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N,

 

> Ken,

>

> great post!

> I only thought of reading chinese as relevant

> to translating. It seems that

> there are a lot of great practioners out there

> that do not read chinese, but

> you make a great case for it's clinical

> relevence. It only opens my eyes to

> how much is out there to know, and how little

> of it I have.

 

Thanks.

 

The work I've been doing here in

Beijing recently has brought me once more

to realize just how much is out

there to know. My personal confrontation

with the subject of traditional

Chinese medicine is a constantly

humbling experience. It seems

that as I round every corner on

the path, I find that it stretches

farther and farther, reminding

me of the landscapes in which

one finds oneself when looking

at Chinese paintings of

rivers and mountains without end.

 

But though it is humbling, it is

also exhilirating. The spirit of

Chinese medicine is alive in its

literature and its lore. It moves

in the virtually endless stories

and sayings into which Chinese for

countless generations have woven

their intricate and delicate

sensibilities concerning the nature

of human life and the dilemmas

in which we find ourselves when

dealing with some of the most

basic issues such as health,

harmony, illness, and death.

 

As Nigel Wiseman has so simply

and eloquently put it, language

is the neglected key that unlocks

this vast storehouse of material

that is waiting for anyone at

any time who simply cares to

take a look.

 

 

>

> In terms of formal education, I have felt that

> the increasing standards have

> had more to do with weeding out prospects that

> would harm clients, and thus

> our field. This explains the focus on modern

> medicine, and one's ability to

> refer a life threatening case.

 

Ironic, isn't it? The tendency of

modern medicine to harm clients is

much greater than the tendency

of Chinese medicine to do so. I take

the inordinate concern to protect

people from something which is

comparaitvely harmless as a measure

of the ignorance and the arrogance

with which the infrastructure of

the subject has been designed and

constructed in many Western areas.

 

I see it as a kind of xenophoic

kneejerk response that tends to

lock people into inappropriate

reactions to the actual challenges

that face non-Chinese when they

seek to study, apply, and research

traditional Chinese medicine.

 

And what do you know? Language is

the key to this as well.

 

 

> Realistically, the amount of training that

> becomes standard has to be based

> on a reasonable return. I recieved a 2500 hour

> masters degree, and while I

> am happy plying my skills, I would caution

> anyone considering this course as

> it is a financially risky one. Particularly

> considering the changes we will

> see in mainstream medicine in the next ten

> years.

 

Well, the future is hard to see.

 

My personal hope for it is that

enough people take the responsibility

seriously to learn the language and

acquire access to the actual knowledge

base of the subject so that future

planning and actions can be informed

by the wisdom which has kept the subject

alive throughout its long history.

 

An educational system must obviously

be designed to prepare its students

and graduates to survive in the world

in which they live. But it must also

embody and transmit the subject which

it purports to profess.

 

An educational infrastructure that

purports to profess traditional Chinese

medicine but which lacks a comprehensive

program of developing language skills

and access to the literature and the

vast store of knowledge (which remains

available only to those with Chinese

language skills) is not likely, in my

opinion, to survive into the future

much beyond the range to which its

initial enthusiasms have already

extended it.

 

The key to the survival of the field

is language.

 

Here in China you can still find that

odd, long term foreigner who has lived

and worked in the country for years

or decades and who yet does not speak

the language. But these are the rare

exceptions, the surviving few who

for whatever reasons failed to recognize

or accept what the new, bright, young

people who appear year by year in

greater numbers readily, willingly

and quite capably embrace: in order

to deal effectively with Chinese ideas,

Chinese people, Chinese artifacts,

Chinese anything, one needs to understand

the Chinese language.

 

If you are in San Diego at the PCOM

symposium next month, please drop

by the Redwing booth so we can meet

and chat.

 

Best,

 

Ken

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N,

 

> Ken,

>

> great post!

> I only thought of reading chinese as relevant

> to translating. It seems that

> there are a lot of great practioners out there

> that do not read chinese, but

> you make a great case for it's clinical

> relevence. It only opens my eyes to

> how much is out there to know, and how little

> of it I have.

 

Thanks.

 

The work I've been doing here in

Beijing recently has brought me once more

to realize just how much is out

there to know. My personal confrontation

with the subject of traditional

Chinese medicine is a constantly

humbling experience. It seems

that as I round every corner on

the path, I find that it stretches

farther and farther, reminding

me of the landscapes in which

one finds oneself when looking

at Chinese paintings of

rivers and mountains without end.

