November -
The Unifying Matrix
Western medicine has no unifying matrix. In the West, although some token homage is paid to the unity of man with the universe by academic theologians, theoretical physicists, and a few science fiction writers, medicine, with all its accomplishments, remains…
The Theory of Health
In our modern society, and in Western medicine, we lack a coherent theory of health. Of late there has been an increasing accumulation of unrelated facts, born of analytic research. This has resulted in the fragmentation of medicine into specialties without…
The Unity of Medicine
Chinese medicine is fundamentally a preventive medicine. Since the cause of disease is within us, and can be known and understood, the concept of disease as a personal crisis in life becomes a more rational proposition. By studying…
A Theory of Balance
Balance has often been considered a controversial subject in Chinese medicine. Like all human concepts, balance as a value may be used for good or evil. No doubt the Confucian ‘Doctrine of the Mean’ was utilized throughout Chinese history …
September -
Chinese Medicine at the Crossroads
Sometimes rapidly, and sometimes slowly, Chinese medicine has made its way towards a Western model of medicine over the past 60-
Ecology in Chinese Medicine -
All living organisms are engaged, from birth until death, in the endless process of healing deviations from normal psychology. From the time of conception, someone’s terrain is under constant stress, trauma and shock, from which…
Dr. Hammer speaks about Global Toxicity
In this update, we are pleased to share with you Dr. Hammer’s thoughts on one of the most pertinent issues affecting healthcare on a worldwide scale. As part of a series of video lectures filmed in 2014, Dr. Hammer presents here his views…
The Energy of Medicine
In Western medicine, it is anathema for the physician’s subjective being to be critical to the practice of his medicine. The validity of his practice is now defined by his intellectual ability to choose the correct drug and procedure, which consequently…
July -
Terrain
Dr. Shen used everyday analogies to explain his concepts. With regard to lifestyle, he used one involving an object familiar to all of his clients: a car. He said that there were four kinds: one is good and well cared for, one is good and overused…
Root
A dichotomy encountered endlessly in Chinese medicine exists between those treating symptoms, and those who treat conditions. It is my practice, described elsewhere, to acquire exhaustively all symptoms through an organized…
Stress and Vulnerability
Stress, trauma and shock begin at least at conception, depending on the life-
The Heart and Awareness
The Heart plays the central role in awareness, and in all aspects of human psychology. The spiritual force of the Heart is dominant in the development and function of all the other energetic forces related to the mind, spirit…
May -
Homesickness
Several years ago I received an e-
Ecology as Universal
Ecology is a subject with which I have been consciously engaged for almost fifty years on the most elevated, and most banal, planes. The lesson that I learned about the interrelatedness and interdependence of all existing phenomena…
The Five Internal Agents of Disease
According to Chinese medicine, the aetiology of disease is systematized according to internal agents and external agents. It is the internal causes that are relevant to our discourse. While many texts list these inner agents of disease as being seven in number…
Touch as Therapeutic
Within the first five years of my psychoanalytic training, it was increasingly clear to me that touch was the key ingredient missing from the otherwise overly-
