Yuen (Jeffrey) and the culture of proof

[Guest guest]

To say that people accept what Yuen says without proof or without sufficient

authority or without sufficient evidence may miss the point about the purpose of

communication, which is at the highest level to engender a behavior, not a

belief. Yuen constantly says things like, " palpate this area and see (for

yourself) if there aren't tense spots, or fatty deposits, or feel the pulse,

whether it has responded, or look at the hua tou points and see which ones have

remained inert. " He is one hundred percent engaged with tactile awareness, eyes

open and clear, listening for sounds, and aware of the myriad ways that a

therapeutic end might be achieved. He gives the impression that he knows why

people get sick because he knows how people are, and he knows how people are

because he knows how things are, i.e. how rivers flow around barriers, how trees

grow, flowers blossom, how clouds thicken before a storm, what the hush of

winter is like, what is the gait and biographical challenge of an

older man courting his first heart attack. This is the tradition of Lao Tzu.

 

By contrast, our culture of proof reads like calcified qi-deficient

spleen-baffling excessively deliberated group think.

 

An example: Eager for knowledge about western herbs I bought the newly

published Natural Standard: Herb and Supplement Handbook by E. Basch and C.

Ulbricht. I thought now I can get to work with my rosemary and thyme, my dill

and artichoke and do some home-grown TCM, as the founders of TCM would do if

they lived where I do. To the contrary mon cheri, this 963 page handbook with

50+ authors and contributors, a staff of translators, two research teams and a

senior editorial board of 40 important people (including Andrew Weil MD) with

lots of capital letters affixed to their names was able to bring the full

deliberatory weight of our culture of proof and testing to bear on the prospects

of herbal medicine -- yes, all that think-tank heavy-weight cerebral poundage

and this book has such impotent perceptions.

 

Does flaxseed and flaxseed oil help with Heart disease? Report Card: C:

" Well-designed studies that examine the effect of flaxseed in humans are not

available. It is unclear whether flaxseed supplementation alters the course of

heart disease. (p. 300) "

 

Does horsetail increase Diuresis? Grade: B; " Preliminary laboratory research

and studies in humans suggest that horsetail may increase the amount of urine

produced by the body. More studies are needed to determine if horsetail is safe

or useful for specific health conditions. (p. 410) "

 

Does Maitake Mushroom help diabetes? Grade: C " In animal studies, maitake

extracts are reported to lower blood sugar levels. However, little is known

about the effect of maitake on blood sugar in humans. " Does Maitake give

immune enhancement? Grade: C " Animal and laboratory studies suggest that

beta-glucan extracts from maitake may alter the immune system. However, no

reliable studies in humans are availabe. (p. 445) "

 

Does Milk Thistle assist in Chronic Hepatitis? Grade: C " Several studies of

oral milk thistle for hepatitis caused by viruses or alcohol report improvements

in liver tests. However, most studies have been small and porly designed. More

research is needed before a recommendation can be made. (p. 473) "

 

Does Elder help with Bronchitis? Grade: C " There has been a small amount of

research on the combination herbal product Sinupret in patients with bronchitis.

This formula contains elder flowers (Sambucus nigra) as well as gentian root,

verbena, cowslip flower, and sorrel. Although benefits have been suggested,

because of design flaws in this research, no clear conclusion can be drawn

either for Sinupret or elder in the management of bronchitis. (p. 230) "

 

Its true there are some herbs that come out with A's on their report card,

like Hawthorn for pulmonary edema, saw palmetto for prostate disorders, ginkgo

for peripheral vascular disease, Glucosamine for knee osteoarthritis, Niacin and

soy for nutritional deficiencies, Arginine for metabolic disorders, horse

chestnut for lower extremity edema, aloe for constipation, Omega-3 fatty acids

for hypertension, Psyllium, red yeast rice, soy, Omega-3's, Niacin for high

cholesterol, Hawthorn for congestive heart failure, Kava for anxiety, St. John's

wort for depression, and Melatonin for insomnia: pretty much what every health

food store has to offer. The vast and overwhelming majority of herbs are cast

into the limbo of unclear or negative or nonexistant scientific evidence.

Virtually the whole natural world comes out with C's, D's, and F's -- and

everyone persists in that vaguely alienated stupor of the hospital patient whose

blood work has not yet come back from the lab.

 

What is wrong with this picture? In its own way the Natural Standard is

ground-breaking work, but our culture of standards and testing seems to produce

such an overabundance of the very thing it was designed to cure: ignorance.

What Bush could not accomplish in education with No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

TESTING, the Natural Standard will not accomplish in medicine.

 

What is wrong with this picture? There is no sincerity. We pump some herbs

into a bunny and watch what happens, where is the sincerity? The herb has not

been honored, the bunny has not been honored, and the results are inconclusive.

Sincerity comes when someone suffers intensely and people do their best. The

very intensity of concern induces a knowing state of no small magnitude. They

may succeed, they may fail, but at least they understand something.

 

To the limbo of inconclusivity, doubt, need for extensive further research, I

would prefer the approach of Chuang Tzu: when asked how do you know the fish

under the bridge are happy he replied that standing where he was he knew the

fish swimming under the bridge were happy, i.e. grounding and rootedness in

one's own condition gives knowledge of all conditions. Once we start poking

around over there to understand the fish, there is no end to the mischief, no

end to the ignorance.

 

Carl Ploss

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

It seems that everyone misread what I was actually questioning about

Yuen Yi-sheng. Interesting, but I'm not inclined to make the original

sentence any balder.

