Point Commentary Articles

Kidney Points 3 through 8

Mar 042013

A walk through Kidney points 3-8

Introduction to Bladder 1 and Bladder 2

Feb 012013

This transcript from the Whole Heart Acupuncture series is an in-depth orientation to the functions of the bladder meridian, and to the functions of BL 1 and BL 2.

There are many kinds of intelligence. Bladder meridian traversing the head is a deeply penetrative – or deeply penetrated – intelligence. This is intelligence like rays of light going out into the darkness, mapping the most distant stars. This is intelligence like rays of light coming in from the darkness—otherwise known as inductive insight.

BL 4

Feb 012013

I have often used BL 4 for an alternate Window of the Sky point. This is absolutely the point that I use when reading in the newspaper about what is going on in the world makes you want to take your head and put it in a bag and hide; when you can’t take it. It’s not just the world that begins to look dark, but the nature of the cosmos.

BL 5

Feb 012013

The intelligence that collects silently in BL 5 is not what is usually called intelligence on tests. It’s like the Taoists who sit in a cave and go deep into the wells of silence. Who can say what it is that you learn from this, exactly? You don’t come back from the cave or sitting on the rock with something that you could publish. But you may walk back into the house and say something to your kid or to your husband that is very different somehow. Or maybe you say nothing, but you can hear them better, with a much quieter ear.

BL 6

Feb 012013

All intellectual knowledge seekers, all of them, what they are really longing for is to receive light—to receive this direct illumination of true knowing right into the brain, the direct penetration into the mind of pure knowing.

BL 7

Feb 012013

This whole area is why many people cover their heads when they pray, and why people who want to live a life of prayer may keep it covered all the time. It’s where we receive heavenly transmission, and so it’s understandable that a devout seeker might want to shield the area a little bit, so that there isn’t a lot of static and buzz and chatter. I’m communing with the mind that is the infinite mind, the darkness penetrated by shafts of light, the stars; it’s the illumined mind beyond my little thinky dinky.

BL 8

Feb 012013

LUO QUE Declining Connection can be a nice reassurance to the earnest seeker who had an illumination on their ten day retreat and now they’re coming back and they are afraid of losing it. It can help them not so fear losing it that they lose it – and instead they ‘lose it’ in a sense but softly; there it is in the dark. It’s in there unconsciously, guiding quietly.

BL 9

Feb 012013

YU ZHEN Jade Pillow is truly at the back of the head which is about the entry into full unconscious. Sleep! This is the part of the Bladder cycle where the light’s completely off, and Bladder’s completely empty.

BL 10

Feb 012013

TIAN ZHU is translated by JR Worsley as Heavenly Pillar. I think I know where Worsley was coming from when he said that, because there is that sense of solidity, and the kind of effortless standing when we are standing in our bones. The character ZHU doesn’t really show a pillar, though. What it shows is some kind of wooden post that is a stable, and that supports a big torch. TIAN ZHU is like a lighthouse that just stands and sheds light. TIAN ZHU might be translated as Heavenly Stable Point of Radiance.

KI points

Jan 012013

KI-1, KI-2, KI-16, and KI-11 are all great points to use post-winter solstice.

Gall Bladder Points on the Head and other Point Commentaries

Apr 232012

An in-depth look at the functions of the Gall bladder points on the head.

Thoughts about Points and Needling

Apr 232012

The Whole Heart Acupuncture perspective on acupuncture points and needling.

CV-Kidney-Stomach-Spleen: Middle Burner

Apr 232012

This transcript from the Whole Heart Acupuncture series is an in-depth orientation to the functions of the middle burner, and to the functions of the CV, Kidney, Stomach and Spleen meridians. The middle burner is about the functional relationships between cognition and digestion, stability and transformation, innate knowledge and acquired experience, silence and inner process, comfort and hard work.

CV-KI-ST-SP in the Lower Burner: The Foundation of Life

Apr 232012

This transcript from the Whole Heart Acupuncture series is an in-depth look at how we create a sure foundation for our life on an ongoing basis.

Overview of Earth in Three Burners

Apr 232012

This transcript from the Whole Heart Acupuncture series is an exploration of how the points on the St and SP meridians unfold as they criss-cross over the terrain of the upper, middle and lower chou, playing out themes of receptivity to nurture, work to satisfaction ratio, and the pleasures of the generosity that stems from true fruitfulness.

Heart Mediator 7: Love and Ghosts

Apr 232012

This transcript from the Whole Heart Acupuncture series details the relationship between human love and human attachment, and the healthy circulatory system. Through exploring the imagery inherent in the point names and functions of HM-7, it speaks of ghosts and other pathologies of unhealthy attachent, and shows how the veins and arteries of human exchange return to a greater unity in the Heart, allowing us to love fully and freely without holding on too tight.

Lu 10 (in the context of Lu 11/Co1)

Apr 232012

This is a transcript from the Whole Heart Acupuncture series reflecting on the nature of beauty, value, the relationship between the spirit and the flesh, and the acupuncture point Lung 10.

Liver 13 and 14: Finding freedom within (and beyond) our circumstances

Apr 232012

This transcript from the Whole Heart Acupuncture series is an in-depth orientation to the functions of the Liver meridian, and to the functions of Liver 13 and Liver 14. It speaks of how we maintain the freedom of spirit that allows for true moral heroism in the most difficult times of our lives– times when we do not have hope or vision. It discusses how we come to terms with our place in time, both within our personal life cycle and within the historical era in which we live.

Liver One: Rising Again

Apr 232012

This transcript from the Whole Heart Acupuncture series is about a point variously translated as Great Esteem and Big Humiliation. It has everything to do with how we step forward in life, or make a come back, especially when this means overcoming a sense of victimhood.