 

But though it is humbling, it is

also exhilirating. The spirit of

Chinese medicine is alive in its

literature and its lore. It moves

in the virtually endless stories

and sayings into which Chinese for

countless generations have woven

their intricate and delicate

sensibilities concerning the nature

of human life and the dilemmas

in which we find ourselves when

dealing with some of the most

basic issues such as health,

harmony, illness, and death.

 

As Nigel Wiseman has so simply

and eloquently put it, language

is the neglected key that unlocks

this vast storehouse of material

that is waiting for anyone at

any time who simply cares to

take a look.

 

 

>

> In terms of formal education, I have felt that

> the increasing standards have

> had more to do with weeding out prospects that

> would harm clients, and thus

> our field. This explains the focus on modern

> medicine, and one's ability to

> refer a life threatening case.

 

Ironic, isn't it? The tendency of

modern medicine to harm clients is

much greater than the tendency

of Chinese medicine to do so. I take

the inordinate concern to protect

people from something which is

comparaitvely harmless as a measure

of the ignorance and the arrogance

with which the infrastructure of

the subject has been designed and

constructed in many Western areas.

 

I see it as a kind of xenophoic

kneejerk response that tends to

lock people into inappropriate

reactions to the actual challenges

that face non-Chinese when they

seek to study, apply, and research

traditional Chinese medicine.

 

And what do you know? Language is

the key to this as well.

 

 

> Realistically, the amount of training that

> becomes standard has to be based

> on a reasonable return. I recieved a 2500 hour

> masters degree, and while I

> am happy plying my skills, I would caution

> anyone considering this course as

> it is a financially risky one. Particularly

> considering the changes we will

> see in mainstream medicine in the next ten

> years.

 

Well, the future is hard to see.

 

My personal hope for it is that

enough people take the responsibility

seriously to learn the language and

acquire access to the actual knowledge

base of the subject so that future

planning and actions can be informed

by the wisdom which has kept the subject

alive throughout its long history.

 

An educational system must obviously

be designed to prepare its students

and graduates to survive in the world

in which they live. But it must also

embody and transmit the subject which

it purports to profess.

 

An educational infrastructure that

purports to profess traditional Chinese

medicine but which lacks a comprehensive

program of developing language skills

and access to the literature and the

vast store of knowledge (which remains

available only to those with Chinese

language skills) is not likely, in my

opinion, to survive into the future

much beyond the range to which its

initial enthusiasms have already

extended it.

 

The key to the survival of the field

is language.

 

Here in China you can still find that

odd, long term foreigner who has lived

and worked in the country for years

or decades and who yet does not speak

the language. But these are the rare

exceptions, the surviving few who

for whatever reasons failed to recognize

or accept what the new, bright, young

people who appear year by year in

greater numbers readily, willingly

and quite capably embrace: in order

to deal effectively with Chinese ideas,

Chinese people, Chinese artifacts,

Chinese anything, one needs to understand

the Chinese language.

 

If you are in San Diego at the PCOM

symposium next month, please drop

by the Redwing booth so we can meet

and chat.

 

Best,

 

Ken

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  • 1 year later...

Chris,

 

" Welcome to the South, " hahaha. It is 73 here in Oakdale, La. and I have had

the air running intermittently all day. The humidity is almost 100%...it was

supposed to rain, and the air is so damp the garage floor is wet. And it is

supposed to get down to 30 on Tues. I came from N. Ca. and we had dry, dry air.

I

have been here for 18 years and still can't get used to the oppressive heat

and air. I just stay in under the a/c.

 

Diane

 

 

 

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At 02:50 AM 1/3/04, you wrote:

>Good luck! When I was 15 and just getting into EO's I bought a 1 oz

>bottle of Rosemary Oil and right after I got home with it I spilled

>about 3/4 of the oz on my rug in my room. My dad wanted to kill me cause

>the whole upper floor of the house smelled like very pungent Rosemary

>for the next few years ;-p

 

try having the bottle fall out of a 16 oz bottle of tea tree...unopened...

 

in a carpeted room...

 

actually...the closet of that particular room was mine...where I hung all

my clothes...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your source for superb Essential Oils, Aromatherapy

Accessories, Information, Books and more!

Visit us at: <http://www.naturesgift.com>

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