Overwhelmeditis

February 19, 2000

I'm overwhelmed by the TCM motif. It's coming so fast and heavy that I

have trouble keeping up with it. I don't have any recipes to offer

either. I don't seem to get beyond the yin in yang and the yang in yin

concept. Someone mentioned printing it out but I'd rather read it from a

book than off the screen. Anyone see the news reports about those who

spend too much time here? The net is a good tool not somehing to give

our lives to and I agree.

Yet TCM IS rather interesting. I like the feng swai (misspelled)

character of it. For example you turn your desk towards the door and

good things begin to happen. Similarly, the TCM treatments on the

surface have no bearing on the malady. And no, I disagree with the

comment that Western philosophy has nothing to do with it. There is a

point, in the begginning, before the material begins to spread that

classic aspects can be compared or spoke of as one. But it can get

murky, as can TCM, and I believe the trick in discussing it is to strive

for the most elementary simplicity. Which BTW I haven't managed yet!

tmex

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February 19, 2000

>I'm overwhelmed by the TCM motif. It's coming so fast and heavy that I

>have trouble keeping up with it.

It gets easier, a lot easier.

You're actually picking up a lot more knowledge than you realize just by reading

through the posts. You're absorbing many of the broad basics. You're learning to

think and view the world like a TCM healer. Don't worry about the specifics

sticking and being understood at this time. You're going for the broad overview

in the beginning. As you get more familiar and comfortable with the broad

overview, more and more of the specifics will start sticking without your

consciously trying to memorize them.

What we're doing in the beginning can be compared to taking a broad, aerial view

of a forest. First you get the broad overview of the forest so you can get sort

of a vague idea of what a forest is and the general lay of the land. Later on,

the specifics of what comprise the forest will become clearer. The strands of

particular trees, the individual trees, the ferns, the various woodland

creatures, etc. and how they all fit together will start to make more sense.

Don't think about what you don't know at this point but rather about what you do

know. Instead of thinking to yourself I don't understand exactly what Yin and

Yang, Deficiency, Excess, etc. are and all the ramifications, remind yourself of

what you have picked up. You know that there's something called the Eight

Principal Patterns, that there is such a thing as Yin and Yang, Deficiency and

Excess, etc., and that TCM is very different from Western medicine.

If this were a classroom and I was giving a test, at this point I would ask

something like " What are 2 of the Eight Principal Patterns? " A lot of students

would be insulted at such an easy test and feel like I was not being serious in

testing them. I can guarantee that most of the people reading this would think

to themselves " I can name more than just two! This is an insultingly easy test. "

Actually the point of the question is not to test you on specifics but to show

you that you've picked up a lot more than you realize and to get you thinking in

terms of what you do know rather than what you have not yet mastered, and

realisticly can't until you have more of the broad overview.

So relax and read. When you start to feel frustrated, take some deep breaths.

And remind yourself of what you do know instead of worrying about what you

haven't yet absorbed.

Victoria

--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--

Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

February 19, 2000

I learned in teaching my introductory herbal class to simplify,

simplify, simplify. Everyone wants to know it all soooo

quickly, and most of us just don't pick it up that

fast.

Your points are well-taken, Victoria. I studied

TCM concepts formally (along with other info)

for two years...and I'm still learning them!

Cathy, Wise Weeds

http://www.freeyellow.com/members6/wiseweeds/

> <victoria_dragon

>

> >I'm overwhelmed by the TCM motif. It's coming so fast and heavy that I

> >have trouble keeping up with it.

>

> It gets easier, a lot easier.

> SNIP?

> If this were a classroom and I was giving a test, at this point I would ask