“How hard has it been for you to live with it?” Dr. Park, a noted Oriental Medicine Doctor (OMD) well known for his dermatology practice, first listens to his patient’s stories. His goal is to cure the mental suffering that patients undergo as well as their chronic severe skin ailments.
Atopic Dermatitis is generally considered an incurable disease in western medicine. Dr. Park, however, is confident that over 90% of the cases can be cured. The fundamental rationale behind his treatment is ‘subtracting toxins.’ This is OMD Park’s story of subtracting body and mind for a happier, healthier life.
I have to understand my patients first in order to cure their skin ailments; what has been the environment they have lived in, their working conditions, and also what kind of mind they have been living with. So I listen to all their stories often. Many people experience mental exhaustion when suffering for a long time from skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis. Sometimes they have to give up their dreams and hopes, and in severe cases they can develop depression or social phobias.
Nowadays, especially, atopic dermatitis is regarded as a very common disease. It occurs often in children and the younger the child is, the more painful it is to the parents. The itchiness is more painful to endure than the actual pain. It is particularly painful for the parents too, as they have to watch their child scratching, whining, crying, and even bleeding all over their little bodies from the scratching they do all day long. The victims and their family are literally in pain all day long.
Welcome! Skin ailments are curable! Let’s have confidence and make it happen!
Since many of the patients are so desperate after trying many other kinds of treatment, I always begin the treatment with a conversation. It takes a long time and a lot of patience for skin ailments to be cured. It depends on the case, but treatments can take from six months to a year. As the infected sites are gradually replaced with brand new healthy flesh, patients begin smiling brightly and become happy. I, too, become very happy.
Patients wrote their wishes on a card for a ‘Wish Tree’ at the clinic at the end of the year. Dr. Park came up with this idea to motivate his patients to think about what they wished to do after their ailments were cured.
In western medicine atopic dermatitis is, in fact, considered to be an intractable or incurable disease. However, I can proudly say that, from my experience, atopic dermatitis can be cured in 90% of the cases. The treatment rationale is simple. It is called Baedock Therapy, and is basically a ‘subtraction therapy.’ The mode of therapy is to remove (subtract) internal infection and toxins brought about by poor diets and lifestyles through a form of sweat therapy. Along with bathing, exercising and dietary therapies, an herbal medicine is also prescribed. Kowtow (an Asian act of kneeling and touching the forehead to the ground, a show of deep respect) is sometime recommended, as it can be done in small spaces. A thirty minute routine of kowtow makes you sweat, which releases toxins. It also frees you from your thoughts, which is good for stress management.
Skin is like a mirror that reflects the condition of internal organs. Korea’s ancient medical book refer to ‘lung, skin and hair’; indicating that the lungs correspond to the skin and hair. For instance, atopic dermatitis can be explained as an abnormality caused by the imbalance in the whole body, stemming centrally from the lungs and respiratory organs. Therefore, the radical treatment (one aimed at removing the root of the illness) to be applied is both the improvement of pulmonary functions, thereby allowing excessive heat and impure Qi (energy) to be discharged from the body, and also restoring balance to the organs.
In particular, the subtraction of the mind is very important. Inflammation can be caused by excessive heat, i.e. anger. Today’s cases of atopic dermatitis are usually caused by stress, so it is a kind of anger disorder. Whenever you become embarrassed or angry your face turns red and gets hot. Stress in the mind, such as tension, depression, anger, worries and concerns, interferes with the energy flow in the body and slows down the circulation of the blood. Eventually it influences the skin; so, when you are under stress for a long time, your skin tone becomes dull.
A patient who is a graphic designer donated the clinic logo out of simple gratitude because she “felt his wholehearted desire for a genuine treatment for his patients.” When you see the whole wall covered with pictures of Dr. Park’s patients, you can see how deeply and sincerely he has touched their lives.
I recommend subtraction of the mind to patients under severe stress. If a patient is curious about good skin care practices, I tell them that it is much better to subtract the mind than to use expensive cosmetics or eat good food. Skin health comes naturally if such things as subtracting stress, cutting down on unhealthy food, mountain hiking, exercising, and lower body bathing become a regular part of your life.
Maum Meditation was the reason I could understand the principle of subtraction therapy and could have a vision of a career as an oriental medical doctor. I began practicing Maum Meditation when I was in my second year at college. The rationale of Maum Meditation was very scientific and simple: if you subtract the mind you have accumulated in your life, the original mind is revealed. In oriental medicine the human organism is said to be a miniature universe. As I was practicing Maum Meditation, I came to see that I am the universe; that humans are the universe. Ever since then I was able to easily understand oriental medicine.
While practicing as a doctor for the Public Health Department it was my great fortune to meet an OMD who had a vast knowledge about curing skin ailments. I also met his teacher and found out the treatment rationale he taught was subtraction. As I already knew the importance of subtraction from Maum Meditation, I could understand exactly what he meant.
After my discharge from my duty in public service, I opened a clinic to really start treating patients. I met and cured so many patients ? patients with severe atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, seborrhea, rashes and acne ? and I had a conviction that all skin ailments could be cured with ‘the rationale of subtraction.’ Although atopic dermatitis is now a curable disease, many doctors still perceive it to be incurable. I felt sorry about this and so I wrote many books and gave free lectures on the subject. I wanted to share my knowledge with others.
Children are sometimes afraid of the treatments. That is when Dr. Park takes off his doctor’s coat, or gives them friendly treatments in the waiting area. During the Christmas season he often wears a Santa suit to please the children.
Most of all I feel so grateful that I could live as a doctor who not only could cure skin ailments, but also give patients renewed hope in life. Not long ago a patient sent me a wedding invitation. She had not been able to date because she had severe atopic dermatitis. She had tried all sorts of treatments that she had heard were good, but none of them were able to cure her. When she came to my clinic she was grabbing at straws. After receiving treatments for a year she recovered from her disease. Her wish had simply been to go out on a date. It made me so happy to hear that now she was to be married. That is why I try harder and study more.
One day, a patient asked me during his treatment if I was happy. I was surprised by his sudden question, but I naturally answered “Yes, there is nothing more that I need.” He said that he had definitely wanted to ask this question one day because he had always thought I looked happy.
Doctors always seem to look good. However, many say it is like living in a jail without bars because you have to see and listen to sick people all day long. But fortunately for me, I live subtracting the mind every day since I became a student of Maum Meditation. I have come to have a stronger faith in the world and feel more and more relaxed as time goes by.
