Emotional Release Therapy

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Chapter I

Diseases Originated from Qi

The Seven emotions, originating from the internal organs and manifested in the body, are the nature of humankind.

—Shoushi Qingbian

I. Two Puzzles in Today’s Medical Development

Since ancient times, health and longevity have been one of people’s top concerns. From emperors and officials to the common folks, all have longed for health and longevity. However, when facing diseases and death, they are helpless.

According to the data released by the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of the National Health Commission of the PRC, by the end of 2017, there were as many as 250 million patients of mental disorders among the population of 1.39 billion people of China, with a total prevalence rate as high as 17.5% and more than 16 million patients of serious mental disorders, with a prevalence rate of over 1%. The figures keep growing year after year. According to the estimation of WHO, by 2020, the burden of mental disorders in China will rise to 1/4 of its total burden of diseases. From 2012 to 2030, mental diseases will cause the economic growth of China to shrink by more than 9 trillion US dollars.

For example, the most common of diseases, cardiovascular diseases, according to the Report on Cardiovascular Diseases in China in 2017 released in 2018, prevalence rate and death rate in China are still rising. Now there are 290 million patients of cardiovascular diseases, including 13 million cases of stroke, 11 million cases of coronary heart disease, 5 million cases of pulmonary heart disease, 4.50 million cases of cardiac failure, 2.50 million cases of rheumatic heart disease, 2 million cases of congenital heart disease, and 270 million cases of high blood pressure. The death toll caused by cardiovascular diseases accounts for more than 40% of the death toll caused by diseases, ranked top and higher than the death toll caused by tumors and other diseases. Since 2004, the average annual growth of hospitalization expenses for cardiovascular diseases has far outpaced the growth of GDP.

Nowadays, with the development of science and technology and the continuous progress of medicine, humankind has witnessed a significant improvement in its prevention and curing capacity of diseases and enjoyed a longer lifespan. In many world-famous longevity villages and regions, a lot of elders have had a lifespan of more than 100 years and even more than 120 years. However, even with the advance development of medical science today, many old and new diseases still force us to the corners of poverty while inhumanly claiming endless lives along the way. Many diseases still prove difficult to conquer. Others threaten the health and survival of humankind, claiming a life at any moment. Full of confusion and frustration, the wise humankind is still helpless in the face of diseases.

In 2016, the CCTV reported that in China, six people were diagnosed with cancer every minute. In the global outbreak of cancer, the prevalence rate of China ranked top. In 2015, there were 4.29 million new cases of cancer and a death toll of 2.81 million people. It is predicted that the number of cancer patients will continue to grow rapidly across the world. By 2035, the total number of cancer patients will reach 24 million. Now, there are 200 million patients of high blood pressure, 120 million patients of diabetes, more than 100 million patients of high blood fat, and 200 million patients of cardiovascular diseases in China. The patients of different diseases become younger in average age: 22% of the mid-age group died of cardiovascular diseases; 70% of Chinese people had the risk of death from overwork; 76% of the white-collar workers were under a sub-health state; 20% of Chinese people had developed chronic diseases; and the death toll caused by chronic diseases accounted for 83% of the total death toll. The thickening speed of waistline of Chinese people was the fastest in the world. The development trend of diseases was stunning.

In my observation of diseases in recent years, I have discovered two characteristics.

First, humankind tries ceaselessly to eliminate diseases. We renew and perfect all sorts of new drugs, antibiotics, detection instrument, and technological means. However, we still have not found out the causes of some existing diseases. As a result, they remain incurable as new diseases continue emerging such as bird’s flu, mad cow disease, SARS, A (H1N1) influenza. Particularly, the number of patients suffering from mental diseases such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia keeps growing. Cancer becomes common and normal. More than a decade ago, we seldom heard about patients of cancer around us, but now, all sorts of cancer have become so common.

All sorts of diseases continue to plague our life, work, and learning and depriving us of the right to lead a healthy and happy life. Diseases seem to be wiser than the humankind, as new diseases emerge one after another at a speed beyond our imagination. The speed at which humankind eliminates the viruses always lags behind the speed the viruses are formed, spread, and mutated. As a result, in the fight against illnesses, humankind is always at an unfavorable position.

