Well, Swine Flu hysteria has hit our shores, and is reminiscent of the hullabaloo during footy finals time.
As an almost-TCM practitioner, I have to wonder about the messages going out over the media-waves – especially after reading a memorandum from the Health Dept to all Health professionals, which was a lot calmer, a lot more factual, and a lot more re-assuring than what is being bandied around by public and broad-casters currently.
This memo stated categorically that those who have contracted the H1N1-A virus (it’s true name: certainly not as sexy as “swine flu”) have recovered successfully without the use of Tamiflu – yet this drug is being pumped into people like its some kind of anti-viral messiah. And yet, no one mentions studies recently (in the last year or so) which showed Tamiflu to be useless against “swine flu”.
Don’t get me wrong: influenza is an illness that requires attention – my question is, how much attention?
Interestingly enough, TCM is certainly capable of treating patients who come in with ‘the Flu’ – and whilst there is currently debate on the theories in TCM forums I am a part of, our paradigmatic framework has the capacity to understand the pathogenesis of, diagnose, and treat Influenza. One of the oldest extant medical texts in the world, the Shang Han Lun by Zhang Zhongjing deals with treating disease that is contracted from externally-derived pathogens. The first few clauses of that text describe symptoms that are those common in ‘Flu’:
Abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and body aches, cough, sore throat, blocked or discharge from nose, fatigue, ill appearance, and sometime diarrhoea / vomiting.
These are also the symptoms listed by WHO, and Health Dept’s around the world, including Australia.
This text also goes on to describe all the possible complications and how to treat those – in fact over 50% of this rather large tome is devoted to Taiyang disease: i.e., illness caused from an attack of an externally-derived pathogenic factor.
The treatments are simple: herbal prescriptions, and in some cases basically says to have some soup, get in bed with a lot of blankets and sweat it out!
The other thing about all of this is some other research that is around but generally unknown or ignored. Here are some interesting links:
Of course, to fight off any external pathogen, we basically need healthy and vigorous wei-qi – i.e., immune system. In TCM, this is dependent on the harmonious and efficient functioning of our Fei-zang and Pi-zang – our respiratory and digestive systems, from which we convert oxygen and food-nutrient, and convert it to Qi, which is the dynamic energetic force that the body requires for all functions. Healthy lifestyles, nutritious and balanced diets, and healthy eating habits are a fundamental key to an effective and efficient immune system. This will determine how well you fight off an infection such as Influenza, and how quickly and well you recover from it.
I think quarantining is a good element to all of this – in fact, the idea of staying home when you get sick is brilliant! This is what should happen all the time – not only does it restrict the spread of illness, but it also gives the body time and space to fight off illness in a natural way, thus making it stronger and more able to cope with future infection. Every successful defeat of an external pathogenic factor means the body’s natural immune system is improving and becoming stronger. Food and medicines should be only used as complementary to the body’s own defences – their job is to augment the immune system, not replace it!
So when you get sick from now on, stay home, eat good hearty meals, and make yourself happy and healthy!
Somewhere along the way thinking and writing about the world I’m part of became a chore, a bore, and somewhat depressing.
Of course, there has always been other stuff to write about, like the simple pleasures of gardening, brewing, and living a happy and healthy life…
Plus, I will admit to a degree of euphoria surrounding the election of Kevin Rudd and the ALP to government. Since that time, Australia has ratified the Kyoto Protocols, apologised formally to the Stolen Generations, begun their program of legislative reform and social governance, and witnessed the collapse of global financial systems.
… And all of this in 15 months….
Often, changes of government mean nothing on the everyday mundane level. However, even in the face of some decisions which I disagree with, life has been better for us in this time. Financially, we are better off, despite the so-called recession; our little food-and-medicine forest is thriving and sustainable; my studies continue on, and my confidence as a health/wellbeing professional is growing, as is the number of people I seem to help in a positive and effective manner.
Yes, everything is chugging along nicely.
And I wonder how it is that I seem to have lost my creativity – the lack of anger perhaps? Have I lost a meaningful nemesis, in characters such as John Howard and his henchmen? Well, of course not – ultra-conservatism is still around and still plaster their ugly visages over the media making outrageous statements about this, that, and the other. And people are still buying their crap! So what has changed?
