Where Heroes Meet: Armstrong, Einstein, Acupuncture, and Holistic Medicine

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Where Modern Heroes Lance Armstrong and Einstein meet
Chinese and Holistic medicine Part 1:

Einstein and Acupuncture

[You, your chi, E=MC2, beams of light = fruit]
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There is a saying in Chinese medicine: “blood follows chi.” Chi is the body’s vital life force energy. The saying is the result of thousands of years of study. The Chinese know in the body energy comes before physical matter, in this case, blood. For example, blood can’t go anywhere if there’s no energy pumping the heart to move it. Our brains are seamlessly powered by electrical synapses firing, enabling you to read and process this information Right Now. Even modern doctors and researchers have determined that the energy meridians used in Chinese acupuncture are accurate, primary energy pathways in the body. The Chinese were able to map them without modern technology, but through the careful study, experimentation, and observation of more than two thousand years.

Here is a quote from PBS’s investigative show “FrontLine,” regarding the National Institutes of Health review of Acupuncture’s effectiveness:

In 1997, the NIH published a “consensus development conference statement” on the evidence in favor of acupuncture: “Promising results have emerged, for example, showing efficacy of acupuncture in adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in postoperative dental pain. There are other situations such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma, in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a comprehensive management program. Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful.”

The Chinese understanding of how “blood follows chi” is related to Einstein’s theory that E=MC2. Here is an explanation of that equation from another PBS program, Nova:

"First, though, a capsule explanation of 'energy equals mass times the speed of light squared' might be helpful. On the most basic level, the equation says that energy and mass (matter) are interchangeable; they are different forms of the same thing. Under the right conditions, energy can become mass, and vice versa. We humans don’t see them that way—how can a beam of light and a walnut, say, be different forms of the same thing?—but Nature does."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/legacy.html

Essentially our bodies are not just mass by any means, although we often tend to think of them that way. We are energetic beings as much as we are physical beings. The “mass” of our bodies is created by energy that builds mass - the energy that builds mass is created by the energy and mass we already have (our hearts for example) and the forms of fuel we take in from the universe: oxygen, water, food, sunlight (especially for vitamin D). Even the act of procreation, the sex act - is not only a very physical act - but a very energetic one as well. From the initial act to sperm swimming, energies play a vital role. And many pregnant women will tell you that there is almost nothing as exhausting - I had a friend tell me she felt as tired as if she were climbing a mountain almost every day - making a baby takes all nine months, and astonishing amounts of energy.

Though once more focused on the body in terms of physical and chemical function, modern medicine is becoming increasingly aware of the the importance energy systems play in the health of our bodies. All of our energy systems are related. Have you ever noticed how people can be more irritable when they are tired, or more tired when they are stressed? One of our most important energy systems is our emotional system. Research has proven unequivocally how emotional stress can make us rundown and sick, even showing that when people are under stress, the body has a harder time healing itself. Emotional attitude and support systems during illness can also have a profound effect. A recent studies of heart disease patients found that optimism decreased the chances of dying from the disease:

See article “Optimism Associated With Lowered Risk of Dying From Heart Disease”:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041104011325.htm

Another study that came out this year found that optimism reduced risk of dying from other diseases as well (you can do a google search - there are a lot of articles).

So western medicine is learning that our health is even more complex than once thought, and as a result is becoming increasingly holistic. Conventional medicine is deepening in understanding, finding more and more, that the qualities of our energies (including the qualities of the energies of those around us) are related to the qualities of our matter, and vice-versa. The energy frontiers of modern medicine are expanding, and that is good news for all of us.

(See Part 2: "Lance Armstrong and Holistic Medicine" below)
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