The Triple Burner

By Leon I. Hammer MD and Kye Peven ND DSOM

The Triple Burner, arguably the most mysterious organ system in Chinese Medicine, is finally getting a comprehensive analysis from a master, Dr. Leon Hammer. In this text Dr. Hammer brings together decades of experience and insights from both himself as well as other authors and practitioners, drawing on his extraordinary career as a clinical psychotherapist and Chinese medicine doctor. He elucidates the role of the Triple Burner at every level, from harmonizing the integration of Heaven and Earth, to connecting the Heart and Kidney, to balancing and integrating various functions throughout the body. After reading The Triple Burner you will find yourself perceiving this glorious organ system in ways you could never have imagined before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667883342

Book preview

Title

Published by:

The Contemporary Oriental Medicine Foundation

Gainesville, Florida 32601, USA

[e-mail]

www.comfoundation.org

First edition, November 2022

ISBN 978-1-66788-334-2

Copyright ©2022 Leon I. Hammer, M.D. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the authors or The Contemporary Oriental Medicine Foundation, except where permitted by law.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this book is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any symptom, illness, or condition, and is not meant to be taken as a substitute for medical advice. The authors and publisher accept no responsibility for any outcome obtained by adopting any of the ideas mentioned in this book. Always talk to your doctor, physician, or healthcare provider before instituting any lifestyle, health, or dietary changes, and always use your common sense.

Cover design: Kira Nash, Anna Cosper

Interior layout: Anna Cosper

THE TRIPLE BURNER

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This is a long overdue acknowledgment of the contributions, both spiritually and financially, of Katherine Sears, L.Ac., to the publishing of this book and three others in the recent COM series. Ms. Sears’ generosity has taken many forms over the years for which I am endlessly grateful. She is currently the Emeritus Director of the COM Foundation. Thank you, thank you for your encouragement and support in so many important ways over so many years!

THE CONTEMPORARY ORIENTAL MEDICINE FOUNDATION

The following talented and dedicated professionals have provided their special skills and good hearts for maintaining and promoting my written work for perpetuity as past and present members of the COM Foundation board:

Dan Linder, Ryan Diener, Jamin Nichols, Aline Cornelius, Tracey Soltesz, Barbara Hammer, Kye Peven, Alison Law, Kathy Sears, Maria Chah, Mary Jo Hayes, Stacey Chen Liu, Neil Pregozen.

Alison Law was the board treasurer and was also involved during the early days of the COM Foundation. Her tireless work kept the nances in check, and her personal donation also helped make this book possible.

Barbara Hammer, L.Ac. was a wise and mature leader of the COM

Foundation during her time as President of the board. She conducted a brilliant and dedicated orchestra of generous and talented practitioners of Chinese medicine and equally talented colleagues with other valuable gifts.

Mary Jo Hayes, PhD., MA., L.Ac., has had a long and prestigious career. She is a former student, a long-time colleague, and a teacher at DRCOM, and she is currently orchestrating a restructuring of the curriculum and the management of DRCOM.

EWA HAMMER

The Contemporary Oriental Medicine Foundation was founded by my wife Ewa Hammer who was the original director of DRCOM. Later, she engineered the transfer of the college from a for-profit to a non-profit organization and was the first president of the Foundation.

I take none of their endless dedication and contributions for granted and consider myself blessed. I accept with wonderment. Thank you.

In addition I want to thank friends and colleagues for many years of support: Vasanthi Vanniasingham, Brandt Stickley, Hamilton Rotte, Ross Rosen, Brian LaForgia, Elaine Stern, Phyllis Bloom, Efrem Korngold, Heiner Fruehauf, Lonny Jarrett, and others too numerous to list.

Leon I. Hammer, M.D.

CONTENTS

Forward

Preface

01 Introduction

Where is the Triple Burner?

Essence & Homeostasis

02 Science and Cosmology

Theoretical

Qi and Astrophysics

Science East and West

03 The Function of the Three Burners

Burners

Upper Burner (Amour - Love)

Communication

Middle Burner (Agape - Caritas)

Boundaries

Nourishment

Centeredness

Lower Burner (Eros)

Power and Faith

Recapitulation of The Functions

Upper Burner

Middle Burner

Nourishment (Food)

Lower Burner

04 Physiology

Theories

Fascia

Energetic Source

The Gatekeeper

Movement

Metabolism (Wu Ju-Tong)

