I would have liked to blog more since starting school almost two months ago, but I'm still learning how to balance my present loves with my future plans. Trying to finish four years of school in three years is (surprise) pretty demanding. Although I'm no less passionate about my choice than I was when I started, sometimes it's hard not to groan about the amount of information I'm expected to cram into my weary brain -- even though it's stuff that I do enjoy learning. And because I chose full-time school over school and a part-time job, I feel a little guilty whenever I choose to devote an evening to just taking it easy. Yet, I have been able to find some time for activities that aren't entirely related to school.
Right now I'm experimenting with a "diet" that started as a cleanse and evolved into... well... something else. I'm going vegan for the next ten days, avoiding white flour and refined sugar, and I'm not eating anything from a box. I've also sworn off coffee and beer in favor of red wine and tea. So far, it's been a fun experiment. I've been living on vegetables, fruit, rice, and bread baked from scratch. I've discovered that kale is delicious, in spite of the fact that it's just a humble leaf. And I've been trying to eat seasonal produce when it's available, like nuts and squash and apples and beans.
I celebrated Mabon (the Autumn Equinox) with Travis, and made my own incense. Perhaps it's nerdy to be into Pagan holidays, but I've decided that, at this point in my life, it's no use trying to deny the things I'm into that others may find hippy-ish/nerdy/odd, like listening to CD's of Irish drinking songs, arranging my furnitures according to the principles of feng shui, reading Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series while on the treadmill, absinthe, Alfred Lord Tennyson, miniatures, and astrology. I've been trying to embrace my love for the things that cross the line between "so dorky it's cool" and "just plain dorky." I've also been trying to share my passion with other people (that is, when I actually have the opportunity to talk to people outside of school). Especially Traditional Chinese Medicine. People from all walks of life have at least heard of it and most are curious about how it works. And I'm delighted to share what little I've learned so far. In the near future, I'd like to post a blog about it.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Manifesto, of Sorts
Welcome, Gentle Reader, to my Blog.
In spite of my initial scorn for blogging sites, I have found, time and again, that some of the most interesting content on the Internet is indeed found on people's blogs. The voyeur in me treasures the opportunity to gaze into the lives of others, to read the anonymous advice of a stranger, to garner inspiration from the countless art projects and recipes that they kindly post for all to see, be it out of some genuine sense of altruism or some inflated sense of self-importance. Yesterday, I spent 10 minutes looking at a photo montage someone had posted of their family making pickles. Today, I read a study some psych undergrad was conducting in order to see if cell phone use was having any impact on election polling. I usually come to a blog via search-engine looking for a recipe or a bit of information, but occasionally I'll stay and just read a while, especially if the blogger lives on a farm or has a massive garden.
So why am I here? Maybe it's because I feel that I have some helpful information worth sharing. Maybe I just need a place where I can be completely open about what a crazy new-age hippie/Earth nerd I actually am, underneath this indie rock exterior. Maybe I'd like to connect with some others like me. Though I don't expect much to come of my blogging, I do promise that I'll never post any poetry on here, or ask you to suffer through awkward descriptions of anything deeply personal.
But I guess I should get a little bit personal, just to let the blogging world know a bit about who I am. I recently enrolled at The American Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Roseville, Minnesota. It's one of the first programs of its kind, designed to provide aspiring American acupuncturists with an education as comprehensive and complete as what's offered in China. Most of the professors are from China, have their PhD's in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and practice in the clinic at the Academy. Though the master's program is pretty rigorous and takes 4 years to get through, I doubt it's half as demanding as a Chinese program, where a person has to be a certified MD to practice.
You may be wondering how it could take 4 years to learn how to stick needles in people, but Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is so much more than just acupuncture. In every Chinese province, there are two main hospitals: one that offers Western Medicine and one that offers TCM. Both play different but equally important roles in the community, and both are considered equally legitimate. Western Medicine is used more for catastrophic injury and acute illness, while the TCM hospital helps patients suffering from chronic illnesses, degenerative diseases, functional problems that diminish quality of life, and illnesses that manifest with a variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms -- in other words, patients whose Western doctors can't find anything wrong. It's my belief that this latter category of patients, the ones that would be treated with TCM methods in China, tend to be overlooked and brushed aside here in the United States. If, years after an injury, a patient still suffers from pain, they are usually told to "take Tylenol" and just deal with it. The injury has been treated and thus, the Western doctor has played his or her role. TCM is patient-based rather than illness-based, meaning that the treatment doesn't stop until the patient feels better.
