? ?在重新尋找一個合適的替代詞之前，首先需要闡明我對病人這一狀態(tài)的理解。就從我們?nèi)绾卧\斷“附體”開始吧！
診斷方法實際上非常簡單：治療師近距離直接看向病人的一只眼睛，并觀察病人對于這種高度集中的凝視作何反應(yīng)。在日常生活中，除了挑釁對方或是表達愛意，我們極少會如此直接地盯著另一個人的眼睛，通常情況下，對雙方而言，這樣嚴肅的對視都是令人不適的，所以雙方都會盡快回避。作為五行針灸的一種診斷手段，要點在于：病人并沒有做出我們所期待的正常反應(yīng)，而是一直那么直直地看著你的眼睛，且毫無不適之感。一般來說，沒有附體的人眼睛馬上會動，要么眨眼要么移開視線，這是人在被盯得不自在時所做出的下意識反應(yīng)。然而有“附體”的人不會有此反應(yīng)，他的眼睛會一直一眨不眨地盯著治療師。
? ?這是診斷這一狀態(tài)唯一，我再重復(fù)一遍，唯一、且有效的方法。如果確診有附體，則需要一套特定的治療來清除，只要操作得當，就能有效清除“附體”。完整的治療流程可參看《五行針灸指南》一書。
譯者注：中文讀者可參考新版《五行針灸指南》p108-p114。
? 我對“附體”究竟是如何產(chǎn)生的有過很多思考，得出的理論讓我認為“附體”這一名稱有失確切，且有誤導(dǎo)之嫌，盡管這個詞在五行針灸中已經(jīng)使用了很久。我對它的理解大多來源于對病人的觀察，尤其是多年前治療一位年輕女性的經(jīng)歷。她前來求助的原因是不能與他人一起共餐，用餐時只能單獨一人。她不知道這種對與他人共餐的恐懼始于何時，也無法想起任何確切的起因。我做完附體治療的幾分鐘后，她突然說道：“我6歲的時候，媽媽眼睛瞎了……”當我驚訝地告訴她她從未跟我談過此事時，她也表示訝異，于是補充道：“他們把我送到姥姥家，我當時以為媽媽死了。從那以后，我就拒絕和別人一起吃飯。”我意識到，治療開啟了一扇通向過去的大門，而這扇門從兒時那一經(jīng)歷起就關(guān)閉了。我與許多其他病人也有過類似的情況：某些過往使他們將自己封閉起來，因而無法完全投入生活，而附體的治療幫助他們把那扇關(guān)上的門又重新打開了。
? ?我因此認為附體其實是病人的一種自我保護機制，病人在經(jīng)歷了某些巨大的打擊后將自己封閉起來，以免繼續(xù)經(jīng)歷這些無法承受的痛苦。多年前我還在學習五行針灸時，一位老師曾告訴我們，他認為“附體”就是一種更為極端的“強迫癥”：病人在經(jīng)歷了某些重大打擊或無法承受的痛苦后，還竭力在精神上保持自我控制，大多數(shù)情況下，他們表面上過著無異于常人的生活，有些人則可能失去控制，出現(xiàn)嚴重的精神失常，比如精神分裂癥。
? ?盡管“附體”這一名稱容易讓人誤以為是某種外來力量入侵的結(jié)果，我卻并不認同。相反，我認為其是病人自發(fā)的一種內(nèi)在機制，以幫助他們?nèi)ッ鎸δ莻€無以應(yīng)對的極端困難處境。這就像他們在自己面前立起了一道保護性的玻璃屏障以躲避整個世界，而其他人通?？床坏竭@層屏障。對我那位年輕的女性病人而言，除了不能與人一起吃飯，她表面上一直過著正常的生活。因此，“附體”應(yīng)被視為人在遭遇不堪忍受之內(nèi)心疼痛時所采取的逃避方式。
? “附體”一詞，也會應(yīng)用于一些有宗教或神秘主義傾向的場合，為了與其劃清界限，另覓它詞來替代，并非易事?？紤]再三，目前唯一能想到的只有“內(nèi)七龍”一詞。這是在驅(qū)除“附體”時所用的七個穴位的名稱。記得多年前老師告訴我們，可以將這七個穴位看做七條驅(qū)趕惡魔的龍，個人非常喜愛這個畫面。但這與以上提到的“附體”一詞的意思有幾分類似，仍有外力侵入、被外力控制的含義。然而，這里的惡魔之意，我們也可以理解為“心魔”，即由人自身原因所致，而非外力入侵所致。
? ?五行針灸以極簡的治療卻能達到極深的效果，幫助那些因生活之重壓而失落的病人破除掉自我封閉的內(nèi)在屏障，從而恢復(fù)健康。每想到這一點就讓我心生暖意。召喚正義之龍，以討伐企圖控制病人生活的心魔，這樣的畫面在我看來異常慰藉人心。
? 如果我或者哪位朋友想到了一個更好的詞語可以符合中國人的要求，我會再發(fā)博客通告大家。
Sunday, December ?11, ?2016
An ?attempt to ?de-mystify the ?term "possession" ?in five ?element acupuncture
