Neijing Nature-Based Medicine
Neijing Nature-Based Medicine (NNBM) is an innovative healthcare system developed by Dr. Edward Neal over more than two decades of rigorous research, teaching, and clinical practice. It draws heavily from the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon), the foundational text of traditional Chinese medicine. This system integrates classical principles with modern clinical applications to offer a comprehensive approach to health and healing.
NNBM is rooted in the concept of biological coherence and ecological harmony, reflecting the interconnections of human health with nature and the cosmos. According to this model, the universe operates through intricate patterns of motion and transformation, which, while imperceptible to the physical senses, manifest as observable patterns in the natural world. These principles are then used to understand and address human illness, emphasizing balance and alignment with natural processes.
Through its focus on nature-based principles, NNBM provides a pathway to restore health by addressing root causes rather than symptoms alone. It exemplifies how ancient medical philosophies can inform modern practices, fostering a deeper understanding of health as part of a larger ecological system.
Neijing Nature-Based Medicine Basic Principles
Nature’s Primary Role: Nature serves as our primary teacher and the source of all our experiences. We are direct manifestation of nature, and nature reflects us, with no meaningful separation between the two.
The Cosmos and Its Patterns: The universe is created and governed by complex patterns of motion and transformation, largely hidden from our awareness. We live within a world of secondary manifestations rather than world of primary causes.
The Cyclical Nature of the Universe: At the core of these motions lies a fundamental tendency for the universe to move in constant cyclical patterns, akin to breath. This basic motion explains all phenomena in the universe.
The Interconnected Universe: The universe exists as an interrelated resonancescape. Changes in any one aspect affects all others, as everything exists as part of a vast web. All life succeeds or fails together within this interconnected system.
Physical Forms as Dynamic Patterns: Physical forms in the universe materialize around patterns of imperceptible motion. These forms, including the human body, are not static objects but rather represent dynamic patterns of motion in physical form. They organize their structure in ways that maximize the efficiency of the patterns flowing through them at the time of their creation and continued evolution.
- Basis of Life: Life is best understood as a biological coherence of breath in physical form that can adapt to environmental changes while maintaining a primary integrity.
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Disruption of Patterns: Human illnesses stem from disruptions in subtle, unseen patterns of motion and transformation within our bodies. Our current healthcare systems tend to focus on treating secondary manifestations of these disruption rather than addressing these root causes.
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Focus of Treatment: Human illnesses are treated most effectively by restoring the body’s ecological landscape and circulatory patterns. When these are properly aligned, many health issues resolve naturally and efficiently.
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Healthcare Integration: Integrating these practices with judicious use of Western medicine can significantly enhance clinical outcomes while reducing side effects. Western medical interventions are best applied sparingly, complementing rather than dominating the treatment approach.
- Nature is our primary teacher and the source of all things we have in our lives.
- We are expressions of nature, and nature is a reflection of us; there is no meaningful separation.
- The cosmos is created and governed by complex patterns of motion, of which we are largely unaware; we live our lives among a world of secondary manifestations, not primary causes.
- At the heart of these motions is a deep tendency for the universe to move in constant cyclical motions or to ‘breathe’; from this basic tendency, all things in the universe are explained.
- The universe is a grand resonancescape; changes in any one aspect affect all other aspects; all things exist as part of this great family, we succeed or fail together.
- The physical forms of the universe materialize around patterns of indiscernible motion in ways to maximize the efficiency of the patterns flowing through them at the time of their creation; thus, the physical forms of the universe, including the human body, are not static objects but rather represent patterns of motion in form.
- All human illnesses arise as primary disruptions in the coherence of these unseen patterns of motion, of which we are largely unaware; due to this, in our healthcare systems today, we currently recognize secondary manifestations of illness, not their primary cause.
- Our human illnesses are treated best by first restoring the body’s ecological landscape and circulatory patterns; when these patterns are restored, many human illnesses resolve spontaneously and gracefully.
- When these practices are combined with the thoughtful use of Western medicine, the clinical efficacy of current practices is drastically improved, and side effects diminish; Western medicine is best used sparingly as a spice, not as a main course.
- We are living at the dawn of an entirely new understanding of the body and human health and illness; these new ideas have the potential to revolutionize the practice of both Chinese and Western medicine and lead to a new era of medicine.
水者地之血氣如筋脈之通流者也故曰水具材
Water is the blood and qì of the earth; its courses flow and intermingle like the blood that circulates within the sinews and blood vessels of the body. Thus, it is said that water is the container for life’s deep potential.
Guanzi
Warring States
