Inspired China Conversation & Dialogue on Healing with Lonnie Hodge and Des Walsh

In late April, I was honoured to partake in a wonderfully, inspired and insightful conversation with Lonnie Hodge and Des Walsh on their radio program China Conversation. They are both amazing men with tomes of valuable experience and knowledge. This was truly a delight and a gift for which I am eternally grateful!

You can find both Lonnie and Des on Twitter, too @lonniehodge and @deswalsh.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chinaconversation/2009/04/28/China-Conversation

Integrative& Aboriginal Healing--Light For the New Year!

Obviously, I thought this post would detail more about the World Summit, but life sometimes deals its own hand. I WILL write more about that here within the next few weeks. However, something more compelling prompted me to write, to share.
As many of you know, the last few years in the United States, particularly 2008, was punctuated with unprecedented actions, including the suppression of health information not only within its borders but also within various regions of the world. This has been confirmed by numerous physicians, healers and entrepreneurs worldwide. Yet, these actions have also included the introduction and implementation of some controversial laws in Ohio and New Jersey. These included the "gag order" on anything related to nutrition unless, of course, with the exception of nutritionists. Such actions/mandates call so many aspects of life and human rights into question, I hardly know where to begin. I welcome conversations and comments related to this! However, the most disconcerting aspect of such legislation has led me to question the value of cultural knowledge, cultural practices and, of course, how these acts greatly delimit our survival as humans or "Divine Primates," as my friend Earon Davis so accurately details.

While many problems and challenges do exist within the US healthcare system, its associative agencies, and, indeed, throughout the world, I want to focus on some little rays of sunshine, casting such brilliant light. After all, this is a NEW YEAR! This is a time for Healing, Expansion and creativity!

From the bottom of my heart and the depths of my being, I wish you, your loved ones and those whose lives you touch and those whose live touch yours a happy, loving, healing and fulfilling 2009!

*Among the few bright shining stars, I want to highlight the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District in Russia , now actively investigating, exploring and seeking ways to implement a truly innovative system within the region. Every time I think of it, it makes my heart smile. For those of you who are unaware of the minority region and its traditions, I'll briefly explain that many consider this region the birthplace of Shamanism. Other traditional medicine also exists within the region, as well. Yet, Russia has the foresight to engage people in collective knowledge and truly integrative healing for the sake of its community. By doing so, they have placed medicinal knowledge, both aboriginal and western on more equal footing.
More information here

I have often stated that looking at symptoms simply as they are and then drawing the connections and then alternately looking at them through the pre-defined International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is in fact looking at the condition through dissimilar yet intersecting lenses. While the ICD often provides a shared language or point of context, it does not detail conditions, causes and context as richly as traditional medicines, despite the seemingly simplistic classifications and/or translations. The convergence often times offers new insight.

More importantly, however, the population of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District in Russia is diverse and overwhelmingly aboriginal people. Due to the deficiencies of and/or conditions not well addressed by western medicine, highlighting the cultural and ethnic disparities, engaging and incorporating the knowledge, cultural practices and adapting the western medical system to partner, actively demonstrates a concomitant strategy to insure the greatest health/ quality of life for the aboriginal people and by extension peoples who live beyond the borders. After all, many conditions we are experiencing and currently naming and/or identifying through the ICD have existed through the ages.

For their efforts, I applaud Russia and the medical school within the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Indeed, many others throughout the world have engaged such strategies, including but not limited to China with recognition of Chinese medicine, Zhuang Medicine, Mongolian and Western, Thailand, Mali, some Northern European countries and Indonesia, which perhaps embodies the most medical pluralities.

Yet, all of these traditions, these systems, healers of various traditions and practices and people who seek healing have co-authored these integrated systems.
To each of them, I am eternally grateful.

We all stand upon the shoulders of the ancients. We are all related. So, with this little bit of light, of hope, of hands reaching for and embracing collective knowledge, I leave you, all the while hoping it makes your heart smile at least one one-hundredth as much as it makes mine. Thanks so much for being you! Namaste,湘君

World Summit of Indigenous Cultures and True Healing

Later this week, I will realize a dream.
It's funny how that happens when we aren't looking.

It leads me to contemplate Herman Hesse's Siddhartha and the passage about seeking and finding. When one is seeking, one does not find because seeking means we have a goal in mind. It could well be that we then overlook what we need to encounter:-)

I received a last minute invitation to speak at the World Summit of Indigenous Cultures in Taiwan and the assistance to do so.

