The Dao of Change (Part 3)

The system of medicine we gravitate towards when we’re sick reveals the underlying paradigm of healing that we have ‘faith’ in. And our tacit emotional investment in that paradigm or worldview plays a significant role in our capacity to heal. 

In light of this, the role of the clinician is really to foster a state of hope - empowering patients by showing them new possibilities for healing and recovery. 

In our ongoing exploration of the view of classical Chinese Medicine (CCM), my goal is not to  assert that this is the ‘best’ medicine - as explained in the last article, no such thing exists.

But what I am trying to make clear is that, regardless of the system of medicine you personally gravitate towards, you at all times have the capacity to heal - to ‘pro-cure’ an innate state of health.

A key insight of CCM is the notion that illness and disease are points on a spectrum of imbalance involving the body, the environment and psychological forces.

And this is why Chinese medicine relates to the common cold very seriously - understanding that ‘Wind-Cold invasion’ as easily leading to further complications if left unattended. 

The Shang Han Lun (傷寒論,Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases) is a highly revered Classical text of the Han dynasty, compiled by Zhang Zhongjing sometime before 220 BCE. 

A systematic study of how Wind-Cold can damage the body and give rise to various diseases, the Shang Han Lun offered effective herbal remedies for treating the levels of imbalance caused by invasion of Wind-Cold - many of which are still in use today.

Worthy of note here is that the constant underlying low-level stress which has unfortunately become the norm for most 21st Century urban dwellers makes us highly susceptible to Wind-Cold invasion. 

For many of us, our lifestyle and dietary choices are out of sync and we are unable to adapt to changes in both the outer and inner climate. 

Upon contracting Wind-Cold, the body registers a chill, and develops a runny nose, shivering, and sneezing to try to push out that cold. This stage corresponds to a viral infection - please refer to this article for self-care methods to resolve a viral illness.

If the body cannot mount an adequate response to Wind-Cold, the problem goes a little deeper into the body.  At this stage the body responds by developing a fever and sweat in an attempt to stop the invasion penetrating further - now classed as Wind-Heat. This stage may correspond with a bacterial infection. 

If this persists the body will start to stagnate fluids, making mucus (called Dampness) in an attempt to quell the Wind-Heat (fever) and slow down the progression of the pathogen. This stage, if not resolved, may later become associated with fungal/parasitic infestation.

Although suppressive strategies do exist, a physician of CCM takes great care not to suppress any of the body’s natural responses where feasible. Instead, the physician would rather guide the patient’s body to resolve the Wind-Cold invasion and return to a balanced relationship. 

Understood in this way, Wind-Cold invasion is the causative factor (pathogen) and Heat and Damp are the body’s corrective and constructive responses (physiology). 

The fever and sweat that ensue are the body’s attempt to get rid of the Wind-Cold -the fever is understood as a healthy response and is therefore not ‘suppressed’ by the physician unless it overwhelms the body. 

The fever ‘breaks’ when the Wind-Cold is resolved - leaving the patient feeling better in a state of restored harmony. 

The body has evolved to protect the primacy of life. So if a long term infection or emotional imbalances are not resolved, the body has very intricate strategies for slowing down and containing the progression of the pathogens - disease causing agents.

The body can also naturally create remission in response to life threatening imbalances. This process - called ‘creating latency’ - involves hiding or suppressing the pathogens in order to slow down disease progression and maintain homeostasis (physiological balance) - thus preserving life. 

Areas of latency can occur through the creation of new blood vessels (spider veins, varicosities), and benign lumps and bumps just below the skin called Luo channels. 

At a later stage, if the pathogen continues to threaten the body’s functioning, it will further create latency in the gums, major joints such as the knees, and minor joints such as toes and fingers. 

At this point chronic degenerative diseases such as arthritis, and autoimmunity can develop as the body creates what are called ‘divergent channels’ to maintain latency in the joint spaces. 

This process of latency is responsible for the strange signs and symptoms that do not have an apparent logical or verifiable cause, and are termed ‘untreatable’ by the Western medical model. 

Latency is only created in response to either unresolved external and internal factors of imbalance, or more extreme, life threatening conditions such as contracting novel viruses naturally or through vaccination. 

How successfully the body creates latency determines how well we can ‘recover’ from such illnesses or the side effects of vaccination. When the body runs out of resources, it loses the capacity to create latency, this is when we see the proliferation of malignant tumors and metastasis. 

There are also instances that defy all rational explanation, where patients recover ‘miraculously’ or experience spontaneous remission of a life threatening disease. 

To conclude then - rather than relating to sickness in a disempowering way, in terms of a plethora of different diseases, CCM sees all ill health as points on a scale of imbalance. 

Signs and symptoms are not inconveniences, but an accurate gauge of the nature of imbalance and the basis for establishing precisely what needs to be changed. 

Viewed in this way, we are not victims of sickness, but beneficiaries of a genuine opportunity for growth and development.

All sickness is an invitation to change. If we ignore that invitation to change our lifestyle - mindsets, eating, and behaviour - the imbalance will become more pronounced and sickness will worsen. 

But if we find the courage to change we will heal, regardless of the agent, clinician or system of healing. 

And on a deeper level, when we wake up to the reality of who we really are and understand the source of our experiences, we discover an innate and limitless source of peace and healing. 

This is our innate health - the Dao or Being.