henro

I've been self-studying Chinese language for a decade I've used Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, and for TCM concepts Nigel Wisemans books - Chinese Medical Characters. You might also look at Duo Lingo, but its simplified characters only.

I've seen the infomercial and it literally broke my heart. How could anyone promote this thing... As an aside, I'm a licensed acupuncturist, and currently enrolled in a doctoral program. When I see another acupuncturist calling themselves "Dr." I'm usually curious, and look for their credentials, especially when they use the title of PhD. In most cases when someone has done the work they usually include education in their bio. Cheng does not... The Chinese medicine doctoral programs in the U.S. use the term DAOM. To my knowledge there are only a few schools with accredited PhD programs in Chinese medicine and most are in conjunction with universities in China. With these PhD programs, they are actually post doctoral degrees, meaning you need a Masters, and DAOM before pursuing the PhD. Only after checking Linkedin did I see Dr. Cheng's education, he received his PhD from a degree mill with dubious accreditation.

Michael Sasso has some things to say about ordination..... https://michaelsaso.org/daoist-ordination-buddhist-abhisekha/

Acupuncturists in California are required to have a masters degree in TCM from an accredited school. The curriculum must include TCM theory, acupuncture, herbs, and western medicine. They also must pass the CA board exam, which is the hardest exam in the country. Given all of that, there are still some flakey people out there Best bet is personal recommendations, but you still may need to bounce around a bit until you meet someone that you resonate with. Most acupuncturists should have a bio on the website. I would look for someone with post-masters degree training, hospital or clinic time in China, and a personal qigong or taiji practice.

This is a pic from my 2006 trip to Huashan during the descent from North Peak. --not sure how to resize this, but if you click on the pic you get a larger version--

Looks like a great book!!!!! I've been to Huashan many times, and it is truly a magical place.

Unfortunately, the wild asparagus that is traditionally used in many Chinese formulas, including many of DH's formulas is simply wild asparagus tuber, and is not the same as Red Asparagus. Completely different properties, though tian men dong is extremely useful for many other things - nourishing kidney yin clearing heat, and generating fluids. Haven't tried the Red Asparagus you've pictured. I'll try to track down some details….

Red asparagus? Not sure, we're constantly on the hunt, and can't find it reliably. I've tried quite a few reishi varieties. I like the Purple Reishi the most as a single herb for it's meditative effects, and dream quality enhancement. You might also try Albizia flowers. Calms the heart, but is also very uplifting.

The Pichtford book "Healing with Whole Foods" is one of the recommended text in TCM master degree programs. You could also look at "Tao of Nutrition" by Maoshing Ni, "Chinese Natural Cures" by Henry C. Lu, and "The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity" by Dan Reid. Those are the 4 in my library that I often turn to outside general TCM textbooks... You might also check out Cosmic Nutrition. I'm paging through it now and it looks pretty cool.

Apparently the hot herb for dreaming is Chinese Red Asparagus, but it's really hard to come by. Otherwise you're totally on the right track with two above. I regularly take Supreme Shen before my meditations.

Because the things they are teaching interest me, not sure where the 6 Flags part comes in….

If I could go anywhere right now it would be here: http://fiveimmortals.com

good food good sleep positive thoughts/attitude meditation/qigong time in nature a supportive partner

From a Daoist perspective, longterm health is the result of good diet and nutrition, meditation, and exercise. Herbs can be a part of that as evidenced by people like Li Qing Yun who is said to have eaten gou qi zi every day, and consume a soup of ginseng and he shou wu regularly.

That's a great question, and it comes up often. We have licensed acupuncturists on staff who all have a masters degree in TCM. One also has a phd in Chinese Medicine, and several are currently in doctoral programs as well. The company offers free herbal consultations either by phone or in person at the retail stores. We do a full TCM intake with complete medical history, and family history, along with current concerns, lifestyle, etc. Customers are encouraged to take advantage of these herbal consultations, and many of the herbalists have developed long term relationships with their customers. We regularly review customer programs, and I think most importantly no one works on commission. We definitely have customers that just order over the internet without ever talking to us, but everyone here encourages customers to have at least one consultation at some point.