my classmate eric over at Deepest Health, has proposed a year of sagely livingas not only a challenge but a way to deepen our understanding of the all important aspect of self-cultivation. I've mentioned in posts here before that self-cultivation is a crucial aspect in being an effective practitioner in Chinese Medicine. In many respects, we can only ask our patients to be as healthy as we are and the best way to lead is by example. There are a number of teachers at my school who follow this principle, and they swear that it is not only beneficial, but necessary and crucial.
So the Year of sagely living will progress beginning Jan 1, 2008 according to the lunar 12 earthly branch clock. The first month, January, corresponds to the earthly branch of Zi 子。Zi is a picture of a child or an embryo and represents the contracted nature of the middle of winter. At this time, all that goes on is internal and external movements are diminished or severely reduced. Eric has appropriately chosen Scholarship/Study as the pairing for this month. So in the next day, I will choose an appropriate topic that i will study every day for a month and post my comments on the experience here.
You don't need to be a student to do this, if you'd like to join in at any time, just post some comments about your experiences.
Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
the dynamic duo: the moon and the earth
I was reading an interesting article about the moon's effect on the earth and came across this:
"Earth’s moon has helped stabilize our planet so that its axis of rotation stays in the same direction. For this reason, we had much less climatic change than if the Earth had been alone. And this has changed the way life evolved on Earth, allowing for the emergence of more complex multi-cellular organisms compared to a planet where drastic climatic change would allow only small, robust organisms to survive."
The moon has played a pivotal role in the evolution of man. Our systems of knowledge, observation, and activity once hinged upon the phase of the moon. Its interesting to think about what we've left behind by ignoring the phases of the moon, or more appropriately: if its even possible to divorce ourselves from its silent cadence.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Foundation of the Chronic Miasms in the Practice of Homeopathy
by Henny Heudens-Mast. This was my first introduction to Homeopathy and I devoured this book in a couple of weeks (and it was during finals!). "But Homeopathy isn't Chinese Medicine!" you say. I'm one of those people who thinks that all medicine can be Chinese Medicine if approached in the right way. Yes, even surgeons!
But what HH does in this book is describe the way she watches a patient, the way she categorizes them according to the miasms, and then tries to stimulate their vital force in order to expel disease. Although the categories of the miasms don't correspond to the 5 phase elements or the 6 Qi in a one-to-one manner I'm sure something could be gleaned from overlaying the two systems.
For example, the Tuburcular Miasm (dissatisfaction, lack of tolerance, changes everything, does harmful thing to one's self, solace in the mountains) smacked of Pericardium and maybe what is known as Yang Ming disease (Large Intestine and Stomach Networks).
What struck me most about this book was HH's methods. She often instructed her students to take no action if change was underway, and to only prescribe when it was clear what was happening was a roadblock to health as opposed to seeing a symptom as a beneficial "healing crisis."
The book has the best of both theory and application: true cases applied to the theory and decisions made on theory, study, and deep knowledge of the nature of life.
But what HH does in this book is describe the way she watches a patient, the way she categorizes them according to the miasms, and then tries to stimulate their vital force in order to expel disease. Although the categories of the miasms don't correspond to the 5 phase elements or the 6 Qi in a one-to-one manner I'm sure something could be gleaned from overlaying the two systems.
For example, the Tuburcular Miasm (dissatisfaction, lack of tolerance, changes everything, does harmful thing to one's self, solace in the mountains) smacked of Pericardium and maybe what is known as Yang Ming disease (Large Intestine and Stomach Networks).
What struck me most about this book was HH's methods. She often instructed her students to take no action if change was underway, and to only prescribe when it was clear what was happening was a roadblock to health as opposed to seeing a symptom as a beneficial "healing crisis."
