In 2013, Emperor’s College celebrates 30 years of
“inspiring the future of medicine”.
What developments in integrative medicine do you
hope to see in the next 30 years and how will you help to implement them?
What a time to ask this question…the world is on the
threshold of change like very few times in history or myth. Human cognition of
existence is catching fire, when I was a kid the song lyric “Run for your life
the earth’s on fire” was for a moment the sound of one hand clapping. A koan
that stopped the heart caught the attention and altered the trajectory of a few
minds. It begged the question “what are we doing?” and since that time the
discoveries in biology, physics and medicine have leap frogged over each other
to reach this threshold. What we do know is that we don’t know…much, and that
is our greatest achievement. What we don’t know is the magic that is life. That
dark space is where healing happens.
It brings me
satisfaction to see that the discoveries of recent years confirm the wisdom of
the ancients, that we have come in a spiral to a point that carries connection
to the Tao, the Dreamtime and the Dhamma, yet is a new expression of them all.
Most important I believe, is the spreading acknowledgment that nothing is as it
appears, all things are interconnected and we are not the limited, culture
bound, physical body-minds we thought we were.
For medicine this
means the patient, client, seeker, is the guide; and illness, trauma,
disharmony is the teacher. Healers are facilitators in this relationship,
this task, this challenge. Healers are also the witnesses, observers and
students. Healers devote time and attention to accumulating massive amounts of
information, developing discernment and insight but are not the organism in
question and must join in partnership with the seeking individual rather than
controlling or disquieting that person. The most important thing we can learn
is that we do not know what we think we know and even that is subject to
change.
People have access to
information like never before. Patients are not just putty in the hands of
medical practitioners any more. Consumers are driving the machine and it is
beginning to turn, slowly as a giant ship in the water. It is turning to follow
the teaching of Traditional Oriental Medicine and the desires of the consumers
in putting prevention first, and supporting what is well on principle. What
does that take? Environmental restoration and protection, nutritious food,
clean water, sanitation, happiness are the factors required for good health. In
the immediate moment Happiness is the most important factor. In sickness or in
health, happiness is the most important factor.
For my own selfish
delight I commit to being happy, to feeling that happiness with life each day
and to encourage that in others. Cannot help anyone else without that. When
happy we allow the cells of the body to function without interference and they
have what it takes to form tissues who have what it takes to form organelles
who have what it takes to form organs who have what it takes to form the
organism that may be us. And we have what it takes to form communities that
thrive.
It is the responsibility of healers to
encourage faith in the cells of the body, joy in life, happiness in the moment,
not to instill fear and control.
We need to say “wake
up, relax and live right now.”
This is a care not
cure model. It is an honest and direct communication that fosters independence
and strength and personal growth at all levels. It means accepting diversity
and expression as non-threatening and stimulating. It means facing our fears,
it means that courage is celebrated for what it is every moment of every day.
Schools, hospitals,
and other monolithic edifices are going away. Where once we herded together
unwillingly or ambivalently we are now able to focus on what brings each of us
our bliss. This is happening for everyone. The apparent discrepancy between
rich and poor, haves and have nots is an illusion. Happiness is not based in
materialism. Well being does not depend on wealth.
Integrative Medicine
is the crest of a wave that carries medicine, engineering, philosophy, art,
writing, and adventure into the mixing pot. It takes all of us, it is a
restructuring of society, not a piece of it, not a practice, not a guild. It’s
about all of us. Tech is changing the face of the world but the biggest and
most important change that is happening now is the paradigm shift to personal
power founded in happiness. We are blooming.
That is what the TCM perspective brings into
the light today: we are all interconnected, we are not separate from each other
and we are not what we seem. That is what quantum physics brings to light
today:
we are all
interconnected, we are not separate from each other and we are not what we
seem. The meeting of these two tales is a fusion reaction. We are in for a lot
of energy.
What am I doing to
help implement these changes? I am as enthused with gratitude and excitement
and awe as I – a powerfully sensational being – can be, and I am present for
every moment. I watch for and let go of any aspect of anger, delusion or denial
that comes by and proactively fill my time and mind with appreciation of the
beauty around me. I am amazed by what
can be done with attention to the moment. I am amazed at the unfolding of
discernment that is an apparently infinite process. I fully enjoy the
experience of life and I know that is what we are all here for. So I share this
when requested and observe it with heartfelt appreciation. That is what I am
doing to implement these changes. When others recognize this in me, I see it in
them as well and that connection is a spark that has a macrocosmic effect. This
ripple is the sweetness we bring forth, that is what real health is, extending
beyond time and beyond space.
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