Archive for February, 2008
Posted on February 27, 2008 by Yael
One of the first posts on CMNotes was about Chinese Medicine Books for the first year.
When I was writing that title, I did not think that as of the 2nd year, there’s really no way to say which book is most suitable for what year. I mean, most of us start reading Elisabeth and Father Larre’s work on the 2nd year, for example.
So I’m just going to mention books that I feel are very important for any student to read, and of course every practitioner can go back to the books and learn something new. Which is an important point regarding reading books in CM, at least to my humble opinion. I think that what you understand in a book on the 4th year is quite different then what you can understand from the very same book 3 years after reading it for the first time.
And then I thought- why not make different posts for different subjects? I get to write about more books and you get more information about books according to their subject.
Yes. I sometimes surprise even myself.
There isn’t really a field of “Chinese psychology”.
We don’t separate body and mind, and we always pay attention to both aspects in man. But sometimes, and I’ll whisper it so no one will hear it but you, we simply need to address one aspect more than the other.
I find that studying TCM gives a very superficial idea of human psychology and I also think that TCM itself doesn’t really address psychological issues- big or small.
Posted on February 21, 2008 by Yael
~Dedicated to my beautiful friend who asks wise questions~
I’ve been asked to write about the difference between TCM acupuncture and 5 Elements theory.
Oy! So much to be said, how can I leave something out? And will it be clear? Am I really the person for the task??
OK, deep breath…. right. Now.
This is what I came up with, and feel free to add your own perspective in the comments section.
5E in short
The 5 Elements theory (or the 5 phases) is a vital part of Chinese philosophy.
In Man we can see a reflection of nature, meaning that we can see in Man many of the phases that occur in nature, as Man is a part of nature.
The 5 elements according to CM are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.
All of the things we can see around us can be categorized according to the 5E- emotions, sounds, seasons, colors and so on.
According to this theory, a person has the 5E in him at all times, but one element stands in the heart of that individual, one element is the core of a person being. Know what that element is and you will understand what makes this person tick.
Of course there are other elements that can be seen in this person, sometimes one uses an element that is not the core element to protect himself, therefore confusing people around him and practitioners.
Posted on February 7, 2008 by Yael
February 7th marks the beginning of the year of the Rat.
The celebrations in China are quite inspiring, so I’m told, with lots of fire works, colors, and since we have a rat in our hands- Mickey Mouse is everywhere.
Maybe someone should tell them Mickey is a Mouse (hence the name) and not a rat?
Then again, why spoil the celebrations?
In addition to the fire works- which are meant to make everyone happy, banish demons and get the attention of the gods, the Chinese welcome the new year with their family and loved ones, and of course- food. How can one survive a family re-union without food? Different traditional foods have different meanings- melon with sugar for health and maturity and so on.
As colorful as the celebrations are, the main color is red which means good luck in Chinese culture. Red dominates the cloths people wear, the envelopes in which they get the new year’s bonus at work, calligraphy work that is hanging outside the doors and windows and so on. The traditional dragon and lion dance is spotted everywhere, in pure carnival spirit, and since the new year is also the celebration of spring there’s an even greater sense of tradition and ethnic identity in the celebrations.
That ends, but this is only the beginning of 15 days of festival and each day symbolizes something else, for example- the 2nd day is dedicated to the in-laws, this is the day where one visits his in-laws to show them respect. There are more days like these, until the 15th day, which is the festival of lanterns, which is supposed to be a beautiful sight.
