I just finished our annual retreat with our Continuing Excellence in Fertility Professionals, where we combine personal introspection, TCM education, qi gong, and a Taoist view of the elements. The universal view of the order that govern all of life is:
The Blood follows the Qi.
The Qi follows the Xin (Heart/Mind)
The Xin follows the Shen (Spirit)
The Shen follows the Tao.
In this model, Blood = the physical body, and the mental and emotional functions which it embodies. It is the last in line. When we, as practitioners, work at the “blood” level, we are relatively inefficient if we are not concurrently working at the energetic level of the heart’s wisdom, which follows the workings of the spirit, which is the universal Way of all things.
When a doctor is trying to manipulate the Blood level while neglecting the other levels, there is no therapeutic change. While the form may adjust itself slightly, when there is no change at the level of Qi and higher, there will be no lasting change at the manifest or Blood level.
You cannot change egg quality by working only at the level of the blood. Therefore, changing your diet and taking supplements while neglecting the way you respond to the world will have little effect. If your energetic reaction to the world is one of stress, protection, and survival instinct, it will lock the Blood level in place. Changing your diet, then, while improving the level of manifestation, will not reach the level of potentiality, which is of Spirit.
A doctor at retreat asked me, “So what’s the use?” Why do we use acupuncture, herbs, diet, and lifestyle adjustments if all true change happens at the level of spirit?
The answer is that we work at the level of the Blood and Qi in order to bring someone into the recognition of true changes that occur at the Shen level. If a doctor is not accessing the Spirit level, true transformation is not possible – only slight manipulation of the form. While at the level of Blood, we may improve the menstrual flow somewhat, lower FSH temporarily, and improve mental outlook for a cycle or two, these changes will not be lasting. They will not reach the level of potentiality, which is of Spirit.
The Nei Jing tells us, “Of course, before needling, we must be rooted in Spirit.” If your doctor is not rooted in spirit – her own and yours, she is practicing at the level of Blood. The ancients called these practitioners “technicians.” While they could diagnose and needle, they didn’t have the power to transform.
All true transformation occurs at the level of the Heart, which houses the Spirit, which gives rise to all potentiality. Here, egg and sperm quality change. Hope is a palpable force, not a weak begging the universe for what you want. The heart opens to allow all possibility. This is true healing; a doctor’s highest role.