Learning Acupuncture in school involved a serious amount of memorization. Personally, I learn best by integrating a new idea or experience into an existing framework of principles and experience. However, there was simply too much information to learn, and much of what I was learning was very foreign to my mindset, and my unconscious assumptions about life.
I was determined to understand what I was learning, and I began using technology to help me remember. The “Personal” Computer is an amazing tool. While I was in school the internet was becoming a means to communicate. Back then (1995) email was not the common interface that it is now. Now with the internet there is a Global Dimension to all that we do.
Using a computer required that I order the 361 points.
Every database has a primary key for every record, and for Acupuncture it is the Meridian-Point-Sequence. It is written by listing the Meridian # – followed by the Point # – and ending with the Sequence #. The first point in the Lung Meridian would be listed thus:
1.1.1
The second point would then be:
1.2.2 as it is a point on the 1st Meridian, is the 2nd point on that meridian, and the 2nd point in the Sequence of Qi.
After the 11 points in the First Meridian (Lung Meridian) using the algorithm the next point will be:
2.1.12 as it is a point on the 2nd Meridian (Large Intestine Meridian), is the 1st point on that meridian, and the 12th point in the Sequence of Qi.
The Sequence of Qi
The algorithm of the Meridian Point Sequence is the means of communicating information from past experience – the distilled wisdom of former generations to future generations – who would choose to use it. There are layers of information and multiple means to access the teaching. There is the direct experience of Acupuncture as a treatment modality, and the associated information written out in the point “actions and indications”. The experience of Acupuncture is physical and psychological. The sequence of the 361 points tells a story – read the story through from the beginning.
Organize what you are learning in categories which make sense to you
With respect to Learning Acupuncture, this can be fairly straightforward. As all who undertake a serious study of the medicine learn there are specific categories that are already organized for you:
Acupuncture MindMap – 5 Elements
Acupuncture MindMap – Meridians
Acupuncture MindMap – Point Classification
Acupuncture MindMap – Physical Anatomy
Remember that each particular meridian is a chapter/role in the whole picture. And each of the 5 Elements is a specific movement or activity within the organic whole.
Additional Associations are found in the common parts of Point Names, many names share the same Characters. The formulas in the Acupuncture Algorithm establish a framework for investigation of Acupuncture Theory.
Charts and Diagrams
Charts and Diagrams can be very helpful. There are many readily available on the internet. Here are a few that I created.
About Jeffrey Goodman LAc