How Do I Become a Master?

06/14/21 • 39 min

Classic of Difficulties: Difficult Questions in Medicine, Acupuncture, and Beyond

We all want to be the best at what we do. But how do we get there? We look at some of the best to learn their secrets.
Chinese medicine and Chinese martial arts—like shaolin kung fu, ba gua zhang, xing yi chuan—are all known for their sages and their masters. Many of us dream of being able to study with someone who is truly a master. Unfortunately, traditional apprenticeship has been on the decline during the 20th and 21st centuries. What can we learn by looking at great masters in music, medicine, cuisine, and more? How can we understand more about ourselves, our trades, and our arts by looking at them?
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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Joe Hollis' YouTube Channel (Mountain Gardens) — https://www.youtube.com/user/mountaingardens
Joe Hollis' Website (Mountain Gardens) — https://www.mountaingardensherbs.com/
Thor Sigstedt's Ranch Website — https://www.adventuretrailsranch.com/
Davie504's YouTube channel
Some of my favorites from Davie504's bass solos — https://youtu.be/wuO6GM5XDjc?t=285
https://youtu.be/09hWCkA2mNg

Fuchsia Dunlop's "Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "The Food of Sichuan"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China"
Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's "Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking"
Najmieh Batmanglij's "Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies"
Najmieh Batmanglij's "Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes & Kitchen Secrets"
Najmieh Batmanglij's "Joon: Persian Cooking Made Simple"
Li Dong Yuan's "Treatise on the Spleen & Stomach" (Source text for Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang)
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Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

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Previous Episode

What You Need to Know to Craft the Perfect Diet for You

There's more to food than just calories and macros. Figure out how to pick the best diet for you, and how to get ahead of the next big thing.
There are a lot of factors that go into understanding the perfect diet! From social to geographical, economic to cultural, join Dr. James Mohebali as he explores some of these considerations, and helps you understand how to sift through all the contradictory information that's out there about diet. On the way, we take a look at why Italians love tomatoes, how to deal with damp, muggy climates, and whether or not Mexicans are immune to hot chili peppers. Using Feng Shui, terroir, and cultural archeology, we look at some popular diets, like the ketogenic diet, and try to understand what role they can play in healing our chronic diseases and proactively maintaining our health.
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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Prior "Classic of Difficulties" Episode on "What is the Ideal Diet?"
Excellent Cookbooks to Help Your Search for a Culturally Rooted Cuisine
Fuchsia Dunlop's "Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "The Food of Sichuan"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China"
Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's "Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking"
Najmieh Batmanglij's "Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies"
Najmieh Batmanglij's "Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes & Kitchen Secrets"
Najmieh Batmanglij's "Joon: Persian Cooking Made Simple"
📬 Want to hear about our newest projects? Join our mailing list
🎬 Check us out on YouTube

Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

Support the Show.

Next Episode

Is it Wrong to Eat Meat? What if Veganism is Unhealthy?

Vegan? Carnivore? Who's right and who's wrong? Is meat evil? Or is it necessary for your health?
Join Dr. James Mohebali as we take a deep dive into the positives and the negatives of a plant-based diet, and the possible spiritual consequences from meat consumption.
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Can't find a clean shirt? BUY A NEW ONE — 👕Classic of Difficulties Merch 👕

COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
ZUO YUE ZI/SITTING THE MONTH BOOKS
"The Postpartum Recovery Plan: How to Adapt the Ancient Practice of Zuo Yue Zi to Your Patients" by Dr. Lia Andrews — This is an excellent book, with lots of very tasty recipes. The book is very detailed, and geared at practitioners—but the recipes are accessible for anyone. My #1 book for organ meat recipes (mostly liver and kidney).
"Zuo Yue Zi: An American Mother's Guide to Chinese Postpartum Recovery" by Guang Ming Whitley — A very nice little book written from one mother to another. It gives a great overall sense of the practice of Zuo Yue Zi, and has great images detailing helpful, gentle postpartum exercises.
"Sitting Moon: A Guide to Natural Rejuvenation after Pregnancy" by Dr. Daoshing Ni and Jessica Chen — A great book that is written by very knowledgable two practitioners of Chinese medicine, but geared towards patients and laypeople with no knowledge of Chinese medical theory. The most comprehensive introduction available for laypeople. Good recipes too!
"The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother" by Heng Ou, Amely Greeven, Melisa Belger — A very stylish and modern approach to traditional postpartum recovery. It has great information about different traditional cultures and their practices. A beautiful book with lots of useful information. Aimed at and written for the modern woman.
ULTRA NOURISHING SOUP RECIPES
Silkie Chicken Soup Recipe
An Herbal Pill Version of Silkie Chicken, to fit into your hectic life Pork Foot and Peanut Soup Recipe
Herbs for a Postpartum Recovery Soup
"Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings" — The source of the story of Zahhak, the snake-shouldered king. This 10th century epic poem details the history, genealogy, and mythology of the Persian people.
📬 Want to hear about our newest projects? Join our mailing list
🎬 Check us out on YouTube

Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

Support the Show.

Classic of Difficulties: Difficult Questions in Medicine, Acupuncture, and Beyond - How Do I Become a Master?

Transcript

Greetings and welcome to “Classic of Difficulties: Difficult Questions in Medicine, Acupuncture, and Beyond”. I am your host, Dr. James Mohebali. I’m a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and I will be your armchair-philosopher-in-residence and your tour guide as we try to ask some difficult questions about medicine, health, alternative medicine, and maybe the meaning of life. My goal in this podcast is that, by asking and unpacking these tough questions, we will maybe leave with