A reminder not to forget the basics : Windows of the Sky

I had a salutary lesson recently in the danger of forgetting the basics of what I do.  It showed me that it is unwise to ignore the principles that were drilled into me at acupuncture college all those years ago.  One of these concerned when to use the points called the Windows of the Sky.  We were told never to choose these points until we have given our patients at least eight treatments, because we need to be sure that a patient’s energy has been strengthened sufficiently to be able to cope with their effect.  As their name indicates, they are points which are there to open up a window on to a patient’s life.  We were warned that the light pouring into a patient’s spirit as a result of opening these Windows too early on in treatment may shine too brightly for them to cope with the reality flooding in.  The poet T S Eliot says this very well in one of his poems:  “Human kind cannot bear very much reality”.

The treatment I gave my patient this week provided me with proof of this.  Unwisely, instead of waiting to complete the number of treatments we were told we should, I selected these points at the 5^th treatment, thinking that since the patient had already reacted so well to his first few treatments, and, as he told me, was “trying to see a way forward” in his life, it would be appropriate to select the Windows to help him do this.  On his return for the next treatment he told me that he had felt very depressed immediately after he had seen me, and could find no explanation for this.  It was only when I reminded myself that this was just after I had done the Windows that I realized that it was likely that giving this treatment too soon had had the effect we were warned about.  Gently talking this through with him, it did indeed seem as if that he had been unable to cope with the insights into his life which these points had presented him with.  I realised then that I should have waited a little longer to select them.

This taught me, yet again, that we need to tread warily when using the Windows.  It reminded me that I should always ensure that a patient’s energy is strong enough to deal with the insights which are one of the gifts the Windows can bring when used wisely.