Lorie Eve Dechar Books

The Five Spirits are the Taoist map of the human psyche. The system provides a view of the nervous system and forms the basis of Chinese medical psychology. It also describes a precise and efficient technology for spiritual transformation, the process through which a human being rediscovers their essential wholeness and innate connection to the divine. The Five Spirits themselves can be understood as the Taoist version of the chakra system of Vedic India. Like the chakras, the spirits exist as centers of consciousness in the subtle body rather than as structures in the physical body. Just as each chakra relates to a particular level of consciousness, each spirit relates to a particular aspect of human awareness, a particular vibration or frequency of psychic energy. An understanding of the Five Spirits is the key that opens the doorway to the mysteries of Taoist psycho-spiritual alchemy. By taking advantage of the discoveries of Western archetypal psychology and new discoveries about the mind and nervous system, we can decipher the Five Spirits and reorganize the system in a way that has proven to be clinically invaluable in treating psychosomatic, emotional, and psychospiritual distress.

A clinical guide to working with the spirit of points for acupuncturists, bodyworkers and other practitioners who use acupuncture points as part of their clinical work with patients. Drawing on Taoist and Chinese texts, as well as influences from psychology and psychotherapy, it outlines the importance of understanding the points' seasonal energy.

"Alchemy is the science of transformation-how to change something into something else. But what does that have to do with health and healing? That's the subject of this groundbreaking book, which examines how illness, suffering, and disease-the 'lead' of our lives-can become the 'gold' of our authentic selves and the key to good health and well-being. Drawing on their experience with traditional Chinese medicine, Eastern and Western alchemical traditions, Kabbalah, and Jungian psychology-as well as case studies from many years of experience working with patients-the authors provide a hands-on workbook for bringing 'the soul of medicine' back into our lives"--