Dear Readers,
What is known of the practice of Asian medicine is largely due to a system of empirically and orally transmitted knowledge, less so than the Western practice of transmitting knowledge via the written word. Part of what makes medicine an art, at least according to Aristotle’s writings on art and science, is the pure mixture of observation and description of nature. As editors, we aim less for the didactic and more for the discourse and transference of ideas throughout the Asian medical community. What constitutes a system of Asian medicine, whether Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, Indian, or one of the many other socio-geographic sources, may be finite in origin but our interpretation and application has great potential for growth.
The virtue of writing is an exploration of what inspires us, and those things to which we’ve dedicated our life. Put simply, writing allows us to be introspective about what drives us. We write as an act of catharsis, of exploration, and of actualization. And as ideas are distilled and put on the page, the abstract becomes the familiar and a dialogue is initiated. Insomuch that this is the aim for putting ideas and reflections into a written word, this is what we hope to bring you.
In this issue, we have gathered submissions on subjects which range the globe, from a look at the foundations of Traditional Thai Medicine to French auricular acupuncture to pediatric acupuncture practiced in the United States. We have brought you a case study on how to use diagnostic tools that are innate to practicing ‘healing’ as a whole. As well as, a look at environmental impact with reflections on how climate change is encapsulated in Yin and Yang Theory from an excerpt of the book “The Yin and Yang of Climate Change” and the significance of locally harvested medicinal herbs in “Chinese Medicinal Plants: A Growing Conversation for Domestic Cultivation.”
Within you will also find the winning student essay of the 2015 CSOMA scholarship which addresses the intersection of Oriental Medicine and Integrative Medicine in response to the question posed on the most important issues facing the Oriental medical profession today. We encourage the reader to reflect on the global impacts of this medicine as we share information on a more widespread scale.
We also encourage the act of writing as a way to explore that what brings you joy and, with that, we always welcome your submissions and letters to the editors regarding what you liked, what you would want to see improved, and subjects that you’d like to see more!
Happy reading!
Emily Sablosky & Jessica Wakeman
