Natural Healing

By Dennis Willmont, Certified Acupuncturist
A Way of Life

Natural Healing is a Way of Life that encompasses both a general orientation to the natural universe (the Way), as well as a number of traditional ways with which to connect to it. One of the oldest surviving approaches to natural healing comes to us through acupuncture and the ancient philosophical background that it came from. In ancient China this philosophy was called Daoism. The most clear and powerful statement of ancient Daoism is recorded in the Daodejing, "The Classic of the Way and It's Empowerment," written by an unknown author(s) and attributed to a legendary figure called Laozi, the "Old Master," between two and three thousand years ago. All of the tenets of Natural Healing as a Way of Life are laid out in this text. The Daodejing comes to us from a society that is completely opposite to us in both space and time. China itself is on the opposite side of the globe while the Daodejing was written in an ancient time. It, therefore, offers an unparalleled opportunity to view our own culture and medicine objectively. Reading this text is like putting on a pair of magic spectacles that enables us to see our culture and ourselves in a way that would otherwise be very difficult if not impossible.

The Daodejing teaches that all things are interconnected, not only with each other, but also to the source from which they have emerged. This concept is expressed through the ancient Chinese concept of Heaven, Earth, and Man in which Heaven symbolizes the spiritual Source of All Things, Earth symbolizes their material aspect, and Man (or human beings) create a bridge between these two polarities. In affecting such a bridge, Man is in a unique position. He can either bring harmony into the world by balancing these polarities, or he can bring confusion and disorder by disrupting the natural order. Harmony results in health and well-being while disharmony results in suffering and disease. Early Chinese acupuncture and herbal texts take this concept one step further in describing three levels, or stages, of healing. The lowest level simply treats symptomatic problems such as plantar fasciitis, migraine, or PMS. The middle level connects physical problems to their corresponding psycho-emotional predispositions in order to create a deeper and longer-lasting level of healing as well as prevents physical problems from occurring by correcting these psycho-emotional predispositions works on the causal level of suffering and disease by helping to develop what was most human in each individual.

In those days it was recognized that while the "human-ness" of each person was indeed natural, it could just as easily be perverted and lost. The ability to simply walk on two legs was not enough to become a fully human being. In fact, according to these texts, healing involved the rediscovery of exactly what makes each person truly human. In this regard, suffering and disease are only opportunities to awaken and empower each person as to what they really are, spirits of the light within material bodies. Just the process of realizing this truth puts one on the "path" of Natural Healing," a path that is made more clear and meaningful as one progresses. What this means is that both physical symptoms and psycho-emotional distress are merely indications of a deeper and more significant imbalance. It is this imbalance that Natural Healing attempts to address.

The Methods Involved

All of the various methods of Natural Healing begin by honoring the relation between each person and Source. They evolve by recognizing the most important ways in which we start to degenerate from the natural whole. Ironically, it is as natural to degenerate, as it is to regenerate. The reason is that each person begins life by fragmenting from the Universal Whole. They are born in a particular season with a particular constitution given to them from their parents, race, socio-economic, and political conditions. These factors give each person unique strengths and weaknesses that make them what they are. They give each person both challenges and opportunities with which to recognize their spiritual nature and to express it fully on the earth. Nevertheless, this inherent fragmentation leads to archetypal imbalances that must be addressed in order to achieve the status of being human and ultimately remain free of suffering and disease.

In acupuncture and Chinese herbalism, these constitutional imbalances are classified according to Yin-Yang and the Five Seasons where they become patterns from which human life is established. Yin and Yang provide ways to describe the complimentary- antagonistic (polar) ways in which All Things operate. Yin symbolizes all that is cool, quiet, internal, and feminine while Yang symbolizes all that is hot, active, external, and masculine. Some people, obviously, are more Yin than Yang and vice versa. In the same way, Winter is the most Yin season because its coldness stimulates the quiet storage of the life force, while Summer is most Yang because its heat stimulates life's active expression. The ancient Chinese called Winter the Great Yin and Summer the Great Yang. Likewise, Spring is called the Small Yang because it is where the life force just begins to externalize, and Fall is called the Small Yin because it is where the life force just begins to internalize. In between these four polar dynamics of the year, the two solstices and equinoxes balance the Yin-Yang extremes of the seasons.

