The Specifics of Acupuncture

Many articles in the news today about acupuncture report the benefits towards specific ailments. For example, recent news articles say that acupuncture may be beneficial to treat heart disease. While I recognize that these articles are beneficiary towards the practice, they are misleading in the sense that they imply that acupuncture can only treat this or that.

While the truth is that acupuncture and herbs can be applied to almost any medical ailment. Short of medical emergencies, when it is my opinion that Western medicine is superior, acupuncture can successfully treat most medical complications. Acupuncture and herbal treatments are broad and diverse, and the aim is to alleviate symptoms and to cure the source of the problem. It is a medical field which has existed for millennia, and can be used to treat just about anything.

The main goal of medicine in general is to maintain health. A lot of this is preventative. For example, if a doctor tells you you have high blood pressure, but it's only slightly high. The right course is to change your diet and potentially take some herbs and get acupuncture. In most cases, the high blood pressure can be decreased this way. However, most Western doctors prescribe HBP medications which alter the body's abilities to moderate blood pressure on its own. This only makes the problem worse because you are now dependent on that medication.

The purpose of acupuncture, herbs and other healing modalities is to regulate your body's system so as to make you self sufficient. If you have a long standing chronic medical condition, it may take longer to do this. But your body will not become reliant on acupuncture or herbs,

in the same way that you will be reliant on Western drugs.

Western medicine, for all its innovations and advancements, creates a reliance. That reliance translates into dollars. It is the healthcare system, which IMO needs some major adjustments.

The End of New Age-ism

Since the the 1960s, there have been hippies. These tree-loving, drug-taking kids(now baby boomers) were born out of a post-war era. Their optimism and radical behavior was caused by a pursuit of truth. But as all youthful pursuits go, they grew up, had kids, got jobs. Their ideals never went away, but only the way in which they sought them. They slowly realized that seeking justice applied to seeking truth in their own lives. The sit-ins, the rebellions, the concerts formed a movement and brought them all together for a common cause. But as the distractions of life both sidetracked them and gave them purpose, the movement died down.

Although the movement has ceased, the consciousness has not left us. The 60s is often considered the time in human history when the concept of the New Age came initially into our culture. This is when women's rights became important. This is when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed. This is when people first objected to wars occurring on the other side of the world. All of these ideas have shaped our culture in ways that are unimaginable.

Today, you call something New Age and it is an insult. The ideas of flighty, ungrounded, esoteric pursuits are readily criticized. As we look at the problems in the world, we may think to ourselves, "A lot of good that did us." The term New Age conjures up seances, incense burning and general hokiness. It certainly isn't "new" anymore; it has become dated.



That is why is prime time to develop a new philosophy about the alternative healing powers of acupuncture, massage, reiki, meditation, to name a few examples.
The term New Age has become antiquated.