Second, in the same bad environment, only some of us would fall ill even if we are identical in age, gender, and health status. For example, when SARS was rampant, among those who had stayed in or passed the same hospital and contacted the same source of infection, only a small number of them were infected. More people and including the doctors in the hospital remained safe and healthy. In another example, it’s believed that unhygienic foods would result in diarrhea and even enteritis, while those who often eat food abandoned by others as waste remain healthy. Living in the same family, two kids share the same parents, food, daily supplies, and education. However, they may be significantly different in health status, life, and fate. Even twins born nearly at the same time have different fates.

Some people say illnesses come from the food eaten by our food. We love delicious food and eat a lot of food containing a lot of cholesterol. Many dishonest merchants add forbidden chemical additives into the food, such as melamine and Sudan red. As a result, from lack of exercise, living and studying in the air-conditioned rooms for a long time, the acidic substances cannot be cleaned and cleared from our bodies. Instead, they form toxic matters that trigger diseases when such substances are accumulated to a certain level. The toxic matters will damage and destroy more and more cells of our body. As a result, we fall ill. If this is the only cause of illnesses, then we should have been able to eliminate our diseases as long as we control our diet structure and exercises more. Sadly, even after all our efforts to promote health, prevent diseases, and protect our bodies, we continue to be plagued by some diseases with unknown cause.

Health is the greatest wealth of our life. Only those who have ever been sick know how important health is. We work hard and try to earn money to enjoy our lives. However, the increasingly common diseases are swallowing up healthy lives, and our substandard health status is affecting our living conditions. No matter how wealthy or successful we may be, all glories will become dark and pale once we fall prey to the monster of illnesses.

Health is a responsibility. It is the basis for the quality of life. Without health, everything we own will vanish like a dream.

What does it mean when someone becomes severely ill in a family? It means that the patient needs to be treated and nursed for one year or more years. It means huge medical spending. It means that the patient has no income, and moreover will cause a huge property loss and spiritual loss. It can be said that for most families, as long as a family member suffers a serious illness, the whole family suffers with them.

The progress of science and technology cannot stop the escalation of viruses. More people have left the world they love forever. What on earth has prevented us from regaining health after spending all the money we have earned? While we feel sorry for the vanishing of those precious lives, isn’t it time for us to ponder what is the real problem in our understanding of health?

II. All Illnesses Stem from Qi

In my research these years, I have become increasingly aware that many diseases, even incurable diseases, are fabricated by our mind to guide our emotions. Some diseases are imagined. This view appears bold and unacceptable, but it has been proven by more and more evidences.

Cancer has killed numerous people and is known as an incurable disease. People will turn pale at the mention of cancer. Professor Tang Peng, a member of the Tumor Branch of Chinese Medical Association, vice president of Hainan Anti-cancer Association, and director of the Tumor Branch of the Provincial Medical Association, said in an interview with a reporter that cancer, in fact, can be prevented and cured. Of the patients killed by cancer, 1/3 are scared to death, 1/3 die from an excessive use of medicine, and only 1/3 die of treatment failure. Zhong Nanshan, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, director of National Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, and director of National Clinical Medical Research Center of Respiratory Diseases said, Half of the problems of illnesses lie in psychology.

The most mysterious and important item described in the Inner Cannon of Huangdi, a TCM classic, is a special vital phenomenon is called viscera state in TCM. One of the vital manifestations of the viscera state system is our mind and spirit. If you list all the Chinese characters of the names of our internal organs (liver, spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, intestine, and heart), you will find that, except for the character of heart, all other organs come with the Chinese radical meaning moon. What is the reason for this? According to the theory of TCM, the heart is like the monarch among our internal organs, from which all our wisdom and intelligence come, internal organs are connected with the heart, and the heart is the dominator of our internal organs. The heart is the leader among other internal organs and exercises the authority on behalf of the Heaven just like an emperor. It determines the physical health status of a person. According to the Inner Cannon of Huangdi, When the monarch is wise, the subordinates will be peaceful. One will enjoy longevity if he or she promotes health in this way. As the heart is calm, the inner system of the human body will run well, and the whole will be stable and healthy.