It is an unbelievable honour, but more an honour to share, to learn, to interact with indigenous peoples from five continents to collaborate, participate in the process of collective knowledge and wisdom.

My focus will, of course, highlight the global public discourse on health and healing, the pressing questions, the quests for more than mere alleviation of suffering and true healing, the role of traditional/indigenous healers, knowledge and wisdom and areas of study and application.

As I penned that paper rather hurriedly, I became truly aware of the many pathways of healers and patients, the quests for cures, the curious way in which we are all connected--today increasingly so.

Moreover, I felt as if I retraced the footsteps of my life--the illness that has led me through the Native Americans, the Sioux, the Cherokee, the Navajo, and many others, through indigenous peoples of Mexico, the Maya, to the medicine in Laos and Sierra Leone, Ethiopian, Egyptian and Malaysian healers, Unani, Reiki, Energy, Tibetan and Quranic medicine, and to the diversity within Chinese medicine, informed by region, minority, multiple disciplines and practice. The last of these has more fully consumed my time and life, yet each medicine pulls me in, draws me, inexplicably. I submit, willingly partake of the ritual interaction, the multi-faceted engagement and imbibe the knowledge and experience humbly, appreciatively.

Indeed, each healing modality and medicine share similarities and commonalities. They also offer different ways to live, to experience, to engage and see life!

It has been a lengthy journey shared with many, informed and enriched by those encountered along the way and I thank each and every one of you for sharing it with me, for adding to it by giving the gifts of YOU!

Indeed, there is so much work to be done and so much work in progress--healing on every level.

Perhaps, in totality, it is the "magic Kool-Aid" as my daughter Sabrina would say.
It could well be that the phrase I so often utter is also true...
~One man's magic is another man's medicine.

More clearly, more concretely, the more I see I become more aware of all I do NOT. Yet, one thing is clear...Healing worlds on all levels is being uplifted!

Upon the ancients' shoulders we stand as the Ancients watch over us, whispering in our ears, nudging...waiting for our stillness to listen.

As I travel to Taiwan later this week, partake in the rituals, open my heart/mind and travel to the indigenous villages, I will carry you all within my heart. Together, we will share, learn.
Love and hugs to you all!
http://indigenous.pristine.net/events/2008/wsic/presentations/debra_hayes_en.html

Namaste, 湘君

Where the Heart Leads.......

Where the heart leads when there is no payoff?

Recently a friend shared this within a rather string of appreciations on http://www.dailyappreciations.net/

Immediately, it led my mind to ponder......

For days it entered my mind. The answer was always the same-
to heal bodies, spirits and minds and bridge divides- HEAL WORLDS

I realize that many persons believe this is too simple.
Perhaps, it is. Yet, I see so many connections. Midst my quest for healing, the discovery
of so many intertwining practices, belief systems and the links extending from antiquity through to present day, I see the invisible, intangible strings of healing and continuity illuminate across time, space and culture. Of course, I realize that technology and methods of production and interventions have also transformed, but more importantly realize that the basic needs of man are constant.

Illness is a journey of the soul. Any illness, whether it is a cold, flu, chronic or acute greatly affects levels of social participation, restorative methods, interactions, beliefs and associated rituals embedded within everyday living. Whether you live in the developed world or lesser developed states, illness is a human experience.

In some respects, I think it has often been my greatest teacher. It has led my mind to ponder the multifaceted, interdependent existence of life. It often turns my thoughts to mutual reciprocity not only as a sacred contract between and among men but also with Mother Nature and the Universe. Then, of course, spirituality resonates within this sacred pact. It plays a significant role of the human existence, of discerning the world relatively unforseeable and unknown to us, of mediating the divide between the tangible and the mysterious and ways of knowing. For many, faith is the light of hope, of love, and of acceptance. it is that which shields, which heals. It is, inexplicably, part of the equation of ways in which we are human.

True healing, as I have learned through my varied studies of traditional healing methods, especially Chinese medicine, zhong yi, perhaps more fully highlights this. It realizes the interactive nature of life, of change and the role of one's constitution/genetics. It explains and understands these changes in ways modern medicine cannot yet express. Yet, I have hope that one day, the marriage of medicines will occur and both the life cultivating, life restorative practices and the doctors who engage them will be equally valued and engaged accordingly.

