A patient of mine just told me she has recently gotten into using crystals for healing. I produced the onyx and fluorite she was referring to and placed them on points along affected meridians on her body. Every morning I wake up to a text from another patient of mine sending me Bible quotes and Christian prayers. In the same day, I may receive a photo text from a patient asking if I see the spirit in the smoke of her Palo Santo, or a photo of a feather with no words sent by a Native American patient of mine.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a space where medical practitioners treat the body, mind, heart and spirit of a person or animal. A medicine that began 5,000 years ago in China has now spread across the globe, across cultures, climates and spiritual traditions into modernity. As we in the United States grapple with building healthier alternatives to the systems we've inherited, we are also tasked with navigating life in a spiritually vacuous culture.
As a child who was raised internationally with a father who was interested in different religions and spiritual traditions, I was exposed to many different expressions of the human spirit. Just as I learned to speak French, Spanish, and Nepali, I also learned cultural customs and worldviews, how to inhabit those, and relate across seeming differences. This has served me greatly in my practice as I assess what is occurring with each individual patient's unique situation. Sometimes the wound *is* purely physical in the case of a sports injury or tweaked neck. Sometimes the wound *is* purely emotional in the case of emotional abuse or stress. Regardless of the original nature of the wound, a multifaceted approach will *always* be helpful.
The highest rates of physical success both in athletics sports and illness recovery are directly correlated with how much emotional support a person has. Just like plants who grow more when they are sung to, so too do human beings physically excel when given emotional support and love.
Similarly in the cases of emotional trauma or distress, physical support can be of great benefit. A healthy diet with consistent eating times, adequate hydration, sleep and exercise can all help to regulate a person's nervous system and emotions. When we do not have the emotional support we crave, physically supporting ourselves becomes paramount.
Where does the mind come in? Where does spirituality come in? How do we tease out the difference? Thinking positively about ourselves, our health, and our futures *absolutely* affects outcome. Having faith in our own recovery is an essential aspect of healing. It is this faith that brings us to the clinic, to the gym, to the pool, to the doctor's or dentist, to the date, to the competition, to the job interview, to the audition, etc. Believing in ourselves and thinking positively about our futures is a key aspect of success.
To take this further into the realm of spirit comes one's faith in a Higher Power. This can take many forms and many names, though outcome here is the same regardless. For some this may be monotheism, for others it may be polytheism, for others it may be the Earth itself, and still others may turn to Love, to Beauty, or to Art. A person's spiritual practice is as individual as their physical bodies and can be a profoundly supportive aspect of the healing journey.
Some traditions view visualization as the same as prayer. Others may view them differently. Regardless, we are calling on intangible power to fuel something forward in our lives. For some traditions, this may involve an altar, for others mantras and mala beads, for others prayers and the rosary. This may involve the lighting of candles, the burning of incense, the casting of spells, the recitation of invocations, the lighting of a fire, participation in a sweatlodge, pilgrimage to a sacred site, the use of holy or sacred water, the practice of an art form, etc. All of these can be extremely potent in one's healing and have been used in this way for millennia. As we reconceive of what exactly healing is to us in this creation of a more functional culture, I invite you to explore how your spirituality can support your healing journey.
In 2024 in the United States, we are quite far along in the cultural separation between ourselves and the earth, ourselves and each other, ourselves and spirit, ourselves and our health, ourselves and our power, our bodies and our minds. At a time of highly divisive cultural rhetoric, healing any and all of these separations can be extremely potent. As one part of our being reconnects with an essential aspect of human nature, we have more energy available to us to heal.
During my adolescence, my father would take me backpacking every summer. He was a highly neurotic man who was nearly always stressed or angry. In the wilderness, however, he completely relaxed. The anxiety and worry were nowhere to be seen. Watching my dad connect with nature which was integral to his spirituality deeply impacted me. I understood the power of wilderness therapy and went on to become an outdoor educator. I spent a good portion of my twenties taking inner city kids hiking in the redwoods. Again, and again, and again kids that were "problems" in the classroom became model students in the forest. Healing our separation from the earth can be massively transformational.
Recently I had a patient express anxiety and suicidal ideation in regards to the profound injustices in the world. I said, "If what you are contending with is a 10 out of 10 on the darkness scale, to counteract it you have to actively engage with a 10 out of 10 on the lightness scale." I recommended a beautiful nearby hike to a waterfall and to get deeper into spiritual practice.
It can be said that the most profound wound we currently carry is this disconnection from what is natural. So many issues arise from indoor, chemical, computer, office based nuclear family lives. As people who are turning towards natural medicines, organic foods, community, and active lifestyles, where can we deepen into reconnecting with the greater web of life? How does our spiritual practice support us in this and how does this combination in turn support our healing?
As a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I treat the whole person that comes to my clinic. I take all of this into account. I am grateful that without my expressly saying all of this, my patients feel it enough to send me the type of texts that they do and to share with me what they believe in. It's an honor and a privilege to witness so many aspects of a person simultaneously. Interestingly enough, my path as a healing artist has been what has most informed my spiritual understanding of the world. As mysterious and intangible as spirit is, so too is the healing process. As sacred as temples and mountains can be, so too is my clinic room. The insertion of needles, the playing of healing music, the handing over of a patient into rest and silence does feel similar to setting an altar, meditating, and saying a prayer. I have lit candles for patients of mine and laid prayer bundles at their feet. I choose whatever spiritual tool is most appropriate for them and their path, and sometimes that is simply sticking to the science of acupuncture, painting their ailment, or imagining that they can run again without a limp.
Thank you so much to everyone who has accompanied me on this journey, whether as a patient, friend, or fellow practitioner. I am a richer person for our interaction and carry what you have taught me within my healing toolkit, ready to bust it out as medicine when the next person just may need it. Blessings to all of you, and may all beings be free from suffering.