There ?is much ?discussion going ?on ?in China ?at ?the moment ?around the ?term ?used in ?five element ?acupuncture which ?in English ?we call ?“possession”. ? I ?gather that ?the Mandarin ?word which ?has been ?used ?to translate ?it has ?all ?the overtones ?which the ?English word ?has. ? I ?have ?always felt ?that this ?is ?an unfortunate ?term, but ?one ?that is ?so embedded ?in five ?element practice ?that I ?have ?been reluctant ?to discard ?it and ?seek another, ?less charged ?one. ? But ?now, because ?of the ?Chinese hesitancy ?in continuing ?to use ?it, ?it seems ?the right ?time ?to think ?again whether ?we need ?to change ?it ?to make ?it describe ?more accurately ?and appropriately ?the condition ?patients suffer ?from.
I need ?first ?to define ?my understanding ?of the ?condition itself ?before trying ?to come ?up ?with a ?suitable new ?term ?for it. ? ?It will ?help ?by describing ?what is, ?in effect, ?the very ?simple test ?we ?use to ?diagnose it. ? ?Here the ?practitioner looks ?very closely ?straight into ?one ?of the ?patient’s eyes, ?and assesses ?how the ?patient reacts ?to this ?strongly focussed ?look. ? In ?everyday life ?it ?is rare ?for ?us to ?stare straight ?into somebody’s ?eyes in ?this ?way, unless ?in ?an aggressive ?or very ?loving way. ? ?In the ?normal course ?of events ?such an ?intense stare ?becomes uncomfortable ?both for ?the person ?staring and ?for ?the person ?being stared ?it, ?so that ?both will ?try ?to break ?off this ?close eye ?contact as ?soon ?as possible. ? ?As a ?diagnostic tool ?in ?five element ?acupuncture, we ?are looking ?to see ?whether the ?patient does ?not react ?as expected, ?but instead ?continues to ?maintain eye ?contact without ?any apparent ?sign of ?discomfort. ? In ?a non-possessed ?patient, there ?will ?be an ?almost immediate ?movement to ?the ?eye, a ?blink ?or a ?turning away, ?as evidence ?of the ?natural discomfort ?felt at ?being stared ?at ?in this ?way. ? In ?possessed people, ?however, this ?does ?not happen; ? ?the patient ?continues to ?stare unblinkingly ?at the ?practitioner.
This is ?the ?only, I ?repeat only, ?fail-safe way ?to diagnose ?this condition. ? If ?present, it ?then requires ?a specific ?treatment which ?will clear ?it ?if done ?properly. ? For ?the actual ?procedure, I ?would ?refer you ?to ?my Handbook ?of Five ?Element Practice ?(chapter 7 ?in ?the new ?Singing Dragon ?Press edition), ?which describes ?this in detail.
