http://www.curiouspages.com/Short stories, comment, analysis, and full-length classic fiction, all to read free of charge.en© Copyright Fletcher Kovich, 2018. All rights reserved.editor@curiouspages.com (The Editor)webmaster@curiouspages.com (Channel Manager)Thu, 30 Aug 2018 13:34:10 GMTThu, 30 Aug 2018 13:34:10 GMTLiteratureCuriousPages RSS Generator 1.0.0http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss1440http://www.curiouspages.com/images/rss.jpghttp://www.curiouspages.com/8831http://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMImpedanceProfileOfAcupuncturePoints.phpThe Journal of Acupuncture Research published Fletcher's article "The impedance profile of acupuncture points," which identifies unusual traits in the skin and tissue impedance at acupoints. The traits help to differentiate between artefact and organ-related information conveyed on an electromagnetic wave. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 30 Aug 2018 13:34:10 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMImpedanceProfileOfAcupuncturePoints.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMCuriousOversight.phpThe Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies publishes Fletcher's article: "A Curious Oversight in Acupuncture Research." The article describes the main feature overlooked in acupuncture research, which is the rapid speed of acupuncture's effect on the organ functions. This rules out mediation by the nervous or hormonal systems, and even by the primo vascular system (which is thought to underlie the meridians). fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineTue, 26 Dec 2017 20:15:51 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMCuriousOversight.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMlostInTranslation.phpThe Journal of Chinese Medicine publishes Fletcher's article: "Lost in Translation: The Misattribution of Chinese Medicine Organs". The article discusses the misattribution of organs in traditional Chinese medicine and the communication problems this creates when discussing Chinese medicine with patients or non-TCM healthcare professionals... fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineSat, 28 Oct 2017 01:39:32 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMlostInTranslation.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/shv/The new edition contains an extra 170 pages focussing on interpretation of the Nei Jing. This includes a detailed analysis of the Nei Jing notions of metabolism, organ functions, and the five phase theory. The book clearly identifies which of these ideas are fact based, which are metaphorical and not intended to be interpreted literally, which are simply untrue, and which elements have been modified by today's Chinese medicine. This brings an unusual clarity to Chinese medicine. And as with previous editions, the organ functions are also clearly described in relation to contemporary physiology. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 14 Sep 2017 13:33:17 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/shv/http://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMunusualTongueAnomaly.phpDescription of a lump in the liver region of a patient's tongue, which rises and falls to mark the level of the patient's stress. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineWed, 22 Feb 2017 14:40:14 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMunusualTongueAnomaly.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMherniaTreatedWithAcupuncture.phpDescribes a case history where a hernia was healed using acupuncture, and the results verified with an ultrasound scan. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 21 Jul 2016 12:58:25 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMherniaTreatedWithAcupuncture.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMheatGeneratedByLiverWhenAngry.phpI've noticed recently that when I recall a past injustice, I feel a distinct heating-up sensation at the location of my liver (under the front, lower edge of my right ribs). This even happens with an injustice from years ago. And along with the heat, there is a feeling of irritation at that location, similar to the feeling of an itch. What is this heat, in anatomical terms? fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineWed, 20 Jul 2016 13:05:52 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMheatGeneratedByLiverWhenAngry.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMissueNeedleOnBothSides.phpDiscusses the issue of whether to needle both the left and right acupoints, as is customary, or to needle on only one side. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 31 Mar 2016 15:00:43 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMissueNeedleOnBothSides.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMacupunctureTreatInherritedConditions.phpWhen a condition has been inherited, people often assume it is "genetic" and therefore they are destined to suffer it and it cannot be treated. But with many conditions, this is certainly not the case. Practitioners of Chinese acupuncture frequently treat conditions that the patient has clearly inherited from their parents.... fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 24 Mar 2016 17:33:43 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMacupunctureTreatInherritedConditions.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMseasonAdjustmentWhy.phpTo practitioners of Chinese acupuncture, and also patients who regularly have acupuncture, it is clear that our bodies adjust to each new season. During each season, a particular organ is functionally prominent, and as each season changes, so too does the organ that is prominent. When this change happens, the process that takes place in a person's body is similar to the process that takes place following a patient's first acupuncture treatment... fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 17 Mar 2016 16:35:43 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMseasonAdjustmentWhy.