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Deepest Health
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An informative and entertaining blog pertaining to Classical Chinese Medicine. Covers basic and advanced information about CCM, but also explores the intersections of Chinese philosophy (medical and non-medical) with personal productivity, politics,
Recent Posts Tagged With 'herbal medicine'
The sages of Chinese antiquity stood facing South
Today, on a walk I was taught an important lesson by some late migrating geese. In the late summer and autumn, we get a whole lot of geese flying overhead in my neighborhood. We live pretty close to a couple of wildlife refuges, one being specificall...
Reawakening the faculty of touch in learning Chinese herbs
So, I didn’t write much about using the faculty of sight in learning Chinese herbs. That’s mostly because I’m doing other research about it, particularly around the doctrine of signatures and I’d prefer to write more when I ha...
Setting yourself up for learning success : First, know thyself
In my last article, I mentioned my idea that the best way to learn Chinese herbs is through what I’m calling the “relational method.” Before we can dive headlong into the process I am describing, we need to prepare some ground. Toda...
A relational method of learning Chinese herbs
I’ve been working on developing some courses I want to teach. I plan to teach them online, via an extension of Deepest Health, but also some using the Gift Economy model at my clinic – Watershed Community Wellness. Some of these courses w...
Using Devonthink to learn and write about the Chinese herbal formula Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang
I will write more about specific thoughts I have about Devonthink and how it’s been learning to use it. First, though, I want to describe how it has been helping me. Of course, this obsession of mine is not really about Devonthink. It’s a...
Upcoming Portland-area Chinese medicine events of note
I’m continuing to be neck deep in business planning. Today we finalized a bunch of copy for our website, came closer to opening a business bank account, got a bunch of things finalized with the lawyer, and had our first “official” m...
Herbs and acupuncture – eight engaging articles on Deepest Health
Hey folks, I’m still trying to settle on the right publishing schedule. I’m going to let weekends be pretty loose, publishing sometimes but not others. I’m also going to move the topics around a bit to be more conducive to writing g...
Six places to buy Chinese herbs
It’s a scorcher here in Portland – a place known for its cool, wet climate. We’re in the middle of a heatwave that’s bringing us three consecutive triple digit days. I spent most of yesterday having fantastic business meetings...
Deepest Health Classical Chinese Medicine Podcast 14 : Part III of Dr. Versluys interview
On this inaugural day of the New Era here at Deepest Health, I would like to offer something long overdue. You may remember a particularly engaging podcast interview series with Arnaud Versluys PhD, LAc who practices here in Portland, OR but teache...
12 Weeks of Power : The beginning
Engaging in the program I set out a couple of weeks ago hasn’t been much of a problem. Finding the extra moments to use for writing to the blog has been more of a challenge. :) I have altered the program in a couple of important ways, howev...
How am I going to survive the next twelve weeks? A study in the power of Chinese medicine theory
Well, it’s finally come to this - the final quarter of my formal institutional training in Classical Chinese Medicine. Wow. I mean, really, wow. There are quite a few of you out there who are in the same boat I am - looking graduation in th...
The acupuncture channels and Chinese herb flavors
This is a guest post from my friend and colleague, Michael Givens. Please enjoy and look forward to more posts from him in the future. :) — It’s been a while since I’ve submitted an article for this blog, but I recently re...
Herbal quality : the Fuzi (aconite) dilemma
As you all know, herbs are my passion. More accurately, formulas are my passion. Formula science is my passion! :) But, I do have a strong affinity for the herbs as plants and study them as such. Further, I have a real desire to get as close ...
Chinese herb substitution and using local species
I thank you all for your patience as I adjust to my workload. The reality of the situation is that I’m going to have to post what I can, when I can. But, with the onset of clinic I find myself coming up with many new thoughts to share - I&#...
The Art of Palpating the Abdomen for the Purpose of Prescribing Chinese herbal formulas
This is a guest post from recent National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM) graduate, Kumiko Shirai. She is a fine herbalist already and obviously has an expertise in the (almost) lost art of abdominal diagnosis. I have seen this work in action ...
