Things to Calculate

     One of my patients asked what we were treating and what did we have to calculate. It started my re-examining what the routine was and what I needed to take into consideration. There’s the season, of course, and right now we are moving into the beginning of summer according to the Chinese calendar. There’s also the day of the week (which is the most auspicious number?), where the moon is in its cycle/and where the planets are, and the hour of day.

     Acupuncture recognizes that the life force of all things, the qi, moves in flow with so many variables and one of these is the hour of the day. The organ systems function at their highest and lowest about 12 hours apart. The Large Intestine, for example, is at the height of its cycle from 5am to 7am and at its lowest at 5pm to 7pm, so if you needed to address concerns about this system, it would be best to have a patient in during this window.
     At acupuncture school, there used to be horary (that’s the name for these hour-related treatments) parties for patients late at night.


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I ask myself, What is the - perhaps only one of several but for me the – most interesting technology that shapes the space one usually calls Western culture, as distinct, say, from Chinese culture? The obvious answer – and here Father Ong has been my main modern living guide – is the alphabet. - Ivan Illich, In Conversation

Acupuncture Datebook

     I’ve always been fascinated with time keeping from clock making to timed burning candles; calendars have always played a big part. Back in 1980, I think I had two dozen calendars in my office and page turning on the first of the month was a group effort!

     The Chinese calendar has become a source of interest for me as well. So much so that I’ve created a coffee table publication for use in the office waiting area. It goes from January to December with a page for each day; and on that page it includes a acupuncture point appropriate to that season, the point name in English, and in pinyin as well as in Chinese characters, the point’s location, something about the spirit of the point and some bit of daily wisdom.

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The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle. - Anais Nin