Uncle Screwtape

Registration with a professional body is not enough. They need to come under statutory regulation by the government. Then they will be allowed to keep prescribing medicines. It is the same all over Europe. It's the same directive for all of us. Plus, you can still mix your own medicines. Richard

If you're not regulated by your government then they are banned. If you are regulated then you can go on prescribing them. Practioners in the UK have been going for regulation as a way around the EU directive for more than ten years. The recent round of emails about this issue never made it clear that regulation was the answer. Instead they called for the directive itself to be scrapped, but that was never going to happen. I think it would be more helpful if people knew that there is another option; one that is more likely to succeed. But it takes a long time and a sympathetic government. The previous UK government (Labour) promised regulation then went back on it. The Conservatives got in and pressed ahead with it. What I would urge people to do is to put pressure on their governments to regulate practitioners. In the UK, practitioners were all for regulation. I know people with experience of herbal medicines and who are not qualified will resent not being able to buy them over the counter any more but at least you know now that soon, if you go to a practitioner, they are qualified and experienced and prescribing medicines that are what they say they are and will not harm you. So it could be worse. Richard

Just adding to the most recent reply, really, that in the UK, at least, registered herbalists who have been educated to degree level will be able to continue to prescribe medicines that would otherwise be banned. I don't think this is such a bad thing as it will ensure basic standards for the consumer, who, as things stand, often have to take pot luck. The same option is available, I assume, to practitioners all over Europe. About 18 months ago I asked every UK-based member of Tao Bums to write to their MPs and to fill in the consultation form. Six million did, all in all, and it worked. So to those here who made the effort, thank you. At least on behalf of the herbalist girlfriend I was with at the time who still has a career it seems.

Thank you, TM! It comes as such a relief to see someone else say this. I remember the first time I asked you the question: what made movement enter stillness? I have been circling this question ever since. But I am no closer to understanding. Nor am I any closer to giving up wondering. Richard

If you want to know about tea ask an Englishman! We drink more per person than any other nation on earth. Click here to see how many cups we have drunk today. Allow me to introduce you to Gerald: He is on the right with Geraldine on the left. One spoonful of black tea per person and 'one for the teapot'. Let it brew for about five minutes and pour into a china cup through a strainer. Add milk and sugar to suit your personal taste. I have a knitted tea cosy to keep the pot warm, but I have no picture of it to show you. I sometimes wear the tea cosy on my head when I think no one is looking. Richard

I am so glad you said that. So many interpret Taoism as being indifferent, but nothing could be further from the truth. There is clear bias in Taoism toward a certain way of living. Richard

Do sages serve Tao? I never got that impression. Perhaps they do, but it just seemed to me they utilised it. I no more serve Tao, anyway, than I serve the wind when I use it to steer a sail boat. I respect it and it instils a sense of awe and wonder in me, however. I don't see Tao as anything other than the way the universe and nature works. I can use that way to my advantage, but I am not that way. In demystifying Tao I may have overdone it, I admit. Richard

We don't know why Lao Tzu left, where he went and what he went on to do. not for sure anyway. Richard

I am sure the great sages did concern themselves with such matters. Even Lao Tzu had ideas of how a society could be run to make it better. Fuxi, Shennong, Yu the Great, King Wen all appeared to concern themselves deeply with the path events took. Although everything is perfect as it is, change is inevitable and the direction of that change has yet to be decided. The difference is that a sage has an innate sense of the right thing to do and does not have to contrive it. But as you say, for those of us who are not sages, contriving to do the right thing is better than contriving to do the wrong thing. And Lao Tzu, at least, didn't think all is Tao. He spoke of Tao being lost and of actions contradicting Tao. To him it was something to wield, to use and to utilise. It was a way that you used or didn't. Tao is what causes galaxies to spin, stars to be born; it holds planets in their orbits and makes the earth turn, the winds blow, the rains fall and the grasses grow. I cannot do that; therefore I am not Tao. I may harness Tao, though. But that doesn't make me it. That's how I see it anyway. Richard

