Qiological Podcast

I was cautious and reluctant about studying acupuncture when it first really caught my attention.Then there are folks like John McDonald who when he first caught wind of acupuncture thought… far out man, I want to know more about that.That enthusiasm has followed him through his time as a practitioner and even through doing a Ph.D.In this conversation we’ll discuss trickster shamans, the ethics of using the controlling cycle of the Five Phases to influence your patients emotions, why people with stanch beliefs are most easily brainwashed, and the curiosity of how the body “makes decisions.”For sure, it’s far out, and I think you’ll want to know more.

Tinkering and creating, I suspect that anyone who's been lucky enough to have grown up in an environment that encouraged exploration, risk taking and curiosity— they've got a perspective that has them asking “why not” instead of “why.”Figuring out how things work is fun. Even more so when you don’t take other people’s word on what is doable or not, and you go and see for yourself.Adrian Larsen has been one of those “how’s this thing work” kind of people his whole life. That’s what led him into all kinds of interesting projects, one of which was the creation of the acugraph. It’s great when curious people push an edge and find a whole new territory to share with the rest of us.In this conversation we’ll learn more about how the Acugraph came about, as well as how it can be used.

Guest Zoe Coldham, a documentary filmmaker, explores acupuncture's journey to the West. Topics include challenges of introducing Chinese medicine in Western culture, parallels with the monkey's journey to India, London School of Acupuncture's establishment, contrast between Western medicine and acupuncture, and the importance of presenting Chinese medicine on its own terms.

The late 60s and early 70s were a time of openness and experimentation. It was the beginning of the civil rights movement, more equality for women, and the recognition that sexuality included more than love between men and women.Cultural norms were questioned and that included dietary practices, the healing arts and the relationship between humans and the planet. It was in this rich milieu of change that acupuncture started to take root in the imagination and then practice of those who were willing to follow a path with heart.We are going to hear more about those early days with Randall Barolet. Some of you might recognize his name on the first Formula and Strategies book from Eastland Press. Randall did not set out to be a translator, that was something that organically showed up as he followed his interest with Chinese medicine.In the words of Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter, what a long strange trip it’s been.

It’s fun to solve problems. Especially when you’re not quite sure what to do, so you have to pay attention and learn what’s important. You must develop the capacity to learn from both your failures and success.Mark Brinson wanted a liniment for patients and was not happy with what was on the market. So he thought he’d just mix up his own. That turned into a process of learning a lot about everything from the quality of the herbs, to the nature of the water, to distilling his own alcohol.The final product is not just a quality liniment, but a point of view. When it comes to marketing and assisting practitioners not just about helping their patients, but also doing well financially so they can sustainably do their doctoring work.Listen into this conversation on herbal alchemy, marketing with a sense of humor and how to have fun as a mad scientist.

The Chinese are right, the brain is a curious organ. The way the nerves entangle their way into every aspect of our body, and how their gentle electric hum gives us awareness of this container we call ourselves.Pain is how our nervous system lets us know there is a problem. Acupuncture has rightfully been seen and used as a way to intervene. Strangely enough the ear has a powerful influence on the brain and nervous system.In this conversation with John Howard we take a look at  Battlefield Acupuncture, its origin, unique place in the military, and how it works with the curious organ of the brain.Listen into this discussion on the influence of the zero point, the curious relationship between blood types and pain, sacred the geometry of 30 degree angles, importance of titration and how causing some trouble got him a job working for the Yankees.

Rory Hiltbrand explores mathematics, Donghan Daoist numerology, and metaphysics in a mind-bending discussion. Topics include sacred geometry, alchemy, Quantum mechanics, multidimensional reality, mysticism, numerology in acupuncture, energy fields, transformation symbols, Saham acupuncture, gallbladder's role, and the interplay of perception and belief.

While many are keen on looking to “science up” acupuncture and squeeze it into the thinking and theories of conventional medicine, others are quite content with the weirdness of it. And enjoy playing around in the territory that’s off the radar of Western science. Julian Scott is one of those pioneering acupuncturists whose background in theoretical physics primed him for the strangeness of the world of acupuncture.In this conversation we explore how healing and science don’t always go together. His surprising introduction to treating children, and the weirdness that is inherent to both physics and healing.Listen into this discussion on root causes, developmental stages, the influence of vaccines, along with the role of mind-to-mind connection and emanation in healing.

John Rybak discusses bridging Eastern and Western perspectives in acupuncture, emphasizing effective communication, scope of practice losses, advocacy, and expanding vocabulary. The conversation highlights challenges in teaching Chinese medicine, transformative power of acupuncture, unspoken challenges in practice, competition vs. cooperation in medicine, Samhama acupuncture style, safety in acupuncture practices, and integrating traditional and modern medical concepts.

Brenda Hood often reminds me “Chinese concepts, especially classical Chinese concepts, are big and multidimensional. They are extremely dependent on context and while shades of meaning often cross over, they can be quite different and be more or less encompassing of ideas depending on actual context.”Which is why I’m always questioning myself when wrestling ancient Chinese ideas. What’s more, it will seem culture itself is constantly rewriting history to fit the current zeitgeist. So words and ideas, they shape-shift through time.In this episode we discuss 意 Yi, commonly translated as Meaning or Significance, and also as Intention.Intention gets talked about a lot in our trade, but for me over the course of time, I feel less and less clear just what Intention is, and how it relates to my clinical work. I’ve got some questions about it, and was delighted to sit down with Stephen Boyington, Leslie de Vries and Volker Scheid to see if they could thrown some light on what for me has increasingly become a murky term.Listen into this both scholarly and practical discussion on 意, Yi as it relations to medicine and how the doctors, poets and calligraphers over the centuries have puzzled over this as well.