Episode 6

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Published on:

15th Sep 2023

Truth East and West and in Between

How do we cultivate the ability to hold two opposite experiences of reality at the same time and thereby somehow get closer to the truth in between? How do we overcome the limitations of language in describing the ineffable while still appreciating its analytic function? If we can use language in communication with others like multiple fingers pointing at the moon, to literally “round out” all of our understanding, how do we handle alternate voices that may not even be pointing at the moon but at the sun or at birds flying by? And how is this issue relevant to the transmission of authentic but ever-changing Chinese medicine to the West, and to its biomedicalization?

On a totally different note (sorry, can’t help it), what do you do when a person won’t stop singing? Is the Western mind different from the Eastern mind? Or are there different levels of truth and complexity to be found in any scientific and medical paradigm? And how do postmodernism, differential diagnosis, Daoist cultivation, authority, samadhi and Humpty Dumpty, and the “Six Warps” 六經 fit into this conversation? How do we express, cultivate, revise, and share our expertise with compassion rather than righteousness?

That is the topic of today's episode of A Pebble in the Cosmic Pond, titled “Truth in East and West and in Between.” I am your host, Dr. Sabine Wilms, and I am joined today, as so often, by Leo Lok, resident Purveyor of Multiple Perspectives, and our resident Daoist sage Dr. Brenda Hood among the Seven Fools of the Bamboo Grove that make up the core of our Pebble in the Cosmic Pond team.

Please remember to sign up for my newsletter to stay in touch. Also, please rate, review, and share this podcast wherever you can and check out the show notes if you want to learn more.

And two more things: If you can’t wait until the next new moon for the next episode to drop, you can always become an Imperial Tutor member to listen to the exclusive “Imperial Tutorial” episodes that drop every full moon, in addition to all sorts of other benefits. And second, my two-year-long Triple Crown classical Chinese training program starts this September 14 with the Foundations course.

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About the Podcast

A Pebble in the Cosmic Pond
Old and New Stories from China's Healing Traditions
Tune in every New Moon for inspiring, joyful, and informative conversations with Sabine Wilms and Leo Lok on transforming ourselves, our communities, and the world, in the spirit of traditional Chinese medicine, spirituality, and philosophy. Separating fact from fiction, we aim to bring you medicine from China's distant past, translated here to meet YOUR needs today, in your personal practice, in your community, and in the clinic.

Sabine Wilms, PhD, is a medical historian, recovering university professor, and author and translator of more than a dozen books on the Chinese healing arts, from gynecology and pediatrics to medical ethics and materia medica, published by Happy Goat Productions. In addition to writing, she runs the only advanced 2-year classical Chinese training program for practitioners of Chinese medicine and contributes insights from her checkered past as a biodynamic goat farmer and musician, all under the banner of her favorite phrase, “cosmic resonance,” a.k.a. the Chinese ideal of harmony between the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. Leo Lok, our "purveyor of multiple perspectives," is a practitioner and independent scholar of Chinese Medicine. A native speaker/reader of Chinese languages, Leo is one of the rare clinician-scholars in the world who excels in researching and translating ancient Chinese medical literature into the English language.

Together, we offer courses on the Chinese healing arts and run the "Frolicking Fish Community" to provide deep, sustained engagement with our work and play. In a lovingly curated themed collection, we present you each month with the introductory "moongate," original translations, creative expressions, and audio and video recordings on the Chinese healing arts, culture and history, food and art, philosophy and religion, Qi cultivation, and more. In addition, the community forum offers connection, education, and inspiration.

We both love to inspire people and spread around some healing and loving vibrations. Here are our three main goals:
1. Bridge-building: We gather to explore the liminal sweet spot, in between Heaven and Earth, the distant past and the present moment, East and West, the clinic and the academy, the healer and the scholar, the discernible and the unfathomable, oral lineage and written text, and, ultimately, Yin and Yang.
2. Collaboration: The treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine is bigger than any single person's expertise, no matter how vast. We actively pursue and embrace a diversity of opinions so that we can collectively deepen our understanding. We always aim to approach our disagreements with curiosity and mutual respect, instead of defensiveness.
3. Authentic Transmission: Translation, from the past to the present, from Chinese to English, from texts to clinical application, etc., invariably involves an alteration and adaptation of the original message. How do we stay true to the wisdom and spirit of the ancient Chinese texts while still making sense to our modern English-speaking listeners? We invite you to consider the creative challenges of this task with us.

In addition to subscribing to this podcast, we invite you to sign up for our newsletter (at Happygoatproductions.com/connect), where we share resources like free articles, announcements of new courses or publications, updates on our work and life, little glimpses of love and joy and beauty, and occasionally Sabine's poetry and farm pictures.
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About your host

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Sabine Wilms

I am the producer, manager, director, and (whether I like it or not) person in charge of this podcast. I take full responsibility for this project and vision but do not necessarily agree with anything anybody else says on my podcast, whether it is framed as an opinion or a fact. You can find out more about my books at happygoatproductions.com, my mentoring at imperialtutor.com, my classical Chinese offerings at translatingchinesemedicine.com, and my gynecology courses at traditionalChinesegynecology.com.