Week Six----The Nature of Life ....

How do you distinguish between living and non-living systems? .....To me, "living" implies a constant state of 'coming into being'---one is always 'becoming', shifting and changing through interaction with one's environment. Re-organizing. Adapting, for better or worse, but still able to adapt and thus live. I think of qi and its aggregation (life) and dispersal (death). To me, non-living systems are 'objects'---like a shoe. My shoes do not have the ability to generate new soles as they are worn down by friction with the pavement, and they never had this ability. The cognition factor is a bit complicating for me---meaning, cognition is usually associated with consciousness ...but are all living systems conscious? It is our consciousness that allows (or causes) us to see ourselves as separate, closed systems. We do not have roots. We must imagine that we do. We have a past, family and ancestors. But we are still individuals. I think about plant life. Plants have roots, and they are clearly living. And I feel that plants have their own kind of innate intelligence, but is it consciousness? Strange to think how different living systems may perceive the same world ....and how it is impossible to know the reality of any other.

What do you feel is the significance of the use of language and tools in chimps? ....In general, I feel that humans have this attitude that our species is the only species that could have language or the intelligence to use tools, but more to the point, when we witness these abilities in other creatures, we are marvelled and treat it as a novel 'discovery'. In the case of chimps, we are especially prone to treat their abilities to communicate with each other, or make and use tools, as something that informs us about ourselves---as if we are gazing upon our past in the present and---wow!---look how far we have come! I feel that the only significance that can be ascribed to chimps's use of language and tools is that they are intelligent beings interacting with each other and their environment. Any attempt to connect these 'findings' with human evolution are grasping attempts on the part of man frantic desperate to name his origins.

"Chinese Medicine Gaining Respectability in the West" ....I think most of us have some experience to share about how Western Medicine has let us down. Perhaps it is the very thing that brought us to the study of Chinese Medicine. Western Medicine is highly successful at treating traumas (this is my only reason for having medical insurance), but overall, I feel like it fails to see the bigger picture---whether that be the view of the body (mind and spirit) as a wholistic system, the treatment of symptoms and not the source problem, the deeper societal implications of a healthcare system that regards care as an economic privilege rather than a human right, etc.... What impresses me most about Chinese medical care is the level of interaction between the practitioner and the patient. The practitioner asks questions and listens, but more than anything---listens. I feel that many Westerners are becoming more and more disheartened by the poor level of care that they receive from their generic HMO plan. (Get 'em in and get 'em out! Pay your bill.) Because Chinese Medicine's diagnostic techniques rely so strongly on the patient-practitioner relationship, people automatically feel like they are receiving a higher standard of care. The fact that Chinese Medicine is gaining more respect in the West is in part due to Western Medicine's acceptance of Oriental medical modalities. Western Medicine still holds a position of authority in our society---afterall, many people still need a doctor's validation that they are 'sick' in order to acknowledge that their health is out of balance. But I do feel that in terms of healthcare, the health-carelessness that many of us are used to is being recognized as sub-standard. Our healthcare system is dictated by insurance companies, and with that, I am not sure how I feel about Chinese Medicine being subsumed into the Western Medical system (as it stands). This is a huge issue with many points to examine. But overall, I feel that this is a great time to be studying Chinese Medicine---as people mind's open more to the possibilites of non-Western treatment modalities, the more hope I have for positive changes in our country's healthcare system and standards of care.