Balancing sets of complementary colors.
Bodywork

Microcurrent and Color Light Mu-Shu Technique and Mind-Body Acupuncture

Darren Starwynn, OMD, LAc

I continue to be amazed by the effectiveness of a simple technique called microcurrent and color light mu-shu. This is the practice of applying polarized microcurrent stimulation with simultaneous color light to front-mu (alarm) and back-shu (associated) points of Organs, so that the currents flow through the Organ and its associated autonomic control nerves. For detailed instructions on administering this technique, please see my article in the February 2006 issue of Acupuncture Today. As the positive experiences of my colleagues, students and myself have piled up as a result of using microcurrent and color light mu-shu technique, I am convinced that this method has very valuable and far-reaching applications in the treatment of most internal medical diseases as well as psychoemotional imbalances. According to cutting-edge neurophysiological research, all functions of the body and mind are regulated by minute biochemicals called neuropeptides, which embody the innate intelligence of life within our bodies.1 These are the physical basis for the mind-body interrelatedness described by Chinese medicine since ancient times. Acupuncture and acupuncture-like techniques apparently have immediate and profound effects on the neuropeptide network of the body. The application of resonant colors of light seems to be particularly powerful for this purpose, and in my experience greatly exceeds the effects of needle acupuncture alone for Organ regulation.

In applying microcurrent for this technique, we use positive polarity on the front-mu and negative on the back-shu points simultaneously, thereby creating a subtle electrical circuit through the body.2 Colors of light are selected according to Organ resonance and the specific condition, and can accurately be confirmed by kinesiology. Mu-shu point combinations are treated bilaterally, or in the case of midline mu points, the positive probe is held on that one point while the two back-shu points are treated in turn. Total treatment time is about two to three minutes for testing, treatment and a confirmation retest.

One level of the effectiveness of microcurrent and color light mu-shu is to balance Organ functions through autonomic nervous system regulation. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is composed of two branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic. Sympathetic innervation generally stimulates the Organ into greater physiologic activity, while parasympathetic innervation generally relaxes the Organ into a more quiescent state. My research shows that the warm yang colors of light usually increase sympathetic tone, while the cooler yin colors of light facilitate parasympathetic effects.

To recap from the last article on this subject, here are the balancing sets of complementary colors:3

The primary and secondary colors specified for each Organ come from two different traditions of color healing. I teach my students to use kinesiology to select which of the sets for each Organ is most effective through therapy localization.4

Here is a remarkable case history from a recent seminar I taught that indicates the power of color light applied through the mu-shu points. A female student in her 40s had been distressed by an unusual complaint. She had a history of cervical cancer, now in remission. She subsequently had been treated with an electrotherapy device through her head about 18 months prior to meeting me and had experienced a bad reaction. Ever since that treatment, she had suffered from symptoms of emphysema and mucus congestion in her throat area. She had tried many types of treatment, including many acupuncture sessions, to alleviate these symptoms without any success.

I evaluated her and determined that her Spleen qi had been damaged and her Liver was now chronically irritated. While such a prolonged reaction to any form of energy stimulation is very unusual, I concluded that it was the offending treatment that had likely imbalanced the autonomic steering of her nervous system. I administered mu-shu to her Spleen (using Liv 13 and UB 20 bilaterally) and Liver (using Japanese Liv 14 and bilateral UB 18). In conjunction with polarized microcurrent, I selected orange light for the Spleen mu-shu and indigo light for the Liver.5 Treatment lasted about two minutes, one minute per Organ. After the treatment, I used kinesiology to verify that the Organ test points were balanced, which they were.

The student reported a 75 percent reduction in the annoying symptoms in her throat and lungs within two hours of the treatment. By the next morning, she reported 90 percent relief. These results were far in excess of any benefit from any of the other treatments she had tried for the past 18 months.

Here are some other patient conditions that have greatly benefited by microcurrent and color light mu-shu treatment: food and environmental allergies (Liv and Sp), severe itching as a sequela to chemotherapy for leukemia (Liv), insomnia related to depression (St and Kid), chronic hip osteoarthritis (GB), addictions (solar plexus PNE center6), migraines (Liv and Sp), asthma attacks (Lu and Kid), and many other challenging conditions.

How can we explain these profound results? Here are some hypotheses:

  1. ROOT TREATMENT - By addressing the root of the patient's symptoms rather than only using points to clear symptoms, they received the appropriate level of treatment.
  2. RESONANCE - Applying the necessary complementary colors of light through well-chosen acupuncture points created a positive resonance with the damaged Organs, feeding them the information they needed to "reboot" their optimal functioning.
  3. MICROCURRENT AND COLOR LIGHT COMBINATION - Microcurrent opens the conductive pathways and tonifies and electrically balances the Organs. It is highly synergistic with color light therapy. Color light is literally "food" for cells and Organs.

The following chart shows which complementary color sets of light are resonant with each Organ:

ORGAN PRIMARY COLORS
Yang Yin
SECONDARY COLORS
Yang Yin
Lungs Red Green Orange Indigo
Pericardium Scarlet or Magenta Violet Orange Blue
Heart Scarlet or Magenta Purple Orange Blue
Gall Bladder Yellow Violet Red Green
Liver Yellow Violet Red Green
Stomach Yellow Violet Orange Blue
Spleen/Pancreas Yellow Violet Orange Blue
Triple Warmer Yellow Violet Red Green
Small Intestine Magenta Green Yellow Violet
Large Intestine Orange Blue Yellow Violet
Kidneys Red Green Scarlet or Magenta Purple
Urinary Bladder Red Green Scarlet or Magenta Purple

I encourage any colleagues using this technique, or wishing to, to communicate with me so I can continue to collect more case histories. I will be happy to provide guidance to anyone wishing to participate in this form of informal research.

Notes

  1. For more information on neuropeptides, see Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert, PhD, or Quantum Healing by Deepak Chopra, MD. More technical information can be found in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) journals.
  2. It is not recommended to pass microcurrent through the mu-shu points of the Heart or Pericardium to avoid interfering with the Heart's internal pacemaker. For treatment of these Organs we use light only.
  3. Most of the above complementary sets listed in this table will produce white light when mixed together (with the exceptions of Lemon-Turquoise and Scarlet-Purple). In optics, there are three primary colors (blue, yellow, red) that make up white light. When any two of those are mixed together they will be complementary, with the remaining primary. For example, blue + yellow = green, which is complementary to red.
  4. This is a challenge test in which the patient touches the test point of the dysfunctional Organ, and then colors are introduced into the region until one is found that strengthens the indicator muscle. These colors tend to have very effective therapeutic effects.
  5. Orange and Indigo are complementary colors and thus can produce profound balancing.
  6. PNE - Psychoneuroendocrine reflex centers, a more medical term I coined for chakra centers. A variation of the technique described in this article is highly applicable to treatment of these mind-body centers for a host of mental, emotional and spiritual imbalances. For further information, see my article about PNE balancing in the Acupuncture Today archives.
November 2006
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