medicine for body, mind, and spirit
In Chinese Medicine, the way the life source courses through our body is divided into a circuit through five ‘elements’: earth, fire, water, metal, and wood. Each of these elements has some responsibility for specific internal workings of the body, a part of the spirit we contain, and has a special relationship with actual organs… Continue Reading →
I am coming off of a full weekend of seminars by Jeffery Yuen. Jeffery Yuen is the guru of sorts for my school. I don’t mean guru in the mascot sense, but in the foundational sense. He is an 88th generation Doaist monk who is also a clinician of medicine. He lectures for hours without… Continue Reading →
I have completed my first week of Chinese Medicine. I am reflecting on some of the points of parallel and the points of divergence to my first Masters degree which was boldly called ‘Divinity’. There is room for what I call magical thinking in Chinese Medical school when studied from the Classical tradition. As we… Continue Reading →
Here is a list of 10 things I forgot to miss while we were out west: 1. the smell of freshly cut grass2. the luxury of a well lit large enough bathtub3. how HUGELY tall trees are where we come from4. bright green moss growing on damp rocks5. the mixed colors of people I have… Continue Reading →
This is my final blog post for my Desert Adventures. Here is the promised photo of me, a ‘Certified Massage Therapist intending to be Licensed’ (we practiced announcing this in our final class time together in the room with the green carpet and the anatomy charts curling on the wall) I was surprised on this… Continue Reading →
I have let this wait far too long. So, readers, I must bounce about a bit. In one hour, I will drive the Senator Highway to Goldwater Lake to receive the evidence that I am a certified massage therapist. This will take place at a picnic and will be much photographed by Allen and I… Continue Reading →
This is the work of what I am currently learning in school. I might more accurately say this is what I am currently learning in life, which is nothing new. It happens to also be a quotation from the Psalms and the words my biodynamic cranial sacral therapy teacher said in class yesterday. Being still… Continue Reading →
I am sitting on our sofa in the midst of backpacks, changes of clothes, sleeping bags, thermarests. Allen is an elegant packer. He has plotted out a menu of that includes eggs, bacon, chicken with peppers, dried mango with figs. We are going to feast on this after our backpacking hike to the basin of… Continue Reading →
This holy week I am pondering a new understanding of witness. We have been studying Ayurvedic practice and massage all week. It is a messy business. Lots of oil (specifically sesame oil) and cooking it with rose petals and indian powders with medicinal qualities. In ayurvedic tradition, all food is medicine. Meat is eaten, but… Continue Reading →
The above picture is a tease of blogs to come. It is the first photo we took in Utah over Spring Break. I need a few days to let the rock dust settle a bit before I can figure out how to raise the experience to words and get it from head to hands. In… Continue Reading →
