AOBTA President's Address 8-31-07

Giving a speech is always a challenge. One fleshes out the points that one wants to present. The bulk of the speech went somewhat like this, at least I can say: this is what I meant to say not only at the convention but to all as way of introduction:

Welcome to one and all. Networking and Fun is the basic reason we have Conventions

This year - we have the Surfin’ Safari Game. Members had to find each Board Member over the weekend, to discover which picture was theirs and why. At the Banquet we pulled a name from the box for a free Convention Registration for the next (hopefully -2009 in San Diego) Convention!  Congratulations AOBTA®-Certified Practitioner Patricia Daniels from Philadelphia, PA. We fell in love with her in Boston, and we can not wait to see her again at the next convention.

We have a new ABT Form to announce: Congratulations go to Jin Shou Tuina. The Forms committee has been working with AOBTA®-Certified Instructor Jason Redinbo and the many of the fine people at North American Tang Shou Dao Association who practice Jin Shou Tuina and we are very proud to announce that they have met all of the requirements for Form recognition.

When we started doing conventions titled in the 5 elemental phases I took a deep breath of apprehension as I knew we had the power to create every aspect of each period as we named them.

As many of you may be aware our Organization has been steeped in Metal Qi over the last year or so - Both Yin and Yang in form. In picking our theme for this convention, we chose to focus on the yin aspect of Metal, and many of us have felt that effect. Within 24 hours of the closing circle at the nurturing healing event that was the Wisconsin/Earth convention; a close relative of mine was mortally wounded in an automobile accident. Twenty-four hours later I was in a Chicago hospital releasing the last of her Qi, using everything I have ever been taught about hospice and end-of-life care. Personally, I have lost seven close friends and family members in the past year. I have watched my friends, clients, and colleagues suffer similar losses repeatedly this year, culminating two weeks ago (August 13, 2007) in the loss of one of our founding members and  a forerunner of ABT work in the USA; Tina Sohn. Fortunately, we have her wonderful book to keep us learning from her for generations to come.

Healing with Metal: Prosperity, Inspiration, Presence

Just what does that mean?

I think for this convention the ”healing with” part is more for healing our practitioners, ourselves and our organization than for healing our clients; “Physician - heal thyself” is the phrase that comes flashing into mind. But how can we do that for ourselves – for our organization at this convention?

The re-visioning day was a great start of this conference, many people made many clear, sharp, shining points. The Board will take this information with them into the next strategic planning session planned for this winter.

Prosperity:

One of the things we must combat and treat within ourselves is the poverty mentality; it is absolutely mind-boggling how pervasive this frame of mind is in our profession. We all possess (and then ignore) the gems of business classes along with the shining gifts our teachers passed on in the wealth of Chinese Medical Theory information. We must start bringing out the inner shine of confidence in ourselves to practice successfully and brilliantly.  Evolve; this is a key theme you will hear over and over from me, evolve the use of this theory. Take your training and use it in your life, not just your office.

Inspiration:

For me inspiration is larger than just breath; in fact I see exhalation and inhalation as a side effect of Inspiration. I hope you will be inspired by the words of keynote speaker Candace Pert. Perhaps peptides bring a new light to the phases and pathways of Chinese Medicine and may bring about a gift to help our practitioners transform their practices. Many people in the “Metal years” of their lives spend much of their time looking for Inspiration - retired (with their flashy watches), they travel to see new places that have always eluded them, they do elder hostels and programs to learn new things, many go on to a second career or use the time to mentor (inspire) the younger generations. Let’s keep that focus and order in our own lives.

Presence: 

What is Presence but Qi?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines presence as:  presence of mind, making one’s presence felt, having a strong influence on others, and primarily the state of existing. Even in death we see this last final rigid state of Qi before heading to the western gate. Then that last exhale of the lung/poqi as it leaves the body. The whole idea of any learning event is to promote presence of mind.  That is what I do with my clients all day long - get them to be present. As President of this organization that is how I see my job with you – and I wish for you, to be present.

As the Tao flows through Metal we see the pinnacle of one’s goals and career.  To know you are truly following the Tao you must have Presence, you must 'be here now', you must not be distracted or deceived - you must know with the utmost, straightest, strongest, Zhongqi  conviction that you are indeed in the Tao.

Metal is the most “solid” of the 5 elements. It takes a lot to sway it.

            We on the Board of Directors have seen a lot of resistance over the last year. The whole certification issue has brought about a vibrant and at times volatile conversation within the organization. We have heard from many of you as a large number of members have stated their positions and views. Many have taken it as an “us–versus-them” situation. Or maybe it is just the justification of Wood fighting back against a perceived Metal axe.  For that, all we on the Board can say is “Thank You” – and remind you that this IS how the process works. We asked for your opinions, you gave them. We are elected by you to follow your directions. It can not be an ‘us-versus-them’ situation as we are all one and the same.  

Where do we go from here?

Hold your Breath – don’t get frightened – and just dive into the mucky unknown waters of the primordial think tank. Will it be a rushing stream? A stagnant pond? Rough seas ahead, or a placid costal reef? I can’t wait to find out.

We are working on many things, and what we wish the most is for you to know that. The key commodity in our life these days is information! Yet, there is a huge information gap.  How do we communicate this information? Personally, I have spent many years building relationships with many of you – and I want to encourage all to continue talking to me and the rest of the Board. We are your Board and we are here to talk to you.  We are here to find ways to increase the flow on the river of information.

National Conventions: are the number one way to communicate:  face-to-face, whether in large meetings or one-on-one over lunch, or in the hall.

            Email updates: These are evolving. Our hope is that they will serve as a way to get you important information fast. We are still playing with the format and we would like to make it a more attractive and interactive update soon.

            Website: Many changes are happening –some daily- to the website. The greatest thing about a website is that it can constantly grow (although slowly at times). We are working on increasing the rankings of the site on things like Google searches, and many changes were suggested and made by volunteers like you that will raise the rankings of our site.  If you see a typo, let us know! If you have any hints or ideas join in the conversation-- this is your site after all. We have been working on the online store: I know that seems like something not very important, because after all what do we sell but tee-shirts; however, it will allow us to automate your dues. You will receive an email letting you know your membership is lapsing soon, and you will be able to log on and pay your dues in your pajamas!  We will also be working on a posting discussion board. In the meantime I am playing with that technology on my Zaadz page. I have a profile there http://ramblinh2o.zaadz.com/. I will also use that blog and pages to continue to keep you updated on things we are working on. So log on, check in, join and play along.

            Pulse news continues to grow and will be getting a face lift soon. We may even put it on the website for you to choose which version you prefer.  We hope to dress it up a bit in the coming years and continue to keep it beating and in your mailboxes on time.

If history is any kind of teacher, one thing I am sure of is as we are surfing the waters of the San Diego convention (tentatively March of ‘09) we will be so comfortable within the QI of Water no wave will shake us. But don’t give in to Fear (let the ground under San Diego shake for you). As we move into our Water phase we will find that there is “wiggle room” for everything we need. By the time we get to the Water convention there will already be the green sprouts of Woods’ growth peeking up above the earth as the roots of our trees grow deep within the earth. So, wash up on shore, hold someone’s hand if you get a little scared, and wiggle your way from the dance floor of this convention all the way to San Diego in 09!  Thank you and enjoy the convention!