Acupuncture for Transformation

http://www.361-acupuncture-points.com/2011/09/02/acupuncture-transformation By Jeffrey Goodman LAc 503-312-9178 Oriental medicine is a safe and extremely old way of healing, with more than 2,000 years of development. It is different from the practice of medicine which is most common in the western world. The Western medical model considers the body as a physical thing and treats it as something other than and separate from the mind. Oriental medicine views the mind and the body as an integrated phenomenon. Western medical practices are focused on the elimination of symptoms. The aim of medical treatment, from the perspective of Oriental medicine, is to establish a balance of forces within the person and facilitate a natural relationship with the environment. Symptoms are clues which offer a description of the pattern of an imbalance and indicate areas of weakness. Correcting the imbalance will naturally work to alleviate the symptoms, not simply mask them. The Chinese system of acupuncture identies the location and characteristics of several hundred points which serve to energize the body. Acupuncture points have names which are descriptive of their characteristic qualities, and categories which indicate their application for treatment. Extremely ne stainless steel needles are inserted into these points to adjust the energy owing through them. A typical treatment might involve a dozen points, used in a combination designed to act in a synergistic fashion. Acupuncture is often associated with the treatment of physical illness and pain. However, physical healing is simply one of the possible uses of acupuncture. Acupuncture can be used for emotional healing and spiritual transformation. Thoughts and feelings have signicant effects on the health of the body. Careful study and observation of the physical body will indicate a pattern which is reective of mental and emotional states. An awareness of psychology will similarly reveal a pattern which is indicative of a spiritual state. Energy which is blocked will lead to disease, and ultimately physical disability. Everyone wishes to live a satisfying life. We have some basic needs, such as food and shelter, and psychological needs for self-expression and recognition. In the process of growing we are given direction by our parents, and look to the example of others for answers to the question of who and what we are. Our needs are met through relations with others and with the world we are living in. When our relations with others are not able to provide us with the things which we need we begin to question - what is it that I am looking for? This proves to be a turning point in our relationship to life. Somehow we have arrived in a place that does not correspond to who and what we wish and need to be. We have forgotten ourselves and believed in things which are not true. The world seems to be quite different than what we assumed it was going to be. At this point we are faced with a choice: we can either pretend that

everything is just ne, or we can seek to transform our life into something which is more meaningful, and therefore also more satisfying to us. The transformation of our life proves to be a difcult but ultimately inescapable challenge. What makes it difcult is our lack of a proper psychological education, and the circumstances which would conspire to make us conform to a common consensual reality. What makes it inescapable is the fact that it is not possible to avoid making choices, and living with the consequences of our choices. The world as we experience it is effectively a reection of our beliefs and attitudes about ourselves. Our physical body is a manifestation of the choices which we have made. As the manifestation of our consciousness the physical experience is something that originates in the Heart and mind of the person. Our energy creates the form of our experience. There are certain places at which there is a nexus which links together the multiple dimensions of our experience. These points are primary alignment points for the Lightbody. One of the ways in which acupuncture can be helpful is to establish or conrm the correspondence of the higher and lower aspects of experience through the use of these alignment points. In the process of relating with others we experiment with playing different roles, seeking to nd the ones which suit us. It often happens that in the process of our experience there are painful things which happen. These can cause there to be an emotional wound which blocks or distorts the energy which serves illuminate our inner experience. There can be a kind of fear which develops that gets in the way of having an entirely open and honest relationship with life, and with the people we are close with. This kind of circumstance is often the underlying imbalance which leads to depression, and when it becomes chronic can manifest as a degenerative disorder. Acupuncture works directly within the matrix of energy and manifestation to facilitate a nervous break-through. This greatly accelerates the process of psychological and spiritual maturation. The truth of who and what we are is something extraordinary and unique. In our lives we are struggling to manifest this and are wanting to know how we can do this. Actually what is happening is that we are participating in the evolution of consciousness, and in the manifestation of Spirit in this material world. Love is the true source of life, and the process of our experience is a way of growing to know and manifest this Love in a conscious way. Because Love is the source of who and what we are, what we are needing to do is to remember this in the process of our lives. Many acupuncture points are effective supports for doing this. In the cosmology of acupuncture the Heart is considered to be the center of our being and the source of everything. One of the subtleties of acupuncture is the recognition that although the Heart is the Source, the Heart does not act directly to create the order present in life. The personality has the responsibility for communicating the intentions of the Heart to the world and making them manifest. When the personality does not conform to the intentions of the Heart - there is a pathology. These types of pathologies can be addressed through acupuncture. What counseling does through a process of therapy, acupuncture does directly. Because acupuncture works directly with the pattern

of energy it can accelerate transformation and help a person to return to a healthy and fully integrated state of being. Rediscovering the Love which is inside us, and removing the walls which have been built around the Heart makes it possible to freely and fully engage in living our life. A complete discussion of the many ways in which it is possible to diagnose and treat energetic and spiritual disorders would require much more than can be offered in this short article. There are many styles of acupuncture, and practitioners to choose from. Your acupuncturist should be someone that you trust and respect. Ask them to tell you what kind of work they do, and expect them to offer you some insight into things which you can do to improve your health and sense of wellbeing. Jeffrey Goodman LAc Acupuncturist and Health Coach http://www.HealthySystem.org