Energy Transformation

Essential Energy

Ancestral Energy

Alimentation

Energies and The Organs

Triple Burner in The Pantheon of the Fire Energies

Temperature Control

Inflammation

Secretary of the Interior

Brain

Medulla

Subcortex

Cortex

Location

Broad

Narrow

05 Yuan Qi

Kidney Organ

Yuan Qi and the Internal Duct

06 The Internal Duct

Middle Burner

Upper Burner

Lower Burner

07 The Five Flavours

The Characteristics of the Five Flavors

The Five Flavors and the Five Organs

Liver and Sour

Spleen and Sweet

Kidney and Salty

Heart and Bitter

Lung and Pungent

Balance

08 Triple Burner Immune System

Upper Burner Immune Support

Historical Antecedent

Origin and Development

Energetic & Organ Configuration

Chinese Medical Actions

Physical Indications

Clinical Indications

Pulse

Tongue

Acupuncture Point Parallels

Special Usage Notes

Modifications

Standard Physical Dosage

Ingredients

Middle Burner Immune Support

Historical Antecedent

Origin and Development

Energetic and Organ Configuration

Chinese Medical Actions

Physical Indications

Clinical Indications

Pulse

Tongue

Acupuncture Point Parallels

Special Usage Notes

Standard Physical Dosage

Ingredients

Lower Burner Immune Support

Origin and Development

Energetic and Organ Configuration

Chinese Medical Actions

Physical Indications

Clinical Indications

Pulse

Tongue

Acupuncture Point Parallels

Standard Physical Dosage

Ingredients

09 Stability

Homeostasis

Essence and Stability

Working with Essence

A Case Study

Essence and the Pulse

Of Essence

10 Qi Wild

Common Thread

Etiology

The Qi is Wild

History

Diagnosis

Associated Pulse Qualities

Pre Qi Wild Pulse Qualities

Eyes

Tongue

Summary

11 Yang Wei Mai

Opening Points

Pathways

Functions

Anatomical

Physiological

Indications

Specific Physical Symptoms

Pyschological Indications

Rules for Use

Case History

12 Evaluation

Shen-Hammer System

Overall Assessment

Assessment of Each Burner

Upper Burner (Distal Positions)

Middle Burner (Middle Positions)

Lower Burner (Proximal Positions)

Summary

Alternative Exposition of the Triple Burner and the Pulse

Tongue

13 Pathology and Management

Triple Burner Deficiency

Five Phase Management

Specific Issues to Resolve

Methodology for Triple Burner Definciency

Channel-Herb Treatment for Triple Burner Deficiency

Management Formuation

Management Implementation

Triple Burner Excess

Specific Issues to Resolve

Methodology for Triple Burner Excess

Channel-Herb Treatment for Triple Burner Excess

Management Formulation

Management Implementation

Herbs

14 Retained Pathogens

Definition

Pathogenesis

Management

Example

Presentation and History

Treatment

Conclusion

Special Relationships

15 Kidney-Heart Harmony & Disharmony

The Mind and the Brain

The Kidney-Heart Relationship and ‘Knowing’

Disharmony Through Fear

Disharmony Through Shock

Acupuncture

Manifestation of Deficits

Water

Fire

Kidney-Heart Disharmonies and Sleep

Types of Sleep Problems

Cannot get to sleep for several hours

Mind constantly racing entire night- no sleep

Agitated, toss and turn all night, bedclothes tossed around in the bed, wakes with the slightest noise

Wakes frequently but returns to sleep, no agitation

Sleeps for 4-5 hours, wakes for ½ to 1 hour, then returns to sleep

Sleep for 4-5 hours, wakes and cannot return to sleep

Need to sleep sitting up, shortness of breath, cold oily sweat

Cannot sleep on left side

Any of the above patterns, greater in severity and complexity, especially if accompanied by serious mental-emotional disturbance

Sleep Reversal

A Simple Solution for Some Difficult Cases

16 Sample Applications

Regurgitation

Spleen-Stomach

Liver

Triple Burner and Regurgitation

Sjögren’s Syndrome

Bipolar Disorder

A Case of Split Personality

A Note on Autism

Triple Burner Vortex: Ross Rosen

17 Perspectives from Other Authors

Efrem Korngold, OMD, and Stephen Cowen, MD

Robert Johns

Arya Nielson

Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D.

Claude Larre and Élisabeth Rochat de la Vallée

Paul Unschuld

Van Buren

J.R. Worsley Mary Jo Hayes Christina Bickley

Mary Jo Hayes

Christina Bickley

Addendum: Heaven-Earth-Man

Bibliography

FOREWORD

THE SUM OF OUR LIVES

The Three Burners are the sum of our lives. Thus begins Leon Hammer’s long-awaited treatise on the Triple Burner. It is no accident that at the ripe old age of 98 years, Leon has taken up the challenge of expressing the sum of his lifework by presenting his perspectives on this mysterious organ that has a name but no form. I have had a fascination with the SanJiao – Triple Burner ever since I first became a student of Chinese medicine thirty years ago. As a developmental pediatrician interested in what drives the miraculous unfolding of a child’s life, this hidden entity that, as Leon says, communicates, integrates, harmonizes and balances the complexity of an organism, seems essential in providing a truly holistic form of medical care to children (and families). To encourage life, one must see the whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. This whole, defined by being everywhere and nowhere is the power behind the crown, working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that all parts relate to each other in order for life to function and have meaning. This is the very work of the Triple Burner.

