Emotions of the Heart

I've never thought of the heart as an organ of emotion. Sure we talk about having a broken heart, or loving someone with all our heart, but it seems to be more of a metaphorical saying, not something true. After reading an article called "The Heart as an Organ of Perception" by Stephen Harrod Buhner in the magazine Spirituality & Health, I have new ideas of what the heart really is capable of. The hearts electromagnetic field is 5,000 times stronger than the brain's and can be detected by sensitive scientific instuments up to 10 feet away. This explains the reason we can feel someone's presence without seeing or touching them. And why we can tell how someone is feeling just by being close to them.
Indigenous people tend to say they live in their heart, while we in the West tend to say we live in our heads, we don't take the time to pay attention to the feelings we get from our hearts, or we just assume those feelings are really coming from our brains.
As it says in this article, first we feel with our hearts, then we know with our brains.

The Extraordinary Heart

I first learned about the heart from a Western point of view. I was amazed by it then with all the functions that it performs. Beating away, keeping us alive, the heart functions has a pump, releases hormones, and is composed of neural tissues which make up it's own pacemaker. Now I have come to the see the heart in a different and even more amazing light. The heart is not just a muscle sustaining life, but it is also responsible for feelings, emotions, consciousness, perception, cognition, and the innate closeness that we feel towards other living things. Of course this is what is advertised, that love comes from the heart. But what does that really mean? and is there actually a science behind it? Turns out that, yes, there is. The article that we had to read in class was very interesting just in the research alone. I wish that there was a title on it, but it was by Stephen Harrod Buhner in Spirituality & Health, March/April 2006. The article illustrates these amazing aspects of the heart that have long been underestimated of disregarded in Western Medicine and mindset. The concept that really struck a cord with me was where in the body we live determines how we perceive and interact with the living world around us. Buhner explains that when asked where in the body they live indigenous people who still have a closeness with the earth gestured toward their hearts, while Western people usually gestured toward their brain. To live from the heart is to feel from the heart and learn and know after. I really like this way of thinking, it just seems to make so much more sense! The heart truly is an organ of sense, with the power to entrain ones entire body and interact with others heart centers. This is why two people can exchange information and communicate with out every saying a word, they do so through their heart fields. The more we learn to feel from the heart, the way our body was meant to feel, the more connected to the rest of the living world around us we will be. Living in our heads just gets us farther from intuitions and innate abilities to communicate instinctualy. Unfortunately, Western society has put so much emphasis on living in the head/brain that there seems to have developed a social phenomenon that I am going to call the mind-body-heart disconnect. Western society seems to view each of these as an independent entity and therefor misses the concept of the whole system. "The whole is far more than the sum of the parts", and that is just putting it lightly!

I am going to have to cut this blog short since I am running out of time, but I plan to post more since I am not done evaluating and reviewing the article.

Massage Therapy Is Not What I Thought It Would Be - It's More

By Shifu Chase Acuff, LMT

Here I go again, on to my next massage clients. I’m currently about 75 miles Northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. Moving along at about 120 knots and about 1200 feet up. At least that’s what it looks like on the dash as I peer over the pilot’s shoulder. This time, I’m heading out on a big, sleek, red and white turbo De Havilland Otter on skis. We should be arriving at the prestigious Winterlake Lodge in about another 20 minutes. Airplane is the only way in, unless you want to undertake the 90 mile snowmachine ride in from Talkeetna. In the summer, forget it. Too boggy.

My clients are onboard. They are to be guests at the Lodge for the next few days as the dog mushers blow through there at checkpoint four during the famed Iditarod Sled

Dog Race. They all look excited. A few VIPs from Anchorage, a couple from D.C. and another from North Carolina.

Oh nice! Here we go winging through the little pass again to the big valley where the lodge sits. Glacial-smoothed tundra stares right in my window. Awesome! We must be only 500' off the deck here.

Never would have guessed being a Massage Therapist would look like this.

This is my 5th or 6th time out now. I’ve been out in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, and it’s a different place, each season. In the winter there’s snowmachining, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, then when it warms, hiking, kayaking, fishing, heli-hiking, heli-flightseeing, great food, camaraderie and of course, great massages.

Usually relaxation massage out here. Just tuning up a body not used to winter sports or a long hike or maybe just a bit of indulgence to offset a hectic life. I might have to occasionally smooth out a casting arm being overused from going for those monster Rainbow trout. Out helicoptering from fishing hole to fishing hole the day before.

Yes, I’ve gotten in some great, kayaking, snow machining and fantastic heli-flightseeing and heli-hiking in between clients out here and, so nice, the staff gets the same gourmet food the guests get. Rough!


