Posted by nuno lemos | Under ESOTERISM
Friday Apr 1, 2011
One of the most important aspect in clinic is aseptic practice. Normally I work in medical clinics. These clinics provide me a strong infrastructure to ensure the safety of my patient. The medical clinics, has, for example, autoclaves which allows me to use sterile cups.
Another important aspect of my practice is the use of gloves (disposable needles always of course!). Personally I do not do acupuncture without gloves. Gloves in acupuncture and sterilized cupping are rarities in the world of alternative medicines. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by nuno lemos | Under ESOTERISM
Saturday Mar 5, 2011
As the reader might have noticed I have particular fondness for discussions on the basic concepts of Chinese medicine. Especially when they are maimed by vitalist beliefs. The conversation always ends up in energy and its many esoteric variations that are never completely unbderstood.
Generally when it gets resolved the issue of poor translation of some chinese medicine tecnical terms some of my interlocutors tend to confront me with their personal experiences. These experiences range from feeling “energy points” to “see the energy and the energy channels”… which are the meridians…, and never described by the TCM as energy channels (technical details!).
Feel the energy of the points is always something I like to discuss. Because people just feel the points they were taught. The points that they curiously never learned should not have much energy to be felt. Obviously, professionals who learn different acupuncture points will only feel the acupuncture points they have learned so that you never quite understand what are the points that really can be felt. On this subject I published an article and even did a professional critique.
This new article focuses on another personal experience: seeing energy. But before we proceed with the energy fantasies let’s talk a bit about the electromagnetic spectrum and human anatomy. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by nuno lemos | Under ESOTERISM
Sunday Jan 23, 2011
Some time ago someone tried to sell me some patches that say do miracles for pain treatment. I´m speaking of LifeWave patches. The lifewave is an intersection of quantum medicine and power balance bracelets in pateches. Promises a lot but does not meet (almost like a satire to portuguese prime minister!).
Supposedly Lifewave patches immediately increases our strength. They made me an absolutely ridiculous demonstration regarding the immediate effects of Lifewave. A bit like the demonstrations used for the power balance bracelets.
The rhetoric was always the same: energy, energy, energy… If you could patent the term energy quickly someone would become multi-millionaire. Although they talk about energy, they did not know very well to tell me if it was potential energy, kinetic energy or any other form of energy. It was energy. Other details are expendable. Everyone likes to use the term energy. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by nuno lemos | Under ESOTERISM
Thursday Dec 2, 2010
Recently I received an email through a friend, about a workshop on pranic healing. I enjoyed reading the mail. He was the mirror of some things I had been talking and writing about the New Age movement. Although no training in acupuncture, this pranic healing therapist is able to create a discourse very similar to some acupuncturists. And in her speech can be seen the main lines of New Age thought.
The New Age thought is characterized by an esoteric discourse, where scientific terms appear mixed with religious beliefs. However, it is totally anti-science and anti-Western traditional religions. Western traditional religions are seen as movements that crippled human spirituality. However many of the New Age ideas/beliefs are based on these same religions. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by nuno lemos | Under ESOTERISM
Monday Aug 30, 2010
Facebook is rich in various groups and beliefs. In most cases facebook essentially serves to waste time. Some people use it as a platform for advertising their services or blog articles (like me).Since I am acupuncturist I end up having vast groups connected with me with all sorts of beliefs.
Once I received a text ad on “quantum acceleration.” This text was talking about the Central Sun of our galaxy (is a black hole… well, technical details). Most recently I received a message on “Esoteric Acupuncture.” The text said something like: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by nuno lemos | Under ESOTERISM
Wednesday Jul 28, 2010
Recently I had the privilege to hear comments about the “energy” of some people. Well, it was not quite a privilege. But it was something that really taught me a lot more about “energy“. And what I discovered was this: It´s not one “energy“…
You must be confused. I explain myself better. For some people the techniques of needle manipulation in acupuncture are, in fact, “energy” manipulation techniques. The massage can only be given when the masseur master the “energy“. The practitioner of qi gong and tai chi handles the “energy” and strength training his “energy” strength.
When we leave Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) we see that “Energy” is everywhere. Reiki is “energy” healing and you should not think giving a shiatsu massage – Japanese version of Chinese Tuina massage – with no “energy.” Ie there are lots of ways to master “energy” and learn to manipulate it. This not to mention the quantum accelerations, quantum medicine that assesses the patient “energy“, etc… Read the rest of this entry »
Even using all sorts of arguments, since explain what it means Qi to show the recent history that led to his false translation or submit citations of Important technical books that draw attention to this problem, lots of people are still in their demand of not wanting to understand what it really means.
In this article I propose a little exercise that anyone can do. If, as many professionals say, qi means energy, then that should be observable in the online translators and dictionaries available online. I use online translators because anyone who reads this can use the text and make the experience for himself. Read the rest of this entry »
Much has I written about what it means qi in Chinese medicine. Much has I written about this concept and the ridiculous manipulations that had victimize this ideogram and that end up systematically with translations as qi is “energy.” The same goes for other Chinese terms as yin and yang that always find them selfs being erroneous translated as “positive energy” and “negative energy“.
There are some differences between the qi in Chinese medicine and “energy” of Western Vitalistic Chinese medicine. The Qi of Chinese medicine can hardly be translated and easily find several possible translations, the “energy” of Western Vitalistic Chinese medicine is already translated. You can define the meaning of Qi. But nobody can define what it means by “energy.” Read the rest of this entry »
Now that we have seen that the TCM is essentially symptomatic we should raise another question: is Western medicine symptomatic? Is this form of medicine primarily symptomatic? Does it need symptoms so much as TCM do? Is it based solely on relief of symptoms? Does it treat something else rather than symptoms?
O have already denounced this kind of discourse in other articles, in particular, in another text related to this, entitled “Other´s treat symptoms, we treat the causes.” I advise a careful reading of it. For now I’d like to focus on an example, extremely common today.
A woman is diagnosed with a benign tumor in the breast (breast cancer). This mass is too small to be felt on palpation and the patient has no symptoms. It is 100% asymptomatic. Her diagnosis was due to cutting-edge medical technology that can detect tumors (breast cancer, lung cancer, etc… ) that are not visible to the naked eye, or touched. Read the rest of this entry »
Chinese medicine is essentially symptomatic. Her way of thinking is made in order to treat symptoms. If I already gave an acupuncture example, allow me to cite an example from the book “Gynecology of Traditional Chinese Medicine”. In this book of the specialty of gynecology, the authors, in the treatment of menorrhagia and metrostaxis due to heat in the blood, referred the following symptoms:
“Occurrence of menstrual blood not at the due time, and fulminant or profuse blood flow, dripping bleeding, bright-red or deep red color and thin texture menses, accompanied by disphoria, dry mouth, or fever, yellowish urine, constipation, red tongue with yellow fur, slippery pulse or thin and rapid pulse ” Read the rest of this entry »
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