The book has the best of both theory and application: true cases applied to the theory and decisions made on theory, study, and deep knowledge of the nature of life.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
of snakes and spleens
In Chinese Medicine the snake is the animal associated with the spleen in the system of the 12 organs. Though the animals were ascribed to the organs much later in the Medicine's history, there are remarkable parallels that can be drawn by meditating on the relationship between an organ and its animal. Sometimes, modern research will even point it out for us. Recently, it has been discovered that the snake can decrease its metabolic fasting rate by around 70%. Even at such a low rate, they still remain very alert and cognizant of possible approaching food. The mechanism isn't known, but some guesses are that the heart and liver cells down-regulate mitochondrial production or activity.
In Chinese Medicine the Spleen is a very important organ that raises the clear Qi from the food received by the stomach. The Spleen "steams" this clear Qi up to the lung to be combined with the Qi from the breath. When we discussed the Spleen in class we noted how snakes can eat nearly anything (including an entire kangaroo). Thus it shouldn't be surprising, considering typical Chinese duality, that something that can eat nearly anything can survive for an extended amount of time on nearly nothing. I say nearly nothing, because I think there may be ways to survive without eating anything at all but by absorbing this clear Qi through other methods.
In Chinese Medicine the Spleen is a very important organ that raises the clear Qi from the food received by the stomach. The Spleen "steams" this clear Qi up to the lung to be combined with the Qi from the breath. When we discussed the Spleen in class we noted how snakes can eat nearly anything (including an entire kangaroo). Thus it shouldn't be surprising, considering typical Chinese duality, that something that can eat nearly anything can survive for an extended amount of time on nearly nothing. I say nearly nothing, because I think there may be ways to survive without eating anything at all but by absorbing this clear Qi through other methods.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
car(s)
so, i bought a car. i know, i know: they're evil, and i've been pretty preachy about the beauty of not owning one. but i have one now, and i want to share with you what I learned in 3.5 years of going without:
(1) Our cities are designed around cars. This is pretty obvious to anyone who has tried living without a car for any time whatsoever. Portland is nearly an exception to this rule, though not entirely. Our public transportation is excellent. Living in the NW of Portland, I didn't really need a car, I could walk most places and public transit was readily available and cheap. However, the majority of the people drive carsand when i was walking and riding my bike, you are painfully aware that cars will kill you if you aren't paying attention. I'm fairly serious about this. I walk down busy streets and ride my bike so defensively these days I might as well be pretending that the cars are actually out to get me.
(2) Our lives are designed around cars. Socially, we go out and see people. We meet them in places that aren't near our homes after work, between other social events, etc. What I realized in not owning a car is that because it takes sooooo long to get places on the bus, you end up doing less. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I realized that I'm such a social butterfly that this was a hard adjustment to make.
Going to the grocery store is different without a car as well. You have to go more often on foot because you can only carry two bags. This problem is compounded by my involvement in the healthcare field. The truly healthy food is in disparate places: farmers markets, whole foods, new seasons, and the co-ops; though all in the same quadrant of Portland, they aren't anywhere near each other on foot. And again the problem of carrying things emerges.
Getting out of the city is another, probably more important aspect that I was missing without a car. I like camping. I like going to the coast. I like road trips. But you can't do these things on the bike very well (unless it becomes the trip itself).
(3) Cars are expensive. Do you know how much I spent on transportation per month including bike parts and riding public transit? $60/month. Total. That is cheap. I just bought a car for $1800, that i hope isn't going to die or need repairs, that costs $30 to fill up every couple weeks, insurance is relatively cheap but still more than $60/month itself, and add the occasional oil change and we're talking at least 4 times the cost. And that doesn't even include the true cost of driving:
Which doesn't include the cost of wars (452 billion!) like Iraq, which I posted about here
(4) Gasoline is a dinosaur. I hate that I have to contribute to this. I really do. But the alternatives aren't there yet for a starving student who needs to get around. I looked into running a diesel on free vegetable oil but that seemed like more work and time than taking public transport. I think Biodiesel is trading one problem (foreign dependence on oil) for the same one (where do you think they get the fertilizer to grow the biodiesel?). I'm waiting for the Algae/Hydrogen powered car - I'll probably have a real job by then too, so I might even be able to afford it.
