My Standards: Moonching Wu
An acupuncturist and healer reveals some of her favorite things. Plus three things you can do to create a perfect day.
1. Omega Juicer I learned about the miracle of celery juice from the Medical Medium and it helped me so much post Lyme disease. I have the H3000B which is so quiet yet efficient it’s really hard to believe. There are so many health benefits to slow juicing but what I love most is the flavor!
2. Headphones Because I can’t go to an actual sound bath now, I listen to recordings by Brooklyn Healing Arts on these comfy headphones. They also came in handy when I got my RTT recording which I listened to daily for 21 days, which reset some deep subconscious habits.
3. Sigma Pens Ever since I was little I have obsessed over pens. Even in art school (Cooper Union) I was hesitant to “splurge” on these pens. In 2018 I was at an Omega Institute workshop, and I told the woman next to me that I used to love the very Sakura Pigma Micron she was taking notes with, but seldom bought them. She looked at me, and put the pen in my hand. I’ve been writing with them ever since.
4. Rose Quartz Crystal When I worked for GQ, my supervisor gave me this rose quartz tower for Christmas. He said he didn’t know what to buy me…but he totally did. This is the crystal of LOVE. Enough said!
5. Tea Infuser Great tea is made from loose leaf and requires proper brewing. I love this beautiful thermos because it keeps my tea hot or cold, I can easily see the color, and simply turn over to stop brewing. Tea is so healthy and delicious. My current fave is Oriental Beauty which only grows in a small area in my mother country of Taiwan. Hot or cold brew, it is divine.
Q+A with Moonching
What is a perfect day for you?
Wake up feeling well rested. Have a mini battle with my kitten who likes to attack my pen while writing my morning pages from bed. Get up to make my matcha au lait, and a hearty breakfast. Change the water at my altar, maybe refresh the flower, and then sit down on the porch and assess the garden/house. If nothing urgent must be done, and the weather is fair, we go on a hike, hunting for mushrooms. Come back for lunch break. After that I start on my RTT training (either watching a video or reading); the same goes for Yi Jing class. Then I walk over to the studio and check on my artwork. Now it’s late afternoon and I finish up in the garden, put all the tools back. Relax with a cup of my favorite tea, maybe some fruit as a snack. Soon dinner will be ready! Set the table on the porch, and enjoy my husband’s delicious grilling. I clean up the dishes and the kitchen, then take a bath with salts & oils or fresh aromatic plants! Stream a movie or read books. Last thing, get ready for bed.
Tell me more about Book of Changes
This classical text Zhou Yi was known in English as I Ching, or Book of Changes.The Zhou Yi is divided into Hexagrams, Judgement, and Line Texts. Excavated records show how it was used as an oracle in antiquity. There are different ways to ask a question and 2 trigrams (together they make 1 hexagram).
For example one can toss 3 coins 6 times. Each toss is one line in the hexagram, then one can look up the hexagram in the Zhou Yi and interpret the judgement and line text as an answer to a question.
In this class we are taught to use resonance and imagery, which is quite a poetic way of interpreting the Yi Jing, and try not to use commentary by the many authors who interpreted the Zhou Yi with their own methods and ways of thinking.
I simply love this way of using something that is so old (350-900 BC modern scholars say), yet clearly has timeless truths that can clarify questions we have in 2020.
What are three things you’d recommend someone can do to create a perfect day?
Every morning, have a short routine of either writing, meditating, or simply emptying your mind before you go about your day.
Adopt animals or plants. Even a houseplant will do. Nurturing and being responsible for this living being, then watching it grow will have profound effects on you.
Take yourself on a nature date. Ideally spend time in nature, just you, unplugged (you can take photos, make sketches or write notes but no talking on the phone or connecting to the internet!). If you are in an urban environment, try city parks, or near a body of water (river, lake, port, beach).