The Zen of Healing

Today’s post is a follow-up to Part 1 from December 2nd, about a patient of mine, Kari, who was facing certain challenges both physically and mentally that are quite common in today’s society. Here is a link to Part 1 if you haven’t read it. Over the past 3 months she has undergone profound transformations [...]

This weekend was another zen retreat. In the past, it was fairly common for whomever was leading the retreat to say something to the effect of, “even though you’ve all been here before for a retreat, settling into the same schedule in the same room on the same cushions… try to keep the mind of [...]

About a month ago or so, I had my first experience at a firing range. My good friend and dharma brother, Jeff, had been trying to get me to go for a while and finally we made it happen. It was the two of us, his older brother, Steve, and my dear friend, Susan. So [...]

I have an additional practice during each retreat… cooking meditation! I have the honor, along with Paul, of preparing the meals for those attending. In the Japanese tradition, the title is “tenzo”, or heavenly monk. I don’t know about all that… but we certainly do our best. The meals are vegetarian and quite simple. For [...]

Two weekends ago my head-teacher was in town, Zen Master Ji Bong (Robert Moore). He comes up from California a few times year to give talks, lead retreats, and conduct ceremonies. We had all three this most recent visit… so I thought we’d shift gears from acupuncture, to the other core component of my practice, [...]

2 days ago I had the honor of working with a woman who shared a brief experience that really touched me. With her permission, I wanted to put it out there into the world. Because it is something I’ve heard before in various ways from many people, but for whatever reason… this time it really [...]

On Sunday I had a 2-hour appointment with a colleague and shamanic practitioner whom I shared my very first office with, Christine. As energetic practitioners (and just energetic beings) we are prone to having energies other than our own thrown into the mix. Sometimes we are able to shake it off, and sometimes it’s a [...]

There is one teaching over the (almost) 10 years I’ve been a student of Zen and Chinese Medicine that has prevailed over all others. ALWAYS stay curious… Zen is sometimes spoken of as the ultimate inquiry, the ultimate question, the ultimate curiosity… into each and every moment. If we are not constantly curious, then we [...]

For the past 9 years or so I have been a student of zen, chinese medicine, and martial arts. In regards to martial arts, I have always been more drawn to what would be called “external” martial arts and have a greater emphasis on the more martial/self-defense aspects of the art. Then there are the [...]

I suppose many don’t know that I come from a family musicians… mainly myself, my father, and two brothers all sing and at least play one instrument. Some people grew up playing and excelling at sports… and while I played, I definitely did not excel! For my brothers and I, it was music. I started [...]