For  those who already practice Five Element Acupuncture, may you forever remember to be students of the medicine. For all of you students of Five Element Acupuncture, may you forever let nature be your guide.  

Mindful 

by: Mary Oliver

Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for -
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

At the end of the application, we ask each applicant to answer the following question: Why do you wish to study Five Element acupuncture rather than another modality? It’s a straight-forward question, and I enjoy the variety of answers that come in each year.  I think I look forward to reading each applicant’s essay more than any other part of the application because the essay can speak louder and more clearly about the intentions and commitment of an applicant than a transcript can. The essay is an expression of a desire, of a dream, and it’s a chance to hear about the journey towards Five Element Acupuncture. More importantly it’s a way for the applicant to distinguish themselves and demonstrate their compassion.

Believe me, I know writing isn’t everyones favorite activity. And writing about one’s self can be hard. The question seems to invite a comparison between the Five Element tradition and other modalities.  So it’s easier for some applicants to spend the essay explaining what Five Element Acupuncture is rather than explaining why they want to study it. Couched in their explanation I can usually find a few sentences about which aspects of the Five Element tradition that attract them the most. But the problem with this approach is that there isn’t anything exceptionally illuminating about the applicant in the essay.

Here’s the thing: I’m not looking for a summary of Five Element theory. We already know the basics. We know how beautiful and inspiring it is. I know what my own experience has been and why this tradition speaks to me. What we want to hear from an applicant is why the emphasis on nature and treatment of the spirit draws them so much that they want to practice this medicine. This program is more than studying theory. It’s training you to practice. So what part of you does this medicine speak to? Why is this important?

The essays that talk about how the art and practice of Five Element Acupuncture relate to the lives of the applicants are the most powerful. Those essays show that the student knows why they want to study acupuncture and why they want to practice Five Element Acupuncture. Think of the essay as a statement of your commitment to the study and practice of this medicine. What has prompted you to make this commitment?

I don’t want to create the impression that there is a formulaic response (there’s no five-paragraph essay format here to constrict you). Nor do you necessarily need to have had life-changing experiences through treatment to write a compelling essay. What I’m looking for are the specifics about why Five Element Acupuncture matters in your life. Our students choose us as their school as much as we choose them. And so, as we’re reading to determine the next class, know that we care about your journey and your heart, as much as we care about your grades.

The audience was full of  the friends, family, and patients of the students; a true representation of the large community that supports our graduates and the work they have done and will do.  In addition,  a large contingent of the Academy’s faculty members, some travelling from as far away as Maine and California, were in the audience. While honoring the future and the potential of the graduating class, we also honored our past, the faculty and their decades’ worth of experience and mentorship. The two are, after all,  inextricably linked, because the graduates will be continuing the work of their elders.  As our President Emeritus, Dorit Reznek, reminded the graduates, regardless of the fact that they are no longer physically in school, they will always be a part of the Academy. She reminded them to never be too proud or too afraid to call on their teachers for guidance. They, we, will always be there to guide and support the next generation of practitioners.

During the ceremony, there was much talk of the countless hours of studying, classes, treatment planning, and needling that comprised the Masters program. We celebrate the work and effort the students put in. But the true celebration was the personal transformation of each student in the class, illustrated in the way they invoked the spirit of specific points to help commemorate the moment. They know this medicine. Their journeys have helped them embody it and become a part of the legacy. Accomplishing that task takes more than memorization.

And their class has left its own legacy at the Academy.  I speak of the practical jokes; the uncontrollable laughter on test days;  and the tremendous amounts of indulgent food that mysteriously appeared in the student lounge every week. I’ve learned from them that you can show reverence through laughter, and that the best way to hold something together is through love and true grit (maybe a little spit thrown in, too, it doesn’t always have to be pretty). It has been beautiful and humbling to watch them walk this path.

While the graduates ponder their next steps, I know a few of them are nervous about leaving the nest. It’s important to remember that these moments of transition equal moments of growth and potential. And so to Class 26, to Hamid, Teresa, Charlene, Gigi, Michael, Debby, Lea, Mindy, Lauren, Jennifer, Beth, Kassy, and Tanner,  I remind you that that growth and potential will be awesome even if it’s frightening, too.

There have been a lot of quotations invoked over the past several days, but I would like to add my own. In many ways, you’ve already answered this question, but I hope you keep it with you on the days when you’re feeling less inspired:

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” -Mary Oliver

Good luck, Class 26!

