some physical relief,

unresolved issues are going to surface. This surfacing of issues is

occuring BECAUSE the person already has started to heal some and

because everything is connected. The physical, mental, emotional, and

spiritual are interwoven. One is not causing the other, they are all

interconnected.

 

Indeed, one indication that a healer and client are treating the Root

of chronic medical conditions and not just treating symptoms is that

the client will start to face and deal with emotional, mental, and

spiritual issues. The rising of emotional, mental, and spiritual

issues usually will not occur when an acute condition and Root are

treated. But this will be seen often in chronic conditions and Roots

that have gone on for some time AND have started to heal.

 

Healers need to be aware that this happens. Very often the client

will need to be told or reminded that this is very normal. Sometimes

another healer who has talent and aptitude in these aspects of

healing will need to join the healing team.

 

Spirituality is a term which often is misunderstood in the West.

Spirituality often is confused with what religion or which church one

belongs to in the West. The meaning of spirituality is closer to what

is meant in phases like " Spirit of '76 " than to the trappings of

religion. Essence.

 

The most common manifestation of spirit in healing is when a client

decides to quit a job that s/he is totally unsuited for and finally

take up a career which is true to the person's inner self. Or moves

to another part of the country which is more inline with the person's

inner self. But spiritual manifestations of healing also can include

the rising of archetypical symbolism from the mind. The shamanistic

traditions of healing frequently are the best at understanding this

aspect of healing.

 

Points like Stomach 20 and Spleen 16 often can aid a person in making

the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual transformation to full

health. I view Stomach 20 as being " tonifying " in nature. It helps

the individual to receive something s/he is missing. Spleen 16 can

be Excess-releasing. In this case, the Excess is a deep and long-

standing feeling of sorrow.

 

Victoria