So, in conclusion, it might seem entirely contradictory that I now own a car. Or maybe it doesn't even seem like it. But there are tradeoffs, and if its one thing that Chinese Medicine has taught me is that things aren't inherently good or bad, they just are:
(1) Our cities are designed around cars. This is pretty obvious to anyone who has tried living without a car for any time whatsoever. Portland is nearly an exception to this rule, though not entirely. Our public transportation is excellent. Living in the NW of Portland, I didn't really need a car, I could walk most places and public transit was readily available and cheap. However, the majority of the people drive carsand when i was walking and riding my bike, you are painfully aware that cars will kill you if you aren't paying attention. I'm fairly serious about this. I walk down busy streets and ride my bike so defensively these days I might as well be pretending that the cars are actually out to get me.
(2) Our lives are designed around cars. Socially, we go out and see people. We meet them in places that aren't near our homes after work, between other social events, etc. What I realized in not owning a car is that because it takes sooooo long to get places on the bus, you end up doing less. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I realized that I'm such a social butterfly that this was a hard adjustment to make.
Going to the grocery store is different without a car as well. You have to go more often on foot because you can only carry two bags. This problem is compounded by my involvement in the healthcare field. The truly healthy food is in disparate places: farmers markets, whole foods, new seasons, and the co-ops; though all in the same quadrant of Portland, they aren't anywhere near each other on foot. And again the problem of carrying things emerges.
Getting out of the city is another, probably more important aspect that I was missing without a car. I like camping. I like going to the coast. I like road trips. But you can't do these things on the bike very well (unless it becomes the trip itself).
(3) Cars are expensive. Do you know how much I spent on transportation per month including bike parts and riding public transit? $60/month. Total. That is cheap. I just bought a car for $1800, that i hope isn't going to die or need repairs, that costs $30 to fill up every couple weeks, insurance is relatively cheap but still more than $60/month itself, and add the occasional oil change and we're talking at least 4 times the cost. And that doesn't even include the true cost of driving:
What would it cost to drive if the price tag of gas and cars included air pollution, road construction and maintenance; property taxes lost from land cleared for freeways; free parking paid for by taxes; noise and vibration damage to structures; protection of petroleum supply lines; sprawl and loss of transportation options; auto accidents; and congestion? A number of researchers have tried to answer this question, and John Holtzclaw of the Sierra Club profiled eight studies that, when averaged, estimated the true price of gas at $6.05 a gallon.
Which doesn't include the cost of wars (452 billion!) like Iraq, which I posted about here
(4) Gasoline is a dinosaur. I hate that I have to contribute to this. I really do. But the alternatives aren't there yet for a starving student who needs to get around. I looked into running a diesel on free vegetable oil but that seemed like more work and time than taking public transport. I think Biodiesel is trading one problem (foreign dependence on oil) for the same one (where do you think they get the fertilizer to grow the biodiesel?). I'm waiting for the Algae/Hydrogen powered car - I'll probably have a real job by then too, so I might even be able to afford it.
So, in conclusion, it might seem entirely contradictory that I now own a car. Or maybe it doesn't even seem like it. But there are tradeoffs, and if its one thing that Chinese Medicine has taught me is that things aren't inherently good or bad, they just are:
--------------------------------------------
Harmony is only in following the Way.
The Way is without form or quality,
But expresses all forms and qualities;
The Way is hidden and implicate,
But expresses all of nature;
The Way is unchanging,
But expresses all motion.
Beneath sensation and memory
The Way is the source of all the world.
How can I understand the source of the world?
By accepting.
--------------------------------------------Tao Te Ching Chapter 21
Thursday, August 09, 2007
butterflies
there's a new image at brandonblogtastic-land from the Helfgotters:
The butterfly in this context specifically shows support for a universal health care involving compassionate health practitioners, who seek the root cause for suffering, who are educated with effective tools for treating sickness and suffering, who possess exemplary bed-side mannerisms, and who rely on treatment methodology that does not harm the patient.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
presidents
i love voting. you know this. so whenever a big race is looming i get kinda giddy. mostly cause everyone seems to have an opinion and i like to hear how people have distilled the news and their personal life experiences to either support or not support and individual candidate. At this point, everything is very wide open: there are many democratic candidates to choose from as well as some possible late entries (keeping my fingers crossed for Gore to enter late).