All of these characteristics belong to the Water Element, of course, as Winter is the season associated with Water. But while that stillness lets in doubt and worry, it can also lead to its opposite: peace. As a testament to that stillness as peace and its connection to nature and the Water Element, I am sharing the following poem by Wendell Berry. I hope you store it away and remember it when you need to.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come in the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry, “The Peace of Wild Things” from The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry.

Welcome to the new year fellow acupuncture enthusiasts! The Academy, its students, interns, and staff came back from winter break at the beginning of January, and we all hit the ground running. The first order of business was welcoming and orienting the newest class: Class 29B. I am proud to introduce you to the newest members of the AFEA community. They are a very mature, thoughtful, and respectful group of individuals. They joined us on January 9th and are moving their way quickly through their first intensive. I hope that all of you will reach out to them, personally or digitally, and offer them your congratulations and any advice that you may have. (Pictures will be forthcoming!)

In the midst of the new class beginning, Class 28 returned for Session 5 of the Acupuncture program. Yes, that’s right: Session 5. They’re moving through the intensive portion of the program so fast. Pretty soon I’ll be writing to tell you about the beginning of their clinical residency!

And in the midst of the new and the returning, we have an “end.” In two weeks Class 26 will be graduating. I’ll admit it to you, I’ve been tearing up this week just thinking about their Commencement ceremony on January 29th. I feel a little silly about that, but it’s the truth. Almost all of them have finished treating their patients and they’re dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s on the last of their paperwork. They passed their final exam for the Herbal program this morning (congratulations everyone!). And I know many of them have already looked past graduation to start preparing for the national exams. Again, constant forward movement.

There’s a tremendous sense of change and transition in the air again. That’s part of the program, part of being in school: beginnings, middles, and…”ends.”  I started this post with a reference to Emerson, and the natural symbol of the Circle because the idea of a “lower deep” is very strong right now. Training is done in phases, with each phase bringing newness, sadness, excitement, fear. That’s what learning is made up of, and it requires almost constant forward movement, while incorporating the past and present. I try and remind our students to enjoy each phase, no matter how challenging, frightening, or enjoyable it might be. We are often too eager to get to the “end,”  that we forget that there is no real end. We’re simply building on what’s come before in preparation for what’s to come.

And so, in welcoming the new year and the new class, we will also be welcoming our newest graduates, who are preparing for their new dawn. Stay tuned to see what the next circle will be.

The last stage of our admissions process is a phone interview, and because so many of our students are commuting from other states, we conduct our interviews over the phone. (We’re not about to require our applicants from Alaska to fly down to Florida for the interview).  And it happens every enrollment cycle, the same questions from nervous and excited applicants: how do I prepare for the interview? What do I need to do for it?

Interviews can be nerve-wracking. They’re often synonymous with interrogation and judgement.  After all, this is the Executive Director of the school asking you questions, and her opinion counts. But while our Director is making a decision about your application based on the conversation, the interview isn’t meant to be an interrogation. It is, in fact, very much a conversation to determine the applicant’s level of commitment to this path. It’s one more way to see how ready you are to begin the program. And the more questions you ask, the more your investment shows.

The interview (as well as the admissions essay) is very much a way to tell your story. The “why” you applied. Above and beyond that, it’s a reminder for you, the applicant, why you want to become an acupuncturist. This is a point that I whole-heartedly believe cannot be overstated. Knowing why you’re embarking on this path will help you through the difficult parts.  This is a graduate level program. When you graduate you will hold a Master of Acupuncture degree in your hands.  Each intensive asks you to commit that much more of yourself to the work of healing: of healing yourself and your future patients. So, ask yourself why you want to commit yourself to healing, to Five Element acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.  What brought you to this path, and why now? Knowing the answers to those questions is the only preparation you need to do for the interview. In fact, it’s the most important preparation you can do for the entire program. The clearer those answers are, the deeper your experience will be.

And for all of our current Five Element students out there, in the midst of pulse-taking, lectures, and observation hours, the same advice goes out to you. When you’re tired and bogged down in the details of study, remember why you started this journey. Go back and read your admissions essay, because the answers should be there.

Have a very happy holiday/winter break! I look forward to seeing everyone back in January.