Chinese medicine and cancer : Introduction
One of the things I would like to do as a physician is help people who have various types of cancer. I realize that even this statement will be regarded by some as problematic. Some say that Chinese medicine doesn’t recognize “cancer&...
Eric Grey intern shifts at Pettygrove Classical Chinese Medicine clinic
Just a quick plug before I leave for a leadership retreat. Starting July 3, I will be providing acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine services at Pettygrove clinic in Portland, OR. The address is 232 NW Pettygrove, Portland, OR 97210. We provide...
Experiments in Chinese herbalism : on the dangers of Yin Qiao-itis
What follows is a guest post by my friend and comrade in Shang Han Lun love, G. Michael Reynolds over at the Lifegiving Sword. I think it demonstrates a couple of things. That experimenting with herbs can - obviously - bring mixed results. :) Th...
Understanding Chinese herbs using Classical Chinese Medical thinking
Sometimes I learn small things that turn out to be very useful. I would like to start sharing these as bite sized treats interspersed in between the thicker cuts that many of you are accustomed to here on Deepest Health. Today, I would like to off...
Multi-disciplinary herbal study - Huang Qi
Last term at NCNM, the Classical Chinese Medicine students in my class took a course with Paul Kalnins, an anthroposophical researcher and natural medicine superstar, about the pharmacology of natural substances. We were asked to write a paper about...
Questions for the ancients
I’m part of the student government association at NCNM in Portland, OR and I am currently working on creating a scholarship for Classical Chinese Medicine students at our institution. The SGA funded the scholarship and now I’m just worki...
What do my personal finances have to do with Classical Chinese herbal formulas?
As part of my February Year of Sagely Living commitment, I am listening to Steven Covey’s Principle Centred Leadership on audiobook. It’s a wonderful theory Mr. Covey has put forward and I look forward to discussing it in more detail her...
Why Chinese herbal formula science is the most advanced medicine out there
I’ve been working on reviewing my Fall term notes. It’s been a fun process, one I haven’t done before. I can recommend it highly to any student. I find that it helps me consolidate the knowledge I internalized during the prior th...
Term in review part I : On shift with Arnaud Versluys
I’d like to go back over Fall term 2007 and distill what I feel to be the essence of what I learned in each course or clinic shift. It’s really fascinating to me how full of importance every single class turns out to be, regardless of my...
Don’t call it a comeback
Wow, sorry folks. I didn’t consciously stop blogging which tells you that I must be pretty busy. :) This term has been a lot more intense than I expected it to be - mostly because I’m so engaged in everything that I’m learning th...
A new (awesome) online community for Chinese medicine students and practitioners
Hey everyone. As you may know, I’m a huge proponent of the expansion of use of Internet tools by Chinese medicine practitioners and students. I feel that the potential to exchange information, build relationships and organize political and...
Blog Action Day 2007 : Is Chinese medicine environmentally friendly?
Today is Blog Action Day - one day where many writers come together to blog about a single topic to increase our total impact. This year, the topic is the environment - something near and dear to my heart. In this article, I’d like to suggest...
How to be sure you’re getting safe Chinese herbs
I’ve read numerous articles recently about the alleged dangers of Chinese herbs. One such article, not focused specifically on Chinese herbalism, can be read here. You know, I get a surge of irritation every time I read one of these articles...
Carnival of Healing #104!
It is with great pleasure that I present to you the 104th Carnival of Healing! What is a Blog Carnival? What is the Carnival of Healing? No, there’s no rollercoasters. A Blog Carnival is a special post hosted on a different blog every week or...
Acupuncture/moxibustion or herbs?
I’m still adjusting to the new school flow, I’m taking 23 credits and trying to work outside the blog along with raising my family - so the adjustments are difficult sometimes. Anyway - I do have a quick question that I will follow up soo...
