Scrumptious Desserts from our Macrobiotic Chefs, October 2022
Bob’s description of the two week acupuncture course in Oregon was especially notable! Bob describes his experience here.
In the summer of 2000, I participated in a two-week addiction treatment training course in Portland, Oregon. It was a program supported by the county and consisted of a downtown outpatient treatment center and several satellite intake centers around the county. Twice a day, at the downtown outpatient treatment center, patients received 45-minute acupuncture treatments using the five ear points (lung, kidney, liver, Shenmen, sympathetic) laid out in the addiction treatment protocol by NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association).
I observed this treatment protocol to be particularly effective in the intake centers around the county. At 8 AM each morning 10 perspective patience were admitted off the street and often had just had their last fix. These 10 people would be brought into a room where they were seated around a table. Each of the patients would be agitated in some fashion: talking loudly, gesticulating, not sitting still. The first phase of the intake was to administer the five ear point protocol. Within a few minutes the entire room was calm and quiet. I witnessed the effectiveness of this protocol, time, and time again. It has been observed to significantly reduce the cravings for whatever substance in question. It’s also been extended and applied to stop smoking, appetite, control, and treatment of alcoholism.
I used a variation of these five points in virtually every treatment that I gave thereafter. I observed that the ear points helped to reduce anxiety and agitation, and promote a feeling of calmness for a patient, which in turn rendered them more receptive to the overall treatment that was being administered.