I think Iraq is a non-issue. Its a very bad situation and anything you do at this point is crisis management. Clearly we need an apology in the hopes of building an international presence. Other issues are more important to me for this race, namely health-care and a sane environmental/energy policy. When I look at who offers the most compelling vision on these things I like Chris Dodd and John Edwards. Dodd's healthcare plan goes the furthest, ensuring every american is covered using a national marketplace of current providers. Dodd's energy policy is also the most comprehensive. Biodiesel isn't a total solution but a good band-aid for the moment (I want to see numbers on how much petroleum-based fertilizer it takes to fertilize all that corn). Obama and Hillary are obviously the ones to beat because they've raised the most money, but their policies are kinda dull - which isn't surprising as they're pandering to what they think the middle is. Yawn.
My friend rob is hoping for a Blumberg-Chuck Hagel ticket. Silly rob.
A neat way to see who has what money and from whom they got it is at this cool site.
What do you think? Who do you like at this point?
I think Iraq is a non-issue. Its a very bad situation and anything you do at this point is crisis management. Clearly we need an apology in the hopes of building an international presence. Other issues are more important to me for this race, namely health-care and a sane environmental/energy policy. When I look at who offers the most compelling vision on these things I like Chris Dodd and John Edwards. Dodd's healthcare plan goes the furthest, ensuring every american is covered using a national marketplace of current providers. Dodd's energy policy is also the most comprehensive. Biodiesel isn't a total solution but a good band-aid for the moment (I want to see numbers on how much petroleum-based fertilizer it takes to fertilize all that corn). Obama and Hillary are obviously the ones to beat because they've raised the most money, but their policies are kinda dull - which isn't surprising as they're pandering to what they think the middle is. Yawn.
My friend rob is hoping for a Blumberg-Chuck Hagel ticket. Silly rob.
A neat way to see who has what money and from whom they got it is at this cool site.
What do you think? Who do you like at this point?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
What is the What
by Dave Eggers. It had been awhile since I read me some fiction. School does that to a man. Because my time is so limited it was hard to decide on what to read. I actually spent a week deciding, which seems ironic as I could have just read another book while i was evaluating my options. But I went with What is the What and I am happy I did.
I read Eggers' first book A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and thought it quite a bit less than genius. But that was a long time ago and I was a pretty different person. What is the What is an autobiographical novel. It is fiction, but it is not fiction. What results is more realistic than any historical account could possibly be. It captures the story of one (of thousands) Valantino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee whose home and life was devastated by the long running civil war. The Darfur region gets all the press these days, but growing up in southern Sudan was (and maybe still is) a nightmare of its own kind. Deng was one of the "Lost Boys," children who watch their parents get murdered and then flee, walking across the entire width of Sudan to Ethiopia where they eventually settle. Its an amazingly horrific story and any summary I could give would be truly pathetic. All I'm going to say is, read it. A glimpse of this man's life is enough to know how beautifully difficult life can be. What people survived and what people endure.
All of the proceeds of the book go to a foundation dedicated to restore villages in southern Sudan and give refugees a chance to go to college. Buy it here.
I read Eggers' first book A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and thought it quite a bit less than genius. But that was a long time ago and I was a pretty different person. What is the What is an autobiographical novel. It is fiction, but it is not fiction. What results is more realistic than any historical account could possibly be. It captures the story of one (of thousands) Valantino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee whose home and life was devastated by the long running civil war. The Darfur region gets all the press these days, but growing up in southern Sudan was (and maybe still is) a nightmare of its own kind. Deng was one of the "Lost Boys," children who watch their parents get murdered and then flee, walking across the entire width of Sudan to Ethiopia where they eventually settle. Its an amazingly horrific story and any summary I could give would be truly pathetic. All I'm going to say is, read it. A glimpse of this man's life is enough to know how beautifully difficult life can be. What people survived and what people endure.
