Now we're a week into the New Year and have fulfilled some of our resolutions, like never to drink spiced rum and mulled wine and prosecco in the same night, or to eat carbs ever again, we're starting to reflect on what we're really going to do with our year.
In 2018, many of us in the Natural Medicine Collective have been inspired to fulfil our natural healing desires - to make a tincture, to try meditation, to do a yoga challenge or to experiment with essential oils. For some of us, it's related to permaculture goals, hoping to grow plants that can act as medicine. Others might feel that their healing resolution is to be kinder to themselves and others. Some resolutions are huge and visionary. Some are small yet vital. Some are spiritual, some are practical, some are both.
The resolutions we make are as diverse as the folk that populate the blockchain.
It's important for us to realise too, that resolutions are not necessarily about fixing anything that's broken, or making promises we can't keep. Sometimes, a resolution is just about creating a dream, helping us achieve goals, or putting into action something that's always just been a faint wish. Whatever it is for you, we're hoping it will be something you can return to and reflect about when December comes around!
Natural Medicine are offering 20 Steem worth of prizes to the best posts that outline a natural healing focussed plan for the new year.
- As usual, we reserve the right to allocate funds as we see fit.
- We're looking for posts that have a minimum of three paragraphs of original writing.
- Original photos appreciated.
- We'd also like to see quality - think about your formatting. We're happy to help with that in the Discord server.
- Dtube posts not accepted, mainly due to the difficulty and time taken to view them for our judges.
- Resteeming is appreciated, and ensure you use the #naturalmedicine tag and link back to this post in your writing. This can be a deciding factor between posts and helps spread the word to support what we do, so please make sure this rule is followed.
Due Date: Wednesday 16th 12 pm AEST.
Well I have not set any New Year resolution but yes I have set some intentions and the major one is to learn the Chinese Medicine Meridian System and I have already started working on it, I just hope I can gain enough knowledge on it as I am finding it a bit difficult to grasp. 💚
I tried to reply when I read this a couple of days ago, but for some reason Partiko would not let me post a comment (reported the bug to the Partiko gods, so they're looking into it).
I'd recommend that you either go do a course or find a practitioner who is vastly experienced who is willing to share their experience and knowledge to you about this - waaaay too much misinformation available on the internet and textbooks; this is not intentional or a conspiracy or anything like that, but there are two main reason why I say this.
Because nearly all modern TCM textbooks coming out of China since the 1960's are edited and censored heavily by 'editorial committees'. The esoteric nature of the channel system goes against much of what is Communist doctrine, so anything that is 'woo-woo' is edited out, or derided as being the 'superstitions of a feudal-imperialist age'.
Therefore anything that Western students and scholars get their hands on is tainted, and combined with the very linear thinking that is second-nature to Western minds (or should I say, post-Aristotelian minds) gets mis-interpreted.
So the vast majority of thinking and writing about the channel system is too literal, and too linear. Although at least in the West, there is the beginnings of a shift, as more Western scholars get their hands on original texts and translate for themselves without (or at least with as little of) the biases of previous decades.
So for example: the channels don't actually exist.
Yes, that's right. I said it. They don't exist. It is stated explicitly in the Huang Di New Jing when describing the channels and their nature.... they are not "things". OK, so there's a lot more to that statement, but it's something I always stressed to my students.
There are two key, fundamental, essential concepts you need to fully grasp when trying to understand the channels: yīnyàng theory, and the I Ching. These co-existent ideas are essential to understanding the ancient Chinese paradigm (180 degrees different to the Western scientific paradigm); that there is nothing stable in the cosmos (the Dào).
Without knowing these, anyone will mistaken the channels as being the circulation or lymphatic system. This is not correct, as these are described elsewhere explicitly.
Reading Paul Unschuld's Medicine In China: A History Of Ideas is a good start to understanding the real historical context for the development of the ideas. Beginning to grasp the I Ching in all its complex simplicity (or is it simple complexity?) helps also. But the real learning always comes from transmission from a teacher - find that person! In terms of primary sources, the Huang Di New Jing/Yellow Emperors Classic of Medicine is a good place, but only the first few chapters that describe the theoretical underpinnings. For channel-specific, the texts are the Ling Shu/Spiritual Pivot or the Nan Jing/Classic of Difficulties. Unschuld & Tessenow have done very very very good translations of the first two texts, but maybe difficult to read for a beginner (but as close to truth as you can get).
The key to remember though always always always is that 1+1≠2, and the channels do not exist.
Happy to chat further via Discord if you want to know more....
