Just a short note today. This morning I received an email from an acupuncturist asking for tips for sustaining commitment. The writer commented that I seem to have no trouble with it. It took me aback because the premise of the question is that there is an elusive effort or skill in such commitment. Certainly there is effort in communicating for me as an acupuncturist: the discipline for writing, publishing, recording and teaching, but commitment to the medicine doesn’t require any obscure effort because it simply naturally resides alongside the feeling of constant amazement. Witnessing the reversal of chronic degenerative diseases, the relief from symptoms recurring for decades, the regaining of flexibility and movement, the awakening to one’s purpose—all these are beautifully addressed with acupuncture. Commitment then could be said to arise naturally as a result of gratitude and appreciation for our medicine.
The treatment space is the place where commitment is best focused, and in order to get there, be it in person or online, the practitioner holds her intention in the room with a strong sense of concentration and doesn’t let it drop. The potential success of the treatment increases exponentially. My suggested statement of intention for work in the channels is very simple and common to all treatments: “during this hour, may the flow of energy in this body, mind and spirit become freer”. That’s it. Your written treatment strategy might be, for example, to “build blood”, “to free wei qi”, to ascend Spleen qi”, or “to communicate heart and kidneys”, but the body has a way of hearing the treatment principle and then embarking on its own take of what it needs to do to become freer. I mean that the body can hear the practitioner’s intention and then go off on its own tangent to reach a state of increased freedom. If the practitioner holds an overarching, unwavering intention for greater freedom in the patient, freedom comes about because the body, mind and spirit naturally want to engage in expansion. The intrinsic purpose of the being, the intention of the practitioner, and the natural quest for expanded consciousness in humanity are all in sync in the room. It’s difficult to explain the kind of concentration and commitment that is required in the treatment space, but to me these videos below show the poignancy of that energy exactly. Practice medicine like this and see what happens. It’s mind-blowing.
Ann Cecil-Sterman
Bloomsbury, London, UK.
November 12, 2024
Starts 3:20