Acupuncture involves the study of the movements of life. It is a study brought to us by an obscure and circuitous route, but its origins are certain. It comes from a China now ancient and mostly forgotten. The Chinese concept of life is awkward for most of us to grasp because it comes from a different family of thinking. The thought processes of Western medicine, in comparison to Chinese medicine, is directed towards the mechanics and chemical processes of physicality. Chinese medicine, in contrast, is directed towards the movements of life and, the area in which these reach their greatest expression, the domain of the spirit.
While Western medicine has excelled at the elimination of disease through physical means, the Chinese have excelled at understanding, expressing and manipulating the movements of spirit in human life in order to eliminate disease. Thus, in the West today, most disease seems to have its roots in an impoverishment of the spirit. We see this in the heartbreak all around us that so many seek to relieve through the accumulation of physical objects and experience, when what is truly needed is a quickening of the spirit. Ancient Chinese medicine teaches that there’s something inside each of us that’s a permanent product of the divine; the movements of life.
This ancient system of Chinese medicine believes there’s no difference between heaven and nature. Indeed, there’s no distinction between heaven and our own bodies, nor is there any difference between our bodies and the earth. This belief is seen on old Chinese coins that are round (the circle is the symbol of heaven) with a square hole in the middle (the symbol of earth): they represent the physical embodiment of the movements of heaven and earth in the human world.
Since we are the union of heaven and earth, everything we do to maintain these connections to the universe is medicine. Honouring our ancestors is medicine, the ritual of marriage is medicine and the correct disposal of the dead is medicine, because they all maintain the movements of life.
Throughout the seasons and our bodies there’s a constant interplay of movements. According to ancient Chinese medicine the doctrines of heaven regulated these movements. Under heaven’s influence everything is transported somewhere. Everything rises in order to fall, and falls in order to rise. The heavenly influx divides into two aspects, which we usually call yin and yang. Often these are classified as male and female, wet and dry, cold and hot, but these classifications are not absolutes as they exist only in relation to one another.
In the Chinese ideogram, yin means, literally, the shady side of the mountain and yang means the sunny side of the mountain. Thus, by the end of the day, yin becomes yang and yang becomes yin, but only in relation to the movements of heaven (the sun) and earth (the mountain). What creates this movement among the land and stars is the divine distribution of life called the Tao by the Chinese, and by the ancients in the West, love.
As yin and yang move through our bodies, we too experience the divine flux of movements as equally as the earth. When illness arises, we experience, at its most basic, the loss of divine love. The restoration of health, then, is really the restoration of these connections to divine love.
Progression
Life is a progression from one aspect to another, from one season to the next. In summer, that which has been started in spring reaches its zenith; then, suddenly, life reverses movement in order to protect that life and the life of the universe. So that on some certain day you awake and the light is different, the air is different. The yin which has always been there but covered, able to manifest as a hidden power only, can now rise in its own right.
When yin, or contraction, comes to dominate, autumn comes. In terms of the movements of seasons, we determine autumn to be metal, because in the period of contraction that which is unnecessary is discarded and that which is most valuable, like precious metals, is retained. We see this in the leaves of autumn, which come back to the earth and are then used again in the following growth cycle in spring.
Because of this cycling, temperate zones of the earth are more productive than tropical ones. We all know how lush tropical forests are, but once the forest is cleared, the riches of the soil are gone in two or three years and the land becomes barren. In contrast, we see the temperate farms around the world, which can be maintained over centuries because the trace elements are yearly retained and supplemented with leaf litter.
Autumn, then, can teach us about what is truly valuable for the maintenance of a flourishing and lengthy life. We all know people who refuse to acknowledge the contraction of autumn and wish to remain in perpetual summer always on the run from one social event to the next, always the life of the party. Over time this behaviour leads to pathology.
One of the classics of Chinese medicine states: When metal falls prey to boundless elation and joy, its spirits are attacked. When its spirits are attacked, one loses reason. When one loses reason, the intention knows no one. The skin shrivels and wrinkles. The body hair becomes brittle and one has all the signs of premature death.
While the time of summer is boundless, autumn is the time of the imposition of limits. Elation and joy know no limits; indeed, they push us further and further into new realms of experience and pleasure. But autumn cannot tolerate this. In autumn, all aspects of life are strictly defined, for the metal has charge of rhythms in the universe, the orderly rising of the sun and the moon, the inbreath and outbreath in our bodies, the expulsion of wastes, all the transitions in life and death.
