- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Awareness
Conventional medicine is an essential part of recovery from illness, but traditional Chinese medicine might help, too.
According to Dimensions of Culture, traditional Chinese medicine revolves around the concept that “all of creation is born from the marriage of two polar principles, Yin and Yang.” The examples they use are earth and heaven, day and night, cold and hot, and even body and mind. When connected, these opposites are said to create harmony.
“The yin and yang symbol is helpful in representing this concept. Harmony means health, good weather, and good fortune, while disharmony leads to disease, disaster, and bad luck,” reports Dimensions of Culture. “The strategy of Chinese medicine is to restore harmony. Each human is seen as a world in miniature, and every person has a unique terrain to be mapped, a resilient yet sensitive ecology to be maintained.”
Experts equate this concept to a gardener irrigating his or her garden and using compost to promote healthy plants.
If you’ve heard of Dr. Bernie Siegel, you know that he’s a huge promoter of the link between outlook and recovery from illness, and part of this concept is how we view illness in general.
“We do not seek meaning, serenity or answers when our life is stable and peaceful,” Siegel says. “We accept our good fortune and don’t question our beliefs. But when life blesses us with afflictions, diseases, death, or loss, the search begins.”
This is why Siegel uses workshops to create awareness. “Pain is the unwanted gift that defines and protects us. You would literally lose parts of your body and ultimately your life if you were numb to all experiences. Yet our society promotes numbness in so many ways.”