Shennong Syllabus

Welcome!

You will find in this document all the basic information you need to know about the course. I recommend you use this in conjunction with the “Start Here” document you also received to help you familiarize yourself with the way things will work as you proceed.

Contact information

For course material, course flow & all Chinese medicine related questions, please reach your humble guide, Eric Grey, MSOM, LAc via email at [email protected].

For logistical questions, technological issues and similar, please reach Deepest Health support via email at [email protected].

Objectives

The intent of this course is threefold. First, I intend to provide you with a thorough grounding in a relational method of learning and using Chinese herbs that incorporates multiple perspectives and learning styles. Second, I want to provide you a basic grounding in the classical perspective on herbs and herbalism as well as real data on individual herbs obtained through that perspective. Finally, I hope you will connect deeply with the thriving online community of like-minded practitioners - your classmates. So, you will be receiving instruction in a method, real data on herbs and access to a new group of people to interact with. Wins all around.

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How the course works

All module video is pre-recorded and all modules are available to you at once. The modules are intended to be consumed at a rate of one every two weeks, leaving enough time to work through the material. However, you might find some of the material easier or more difficult, allowing you to move faster or slower, respectively.

Work through the videos, do the optional project if you like, interact on the forums and take as much time as you need. Most important, START WORKING WITH CHINESE HERBS every day you can using what you learn in the modules.

Course website navigation

The course is delivered online, via video, audio and text through a special, protected, section of http://www.deepesthealth.com. You’ll find the relevant parts of the site described and linked below.

1. The main course page - this page includes links to all the relevant portions of the site, including links to the module pages. This is the best URL to bookmark, as you can access most everything from there. http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/

2. Individual module pages, accessible from the main course page, as well as the links listed below:

• Module 1 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-1/

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• Module 2 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-2/

• Module 3 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-3/

• Module 4 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-4/

• Module 5 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-5/

• Module 6 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-6/

• Module 7 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-7/

• Module 8 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-8/

• Module 9 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-9/

• Module 10 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-10/

• Module 11 - http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-course/ shennong-module-11/

3. Shennong Information Page - where your syllabus and other basic information can be found. http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong- course/shennong-general-information/

4. Mentorship Call Page - where you can find out information about the upcoming mentorship calls, including how to access them. http://www.deepesthealth.com/chinese-medicine-academy/mentorship- calls/

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5. Archived mentorship calls - page of previous, recorded mentorship calls. http://www.deepesthealth.com/shennong-call-archive/

Your work & assessments

If you are taking this course for NCCAOM PDA (CEU) points, you will need to complete an assessment at the end of the course. This will be delivered to you at the appropriate time - a passing grade is required to receive credit. However, the assessment is very simple and meant only to check that you actually listened to the modules. It is required by NCCAOM. Please contact Eric immediately if you need CEU credits - [email protected].

Whether or not you are taking the course for credit, you have the option of completing a project that will take you through the method with a single herb. Most students find that doing a project helps them keep engaged with the material as well as figuring out what they did not understand. I recommend you do the project. A separate sheet with requirements and information is on the course information page of the website.

Required & recommended materials

Find below a list of materials that will be helpful in your explorations with Chinese herbs. Many of you will already have the majority of these materials. Some of you will have none. I have separated the list into “required” resources and “recommended” resources. If you are unable to obtain any of the “required” resources due to geography, finances, or some other reason, please contact me as soon as possible at [email protected] and we will come up with some suitable substitute.

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Required Materials

1. A book listing most of the major Chinese herbs in English and Chinese. The most popular example is Dan Benksy’s Chinese Herbal Materia Medica.

2. A copy of the Shennong ben cao jing (the Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica) For English speakers, there is really only one readily available translation - published by Blue Poppy.

3. Dried samples of at least three Chinese herbs. Which herbs they are is not important, so long as they are not toxic when consumed semi- frequently. A good list of herbs that are pretty readily available : licorice, cinnamon bark, fresh , honeysuckle, chrysanthemum flower, goji berry. If you have a choice, pick herbs that are listed in the Shennong ben cao jing. Get about 30 grams of each to start with.

4. A facility for boiling herbs in water

5. Some type of drawing implement and surface for drawing that is pleasing. Some like colored pencils and paper, others like their iPad and stylus. Be as simple or as complex as you like.

6. At least one living plant. It can be outside, so long as you have access to it. It does NOT have to be a Chinese herb. Recommended Materials

1. A copy of the (Treatise on Cold Damage) by

2. A copy of the Jin gui yao lue (Essentials from the Golden Cabinet) also by Zhang Zhongjing

3. A live, growing Chinese herb. The best source for live herbs and herb seeds in the US is Horizon Herbs (http://www.horizonherbs.com/) It’s ok to come up with a slightly different species than what is standard. The

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standard species are easily discovered by reading in one of the major single herbs books, or by using an online resource like http:// Rootdown.us.

4. Tracing paper

5. At least two dried herbs samples of each herb “flavor,” (sweet, sour, salty, pungent/spicy, bitter). 30 grams of each is ideal to start out with. Again, avoiding very toxic herbs is best.

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