A Little MS with a Little MSW

Acupuncture.

I’ll admit, I have always thought of Eastern Medicine as hokey…woo-woo..what have you.

Even after I developed my MS symptoms and began living with chronic pain, I was still hesitant to embrace Eastern healing. My own sister would sing the praises of acupuncture, and I just couldn’t. But then I did. And my shoulder still hurts, yet I keep going back.

For the nap.

‘Nap’ seems an inadequate term for the trance-like layer that exists between consciousness and unconsciousness. I am convinced this indecisive, middle layer of awareness is the birthplace of the term ‘zen.’ It is a writer’s entire purpose to make one feel through the written word, yet words seem inadequate, unworthy of portraying this humble alteration to the conscious mind.

I’ve been drunk and high, numbed by medication and sedated by anesthesia. And each of these altered states have held their own when life demanded an escape in the various seasons of my life. I’m simply here to sing the praises of an ancient, yet newly discovered – to me – state of being. It lies beneath a mask of needles, skillfully and strategically placed into the outer layers of the skin.

The Eastern and Western worlds collide in a state of peace called Acupuncture. The pain inflicted by the needles’ penetration is but a small price to pay for the restoration and rejuvenation that occurs inside the treatment room. It’s a sleepy wakefulness that beckons you to pull up a chair and stay for a while. A sensation that will at first feel like a friendly stranger will soon penetrate your soul as does the comfort and safety of your oldest friend.

Don’t fear woo-woo. As it turns out, woo-woo is just another word for change. And Change is where beautiful things blossom.