Perhaps this is something that comes with age, but even though there are still things which outrage me, I just can’t be bothered giving them any energy any more. Perhaps this is a bad thing – perhaps this fire which has been put out is the same fire which leads us to creation; is this what drives artists, writers, leaders, and others who make their mark on the world?
There is craziness afoot – I just can’t really be bothered with it….
LMAO
Sometimes, its just too hot to do anything constructive....
No doubt that K-Rudd and the ALP are making health a key issue in the federal election this year.
Several weeks before the election was (formally) called, the “Honourable” PM John Howard gave some money to a small, rural hospital in Northern Tasmania to keep it open.
The problem is that running health – and the health-care system in general – is the domain of the individual State/Territory Governments, not the Feds. Health Minister and Born-again Fundamentalist Tony Abbott has continually said that it’s not their fault the health system is a shambles – its the States’ fault! This is the same minister who a couple of years ago vigorously defended legislation which was passed that saw GP’s and nurses given the ability to perform antenatal check-ups for pregnant women in remote areas as part of Medicare – but not Midwives (who are actually trained professionals in the field of pregnancy and birth).
Along these lines, a letter was sent by an individual woman to this same minister a few weeks ago, asking about making midwifery care for pregnant/birthing women to be seen as the primary model of health care for normal, healthy women (obstetricians are trained in ‘emergency’ models of health, that is when there are serious complications that require medical/surgical intervention).
Anyway, here is the copy of the letter received (click on the image to see full size):
I guess my question is: if the Feds don’t want to do anything about the Health-care system in this country, why else would you throw money at a failing rural hospital in a marginal electorate? At least K-Rudd has a definitive plan of how he plans to fix – or alternatively allow the States/Territories to fix before losing the right to – the public health situation….
As I write this, the moon is coppery shade of red, as the shadow of our Mother Earth plunges in front of the line between the sun and the moon.
Tonight’s full lunar eclipse is occurring at 4 degrees Pisces. To see how the eclipse is going to affect you personally, see where that position is in your natal chart. Does it form any important aspects with any other planets or bodies in your chart? What House does it transit?
In keeping with the astrological theme, I decided to do a reading using the Celestial Tarot by Australian artist Kay Steventon. I haven’t ever used this deck for a reading before, but seeing as I now have a copy of Brian Clark’s accompanying book, I thought I would use it in honour of this marvellous celestial event.
I had to shuffle the deck quite extensively, as the deck was unused/unshuffled. As I did so, there was one card that kept falling out and landing face-up, the same card which I drew from the top of the deck when I finished shuffling: the Fool.
Golly I’ve been a little slack on the blogging front, haven’t I…..?!
I do apologise, but I have not forgotten, nor have I been so busy to be completely unaware as to what’s happening in the Universe around me.
Tomorrow evening’s Full Moon will be an eclipse (somewhere in Virgo I think), and I am personally looking forward to kicking back and sitting with the energy of the time. More on that later tomorrow…. and yes, I will be doing a reading during the time of the eclipse…..
For the last few weeks however I have really been sitting with my relationships to the Tarot, Chinese Medicine, and Astrology (other than studying herbs and needling techniques and doing various assignments…). I have begun reading through Thomas Cleary’s translation of Liu I-Ming’s Taoist I Ching and really learning the wisdom of the hexagrams from the Taoist internal alchemy perspective. The Book of Changes being more than merely an oracle, it is essentially a book of wisdom; but more importantly the wisdom of the naturally occurring changes of the universe.
From one perspective, there is a certain dynamism in a 5-element (or phase) system than there is a 4-element system. This is understood in Tarot as the differences between the 4’s (stability) and the 5’s (change) in the Minor Arcana. Whilst the Tarot is also a ‘book of wisdom’, there is something fundamentally lacking in Western esoteric philosophy and that is the inherent understanding and acceptance of constant flux – something which is being addressed in spiritual and philosophical (and scientific) circles, but only due to the influence of the philosophies of the East.
I feel therefore that there is a place for a radical revision of the Tarot, one that takes into account the ideas and postulates of the Eastern systems – especially the triad of Chinese Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.
In a sense though, this is highly political. One of the fundamental tenets of the Tarot is its links with classical Western philosophy (via its correspondences with Western Astrology and Numerology), and Jewish Mysticism (via the Qabbalah). Whilst there is no untruths about these philosophies’ assumptions, modern understandings of these ideas (which have been diluted by 2000 years or so of Christianity and 400 years or so of Rational/secular Enlightnement) are somewhat lacking. For me the analogy is similar to how Australia is struggling with its own cultural-political identity: are we part of Great Britain, Europe, America, or Asia?
