Monday, January 14, 2013

Androcles and the splinter; side effects we WANT

A good treatment at the acupuncturist's, today. He tells me he did a lot of "hot" points (Chinese-medicine-style "hot", not Jalapeno "hot"), many points specifically geared towards raising my vitality.

One thing that was especially encouraging was that I told him about an organ system that my herbalist said that he was treating, and my acupuncturist said "I've been watching that for a while, and I've been working on it too." He was surprised, and very much pleased, that both he and the Herbal Guy were working on the same kind of thing, just approaching it from different angles, different directions. It's quite reassuring when both Western/Eastern crossover Medical Guys are seeing, and treating, the same things ("big-picture" style, at least).

Still need to burn through some of my past that's still weighting me down (I touched on that in our last exchange). I'm sure you've had moments in which you've opened a door and said "What is that smell?" and that stench was inescapable until the [whatever] is completely cleaned out, and the offending material has been removed and discarded... Pretty much what's happening/needs to happen, except on a spiritual rather than a "refrigerator" level.

An Androcles-and-the-lion-esque splinter in my paw, spiritually speaking. Except in this case, I need to be my own Androcles, and first, I need to find the splinter before I can remove it.

Boy, am I looking forward to finding it. Not looking forward to looking for it, but definitely looking forward to removing it.

And OH yeah... something my MD/acupuncurist told me that I needed to look into and do... iyengar yoga. "A tough path," he said, "but I know people whose lives have been completely turned around by it."

Another prescription, but this one with very clearly known side effects: those being, increased mobility. And, y'know, inner peace. That sort of thing.

Side effects we can live with, aren't they?

2 comments:

Muffie said...

Now those are MY kind of side effects! I'm trying to read through your lines and this splinter must either be a person or situation which you need to eliminate. I go through that process quite often, and it can be painful and exhausting. Good luck with yours.
Peace,
Muff

Robert Parker said...

What needs eliminating? Relationship to the past. In a word, karma. In the classic "Why are you still carrying her" Zen story.

Tragically, the "why are you still carrying her" Zen story does not go into how to stop carrying her. Zen folks might say "Well, then, just stop," but that hardly qualifies as a "method." I'm sure it is "that easy," but there appears to be more to it than just that.

When I can laugh at it as easily as I laugh at my truculent bladder, I'll be free of it. So, time to find the humor, eh?