Will Chinese Medicine Bring You Closer to God?

If removing pain helps you to connect with your higher self, spirituality and your purpose, then perhaps the answer is YES.

Medicine and spirituality are rarely thought of as synonymous. Chinese medicine is based on spiritual principles of living a healthy and fulfilling life. This is our life’s purpose.

The ancient “medical” texts have titles such as the “Ling Shu” which translates as “The Spiritual Pivot”; heaven is above, earth is below and humankind is in the middle. And the “Su Wen” known as “Simple Questions”. Both of these texts discuss how to live a healthy, balanced, full life and to be in harmony with family, nature, community and the cosmos.

The simple question: How do I live a long, healthy and prosperous life?

For the ancients, health was a path to understanding the meaning of life.  It connected them to their purpose, the larger plan of the universe; a path to enlightenment  The consequences of poor health meant a shorter life, a painful death, and possible reincarnation back into another life cycle.

Chinese medicine utilizes poetic diagnostic algorithms. It describes the human experience in terms of energy, mind, body and spirit, freedom and departure from the mundane of pain, disease and suffering.

Metaphors such as qi (life force) reframe the process of how disease moves and manifests. They describe the dynamic transformation of achieving health and healing; details beyond the physical, of emotional, energetic and spiritual transformation. They go beyond the removal of pain; it is about connecting to something greater.

Let's look at something more specific. Why would someone who is young and relatively healthy have chronic neck and shoulder pain that doesn’t seem to go away? From a western perspective, it could be herniation, arthritis, too much time spent hunched over our many screens, maybe too many crossfit classes. Stress.

Stress is a catch all phrase that usually does not explain the devastating effect it has as it courses through our life.

From an Eastern perspective more is observed; neck and shoulder pain come from patterns of detachment of mind and body, ignoring the body’s need for rest, overthinking, not speaking your truth. This also falls along a spiritual path and our relationship to ourselves, how we honor our body, mind and spirit as one whole. Health and healing are a dynamic process. A transformational process that encompasses the whole of us, the ALL of us.

When energy gets stuck it can move up causing headaches, insomnia, TMJ, anger, emotional upheaval and high blood pressure. When it gets stuck moving downwards, there can be nausea, stomach aches, shortness of breath, palpitations.

Stress is a pattern of the dysfunction qi (energy) that gets stuck and shows up as frustration and pain.

Intuitively we know this and may even describe our circumstances as “a pain in the neck”,  or feeling “choked up” with emotion. These are more than just colloquial phrases, they are truer than we realize.

So what is the solution for your neck and shoulder pain? Take a closer look at your aches and pains and do not dismiss them. They are telling you that there is more to pay attention to and perhaps the answer is not to take ibuprofen, but instead seek healing from a whole perspective. A perspective which looks at the mind, body and spirit as one.

That one is you.

Contact me to explore what's really causing your issues.