😊🙏🏽☯️
First of all a Big Thank you @metametheus for such a detailed explanation. Thanx for all your efforts for bringing so much information to me and highlighting for me how to go ahead.
Yes after reading content online and some books I feel a little confused and I realize that I need a teacher for this subject. I will connect with you on discord please to get more information as that would be better.
I am very grateful to you for being so helpful.
Blessings and Good wishes for you💚
What a great intention @nainaztengra The information is so vast and a bit complex o find too. But, even moreso in ayurveda! Do you know that system? But both can be so useful. Enjoy your studying! You are more ambitious than i am to delve in and study this stuff alone. I am joining a group study in 2020 to become a TCM 5 Elements Practitioner. I've been recieving treatments for 4 years now. It's such a wonderful system. Truly amazing! Again, enjoy your studies 💕
Thank you @yogajill. I have just got my hands on this and I am still not sure of the way ahead, but I am getting some real good advice here which will be useful for me in planning out my studies.
Best wishes
Oh gosh me too! We should share notes!
Posted using Partiko Android
@riverflows, sure once I am able to start getting on it, I will surely.
Here is my entry.
https://steemit.com/naturalmedicine/@belleamie/healing-resolution-for-2019-developing-a-food-forest-and-medicinal-hedgerow-on-the-urban-homestead
I'm excited to participate. I've been thinking lots about the upcoming year, especially the transformation of underutilized garden space to food forest, health goals, and growing as an herbalist.
Excellent challenge, thanks!!!
I'm glad you mentioned being kinder to ourselves, which many of us could benefit from doing, and which is a part of my intentions for 2019. Marek regularly gets on my case for being kind to everyone except myself. I need to do better on that one.
Another goal of mine, though not directly related to natural medicine, is to finally learn and internalize enough Polish to have a real conversation with Marek's mom without the need for him to translate.
Of course, since she too is a lifelong organic gardener, and has been gardening the same allotment in Warsaw since the 70s, she has a wealth of knowledge, and that may well lend itself to an exchange of natural medicine knowledge as well.
Anyway, yes I'll be participating, and I'm looking forward to reading the other entries.
Can't wait to read yours.. there's some great intentions right there!
Posted using Partiko Android
So does this mean you have drunk spiced rum, mulled wine and prosecco in the same night before? lol
I'll have to give this some thought. I have a general idea of what my resolutions are. I always viewed resolutions as obligations in the past, obligations to benefit others for them to be happier with me. Then, for a time, I stopped doing resolutions altogether. In recent years, I've been viewing them as goals, that we do for ourselves, not for others or to please others. But my first reflex when I think "resolution" is to think of what others want of me. However, I know that "resolute" is to be determined in one's chosen path. So I always need to give more thought and to figure out what my personal chosen path will be that I feel resolute about in regards to the coming year.
Thankfully, I still have ten days to think and write about it :D
Ah @binkypod you clearly haven't met me yet... haha. I like your contemplation of the word 'resolution'. I see it as a goal setting activity and there's definitely literature that says to write or articulate it makes it more likely we will put it in action.
Posted using Partiko Android
this is great and such an important act of self care and really something we all should be promoting, well done for coming up with yet another awesome challenge xxxx
It was @walkerland who started the idea... it's a good one and I'm reflecting now too!
Posted using Partiko Android
Well well well... I didn't think I would set any resolutions this year (I hardly ever do really...) but just yesterday we spent a few hours making vision boards! I think that dreaming for what I would like to achieve in building up our crazy homestead can count right?
That's absolute perfect!!!!
Posted using Partiko Android
Ok cool!!! I'll try and get it out in time otherwise whatever it's still a good exercise 😀
Yay! A lovely natural post to kickstart the year.
Hmm... I have a couple of days to myself now. Maybe I'll tie this in with a post about the upcoming new year Taoist astrology stuff.....🤔
Oh we would love that! 😍
Be sure to drop it in the promo or comments when you do.
Nate
Here’s my entry.... just in time!!!
https://steemit.com/naturalmedicine/@metametheus/things-are-going-to-get-better-s6ildsrr
Posted using Partiko iOS
I didn't know if I would be able to get this done... been working on it all day! Just finished. My entry. Happy Healthy Teeth https://steemit.com/naturalmedicine/@mymoontao/happy-healthy-teeth
Thanks @riverflows... your little nudge worked 😉
Here is my entry:
https://steempeak.com/naturalmedicine/@thistle-rock/planning-my-best-for-2019
Better late than never, here it is:
https://steemit.com/steemstem/@zen-art/2019-a-stress-free-y