The True Nature of Healing: You, As You Are
The true nature of healing is not about becoming someone new — it’s about becoming fully yourself. Beneath the layers of illness, stress, and expectation lies an essential version of you: whole, resilient, and complete. Healing is the process of returning to that state — not by fixing what’s broken, but by removing the barriers that keep you from experiencing who you already are.
At the heart of this process is the body’s innate intelligence — what Taoism calls Original Qi. This concept describes your body’s natural drive to restore balance, heal wounds, and maintain harmony. It’s why your heart continues to beat, your breath flows without effort, and your cells repair themselves daily. But beyond the physical, this same force guides you toward emotional clarity, mental peace, and spiritual alignment. It is the energy of your authentic self—the version of you that exists beneath fear, doubt, and conditioning.
Healing happens when this energy flows freely. It’s not something you have to force or control—it’s a return to your natural state. Just as a river clears itself when the debris is removed, your body and mind naturally move toward balance when obstacles are released. Stress, negative beliefs, and emotional wounds are like blockages that disrupt the flow of your energy. As they dissolve, your true self emerges—calm, confident, and connected.
In the acupuncture clinic, I’m often describing to patients that what we’re trying to do is build the body’s confidence. When we are in pain or discomfort from injury or illness, the body is trying to communicate with us. Healing happens when we respond accordingly. In Taoist Medicine, we are clearing the way for Original Qi to flow.
But healing is more than the absence of pain — it’s the freedom to live as you are. When you release the need to be someone else, your energy flows with greater ease. Your thoughts become clearer, your emotions more balanced, and your body more vibrant. In this state, you no longer seek healing as something outside of yourself—you recognize that the power to heal has always been within you.
Ultimately, the true nature of healing is a return to yourself—to the person you were always meant to be. Not a perfect version of yourself, but the real, authentic you—fully present, fully alive, and fully at peace with who you are.
Natural Medicine to a Western Mind
Traditional Medicine is not meant to replace modern western medicine, nor are they opposites. As always, yin contains yang and yang contains yin; yin and yang are interdependent, inter-consuming, and inter-transforming. When it comes to living a long and healthy life, East and West are equally important, just as Ancient and Modern.
Modern medicine exists to save your life. It fights disease by overriding the body’s intelligence with pharmaceuticals and surgeries. Traditional medicine, on the other hand, is all about preventing disease by encouraging the body’s natural intelligence with foods, herbs, and exercises.
The Western mind, trained in logic, categorization, and empirical observation, often struggles with Taoism’s way of thinking. Taoism speaks in macrocosmic terms — It’s not about breaking things down but seeing the interconnected flow of life. In natural healing, we need more than microscopes and telescopes—we’re working with past, present, and future as a continuum. A symptom today reflects a past imbalance and shapes future health. Western medicine often focuses on what’s measurable now, but Taoist medicine restores flow, aligning with the rhythms of existence. Original Qi isn’t just a bodily function—it’s the movement of life itself. Healing is about reconnecting with that deeper intelligence. Taoist concepts like Qi, Wu Wei, and Yin-Yang are not rigid definitions but dynamic, relational ideas that describe the patterns of life as they unfold.
At its core, what Taoism calls Original Qi resonates with the Western scientific understanding of the body’s self-regulating, adaptive, and healing capacities—whether framed biologically, psychologically, or philosophically.
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In physiology, the body’s ability to maintain stable internal conditions (e.g., temperature, pH, and hormone levels) despite external changes mirrors the concept of Original Qi. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) and endocrine system work together to regulate these functions without conscious effort.
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The brain’s ability to adapt and rewire itself in response to experiences, trauma, and learning reflects the idea that the body and mind have an inherent capacity to restore balance. This includes the immune system’s role in healing wounds and fighting infections.
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Psychologically, the concept of Original Qi connects with Abraham Maslow’s concept of self-actualization, where individuals naturally strive toward personal growth, authenticity, and fulfillment once basic needs are met.
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In psychology and neuroscience, the experience of effortless action (often described in sports, music, and meditation) suggests an underlying intelligence that operates when we are in sync with ourselves, much like the Taoist view of Wu Wei (effortless action).
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Some cutting-edge scientific perspectives explore the idea of an organizing energy field within the body that governs cellular function and healing, echoing the ancient idea of Qi.
In my own experience, while finding the connections between ancient and modern medicine is entertaining, it is only to comfort our ego. We do not need to fully understand and explain nature in order to participate in its “miracles.” In traditional medicine, your experience is all that matters. Just because your suffering can’t be captured as data on a diagnostic test does not mean that nothing can be done about it. This is the benefit of zooming out and examining our health and happiness as whole and in context of our past, present, and future. When patterns are discovered, patterns can be influenced.
Can you see a pattern to your suffering? Can you see a pattern to what makes you happy? Follow your intuition. Your body and mind know exactly what they’re doing.
Take what’s useful and leave everything else behind. Thanks for reading 🌻 Happy Healing!
