TCM Quotes

Sorry that it’s been a minute, I’ve been working on a website… that should be finished in a couple of weeks. Then, I’ll be able to return with full force to blogging. This morning, I woke up thinking about the things that inspire me the most to practice this ancient art. I got thinking about Rothenburg (again) and I thought about a few things that were said or noted on certain power point presentations and I realized that sometimes, simple words hold so much power and have the ability to remind us of our paths, our passions and our intentions. So, I decided to dedicate some time this morning to the electronic recording of quotes that have hit me along the way. Chances are that this entry will be updated frequently as I find new things that I like :) Enjoy! 

“Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
Alice in Wonderland.

This one may not seem to have a lot in common with Traditional Chinese Medicine, but it reminded me of Jeffrey Yuen’s lecture when he reminded us of the miraculous abilities of the body to spontaneously heal. Remembering how amazing and “impossible” the body is allows me to picture full health in each patient at each moment.

When the Heart is clear, all organs are peaceful. When the heart is clouded, the 12 organs are in danger. - Huang Di Nei Jing, Cht.8

So much of the Kongress this year revolved around the involvement of the heart and shen in healing, especially as it has to do with fertility and women’s health. This quote helps me to remember that focusing on the shen is always beneficial, that clearing the heart is of utmost importance. I see this everyday and it’s beautiful.

The Path is more clever than the one walking on it

This quote represents the relationship between destiny and manifestation and goes along with the blog I wrote about the Secret. It’s important to be clear about where you are and what you want, but even if there are moments in your life that are quite unclear and unsure, you can rely on your path to guide you. I love this thought.

Yi brings ideas and images [to a person], the Zhi makes is powerful if it fits - The Seven Emotions, pg 152

Along the same lines - here we are discussing the wu shen. Yi, the shen of the Spleen, is what allows us to imagine what is necessary for us in our lives. If the Zhi, shen of the Kidneys, decide that this truely matches our path it gives us the willpower to put our thoughts into action and see them through.

Your thoughts and judgements are the seeds that you are planting that will sprout into your future health issues - Robin Saraswati Tiberi

Robin’s talk on the first day of the Kongress was amazing. She reminds us to ask ourselves what seeds we are planting at each moment. Our habits, ways of doing things, automatic thoughts - these are our seeds. Once planted, we have options of nuturing them, starving them or even pulling them out at the roots (also Robin :)). The way to planting seeds that you want to nuture to to create an area of awareness. Start paying attention to your actions. Then, you will learn what seeds you are planting and can make conscious decisions which are beneficial to you and need nuturing. I recommend the book ‘Miracle of Mindfulness’ by Thich Nhat Hanh for help learning how to do this.

This tension [between shen and jing in the body] is dynamic and it generates opposition, desires, conflicts. But it is also a motivating force for transformation and metamorphosis of the spirit. - Yair Maimon

This quote not only reminds me of the very basics of TCM, but it also reminds me that change is possible at every moment. That the body, in it’s natural state is not static and that acupuncture can and does have true effects that can start a chain of reactions in the body leading to health. Health is a decision made in every moment, you can change your mind about how you feel and where you are at any time.

Emotions are only negative when they are not liberated - Jeffrey Yuen

I love this. Most times people separate their emotions into “bad” and “good” emotions, based on cultural norms. For instance, in the States, happy is good and anger is bad. In Poland, happy is bad (because it’s suspicious) and indifference is good (because it gives you protection). But the fact remains that each and every of our emotions is necessary for us. They arise at different times to alert us of our comfort level with a given situation. If you didn’t have both “bad” and “good” emotions, you would always stay at a job that you hate, in a relationship that isn’t supportive to you, etc. etc. Emotions are only negative when they are blocked and then not released. Emotions must be lived through, must be felt in order to feel like their job is completed and they are free to go.

Thats all for today… go plant some seeds of health :)

September 01 2009 09:19 am | Articles

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