Now this is more like I imagined

This weekend I attended a 2 hour chi gong workshop with Sharon and Ali. Afterwards someone came up to me and said he had something to offer.

He told me about a healer in Bennington. It happens to be the same healer that Sharon read a book about and who was originally recommended to me by someone who I was about to work with with Alyssa and Sara before I left (they are still working with her). When I met her there was an odd sequence of events that made me take note....

I always imagined that a healer for me would be someone who was not a native english speaker, who I couldn't make direct contact with, and who would come to me in a series of strongly energetic coincidences, in which the circumstance seemed mysterious and takes some amount of blind trust.... I am super excited to go see this person....

This is the email I got in response to my acceptance of the offer from the man in the chi gong workshop....

Hi Tamar,

Quang will see you on Friday 1/22 @ 9:00 am. He'll expect me to facilitate your orientation to his healing practice. We can go over the necessary hardware for cooking and the general diet things. It sounds worse than it really is but the more detail you can absorb the better and quicker things will work for you.

1)- how to get there:

The best way is for me to bring you the first time. I'll give you my contact info below. We can meet in North Adams/Williamstown area or up in Bennington, whatever is easiest for you. You can follow me out to his house. It may be a bit tricky finding it but it's pretty easy going home. There's a lot of short cuts to avoid downtown but that's for another time.

He lives on Harrington Rd in North Bennington, VT. You can Google Earth it for a general idea.

If you are comfortable, it helps for me to act as interpreter. He still has a strong accent and you need to be sure that you fully understand him. Don't hesitate to ask questions and be sure you're on the same page. We crack up sometimes from the miscommunication that we struggle thru. He's a really humble man and he wants you to feel comfortable asking questions.

2)- the cooking:

The usual process (he may throw you a curve or two) is to take 1 pkg of tea and add 4.5 cups of water to it. You boil it down to 1 cup. Anytime you forget and boil it to less than a cup you have to throw it away. the acceptable range is 1/2 to 1 1/4 cup. It is really hard to boil it down to less than 1/2 a cup but you'll think you're doing it every time for a while. ;-)

You then split the batch in two. Say you did a perfect 1 cup you would put 1/2 cup into a mug and put it aside for the next night (room temp). The other half is for you to enjoy (cringe!) that night.

Each day you'll have a powder tea to take. This one is easy and tastes like a gritty tea (not bad). You simply take 1 teaspoon with 1/2 to 1 cup of boiling water. Take tea every day after 1 pm and before 5 pm (closer to 1 the better). Don't eat for 1/2 hour before and after. Exercise (light walk) right after to pump the medicine thru your body.

Normally you'll take three batches over six days then have a two powder day (yea!) for the seventh. You'll then cook the next three before another two powder day. That covers the two weeks.

3)- the diet:

NO HERBAL TEA!!! Drink ginger tea while on Quangs meds. No eggplant. No caffeine. Less sugar. Less dairy. No green peppers but any other color OK.

Eat big during the day plus you can snack. Eat small for dinner. Only warm foods after 3 pm. You need to finish eating by 6 pm. Drink the tea before bed (after 9:00). The best results are to take the tea (a little lemon water chaser, shhh don't tell Quang) and then go right to bed. He wants you to use an extra blanket to get really warm, even to the point of a sweat beginning. This helps pump the medicine thru the body. As soon as you get that hot feeling you can take off the extra blanket and sleep like normal.

4)- exercise:

Walk in the morning to help pump the last of the meds. Walk again after taking the powder for the same reason

5)- the hardware:

this may be the hardest part. Finding the best cookware can be tricky. I actually have a set to lend you if you have any trouble finding stuff. I'll send you a link w/ pics if I can find them easy.

The first thing is the cooker. Glass only. NO METAL anything. Use wood utensils. Plastic strainers. The best cooker is the replacement pots for coffee makers. You need one with a large top w/ a plastic flip top. Anything too narrow makes getting the tea out really hard. Wal-mart/Target may have them. They always change over time so by the time I break something the styles have changed.

A heat diffuser. This is for the stove top to boil the tea. The glass ware can't go directly on the stove but the diffuser allows you to use it. These can be really hard to find but Amazon will be a good source.


I think that's it, Tamar. This took me years to fully understand his approach so don't think you have to be too rigid in following these directions. Most of what you will do is to enhance the effectiveness of the teas. The less you do to help the longer the tea will take to work.

And finally, on a personal note. I didn't go to this work shop for my own benefit. I knew I was there for a different reason but I didn't know why. In fact, I gave up my morning session w/ my laoshi (teacher) which I found a little strange to do as I value every moment I have w/ him. There's no doubt in my mind that this is why I was there. You and your sister are very special people. My third eye doesn't lie. Having the wisdom to go to Quang gives me confidence that you are on the right path. He is not a magician and I certainly can't guarantee that he'll be able to help. But if he tells you that he CAN help, and you follow his instructions, he WILL help.

I wish you all the luck in your pursuit of good health. It's funny how perspective changes, isn't it? I listen to people complain sometimes and I just look at them and think 'just give me your healthy body and I'll take it from there'. There are few problems in life that have any significance if you don't have your health. The process you are going thru will make you a better person though I'm sure you wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Call or write anytime if you want to talk more,