The practitioner of Chinese Medicine has to be willing to act as a coach, a teacher, and a counselor as well as a doctor. Getting better involves so much more than just handing out pills. An obese person with high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes, sleep apnea and lower back pain may come to the clinic to be treated only for the back pain, but their health will never fully improve until they lose weight. The TCM doctor has to be willing to offer the tools necessary to help this individual change their entire lifestyle. This usually means spending more than 10 minutes with a patient. This is the main reason that Chinese Medicine appeals to me.
My life, however, is more than just studying Chinese Medicine. Okay, it's not too much more right now, but I also love cooking, gardening, making things by hand, playing music, and occasionally watching really awful television programs like Montel Williams. I spend most of my time thinking about how I can obtain a sense of peace in my own life. I like to try to live in harmony with the natural rhythm of the Earth and try never to take a nice day for granted. I love to watch things grow, whether it's a seedling, an idea, or a project, or a person. I wish I had no need for grocery stores or utility companies.
So that's me. And this is my blog. The recorded history of a 24-year old woman trying her best to become a medicine woman in this modern world.
In spite of my initial scorn for blogging sites, I have found, time and again, that some of the most interesting content on the Internet is indeed found on people's blogs. The voyeur in me treasures the opportunity to gaze into the lives of others, to read the anonymous advice of a stranger, to garner inspiration from the countless art projects and recipes that they kindly post for all to see, be it out of some genuine sense of altruism or some inflated sense of self-importance. Yesterday, I spent 10 minutes looking at a photo montage someone had posted of their family making pickles. Today, I read a study some psych undergrad was conducting in order to see if cell phone use was having any impact on election polling. I usually come to a blog via search-engine looking for a recipe or a bit of information, but occasionally I'll stay and just read a while, especially if the blogger lives on a farm or has a massive garden.
So why am I here? Maybe it's because I feel that I have some helpful information worth sharing. Maybe I just need a place where I can be completely open about what a crazy new-age hippie/Earth nerd I actually am, underneath this indie rock exterior. Maybe I'd like to connect with some others like me. Though I don't expect much to come of my blogging, I do promise that I'll never post any poetry on here, or ask you to suffer through awkward descriptions of anything deeply personal.
But I guess I should get a little bit personal, just to let the blogging world know a bit about who I am. I recently enrolled at The American Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Roseville, Minnesota. It's one of the first programs of its kind, designed to provide aspiring American acupuncturists with an education as comprehensive and complete as what's offered in China. Most of the professors are from China, have their PhD's in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and practice in the clinic at the Academy. Though the master's program is pretty rigorous and takes 4 years to get through, I doubt it's half as demanding as a Chinese program, where a person has to be a certified MD to practice.
You may be wondering how it could take 4 years to learn how to stick needles in people, but Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is so much more than just acupuncture. In every Chinese province, there are two main hospitals: one that offers Western Medicine and one that offers TCM. Both play different but equally important roles in the community, and both are considered equally legitimate. Western Medicine is used more for catastrophic injury and acute illness, while the TCM hospital helps patients suffering from chronic illnesses, degenerative diseases, functional problems that diminish quality of life, and illnesses that manifest with a variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms -- in other words, patients whose Western doctors can't find anything wrong. It's my belief that this latter category of patients, the ones that would be treated with TCM methods in China, tend to be overlooked and brushed aside here in the United States. If, years after an injury, a patient still suffers from pain, they are usually told to "take Tylenol" and just deal with it. The injury has been treated and thus, the Western doctor has played his or her role. TCM is patient-based rather than illness-based, meaning that the treatment doesn't stop until the patient feels better.
The practitioner of Chinese Medicine has to be willing to act as a coach, a teacher, and a counselor as well as a doctor. Getting better involves so much more than just handing out pills. An obese person with high blood pressure, Type 2 Diabetes, sleep apnea and lower back pain may come to the clinic to be treated only for the back pain, but their health will never fully improve until they lose weight. The TCM doctor has to be willing to offer the tools necessary to help this individual change their entire lifestyle. This usually means spending more than 10 minutes with a patient. This is the main reason that Chinese Medicine appeals to me.
My life, however, is more than just studying Chinese Medicine. Okay, it's not too much more right now, but I also love cooking, gardening, making things by hand, playing music, and occasionally watching really awful television programs like Montel Williams. I spend most of my time thinking about how I can obtain a sense of peace in my own life. I like to try to live in harmony with the natural rhythm of the Earth and try never to take a nice day for granted. I love to watch things grow, whether it's a seedling, an idea, or a project, or a person. I wish I had no need for grocery stores or utility companies.
So that's me. And this is my blog. The recorded history of a 24-year old woman trying her best to become a medicine woman in this modern world.
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