TCM theory: Are Jing-Luo-Mai-Xue real, or does it matter anyway?

[Guest guest]

Hi Mike, Homi & All,

 

Mike wrote:

> ... I wish to know what practitioners believe about qi and

> meridians. Do practitioners/students agree with the classical info

> that meridians are actual structures? Do practitioners/students

> believe that there is a substance, which may be akin to qi that

> flows through these? If not, how is chronicity of problems

> addressed?

 

Homi replied:

> Real as shoelaces. But, much like love, you have to fall into it to

> feel into it.

 

Homi, I would add that shoe laces need eyes into which to be

threaded. Then the shoe can be secured to the foot! Laces without

eyes are not much use!

 

The difference between the shoe analogy and the reality of

Qi/Channels is that shoelaces and eyes are palpable and provable

easily. Any idiot can do that trial. Try to wear shoes without a

securing mechanism in gluey daub-soil and you won't get too far

without losing the shoes ...

 

Meridians may not be physical Channels/ducts likeshoe- laces,

and Xue/AP points may not be as demonstrable/measurable as

lace-eyes, but, IMO, they are real. The Seers could See them; and

the Feelers could Feel them. (There are some (though rare) AP

subjects who feel the Deqi,shoelace along the predicted Channel

Paths when the needle is inserted correctly into the Xue/lace-eye.

 

Clinically, the Qi-Clock has relevance; the Phase Pairs (LU-LI, SP-

ST, etc) have relevance; the Sheng and Ko cycles have relevance,

etc.

 

These clinical facts MUST have a functional, if not physical/organic

basis.

 

Felix Mann has argued that the Earth's geographic meridians (with

Greenwich arbitrarily set at 0 degrees), and the lines of latitude N &

S of the equator, are not PHYSICAL realities, but they sure as hell

are useful concepts for navigation around the globe.

 

I really do not care whether or not science proves a physical basis

for the Jing-Luo-Xue. That would be great but it probably would not

change very much my day-to-day practice as regards HOW to link

a complex of apparently unrelated S & Ss (from a WM viewpoint)

into a " logical " syndrome/pattern based on TCM concepts, AND

WHERE to apply the external stimuli (NEEDLES, LLLLT,

massage, etc) to cure or ease the complex of S & Ss.

 

How would WM link the following complex of S & Ss, which

occurred at different times +/- recurrence of one or more of the

S & Ss in the same subject over c. a 2-year period? WM Tx (aimed

at specific body parts (BL, KI, back, ear, eye, etc, had failed

miserably; one or more of the S & Ss kept returning in spite of

" expert " WM Tx:

 

haemorrhagic cystitis

haemorrhagic nephritis

right-sided sciatica

right-sided lumbar pain

right-sided interscapular pain

right-sided neck pain

right-sided tinnitus

right-sided conjunctivitis

right-sided arm pain along the ulnar side of the forearm into finger 5.

 

TCM Dx?

 

This man had a right pulmonectomy for TB circa 2 years before

onset of the first S & Ss. He had a marked keloid, with marked

adhesions to s/c tissue, plus sensitive areas in the keloid, wich

was placed on the outer line of BL Channel on the right side!

 

I diagnosed a " Q blockage " in BL Channel, with excess in the

feeder Channel (SI) and deficiency in the follower Channel (KI). In

TCM Qi-Flow Theory, ALL of hif S & Ss could relate to that blockage

(on outer line of BL Channel).

 

That Dx (and, more importantly, the selection of the correct Tx to

get full cure of the S & Ss) depended TOTALLY on TCM Theory of

the specificity of the Qi-Flow Clock (SI-BL-KI, with the block on BL.

 

INFERENCE: release the block (in this case by local-anaesthetic

blebs in the sensitive points of the BL Channel keloid + a few

sessions of physio to mobilise the scar and release BL Channel) =

release ALL of the S & Ss!

 

Tx (based on this " off-the-wall " concept (which I learned from

reading Felix Mann's early textbooks on AP) resolved ALL of the

S & Ss in a very short time.

 

Yes, IMO, the Jing-Luo-Mai and Xue are as real as shoelaces and

the eyes to take them! But my feeling is that the relationships are

more functional than real anatomical ducts and physical holes.

 

 

!

Best regards,

 

Email: <

 

WORK : Teagasc, c/o 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland

Mobile: 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

 

HOME : 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland

Tel : 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

WWW : http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/searchap.htm

 

Chinese Proverb: " Man who says it can't be done, should not interrupt man doing

it "

[Guest guest]

Mike wrote:

> ... I wish to know what practitioners believe about qi and

> meridians. Do practitioners/students agree with the classical

info

> that meridians are actual structures? Do practitioners/students

> believe that there is a substance, which may be akin to qi that

> flows through these? If not, how is chronicity of problems

> addressed?

 

 

They are not physical structures, or WM would have found them.

There is not substance(Qi or akin to it), which flows through the

channels, or WM would have found it too.

That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, to say it is a metaphor is to

ignore the whole basis of TCM. This basis was formed by people

who had direct perception of these(channels and Qi), through

Qigong. There is a great corpus of teaching, practical exercises,

that lead us to perceive Qi and channels. There are many

phenomenas of Qigong, many on film, that have no explanation in

western science. To try to learn and explain Qi and channels in

WM terms is like asking a TCM doctor(with no western training) to

explain the organs structure and functions in WM terminology and

concepts.

They ARE poles apart!

Marcos