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The Concept of 'Holism'
We
human beings live in nature, so the circumstances in nature will influence our health, be it
cold and damp, or hot and dry. The movement and variations of all the things in
nature, the succession of the four seasons, are bound to directly or indirectly
influence the physiological activities and pathological changes of the human
body, just as surely as the moon affects the tides of this, our beautiful planet we call Earth.
For
instance, patients with Yin [cold] deficiency [they seem feel hot most of the time] are better in winter but worse in
summer, whereas patients with Yang [heat] deficiency [feeling cold] are better in summer. This is the concept of the unity of human and nature, also
called "correspondence between human and universe", and why your
Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner will ask such seemingly strange questions on your
visits!
Here we have the core of patient care. Holism [whole-ism] holds the idea that not only the human body
itself is an organic entity, but it also holds that humans and nature as well as humans within
society, form a single entity. In the course of the recovery from any illness,
be it body, mind ,emotion or spiritual the concept of the unity of the body and the
other factors must be taken all together.
The
organs and the tissues in human body are inseparable. Each organ and each
tissue has its own function individually. The meridian system links organs internally and links the extremities externally. This means that the human body
has an holistically integrity. The organs promote their individual functions,
and they also discipline each other.
Although disease [dis-ease] often occurs locally, it
can on the other hand reflect the situation of the organs together with the
dependant state of Qi, [energy] blood and fluid, for example we are prone to 'passing' illnesses when in a weakened state.
Because of the
relationship between lung and large intestine in the Chinese system, when a
cough is accompanied with constipation, we can stop the cough by purging heat
in the large intestine because these two meridians are linked.
Another example of a diagnostic tool / 'window' of the Lung
[and its partner the Large Intestine] is the SKIN think excema /psoriasis, think holistically here, stress rashes
come through the emotional aspect.
In
the family example these two organs and their partners are - you might say -
husband and wife. Keeping to the family analogy another way of understanding
how the organs and their accompanying emotions are held together, we say
that when all are put in a circle, going around it clockwise each one is acting
as mother to the next, across the circle the example of the grandparent is
disciplining the child.
Not
only the body itself is an organic whole, the body and the mind are in a single
entity, they promote or hinder the development of each other.
The
human emotional activities are derived from and governed by the five Zang
[solid] organs, liver, heart, spleen lungs and kidney, with their respective partners.
The spirit, however, also has
its counteraction on the vital activities "the mind governs the body"
and each organ has it’s associated emotional negative reaction, Spleen &
Stomach = add worry, think ulcers here - heart and small intestine, indigestion and heart attacks are often confused, kidneys and bladder are affected by the emotion of fear, bed wetting for another example.
I hope this short article has
encouraged you to investigate further into the healing process, you might like to go now to “Why
Study Healing?”
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