Thursday, July 01, 2010

That place

I went to see my acupuncturist this week. She did the stuff that acupuncturists do, felt all the pulses on each wrist, looked at my tongue, asked 20 questions. She sighed and let her hands fall to her side. She suggested I try to avoid weeks like last week. Or at least letting myself get into such a state after a week like last week. And she's right, of course. It's not what happens, it's the story we tell ourselves about what happens.

The ear tack wouldn't even help this time. Drastic measures.

There are really only two acupuncture points that I HATE having needled. Given how many there are, that's nothing. The first is Kidney1, which is in the middle of the sole of your foot. Hurts like hell. Seriously. And I never say that about acupuncture. I love acupuncture. The other, I discovered this week, is Governing Vessel 26. Which is about one third of the way towards your nose up from your lip, in the middle of that little groove. Which probably has an official name. It's an amazing point and stimulating it clears the senses and promotes resuscitation. Which I definitely needed.

It's also a beautiful point. With lovely acupuncture names. It's the first of thirteen Ghost Points. I have no idea what that means but I like the way it sounds. This point is also known as Ghost Palace or Water Channel. See what I mean? There's also a sweet story about that groove in French. It's said to be an angel's fingerprint, left when s/he gently presses a fingertip to a newborn's lips, to remind the baby not to reveal to the world the mysteries of the universe, which it is born knowing and learns to forget.

Lovely names and stories aside, given the pain that needle inflicted, I have vowed to no longer visit the state that led me to it.

7 comments:

DAM said...

It's called a philtrum. I love that word. And I love that story about the angel's imprint...

Also, I love your blog. I always am so pleased when I see you've made a new entry!

Donna

Nicole said...

Thank you Donna! For the official word and for the compliment. I really am trying to get back to regular posts. It's been kind of a no man's land here for a bit.

JMH said...

It looks cheery here.

I like to play twenty questions, and it sounds like your answer was a tough one. Was it a person, place, or thing? If it was a thing, is this thing larger than a breadbox?

I know little of acupuncture other than to not doubt it. And now I know that it can relieve your distress, so that's good. I'm glad it does that.

In other news, I just got my fountain pen in the mail. I could do without the teal and pink accents (although I probably had another color option), but it's not the outside of the pen that matters. I'm going to try it out this weekend. I'm going to write some impressive-looking words, all vowels and soft consonants, like "sonorous."

Nicole said...

JMH - Is it too much? Blogger made it so easy to change the template and those swirls had my name written all over them.

Thing / larger than a breadbox

May I suggest breaking the pen in by writing "hippopotame" several times?

JMH said...

The template is not too much, no. It feels good. It improves my mood. (That's not rhyme, but it should be).

Due to the holiday, the beach, the sunburn, and the fireworks, I've been unable to try my pen. But the first things I'll write are "hippopotamus, hippopotamus, hippopotamus." If it breaks, refund!

Nicole said...

Write it in French though - seriously - it's the best word ever, lovely to pronounce too.

JMH said...

Yeah, I just listened to it. You're right. Much better in French. So awkward in English.