The Right Medicine, the Right Teaching

One of the things I love most about Chinese Medicine - and why it works so well - is because there’s no “one size fits all” approach. Different people have different constitutions and patterns going on in their bodies, so a remedy for stomach pain for one person, for example, may actually make another person’s stomach pain worse. There is no panacea - so please, when you read a mainstream article about the wonders of this or that herb, don’t just go out and start taking it without consulting with a knowledgeable herbalist first to see if it’s right for you.

It’s all about finding balance - hot or cold, yin or yang - if you have a hot constitution and you add more heat, that’s not the right medicine for you! The same applies to dharma, or spiritual teachings and understanding. 

Recently there was a teaching about listening to our inner voice, our inner guidance. Practitioners shared their experiences with this, including some sharing how listening to their inner guidance has never steered them wrong in the end, even if the immediate situation became more uncomfortable. Then someone shared that, as someone with the experience of neurodivergence, listening to the voices in their head has gotten them into quite difficult situations in the past. This teaching which is so important for people who don’t heed their inner compasses, can actually be harmful for someone who has a hard time distinguishing inner guidance from literal voices in their head.

Similarly, teachings about self-sacrifice is not great for the person who is always doing that - but really important for the person who can stand to do more! The problem is, we often listen to messages which reinforce our already established patterns - just as people with heat patterns often love spicy food, adding more heat to their systems! The more we meditate for clarity: bringing our attention back again and again to the sensations of our breath and bodies, the more we can correct for this tendency and hopefully see ourselves more and more clearly. The clearer our discernment, the better we can determine whether a teaching is the right medicine to bring us to more balance and harmony.