 

Bob

 

, carl ploss <cploss wrote:

>

> To say that people accept what Yuen says without proof or without

sufficient authority or without sufficient evidence may miss the point

about the purpose of communication, which is at the highest level to

engender a behavior, not a belief. Yuen constantly says things like,

" palpate this area and see (for yourself) if there aren't tense spots,

or fatty deposits, or feel the pulse, whether it has responded, or

look at the hua tou points and see which ones have remained inert. "

He is one hundred percent engaged with tactile awareness, eyes open

and clear, listening for sounds, and aware of the myriad ways that a

therapeutic end might be achieved. He gives the impression that he

knows why people get sick because he knows how people are, and he

knows how people are because he knows how things are, i.e. how rivers

flow around barriers, how trees grow, flowers blossom, how clouds

thicken before a storm, what the hush of winter is like, what is the

gait and biographical challenge of an

> older man courting his first heart attack. This is the tradition

of Lao Tzu.

>

> By contrast, our culture of proof reads like calcified

qi-deficient spleen-baffling excessively deliberated group think.

>

> An example: Eager for knowledge about western herbs I bought the

newly published Natural Standard: Herb and Supplement Handbook by E.

Basch and C. Ulbricht. I thought now I can get to work with my

rosemary and thyme, my dill and artichoke and do some home-grown TCM,

as the founders of TCM would do if they lived where I do. To the

contrary mon cheri, this 963 page handbook with 50+ authors and

contributors, a staff of translators, two research teams and a senior

editorial board of 40 important people (including Andrew Weil MD) with

lots of capital letters affixed to their names was able to bring the

full deliberatory weight of our culture of proof and testing to bear

on the prospects of herbal medicine -- yes, all that think-tank

heavy-weight cerebral poundage and this book has such impotent

perceptions.

>

> Does flaxseed and flaxseed oil help with Heart disease? Report

Card: C: " Well-designed studies that examine the effect of flaxseed

in humans are not available. It is unclear whether flaxseed

supplementation alters the course of heart disease. (p. 300) "

>

> Does horsetail increase Diuresis? Grade: B; " Preliminary

laboratory research and studies in humans suggest that horsetail may

increase the amount of urine produced by the body. More studies are

needed to determine if horsetail is safe or useful for specific health

conditions. (p. 410) "

>

> Does Maitake Mushroom help diabetes? Grade: C " In animal studies,

maitake extracts are reported to lower blood sugar levels. However,

little is known about the effect of maitake on blood sugar in

humans. " Does Maitake give immune enhancement? Grade: C " Animal and

laboratory studies suggest that beta-glucan extracts from maitake may

alter the immune system. However, no reliable studies in humans are

availabe. (p. 445) "

>

> Does Milk Thistle assist in Chronic Hepatitis? Grade: C

" Several studies of oral milk thistle for hepatitis caused by viruses

or alcohol report improvements in liver tests. However, most studies

have been small and porly designed. More research is needed before a

recommendation can be made. (p. 473) "

>

> Does Elder help with Bronchitis? Grade: C " There has been a

small amount of research on the combination herbal product Sinupret in

patients with bronchitis. This formula contains elder flowers

(Sambucus nigra) as well as gentian root, verbena, cowslip flower, and

sorrel. Although benefits have been suggested, because of design

flaws in this research, no clear conclusion can be drawn either for

Sinupret or elder in the management of bronchitis. (p. 230) "

>

> Its true there are some herbs that come out with A's on their

report card, like Hawthorn for pulmonary edema, saw palmetto for

prostate disorders, ginkgo for peripheral vascular disease,

Glucosamine for knee osteoarthritis, Niacin and soy for nutritional

deficiencies, Arginine for metabolic disorders, horse chestnut for

lower extremity edema, aloe for constipation, Omega-3 fatty acids for

hypertension, Psyllium, red yeast rice, soy, Omega-3's, Niacin for

high cholesterol, Hawthorn for congestive heart failure, Kava for

anxiety, St. John's wort for depression, and Melatonin for insomnia:

pretty much what every health food store has to offer. The vast and

overwhelming majority of herbs are cast into the limbo of unclear or

negative or nonexistant scientific evidence. Virtually the whole

natural world comes out with C's, D's, and F's -- and everyone

persists in that vaguely alienated stupor of the hospital patient

whose blood work has not yet come back from the lab.

>

> What is wrong with this picture? In its own way the Natural

Standard is ground-breaking work, but our culture of standards and

testing seems to produce such an overabundance of the very thing it

was designed to cure: ignorance. What Bush could not accomplish in

education with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) TESTING, the Natural

Standard will not accomplish in medicine.

>

> What is wrong with this picture? There is no sincerity. We pump

some herbs into a bunny and watch what happens, where is the

sincerity? The herb has not been honored, the bunny has not been

honored, and the results are inconclusive. Sincerity comes when

someone suffers intensely and people do their best. The very

intensity of concern induces a knowing state of no small magnitude.

They may succeed, they may fail, but at least they understand something.

>

> To the limbo of inconclusivity, doubt, need for extensive further

research, I would prefer the approach of Chuang Tzu: when asked how

do you know the fish under the bridge are happy he replied that

standing where he was he knew the fish swimming under the bridge were

happy, i.e. grounding and rootedness in one's own condition gives

knowledge of all conditions. Once we start poking around over there

to understand the fish, there is no end to the mischief, no end to the

ignorance.

>

> Carl Ploss

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Mail

> Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze.

>

>