thoughts about acupuncture and macro-level social change

The study of Chinese medicine is a wonderful and privileged experience. Students are exposed to infinitely simple yet unthinkably profound concepts. Indeed, it would be both beautiful and useful to be able to introduce the teachings of Chinese medicine to communities across theUnited States. Through the study of this medicine we are exposed to the idea that true healing and change come only by getting to the roots ofproblems, and that the solutions to those problems are found through balance, harmony, and equality. When there is inequality, there is imbalance, and where there is imbalance, there is disease. The beauty of Chinese medicine is its approach – healing the whole while healing theparts. The same approach can be used when addressing social and economic problems, and is potentially a phenomenal way to bring Chinese medicine to the US at large.

It seems natural that in order to understand how to bring the medicine to the greater US population, all we need to do is listen to the medicine itself, to follow the guiding principles and philosophies, which are based on subtlety, beauty, depth, and tangible healing. The concept of empowerment has perhaps become a household word in the US since the civil rights movements, but the concept is actually quite ancient, and well articulated in the philosophies of Chinese medicine. That being said, the word empowerment is not found in any of the classical texts, and the modern understanding of the concept may appearto be quite foreign in the context of ancient China. However, as many ofthe ancient texts suggest even through their titles, they are “jing” –often translated as classic, but with a deeper meaning of eternal, or something that which applies regardless of time. The authors and thinkers of classic texts which we attempt to decipher today were tryingt o convey teachings which are eternal. Some interpretations of Chinese medicine suggest that a goal is to ultimately empower the person to be incontrol of their own health and life, through vitality, awareness, and confidence. A person can be in charge of their own tools for future maintenance and growth. The practitioner is simply a facilitator of that process, playing a small but important role in helping a person achieve liberation (of suffering or disease) and being allowed to express one’sself in one’s ultimate, liberated potential. That may take any form –artist or plumber, auto mechanic, farmer or writer, and so on. When aperson is truly healthy he or she will develop in a way that will not contradict nature or community. Looking at the nature of disease in Chinese medicine we can see that when we go against the natural flow ofthings that is when disease can arise.

The eternal quality of the teachings of Chinese medicine are simple, yetprofound. If one phrase can summarize the essence of Chinese medicine it very well may be “As above, so below.” We often see how energies/tendencies of different qualities resonate at different levels.The energy of east is the same as spring, as wood, as green, as well asthe Liver. When we take the essence of the practitioner/facilitator to its logical extension (micro to macro, individual to community) we can see the manifestation of a community center.

As in so many teachings, we can employ the use of metaphor to explain howit may be possible to bring this beautiful medicine to the general USpopulation. Let us look at a community of people as an organism (single patient) and the community center as the practitioner/facilitator. In order for a community to be healthy and for the members to have a highquality of life, several basic needs must be met. Housing, food, jobs,education, meaningful employment, and of course health care. Once these basic needs are met, communities and individuals can thrive without exploiting other members of the immediate community or individuals fromoutside communities. This community center will need to provide adequate health care (both preventive and curative) which is both affordable andeffective. It will also simultaneously need to provide mechanisms for local-based production and consumption of foods and other products, and a structure for education which is either free (ideally) or at the very least affordable to all members. The education provided will mirror the principles guiding the community, and will necessarily need to be based on pertinent sustainability of the community as well as the freedom ofall members to be able to express themselves as they see fit without causing harm to anyone else. The principles guiding the community are sustainability, harmony, self-sufficiency, and peace. Continuing with the metaphor, the community center is essentially the practitioner/facilitator which will be able to assist the community as a crutch or inspiration whenever necessary. What better way to bring Chinese medicine to the general public than by living and breathing theessentials of the philosophies?

By only offering Chinese medicine we would not be truly extending the idea of wholistic healing to the US community. It would be as if apatient went to see an acupuncturist and was only offered needles, and the practitioner failed to mention that the patient could (or, ideally, should) also be taking herbs, doing Qigong, eating a healthy diet, and paying attention to the seasons and local ecology and rhythms! By being able to have access to acupuncture along with other essentials, the profound beauty of Chinese medicine can be conveyed to the US public andincorporated in people’s every-day lives in a very real and deep way. Perhaps it sounds utopic, but if we believe in the essence of Chinese medicine that a harmony can be struck within the body, we must not beafraid to extend that, to strive to find that within our community. Indeed, one can not be found without the other.

thoughts on why medicine can be a vehicle for change, and a basic human right, and a very long rant because this is my first blog, etc

one of the goals of this trip to the west bank is to contribute to the larger existing pool of information about the current state of health. as we already know, the occupation affects every single part of every palestinian's life. to be fair to my israeli friends, the same goes for all israelis, but in a very different way. anyway. when resources are severely limited, borders controlled, and physical and psychological harm inflicted upon them daily, palestinians are have few options to even put a band-aid on their wounds. it isn't enough that children and other civilians are targeted. the israeli military also aims for health care workers. ambulance drivers. the damage done by the imposition of the occupation isn't enough, so israel must cripple the palestinian's ability to recover. a population that is denied health is denied the potential to resist oppression.

