Here’s a piece
I wrote about the man, his wife and his talent. It was originally published in
the Irish Examiner in 2003, but I’m playing it again now as a way of saying
thank you to a rare human being.
This time
last year my father was undergoing life-threatening surgery, and to add to the
stress, my family decided to declare war upon itself. Every night, I was having
deranged dreams, in which violent crimes were being perpetrated against loved
ones. Towards the end of each dream, my ex-wife arrived, à la the 7th Cavalry.
Smiling serenely, she hugged me, told me everything was okay, and then I woke
up, disturbed and disoriented, alone with my mad head, herself a lifetime away
in San Francisco.
My back
then decided it could no longer carry the burden of all these problems, and
sent itself into breathtaking waves of spasm, leaving me unable to exhale
without suffering indescribable pain.
A close
friend recommended I visit his ‘Chinese medicine guy’ down in Galway City, and
twelve hours later, I was making my way up Prospect Hill, trying to erase from
my mind corny images of old geezers with stringy beards.
Just as
well, because when James O’Sullivan appeared in the doorway, he looked like any
other middle-aged Galwegian, with his Hilfigger trackies, and a welcoming
twinkle in his eye.
James has
a calming presence, and talks with a gentle authority that enables you to trust
him implicitly.
I told
him about my family and my back, but he shrugged and asked me to tell him more.
When I told him about my dreams, he responded immediately.
He told
me my vital energy Qi (pronounced ‘chee’) was out of balance. Also, my
Spirit Doors were open, and my Shen (‘spirit’, or ‘mind’ as we think of it
in the West) was wandering,
creating confusion, allowing lack of focus to flourish.
Such is
the man’s healing charisma, that had he at this stage asked me to hang upside
down, and immerse my head in a bucket of yoghurt, mud and manure, I would have
willingly obeyed.
However,
he said I needed Tui Na, the Chinese Acupressure massage, that literally means
to ‘push and grasp’.
Ever
since that first session, my back has been absolutely pain-free, and I have not
had one dream containing cameos played by smiling Californian redheads.
James
O’Sullivan grew up in Galway City’s Old Mervue. Through the 80’s, he worked as
a barman in London, a welder in Galway, and a salesman in Germany. Then, whilst
living in Cambridge, he fell in love with Eunice, a foreign language student
from T’ainan Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
Now
sitting on my sofa, James looks over at his wife with pride and affection, as
she tells the story of their first meeting.
"I
was visiting a friend who shared James’ house. He asked me if I would like a
cup of tea, and I thought ‘What a nice, kind man!’ So I gave him my phone
number."
From such
cups of tea come splendid marriages. After tying the knot, they moved to
Tenerife, and two years later, they fled the shabby world of timeshare sales,
and moved to Taiwan.
"I
taught English, and studied with Eunice’s father, Hung Shui Chen, a celebrated
Tui Na Master, as well as taking a course in Acupuncture in the National
College.
“The
minute I set foot in Taiwan, I was very impressed with what I saw, smelled,
tasted, heard. I didn’t speak the language, but understood everything. The only
downside was the humidity. Then we came over to Ireland, settling in Co. Cork."
How did
Eunice feel about that?
"Where
I come from we have a saying: If you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken.
If you marry a dog, you follow the dog."
Back in
Ireland, James was eager to apply his new-found knowledge:
"In
the old days, I’d do anything you asked me to, but after Taiwan, I had a
different sense of ethics. Once the Western doctor has made a diagnosis, there
are set pharmaceuticals. We offer more natural remedies, and are less black and
white about diagnosis. We can adapt our treatments, and diagnosis often changes
as the patient moves on. We prescribe only natural raw Chinese herbs.
"Our
therapies are not an alternative, but a compliment to other forms of medicine.
If I have a broken bone, I go to a Tui Na master, then a Western doctor. If I
have a cold or the flu, I go to a herbalist. The Chinese take far more
responsibility for their health. They change their diets and exercise régimes,
according to their own patterns of disharmony."
Does he
ever wonder if his work really helps?
"When
I worked in the hospital in Nanjing, there was a patient with a frozen right
shoulder. I had been involved in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) for 6 years, so when the doctor asked
me what I should do, I suggested Tui Na.
"Instead,
he went to a point called Stomach 38, between the left knee and outer ankle,
and inserted a needle. The patient immediately moved her shoulder. All four westerners
in that hospital room had to peel their jaws off the floor.
"I
had read all the books. I knew, intellectually, that Shoulder 38 was the
empirical port for a frozen shoulder, but to actually see it in clinical
session - I did not know until that moment how many doubts I had! I asked him
how did he do it? How did it work?
"
‘What is it with Western people?’ asked the Chinese doctor. ‘All you want to
know is how it works! Why is it not enough simply to know that it works?’ "
For this
pain-free peacefully sleeping scribbler, it’s certainly enough to know it
works, and I am not alone. Through their immensely successful courses, James
and Eunice spread the knowledge of how to heal with Tui Na, and the
philosophies of TCM.
"The
courses are a great success!" enthuses James, "Our students come from
all walks of life. We’ve trained everyone from complementary therapists to
mothers who want flexible working hours, and the ability to use natural healing
techniques on their own families. Our courses start in October, in Galway,
Dublin and Cork, and when our students graduate, they receive an accredited
diploma from Tui Na Ireland. Then, each graduate has an option to travel to
China, where they can gain clinical experience, and use their qualification as
an entry into learning acupuncture."
Recently,
James and Eunice’s Active Health Foundation became the first college in the UK
and Ireland ever to gain accreditation by the Zhe Jiang University, China’s
largest and most respected centre of TCM.
To cap it
all, James has become the first Irishman ever to be invited to be speak at the
International Conference on the Treatment of Difficult Diseases, at Zhe Jiang
University in April.
The
gentle Irish healer blushes, clearly humbled by this honour:
"They
have only ever invited two other non-Chinese speakers. One was Giovanni
Macioca, a renowned expert in Acupuncture, and the other was Salim Khan, a TCM
Master, known to many Irish practitioners."
For
information on courses or treatments, contact:
Active
Health Foundation
Tel: 091
56 68 68
E-mail: info@active-health.org
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