Now, my massage therapy practice is not always as glamorous as this, but it sure is interesting. My clients are so interesting. They open up to you as a massage therapist. You hear the back stories of CEO’s to a hairstylist in from Florida. You might find yourself doing massage by candle light because the generator just kicked off, or doing hard work with a line of chair massage clients at a health fair; in a hallway! I’ve done chair massage in the luxurious Denaina Convention Center for a Chamber of Commerce gathering, open-air massage at the raucous Downtown Market and an overnighter on the Kenai Peninsula for South Central Foundation, as well as numerous and ongoing gigs at many other places in town. It’s fun to be able to go into these places and meet people, where otherwise you would never go. It’s also nice to be so warmly welcomed and invited right on back into the business. Everybody likes having the massage therapist show up.


Your clients are interesting. They are all puzzles. Do they want relaxation, or therapy? Is it low back pain? Recent shoulder surgery? An old snowmachining crash still bothering them? Single mom of three needs TLC? Old injuries, or new? Recent life changes? What’s their rhythm, their depth? What approach, acupoint formula, should I use to give the client what they’re looking for? As I’m giving, is it working? Do I need to change approaches midstream? What do I need to say? Do I need to say anything?


A puzzle, the assessment, the approach. As my skills grow from further work on myself, advanced massage skills, acupoint formulas: the puzzle solving gets faster and the fix, more effective.


The puzzle, though, I find has more depth as I gain more depth. One can look deeper into a person and give, deeper, more refined care.


I was pleased to find, the years of Taiji and Qigong I had prior to massage school actually added to my understanding of massage clients and how to correct imbalances. I see things in body posture and movement and qi flow that tell me things.


I was actually opposed to going to massage school originally. I used to work in hospitals in varying capacities; I thought working with massage clients was like working with patients in hospitals. More of that impersonal, institutional relationship. I wasn’t interested in getting back to that.


I was wrong.


It’s much more personal and meaningful. Some of my clients have been with me for years. I have seen them change and grow for the better in those years. I’ve also been surprised at how fast and effective the massage techniques can be at times. Providing pain relief, relaxation and better health; and all with just my hands. Often times giving people hope, where before their was none.


So, entering the field of massage therapy has been quite the eye-opener. Quite meaningful as I improve people’s lives, and as I see the genuine appreciation on their faces. They don’t have to say a word. You do a good job; you read it on their face, you read it in their body. I get paid well for what I do, and, in addition, the greater "payoff", is in knowing I made a difference in someone’s life.




Shifu Lawrence Chase Acuff, LMT

Shifu Chase is a wonderful massage therapist formerly practicing out of The Oriental Healing Arts Center in Anchorage. He specializes in deep tissue massage and will leave you feeling like a wet noodle (that's a good thing!). He enjoys Tai Qi, QiGong, personal growth, and hosts a highly successful workshop called "Breath For Stress" which he has presented to several local businesses for their Workplace Wellness day.

Fresh Tomato, Lemon, Leek Soup

I have a friend that had surgery last week, so as part of her nutritional recovery I made this soup for her. All of the ingredients will provide her liver the ability to release some of the toxins naturally accumulated from the break down of anesthesia and the other medications being taken. The soup is also nourishing, so it will provide some nice energy for her recovery. Plus it’s delicious! It only takes about 15 minutes to make.

Makes 1 large or 2 smaller servings.
All ingredients are organic.

Soak 3 medicinal mushrooms (dried shiitake and/or maitake taste wonderful) in 1 cup almost boiling water.

Juice the following: (If you don’t have a juicer a blender can be substituted)

4 Roma tomatoes
½ Meyer lemon (or any lemon – the Meyer type is just extra beautiful)
2 cloves garlic
5 sprigs fresh thyme (if using a blender use only the leaves or a couple shakes of dry thyme)

Heat the fresh juice lightly on the stove top, but don't let it boil.

Add to the pot:

½ cup filtered water
soaking liquid from the medicinal mushrooms
1 leek, cleaned and sliced

(Save the mushrooms to cook into something else for yourself).

Once it’s hot, serve and enjoy!

Thai Cabbage Soup

I recently watched someone open the refrigerator door, stand there and stare for a minute, close the door, and move onto their cupboards. With a bored look on their face, they ended up ordering take out. This is the memory I had when I opened my own refrigerator door this morning wondering what I was going to make.

I wasn't in the mood to be bored, so I found myself challenged to be creative and awesome with whatever I had – I was going to make something incredibly wonderful! And it was – so here it is to share with you. (Even my 2 picky eater kids loved it!)

In a food processor use the grater attachment to grate:
1 small cabbage
3 small potatoes, unpeeled
2 carrots
2 cloves garlic

In a soup pot, heat:
2 tbsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. olive oil

When the oil is hot, add 1 spoonful of Panch Phora (this is a great Indian food spice mixture that blends together fennel seeds, cumin seeds, brown mustard seeds, nigella, and fenugreek. Locally I get it at Summit Spice & Tea Co. in South Anchorage. If you can’t find it pre-mixed the single spices should be fairly easy to find.)
Once you can smell the spices, add the grated vegetable mixture from the food processor and lightly sauté for about 3 minutes – long enough to coat the vegetables in the oil and get them a little hot.