In my heart of hearts, anyone who knows me, truly knows this. I wish I could alleviate all suffering with the wave of a hand or the magic wand, but alas, I lost that ability long ago. (grin) If any of my experience, however, saves one person undue suffering or levels of illness, then my life has had meaning.

I wish for 2008, a year of more fully engaged True Healing, the networking of healers and appreciation of each other, more fully engaged conversations and exchanges, yielding collective knowledge and valued expertise. I wish more people would listen to the universe and honour the sacred contracts granted with each life. Much more than this, I wish all those afflicted and/or affected by chronic, acute and temporary illnesses realize they are loved, valued and appreciated, and perhaps, even blessed with the journey of illness and quest for recovery. I wish you happiness and health- True healing now and always! I treasure each and every one of you! Namaste

With that, I pass on a New Year's Wish from Dr. Amit K Saiya, an amazing doctor of energy healing in India, wishing you these blessings in 2008 and always :

"May you find eternal peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holiday".

Hugs and love to all of you!
湘君

Thanksgiving- With deep and profound gratitude

It's Thanksgiving Day in the USA

Although I personally believe that everyday, every moment, every breath offers so many facets to be grateful for,and at the very least remind us of our own humility and humanity, they also present opportunities to express kindness, gratitude, benevolence.

It's hard to imagine that ten years ago, I would not have been able to type this post or share my thoughts through this medium, weakened by the wolf of lupus, MS and so many other conditions, struggling to maintain breathing, to walk more than a few steps and keep my kidneys from failing. Yet, things change! My favourite book, the YI JING so clearly illustrates this.

It has been a long, arduous journey, through mountains and ice storms, sometimes sliding down icy peaks and searching through darkness for the Northern Lights, but the rewards have been priceless. As I sit here tonight, I am especially thankful for the lessons of illness and healing, the many discoveries along the way, the people and places I would not have otherwise encountered and the MANY people who shared their journeys, their experiences, the knowledge and skills along the twists and turns thus far.

I am especially grateful for the way everything seems to fall into place when we need it, how everything we need is somewhere within and around us. Awakening to the existence and presence of these necessities is all that is required:)

Tonight, as I do everyday, I appreciate the life I have been granted since the day Chinese medicine entered my life. I appreciate Dr, Arvigo for sharing Mayan traditions, the way my life has always led me back to the Sioux healing methods and knowledge of elders, for Ms. Souly for sharing Lao traditional medicine, for the Buddhist traditions I've learned along the way, for Unani and Quranic healing and teachings, Tibetan Medicine and so many others.

I appreciate:

Dr. Ashis Brahma for his friendship, his laughter and his love, for chats and comparative medicine conversations, for always believing and being the incredibly special man he is.

Dr. Elizabeth Garcia-Gray for her friendship, encouragement and support, for so many conversations and the times she shared her memories of her grandmother preparing herbs for the family, revealing that they rarely needed to go to the hospital.

Dr. Matt Krystal, Dr. Brian Hoffert, Dr. Richard Guzman, Dr. Alex Bolyanatz, Professor Ellen Johnson and all my professors for the tools they gave me to continue along the pathway, to pursue the way

Professor Jane Jiajing Wu aka The Chinese Lady for her friendship, her lessons that keep on giving, for her encouragement and her love

Dr. Larisa Turin for initially saving my life and teaching me so many Chinese and Mongolian Traditions

Dr. Zhengang Guo and Dr. Guang Xie for teaching and supporting me along the way, for sustaining my life and showing me the way

Dr. Yan Zao Ming, Dr. Qiu Shao Lin, Dr. Shu, Dr. Yang Qing Zhi, Dr. Shen, Dr. Zhang, and Dr. Chu for sharing so much of your time, knowledge and skills, for being such wonderful examples of what Chinese medicine doctors are and should be

My Huaihua family for all that you are

Dr. Zhu Ming for allowing me to learn and research in Huaihua and for his vision

Dr. Wang Hong Cai for his invaluable guidance, friendship and a memorable class

My friends and family for the incredible gifts you are to me

and My children for their love, for the sacrifices they have made and continue to make as we continue this path for true healing of all,

My Tongxue for being the wonderful man you are

and the many, many patients that have also been my teachers.

Thank-you all so much! I wish you all love, health and happiness. And to anyone who reads this, I wish you the same. Mitakuye Oyasin.