All of the proceeds of the book go to a foundation dedicated to restore villages in southern Sudan and give refugees a chance to go to college. Buy it here.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
CCMClock
In Classical Chinese Medicine the body is governed by the operation of 12 organ networks that are active at different times of the day according to their differing physiological characteristics. For example, the Large Intestine represents the explosive energy of the sunrise. When you take a 24 hour day and divide it by 12 you get 2 hours per organ. But not really, because this method doesn't take into account the longer daylight hours during the summer and shorter daylight hours during the winter. What you really want is a clock that calibrates to this.
After talking with a couple of my teachers, and thinking it might be more clinically relevant to know which organ network was currently most active, I devised a widget for Mac OS X. It calculates sunrise and sunset based on a given location (longitude and latitude) and maps the current time to the energetics of the correct organ. Here's a sample:
Email me if you're interested in obtaining this. I'm offering lifetime support for $20. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 or above.
After talking with a couple of my teachers, and thinking it might be more clinically relevant to know which organ network was currently most active, I devised a widget for Mac OS X. It calculates sunrise and sunset based on a given location (longitude and latitude) and maps the current time to the energetics of the correct organ. Here's a sample:
Email me if you're interested in obtaining this. I'm offering lifetime support for $20. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 or above.
Monday, February 26, 2007
wall street
so i recently sold some stock from my old company and had to figure out how to re-invest it. its a relatively unpleasant task. as most of you know, i am a card-carrying tree hugger so investing in companies who are doing work that is socially and environmentally important (and also at the same time profitable) is a difficult thing to achieve. there are some socially-responsible (SRI) mutual funds out there but they are ultimately expensive and underperform the S&P. Being "good" doesn't have to entail unprofitability! i did end up settling on some interesting stocks that i figured i would share, since the research was a bit of work. please note that my method of investing is to buy and hold for the long term.
Startech (STHK): This company uses plasma guns to liquefy and vaporize trash! How cool is that? The output of the process is heat (of course), a glass that can be used in construction, and a gas that can be converted into hydrogen fuel. the whole thing is essentially self running once you get it started on trash. They were just covered in popular science magazine.
Whole Foods (WFMI): You all know Whole Foods. Basically, despite Michael Pollan's taking them to task on not being exactly as wholesome as advertised, I still think this is a great company, with a great product, and a great future. I think they're going to be the next Starbucks. Whenever I shop I vote with my money and I buy organic, as local as possible. Did you know organic produce may have 5 times the nutrients that non-organic do?
Linear Technologies (LLTC): Linear Technologies is a company that makes analog circuits, mostly in the arena of power management. I had a whole lot of experience with LTC at my previous engineering jobs and they have the most talented engineers working for them. They are a 5-star morningstar stock and are on the new clean energy index (CLEN) that was just introduced last week. They have an awesome profit sharing and employee ownership policy, which I'm all for.
Energy Conversion Devices (ENER): another CLEN stock. these guys sell solar in the european and north american markets as well as batteries for hybrids and lower-power memory chips for computing. the outlook for the next 5 years looks really good for this company. i love solar because it has minimal impact and eventually pays for itself. 4-stars on morningstar.
Advanced Analogic Technologies (AATI): these guys are similar to Linear Tech, and are also a 5-star stock on the CLEN. the big difference is that they are a much smaller company but focus on the consumer electronics market quite a bit more: cellphone backlighting. so the potential upside is huge.
Startech (STHK): This company uses plasma guns to liquefy and vaporize trash! How cool is that? The output of the process is heat (of course), a glass that can be used in construction, and a gas that can be converted into hydrogen fuel. the whole thing is essentially self running once you get it started on trash. They were just covered in popular science magazine.
