All things begin in Spirit.
This truth challenges the mind, but is perhaps easier to accept in something like Oriental Medicine.
Its basic concepts — the vessels, the acupuncture nodes, the remarkably intuitive and poetic allegory of Oriental Medicine’s principles — all have their origin in humankind’s pursuit of Spirit. The early development and the long evolution of this subtle art owes its existence to ancient sages whose lives were devoted to the unfoldment of consciousness.
Spirit, then, is indelibly etched in the heart of Oriental Medicine. It provides the invisible warp upon which this practice is woven.
Yet the history of this medicine, like spiritual unfoldment, has not been easy or without upheaval. In the past century, one of the most tumultuous in China’s history, traditional medicine was politically suppressed in favor of all things ‘modern’ and ‘industrial.’ Allopathic medicine became the government’s preferred form of health care.
When the error in this choice became evident, the Communist Party sat down to decide what future students of ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine’ (TCM) should be taught. Not unlike the third century Council of Nicaea, also a political body, which restructured early Christianity and determined, by committee, what Christians would be taught as the truth in the following millennia, the Communists chose to keep those pieces of traditional medicine which did not conflict with party doctrine, and to eliminate those which enlivened a different view of the universe.
Spirit didn’t fit.
While Oriental Medicine did not suffer this fate in all Asian countries, most schools teaching Oriental Medicine in the West teach TCM. Consequently, the vast majority of acupuncturists and doctors of Oriental Medicine in practice in the West (and in China) were taught the tenets of TCM, a political form of medicine. Soul and Spirit are given cursory mention in the texts, but their importance is minimized.
How highly it speaks of the power of Oriental Medicine, that it performs so well, even in eviscerated form!
The devoted student or practitioner of this medicine who is aware of this deficit must be diligent in one’s pursuit of the knowledge and understanding lost during the period of banishment and restructuring. A handful of still living doctors who practiced before the banishment of traditional medicine in China are a rare and wonderful resource for gaining this understanding. And, of course, there are the great doctors of Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Tibet who have passed their wisdom on to those modern doctors who seek them out. Those who do so are rewarded with a richer grasp of a living, evolving medicine based in consciousness.
In addition to the task of tracking down the ancient wisdom of Oriental Medicine’s heart, the sincere doctor of Oriental Medicine also pursues one’s own unfoldment. This must be done for its own sake, but in this way are the tenets of this medicine and a devotion to consciousness also shared with one’s clients.
The practitioner, then, strives to bring consciousness to each detail of life, as well as to the practice of medicine. If the full power of any medicine is to be brought to bear for the client, the physician must recognize and understand spirit’s presence in the medicine’s essence. If clients are to experience meaningful change, they must be given not just the tools to do so, but the inspiration, as well.
This is not to suggest that the practitioner of Oriental Medicine is a spiritual healer. The effective physician, regardless of medical persuasion, is merely a servant to the orchestration of the Divine. The coordination and synchronicity of myriad events and factors, some known, most totally unknown to the physician or the client, are merely a reflection of the complex and intertwined evolution of the consciousness of both parties.
The human mind is incapable of such orchestration. We bring to the table the most appropriate tools and guidance our limited understanding and our guidance provides. Then we step aside for the Divine to exercise Its will.
Just as the physician must surrender to a greater power, the client must, consciously or unconsciously, be prepared to surrender to a higher manifestation of the true self. Realignment of one’s higher nature with the will of the Divine is mandatory for any lasting change. While one’s karma may preclude physical wellness, the fruit of such spiritual realignment is an experience of unimaginable richness, and it takes us one step closer to the fulfillment of our true purpose as human beings.
If you feel drawn toward further exploration of spiritual principle for its own sake, may I humbly recommend investigation of the eternal teachings of Light and Sound, as represented by MasterPath.
In this way, the conversation might be resumed most effortlessly. In the pursuit of Truth in my own life I continually receive flawless guidance, unprecedented bliss, and profound love and wisdom from the teachings of Sri Gary Olsen, current living Master of the MasterPath. My work, my life, my entire reason for existence is enlivened by these teachings as expressed by this Master.
For deeper inquiry, click on this link to the MasterPath website.
For the faintest hint of this Master’s darshan, you may wish to view this video clip.
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