Autumn is the time when all measurements were exact and all accounts evened. In ancient China, all punishments and executions were carried out in autumn, since this was the time of the clearing of accounts so the balance of life would be maintained. This is, of course, also the time of harvest. The heavenly influence departs from the earth, causing air to become drier and cooler. The earthly influence remains and, separated from free expression with heaven, fills the fruits and grains, which we then gather.
This movement of autumn occurs in our own bodies as well, and this happens in the form of the two officials of metal: the heart and lungs. The universe and the body are both expressions of the same movements of life and are seen as a kingdom, ruled by an emperor, the heart. The emperors closest adviser, the lung, is in charge of receiving the pure influence of heaven and distributing it throughout the kingdom, especially to the emperor.
Warmth
Metal is unique in that it requires a certain amount of warmth to function properly. Too little warmth and the basic integrity of the material becomes too stiff and brittle, causing it to break easily. Too much warmth and the material will not support any use and simply melts. This is true spiritually as well. When excessive grief fills the lungs, all connection with heaven is lost. As anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one can attest, in the absence of that person it often feels as if all connection with spirit is gone and an immense, cold void remains.
The contrast is an excess of heat, of joy and elation described earlier, which can injure the lungs just as easily. This void can open up physically as well as spiritually if the distress goes deep enough. The lungs themselves, in cases of emphysema and asthma, cannot be completely emptied or filled. In some cases the moist elasticity of the tissues themselves is lost and oxygen cannot be absorbed or waste products expelled. Oftentimes, skin diseases can be traced back directly to the lungs, since the skin is the third lung in Chinese medicine. The skin breathes and expels toxins, just as the lungs do, so that if heat or toxins build up in the lungs, boils and abscesses may appear on the skin.
The pathway of the lung runs from the top of the chest, along the inside of the arms, to the thumbs. The acupuncture points along this pathway are named according to their functions in manipulating the spirit. We find Cloud Gate just below the clavicle, which reminds us of the misting function of the lungs, since the heavenly influence must be received in just the right atmosphere and the lung cavity must have a certain amount of humidity to function at greatest efficiency. It also reminds us of the pure, spiritual breaths and inspiration available. There is Pure White, which reminds us of the lungs charge of receiving only the purest and most vibrant of energies, and of the lungs function in processing oxygen. We have Very Great Abyss, a point for the despair and depression that come from the inability to take in the beauty and purity the heavens hold for us in every instant.
Drainer of the dregs
The other official of autumn is the drainer of the dregs, the blood brother of the lungs. While we often forget the function of the lungs and skin in removing toxins, we also forget the function of the colon in absorbing essential trace elements and minerals as the final step in digestion. Much like recyclers rummaging in garbage bins, picking out cans and bottles, the colon retains that which is valuable and without which our lives would soon become impoverished. When movement ceases in the colon, it ceases everywhere to some degree, for when the residues of life build up, the pure influences cannot enter.
While great misery and even death can result from severe constipation, there is even greater distress when the spirit ceases to remove its own debris. The charge of the colon is to move the dregs along a path. If the movements of life slow down or stop in the colon, one may become rigidly stuck in beliefs or conceptions. One may begin speaking rubbish or become unusually foulmouthed. Moreover, one may begin to accept all manner of dogma and assertion as true, since the effect of having rubbish heaped around can make it difficult to discern the truth one needs to progress through life.
The colon and lung are blood brothers, because they work in tandem with one another. They both receive the purest energies and cleanse our bodies of impurities. The only distinction between the lungs and colon is that the colon Deals with denser materials. The lungs constantly discharge carbon dioxide and receive oxygen. Were this function to cease, death would begin in a matter of minutes. The colon, likewise, discharges and receives, and when this official starts to falter, we likewise begin to perceive buildups in the body, mind and spirit.
The basic function of metal is to rule rhythm: the rhythm of the breath, the rhythm of the heart, the rhythm of ridding the body of wastes. Urination occurs throughout the day, but defecation usually occurs in the early morning, between 5am and 7am. This is because the energy of the colon is strongest between these hours, and one of the most helpful things one can do to end constipation is to rise early.
The colon channel begins on the thumb side of the index fingers, travels along the outside of the arms, across the shoulders, neck and face, to end by the nostril at an acupuncture point called Welcome Fragrance, a powerful point for many intestinal disorders, particularly constipation.
A point on the neck, Heavenly Vessel, is a wonderful point for accessing ones spirit, particularly when its burdened with perceptions of life that restrict one from knowing the pure truth of being.
The emphasis in ancient Chinese medicine is always on matters of the spirit and its right manifestation and progression. Spirit determines the course of all manifestation, since not only does flesh come from spirit, but also any distress will reveal itself first in spirit. Thus, if the spirit is treated, distress will not arise in the body. The Nei Jing Su Wen puts it this way: The Saints did not wait for illnesses to appear, but took care of them before they appeared. They did not wait for disorder in affairs but took care of it before it appeared.