I have always said that we in Australia are in a unique position to truly blend “with temperance” the ideas and systems of our neighbours, to develop in an alchemical manner systems of thoughts and ideas that would inform and guide us to better good and decent humans. Australia is a crucible, that holy grail whereby the ingredients are mixed in the correct measure to produce the elixir of life.
Tarot revision already has been undertaken by some. James Wanless’ Voyager Tarot is an outstanding attempt at a complete postmodernist revision, however stays within the structural parameters of the Tarot tradition (78 cards made up of 22 Majors and 56 Minors, itself made up of 4×1o ‘pip’ cards and 4×4 ‘court’ cards). Even Hermann Haindl revised the understandings of the symbols, while staying true to the structure of the traditional Tarot.
I have no answers on what a new-look Tarot would look like structurally if it were to change in such a manner; and if it did, could it still be called “Tarot”? Many of my colleagues would probably answer “no”, and with fair point.
However, I wonder whether we can truly incorporate the wisdom from all around the world and stay within the traditional parameters of the Tarot….?
Would this be like trying to stick a round peg into a square hole…….?
For those worried with energy consumption and all its downsides …
When your screen is white, being it an empty word page, or the Google page, your computer consumes 74 watts, and when its black it consumes only 59 watts. Mark Ontkush wrote an article about the energy saving that would be achieved if Google had a black screen, taking in account the huge number of page views, according to his calculations, 750 mega watts/hour per year would be saved.
In a response to this article Google created a black version of its search engine, called Blackle, with the exact same functions as the white version, but with a lower energy consumption, check it out.
Now, surely this wouldn’t surprise the more enlightened among us?
Strangely enough, I thought it was kinda spooky, because I’ve been saying for some months now that Australians should not be surprised if another “Terrorist attack” occur in somewhere within our borders (like Bali – HAHAHA) just before the next Federal Election.
Well, they tried to pull another ‘Tampa’ with that unfortunate chap Dr Haneef and thats backfired; the personal attacks on Rudd have produced nadda (other than endearing Pixie to the Aussie public); even the backflips on climate, aboriginal health, and housing have done nothing to boost the Howard Government’s popularity in the polls.
I’m sure I also shared with you all my prophecy on the election… if not here it is
Anyway, if what the above article claims is true, would that have an effect on the rest of us? Or would it merely mean Rome would burn down in our lifetime instead of our children’s?
Yes well I have been busy of late, what with the Handfasting and all.
I noticed how angry my last post was, and it has made me realise something: that Howard and his cronies are back at it again, using policy to divide the nation, and create anger and fear amongst the electorate who care.
I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching recently, and whilst I came to the realisation some time back that a lot of the time, people with some insight have been reacting to the actions of our so-called ‘leaders’, I haven’t been embodying my own insight, and have been reacting to outrage.
Well, no more. These times demand action (not re-action). And they also demand that people stand up and speak their minds without any prompting. A bit like when Al Gore made that little movie – now that caught the conservatives off guard, and they were the ones reacting.
I have read a very very good essay in the last month. It was published in the last edition of the Quarterly Essay, written by David Marr. Titled “His Masters Voice” it is a refreshing piece of journalism and records how the current PM in this country has basically destroyed debate in the media (and how Australians have allowed it to happen).
The sad thing is I have witnessed the same tactics employed at so many levels of our community – the saddest example of this is what I personally witnessed in a volunteer-run community group. Not only did the management committee of this organisation systematically perform acts of intimidation and bullying towards members, but they also effectively gagged any debate on issues amongst members using the same methods which Howard has used in the past. (see the essay…).
I’ve also noticed how this is a theme running through a lot of our literature and other cultural items (like movies, TV shows, etc).
The trick is not to react, but to act in a positive way. Ignore the behaviour that you want to eradicate (that was Skinner’s theory) and don’t feed it any energy – because that is what is sought: to distract us from our own personal tasks and goals.
And so too do I.
I don’t know whether or not this blog will continue, or in this form. I have other things to focus on. More webs to weave. But it has been fun. I’m sure I’ll see you around….
