There is Always Hope - When All Seems Lost: Yuan Qi and Acupuncture

I remember when, almost a decade ago now, I  worked for a medical doctor as a PA. We formed a powerful friendship, it became an important influence in my life and perhaps the key encounter that led me to where I am now.

I remember when, in a moment of panic for a personal health concern, she said:

It’s never too late - maybe when you are in the emergency room…but really, not even then! 

This doctor had worked in hospitals dealing with life or death situations, in the trenches, so to speak.

Her words shot through me like a hot arrow and never left. 

The Power of Hope

Hope has been a big thing for me personally. I would say, it’s what saved my life. Even during the darkest, most terrifying times, I had a feeling within me, something that said: “there is a solution, and you will be okay”. 

This hope kept me going, and not only did it do that, it also maintained a sort of fire burning from within my depths - if you have experienced this, perhaps the word faith could come to mind, although perhaps not quite the right one.

Knowing? No, perhaps not even that. 

It felt like a warmth, like I could feel God inside me keeping me warm during the toughest winters, a little flame that let my entire system know that I was not alone. 

This warmth never really left, and despite I experienced quite a harsh separation from my catholic background, I have of late felt a ‘return’ - not so much to the religion itself, but to what this experience ‘gifted’ me with: a quiet feeling of communion with the Divine, and the space to experience this silence and presence.

Understanding the Inner Light as Medicine

As I became an acupuncturist, starting off on the path of understanding disease, I also experienced a return to this inner feeling. As if this Light was calling me to remember it once more. It came one day, as a powerful experience that led me to feel it as clear as day.

And from that day, I was left with a certainty: this Light within is the answer I had been looking for. 

The divinity that we speak of as God within, the Light that can soothe any pain, and also the Light that was gifted to me at the moment of birth. 

And as I practice and learn more about this ancient medicine, I am left in awe as I read and discover how this Light is a living intelligence that can be engaged, almost like our personal, individual blueprint - the hand that can pull us up, and reassure us that indeed there is still hope.

Beyond our Power: Yuan Qi and Yuan Source Points

I remember when at some point, I felt like I had lost contact with this hope - especially when faced with certain health concerns that felt beyond my power. And this is particularly important - the past part: felt beyond my power. 

Only a fool would deny that there are situations in life when we feel this way. Disease is one of them - whether it is physical or psychological - and I would say the latter could feel even more challenging, when one feels out of control or unable to function emotionally and mentally. 

But experiencing this light, and discovering how this is a real tangible force within us brought this hope back, along with a knowing that indeed there IS hope. 

The other day, I was knee deep reading one of my favourite books by Lonny S Jarret - The Clinical Practice of Chinese Medicine and I felt incredible joy when reading his description of Youan Source Points, powerful doorways found on each meridian that grant us access to our Youan Qi, or Original Qi. 

When we experience these points being needed with the right intention, they can have a powerful life-changing effect. People report feeling like their soul has been touched, like they can finally remember who they are, like a huge weight has been lifted, like they have been recognised at their core. 

And so here is an abstract from this chapter - I feel it answers the question I get so many times: is there still hope for me? My answer is almost always yes, and it comes from my inner knowing of this Light and what it is capable of. 

This passage also wonderfully gives words to my experience of healing from the inside out (and healing here isn’t intended as fixing, but remembering Innate Nature beyond our pain and beyond narrative). 

An Abstract from Lonny S. Jarret

 “The character Yuan (元), translated as "Source," refers to the primordial center of yuanqi that lies in each person's depth. Source points empower the connection between this vital source of qi and the primal dao as the ultimate source of life […]

After clearing all blocks and creating a stable foundation for further treatment, source points are often the first point to treat on the patient's constitutional meridian. By initiating treatment with the source point, you are accessing a deep source of pure qi that has the potential to reawaken the function of the constitutional official gently but effectively.

In this way, the fundamental virtues inherent in yuanqi can be activated to serve as the guiding influence in the patient's life, thus providing a stream of fresh qi to erode the delusion of the created self from the inside out. 

By touching patients at their source, we have effectively reached back to the moment of conception prior to life's traumas to reinstitute the flow of purpose into the world. Such an invocation may serve notice to the deepest well of the patient's being that help is available and the time for healing is at hand" (L. S. Jarret, 2003. p. 260). 

Connecting with Our Self as Medicine

I have seen incredible shifts and transformation happen with this type of work.

There are many who argue that the mind often distorts our view of reality, and that we are constantly entranched into a 'broth' of self-delusion and ego-driven responses that obscure our ability to see and experience things for what they are.

But this is only true if we choose to believe that our Mind alone shapes our reality, and that we are the mind.

I agree with this view to a point - what I do not agree with is that our Mind alone governs our lives and that we are incapable of consciously connecting with a source of Knowing beyond this realm.

Of course, there are people who do not truly want to feel well or live solely through their Mind. This might indeed be because their Ego is set on self-preservation and, in its attempt to maintain order, it keeps the person in a state of constant bitterness, resentment and anger towards an unyielding past and an unfair life. The person might be constantly revisiting past events and try to either change or understand them, in hopes of finding some solace, and reach a point of resolution.

This could theoretically serve as proof that indeed the Mind is in control and one must stop trying to make sense of the events of life for it is a waste of time (the mind will never be able to give a true reading of reality).

What is see here, however, is nothing more than separation, the result of a disconnection between the Mind and the Heart, the part of us that operates beyond reason and in the realms of knowing.

Treatment using this type of acupuncture proved this to me that this is the case beyond the possibility of doubt: we are not just the mind.

Silence as Medicine - When Energy Meets Intention

The beauty of acupuncture is that at the time of treatment, all one can hear in the room is silence.

No words are spoken on the above matters. This is because the practice itself has nothing to do with the Mind as we understand it.

To me, an acupuncture session is a meeting between two souls.

Silence is often necessary as the time when the acupuncture points are chosen and the needles inserted, the room becomes filled with a sort of charge, and often, both the practitioner and the patient are aware that there is a force that is taking 'control', an energy that directs intention and interaction between the energy of the patient and the practitioner.

Kindling Hope

And so, to conclude this, I will return to the theme of Hope. When we loose hope or feel there is nothing that can be done about our situation, we fall into some sort of despair. This is because it is part of human nature to desire to control reality.

Disease almost always comes with a sene of loss of control.

If this is your case, I will just invite you to consider this possibility: what if control was not needed or not even the problem? From the perspective of Spirit, the resources are there, all we need is to remember them.

And if things are truly untreatable (from a medical standpoint), what if we could find an inner knowing we can surrender to, and allow ourselves to see where this takes us?

A dear friend of mine always reminds me: "when there is Life, there is hope".