The first ICCM in Israel brought Peter Mole to the promised land.
That was the first time I heard his name, but my mentor told me that if I’m interested in 5 Elements (which I am), I shouldn’t miss Peter’s lecture.

Peter Mole was an instant hit with all of us.
His wonderful humor and his obvious love for Chinese Medicine captured us all, and the fact that there’s someone who is a graduate of 5 Elements that mixes that with TCM was an amazing bonus.
Israel is very TCM, and very Stems and Branches. But 5 Elements sort of got lost- it is a must subject to cover during our 4 basic years of study, but it doesn’t stand alone like the other two I mentioned.
I don’t know why that is really…

Peter Mole
Peter Mole has an M.A in Modern History from Oxford University in England.
In 1981 he received his first degree in acupuncture and his second degree in 1984. Since that year he’s been working in his private practice.
Peter taught many years in the Leamington Spa School in England, and today he teaches in The College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in Reading, which in it’s foundation he helped and now serves there as Dean.

Over the years he wrote several articles and continues to spread the word around the world about the integration between TCM and 5 Elements.
Peter also wrote 2 books:
Acupuncture for The Body, Mind and Spirit- for the general public;
Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture- which he co-wrote with Angela and John Hicks.
To view a sample of the latter, you are welcome to click here.

The interview
I really was hoping to catch Peter for a proper interview.
Our time tables prevented that from us, so I went back to the e-mail interview, and here are the results.

CMNotes: Why do you integrate between 5 Elements and TCM? I can imagine how it serves the TCM, but how does it serve the 5 Elements?

Peter Mole (P.M): The 5 Element style is profound, but very limited in its understanding of disease processes. Its emphasis is on the person who has the disease and their deep underlying energetic imbalances rather than the specific nature of the symptoms. For example, it is often not my treatment of choice for acute channel problems or when there are powerful invasions of one or more of the ‘pathogenic factors’, such as wind or cold.
The great physician Xu Dachun wrote that ‘Illnesses are identical but the people who have them are different’. It is a bit simplistic to say it, but it is also true that TCM focuses on the illnesses whereas the 5 Element style focuses on the person who has the illness’. That is why I think the two styles complement each other so beautifully.

CMNotes: You mentioned J.R Worsley as your teacher. We are not well acquainted with Worsley in Israel, could you tell us about him? What was special about him?

P.M: He learnt his acupuncture from a number of teachers in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore and also in the West. This was in the 60’s when it was not possible to visit China. Some Israeli acupuncturists were taught by Dick van Buren who went to Taiwan with Jack Worsley in the sixties. TCM as it is now taught was almost completely unknown in the West until the late 70’s.
He developed the 5 Element style from a synthesis of his various teachers, reading the Classics and his own experience with patients. It is a very interesting but difficult style to practice. He was a charismatic teacher and practitioner with an extraordinary understanding of people and health and illness.  His vision of acupuncture was to focus on the underlying health of the patient rather than the symptoms that presented.

CMNotes: In China, the 5 Elements approach is not very common. Why should someone who practices the 5 Elements travel to China- except of course if that someone practices the herbs?

P.M: China is great for gaining experience for using herbs or treating acute illnesses with acupuncture. But it is not the place to study if you are interested in 5 Element acupuncture. Japan is probably the best country in the East for various kinds of acupuncture with a 5 Element emphasis. Some practitioners in Taiwan and Hong Kong also use the 5 Elements a lot. If you are interested in the 5 Element Constitutional style as outlined in the lectures I gave recently in Tel Aviv or in the textbook, then I think the U.K. is the place to study.

CMNotes: What do you like most about teaching?

P.M: Seeing people feeling inspired to go out there and do their best to help sick people is a great feeling. My teacher J.R. Worsley was very inspiring, even though his knowledge of Chinese medicine was very limited. Seeing that a student ‘gets’ something they hadn’t realized before is a very good feeling.
Teaching Chinese medicine in any form is always a good feeling. But I like those ‘great’ feelings.

CMNotes: You teach in different countries. What is the thing that unites the Chinese Medicine students around the world? Are there definite differences between the different countries?

P.M: What strikes me most these days is the level of dedication and application. Acupuncture now attracts students of a very high caliber and that can only be a good thing. I think the real challenge lies in staying true to the theories, practices and values of Chinese medicine and yet adapting its practice to the needs of the patients in the country in which it is being practiced. Owing to the nature of ‘Western’ lifestyles, patients get quite different patterns and symptoms than those discussed in the Classics of Chinese medicine and have very different needs and expectations from patients who attend hospital clinics in China. Serious study and thought by intelligent and sensitive practitioners is needed to rise to that challenge.
I don’t see an awful lot of difference between students from different countries but I thought the Israeli ones in general to be curious and committed. Those are great qualities!!

CMNotes: How did you like the ICCM in Israel? How did the Israeli Chinese Medicine community strike you?

P.M: I came to Israel in the late 80’s and there seemed to be virtually no acupuncture here then. What an amazing growth spurt. I thought the ICCM was a very well organized conference with an interesting range of speakers. I left with a very favorable impression of the Israeli acupuncture community and have been telling people over here what an alive Chinese medicine scene there is in Israel.

CMNotes: I would like to talk about your seminars a bit. You talked about the different C.F. Let’s say that I am a Fire C.F. Due to past experiences of being too exposed to other people, I have developed a way to use the Metal and the Wood to protect me. You said that with Fire types, you need to let them know that you like them and then the Fire will come running to you. In the case I just brought up, you could let me know that you like me, but since I don’t want to get hurt again, the Wood or The Metal are my protectors. How do you not get confused by that? How do you know that I am in fact fire and not Wood or Metal?

P.M: Diagnosis can be very difficult. The crucial diagnostic moments are often literally just moments. The art lies in seeing which emotions lie deepest and which are more superficial. It is that glimpse of vulnerability or sadness in the eyes before the person hides them away that reveals the underlying imbalance in Fire.
Diagnosis by color, sound and odor are often what confirms the diagnosis as they are less prone to interpretation than diagnosis by emotion. At worst one can go round and round in circles when relying too much on trying to understand someone’s behavior, rather than staying with their sensory and intuitive perceptions. They can be mistaken, of course, but they must form the basis of the diagnosis rather than attempting to analyze your way to the answer.

CMNotes: What are the 3 advices that you can give those who finished 4 years of Chinese Medicine?

P.M: Pulse diagnosis is a truly great art and needs to be worked at over decades.
Be as present with your patients as you can possibly be, but in general don’t think about them when you are not with them.
If you don’t hit the points precisely the patient probably won’t benefit from treatment anything like as much as if you do.

Over to you
Have you studied with Peter Mole? Can you share your experience with us?
Leave us your comment, we’d love to read it.