To usher in the spring, this next series of articles focuses upon relieving allergies. Let’s first define and understand allergies in a broad sense. Simply put, an allergy is a defensive over-reaction. The offending trigger could be virtually anything, from airborne particles, to food and emotion, and even sunlight and noise. The symptoms are myriad, from respiratory and digestive chaos to moodiness, pain, and fatigue. Anywhere the defenses patrol, there may be trouble.
Normally, those defenses work efficiently as a filter between our selves and our environment, keeping a relative balance between them. We can enjoy an open relationship within ourselves, and with other people and things, without fear of being hurt or overwhelmed. However, this easy flow may be affected by a mix of internal congestion and weakness, and by harsh external natures.
On an everyday level, congestion and weakness come from poor eating habits, inactivity, and emotional tension (especially harboring feelings of isolation like depression and arrogance). Also, children who are not breast-fed start out with weakened immunity, while chronic illnesses and widespread pharmaceutical use and immunizations work to sap the defenses over time. All of this is common in our modern world.
On a deeper level, as these patterns become chronic or extreme, they penetrate and become imprinted in our blood and bone, and may then be passed on from one generation to the next: hence the expression “runs in my family”. However, unlike the modern view on genetics, Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that these inherited patterns can be changed during one’s lifetime, by the same process as if they were generated by oneself: simply by changing daily habits.
As for the external state of things, there is certainly a good bit of harsh matter and energy floating about in the modern world to challenge us. While those people who have chronic allergies (i.e., substantial internal congestion and weakness) react even to benign things like cat dander or shellfish, all people may react if the external stimulus is unnaturally noxious or extreme. For example, a highly processed piece of meat may cause the mouth to ulcerate, a chemically laden perfume may cause a headache, or a flight that spans time zones and climates may lead to jetlag and bowel disruption.
So, we see that allergies represent a glitch in the subtle interplay between our selves and our environment, a suspension of flow and interaction that starts with mounting a defense. Of course, this situation is in itself a bother. However, the reactions may serve to guide us by signaling areas of internal congestion and weakness that we may then work to remedy. Also, by being confronted with an inhospitable external environment, we may learn respect for what we put out there. In the process, we generate a peaceful spirit, and may also be rewarded by freedom from symptoms!
Next month, we begin to touch on what this process means, and then how to go about it.