p.s. for all those a fan of my favorite mexican's style of communicating

p.p.s this fundamental concept makes health care a basic human right. obviously, the statements that follow apply to all basic human rights, including freedom from ALL oppression, housing, education, food, work, and land. when people are healthy and have all the faculties needed to make the clearest decisions and pursue their ultimate selves, they have the capabilities to resist oppressive measures. when they are denied them they are in a vulnerable position to be exploited. the same principle applies all over the world. look at the migration to the united states. the violent and desperate economic situation that capitalism has created and imposed upon so many leads millions to leave their homes, families, and lands to engage in dangerous, physically demanding and exploitative work. when these people leave their homes to find a better life, the vulnerable position they are in is a result of a denial of their basic human rights. in vulnerable and desperate situations, people do desperate and terrifying things in order to sustain the people that they love. in this country, people who don't have health care due to their economic situation are also in the most vulnerable and exploitable positions. these are the poor people who enter the army, to fight our dirty wars abroad, and to do the hardest labor in this country. these are the people denied their other basic human rights, to a free education, to housing, to food, to land. the marginalized and vulnerable are the most oppressed.

clearly the situation in the occupied territories is much different than in the US. but the principle is the same. when you are denied basic human rights, you are denied the potential to be an active participant in shaping your own future.

the destruction of health care by israel as a way of crippling any resistance even further is also indicative of israel's false gestures of working towards peace. the documentation of this while i am in the west bank will hopefully serve to highlight the issue of health care as a basic human right, and be able to open the door for dialogue about the conflict and about our own health care crisis within the US. shaping the debate about health care is paramount here as well. the debate thus far has not truly presented anything profound or intent on arriving at the root of the issue. governments that provide health care for their people are still governments run by elites, sustaining a power dynamic of haves and have-nots. bringing medicine back to the hands of the people is what this conversation is about. it is about providing people with tools to sustain themselves. it is about people being healthy enough and sane enough to be able to sit down and develop coherent and viable strategies for working towards peace and reconciliation.

Overview of the Project

so this is the letter that i sent out to people, it sums up a lot of ideas. more to come...

It has probably been several years since the last time we have seen one
another face to face, as I personally have been here and there, and we
have all been busy. Currently I am in school studying Chinese Medicine,
and I have been dreaming of a project to start community-based acupuncture
centers or education facilities where Palestinians can learn the basic
tools of acupuncture and apply them in the ER as well as in daily life.
There are incredibly simple, effective, and economical methods to address
a variety of illnesses and traumas, including PTSD (or simply traumatic
stress disorder, as it were) among other things. (Each acupuncture needle
costs about 2cents, so an entire treatment can be done for less than 25
cents.) The idea, however, is to be able to leave communities with tools
to continue the work in the future without being dependent on the outside.
Disempowerment at the level of basic health is an oppressive form of
control and dehumanization, and the contribution to self-sufficiency can
be viewed as a form of struggle and resistance in itself. The main idea
for this trip is to begin to make contacts and networks within Israel and
Palestine among activists, medical practitioners, and grassroots
organizations to begin a long-term project of training individuals with
basic health care methods.

So I have three weeks at the end of this summer that I have a short break
from school where I would like to try to make this trip. I have put
together a budget - a plane ticket will cost about $1650, and calculating
about $30 per day (to be on the safe side...) brings a total of $2250 . Of
course, I will be staying with as many friends or sympathetic individuals
as I can throughout my stay, but I can't always count on that. I will be
making this trip by myself, unless anyone who gets this email is
interested! The more, the merrier. Below I have listed several goals for
this trip:

1. To begin the groundwork and investigation process of starting a project
that will ultimately lead to the mass training of Palestinian civilians in
basic acupuncture. This includes making contacts in Israel and the
Occupied Territories. Most of my time will be spent listening and speaking
with individuals and organizations to determine the best way to move
forward, and if there is even space to move forward.
2. To return better prepared with ideas for developing acupuncture
protocols specific to the needs of Palestinians.
3. Do as much documentation as possible. This is part of a committment to
be able to come back and do education about the trip and contribute to a
broader educational function when back home
here in the US.

I need your help! I am already up to my ears in debt from loans for
school, and I need assistance to help get this project off the ground. To
make things more complicated, I have been so busy with school that I am
starting my fundraising quite late, and must raise the money within the
next two to three weeks if I want to be able to get a reasonably priced
ticket. If any or all of the above goals moves you I would be very
grateful for any and all support, either financial or moral, that may be
out there. This trip is an effort to honor the struggles that we all have
close to our hearts.