I am on the downhill side of life (yes, I’m over 50) and decided to jump into a new adventure; to learn acupuncture! Even though I am a nurse by background, acupuncture is like learning a foreign language. It was, after all, developed in CHINA and they don’t speak American…they speak CHINESE, using all sorts of kanji-like characters that don’t look like anything I learned in grammar school (when I had active brain cells).
That is only half the battle. The other half is that I absolutely KNOW I have many brain cells that are dead. Or they are in a state of perpetual slumber. Needless to say, they are NOT going to get up and learn something like Chinese even with promises of exotic herbs that will take them to new heights of ecstasy. Nope. At this point in life they have their own way of giving me the finger and turning over and going back to sleep.
I had to come up with another plan as to how to learn this stuff because some day (if I live that long) I will be required to pass that awful and horrendous licensing exam before I am allowed to stick it to people (aka placing a needle strategically in a meridian point in the body).
So I have come up with another plan. I decided to tell stories about acupuncture to help try and set things within my memory banks. After all, a good story is kind of like hearing gossip…you get captivated and you remember it, even if it isn’t true.
I recently found a FABULOUS website called Cats TCM Notes, created by an acupuncture student in Austin ,and I thought, isn’t it great how he is helping his fellow students by sharing his class notes and sample tests to help them get through these difficult courses! It was after reading his blog I decided I would come up with my own way of learning … I would find the story behind these foreign sounding herbs, meridian points, or energies so I could remember them. If I couldn’t find REAL stories (because some of them probably don’t exist) I would give myself the freedom to make them up. After all, when you’re old like me, you can bend the truth a bit to survive.
My plan is tell the story behind the story. I’ll try to remember to share if this is a concept that comes from a legitimate source or if it comes from me (at this point I am not legit…I don’t have a license for this stuff).
So, welcome to my a-Q-puncture blog; an experience in learning about a-Q-puncture my way!
Very exciting!! I will look forward to your posts :) I am a newly licensed acupunk in Tucson, AZ. Licensed or not...we are all forever students with this amazing medicine. That's part of why I love it so. We will certainly never get bored! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI am realizing this is such a different art form. I can't wait to learn more!