dampness

[Guest guest]

I learned the following from a pacific symposium speaker and it was

contradictory to what I had learned prior, so I though I'd float it past

the group.

 

the lecture started with the statement that there were no excesses in

chronic illness, only vacuities. When one dies, the teacher said

poetically, everything was depleted; nothing was replete. the only excess

was possibly dampness and even that was due to vacuity.

 

I was told that one of the main reasons for the body to produce dampness

was due to blood and yin vacuity. that the body produced damp as a poor

substitute for the lack of vital fluid substances in the body. However,

Clavey says that dampness can never substitute for a vital substance and

can provide none of its functions. In addition, if this was true, then

why the traditional consensus that blood and yin tonics worsen dampness.

then why are signs of dryness inside and out the hallmarks of blood and

yin vacuity. the teacher said the evidence was that the yin xu tongue

often had a sheen of fluid on it, denoting dampness layering on the dry

tissues. Is everyone familiar with this sheen? Is that what is means?

the teacher also said this was proven by the fact that yin xu people like

to eat rich food to settle their shen. the dampness of the food subbed

for the missing yin.

 

I was also told that blood stasis was almost always due to blood vacuity

and it should mainly be treated with strong blood nourishing, not blood

moving. I would say that blood vacuity is but one cause of blood stasis

and urge all my students to continue to differentiate their signs and

symptoms according to the time honored process of the four exams and avoid

these knee jerk generalizations no matter how persuasive the speaker may

seem. This speaker conveniently hid behind the shield of an oral

tradition of the highest masters.

 

 

Chinese Herbs

 

 

" Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre

minds " -- Albert Einstein