Posts Tagged chinese philosophy
Posted on January 5, 2009 by Yael
I recieved 2 books by Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallee in the mail.
One of them, The Essential Woman
, is about women’s health and fertility in the Chinese classics.
Happy happy, joy joy! Here is a look at how the Chinese classics look at gynecology, a very important aspect if you ask me, especially those who chose Chinese gynecology as their main path in their clinic.
Truth should be told that I was a bit offended that Elisabeth wrote just 127 pages on the subject. Is there really so little to be said about gynecology? And no, the woman on the cover, a painting dated back to the Tang dynasty, did not make me feel any better. I thought there’s a lot more to be said…
Of course- I was correct.
I say “of course” because for a moment there, I forgot we’re talking about Elisabeth, the woman with the amazing ability to read ancient texts, collect important information in Chinese philosophy and make it all usable for us to practice daily in our clinic. Elisabeth always has a lot to say that way.
One should keep in mind that we’re talking about the classical text itself, which presents a certain amount of information. Elisabeth then translates the text so that we will understand it better.
So yes, it’s 127 pages, but just like in her other books, these are pages with wonderful deep knowledge that is worth knowing.
Posted on November 9, 2008 by Yael
It is a common fact that the information we have today in the west about the 8 extraordinary meridians is insufficient- at best.
Historically speaking, they are mentioned in the Su Wen and Ling Shu but separated from each other, or mentioned by pairs. It is in the Nan Jing that they were first mentioned as one group.
The loss of information has various reasons, and we are left with knowledge that is being passed from practitioner to his student.
The extraordinary meridians are the foundation for life from the beginning to end, as it is clearly stated in the first page of the introduction of the book by Elizabeth Rochat de la Valleeand Father Claude Larre.
They are the “blueprint” on which the human body is built on, and on the rest of the body are being added to- 12 meridians, organs and so on.
It is, therefore, very important to understand them, their functions and when to treat them.
And how are we supposed to know all that if we don’t read about it?
2 main books were written on the subject, one by Kiiko Matsumoto
and the second by Rochat and Larre. I will discuss the latter.
Posted on July 18, 2008 by Yael
I guess you know by now that I am a Chinese Medicine books fan.
I now have less time for it, but during my school years, I used to read a lot about Chinese Medicine.
I find these books to be very enjoyable, and also a wonderful way to learn on my own. This is not to say that books are better than practice- not at all- but this is only another way for me to say, that even if you are a practitioner for the past 20 years- don’t stop reading.
It is so important!
Chinese Medicine books are expensive.
But there are ways to find some goodies (and by goodies I mean Chinese Medicine books that their price won’t kill our bank accounts). Yes, I know, it’s rare. I still think that buying a new Chinese Medicine book every now and then is important, and it is for a good cause.
When ordering from on-line book stores, one should consider the fees of shipping, and make sure that if you order from the Internet it doesn’t amount to more than what you can find in a store near you.
Posted on June 18, 2008 by Yael
Once you start studying Chinese Medicine, probably the first name you learn to say is “Giovanni Maciocia” (or “Peter Deadman”, depends on which class you are in).
The Chinese Medicine world, according to Maciocia, is pretty simple- when you have this, you do that.
This creates a very “dry” text, things repeat themselves many times in the books.
When you remember that Giovanni was a student of the late Dr. Van Buren, you realize that there must be something not quite right here, and you start thinking that there’s more to Giovanni’s books than meets the eye.
Giovanni Maciocia speaks fluent Chinese, which opens up a wide range of knowledge for him.
Combine that with many years of clinical experience and knowledge of the Chinese culture, and you understand that Maciocia has deep understanding that goes beyond what is presented in the books.
Posted on June 18, 2008 by Yael
Books are important, period.
They can be our best friends, they take us to travel in new lands, create a wonderful world of fantasy and allows us to use our imagination freely, without judgment.
Books are forever a symbol of culture, of knowledge and spiritual and intellectual wealth.
They are, for me, one of the best things to be created by the human race.
If it weren’t for books and the evolution of books, our knowledge of life, people, animals, medicine, history, science- almost everything would have been lost.
