Editor's note : The first part of Dr. Twicken's article appeared in the February 2005 issue.
The following tables present each of the four trinity or harmonic partners and their corresponding acupuncture pairs, which comprise the three channel pairings on the arms and legs. This presentation of the meridian clock provides the theoretical support for the acupuncture channel pairs, and reveals that the clock is not just a time-based tool, but that it is also an imaging system of the human body.
Meridian Clock Theory for Explaining the Location of the Channels on the Hands and Feet
The Rabbit/Large Intestine is Wood and the Horse/Heart is Fire. Both are Yang elements; their three-channel patterns are located on the Yang part of the body, the arm. The trinity pairs of these animals/elements are located on the arm. The Cock/Kidney is Metal and the Rat/Gallbladder is Water. Both are Yin elements; their three-channel patterns are located on the Yin part of the body, the leg. The trinity pairs of these animals/elements are located on the leg. These two principles provide a model supporting the locations of the channels, not only their pairings.
Channel and Element Frames
A deep study of the meridian clock reveals theories supporting fundamental principles of Chinese medicine. Along with the Taoist He Tu, Luo Shu and Ba Gua energy formations, the meridian clock is an imaging system of the human body. It provides a significant method to evaluate the human body and select acupuncture point combinations. Acupuncture applications using the meridian clock will be presented in future articles.
Structured water (H3O2) can be considered a fourth state of water between liquid and solid. It has the hexagonal structure of ice; however, missing a critical bond, it behaves more like a gel than a solid, but retains some of its crystalline structure.
In the past five years of my clinical practice, I have seen an astonishing upsurge in the chronic use of proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) medications for the gastrointestinal issue diagnosed by allopathic medicine as GERD. It is not uncommon to encounter patients taking these prescriptions for five-plus years.
Working with chronically ill patients entails acknowledging the reality that not all patients will survive their diagnosis. Chinese medicine and acupuncture play a crucial role in palliative and end-of-life care, addressing medication and disease side effects, alleviating pain associated with death, reducing anxiety and stress, and helping patients find peace during the dying process.