Sprinkle a little sea salt over the top, then add enough chicken or vegetable broth to barely cover the vegetable mix, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Add 1 can of coconut milk and stir. Soup should smell heavenly exotic and have a creamy consistency. Serve topped with a spoonful of flax seed oil. When eating, try not to smile too much or make loud sounds of satisfaction that will leave your neighbors wondering what you're doing.

The cabbage is a great food to stimulate natural liver detoxification. The spices and the carrots have an affinity with the Earth element, as does the potato which – with the skin left on – provides both fiber and nutritious satisfaction. Coconut milk has many health attributes and contains lauric acid which is useful in strengthening the immune system.

Amazing Broccoli Soup

When my youngest sister was little she used to refuse to eat dinner at the table, and instead would crawl around under the table, go up to someone and stick her hand up. This person then had to exclaim,”Oh look – it’s THE HAND!” You then put food into “The Hand” and “The Hand” would pull back and my sister would eat whatever the food was. It was the only way we could get her to eat any vegetables at all.

30 years later, she still hates vegetables. Since she no longer crawls around under the table and I often cook for her, I’ve had to be inventive. This is a recipe for an incredible broccoli soup. She hates broccoli and other green earthly substances (which I adore), but she loves this soup. It’s a favorite of my own kids’ also.

From an energetic nutritional standpoint, the green color is good for the liver, and the upward and inward energetic direction of growth is good for the lungs and large intestine. The fresh vegetables are packed with vitamins and fiber. The method of cooking is warming, tonifying (strengthening), and moistening.

I always recommend organic produce if you have it. This recipe also has very little waste. What small amount you do have makes great compost, or even food for some pets. The ingredients are highlighted.

Chop up the following vegetables and set aside in a bowl:
1 large russet or several smaller potatoes (about 2 cups chopped), washed and unpeeled
2-3 stalks of fresh broccoli including the stalk. (Chop the florets off, then peel the thick skin off the stalk. Chop the soft inside of the stalk into small pieces.)

Keep separate from above:
1 onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

Warm your soup cooking pot on the stove and add 1 large spoonful of coconut oil with 1Tbsp. olive oil. Coconut oil tends to be sticky to cook with, but blends beautifully with a little olive oil. When the oil is hot, sauté the onion and garlic until they are slightly brown.

Add all of the broccoli.

Leaving at least one inch of space at the top of the pot, cover with your choice of chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water. Sprinkle a little salt over the top and bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 1 hour.

The vegetables should be soft. Turn the soup off and remove from the heat. Sprinkle some dill, fresh ground pepper, and any other spices you like. Add 1 cup of half and half cream.

Using a stick handmixer or blender, puree the soup until smooth. If it's too thick, add a little more water. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt in each bowl, and either homemade buttermilk biscuits or rosemary bread from your favorite bakery. Enjoy!

When a Healer Dies

I just learned that a local acupuncturist passed away from cancer. She was a wonderful acupuncturist – I had seen her for treatments when I first moved to Alaska years ago – caring, knowledgeable, and effective.

This brings to light a topic that needs to be discussed. In the medical community – both allopathic and holistic – there is an underlying tone of failure that pokes its head out when a doctor or healer dies of a disease. Many people think or even say out loud “What went wrong? Why weren’t they healed? Does their medicine not work, or weren’t they strong enough to do it – why?”

So my first question is: Must a healer be perfect?? Can a healer not get sick? Can a healer not get angry, have a messy home, or ever make a mistake? Why or why not?

With that question simmering on the back burner for a moment, I need to bring out the Spirit aspect of mind-body-spirit medicine. Things happen for a reason, and since it happened it is perfect within the workings of the incredible and complex synergistic universe we live in. Some people would call it God’s plan, others the Creator’s doing, and some would even call it a tragedy. The nature of the Tao considers nothing to be good or bad, just to Be.

Who is to know now what affect this healer’s life and death has and will have on those she touched? On her family and close friends? Who knows in what way the spiritual path of others required this death to happen exactly as it did? What caring, compassion, inner strength, and beauty will come out of it in the years ahead?

Now my next questions: If being a healer does not mean being “perfect”, what does it mean? If a healer dies of a disease did they fail – or did the medicine fail?
I sincerely believe that the tone of failure due to the act of dying needs to be changed. A new tone needs to be set. Let’s ring the bell and set a new tone – one of gratitude for the many lives that were touched, one of the perfectness of things that happen we will never understand but choose to accept, and one of allowing a spirit to transition to another level when it is time – no matter the circumstances within which that happens. There is something greater at work than we comprehend.

I thank her spirit for all she did for me, and the role she personally played in the path I’m on today.