Whole Foods (WFMI): You all know Whole Foods. Basically, despite Michael Pollan's taking them to task on not being exactly as wholesome as advertised, I still think this is a great company, with a great product, and a great future. I think they're going to be the next Starbucks. Whenever I shop I vote with my money and I buy organic, as local as possible. Did you know organic produce may have 5 times the nutrients that non-organic do?
Linear Technologies (LLTC): Linear Technologies is a company that makes analog circuits, mostly in the arena of power management. I had a whole lot of experience with LTC at my previous engineering jobs and they have the most talented engineers working for them. They are a 5-star morningstar stock and are on the new clean energy index (CLEN) that was just introduced last week. They have an awesome profit sharing and employee ownership policy, which I'm all for.
Energy Conversion Devices (ENER): another CLEN stock. these guys sell solar in the european and north american markets as well as batteries for hybrids and lower-power memory chips for computing. the outlook for the next 5 years looks really good for this company. i love solar because it has minimal impact and eventually pays for itself. 4-stars on morningstar.
Advanced Analogic Technologies (AATI): these guys are similar to Linear Tech, and are also a 5-star stock on the CLEN. the big difference is that they are a much smaller company but focus on the consumer electronics market quite a bit more: cellphone backlighting. so the potential upside is huge.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
脾胃者倉廩之官，五味出焉。
That which is the stomach and spleen is the minister of granaries, the five flavors emanate from it.” This statement from the Neijing is very profound in that it sets in motion the basic physiology of the digestive system, but also that of all herbal treatment. The “five flavors” are more than just flavors, they are the energetic components that make up everything we ingest, from food to medicine. In seeing we call these components colors, in hearing we call these components tones, in smelling we call them odours, and in eating we call them flavors.
As pointed out, taste is the yin component of a flavor and yang the qi portion. Thus a food or herb that has a strong taste is more yin and “thick” than a taste that is more neutral and more yang and “thin.” The consumption of overly rich foods in modern times thus makes sense that we see so many excess yin conditions of obesity and depression. The five tastes correspond to the five elements (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty) and the qi of an herb is classified as cold, hot, warm, or cool.
Looking at the anatomy and physiology of the spleen through this five elemental lens yields some interesting findings. Primarily, the location of the spleen and its subsequent shape itself is dictated by physical contact with the stomach, the left kidney, and the diaphragm (lungs). The connections are obvious: physical contact entails that when one enlarges, the other must retreat and give-way. The laterally adjacent stomach and spleen (connected via the gastrosplenic ligament) balance each other energetically, the former descending and the latter ascending as if on a teeter-totter. The spleen also allows the lung to breathe (the generating cycle of Earth to Metal). An engorged spleen (Splenomegaly) would impinge on this area. So too would an enlarged spleen effect the left kidney (an interesting expression of Earth controlling Water).
The Spleen, containing the largest collection of lymphoid tissue in the body therefore makes good sense that it would be the clock pair of the Triple Warmer (sometimes thought to be the lymphatic system in general or the Extra-Cellular Matrix or connective tissue). As a holder of lymph and blood (30-40% of the bodies total platelet count), the Spleen blends the yin (blood) and yang (lymph) to clean and mount attacks. In this way, the Spleen can be seen as raising the clear freshly cleaned blood and lymph back into circulation. Splenectomies usually result in increased susceptibility to bacterial infection due to this lack of clearing ability.
In other pathologies such as congestive splenomegaly, the venous return system of the spleen becomes clogged. Interestingly, this usually only occurs in patients who already have liver cirrhosis. Because of the congested venous return, the heart begins to back-up and have experience its own problems. This is clearly a case of Wood invading Earth, a “wicked evil”, giving rise to the “Excess Evil” of Earth reversely controlling Fire. In a particular patient with congestive splenomegaly and liver cirrhosis, if the initiating factor is in fact determined to be liver excess the causative situation could be this “wicked evil.” These evils arise and are treated from the control cycle. When Wood over-controls Earth, the method is to tonify the controller of Wood, or Metal. This is done with pungent herbs such as Gui Zhi (cinnamon twig) and Fu Zi (aconite).
