Nora Franglen：揭开五行针灸中“附体”一词的神秘面纱

Nora Franglen：揭开五行针灸中“附体”一词的神秘面纱 目前在中国，大家围绕着五行针灸中的“附体”一词进行了诸多讨论，英文中我们称其为“possession”，我想它的中文肯定译出了英文字义中包含的“过分”的味道。我一直觉得这是一个有些无奈的术语，但是，它已在五行针灸的实践中使用已久，因此我不愿就这样弃之不用，而选择另一个不带任何偏向性的词语。但是现在，既然中国人对是否沿用这一词有所犹豫，应该是时候重做考虑，看是否需要另换一个能准确而又恰如其分地描述病人该种状况的词语。

   在重新寻找一个合适的替代词之前，首先需要阐明我对病人这一状态的理解。就从我们如何诊断“附体”开始吧！

诊断方法实际上非常简单：治疗师近距离直接看向病人的一只眼睛，并观察病人对于这种高度集中的凝视作何反应。在日常生活中，除了挑衅对方或是表达爱意，我们极少会如此直接地盯着另一个人的眼睛，通常情况下，对双方而言，这样严肃的对视都是令人不适的，所以双方都会尽快回避。作为五行针灸的一种诊断手段，要点在于：病人并没有做出我们所期待的正常反应，而是一直那么直直地看着你的眼睛，且毫无不适之感。一般来说，没有附体的人眼睛马上会动，要么眨眼要么移开视线，这是人在被盯得不自在时所做出的下意识反应。然而有“附体”的人不会有此反应，他的眼睛会一直一眨不眨地盯着治疗师。

   这是诊断这一状态唯一，我再重复一遍，唯一、且有效的方法。如果确诊有附体，则需要一套特定的治疗来清除，只要操作得当，就能有效清除“附体”。完整的治疗流程可参看《五行针灸指南》一书。

译者注：中文读者可参考新版《五行针灸指南》p108-p114。

  我对“附体”究竟是如何产生的有过很多思考，得出的理论让我认为“附体”这一名称有失确切，且有误导之嫌，尽管这个词在五行针灸中已经使用了很久。我对它的理解大多来源于对病人的观察，尤其是多年前治疗一位年轻女性的经历。她前来求助的原因是不能与他人一起共餐，用餐时只能单独一人。她不知道这种对与他人共餐的恐惧始于何时，也无法想起任何确切的起因。我做完附体治疗的几分钟后，她突然说道：“我6岁的时候，妈妈眼睛瞎了……”当我惊讶地告诉她她从未跟我谈过此事时，她也表示讶异，于是补充道：“他们把我送到姥姥家，我当时以为妈妈死了。从那以后，我就拒绝和别人一起吃饭。”我意识到，治疗开启了一扇通向过去的大门，而这扇门从儿时那一经历起就关闭了。我与许多其他病人也有过类似的情况：某些过往使他们将自己封闭起来，因而无法完全投入生活，而附体的治疗帮助他们把那扇关上的门又重新打开了。

   我因此认为附体其实是病人的一种自我保护机制，病人在经历了某些巨大的打击后将自己封闭起来，以免继续经历这些无法承受的痛苦。多年前我还在学习五行针灸时，一位老师曾告诉我们，他认为“附体”就是一种更为极端的“强迫症”：病人在经历了某些重大打击或无法承受的痛苦后，还竭力在精神上保持自我控制，大多数情况下，他们表面上过着无异于常人的生活，有些人则可能失去控制，出现严重的精神失常，比如精神分裂症。

   尽管“附体”这一名称容易让人误以为是某种外来力量入侵的结果，我却并不认同。相反，我认为其是病人自发的一种内在机制，以帮助他们去面对那个无以应对的极端困难处境。这就像他们在自己面前立起了一道保护性的玻璃屏障以躲避整个世界，而其他人通常看不到这层屏障。对我那位年轻的女性病人而言，除了不能与人一起吃饭，她表面上一直过着正常的生活。因此，“附体”应被视为人在遭遇不堪忍受之内心疼痛时所采取的逃避方式。

  “附体”一词，也会应用于一些有宗教或神秘主义倾向的场合，为了与其划清界限，另觅它词来替代，并非易事。考虑再三，目前唯一能想到的只有“内七龙”一词。这是在驱除“附体”时所用的七个穴位的名称。记得多年前老师告诉我们，可以将这七个穴位看做七条驱赶恶魔的龙，个人非常喜爱这个画面。但这与以上提到的“附体”一词的意思有几分类似，仍有外力侵入、被外力控制的含义。然而，这里的恶魔之意，我们也可以理解为“心魔”，即由人自身原因所致，而非外力入侵所致。

   五行针灸以极简的治疗却能达到极深的效果，帮助那些因生活之重压而失落的病人破除掉自我封闭的内在屏障，从而恢复健康。每想到这一点就让我心生暖意。召唤正义之龙，以讨伐企图控制病人生活的心魔，这样的画面在我看来异常慰藉人心。

  如果我或者哪位朋友想到了一个更好的词语可以符合中国人的要求，我会再发博客通告大家。

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.