We’re Live!

The new site is up and running folks! Go check it out at http://lifegivingsword.net. Please update your bookmarks and RSS subscriptions. This site will stay active a bit longer to give everyone time to catch up, but from now on I will only be posting at the new site. Look for tons of new things in the near future like downloadable content, informative and useful (I hope) posts, maybe even podcasts.

Big thanks to Alexia P. Bell for loads of work and space and Eric Grey for the odd link.

Big exciting changes

Well folks, the time for expansion has come. I am hard at work on a new location for TLGS, complete with my own server space and dedicated domain name.With luck, it should be ready to go in a somewhat rough form within the next couple of days and then of course will have to undergo the usual process of refinement for a while. I’m having some difficulty figuring out some of the coding bits, as I haven’t had to do any web coding whatsoever in years since WordPress.com does it all for you. Big big thanks to my ol’ buddy Alexia P. Bell for her innumerable gifts and assists in this process.

I will post here when the new site is ready to roll and of course will keep the content here long enough to give everyone time to update bookmarks and feeds.

The new site is going to be strictly chinese medicine, so there will soon be a new site for the martial content (haven’t forgotten you guys, honest!) which I will announce here. I’ll take my time in closing down this site of course so no one gets left behind.

So why the changes?

Well, there’s a couple points to it.

#1 It will allow me to run ads and accept donations. Ok look, I’m a student still. I am really REALLY broke all of the time and don’t have the option of a ‘real job.’ I came to the realization this week that I really needed to find some way of generating income when the following events happened: my truck broke down and I couldn’t come up with the money to tow it. Nor could I come up with enough money for bus fare + parts + tools at Autozone. Nor could I consistently come up with enough money for bus fare for two weeks until financial aid comes in. Then I attempted to enter an online Poker tournament with some friends from the UK that I was supposed to be playing in and couldn’t because the minimum deposit amount for the site was $10. Then I tried to register a domain for $6 and realized I couldn’t because I only had $4.98 in my bank account. All this plus the inimitable Yaro Starak convinced me that maybe I needed to consider monetization of my blog, since I was looking at at least another year of this exact same situation (and maybe worse since next semester, of my $3800 in financial aid after tuition, $2500 has to go straight to NCCAOM for board exam fees and licensing. Way to put the screws to the poor, guys.) Anyway, you get the idea.

#2 Significantly improved content options This is the part that really concerns you guys. I want to start expanding the content significantly with things like newsletters, podcasts, downloadable PDFs, etc. I plan to start including a lot more explanatory and how-to information on things like Shang Han Lun herbology, COM theory and techniques (COM=Contemporary Oriental Medicine, aka the work of Dr. John H. F. Shen and Dr. Leon Hammer) and especially material to help the student and new practitioner get to grips with the real root of our medicine in a useful way. I also want to be able to have any number of documents permanently available for the layman who is looking for something other than Western Medicine to answer their health difficulties. Dedicated domain takes care of all of this.

Now, I have no plans to get my ugly mug in front of a camera any time soon so fear not. However, I am starting to work on podcast ideas that will be less conversational than your average podcast and more of an editorial essay series and see how that goes (look out Edward R. Murrow!)

So thank you for your continued readership, the new digs will be all decorated and working properly before you know it.

Beginners Guide to Shang Han Lun, level 2

So, about eight months ago I gave beginners tips for the Shang Han Lun. Now I think it’s time we moved up to the next stage. Here are some tips for the practitioner who is really ready to start using the Shang Han Lun to treat.

1. Understand very clearly Interior and Exterior. The three Yang conformations are the Exterior, the three Yin conformations are the interior. The imaginary border between the two is between Shaoyang and Taiyin. If the defenses are sufficiently weakened and the invading pathogen strong enough, it will pass into the interior at Taiyin. The reason this is important: while the pathogen is still in the exterior it is relatively easily flushed out. Once it passes into the interior it begins doing damage to the Spleen and Lung, which has immediate effects on the Qi and Blood production systems, further weakens the immunity, and also creates the opportunity for lurking pathogens. In other words, it’s a ticket to chronic disease. Do not let this happen.

2.The Yang must be protected. Shang Han Za Bing medicine is predicated on the idea that the Yang is the thing that must be protected first and foremost. (I will quickly mention that the historically correct model of Yin/Yang does NOT have them as equals, but rather with Yang in the leading position. More on this another time.) In order to kick out the invader, the patient must have Yang sufficient to the task. Where does this Yang come from? The Organs, aka the Yin conformations. Your job is to protect the Organs (therefore protecting the systemic Yang) while out-thrusting the pathogen. Protect the Taiyin like its a city under siege.

3. Memorize and understand the Magic Five.So whats the primary method of protecting the Taiyin? The Magic Five: Ren Shen, Ban Xia, Sheng Jiang, Zhi Gan Cao, Da Zao. When you see combinations of these herbs in a SHL formula, you know that they are there to fortify Taiyin in some way, whether by protecting against cold herbs like Chai Hu and Huang Qin or more simply boosting the Yang via the Spleen. Cold damages the Spleens ability to operate and slows down Qi and Blood production, which weakens the nutritive and defense capabilities of the whole body. Therefore, it can’t be allowed to touch the Taiyin in any form, whether pathogenic or herbal. (This is why cold TCM formulas like Yin Qiao San are such a disaster).