If you drop an egg on the floor then the mess that results is perfect. It is perfect in that that is what happens when you drop eggs. But does that mean you have to leave the mess there and not clear it up? Of course not! If you want a clean floor then you are perfectly entitled, as a Taoist, to get out the mop. Bad is not the same as good. Not even for Lao Tzu, or he would not have made the distinction. They both have their place. But you still have choices to make. Taoism has something to say about how you make those choices and then carry them out. Plenty, actually. The I Ching is based on the idea that we can choose between possibilities. There is nothing wrong with that at all. The I Ching talks about choices leading to fortune or misfortune. The rest is up to you. I want to be happy, but I accept I will often be sad; I want to succeed, but I accept I will sometimes fail; I want to gain, but I accept I will occasionally lose. Richard

And if you do get her to settle down, will she lose her appeal? Plus, should you really be trying to keep any woman 'in check'? Have enough respect to let a woman be what she really is and not what you want to shape them into. If you don't like her as she is, you have a decision to make. Richard

Whenever I have worked out it was for no specific purpose in mind except to improve my general fitness.

TM, I really appreciated what you said about learning how to ask a question. It took me a while to learn I had to learn how to ask, too. It was like fiddling with a combination lock and then suddenly it popped open. I prefer the yarrow method because of the time it takes and the opportunity the I Ching has to talk to me before a hexagram is revealed. She sometimes tells me that I am asking the wrong question; I'll even be told what question I should ask! Once I asked about what role a particular person plays in my life and I was told: 'That's not for you to know; but you know who you should ask about?' Then she told me. So much of the divination takes place even before the final hexagram has been divined. It took me years to get to that stage. That's even before I get to the hexagrams themselves. (For me, the Ta Chuan is more valuable a text than the TTC.) Richard PS Pietro, it was a divination TM did for me that brought me so close to the I Ching and I am thankful to this day. You'd do well to take her up on her generous offer.

We have had a couple of spring-like days in England, but then it snows again. However, I grow my own food, and from this month I have had broad beans, tomatoes and parsnips growing in seed trays. There is nothing quite like seeing seeds germinate and green shoots poking through the soil to make you at least get excited at the prospect of spring, even if it's grey and wet outside. I can recommend it to anyone! Richard

Stephen Karcher's Total I Ching is beautifully poetic and allows further insights into the historical context of the texts. A very good addition to anyone's collection. The Ernaos is sumptuous. Meaning applicable to you in the moment seems to float up out of the text. It is hard work and I still need my Wilhelm open beside me for the while, but it is the daddy of them all in my opinion. And beautifully presented too. Now I come to think of it, Karcher's has fields of meaning too. Richard

There is nothing unnatural about trying to postpone dying. We all do it. The average life expectancy in the Western world has about doubled in the last hundred years or so thanks to better diet and medicine. And if you see death as merely another aspect of continuous change, which Taoists tend to, then there is nothing contradictory about the Taoist practice of nudging change this way or that way. Richard