In ancient China these five states of change were called the Five Elements, or the Five Phases. Winter embodied the Water Phase, Spring embodied the Wood Phase, Summer embodied the Fire Phase, Fall embodied the Metal Phase, and the solstices and equinoxes embodied the Soil Phase. Each Phase was further associated with an internal organ of the body, a sensory orifice, a body tissue, an emotion, a spirit, and a virtue. Winter and the Water Phase relate to the Kidneys and Bladder, the ears, the bones, fear, Will, and Wisdom. Spring and the Wood Phase relate to the Liver and Gall Bladder, the eyes, the tendons, anger, perspective, and compassion. Summer and the Fire Phase relate to the Heart and Small Intestine, the tongue, the blood vessels, joy, conscious awareness, and socially appropriate behavior. Fall and the Metal Phase relate to the Lung, Large Intestine, the nose, the skin, grief, bodily instinct, and Righteousness. The solstices, equinoxes, and the Soil Phase relate to the Stomach and Spleen, the lips, the muscles, sympathy, mental stability, and Accountability. The skill with which the acupuncture and Natural Healing practitioner weaves these connections is what enables them to restore Body/Mind/Spirit unity to their client. In turn, this unity enables the person to become more and more human, as well as to prevent and heal suffering and disease.


Treatment procedures work by transforming the most physical part of a person to the most spiritual. This means that the connection between the physical body and the corresponding emotional holding patterns has to be first recognized. Then, the emotions have to be transformed by the spirit of each organ to its corresponding virtue. Once this occurs and each Phase is cleared, the person achieves a level where their virtues, or powers, are clearly reflected in the world around them. This level of healing goes beyond the lower levels to reach the most meaningful level that humans can experience. It goes to the human-centered cause of suffering and disease and dissolves it by making a strong and meaningful connection to Source. The beauty of this system is that anyone can start anywhere on the path and get off wherever they feel most comfortable. Some people find short-term treatment to be sufficient while others are glad to have the opportunity to use such a profound healing as a tool for personal growth.

The Tools

Each of the Five Phases also relates to different approaches to the Natural Healing process. Because Water seeks the lowest and deepest level, it corresponds best to meditation, including one's general orientation to the universe. Meditation and right relation with the Universe in general develop Gratitude, which is the fundamental key to all healing. The opposite of gratitude, arrogance, is, in fact, the ultimate cause of all suffering and disease. Because Wood begins the process of expanding into the external environment, including the space shared with others, it corresponds best to one-on-one types of therapy including acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic. Because Fire connects fully to the external world, it corresponds best to issues of relationship and sex and has to do with counseling and psychotherapy. Because Metal has to do with physical instinct, it corresponds best to exercise therapy including aerobic and non-aerobic exercises such as Qigong and Taijiquan. Finally, Soil, because it has to do with creating harmony and balance, especially in regard to issues of nourishment, it corresponds best to nutritional therapy including the correct use of food, herbs, and Essential Oils.

While all of these methods need to be combined for the best results, each person will enter the path of Natural Healing from a different starting point. Some of these methods will be more relevant to a person at a given point in their lives than others. Nevertheless, every person should have at least some familiarity and experience with each of these methods. All are important but some will appear to be more important than others at a given time.

Goals: Natural Healing Versus

Technological Medicine

Technological Medicine teaches that human health is too complex for most to understand. By making medicine so complex, a message is delivered that healing is beyond the scope of the common person, who is then encouraged to abdicate personal responsibility. Law firms, insurance agencies and pharmaceutical companies then crop up to take the place of this personal responsibility and the simplicity that is at the base of almost all health concerns. This complicated, bureaucratic monster then dictates what medicine should be, what research should be done, and creates the top heavy, expensive health-care industry that most people know intuitively we could do without. It does all of this in the name of corporate profit while cheapening the real value of human life. By denying the real cause of suffering and disease, it only serves to take from us our ability to respond to life challenges in the most practical, direct, and effective manner. Technological Medicine attempts to make humans afraid of nature and of themselves so they will buy fancy medical products (medications, surgical procedures etc.) instead of taking simple responsibility for their actions in the world.

In contrast, Natural Healing uses simplicity and common sense to create profound changes in a person that includes physical, psycho-emotional, and spiritual healing in a way that is down to earth and accessible to every person. It teaches acceptance and respect for oneself and others as the baseline for transformation and change. From acceptance and respect it develops gratitude in order to reach the place of self-empowerment within. It then shows that the deepest place within is connected to Source. By developing a personal relation with Source, one then realizes Faith in one's inherent nature, as well as in nature itself. Out of this Faith, the other higher virtues of Freedom, Happiness, and Justice develop. These five virtues, Gratitude, Faith, Freedom, Happiness, and Justice are the highest aspects of the Five Phases and human nature and express what the development of human life is all about. Suffering and disease serve us by motivating us to find these human virtues and express them in every aspect of our lives. Together these five roll up into the one higher purpose of Natural Healing, which is to heal the planet and create One Peaceful World.


You may contact Dennis Willmont by calling 781 834-9161 or visit www.willmountain.com .