Drinking Straight From the Hydrant

The title phrase fairly well describes my experience of studying Chinese medicine at NCNM these days.  I'm by turns pummeled, exhilarated, soaked, and gorged on the high-velocity stream.  And when I pause for air, it's a little dismaying to see gallons of precious fluid spilling out into the street every second.  At least I can't complain of being dehydrated.

The preliminaries of the first year are out of the way and we're getting into the meat now: herbs, acu-moxa points, pathology, case studies, and clinical observation, in addition to such juicy morsels as immunology and clinical physical diagnosis.  Presenting this smorgasbord of material is a particularly brilliant array of faculty, each with a wildly individual style: Paul Kalnins' free-wheeling integration of biomedicine with the Chinese framework and Anthroposophical medicine; Brandt Stickley's penetrating psychological approach; David Berkshire's practical mix of TCM and Worsley Five Element, just to name a few.  It's enough to make me--usually ever thirsty for more--want to slow down, to take a breather to process and assimilate the wealth of information.  But every new day brings a different class with a different instructor and different set of expectations.  By the time a week goes by and the next session of any one class comes around again, there's been so much presented in the meantime that I'm twenty or thirty pages ahead in my all-in-one little spiral notebook.  By year's end I envision a stack of such raggedy things lining my bookshelves, which are already sagging from the weight of acupuncture and herbal tomes, a Chinese dictionary or two, ancient classics like the Nei Jing, three versions of the I Ching, and western herbals from Matthew Wood and Michael Moore...

Signs of my single-minded caduceal pursuit have in fact taken over my room completely: my big poster-sized Chinese organ clock is installed on the wall above the computer I'm typing on; next to the overstuffed bookshelf are arrayed three separate bookcases of tinctures and bulk herbs.  There's a small area reserved for sleeping, I'll admit, and a picture of some loved ones, two photo montages from my Southasian travels, and two hanging houseplants (whose medicinal properties I have not explored--yet).  There's a small dresser, and a mirror, and other such mundanery. But the overall impression is overwhelmingly of an herbalist's inner sanctum.  Things are going to get worse before they get better--and "better" only means the medicinary will outgrow my little room altogether and initiate a hostile takeover of the apartment at large.

Yes, I've finally done it: immersed myself completely and quite irrevocably in a world of my own obsessions. (Passions, to put it in more appropriately positive light.) It's not such a strange thing to do, really; in this place, at this time, it feels almost normal.  This ain't Kansas anymore.  Nor Manhattan.  No, this is the beginning of the future, and the future is the beginning of the end.  But let's not talk about that.  For the time being, I'm just thankful to be here in Portland, in 2011.  I mean, it may be the egocentrism of youth, but this place and time feels like what I imagine Greenwich Village felt like in the early sixties.  I refer not so much to Portland's bohemian side, though that is substantial, but to the bubble and ferment of creative energy that's evident all over the city.  The sense of being a bubble on the vanguard wave--part of an as yet undefined movement.  From my own vantage point amidst the rollicking motion, it's hard to see what the movement shares, besides ideals of simpler, more natural living, real food, self-expression, low-impact modes of transportation.  Maybe I need to watch Portlandia and get in better touch with the stereotype.  I think there's a deeper valuing of tradition--or a valuing of deeper traditions--than the hippie generation tended to exhibit.  This must have something to do with the sense of imminent planetary peril (a sense that, I admit, is nothing new), not to say doom, that's in the air.

Every time may very well be a pivotal one, but this really feels like the neck of the hourglass.  I'm not much interested in theories of 2012, but the mathematician in me senses the inflection point on the societal curve--that almost imperceptible moment when acceleration starts to slow down, when convex becomes concave.  Interesting times!

Introducing RootsofNourishment.com!

Longtime readers of Ill Wind may have noticed a drift in the subject matter of the blog over the years.  It's always been about whatever catches my fancy, but more and more my fancy has been caught up in certain themes that are probably, by now, familiar: traditional worldviews informed by close observation of nature, for one, and systems of healing that aim to harmonize the individual (microcosm) with the greater world (macrocosm).  More and more, my aim both in my writing and in my life in general is to apply my evolving understanding of these traditional perspectives--whether gleaned from East or South Asia, European or American Indian traditions--to help myself and others find balance, health and fulfillment.  It's enough work for many lifetimes, and being young and enthusiastic, I've been busy. My second year at NCNM's four year Classical Chinese Medicine program (towards a Masters and acupuncture licensure) has me delving into the meat and potatoes of Chinese medicine, with classes in pathology, herbs, acupuncture points and techniques, and clinical observation.  Meanwhile, my studies in Traditional Western Herbalism with Matthew Wood, in combination with my previous experience in Ayurveda and wholistic nutrition, have given me tools I am able put to work right away.  And slowly, out of the beautiful jumble of teachings I am being exposed to, my own individual style is starting to emerge.  Not surprisingly, it is grounded in deep nutrition, balancing the internal terrain (hot/cold, damp/dry) and empowering people to their own healing through practicing embodied awareness. 

Ill Wind has served as a remarkably flexible forum for my polyvalent interests and indulgences.  Now, as those interests narrow, deepen, and come into sharper focus, they need a new internet home.  It occurred to me over the summer that my recent sequence of Chinese Organ Network posts isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea, and that I may risk alienating people who would otherwise be interested in the blog.  At the same time, I began recognizing the need for another, more professionally-focused website.  A forum to discuss Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, nutrition and herbs, as well as a storehouse of resources, articles and links for patients and fellow students alike.  I began scheming on the site in July, and two months many hours of toil later (thanks to web designer Nate Parsons!) it's become a reality--at least, the basic layout and some preliminary content have.  But there's enough meat on those bones already that I'm excited to go ahead and introduce RootsofNourishment.com!

Please take a few minutes to check out the various pages (accessed by clicking the sliding images at the top of the main page) and to browse through the blog postings there.  You may recognize some of them; I picked out the eight or so most relevant Ill Wind posts, patched them up a bit, and transfered them over to the new site.  Much more, original content is forthcoming, including a series of 'herbal allies' posts beginning with my trusty, deep-rooted friend Spikenard.  The Herbalism, Cosmology, and Cultivation pages are all slated to be worked up in the coming weeks; those for Ayurveda and Deep Nutrition are in place already.  Go on, have a gander! 

What does this bode for Ill Wind?  Well, the plan is to keep both sites alive and kicking, with the more technical, herb-geeky material going to Roots of Nourishment.  That should leave Ill Wind as a catch-all for the detritus of my restless mind--in other words, back where it started.  Over the next couple months, though, activity here at Ill Wind may be sluggish as I work away on content writing for Roots of Nourishment.  Then again, who knows...there's plenty brewing in the weird places of my mind.  So be it!  And selah.