Travels in China 2007
Healing Tea
I am sitting in Yun's apartment surrounded by Yun; Dr. Pang, Yun's mother and one of the foremost physicians in China; her trusted pharmacist/herbalist, Zhang, who works side by side with her at the medical clinic; Liu Wei; and Zhouyan, the two key Golden Courage staff people who make sure that the programs of Golden Courage are running smoothly on a day-to-day basis. We are all helping to prepare a variety of healing teas to bring back to assist many of our clients in their healing process.
These teas are being combined with the purest of ingredients to benefit a number of different chronic problems such as depression, diabetes, weight control, immune deficiency, and heart disease, just to mention a few. These physicians are testing the combination of teas and herbs for aromatic quality and taste, knowing the efficacy of these particular combinations, as I translate into English the contents of the teas and instructions for preparation. Yun brought back all of the ingredients from his trip to Yunnan Province, where they were grown in monasteries in an environment of pure mountain water and rich soil and picked by monks and people of different ethnic minorities.
Yun was trained at the University of Beijing as a physician, specializing in Traditional Chinese Medicine. He was also trained in Buddhist healing techniques by his mentor, the monk, and traveled throughout China for four and a half years doing research on indigenous healers in locations such as Tibet and Mongolia, many of whom use ancient shamanic practices. Therefore, he has a unique combination of skills and talents that give him abilities far beyond those of any healer I have encountered in my own life journey as a healer.
So when I fell and hurt my wrist after Yun left for China, I needed to rely on our US medical system. Three x-rays and a bone scan later, I was assured by orthopedic specialists that there was no problem they could detect. Yet I knew there was something wrong. And sure enough when I arrived in Beijing and showed Yun my hand, he found the fracture in a bone in my wrist in less than 30 seconds. After a gentle massage he moved the bone back into its proper alignment and we both heard the quiet "click" of the bone slipping into place. Then he prepared a special herb that supports the healing of bones to massage into my wrist on three successive days and wrapped it with gauze. And that's the Eastern way of healing. But of course, it all has to do with training and connection to thousands of years of ancient Chinese medicine that provides an insight into the deep wisdom of the body and formulas for herbal remedies that have been tested over the centuries.
It seems to me that the challenge before us is to bring the best of the East and the West together and learn from each other, in medicine and in all other areas of endeavor. We all seem to have some critical pieces of the puzzle that need to be brought together to see the whole picture. I hope that Golden Courage can make a contribution to this greater healing that is needed not just in China but in our larger global village that we all inhabit.