No doubt, books are rather useful.
They are also useful in various ways as explained in the next quote:
Posted on May 30, 2008 by Yael
Don’t tell Eric, but one of the reasons I started blogging in English is the inspiration I got from Deepest Health. And I still am very inspired by Eric and his writing, mainly because I find so much information on his blog that I’ve been looking about CM.
Also, after meeting Heiner Fruehauf in 3 lectures, finding one of his students who provides more about his teachings is like striking gold. That’s a great added bonus.
Posted on May 4, 2008 by Yael
Confession:
I am in love with a book.
It’s a bit difficult to explain, I mean- if I were to say “I’m in love with a character in a book” that wouldn’t be too weird (just a little bit), but an actual book, it’s not very clear how that can happen.
I fell in love with The Seven Emotions
from the first moment I started reading it.
As with all the books by Father Claude Larre and Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallee, the philosophy, it’s depth and choice of words make it’s reading to a challenge. I find that each time I read a book by these authors, I gain a source of information but also a source that makes me wonder more and more, ask more questions, and leaves me with a good sort of confusion.
What is a good sort of confusion?
The sort of confusion that makes you read more and think more. That can only lead you to know more and mainly- it makes you understand.
Posted on April 27, 2008 by Yael
I have 2 reasons to get up in the morning- the first one is my perfect husband. The second reason is my beautiful boy.
My son is almost 16 months old. With every day that goes by he gains more and more space in my heart, and is introducing me to amounts of love I never knew possible. Everything changed for me when that boy came into my life, everything changed in so many levels that I can’t really describe it, it’s one of those things one should experience in order to know what I mean.
I studied CM and knew to describe my path in this very un-clear, multi-paths world that is CM:
I’ll finish school, open a clinic, be an assistant with one of the best known practitioners in the country, continue studying, be a teacher’s assistant…
And then life happened- I finished school (along the way my mother passed away), started my own practice and things were going well, I was looking for the best course to take as a post-graduate course, I was an assistant of a well-known practitioner for a year (not the practitioner I wanted but I managed to learn many things from him, mainly what I don’t want to be as a practitioner) and I was a teacher’s assistant in one of the leading schools in the country. 4 years ago my father passed away and this was the first time I felt my practice is not really something I want to have in my life.
Posted on April 3, 2008 by Yael
Before I started studying Chinese Medicine, it would happen to me all the time with my favorite band- Queen (Brian May rules by the way…):
I’d think about them, turn on the radio, and along came a song by Queen. As though it was especially for me.
Don’t you just love it when that happens?
Ever since I started studying CM, I think about points, talk about points with other people, and then I go to my practitioner/healer and along comes the very same point that was on my mind for so long. This happened recently twice- with Tai Yi- ST23, and with Da Dun- Liv1.
Amazing.
It’s been two weeks or so since I heard Prof. Heiner Fruehauf speak on the Israeli Congress of Chinese Medicine, and I keep thinking about certian parts he talked about.
On the first seminar- “All Diseases Come From The Heart”- Heiner talked about the Ox, which is the animal associated with the 12th month, which is associated with the Liver organ, is the symbol of the uterus and ovaries.
Therefore, like the Ox, the Liver is the source of all endourness: physically, sexually and emotionally.
And women are a part of all this.
The weakest point for women is also their strongest point, which is blood. And when you talk of blood in CM, you talk primarely about the Liver.
The Ox is a symbol for the uterus and the ovaries, the internal organs of a woman, which have everything to do with smooth flow of blood- whether we’re talking about a woman’s cycle or about pregnancy.
Posted on November 20, 2007 by Yael
Many 1st year students don’t really know which are the best books to buy. Some of them just buy everything they can get their hands on- which isn’t a very good way to go, one reason is that it’s pretty expensive, and another reason is that many books that are recommended by the school are still in a very strange language which you just started to learn (Chinese Medicine).
Others don’t buy books at all- which is definifly not a good way to go! When studying Chinese Medicine, one should remember to buy books, but one should always try to make a good decision on what to buy.
So we will try to give you a number of ideas for that good decision, giving you titles we think just might help you along the way and make your first year easier.