My teacher and dear Dao-brother Effrem Korngold and I have, over the many years, played with this idea of the Triple Burner as the power of healing relationships. It was Efrem who graciously introduced me to Leon Hammer many years ago, knowing that he and I both shared a kinship for having dared to let go of our Western medical practice, allowing it to open up and transform into an utterly different medicine, one shaped by the principles and practice of Chinese medicine.

Over the years, Leon and I have enjoyed many conversations, sharing our excitement about this mysterious organ-less organ.

THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER

Every story has three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. So too, the story of healing.

The number three in Chinese principles represents this exchange, the conversation between the two. We see evidence of the power of three in the trigrams of the bagua. We see it in the blueprint of human relationships, heaven above, earth below, and the human bridge between them, always the medium for conversation between the two polarities. Chinese medicine is essentially couple’s therapy. The relationship between these couples represents the hidden third. Whether it is Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Blood and Qi, Jing and Shen, or Ying and Wei, our job as healers is to embody the spirit of the Triple Burner in facilitating communication and coordination between these couples within our patients. The three burners represent the warm relationships we generate when we are connected. And this warmth is the primary difference in focus, at least for me, between Western and Eastern modes of medicine. In the West, I was taught to isolate the problem, rely on objective machines and laboratory values as the standard of care in guiding treatment. This isolation often leaves the patient out in the cold in our attempt to treat symptoms quickly and efficiently in the treatment room. Leon has spent the better part of his life undoing that approach, teaching connection and relationship and subjective experience as essential to promoting long-standing health. In this way, Leon is an embodiment of the spirit of the Triple Burner as a clinician, and perhaps this is what has made him one of the pillars of American Chinese Medicine today. Nowhere is this more obvious than in his teaching of the pulses which requires intimate connection with the patient, listening with the utmost care and attention, entering into conversation with the inner landscape of that person. This ability to listen deeply in order to connect and direct healing is in fact the source of all creative processes, of original thinking. It is this originality that is classically called yuan qi, the primary power of the Triple Burner to connect the parts into a whole, to connect with others, to connect with our ancestors, and to connect with our destiny.

LOVE

One of Leon’s essential teachings that transformed my own life long ago was to ask what the symptom is trying to accomplish rather than simply shutting it down. To me this is emblematic of empathetic understanding so critical to any loving relationship. It is a loving that, as Leon points out, is one of the less obvious functions of the Triple Burner. Western research has only recently come to realize that the quality of secure relationships in one’s life (both inside and out) is the key to resilience and the antidote to trauma.¹ One example, among many, of this need for healthy relationship can be found in the Upper Burner’s ability to coordinate heart and lung relationships. This coherence, expressed as heart rate variability (HRV), is a measurable reflection of vagal nerve tone that translates into physical and mental resilience. When I listen closely to a newborn’s heart, whether with a stethoscope or through the pulse, I notice that her heart rate speeds up as she inhales and slows down as she exhales. This fundamental variation bewilders new medical students who think the body is a machine that should have a fixed rhythm, but it is this variability that has been shown to be essential for healthy neuro-gastro-immune function and, for me, that is getting a real glimpse of the Triple Burner in action.

As we get older and the stress of life becomes chronic, this coordinated relationship between heart and breath is often lost and we hear/feel only the steady galloping heartbeat that ignores the coordinating rhythm of the lung. This disconnect between heart and lung, this rigid beat, has been shown to correlate with a shortened life and delayed wound healing, and leads to a host of psycho-somatic conditions that torment modern life. Thus, the Triple Burner represents that innocent open-hearted child-like expression of liveliness and love and creativity that comes from a willingness to play, to relate in order to learn who we are. And it is this open-hearted spirit that we cannot help but sense in the pages of the book you now hold in your hands as Leon continues his life-long mission to encourage us all to listen and learn with our whole body-mind-spirit and to manifest that love which is greater than the sum of our life with every sentient being we meet.

I end with a poem written early in the midst (and mist) of this pandemic, a tribute to Leon Hammer, this role model of a true healer. In the words of Laozi, he has taught us that to gather in, one must first expand oneself.

Stephen Cowan

Summer Heat

Year of the Water Tiger

2022

Dragon-mind (for LH)

Tumble and writhe

in Serenity-tower.

How shall I invite

the cloudscape in?

Inhaling, they dissipate

into dreams…

Stopping, they hide

in vague memories…

Shadowed, they wait

in the wings…

‘Tis only by broadening

the boundaries

to the ends of the earth

that they’re given wide birth

enough to breathe free and easy

alive with the heart of the silken dawn.

sc 6.17.20

jiang yu she zhi

bi gu zhang zhi

(laozi36)

PREFACE

My journey in Chinese medicine began in 1971 with Dr. J.D. van