In a previous thread I highlighted the threat to herbal medicine in the UK. In brief, if the government reneges on its promise to regulate the industry then it will fall foul of European law in 2011 and it will be very difficult to practice here and the health and safety of users of herbs will be greatly compromised. I asked those here concerned to write to their members for parliament and to fill in a public consultation document (deadline for the latter is closed). I have to thank everyone here who did that because whereas the government expects to receive between 10 and 80 replies to such documents, on this issue they received 6000. They are having to hire extra staff to deal with it all. It might be that this has delayed their decision and that the election will happen first. If it does, and the Conservatives win power, it seems they are in favour of protecting the industry with regulation. It seems also that even within the current Labour government, the issue is being taken seriously. Some of the debates I have heard on it are encouraging. Below is a letter you can write to your MP which outlines the issue in detail. Even if you have already written once it might help to do so again. You can find your MP here. And click here for more information. Once again, thank you. Dear The statutory regulation of practitioners of herbal medicine and acupuncture. I am a user of herbal medicine and am writing to you to urge the Government to move to statutory regulation of herbal practitioners without delay. As you may be aware, The Department of Health (DH) recently consulted on the proposed statutory regulation (closing date16/11/ 09) of herbal/traditional medicine, TCM and acupuncture practitioners. Statutory regulation of herbal practitioners is a matter of considerable public interest. Recent research by Ipsos MORI for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has found that millions of people in the UK use herbal medicines. In particular: more than a quarter of the population had bought herbal medicines over-the-counter in the previous two years; one in twenty had consulted a practitioner of traditional Chinese Medicine; around one in twelve had consulted a practitioner of Western herbal medicine. 77% of adults agree it is important that herbal medicines are regulated, with this figure rising to 87% among regular users of herbal medicines (defined as those who have used a herbal medicine within the last 2 years). Statutory regulation has been under consideration for a decade since the call in 2000 from the House of Lords’ Select Committee on Science and Technology for the statutory regulation of practitioners of herbal medicine and acupuncture. The Government itself backed statutory regulation of this sector in 2001 and more recently key regulatory bodies, the Health Professions Council (HPC) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have both concluded that, like the osteopaths and chiropractors, acupuncture and herbal medicine practitioners should be subject to statutory regulation. As recently as 2006 the DH website recorded that “The Government is committed to the statutory regulation of herbal medicine, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.” Over the past eight years the Department of Health (DH) has initiated three working groups to look at implementing this policy. All three working parties strongly supported the aim of statutory regulation of this sector. In 2005, the DH ran a public consultation on the statutory regulation of herbal medicine and acupuncture. This registered a 98% response in favour of statutory regulation. As a consequence the DH published a timetable for the statutory regulation of this sector with a section 60 order (the legal process to bring this about) to be published later that year. This timetable has not been adhered to. The Government says it will make a decision on this matter but continues to dilly-dally. As explained below, if statutory regulation does not go ahead with immediate effect, there will be a significant loss of consumer choice and huge damage to many small and medium sized businesses across the herbal supply and manufacturing sector as well as to many herbal practices throughout the UK. It is clear that in not making a decision to go ahead with statutory regulation, the Government is effectively undermining herbal medicine practice in this country. Why is statutory regulation vital? Firstly it is important to ensure that those practising herbal medicine are properly qualified. Today, most practitioners are educated to degree level with a curriculum which includes a significant amount of orthodox training such as pharmacology and differential diagnosis. However, there is currently no regulation whatsoever: anyone, whether trained or not, can call themselves a herbalist or traditional practitioner and gain access to powerful herbal medicines. This is clearly not in the public interest. A second important reason for statutory regulation is that if it fails to go ahead there will be a loss of a wide range of herbal medicines currently supplied by practitioners to their patients. Full implementation of the new European Traditional Herbal Medicine Directive in April 2011 will see the end the right of practitioners to access finished medicines from manufacturers and herbal suppliers for prescription to individual patients. This includes all finished products such as medicinal herbal pills, tablets, capsules, dried herb mixtures and medicinal herbal ointments made up for individual patients by third-party suppliers. Also under threat are third-party herbal prescription services that supply individualised herbal prescriptions (including those comprising tinctures and dried herbs) to named patients at the practitioner’s request. Over the past 40 years this mode of supply has become an essential part of herbal practice in the UK and many practitioners are totally reliant on such services. All that will remain will be herbal medicines prepared by practitioners from their own premises. Thus without statutory regulation, from April 2010, many patients will be unable to obtain their usual medicines. The loss of this facility will put many practitioners and several of their suppliers out of business. This will further damage the UK economy and swell unemployment during the current economic downturn. The loss of planned arrangements to enable continuing supply, under the supervision of the MHRA, will undoubtedly mean an unacceptable increase in the purchase of unregulated medicines via the internet and from bogus back-street traders: these remedies lack any reliable quality assurance and some have been found to be illegally mixed with conventional The MHRA has proposed that third-party medicines supplied on request of statutorily drugs. Lack of statutory regulation puts the public at significant risk! How will statutory regulation assure the range and quality of herbal supply? The MHRA has proposed that third-party medicines supplied on request of statutorily regulated practitioners for individual patients can continue under MHRA licence via Section 5.1 of the main European Medicines Act 2001/83/EC4. The key point here is that this facility is only available to statutory regulated health professionals. In short, if herbal practitioners were to secure ‘authorized health care professional’ status through statutory regulation, they could legally commission herbal medicines from manufacturers for supply to their patients. These would have to be made to assured medicinal quality. The statutorily registered herbal practitioner would ensure high standards in the supply of the many useful traditional medicines for the benefit of patients. The public will have a professional group able to deliver expert herbal treatment tailored to the individual. Herbalists will be a source of information and education about the use of herbal and traditional remedies. I hope you will agree that these are all compelling reasons why the Government should, honour its previous commitment and adopt statutory regulation for herbal medicine and acupuncture without further delay. I would be most grateful if you were to press this case home with the Minister of Health. Yours sincerely, Remember to add a few personal words as to why you support herbal medicine at the beginning or end of the letter.

