When a Knife Scrapes Bamboo

Choppy and the Law of Signatures

One of the virtues of Chinese medicine is that it takes into account complex systems and understands patterns. It is able to make sense of the underlying energetics of those patterns and is then able to offer predictions and tendencies on how those things (or people) that present with said patterns will behave. The Chinese herbal pharmacopia is an example of this; it is a compilation of these energetics, and details the functions and indications that herbs can treat based on its imbued energetic signatures that come from such things as the environment it grows in (eg, mountain, marsh, desert), its color, the amount of sun or shade it is exposed to, etc., and all of the growing conditions and properties it is endowed with. Two of the main ones that help determine its function are its shape and texture.

Shape and texture are also some of the metrics we use in Chinese pulse diagnosis, and these criteria help shape the identification of the myriad sensations/qualities we feel under our fingertips. One of those shapes and textures is termed “Choppy.” I mentioned a bit about it in a prior post: EMF Exposure and Fragility. The diagram below, I am sure, already elicits a number of ideas about its consequence. There are a few major areas of import when it comes to the Choppy pulse quality. Some of them are determined by anatomical location (there are 28 pulse locations within the few inches near the wrist crease on the radial artery) and depth (there are 9 calibrated depths of pressure in the Shen-Hammer lineage). But, for our purposes, we can simplify a bit.

(excerpted from my book, Heart Shock. image with permission from Eastland Press)

The 3 main diagnoses when confronting the Choppy quality are:

1. Blood stagnation/stasis (including clots): A Choppy quality found in a pulse position is a sign that blood is stagnant in the tissues related to that anatomical area or organ. The higher degree of Choppy, the more likelihood the aggregation of tissue. For example, minor Choppy in the pelvis can accompany menstrual cramps, major Choppy can be a sign of pronounced endometriosis. When found in the Heart or brain, Choppy can reveal blockages (eg, clots) in the coronary arteries and risk for strokes, respectively.

2. Toxicity: Toxins have the impact of stagnating blood, and when there is systemic blood stagnation, we can be sure there is some type of toxin involved. Now, this can come about in two ways: first, the toxin may be stagnating the blood and also contributing to poor oxygenation; second, blood stasis may result in the inability to move waste products out of the system and hence, cause toxicity to develop. Think about the impact of a snake bite wherein the venom can cause rapid coagulation of blood.

3. Bleeding/microbleeding: One of the early definitions of the sensation of a Choppy pulse was that it felt like a knife scraping bamboo. We can see from the image above that the sensation has the appearance of a serrated knife. Imagine that happening in the interior of the vessel creating the shape from the inside. This serrated texture is a reflection of something that has damaged the tissues, endothelium, mucosal linings, etc. When Choppy is found in a bowel or some other anatomical region, it suggests that microbleeding is present. Constant irritation and inflammation make the tissues friable, and we can see bleeding. When clots are also present, or something else is obstructing the circulation (eg, tumor), we can also see extravasated blood, meaning blood has escaped to places where it should not be. An example of microbleeding from irritation and inflammation is when finding Choppy in the esophagus position. Here, it is associated to tissue damage from reflux/GERD, or potentially even Barrets’s esophagus, a precancerous condition.

   Once we understand the import of Choppy and the types of conditions it can be associated with, we can examine the Law of Signatures and understand the impact and mechanisms of action of a host of catalysts that we might be exposed to, or that we may choose to introduce into our systems. Let’s look at three examples that present with similar shapes and textures.

   The first is the spike protein.

   

Understanding a unique aspect of the covid virus, the spike protein, we can easily see the types of impacts that it might have on an individual exposed to it. In fact, one of the consistent pulse qualities that present with covid infections is the Choppy pulse. In the more vulnerable (those with weakened immune systems and/or those with pre-existing circulatory problems, and/or those with inflammatory constitutions), the Choppy quality is felt much more intensely, and develops more quickly. Not everyone will wind up with Choppy pulses. In patients with strong immune systems, the covid virus is more easily combated, and more readily pushed out of the system. Where one is more compromised, and the virus lingers (eg, long haul) or is being contantly created (eg, vaccinations, especially multiple), there is a much higher likelihood of Choppy pulses. So, we expect to see blood stasis, clots, inflammatory disorders from circulatory disturbances, strokes, heart attacks, infertility, etc. It is basic Law of Signature playing out. Understanding the Law of Signature, though, also has an important flipside, and that is being able to utilize the signature to create healing responses. And that we can see in the second example (below).

The second is the Barberry plant.

At an early stage of the covid pandemic, a Daoist teacher reached out with advice on treating covid. He mentioned a number of things, but one important one was the use of herbs that contained berberine. We have many herbs in our arsenal that contain this chemical constituent (eg phellodendron, goldenseal, etc.), but for our purposes here, we can look at the barberry shrub, where berberine gets its name from. Take a look at the picture below and notice that its leaves have a serrated margin.

image from healthbenefitstimes.com

Berberine is also yellow in color, which associates from the Law of Signature to the digestive system. Remember that many of those succumbing to covid early on were those with metabolic syndrome. So, we can see that berberine addresses many of the comorbidities: blood stagnation (serrated leaves), inflammation/cardiac disease (circulatory dysfunction and high blood pressure), Diabetes (digestive system), blood toxicity, etc.

Here is a small list of what barberry is said to treat:

Supports cardiovascular and neural system, Urinary Tract Treatment, Treat Anemia, Treats Skin Disorders, Improves Digestion, Improves Flow of Blood, Lowers Blood Pressure, Balance menstrual problems, Stimulates the WBC Production, Eye Health,Controls Cholesterol levels, Treat Gastrointestinal Infections, Detoxifies Blood, Controls Blood Sugar, treat Diarrhea, Eases Up Inflammation and Infections. (healthbenefitstimes.com)

The third are different light bulb wavelengths

Once we understand the signature of the Choppy shape, we can make all sorts of correlations. We can do this with physical shapes, but also with energetic shapes and wavelengths. When it comes to light and wavelenght, for most of the earth’s existence, there was really only the sun and natural sources of light (eg, lightning, etc.). But with the invention of electricity and burgeoning technologies, we now have additional sources, many of which are now commonplace. We are exposed to these sources of light consistently and often in close proximity (eg, computer screens, TVs, cell phones, ambient lighting, etc.). Thus, it make sense to understand how they may impact us, our physiologies and our psychologies. Take a look at the two images below which compare the wavelengths of incandescent, fluorescent. and LED lighting.

image from tapnewswire.com

image from https://www.comsol.com/blogs/calculating-the-emission-spectra-from-common-light-sources/

What you can see from these visuals is that they all deviate from the natural waveform of the sun, but fluorescent and LED lights create a waveform very similar to our Choppy pulse. A short search on the health impacts of fluorescent and LED lights will reveal things like the inhibition of melatonin (which has cardioprotective qualities), increased risk of cancers, diabetes, heart disease, migraines, etc.

Challenge

Start observing some of these signatures in your own lives and see if you can find more examples. Leave some comments; I’d love to hear what you come up with.