Guest guest Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 After reading some of the last posts I think that the word, 'spiritual' is giving many people difficulty. I would like to point out that Ken Wilber shows that there are 4 ways that people use this word, and that one understanding of 'spiritual development' is just self-cultivation in various dimensions (i.e. cognitive or emotional) to the highest order. He of course also points out that all 4 ways of viewing the `spiritual' are correct. This might have all been mentioned, but I just saw a few posts where there seemed to much confusion about the way a given person was using the term and another jumped in trying to set the correct definition. I believe, as Ken, that there are equally valid different ways of using the term, and for clarity sake it should be defined. With certain definitions i.e. self-cultivation I feel it has a direct importance to the practice of medicine. - , wrote: > I think the purpose of self cultivation in our field should be just > that - cultivation of the self. I think this is highly desirable to > develop compassion and egoic detachment. I think it is undesirable > that teaching about spirit is how we define ourselves as a profession. > Because the fact is that one can be a terrible person and still do > great things in medicine. In fact, many of those with the greatest > physical skills are biggest egomaniac assholes. And while I would not > want my longterm personal care on a weekly basis to be under such a > person, there are numerous other circumstances, usually those requiring > immediate relief from acute suffering, when such a hypercompetent > egomaniac is just what the patient needed. If your role is longterm > care of the chronically ill, you better cultivate your self or both you > and your patients will suffer. If you mostly deal with severe sx and > not long term case management, it might make no difference to your > patients. In fact, you might do your job better if you do not connect > with your patients. This is certainly the attitude of many surgeons > and widely bemoaned, but the sad fact is that many of these folks would > not be able to concentrate on the work at hand if they were empathizing > with the patient. I don't want my surgeon to drift off for even one > moment into thoughts about the horrible invasive violation of the body > that is surgery. Not even for a moment. I feel the same way about > high force chiropractic and deep orthopedic needling. > > > > > Chinese Herbs > > > FAX: > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 A TCM-five-element-related context of spiritual disorder that I have come to appreciate differentiates spiritual " poisons " as the following: water: ignorance (ignoring truth), wood: anger; heart: lust/covetessness; earth: envy; and metal: pride. All of these behaviors, when manifesting in an inappropriate and unbalanced way will presumably cloud one's ability to see and know truth. These behaviors are considered deeper level imbalances of a person's spirit and when expressed over the long term can become physical. All of these spiritual poisons, in repletion or vacuity, seem, IMO, more pronounced when a person feels disconnected and isolated from the whole of humanity and life. This is a tangible, TCM-related context of spirituality that can be incorporated into one's practice... Stephen Morrissey [] Sunday, July 11, 2004 12:38 PM 'spiritual' After reading some of the last posts I think that the word, 'spiritual' is giving many people difficulty. I would like to point out that Ken Wilber shows that there are 4 ways that people use this word, and that one understanding of 'spiritual development' is just self-cultivation in various dimensions (i.e. cognitive or emotional) to the highest order. He of course also points out that all 4 ways of viewing the `spiritual' are correct. This might have all been mentioned, but I just saw a few posts where there seemed to much confusion about the way a given person was using the term and another jumped in trying to set the correct definition. I believe, as Ken, that there are equally valid different ways of using the term, and for clarity sake it should be defined. With certain definitions i.e. self-cultivation I feel it has a direct importance to the practice of medicine. - , wrote: > I think the purpose of self cultivation in our field should be just > that - cultivation of the self. I think this is highly desirable to > develop compassion and egoic detachment. I think it is undesirable > that teaching about spirit is how we define ourselves as a profession. > Because the fact is that one can be a terrible person and still do > great things in medicine. In fact, many of those with the greatest > physical skills are biggest egomaniac assholes. And while I would not > want my longterm personal care on a weekly basis to be under such a > person, there are numerous other circumstances, usually those requiring > immediate relief from acute suffering, when such a hypercompetent > egomaniac is just what the patient needed. If your role is longterm > care of the chronically ill, you better cultivate your self or both you > and your patients will suffer. If you mostly deal with severe sx and > not long term case management, it might make no difference to your > patients. In fact, you might do your job better if you do not connect > with your patients. This is certainly the attitude of many surgeons > and widely bemoaned, but the sad fact is that many of these folks would > not be able to concentrate on the work at hand if they were empathizing > with the patient. I don't want my surgeon to drift off for even one > moment into thoughts about the horrible invasive violation of the body > that is surgery. Not even for a moment. I feel the same way about > high force chiropractic and deep orthopedic needling. > > > > > Chinese Herbs > > > FAX: > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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