Rather damp for a tall skinny guy

Ernest Hemingway said that writing was easy; all you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.

For this blog, my venous output is that I have a confession to make.

I don’t believe in Qi, as such.

In some circles, mostly the ones I frequent, this is heresy. It’s a conupernican-sized heresy.

Study of Eastern traditional medicine involves an understanding of the concept of the vital life force: qi or prahna, or mana. Descriptions can be tricky, but if you don’t have this vital life force, you cease to exist. Conversely, if your life force is at the right levels and in the right place, you may live a long, disease-free, healthy life.

The production, nurturing, and use of life force is a core principle of east asian medicine. The proliferation of holism and ideology within Eastern medicine has become well-known and well monetised. Nowadays its perfectly acceptable to discuss your Qi or prahna and the condition of your chakras or tiens. In the Middle Ages in the UK, doctors diagnosed with reference to the 4 humours, so its not solely the preserve of the East.

In traditional Eastern medicine, it’s essential to understand how qi manifests in the body and enables the balanced functions of internal organs and systems to comprehend the cause and presentation of disease.

Sounds interesting, so what’s my problem with qi

The author John Pirog puts it quite well

All Eastern acupuncture theory is metaphorical. Ancient civilizations attempted to grasp an understanding of the universe by searching for symbols. It is through a study of symbols that we access a part of our consciousness that can see connectedness where ordinary logic can see only separation…the ancients believed that such self-evident relationships could be rationally systematized to serve the interests of science. Through the mind’s ability to perceive metaphorically, the wholeness of the universe could become entirely perspicuous and infinite numbers of phenomena understandable through a finite body of universal symbols. And so, we find symbolism at the very core of Chinese medical theory, playing a role so prominent that at times the subject looks more like mythology than medicine. (Introduction, The Dark Warrior Guide to Chinese Medicine Vol I)

And, in my work at least, I’m more persuaded by science than mythology.

I blame Melyn Bragg. Listening to an episode of In Our Time (there are over a thousand!) entitled “Mitochondria,” Professor Nick Lane explained the science behind life force. His research explores how energy flow has shaped evolution over the past 4 billion years, utilising a combination of theoretical and experimental work to address the origin of life, the evolution of complex cells, and the peculiar behavior of sex. He says in essence humans are not objects but are complex chemical reactions taking place all the time in every cell of the body and thus can be described as being more flow than object.

It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it.

Nick summarises all this very succinctly, that we should be reminded from time to time of intuitive folk-wisdom and lead a balanced life (lifestyle relationships, exercise, and diet) over time (for decades, not just a few weeks of abstinence in January) with flow (see above). Nick Lane’s books help me with the science of Qi. I can therefore dispense with the mythology, poetic and evocative though it is.

Nevertheless, I can confidently attest to acupuncture’s effectiveness -every day I see the benefits people experience, sometimes transformative. Perhaps sometimes it’s difficult to say exactly why it works, and you may hear me resorting to Qi. Don’t beat me up, I’m allowed, I have a degree in this stuff!

So how does my chap, who is too damp for a skinny tall person, crop up? He cropped up in conversation with an irate Acupuncturist who was explaining my heresy to me, and we moved to the safer ground of talking about somebody else.

Dampness is a ‘pathogen’ in TCM speak, and its proliferation within the body leads to all kinds of problems. It’s associated with things like poor digestion, sluggishness, mental prevarication, and general fatigue, whereas the ectomorph in question would normally be associated with ‘wood’ (one of the 5 phases) and, as such, will be characterized by determination, competitiveness, and drive, like a tree that grows steadfast and solid.

Did anyone spot any symbolism or metaphors?

Metaphors are powerful cognitive tools that help us understand abstract concepts as concrete experiences. They work at both a conscious and unconscious level and frequently provide fertile ground for perceptual breakthroughs. They are double-edged. JL Borges, the Argentine author, wrote Censorship is the mother of metaphor.

I am for heresy and against censorship.

To be continued….

Chris

ps. Even Nick Lane resorts to Eastern energy theory. When explaining the unbelievably complex chemistry of the Krebs cycle, which rotates forward to produce energy for the body via respiration and, in reverse, builds organic molecules from water and carbon dioxide, he reduces this to Yin (building molecules) and Yang (producing energy).

Maybe the ancients did know a thing or two!