Open House celebrating the life of Professor JR Worsley

8/15/2006 – by Max Alexander: This was a day when practitioners, students and anyone interested in the teachings of Professor JR Worsley could come together to share views and experiences, and to celebrate his life. Judy Worsley hosted this “Open House” at the beautiful home she shared with JR in Burton Dassett, Warwickshire.

On what would have been JR’s 82nd birthday, participants came from around the UK, Ireland and the USA. Floyd Herdrich had arrived earlier from Virginia and had been up since the early hours baking scones. Others arrived in a steady flow; some were able to help with the setting up and to get a preliminary flavour of this rare occasion. We were able to view scrapbooks containing a pictorial record of JR’s life and work, to see beautiful original Chinese calligraphy from the forthcoming publication, The Spirits of the Points, and to learn more about the work of the Worsley Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture.

The day had one highlight after another, starting with an opportunity to hear an audio recording of JR talking at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (TAI) in Columbia, Maryland, in 1984. Judy Worsley and Julia Measures reminded us of how JR used outrageous humour to engage his audience. Judy put on a baseball cap and pretended to read from a toilet roll masquerading as an ancient Egyptian scroll, exactly as JR had done 21 years ago. This was a lecture about what it means to be an instrument of healing, delivered with tremendous passion, and showing extraordinary insight and mind-blowing prescience in hinting at the challenges that practitioners of traditional acupuncture would be likely to have to face.

After a break we had the opportunity for discussion. Several practitioners talked about the challenges they are facing and agreed that no matter what our different preferences and histories, what really matters is to respect and honour each choice. Judy pointed out that sometimes a requirement for preserving the integrity of a tradition, as well as our own integrity, is that we experience a degree of heat and pressure. She offered us the metaphor of how a diamond is produced using exactly that: heat and pressure, producing the most enduring and precious of gems.

As the late summer sun began to appear through the clouds, the discussions continued outside in the garden, with views over the Warwickshire hills. What an absolutely wonderful way to meet other practitioners, I thought to myself, and to hear about their various journeys along this path. During the lunch break many practitioners visited the JR memorial garden, others the C12th church next door, some picked fruit in the orchard, and all continued their discussions. I already had a sense of great ease and excitement that people who trained with JR at different times over the last 35 years could meet in this way, as well as some who never had the chance to meet him but who are nonetheless excited and inspired by this work.

After lunch Liz Pinder-Ayres of the Worsley Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture explained to the audience how the original members of the Master Apprentice Program (MAP™) created the Institute for the preservation and promotion of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture. Its mission is to preserve the clarity and integrity of the work, to maintain a vast resource of archive material, and to offer practitioners a variety of opportunities for personal, professional and leadership development in study groups, in seminars and clinical consultation days with Judy Worsley and in MAP™ itself.

A major part of the work of the Worsley Institute is the development of the JR video library and several practitioners involved in this project were present. Dean Lander had spent many years behind the camera making these recordings before training to become a practitioner. Clare Agnew spent countless hours viewing, logging and summarising the lectures contained on the tapes, and Henry Bizon has worked tirelessly to transfer the original recordings onto DVD.

The afternoon presentation on DVD was of JR talking about the “CF”, the Causative Factor of Disease, and how this is central to the diagnostic procedure carried out in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture. It was inspiring to me to hear JR talking about the challenges we face in diagnosing the CF, and about how with determination and perseverance we can learn to ask, to hear, to see and to feel in order to make this diagnosis correctly.

A day of clear focus and fond remembrances was rounded off in the late afternoon with a “JR Cream Tea”, with delicious scones made by Floyd according to JR’s favourite recipe, inherited from his housekeeper, Rene Hacking.

As some of the participants made their way home, others stayed to listen to the gentle sound of the flute, to visit the flock of llamas in a neighbour’s field, to sit around the campfire and to enjoy an impromptu supper under the marquee. The discussions continued until late in the evening, and I had a hugely uplifting feeling about the positive prospects for all of us doing this work. The day generated excitement and a magical afterglow. This was a big YES! – We can meet with our different passions, ideas and experiences and have a great time honouring each other. The feedback from participants that I talked to was unanimous. They all felt that the atmosphere of warm acceptance and open-heartedness was a fantastic way for professionals to gather and share their concerns, questions, hopes and ambitions. Judy and all those who assisted her are to be commended for their whole-hearted efforts in the creation of such a memorable and worthwhile occasion.

We are all looking forward to December 17th when Judy Worsley will be hosting another day, "Christmas with JR", this time with mince pies!

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