According to the TCM theory on five organs, The heart controls the wisdom and intelligence. The physical health of a person depends on his or her spiritual and mental activities. No matter how ill a person is, their self-healing capacity will easily enhance as long as the person keeps calm, pacifies their own heart, and maintains a stable mood.

The curing effect for all diseases originate from the heart. The mind is the most powerful medicine for the curing of diseases. That is why some experienced TCM practitioners would say one must have the determination to thoroughly reform himself or herself in communicating with the patients. They call it a secret recipe among secret recipes.

Some wise man once said, The heart of man is like a vacant farm lot. Whatever is sown, what fruits will be yielded. When nothing is sown, weeds will grow in its place.

The Buddha says, Every doctrine originates from the heart. Every doctrine will flourish when the heart flourishes and vanish when the heart vanishes. Here the heart means the thoughts of a person rather than the physical organ. We will be healthy only after we have a healthy mind. We will fall ill if our mind falls ill. Our diseases will be cured only after the diseases in our mind are cleared. Therefore, we often say, The best doctor is yourself. The natural state is the healthiest; the mind is the most powerful medicine. The human body has the mechanism of self-healing.

In modern society, our living standards have been improving. However, as our work tempo becomes faster, and the competition becomes fiercer, we are facing a growing pressure in all aspects of society, work, and life. More and more diseases are caused by our psychology, emotions, and spirit, which has received more and more attention. When a problem hits our mind, our body will also suffer. That is why TCM says diseases stem from the heart. The diseases of most people stem from the heart. The corresponding diseases of many people are difficult to be cured because their mind is problematic.

In 2007, How to Live 365 Days a Year, a bestseller of the US, was introduced into China. The author of the book is a physician. He summarized a law from his decades of medical practice experience that nearly 80% of the diseases of all people are caused by psychological factors, and only around 20% of the diseases are caused by external factors such as bacterial infection.

We are clear that Western medicine adopts treatment based on symptoms, while TCM adopts treatment based on syndrome differentiation. Western medicine plays an important role in the research and treatment of diseases and is proven to be most convenient and effective whether in medicament or operation, detection or transplanting. In discussing and studying the diseases, Western medicine focuses on the physical body of a patient, pays more attention to psychological factors and material level, and emphasizes curing diseases by changing the structure of the human body.

By means of diagnosis, test, and detection and applying the method of physical observation, the physical structure of the human body is analyzed, and a solution is provided. Finally, the diseases are treated with such methods as injection, taking medicine, transfusion, operation, and transplanting. TCM practitioners mainly observe five internal organs, namely, soul, spirit, intention, vigor, and will.

TCM theory says, All diseases stem from qi. Shoushi Qingbian says, The medicine only cures half of the disease, and the other half can only be cured by the mind. When the heart of a person is rigid, his or her mind will be perplexed by many negative emotions. As these emotions are accumulated and cannot be released, resolved, and cleared effectively, they will act on our body and manifested themselves in the form of diseases.

Our action comes from our mind. Though all things in the world are inconstant, there is a way of the heaven — the laws behind the running of all matters and things. The sun rises from the east every day. The law is eternal. After mastering the law, we will hold the key to wisdom. At every flood tide or full moon, we are prone to emotional swings and vulnerable to illnesses and severe diseases. The changes of the external environment will affect the human body. This is a law.

We often wish good luck to others. In fact, we will have good luck as long as we protect our health and mind by complying with the law of nature. If we violate the natural law, we will be out of luck. All diseases stem from qi. The most important issue to be solved by medicine is our mentality and emotions. We cannot improve our self-healing power and physical health unless we start from our mind, eliminate the emotional disorders, and really reach a state of peace and joy.

