Philosophy of Classical Chinese Medicine

“Space is not empty. It is full, a plenum as opposed to a vacuum, and is the ground for the existence of everything, including ourselves. The universe is not separate from this cosmic sea of energy.”

- David Bohm

Humans beings are essentially made from stardust which contains limitless possibilities!
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a. matter (aka stardust) - the physical, tangible parts of the physical body, and
b. consciousness (aka limitless possibilities) - the non-physical, intangible things that animates life. 

The living body has a remarkable capacity to heal. When we understand the principles that underpin this we can effectively learn to prevent or to heal  from sickness.

The philosophy behind Western medicine, based upon the materialist, mechanistic view, regards the physical body as a machine with separate parts which can be fixed when it malfunctions. It also views that consciousness somehow arises from this collection of physical material. In other words it cannot fully explain what consciousness is or how exactly it works, referring to it as "the ghost in the machine".  For some aspects of health, it’s a good model, up to a point. 

A few of the mechanisms for how the body can functions have been discovered in the fields of anatomy & physiology. Yet the question remains as to why these parts should function at all, let alone so astonishingly well, remains somewhat mysterious. In other words the anatomy (what the body is) and the physiology (how it functions) has been well mapped out. Yet the physics (the why the body functions at all and so well)  hasn't quiet been resolved by the materialistic view.

Cue the philosophy that underpins CCM, which alludes to an invisible force behind the workings of universal processes. This force is referred to as qi. Indeed physicists such as David Bohm have also arrived at this possibility.

I think the forces that govern the physical world such as gravity, magnetism, and electricity, are a subset of this universal life force.

This force that powers all life processes is not so abstract as it initially sounds. One can observe this in everything from conception, to growth of the body, through to natural order in nature, keeping the planets in orbit as well as the magnitude of order in the cosmos. This same force also governs the functioning of the physical body. It functions without us thinking or knowing about it. When one doesn’t try to impose any conceptual explanations, one can only marvel at how intricately ordered everything is. This alludes to the possibility of a magnificent creative force behind all of this. Humanity has placed many names to try to rationalise this occurrence, yet it remains beyond definition, and functions for all of life. It just is.

The very same force is at work in keeping our body functioning in the way it does, despite the injuries, traumas, and incredible stresses one puts upon it. From one point of view these forces act to protect and sustain humanity.

For instance before Newton discovered it, the force of gravity still exerted it’s function on all things. Yet since it’s discovery humanity has been able to harness it’s power for many astounding material advancements.

The philosophy which underpins CCM offers a compelling and fairly consistent explanation to the underlying physics - or forces - that shapes the why of life. Over it’s nearly 5000 year history it’s learned to harness, refine, write about it and pass on this understanding. Once we learn to tap into this force, it can offer astounding advances in human wellbeing.  CCM  has innovated tools and methods for tapping into and harnessing this force towards all aspects of human health, performance, and evolution

There are many ways which CCM can help us to attune us to and direct this force towards health and healing.. Acupuncture is one such tool, and that I’m proficient at. There are other tools which can be taught and practiced such as food therapy, qigong exercises, and meditation for self-directed healing.

Of course a model or theory is merely a representation of reality, not reality itself. In other words the map is not the territory. So when applying the theories of CCM to formulating an individual health plan, it’s important to be mindful of this for both physician and patient.

References
The Quantum Doctor, Amit Goswami
Mind to Matter, Dawson Church