The saints are those people in this world who hold firm because their hearts are still nourished by heavenly influences. Regardless of winds and rains, they keep their hearts soft and open, preserving their integrity. Through them heaven rushes up and drives the perverse influences before it. These saints are you and I, when we remain soft and pliant to the movements of life.
To live well in any season and to make use of its prevailing energy, we must follow the energy around us in nature. In autumn, the prevailing energy is contracting. This contraction causes only the essences that can be used in the next growth cycle to be stored over the winter. This energy is prevalent everywhere on earth when autumn arrives, regardless of the climate. Even the poles experience a thaw in the spring and setting-in of ice in autumn. Likewise, in tropical climates, there are fluctuations in the expansion and contraction of the seasons, albeit subtle ones.
Removing heat
Over the summer, when most people have been out in the warmth, heat accumulates in the body. As our energy bodies contract with the season, the excess heat, which is expansive, must be discharged in some fashion and this usually occurs in the form of fevers and discharges from the mucous membranes. Like the dews that develop on the ground in autumn, our bodies shed moisture and heat, and the best thing one can do is to help this natural progression.
While it might be tempting to remedy this with an over-the-counter medicine, this runs countercurrent to the natural law of the season and should be avoided. You want to purge this completely, lest heat lodge in the body and transform into something more debilitating. The herb goldenseal is one of the best means to accelerate and at the same time soften the symptoms. Its bitter taste identifies it as a purgative of heat and removes dampness. One should take the recommended dosage on the bottle every hour during acute stages and continue taking some for two days after all symptoms have subsided to completely eliminate the heat.
The metal element rules the mucous membranes, which are often sensitive in autumn. In cases of excessive dryness, moistening foods are indicated: all soy products, barley, millet, pears, apples, persimmons, almonds, pinenuts, seaweeds, eggs, crab and pork. Using just a pinch of unrefined sea salt will also moisten dryness and alkalise foods. Small amounts of pure salt attract water, while large amounts will dessicate. Perhaps the best foods for the health of the metal are the pungent herbs: garlic, onions, radishes, daikon radish, mustards, peppers and chillies. Eaten raw, these all induce sweating to some degree to expel heat and dampness, and they invigorate the tissues of the lung and colon. However, care should be taken, as one can easily consume too much of these.
In the West, the colon and lungs have a high incidence of cancer. The foods that cleanse best are rich in fibre. Fibre exists in vegetable matter. Oats have the highest fibre content of any grain; pectin, a fibre in apples, cherries and carrots also eliminates cholesterol from the GI tract. While care with diet and herbs is and important measure for maintaining physical health, of greater significance is a persons ability to incorporate the spiritual dimensions of autumn into ones life.
Autumn is the season of grief and the end of things. For this reason, the correct methods of ending matters must be attended to for good health. In a culture like our own, in which the expression of loss is rarely condoned, let alone encouraged, it’s no surprise that cancers arise so frequently in the organs in which the energy of contraction and decay is expressed. The grief that remains restricts our ability to connect with the divine.
The roots of our heavenly connection are in the breath. Indeed, most religious practices in the world place a high value on correct breathing. From the pranayama of Pantajali in India, to the kahuna in Hawaii, to the early Christian mystics in the deserts of Arabia, the strength of the breath has long been recognised as the most important indicator of ones connection to the divine.
The ancient Chinese knew this well. The Chinese term chi is usually translated as energy, but it really means breath. The energy of the body is the breath of the body; the energy of the heart is the breath of the heart. They are one and the same.
So if you wish to guard your health and enhance it, one of the best things you can do is engage in some form of spiritual meditation that emphasises breath. Not only will this energise you, it will clear much of the grief we all experience by living in this world. Excess grief exaggerates the force of contraction, crushing the heart nestled within the flowered canopy of the lung. But grief can be cleared, restoring our connection to the love of the world and the divine, which are ever-present.
To find a meditation path, look locally and investigate for yourself the various instructors available. Be choosy, you have a lot at stake here. No method is preferable, since we’re all so different, but enquire fully about the various paths. Many yoga instructors incorporate pranayama practices; most indigenous practices incorporate the breath; Taoist meditations incorporate the breath; Sufi meditations synchronise the breath and heart; and some Christian churches practise this. There is even an online meditation group that can be good for people in isolated areas.
There really is no excuse not to learn and practise some form of breath work that will bring you back to your true self.
