Acupuncture and the Church of Hopeful Uncertainty

I had to loop around the block a couple times until I could find a parking space close enough to Amy's office. Her office is in a little house perched on the side of a little hill with a little street running in front of it.

Being on my feet for more than an hour per day is still a problem, so I needed to park close by.

I was greeted by the smell of herbs when I walked into the door.  The waiting room had plants, paintings and a little settee that I sat on while waiting for the acupuncturist.

I had hoped that as treatment for the Lyme Disease progressed, that my pain would decrease.  However, that hasn't been the case and I needed to pursue other options.  

My options included acupuncture, prescription narcotics or medical marijuana.

Little wonder why I decided to go with acupuncture.

Acupuncture isn't quite mainstream but it doesn't seem like most people lump it with voodoo either.

At this point, I'm willing to try just about anything, which is interesting because I am actually a strong proponent of the scientific method.  When possible, I like to base my decisions on science.

For example, after decades of research, we know that a person with diet high in processed foods is more likely to have negative health consequences.  We also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that cigarette smoke, either 1st hand or 2nd, causes cancer.  I've made decisions about how I treat my body accordingly.

The problem is that science is slow and I think there are types of knowledge and information that can't be accessed by science.  At least not right now.

Enter the Church of Hopeful Uncertainty.  I'd love to claim credit for this because it sums up my belief system so accurately, but I can't.  It is an idea I read about in "Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in GOD: How to Give Love, Create Beauty and Find Peace," by Frank Schaeffer.  Frank Schaeffer is a drop out of the Evangelical Christian movement, where, evidently, he was kind of a big deal. 

I don't know because that is not the crowd I roll with.  I just thought the title was interesting. 

Members of The Church of Hopeful Uncertainty hope that there is something greater than humans, this earth and our limited knowledge.  But we don't know for certain and we are not going to stake any claims.  We are not going to try to convince anyone that our hopes are correct and true.  And we most definitely are not going to condemn those who don't agree.  

My version of The Church of Hopeful Uncertainty also embraces alternative healing methods, like acupuncture.  As far as I am aware, science hasn't worked out why acupuncture or other aspects of Chinese medicine are effective.  But no matter, there are multiple paths to knowledge and science is only one of them. 

Science is my favorite path to knowledge but so far, modern medical science's offerings for pain management have too many drawbacks.  At least, pain management by prescription narcotics. 

I also belong to a group called The Fellowship of Pragmatics.  I want results and I am not going to cling to a certain treatment regimen because I adhere to a particular theory. If it works, I don't mind if I don't know why it works.  

So, I take my hopeful uncertainty and pragmatism to an acupuncturist named Amy.