What I will share with you today is based on my experience only with ABET as a ‘patient’, for lack of a better word. I will share my personal learnings and subsequent information I have read. I’m not ABET trained or a practitioner, however I’m excited that I’ve enrolled in training later this year to learn more. [Click here if you missed my previous post on how I was introduced to ABET].
From Chiang Mai’s old city, I decided to relocate myself closer to the Asian Healing Arts Center for convenience. The morning of my first appointment, I left my guesthouse early and casually cycled to the center. The entrance and property was blooming with a wide assortment of such vivid and colorful bougainvilleas and I was promptly greeted by Freckles and Charlie, two of the resident dogs.
As a refresher, the Asian Healing Arts Center website defines ABET [Asian Bio-Energetic Therapy] as:
This scientific treatment, developed by Dr Than Van Le during a period of some 30 years, is a combination of several oriental holistic healing techniques that are all non-invasive and require no machines for diagnoses and no drugs for treatment. Bio-Energetics will restore the patient’s natural energy fields and healing powers, promote relaxation and healing and have a positive effect on the emotional, physical and spiritual well-being.
So what does that mean for me? I wasn’t 100% certain, but I arrived with an open and curious mind. I’ve taken this approach in the past with key events and have always walked away pleasantly surprised, having learned something new.
For the past few years I’ve had an annual physical every couple of years and my results always come back showing I’m in top form, by Western standards, with no issues; yippee.
For those that know me well, what I will say next will come as no surprise. One area in my life that I have struggled with, probably for about 15 years now, is an issue with ‘heights’. I’ve consciously working on this over the past few years. Some days I seem to take a step or two forward and others it seems I take 3-5 steps back. In its extreme form, it impacts my ability to ride steep escalators and even drive or walk in places that have exposed drops.
It’s incredibly frustrating because I know it’s not logical, and I can see myself reacting irrationally; I can see it all in the thought process. I have different views about this fear. Some days:
I believe the fear may representative some learning and what is presenting itself as the fear of heights, represents something else I need to address within myself.
I think the answer to what I need to learn is just staring me in the face, but I’m just not seeing it. You know the feeling when something is obvious to everyone around you, but you?
I think that one day, I will look back and laugh so hard, because I will have finally seen the learning that this fear represents. Actually, this day can’t come fast enough.
I think I must find the answer within myself, but on the other hand I believe that everything I attempt to do or learn to help assist me, internally or externally, will help continue to peel away until I get to the bottom of the root cause, therefore keep working at it.
I think there is just ‘too much thinking’, and just let it be.
One lesson it has certainly taught me now, is to have patience and understanding for others that have, what we personally think are irrational, fears and not to judge a person for it.
So why tell you this? Well, maybe ABET can help peel some more layers, so I can get to the bottom of this fear and put it behind me. It will also give you background to future updates.
Asian Healing Arts Center
OK, so here we go. I spent about three hours with Cory, who owns and runs the center, and Amporn and Mary in subsequent sessions. They first start conducting initial diagnoses testing, which is non-invasive, using something called the ‘o-ring’ [BIDORT] test.
With one hand you form an ‘o’ using your thumb and index finger and with the other, point to a meridian area on the body. In my mind, it’s a kind of energetic/kinesthetic/muscle testing to determine areas of weakness or imbalance in the body. I think there were about three rounds of this.
After each round of testing, a Tibetan breathing technique was incorporated. It is said that this breathing exercise establishes equilibrium between positive and negative currents throughout the body. It was astonishing to see areas that were initially imbalanced, come into balance.
It appeared that any area still out of balance after the 3rd round of ‘o-ring’ testing, were the areas requiring focus. For me this was the spleen and ‘dampness’; both interconnected.
Dampness
I had never heard of ‘dampness‘ and didn’t really understand it, so I went online to gain a better understanding. I found that ‘dampness’ was not an uncommon term in relation to Traditional Chinese Medicine. This site provides the following definition:
Dampness is a concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine that basically refers to an abnormal state of the body’s energy that results in a pathological accumulation of fluid-type stuff. Source
I know, that definition still seems a bit ‘technical’. How about this one:
In traditional Chinese Medicine dampness comes from a failure to burn off or transform moisture in the body. It is nearly always associated with a weak Spleen, often with a weak Kidney and sometimes a weak Lung – all from a Chinese Medicine perspective. Source
Cory from the Asian Healing Arts Center also explains it as: ‘Dampness is a form of stagnation or lack of movement in your body’s fluids which make them too sticky and therefore cause energy blockages and pain’.
This gave me a sense of what dampness was, and I’ve included information from other sites below.
During/after my ABET session, magnets were also placed on my weak acupuncture/meridian spots. I was also given a Reiki treatment, to allow the body to adjust gently and more deeply to the energy adjustments during the ABET session. I’ll cover more on Reiki in a future update.
The recommended changes for me to action were primarily lifestyle changes, such as:
Drinking sufficient amounts water
Drinking ‘quality’ water. I found with the water I was previously drinking, I’d have to drink 9 [1.5 ltr] bottles to nourish my body, where with a better quality, I only needed to drink 2 bottles. WOW !
Eat more ‘cooked’ green vegetables [not raw]
The best time for to eat breakfast [or your largest meal of the day] is 07 – 09 a.m. and your main [dinner]meal no later than 1p.m., preferable no later than noon.
Incorporate the Tibetan breathing daily
Incorporate moxibustion for 21 days
No MSG. In the USA, I recall the use of MSG became a major issue addressed many years ago. It hadn’t occurred to me travelling throughout Asia that MSG was commonly used in cooking.
Stop using my laptop in a position on my lap. Are you guilty of using you laptop in bed or on the sofa without any protection between you and the device? Well this causes energy problems in the lower abdomen.
The biggest change of all was to not drink ‘cold’ drinks/fluids
Cold Drinks
So why no cold drinks? I did numerous searches online to better understand this however, only the ‘results’ of drinking cold drinks would pop up. I wasn’t able to find what the root issues are, so from the Asian Healing Arts Center, this is my understanding why we should avoid cold drinks:
Cold drinks cause your stomach and spleen to be cold, which shrinks the blood vessels, impacting your body’s ability to pre-digest food/drinks. When this undigested food moves to your smaller intestine it causes it to work overtime, requiring more energy to work.
The mass then moves, slowly, to the large intestine, stays too long, where it can cause irritation, gas, and even lesions which may look like cancerous growths.
Your spleen and pancreas are unable to work properly causing all sorts of problems [e.g. bloating, kidney problems, fatigue, etc.].
I’ve included a link and information on cold drinks from the Asian Healing Arts Center. Click here for: ‘Cold Drinks and Your Health’.
Moxibustion:
Now were you wondering what moxibustion is?
Moxibustion is also a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique where the herb ‘mugwort’ is used to stimulate the flow of Qi or energy. Moxa was used near the acupuncture points/meridians that were out of balance [e.g. my spleen]. It also felt great when used on my back ! I’ve included some information below.
Sleep & Your Body clock
Oh wait, I forget one more lifestyle change. It’s one of my top two most difficult to change but, of course, achievable. Get to bed no later than 10 pm, more ideally by 9 pm. What, seriously??!! Yes.
Ok, a few years back I did read about the importance of following your body’s biorhythms when it came to sleep, so I get the logic. What I learned since ABET is that your body has a natural cycle it follows and an ‘organ’ clock that completes one cycle every 24-hours during which it restores energy in your organs [Source]. For example:
11:00 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. for the gallbladder
1:00 A.M. to 3:00 A.M. for the liver
3:00 A.M. to 5:00 A.M. for the lungs
5:00 A.M. to 7:00 A.M. for the large intestine
You can find a more detailed organ clock on this site: http://www.pemf.com/en/resonance/organ-clock.html
Your Tongue
Did you know that your tongue is linked to your body organs and parts just like your hands, ears and feet are?
I was amazed to find that the tongue can tell so much about your health and nutrition.
When was the last time you looked at your tongue? Really looked at it in a mirror? Is / does your tongue:
Swollen?
Have a white coating? Yellow coating?
Have teeth marks along the side? Yes, teeth marks!
Cracks & grooves?
Does it have spots?
Is the tip a different color?
These indicators and others can tell lots about your nutrition, deficiencies, state of your organs, digestion, circulation and much more.
Isn’t it amazing that mother nature has given us all we need to diagnose and heal ourselves?
So has ABET made an impact?
It has certainly educated me on how to better my health. It has also exposed me to additional, complimentary and holistic techniques that were previously unknown to me, which also focus on the ‘whole’ mind-body and ‘root’ causes vs. symptoms.
I felt an increase of energy after making various changes, more energized even upon waking in the morning.
It has also made me more ‘aware’ of myself and my body and the impacts of my decisions. I’m not perfect and I’m not going to ‘deprive’ myself of everything, like ice cream every now and again, but I’m more aware, responsible and accountable of the decisions I ‘choose’ to make regarding my health, particularly my diet.
As with other natural healing processes, I believe it will take time. Nature works wonders but it may not be an instant fix, especially when we have years of bad habits, imperfect eating, etc.
There were a couple of other natural techniques taught which I haven’t covered here. One for instance helps eliminate toxins in the body in a fast and natural way. These are useful and I’ve incorporated them into my life.
So overall, it was a worthwhile investment in my health and well-being.
Where next? After my ABET sessions, I flew to Hong Kong to visit a friend who was flying through Asia. Take one guess where I landed after that? Yes back in Thailand.
Stay tuned for the next Thai adventures…..
Happy Journeys,
Joanne
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References and More Information:
ABET:
Dampness:
Moxibustion:
Organ Cycle:
Tongue