III. Thoughts Give Rise to Emotions, Emotions Affect Thinking Mode

Thoughts give rise to emotions, while emotions affect our thinking. Their relationship is similar to that between the chicken and the egg. They supplement, influence, and interact with each other. Facing similar circumstances, some react positively with gratitude, tolerance and understanding. Others react negatively with a dimmer perception. Feeling as if the world owes them, they are filled with fury, grievance, and sadness. Different thoughts will give rise to different actions. Different actions will yield different results and different fates.

Thoughts give rise to emotions. Emotions guide the energy resulting in directional and targeted changes of vital energy and blood in our bodies. These changes cause a reaction and changes of cells and organs and ultimately lead to illnesses.

A friend from Dalian came to me for help. He was suffering from heart disease and wished that I could accompany him to receive treatment in Beijing Fuwai Hospital which ranks top in the treatment of heart diseases. When I saw him at the railway station, I was shocked. Originally, he was cheerful, talkative, and liked sports, but now, he was just like an old man, pressing a hand on his chest, and looking terribly weak. He spoke in a low voice and sighed from time to time.

His wife told me that his grandfather and father died of heart attacks in their 40s. This year he is 42. Last week on a business trip, he suddenly felt pain at the heart at night. He was later sent by an ambulance to the hospital. Based on his description of his conditions, the doctor diagnosed him with heart disease. From that day on, he fell into horror and worry. He started losing his appetite for food and drinks. He frequently talked about things related to death. His family was no longer joyful because of his sickness.

The next day, I accompanied him to receive a comprehensive examination at Beijing Fuwai Hospital. The doctor concluded that he had no heart disease, but instead, he had some issues relating to his stomach. However, he did not believe the results. I took him to People’s Hospital to receive a similar examination, and the results were the same. He was suffering from a stomach illness rather than heart disease.

Looking at the two examination reports, he instantly felt better and spoke in a louder voice. His hand no longer pressed against the chest. The worried expression vanished from his face, replaced by a ruddy complexion. Upon hearing the result, his wife shed tears of joy after running about for days. Her grievances were vented out immediately.

External influences bring about changes in thought and reflecting different emotions. Our memory will recall a similar event. The demand of our mind will be obeyed loyally, and our vital energy and blood will run accordingly. One’s qi will decline when in horror, rise when in anger and so on. As a result, the balance of our internal organs will be disrupted. Illness will be incurred or worsened.

Emotions are a kind of reaction made by our body according to our thoughts. Most often, some thoughts will be detected by our body before we are aware of them. As a result, our body will react at once. These deeply-rooted, inertial, and unconscious thoughts originate from the programs saved in our body. We often cannot help falling into the mental structure created by ourselves. These thoughts are manipulating our outlook on the world and life and affecting our health.

Our action originates from our thoughts, while our thoughts originate from our experiences. When a person develops some emotion from the experience, it will form cellular memory. Perhaps you may have forgotten with whom you had lunch with and what you ate last year, last month, last week, or days ago. However, we can recall the experience of being beaten by our parents or debating with our parents in our childhood to different extents. Sometimes those kinds of memory will remain in our brain as if they were recent. They would continue to influence our life even decades later. This is the effect and influence of emotions to our thoughts. Do not think that that was just an experience or an emotion. Under the operation mechanism of our mind, our body will be guided by the cognition formed in these previous experiences when we encounter similar events in the future.

There was a famous tennis star in the UK named Gem Gilbert. She once suffered a toothache. She was asked to see a dentist many times, but she refused. Eventually, she could not withstand the pain anymore, so she had to see the dentist. The dentist’s clinic prepared a complete set of medicines and apparatus for her. They even included oxygen and first aid measures. However, she felt so nervous for no reason that she could not sit quietly on the chair. Later, the doctor tried every method to help her relax. So, they had her sit on a special chair. The doctor began to anesthetize her following normal procedures. But upon the completion of the step, the doctor found that she had died. This incident aroused a big sensation in the society instantly. A popular star died on the chair of the dentist without any warning signs. It was confirmed after an autopsy that the doctor had done nothing except for anesthetizing her. The medicines and apparatus had no issues, and the entire process totally complied with the treatment procedure. However, she died like this without a clear