Consult Days

I spent the last few days in Portland attending consult days with Judy Worsley, lineage holder of the Worsley tradition of classical five-element acupuncture. A traditional method for learning medicine is to spend time with one’s teacher and observe them in a clinical setting. Much of what I learned this weekend was not a conceptual teaching but a silent transmission of a way of being. Medicine holds rich philosophies within itself and yet the treatment room can be a frustrating place when seen as a circumstance of analysis. A key lesson from this weekend was the value of being in the deeper realm of the senses as a means for diagnosis. The senses are subtler than the mind and allow us to notice a more fundamental level of imbalance than symptomatic expressions and narratives. Thus, the treatment room and diagnostic process begins to feel meditative and energetic. This is a much more fluid space to be in with a patient, where subject-object dichotomies dissolve, diagnostic perceptions spontaneously emerge, and the deeper needs of the patient are naturally felt. The art of medical practice is a lifelong journey, calling us to embrace the joy of being a student. I am filled with gratitude to have spent time with a true master who teaches and inspires by example.

I concluded the trip with a visit to one of my favorite places, the Portland Japanese Garden where Autumn colors were peaking. I’ve visited the garden a few times over the past two years and each time I see it anew. Subtleties of the landscape emerge and the trees are always different. The garden naturally draws you deeper into itself with each contour morphing into a fresh vista within vista. Autumnal glories changing against a backdrop of evergreens. Trickling streams and fountains. Lanterns and moss.

The garden spoke in the language of nature—revealing itself in colors, sounds, odors, and emotions of all kinds. The garden is the perfect explanation of everything I Iearned these past few days.