Cheers, Angela

I’ve noticed lately how easy it is to lose track of the big picture when school/work/life gets busy.  We spent some time talking about this at a recent staff retreat: how the “why” of what we’re doing fades a little and the edges of the picture get pushed far away from our vision. We tend to focus more on the minutiae that’s immediately in front of us. So, I’m using Thanksgiving as my convenient excuse for refocusing on what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.

In the midst of the weekly routine of acupuncture treatments, clinic seminar, and Chinese herbs, Class 26 took their Third Year point location exam. The Third Year point location exam is harder (of course). They’re in the last stage of their residency. They’re using more advanced treatment planning ideas and they know more than they ever have. But the exam is notable for more than just its increased level of difficulty: it’s the last point location exam they’ll ever take at the Academy. I make it point at the beginning of the day to remind all of the students of this. The last exam. After almost three years, this is it. They’re really almost done with acupuncture school.

While Class 26 marked their exams, Class 27 saw new patients. Internship Prep is over. They are now in the thick of the clinical swirl, balancing treatments and assists with clinic committee work. And after Thanksgiving break they take their Herbal Studies Pre-Clinical exam. In just a few more weeks, they will take over dispensary duty from Class 26. They’re in it. Full-fledged interns.

So, the question is, what does this mean for our students? Yes, every day is one step closer to graduation and to their acupuncture licenses. But neither graduation nor a license is the final goal. Treating patients is;  bringing healing through the depth, heart and spirit of the Five Element tradition is (see the official mission and vision statement at acupuncturist.edu). And each week they are doing just that. Seen in this light, they’re already doing what they set out to do. Clinical year is hectic and students sometimes have to put their heads down and just go, using the pathmarks along the way (exams, evaluations, weekend classes) to measure the passage of time. But what is so important to remember is that while they are reaching towards their goal, they’re actually already in the midst of it.

As part of the academic administration, my daily responsibilities allow me to view the entire trajectory of our students’ paths. I sometimes get lost in the details of tracking where a student currently is. But following the clinical interns reminds me on a regular basis that they are in the middle of great healing work. As a clinic patient, I experience their transformation first-hand as they help me to transform. Their patients’ progress is a mirror of their own accomplishments. One that I am reminding them of right now, to hold out and look at; to remember the goal, the bigger picture of bringing healing to the world. You’re already doing it.

And so, I am wishing our interns a very restful Thanksgiving break. I know some of you will continue to study, but I hope that these few days off give you the opportunity to remember where you are right now and to see the present moment as a result of all of the hard work that you have done and all of the hard work that you will do. You’ve already arrived. Enjoy it.

In honor of AOM Day, we’re hosting information sessions on the benefits of acupuncture and Chinese herbs. All this week students will be on hand in our downstairs classroom to talk with anyone- clinic patients and future patients alike- who is interested in learning more about acupuncture and Chinese herbs. There will also be viewings throughout the day of Numen: The Nature of Plants, a documentary detailing the healing powers of plants and plant-based medicines.

We will also be serving up nourishing snacks that are meant to meet the body’s specific seasonal needs. Fall is the time of the harvest, when the body needs to build up nutrient stores for the coming winter. So soups and stews are good foods to try, like our curried pumpkin soup. To help improve mental clarity and focus, try some of the sour foods we’ll be offering. Recipe cards will be provided so that you can take home the flavors of fall.

Here in Gainesville, we’ve finally started to experience the colder, autumnal temperatures. Those cool crisp mornings are invigorating to wake up to and there’s so much going on in town each weekend. As we get busier it’s important to remember to take care of our bodies in ways that will prepare us for all of fall’s adventures and winter’s return. These seasonal changes are what Five Element acupuncture is based on.  And this week we’re taking time out to spread the word and help support the well-being of our community.

(And for current students, it’s another great opportunity to see what Andi has cooked up for us!)

Academy for Five Element Acupuncture is taking part in Blog Action Day, whose topic this year, in honor of World Food Day on October 16, 2011, is Food.  I also want to thank Julia Susman, Class 27, for her help in being able to write about food in an authentic voice.

In Chinese medicine, food ismedicine. Dietary therapy works in conjunction with acupuncture treatments and herbal formulas to help heal disease in the body. The foods you choose to eat work to nourish the organs; balance is achieved by eating foods of different energetic qualities. And different foods are better for each given season. It’s a very different way of thinking about balanced nutrition than what we’re used to in the west. I cannot begin to concisely explain the complexity of  food energetics. But I can share with you how my student practitioners have helped me heal, physically and emotionally, with the simplest (and hardest) of food choices.

