Circles and Healing
- At February 03, 2020
- By admin
- In Annes Letters
0
Dear Family and Friends,
The other day I listened to a TEDTalk given by a Turkish writer. Among many things, she mentioned her grandmother. Even though the younger generations of the family had adopted Western ways, the grandmother had remained very traditional. She was also well known in the neighborhood as a healer. People would come to her with skin problems: moles, warts, rough areas, and scars. She would draw a circle around each problem area, take an apple, and pierce it with a needle the number of times there were places to be healed: five warts, five times, for example. About a week later each and every one of her patients would return, healed, grateful, singing her praises. She was 100% successful.
The author, steeped in Western logic, asked her grandmother the secret of her healing talents. “It is the power of the circle,” she would say. “You focus inward, clearly visualize a perfect globe around the aberration, and everything within it gets cut off from life, and soon it dies.”
Several months ago I sprained an ankle, and just when it was starting to heal, I sprained it again. Doing whatever I can to get back to normal, I have been regularly going for massage and acupuncture treatments. Several sessions ago the masseur asked if I wanted to try a burning technique. He explained that it would hurt, but would force the Chi energy to intensely come to the damaged area. That would speed the healing. I decided to give it a try.
He took an incense stick, lit it, placed it on my ankle, and broke off the teeny burning tip. The pain was searing. Even though it was confined to a very small area for a very short time, my entire body reacted. I screamed, stiffened, writhed in agony, but let him perform this torture the required five times.
During the second session a week later, I asked him if I, his sole foreign client, were the only one reacting so violently. “No, there is one other woman who is even noisier than you,” he replied. “How do the others do it?” I asked. “They use the Japanese mind.” “The Japanese mind?”
“You use your mental powers to make a circle around the pain. That way you can contain it. You also breathe slowly and deeply, while visualizing your body as being very calm.”
I tried it. It worked. I still felt the pain, but I also sensed the rest of my body relaxing and working with the process. I realized my mental attitude was allowing the Chi to flow more smoothly to the problem area. At the end of the session, I could walk without pain. A day later, my ankle remained weak, but pain-free.
Yesterday, too, was Setsubun, the change of seasons in the old calendar. Traditionally on that day, people throw beans to keep Oni demons away. This makes a circle of protection around their homes, allowing everyone inside to be safe. As the Oni retreat, so does the harshness of winter, ushering in the promise of spring.
Mental powers focused on healing, circles, the promise of hope. A traditional belief system that maybe we need now more than ever.
Love,
Anne
The other day I listened to a TEDTalk given by a Turkish writer. Among many things, she mentioned her grandmother. Even though the younger generations of the family had adopted Western ways, the grandmother had remained very traditional. She was also well known in the neighborhood as a healer. People would come to her with skin problems: moles, warts, rough areas, and scars. She would draw a circle around each problem area, take an apple, and pierce it with a needle the number of times there were places to be healed: five warts, five times, for example. About a week later each and every one of her patients would return, healed, grateful, singing her praises. She was 100% successful.
The author, steeped in Western logic, asked her grandmother the secret of her healing talents. “It is the power of the circle,” she would say. “You focus inward, clearly visualize a perfect globe around the aberration, and everything within it gets cut off from life, and soon it dies.”
Several months ago I sprained an ankle, and just when it was starting to heal, I sprained it again. Doing whatever I can to get back to normal, I have been regularly going for massage and acupuncture treatments. Several sessions ago the masseur asked if I wanted to try a burning technique. He explained that it would hurt, but would force the Chi energy to intensely come to the damaged area. That would speed the healing. I decided to give it a try.
He took an incense stick, lit it, placed it on my ankle, and broke off the teeny burning tip. The pain was searing. Even though it was confined to a very small area for a very short time, my entire body reacted. I screamed, stiffened, writhed in agony, but let him perform this torture the required five times.
During the second session a week later, I asked him if I, his sole foreign client, were the only one reacting so violently. “No, there is one other woman who is even noisier than you,” he replied. “How do the others do it?” I asked. “They use the Japanese mind.” “The Japanese mind?”
“You use your mental powers to make a circle around the pain. That way you can contain it. You also breathe slowly and deeply, while visualizing your body as being very calm.”
I tried it. It worked. I still felt the pain, but I also sensed the rest of my body relaxing and working with the process. I realized my mental attitude was allowing the Chi to flow more smoothly to the problem area. At the end of the session, I could walk without pain. A day later, my ankle remained weak, but pain-free.
Yesterday, too, was Setsubun, the change of seasons in the old calendar. Traditionally on that day, people throw beans to keep Oni demons away. This makes a circle of protection around their homes, allowing everyone inside to be safe. As the Oni retreat, so does the harshness of winter, ushering in the promise of spring.
Mental powers focused on healing, circles, the promise of hope. A traditional belief system that maybe we need now more than ever.
Love,
Anne