I have ?thought a ?great ?deal about ?what can ?cause possession, ?and then ?why ?the term ?seems ?to me ?to ?be an ?inaccurate and ?therefore misleading ?description, however ?ingrained it ?is ?in five ?element practice. ? Most ?of ?my learning ?has come ?from observing ?my patients, ?chief amongst ?which is ?my experience ?of treating ?a young ?woman many ?years ago. ? ?She had ?come ?for help ?to enable ?her ?to overcome ?her inability ?to sit ?down ?and eat ?with other ?people, having ?instead always ?to ?eat on ?her ?own. ? She ?could not ?tell ?me when ?this fear ?of eating ?with others ?had started, ?nor could ?she think ?of ?any particular ?reason to ?explain it. ? ?A few ?minutes after ?I ?had carried ?out the ?possession treatment, ?she said ?suddenly: ? “When ?my mother ?went blind ?when ?I was ?6…” ? When ?I expressed ?my amazement ?that she ?had ?not told ?me ?this before, ?she was ?surprised to ?learn ?that she ?had ?not, adding, ?“They took ?me ?away to ?stay ?with my ?grandmother, and ?I ?thought my ?mother ?had died. ? ?That was ?when ?I started ?to refuse ?to ?eat with ?other people.” ? ?I realised ?then that ?the treatment ?had unlocked ?a door to ?her past ?which had ?been closed ?since her ?childhood. ? I ?have had ?similar experiences ?with many ?other patients, ?where the ?possession treatment ?opened up ?some ?past history ?which was ?hindering them ?from living ?a ?full life.
I have ?come ?to regard ?possession as ?a ?form of ?defence mechanism ?protecting a ?patient from reliving some overpowering ?previous experience, ?a way ?of shutting ?themselves off ?from continuing ?to experience ?something that ?originally overwhelmed ?them. ? When ?I was ?studying many ?years ago, ?one ?of my ?tutors told ?us ?that he ?regarded possession ?simply as ?a ?more extreme ?form of ?obsession, a ?condition in ?which ?the patient ?tries to ?gain ?some control ?over something ?which has ?overwhelmed them, ?whilst, in ?most cases, ?still managing ?to lead ?an apparently ?normal life. ? ?In some ?people, however, ?such experiences ?become so ?overpowering that ?they cannot ?be controlled ?and can ?lead ?to serious ?psychological conditions, ?such as ?schizophrenia.
I do ?not ?regard possession ?as being ?the result ?of the invasion ?of some ?external force ?which the ?term might ?seem ?to imply. ? ?I see ?it instead ?as an internal mechanism ?which patients ?develop to ?help ?them cope ?with ?a very ?difficult situation ?which they ?cannot deal ?with ?in any ?other way. ? ?It is ?as ?though they ?put ?up a ?protective glass ?screen behind which they ?can ?hide themselves ?from the ?world, but ?which ?is often ?not visible ?to those ?around them. ? ?My young ?patient had ?been living ?an apparently ?normal life, ?except with ?regard to ?her ?eating arrangements. ? Possession ?should always ?therefore be ?seen ?as an ?escape route ?taken by ?those subject ?to some ?intolerable inner ?pain.
It is ?not ?easy to ?think ?of a ?good replacement ?term which ?removes the ?connection to ?other ?uses of ?the ?term which ?have ?a religious ?or mystical ?bias. ? I ?am thinking ?this through ?carefully, and ?the ?only alternative ?I can ?think ?of at ?the ?moment is ?the ?term “Internal Dragons”. ? ? This ?is the ?name given ?to ?one of ?the ?group of ?seven acupuncture ?points used ?in ?this treatment. ? ?I remember ?being told ?some years ?ago that ?the seven ?points we ?use ?could be ?regarded as ?seven dragons ?chasing away ?seven demons, ?an image ?I liked. ? ?This may ?again come ?a ?little too ?close ?to the ?concept of ?possession as ?occurring as ?a ?result of ?some invasion ?from outside, ?a kind ?of take-over ?by an ?alien force. ? However, ?we can ?think ?of demons ?in much ?the ?same way ?as ?we talk ?of ?a person ?being subject ?to the ?“demon drink”, ?something somebody ?brings upon ?themselves, not ?something which ?attacks them ?from outside.
It is ?heart-warming to ?me ?that five ?element acupuncture ?has such ?a ?simple and ?profound treatment ?protocol for ?helping restore ?to good ?health people ?suffering from ?such dislocation ?in their ?lives, and ?one ?which can ?break down ?the internal ?barrier that ?life ?has forced ?them to ?place between ?themselves and ?the ?world outside. ? ?I find ?the image ?of calling ?upon kindly ?dragons to ?fight ?the internal ?demons which ?are trying ?to take ?control of ?our patients’ ?lives strangely ?comforting.
If ?I, ?and others ?around me, ?can ?think of ?a ?better term ?which satisfies ?the Chinese ?objections, I ?will ?pass this ?on ?in a ?future blog.
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