Imagine our world map without borders. Zoom out and see the Earth as it is. It is amazing to think it's only been 45 years since that first photo of Earth from the NASA Lunar Orbiter 1 was taken. This was the first time in history that humans could actually see the planet as a whole and while that pivotal moment changed our consciousness to some degree, the magnitude of critical imbalances on the earth now calls for another level of action. Each and every one of us is implied in both the destruction and repair of the injured earth and it is time we get deadly serious about the details.
Back to Basics
The principles of Acupuncture and Chinese medicine were designed from a deep understanding of the intricacies of natural law and the connection between heaven earth and human. This medicine brings us back to the basics of life. Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal. With a visceral relationship of these elements, we see ourselves made of the same stuff. The health of humans, cultures, and the planet is a closed loop that can be positively changed from any part of the whole. Essential activism can start at any place in that cycle.
Because the Brooklyn Acupuncture Project is such a vital center for human healing, I feel strongly that we connect our intentions with the bigger picture.
Every season, the BAP community is going to be directly participating in the healing of the element associated with that season by highlighting and donating to already existing activist groups as well as encouraging individual everyday changes in our BAP community. Late summer is associated with the Earth element and the autumn is associated with the Metal element (precious metals in the Earth like oil, coal, gold, diamonds etc..) so we are are bringing our attention to the Standing Rock Sioux at this time. Winter is associated with Water, spring with Wood, and summer with Fire. In each of these seasons we will be including and building on all of our previous efforts.
We begin now with Metal element and it's ties to oil.
The Standing Rock issue is one of the most significant moments in cultural/environmental history. Indigenous North American nations as well as the gamut of cross cultural allies ave crossed boarders and perceived boundaries to stand for the basics of life and call attention to the reality of our collective appetite for oil and the violent means in which we attain that end. BAP supported a few of our former acupuncturists in their travel and service out at the Standing Rock camp and we will continue to donate support as they settle in for the winter. We invite our community to join us in this effort by supporting the Standing Rock Legal Defense Fund.
Serra Russell Chase is the founder of Brooklyn Acupuncture Project (BAP) where she serves the community as an acupuncturists, herbalist, and shiatsu practitioner. She writes regularly for the BAP blog in her series Intersections of Health and Activism. You can read more about her work as a practitioner on our Acupuncture Services page here.