Another example of a Spleen pathology is a Splenic Infarct, which is essentially a lesion caused by an embolism originating from the circulatory system. In this case we can apply the 5 elemental understanding of physiology to see that Fire is influencing Earth in this case. With just the diagnosis of Splenic Infarct it is difficult to know if this is due to a deficiency or excessive condition. The former would be treated as a “Deficiency Evil” and the latter as a “Proper Evil.” Luckily, the treatments are identical in flavor. To treat deficiency, the Fire element, or Heart, would be treated by tonifying the Water element by using the bitter flavor. In the case of Proper Evils, we would support that organ with its corresponding flavor; in this case, the heart with bitter.
These are just two examples where a modern diagnosis can be explained and treated from the ancient methods of Chinese Medicine.
As pointed out, taste is the yin component of a flavor and yang the qi portion. Thus a food or herb that has a strong taste is more yin and “thick” than a taste that is more neutral and more yang and “thin.” The consumption of overly rich foods in modern times thus makes sense that we see so many excess yin conditions of obesity and depression. The five tastes correspond to the five elements (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty) and the qi of an herb is classified as cold, hot, warm, or cool.
Looking at the anatomy and physiology of the spleen through this five elemental lens yields some interesting findings. Primarily, the location of the spleen and its subsequent shape itself is dictated by physical contact with the stomach, the left kidney, and the diaphragm (lungs). The connections are obvious: physical contact entails that when one enlarges, the other must retreat and give-way. The laterally adjacent stomach and spleen (connected via the gastrosplenic ligament) balance each other energetically, the former descending and the latter ascending as if on a teeter-totter. The spleen also allows the lung to breathe (the generating cycle of Earth to Metal). An engorged spleen (Splenomegaly) would impinge on this area. So too would an enlarged spleen effect the left kidney (an interesting expression of Earth controlling Water).
The Spleen, containing the largest collection of lymphoid tissue in the body therefore makes good sense that it would be the clock pair of the Triple Warmer (sometimes thought to be the lymphatic system in general or the Extra-Cellular Matrix or connective tissue). As a holder of lymph and blood (30-40% of the bodies total platelet count), the Spleen blends the yin (blood) and yang (lymph) to clean and mount attacks. In this way, the Spleen can be seen as raising the clear freshly cleaned blood and lymph back into circulation. Splenectomies usually result in increased susceptibility to bacterial infection due to this lack of clearing ability.
In other pathologies such as congestive splenomegaly, the venous return system of the spleen becomes clogged. Interestingly, this usually only occurs in patients who already have liver cirrhosis. Because of the congested venous return, the heart begins to back-up and have experience its own problems. This is clearly a case of Wood invading Earth, a “wicked evil”, giving rise to the “Excess Evil” of Earth reversely controlling Fire. In a particular patient with congestive splenomegaly and liver cirrhosis, if the initiating factor is in fact determined to be liver excess the causative situation could be this “wicked evil.” These evils arise and are treated from the control cycle. When Wood over-controls Earth, the method is to tonify the controller of Wood, or Metal. This is done with pungent herbs such as Gui Zhi (cinnamon twig) and Fu Zi (aconite).
Another example of a Spleen pathology is a Splenic Infarct, which is essentially a lesion caused by an embolism originating from the circulatory system. In this case we can apply the 5 elemental understanding of physiology to see that Fire is influencing Earth in this case. With just the diagnosis of Splenic Infarct it is difficult to know if this is due to a deficiency or excessive condition. The former would be treated as a “Deficiency Evil” and the latter as a “Proper Evil.” Luckily, the treatments are identical in flavor. To treat deficiency, the Fire element, or Heart, would be treated by tonifying the Water element by using the bitter flavor. In the case of Proper Evils, we would support that organ with its corresponding flavor; in this case, the heart with bitter.
These are just two examples where a modern diagnosis can be explained and treated from the ancient methods of Chinese Medicine.
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