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMautismOrganAffected.phpI was recently asked which organ in Chinese acupuncture would be treated in patients with autism. I have so far not had the opportunity of treating a patient with autism, so this article represents my purely academic observations. On first glance, it appears that all the classic symptoms of autism can be attributed to the malfunction of a single organ. The main symptoms are... fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineSat, 12 Mar 2016 20:30:06 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/TCMautismOrganAffected.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/CMMentalFunctionOfImmuneSystem.phpIt's been known for thousands of years that our main abdominal organs also process certain of our thoughts. In my new book, I've described our immune system as also having mental functions, just as the other organs have; and I've given examples of the types of thoughts our immune system produces in us. I was recently ill. It seemed by body had already successfully adjusted to Autumn, but then on the equinox I came down with a one day "bug". There was no initial sneezing, no congestion... fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineWed, 30 Sep 2015 02:28:57 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/CMMentalFunctionOfImmuneSystem.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/symptomsleftbehindlikeconfetti.phpLast night I walked into the treatment room at the Buddhist Healing Rooms clinic, and I felt a dreadful pain on my left GB30 acupoint, and the pain was descending down the left leg. When I felt that, I knew that this sensation had been left in the room either by the last practitioner who had been working there a few minutes before, or by one of the patients that she was treating. I walked into the kitchen, which also doubles as a waiting room, and I noticed a new book lying on the table there, 1000 Meditations. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineWed, 27 Jan 2010 17:12:00 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/symptomsleftbehindlikeconfetti.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/eyepaincommunicatedbyphone.phpYesterday, I was phoned by one of my patients to cancel a session. When I put the phone down, I realized that I had adopted a pain over my left eye, which was reflecting her energy; she has a long history of migraines. I'm so familiar with this process now, that there was no doubt in my mind that the pain I felt was hers; it was not a pain that I would normally experience, and I'm now so used to my body reflecting the symptoms of patients that I'm treating that there was no doubt that my body was reflecting the energy of this patient who had phoned me. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 10 Dec 2009 19:16:00 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/eyepaincommunicatedbyphone.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/whydoesreadingpulsemakemebelch.phpFor a few years now, I have had this slightly embarrassing reaction to reading a patient's pulses. At first it only happened now and then, perhaps with every third patient, or so. But now it happens with almost every one. I will place my fingers on the patient's wrist to read the pulses of each of their main organs. With each patient, when I get to a particular organ, it makes me belch. And what's more strange, is that it is a different quality belch with each patient. The belch originates in a different part of my chest, and the quality also varies. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 24 Sep 2009 16:00:00 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/whydoesreadingpulsemakemebelch.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/theseasonalbodyclock.phpYesterday, my body felt like it was making its seasonal adjustment. People don't realize how closely our bodies are attuned to nature and the seasons. When my own body adjusts to the incoming season, this seems to happen over a one or two day period. My energy suddenly falls to about half its usual level, and then on the following day, I feel great, but different in some way. It's as though my body is in a different mode. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineMon, 21 Sep 2009 00:05:00 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/theseasonalbodyclock.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/moneywithmynameon.phpTwo weeks ago, a patient paid me for her acupuncture session with four ten pound notes. She laid them on the side table. When I looked down at them, I saw that she had written "Fletch" across the face of the top note. I said something like, "Ah, you've allotted that money for me." I looked closer at the note and saw that my full first name was written clearly across it: "Fletcher." She looked at me, puzzled. I said did you put this money aside for me and write my name on it. She looked at the notes, amazed, and said "No, I didn't write that on there." fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineTue, 15 Sep 2009 16:00:00 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/moneywithmynameon.phphttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/learningReiki.phpLast weekend I learnt Reiki, on a two day course. Apart from one dramatic experience at the end, there was nothing about the weekend that was particularly new to me, though I had never officially performed Reiki before. There were four of us on the course. At the end we split into two couples and gave a Reiki treatment to each other. At the start of the treatment that I was giving, I performed a body scan, which was done by passing by hands along the other person's body, hovering about two inches above her body while she lay on a treatment couch. fletcher@curiouspages.com (Fletcher Kovich)Chinese MedicineThu, 11 Dec 2008 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.curiouspages.com/sketchbook/learningReiki.php