Don't worry about that. Your MP is too busy to give a better answer than that. You brought the matter to his or her attention and the Dept. of Health knows to take it more seriously. It all adds up. And it certainly might help to write again. You know what our MPs are like. They needed constant watching. Thanks again. Richard

I have a question about the Early Heaven sequence of trigrams. I have always known it as Tao in Stillness, but recently I have been disagreed with. The heart of the disagreement seems to me that 'Tao in Stillness' is misleading because while the trigrams themselves are not in motion, there is an exchange of energy between them. I think that is correct, though I am not sure, so thought I'd get some extra opinions. Thank you! Richard

Thank you, apech. I have read at least one Eva Wong book. I'll have to get hold of that one. From what you say it seems my understanding is not too far off: an exchange of energy within stillness. Richard

It is, but that doesn't really answer my question. There is more to it. But thank you. Richard

One thing about Derek is that if you disagree with him about his translation he will happily discuss it with you. He doesn't duck any questions. Richard

In another discussion group, someone asked about Taoism and organ donation. The thought was that in Taoism it wouldn't matter; but I have an inkling that it does matter; not least of all because in Taoism, everything matters. But I really don't know. Does anybody know what Taoism says about organ donation? Screwtape

What I am about to say affects people living in the UK mainly, but it may be of interest to others. For about ten years, the British government has been discussing plans to regulate complementary medicine, including, of course, Chinese herbal medicine. CM is very popular in the UK, and is even offered for free or at a discount by the National Health Service. In general, the complementary medicine industry is in favour of regulation. They want to have to meet similar standards to those which are set for conventional medicine. This will help protect the public and put a stop to con artists who are free to set up on any high street. Now, at the eleventh hour, the government are considering not regulating the industry at all, but loosely licensing CM practitioners. This means they will not be able to buy herbs from third-party suppliers, no matter how reputable, and will have to make up their own prescriptions. This is a time consuming and expensive endeavour that will drive many out of business, and will put severely at risk the safety of the public who will be taking remedies that have met no basic standards. When EU regulations come into force in 2011, CM practitioners will be banned from practicing all together, as they will not be regulated, driving the industry under ground, which will endanger the public further. If you want to pressure the government to stick with their initial plans to regulate complementary medicine, thus preventing it from being driven under ground, and guaranteeing as much as can be that those administering it are qualified and experienced and that the remedies they offer have been tested for safety, then you will have to act quickly. This Thursday there is a House of Lords briefing and it would be great if your local MP would attend on your behalf. The meeting, which will have representatives of several different traditions of herbal medicine attending, has been arranged for them. It runs between 6PM and 8PM, in Room 3, and even if they cannot stay for the duration, explain you'll be grateful if they can at least put in an appearance. You can find who your MP is and their contact information at Find Your MP. Emailing would be better than post what with the current industrial unrest, or you can telephone them at the House of Commons at 020 7219 3000. You can also just write to or Email your MP with your concerns. There is a template you can use, though the deadline for the consultation has been extended to the 16th of November, so you may want to edit that part. Another thing you can do is fill in the government questionnaire which is part of the consultation process. It is long, complicated and, in my opinion, absurd in places if you're not an expert, but even an incomplete questionnaire or one with just the boxes ticked will help. Here is a document that helps you fill it in. If you're wondering why the sudden rush, it is because after ten years of not much happening, the government have thrown a potential U-turn into the works at the last possible minute, sending the industry into a bit of a panic, to say the least. I should also add that I am not part of the industry myself. A friend of mine who is put me onto the issue just today. I will try to answer any questions you have but I might not be in a position to do so. Here is a news report, which may help. Or visit The Register of Chinese Medicine. This website from the European Herbal & Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association has some good information too. Thank you for your time. Tell as many people as you can. Richard

Today is the deadline for the public consultation so there is still time to fill it in. It could make all the difference. http://www.info.doh.gov.uk/questionnaire/a...nnaire?openform]http://www.info.doh.gov.uk/questionnaire/a...nnaire?openform Here is a guide to how to respond to the questions: http://newsletter.rchm.co.uk/How_to_respond_to_DH.pdf Richard