HonCode

Go Back   HER2 Support Group Forums > Articles of Interest
Register Gallery FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-31-2013, 01:03 PM   #1
'lizbeth
Senior Member
 
'lizbeth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 2,214
Post Knowing How to Be - Charles A. Moss, MD

an excerpt from Power of the Five Elements
by Charles A. Moss, MD

The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance

Knowing How
and Mind-Body Medicine

Thus Knowing How is the maintenance of life
Do not fail to observe the Four Seasons
And to adapt to heat and cold,
To Harmonize elation and anger
And to be calm in activity as in rest . . .
In this way having deflected the perverse energies
There will be long life and everlasting vision

-from the Nei Jing Su Wen

"Premature aging and most illnesses are the result of failed adaption, which leads to elevated levels of the main stress hormone, cortisol, and to changes in the mid brain, the area that interfaces emotions and hormonal secretions. Poor adaption sets the stage for many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, and autoimmune disorders. Ancient Chinese physicians, though not aware of the mechanisms modern medicine has since discovered, still were cognizant of the importance of adaptation in maintaining health and longevity.

Many people are asking the same questions today - how can I prevent stress-induced disease and how can I get older without aging prematurely? The answers are contained in knowing how to be, the ancient prescription for adaption that is as relevant today as it was in China in 200 BCE, During the past 30 years I have combined these Taoist (pronounced Dow-ist) ideas with modern mind-body medicine and nutritional therapies to help my patients regain the adaptive powers of knowing how.

The Chinese Taoist physicians realize that the path to "immortality" was dependent on maintain physical health as well as focusing on the life of the spirit. The Nei Jing, the great text of the world's first truly holistic health-care system, described in a systematic manner how to adapt and thrive through knowing how. The Taoists learned that they could enhance longevity through internal transformation, meditation, breathing, exercise, and diet. Their greatest insight into healthy aging was the recognition that self-knowledge, positive attitudes, and spiritual practice ward off disease and improve a person's chances of living a long and healthy life.

I remember to this day when I recognized the power of the Five Elements in regaining health and adaptation. It was my first program at Oaken Holt, 1975. The acupuncture clinic was on the first floor of the manor house, next to the Quonset hut where classes were held. We interviewed Samuel, a thin, timid, middle-aged man disabled from chronic neck pain and fatigue. We focused our questions on what the pain felt like and what made it better or worse. When we finished questioning Samuel, Worsley came up, shook his hand and asked whom he respected the most in his life and who respected him. Samuel, taken aback for a moment, had a hard time answering those questions, as well as queries about his father, who was killed in World War II, when Samuel was fourteen.

Worsley diagnosed Samuel as having a Metal causative factor. He treated Samuel with acupuncture, stimulating points on his chest and arms. Two days later Samuel returned, smiling and appearing much more relaxed. His pain was 90 percent relieved, his energy and mood tremendously better. I was stunned by the change.

Samuel's current pain, Worsley explained, was derived from a poorly adapted Metal Element energy that had been injured in childhood by the loss of his father and was manifesting now in not only in pain but in poor self-esteem and a pervasive sense of loss. Treating the underlying energetic imbalance with acupuncture freed Samuel to adapt more effectively and regain knowing how. The connection between earlier traumas and events and the specificity of later health consequences was a basic tenet of these concepts, something modern medicine was unable to explain. I realized then that the answers to my questions about health and aging well were to be found in that manor house in the Midlands of England. I would find later in my own practice that my patient's knowledge of the Five Elements was itself a path for adaptation and regaining knowing how.

In the early 1980s I became aware of a new field in mind-body medicine, psychoneuroimmunology, which was beginning to explain how life-long attitudes and behavior led to premature aging and disease. Striking to me was the similarity between the knowing how of the Five Elements and this new research. I have since helped my patients regain adaptation with a synthesis of these ancient Taoist truths and cutting-edge research on the function of brain. My findings have led to the formulation of the Five Adaptation Types, an integration of ancient wisdom and modern science that has become a road map to stress resistance and healthy aging.

Today, though Chinese medicine has made great inroads into the landscape of the American health-care delivery system, the wisdom of its conceptual framework has often been overlooked. Most current treatment with acupuncture and Chinese herbs is tailored to the disease model of Western medicine, ignoring the basis of the ancient system. Yet, knowing how is possibly the most important contribution ever made by Chinese medicine for improving health, reducing stress, and ensuring healthy aging. The Five Elements, as I learned thirty years ago in England and am still learning today from my patients, are the conduit for applying these brilliant insights from 2500 years ago to health issues in our own stressful times."

by Charles A. Moss, MD
__________________
Diagnosed 2007
Stage IIb Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Pagets, 3 of 15 positive nodes

Traditional Treatment: Mastectomy and Axillary Node Dissection followed by Taxotere, 6 treatments and 1 year of Herceptin, no radiation
Former Chemo Ninja "Takizi Zukuchiri"

Additional treatments:
GP2 vaccine, San Antonio Med Ctr
Prescriptive Exercise for Cancer Patients
ENERGY Study, UCSD La Jolla

Reconstruction: TRAM flap, partial loss, Revision

The content of my posts are meant for informational purposes only. The medical information is intended for general information only and should not be used in any way to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease
'lizbeth is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:48 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright HER2 Support Group 2007 - 2021
free webpage hit counter