Articles

Evolving our physiology and anatomy.

Copyright © 2000-2001 Kevin Farrow

It is apparent that we once had a physiology and anatomy that included energetic systems. The traces are there in the Vedas, the Bible, in Qi Gong, Reiki and the works of the early Greeks including Pythagoras. Why we don't have it now is an interesting quirk of history. It may have been the fire at Alexandria or the intervention of the early Christian Church, only one thing is certain, nothing approaching a unified system remains. We're left with a cryptic crossword puzzle that we attempt to piece together from archaic clues and the practical bits of the science that remain intact.

Our western physiology and anatomy, after the demise of the great civilisations of Greece and Egypt, went back to the stone age and considered humans to be composed of flesh and bone which was moved about by the decision making processes of a larger than 1,000cc brain. Anything else was eventually put down to the vagaries of the holy spirit. To simplify matters even further, in the 16th century we gave God and other troublesome concepts like witches and miracle healings to the church, and opted for a 'Skinnerian'¹ world that was highly determined by the principle of wysiwyg or 'what you see is what you get'. Anatomists went 'scientific' and concepts like etheric fields, bio-magnetism, humours and astrology gradually lost their place in favour of a physical chemistry that attempted to explain life, the universe and everything down to the last atom.

By the 20th century, this secular chemistry had become incredibly sophisticated, but we were still faced with the ramifications of this separation of the powers of the church and state. Scientists were mostly unwilling to even broach subjects that could relate to spiritual matters and expose themselves to ridicule from their peers. As Ken Wilbur notes ²'…the relation of science and religion in the modern world- that is, in the last three or four centuries- has changed very little since their introduction to each other in the trial of Galileo, where the scientist agreed to shut his mouth and the Church agreed not to burn him.'

Things are starting to change. Nonetheless, we are still suffering from a medicine that has tried to 'scientise' itself by attempting to wrap itself around an incredibly incomplete understanding of the human being by virtue of the exclusion of everything that didn't fit it's own unique parameters.

Even in the 21st century, (when some of us consider that western medicine has evolved past being dragged kicking and screaming into (at least) the benefits of acupuncture and reflexology) our physiology and anatomy texts by and large haven't grasped the inescapable fact that acupuncture works, and it must do so by affecting a system and therefore there must be a system which it directly affects. Why aren't meridians in the physiology and anatomy standard texts? This is perhaps our most blatant use of the 'not made here' syndrome. 4,000 years of oriental medical research appears to mean little compared to the fact that it doesn't fit in with the western approach. Unfortunately, the western approach has succumbed to either a) 'if you can't measure it with a machine - it isn't there' or b) 'if you can't measure it with a machine - we don't care if it's there or not'.

The best objective instrument for perceiving the meridian fields is the trained human being, a fact which has encouraged many non-trained humans to regard meridians as the equivalent of the Emperor's new clothes. (Note: Some scientists believe that Qi is measurable in terms of infrasonic waves vibrating below 20 Hertz (Hz) - too slow to be audible to the human ear. Al Simon notes in his article 'Qi Emission - Is it Real?' (Qi Gong Breathe Deep Newsletter Sept/01) - 'Every living person emits these waves from the palms of their hands, generally in 8 to 12.5 Hz range at an intensity of 40 to 50 decibels (dB).')

At present, the current western view of human physiology and anatomy describes the tangible complexity of energies and information which finds itself expressed on the physical plane in the form of our bodies and brain. It does not approach defining the 'tangible complexity of energies and information' that construct the physical body and are essentially responsible for its health and well being. In our approach to physiology and anatomy, we have put the cart before the horse. Therapists and researchers of all persuasions have been trying to theoretically define what are usually termed 'the energetic or etheric systems' for many years. Unfortunately much of this is of no practical use and much is myth, conjecture and the mistaking for fact of the deliberate blind alleys of ancient texts. We are also dealing with the fact that many practitioners of particular energetic therapeutic methods regard their own system as being the true and sacrosanct method of healing and will not willingly share information unless you are prepared to become an acolyte. Fortunately, this is changing. The past 10 years have seen great changes in the willingness of some systems to publish their teachings and exhibit a more open and frank approach to the whole topic of how energy systems actually work.

The great medical systems that survive today, Ayurvedic, Tibetan, Chinese and our western system, all use a part of the map of the complete human being. To really develop a complete system of treating human beings, we need the whole map. This will not happen overnight.

However, if we are prepared to explore a 'new' physiology and anatomy from an experiential perspective - investigating both modern and ancient teachings through thought and feeling, coupled with an understanding of the relevancy of the western bio-chemical view, we will take a big step in the right direction.

As a small example of what this means consider the following. In traditional Chinese Qi Gong the fire path (governing and conception vessels) flows up the back and down the front of the spine. Not surprisingly, this matches the western scientific measurements of the direction of flow of the nerve impulses in the grey matter of the spinal cord. These two facts don't just show an interesting synchronicity but provide information for an understanding of how these systems (the spinal cord and the governing and conception vessels) are linked.

All the physiology and anatomy views of the great healing systems have a contribution to make towards an overall picture. Let's not be hidebound and also, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

As Theo Gimbel notes³ ''The attitude of real listening…and real looking, allows those who really inquire and take the trouble to be taught, to become pupils of nature and to learn about their own selves.'

References

1 B.F. Skinner was a 20th century psychologist who believed that all personality structure was a result of the immediate influences of the personal environment.
2 Wilber, Ken. The Marriage of Sense and Soul. Broadway Books New York 1999
3 Gimbel, Theo. Healing Through Colour. C.W. Daniel Co. Ltd. Essex 1995

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