Week One

What attracts me to Chinese medicine? What am I doing here?

It seems that my answer to this question changes over time. The more I learn about the medicine, the more I come to appreciate what it means, what it has to offer. If every journey starts with one step, my journey toward Chinese medicine began when I was 18 years old, the day I picked up a book on the 4 noble truths. It was a very simple book, one that outlined the life of the Buddha. 

This was a profound time in my life, not because of any spiritual or religious conversion, but because I had found a philosophy of life that matched something that was stirring inside me. I had found some words on a page that explained a very fundamental unease I felt about my culture. Something shifted in me and I wanted to learn more. So, I took a comparative religions class. I found all the religions fascinating but it seemed that the Eastern religions in particular captivated me, particularly Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. And of course, as we know now, Chinese medicine is a medicine of syncretism. It is a melding of these three schools of thought. Of course there are more branches that extend out from these particular religions but the body of the medicine is influenced mainly by these 3 philosophies.

And then came my experience with Western medicine. I believe it was Leon Hammer that said, "Western medicine does not have a unifying matrix." Well, this was clear from my experience and it bothered me. The disjointed world-view that defined modern culture and had contributed to my general sense of unease was the same world-view that created what we know as "western medicine". And it was dissatisfying to say the least. I wanted to do something about it. 

I was searching for a path that fit who I was. I wasn't willing to settle for something that did not satisfy my need for a holistic world-view. I wanted to contribute something worthwhile and help those who wanted a more global and unified sense of their bodies, their minds, their health. I loved herbs, I loved the "unified matrix" that TCM had to offer. So here I am. 

What do I think about Physics?

I think that Physics is a fascinating subject with a lot of potential to expand and boggle my mind. 

Reflections on The Meaning of Time

Linear time, subjective time, objective time, parallel universes where events take place at the same time, the time-space continuum, how much time it takes for light to travel, digital time, atomic time. And time is always on our minds... I'm never gonna be on time, what time is it?, did you have a good time? what time do you want to meet? etc...

Time is many things. Time is an agreement, a statement, a constraint, a dictator, a liberator, a friend. Time can be stolen from us, "borrowed", wasted, used. Time is what we give prisoners who need to be punished. Time is valuable. Time is money. Time is...just in time.

There are so many ways to view time. This subject completely fascinates me and I am overjoyed that we are discussing it in Larry's class. Time is such a strange concept that I feel transcends the capabilities of the human mind in many ways. Time is an invisible force that shapes our bodies, our minds, our character and the development of wisdom and reflection. From a spiritual aspect it is a great teacher if we pay attention to those patterns that repeat over time and we learn from them.  I believe that human beings experience time as a tool of reflection, as an opportunity to grow. Our goal I believe is not to necessarily know the literal meaning of time but to explore it, to dwell here in this mysterious place and ask questions. Human beings are a great way for the Universe to reflect back on itself, to ponder itself. Time offers the perfect tool for those that are willing.