There are Ghosts.........

Have you ever noticed ....that in a good horror film, the wind is always present?

It can be blowing on the haggard, finger-like tree branches causing them to tap and scratch on your bedroom windows. Or the wind can be moaning and howling through the landscape causing doors to creak and slam. Draughts can be evil, snuffing out candles and causing hairs to stand up on end as though a ghostly hand has brushed across your skin.

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It’s not possible to see wind. We can see its effects and the damage it causes. It can cause headaches, earaches, and for some people vertigo and dizziness. Often it can come from nowhere, cause chaos, and then just as quickly disappear.

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The ancient Chinese medics saw wind evils as entering the body. The weak were more susceptible and for psychotic conditions, they might say that ghosts had entered the patients' mind.

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These concepts remain part of modern acupuncturists’ terminology. There are 13 Ghost points which are designed to nourish the patient at a deep level and, of course, remove excessive heat and wind that may have come to reside within the different layers of their body.

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A more modern interpretation of wind and ghosts might be that of a retained virus. The chickenpox virus can reside deep within the central nervous system only to emerge decades later, often in times of stress or illness as shingles; a hot red, unbearably itchy condition. Many believe that the COVID-19 virus can reside deep within our tissues and cells, causing long covid showing great fatigue like Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). There is growing evidence to support the links between people suffering from Epstein Barr Syndrome at an early age and a range of neurodegenerative illnesses such as Parkinson’s and Multiple sclerosis and others.

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Many of these conditions exhibit symptoms that acupuncturists would classify as wind, or latent heat referring to symptoms that come and go, that can be chaotic and often show signs of extreme heat in the patient.

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And what about those ghosts?

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There are many major psychotic conditions for which the first port of call may not be the local acupuncturists (unless you are in the 1st century rural Far East). Acupuncturists have had success in helping people with tremors and stroke; people with addictive conditions, and increasingly ADHD and bipolar syndrome; often in combination with other medical interventions.

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But pause, and think, ?have you ever found yourself daydreaming, wandering off in a little trance; perhaps feeling something has gone astray or is missing, but you don’t know what. Or occasionally feeling a sense of unease from an entirely inconspicuous person whom you’ve never met before.

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Perhaps you know someone who has taken up a new set of beliefs, to the extent, that their environment, ?relationships, and even their life has changed completely, and so very suddenly!

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These are ghosts, which suddenly and without warning alter our perception and consciousness perhaps for a few seconds, perhaps for the rest of our lives!

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<Gulp>

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Never fear! Remember, I mentioned at the beginning, wind and ghosts and for that matter, the four horsemen of the apocalypse will find it more difficult to overcome your defences if you keep them well-nourished and strong. (Your defences, not the blokes on the horses)

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This is possibly one reason we remind ourselves at this time of year that in order to resist dark forces, evil wind, and ghosts we eat lots of lovely hot stews, sticky parkin, and blood-nourishing snacks (yes there are vampires out there!!)

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Happy Halloween.?............

<evil laughter echoing into the distance….>

For more information on acupuncture treatment with me at Clinic118 in Holmfirth click this link