I came to the student clinic to deal with my never-ending headaches. As the headaches began to subside with treatment, the digestive woes that had become “normal” to me became clearer to my practitioner. She asked a lot of questions about symptoms, and a lot of questions about my diet. I’d sort of been living on my safety food, natural peanut butter, for literally years. It was my favorite food, my comfort food, and the one food that I felt was “safe” to eat.

One day, my practitioner stated, very carefully, that she thought it might be time to give up peanut butter, that that might actually be causing some of the trouble. She talked about studies that had recently found that people were allergic to the molds that grow on ground nuts, not the nuts themselves. She talked about how damp and cold peanut butter is, which makes it difficult to digest for those people who have weaker digestion and need to stoke up their digestive fire. What I heard was, “I’m taking away your safety food.”

Most of us have comfort foods- we associate all kinds of emotion with food. On exam days here at AFEA, our Executive Director usually brings dark chocolate and her infamous “aussie bites” to show love and support through a tough day. Class 26, our senior intern class, bakes up a lot of tasty gluten-free cakes and cookies to celebrate birthdays and encourage each other. Food can be a way of sharing love, but it can also be harmful when the emotion associated with the food overshadows the food itself. That was peanut butter for me: comfort and love. It was attempting to nourish something other than my body.

So, you might be able to imagine what it was like to be told I needed to let go of my safety blanket. Talk about frozen in panic. What was really amazing, though, was that my practitioner saw my fear. She had been expecting it. Through the several weeks that we’d been working together, she had had the opportunity to get to know me as a person, and as a patient. That was why she didn’t tell me that I had to give up peanut butter that day. No dictate, no deadline, no judgement. She simply laid the groundwork to empower me to make my own choice to change.

Over several more weeks, as my herbal formula began to build in my body and as my acupuncture treatments cleared emotional cobwebs, I revisited the peanut butter issue on my own. I’d had time to step back and evaluate two things: the physical reactions in my body, and the emotional clinging to a food. After awhile, I was ready to make the decision on my own to experiment with not eating it. Once I gave it up, the biggest physical issues that I was having resolved themselves. I also realized that giving something up wasn’t the sacrifice I had thought it would be.

We know from all of the reports of the growing obesity epidemic that poor food choices can harm the body- physically and mentally. We also know that making smart food choices can heal the body. Making those healthy food choices requires education and empowerment. For many people in our country, food is not about nourishment. It’s about what tastes good; it’s about connecting socially; it’s a way to deal with problems in our lives that we can’t necessarily control. We need to shift mentally in how we approach food in order to use it appropriately.

And that’s what AFEA student practitioners are doing: they’re working with their patients to help them make better choices, to educate, to empower, and to heal.

Susan came this week to share some of the work that she has been doing with Five Element acupuncture in India.  Over lunch, she spoke to the interns in Class 26 and 27 about a decision she made to go to India in order to enliven her passion for Chinese medicine, and thus to enliven her practice.  She showed a short documentary of the work being done at the Bhaktivedanta Hospice that she has given me permission to post for our greater audience. Take a moment to watch it.

As you can see, this documentary is about more than the effects of acupuncture. It showcases the need for health care professionals to treat the integrity of the patient, no matter what stage of care they are in. I do not say, “treat the patient with integrity or with dignity,” because that should be a given, and it places the focus of the intention on the practitioner. And while it is important how the practitioner behaves towards the patient-who-is-diseased, it is a central tenant of Five Element acupuncture to see the person underneath the sickness. Thus remembering the underlying integrity of that patient’s mind, body, and spirit.  In focusing on the patient’s integrity as a being, we realize that showing compassion, empathy and love are as essential a treatment as any diagnostic protocol.

Susan’s visit stirred everyone in the audience, and it was clear that her work was about more than her journey as a practitioner. It was about the expanse of that practice and those she could reach. Her experiences  gave our  students a brief glimpse of not just the power of Five Element treatment, but also a sense of the possibilities of what a practice can become. Even more so, they saw again the far-reaching effects of this medicine.  And I don’t just mean that geographically.

Thank you, Susan, for sharing this part of your journey with us.