4. Xiao Chai Hu Tang is the key. In my opinion, a working understanding of Xiao Chai Hu Tang will unlock the whole book for you and enable you to start “reading the directions” in a sense. The reason is this: Zhang Jie states that only one symptom is required to be present in order to prescribe XCHT. The unspoken proviso here is that you must be able to see the process of Shaoyang obstruction behind that symptom. What this does is set the table for being able to prescribe the formula for conditions of internal cause that carry the same pathomechanism. Whether the headache from obstruction of the Gall Bladder channels descending function is caused by an exterior pathogen moving inward or by the internal cause of unchecked anger and frustration, the treatment is the same if the mechanism is the same.

5. Be precise with ingredient choices and amounts. A frequent problem that I run into with experienced practitioners is that they try to “mellow out” SHL formulas like XCHT by doing things like quartering the amount of Chai Hu, adding Dang Gui, decreasing Sheng Jiang in situations where Gan Jiang is called for, etc. In a word, don’t do it. The ingredients are specific and necessary and amounts are in particular ratios for a reason. The change of a ratio between two herbs will change what the formulas do, and in the very specific world of SHL medicine that’s usually the difference between a formula that cures and a formula that doesn’t work. Also make doubly sure that you are applying the correct modifications as illustrated in the commentary. Again, this is the difference between success and failure.

I suggest visiting the forum at www.arnaudversluys.com and having a look around. This is the best place to get SHL questions answered.

Myostatin Rejection creating superhumans?

Genetic engineering has always horrified me. Movies like “I Am Legend” and “The Stand” certainly haven’t done anything to change that. I don’t for a second believe that we can exert the level of control that our would-be Promethean scientists think that we can, as prediction of the effects of engineering on the genetic expression of future generations and even of the immediately manipulated subject is a lot like trying to engage in long-range weather prediction.

Read then, about myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy aka double muscle and consider the unpleasant possibilities of superhuman strength gone awry.

Superhumans

How to get well.

I’ve been thinking about writing the following post for a while, and I think it has percolated long enough to warrant letting it out. The therapeutic relationship is an extremely important part of what we do, and I am continually faced with the fact that the patient will not get well until he takes it upon himself to be responsible for his own health. However, I’ve realized that not everyone knows how to do this. Therefore, I present “How to Get Well.” This is actually just a restatement of the Eight-fold Path of Buddhism, taken from The Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee. I would really like to give this to all my patients as a hand-out once in private practice.

1. Right views (understanding): You must see clearly what is wrong.
2. Right Purpose (aspiration): Decide to be cured.
3. Right speech: Speak so as to aim at being cured.
4. Right conduct: You must act.
5. Right vocation: Your livelihood must not conflict with your therapy.
6. Right effort: The therapy must go forward at the “staying speed,” the critical velocity that can be sustained.
7. Right awareness (mind control): You must feel it and think about it incessantly
8. Right concentration (meditation): Learn how to contemplate with the deep mind.

Penn & Teller vs Chinese Medicine

I don’t even have the words for this one. Freedom of Speech is a basic human right, but much like the American right to bear arms, its misuse can have dramatic consequences. Here’s the blurb for the next episode of “Penn & Teller: Bullshit!” courtesy of www.sho.com:

“Episode 2: “New Age Medicine”
Nobody ever gets sick in China. Okay, that would be true if Eastern Medicine were actually worth a monkey’s ass. But here’s the truth: sticking acupuncture needles in your feet will not cure your asthma; the Chinese practice of cupping does nothing more than leave ugly red marks on your back; and the Japanese “art” of reiki won’t channel your spiritual energy for healing – it’ll just channel your money into the reiki “artist’s” pocket. At least Tiger Penis soup tastes delicious, even if it – like all the other Chinese herbal potions – doesn’t cure a damn thing. We’re taking down the charlatans who prey on the seriously ill with this unproven, unscientific, and unbelievably dumb type of “medicine.”

Honestly though, why do I care? Penn’s an entertainer, the host of a show with deadlines and a need for a steady stream of things to de-bunk. It’s what the whole thing runs on. In the promo ad I saw for it last night he pointed out that “in a study” it was shown that a “trained acupuncturist had the exact same effects as putting the needles anywhere you want.” If you’ve ever read any of these “studies” they aren’t performed by acupuncturists at all, but rather by MDs sending the patient home with some needles with instructions to insert the needle into LI-4 or something for their migraine, because, you know, the Western model and practice of completely separating treater from patient as an assumed moral decision(see articles by Dr. Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard Medical School on this subject) is the gold standard and how “the real world works.” The promo on the website has a (presumed) medical intuitive getting the Straw Man treatment from Penn. Classy.

It amazes me (though again it shouldn’t, as this is a big-money entertainment venture fronted by a very public know-it-all and NOT a PSA) that he has the huevos to claim that Chinese herbalism doesn’t cure anything, that Eastern medicine as a whole is worthless, that Acupuncture is either a sham or “the placebo effect”. Again, it’s the Straw Man for the sake of entertainment and attracting viewers. Because let’s face it, it isn’t nearly as entertaining quoting the gazillion ancient and modern clinical reports, findings, trials, records, statistics, patient results logs from the practically innumerable TCM hospitals and clinics in China, let alone in the West.

So what sucks is that the “skeptics” are going to swallow the hook, line, sinker, and maybe even the fisherman on this and unfortunately take a couple gullible folks with them. Irresponsible, but since when is this country run on responsibility? The dollar swallowed that up a long time ago. Way to lead with your wallets and prejudices, guys.

Pimpin’ ain’t easy

Ok it’s been a while, but hopefully this will make up for my absence. Observe this video: karate master reacts, basically hits the offender with a half body power backfist straight out of Heng Quan. Most likely instinctively, not likely it’s something he trains in, but the results are there nonetheless.

Socrates on Imitation

http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.11.x.html

Today’s graph:

Left Iron Man during the credits, did ya?

Me too. Here’s what we missed: