Podcast thumbnail for A Pebble in the Cosmic Pond

A Pebble in the Cosmic Pond

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by Sabine Wilms PhD

4.9(30 reviews)
53 episodes
Updated Monthly
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Podcast Overview

Tune in every New Moon for inspiring, joyful, and informative conversations with Sabine Wilms and Leo Lok on transforming ourselves, our communities, and the world, in the spirit of traditional Chinese medicine, spirituality, and philosophy. Separating fact from fiction, we aim to bring you medicine from China's distant past, translated here to meet YOUR needs today, in your personal practice, in your community, and in the clinic. Sabine Wilms, PhD, is a medical historian, recovering university professor, and author and translator of more than a dozen books on the Chinese healing arts, from gynecology and pediatrics to medical ethics and materia medica, published by Happy Goat Productions. In addition to writing, she runs the only advanced 2-year classical Chinese training program for practitioners of Chinese medicine and contributes insights from her checkered past as a biodynamic goat farmer and musician, all under the banner of her favorite phrase, “cosmic resonance,” a.k.a. the Chinese ideal of harmony between the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. Leo Lok, our "purveyor of multiple perspectives," is a practitioner and independent scholar of Chinese Medicine. A native speaker/reader of Chinese languages, Leo is one of the rare clinician-scholars in the world who excels in researching and translating ancient Chinese medical literature into the English language. Together, we offer courses on the Chinese healing arts and run the "Frolicking Fish Community" to provide deep, sustained engagement with our work and play. In a lovingly curated themed collection, we present you each month with the introductory "moongate," original translations, creative expressions, and audio and video recordings on the Chinese healing arts, culture and history, food and art, philosophy and religion, Qi cultivation, and more. In addition, the community forum offers connection, education, and inspiration. We both love to inspire people and spread around some healing and loving vibrations. Here are our three main goals: 1. Bridge-building: We gather to explore the liminal sweet spot, in between Heaven and Earth, the distant past and the present moment, East and West, the clinic and the academy, the healer and the scholar, the discernible and the unfathomable, oral lineage and written text, and, ultimately, Yin and Yang. 2. Collaboration: The treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine is bigger than any single person's expertise, no matter how vast. We actively pursue and embrace a diversity of opinions so that we can collectively deepen our understanding. We always aim to approach our disagreements with curiosity and mutual respect, instead of defensiveness. 3. Authentic Transmission: Translation, from the past to the present, from Chinese to English, from texts to clinical application, etc., invariably involves an alteration and adaptation of the original message. How do we stay true to the wisdom and spirit of the ancient Chinese texts while still making sense to our modern English-speaking listeners? We invite you to consider the creative challenges of this task with us. In addition to subscribing to this podcast, we invite you to sign up for our newsletter (at Happygoatproductions.com/connect), where we share resources like free articles, announcements of new courses or publications, updates on our work and life, little glimpses of love and joy and beauty, and occasionally Sabine's poetry and farm pictures.

Language

🇺🇲

Publishing Since

4/20/2023

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26

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Recent Episodes

Episode thumbnail for When water doesn’t cut It… and… what’s with the coconut?

July 14, 2026

When water doesn’t cut It… and… what’s with the coconut?

<p>In light of the many unprecedented heatwaves striking the northern hemisphere in this year of a super El Niño summer, this episode of The Pebble in the Cosmic Pond is dedicated to summer-heat, and to the human physical, cultural, culinary, and medical responses to it. Using Sabine’s continued experiences in Vietnam as our starting point, we consider heat as a factor both internal and external, physiological and pathological, macrocosmic and microcosmic, and we look at the therapeutic role of fluids, and water in particular. Here are some questions we address:</p><ul><li>How do we know whether sweating is too little, just right and healthy, or too much? What are the key diagnostic signs for a differential diagnosis?</li><li>When and how do we stop or prevent, or conversely initiate and promote sweating?</li><li>What are the benefits and dangers, possibilities and limitations, of the most common popular practice of replenishing fluids and cooling the body by drinking cold water?</li><li>What can we use instead of water to replace fluids lost through sweating? To consider just two traditional Vietnamese options, what is the different physiological effect of consuming cold sweet and sour fruit drinks versus light clear warm or hot soups?</li><li>When, how, and why can we use watermelon, mango, citrus, and passionfruit, or even a Gin and Tonic?</li><li>For our professional Chinese medicine listeners, what are the indications and contraindications and key diagnostic signs for the traditional Chinese treatment goal of lì shuǐ 利水 “disinhibit water,” beyond promoting urination to eliminate internal heat?</li><li>Last but definitely not least, what’s with the coconut?</li></ul><br/><p>As always, consider signing up for the Golden Koi School to dive deeper.</p>

Episode thumbnail for Hot-Cold Calibration for the Apex of Summer

June 15, 2026

Hot-Cold Calibration for the Apex of Summer

<p>This month's conversation is inspired by Sabine' experience of managing a heat wave in Vietnam with more or less successful adaptive skills, to put it diplomatically. In order to prevent overheating, or overcooling for that matter, and to benefit from adaptations like air conditioning, protective clothing, iced fruit juices, or hot soups, the key is, as always, calibration on the basis of discernment. </p><ul><li>But what does that look like in the context of running errands in a heat wave in June in Hoi An, Vietnam? </li><li>What is the pivoting point between healthy, normal sweating and uncontrolled outpouring of precious jin fluids that rob the body of a necessary resource? </li><li>How do we know whether, when, and how external heat or cold are beneficial or damaging to a specific body at a specific time and place? </li><li>When and how can we harness the healing power of the sun's Yang Qi, yet avoid its life-threatening intense heat and radiation? </li><li>When we are exposed to excessive external heat, do we consume hot or cold drinks to restore the body's equilibrium? </li><li>How can we gently support an older and somewhat depleted European body used to the cold climate of the Pacific Northwest as it struggles to adapt to the high heat and humidity of a Vietnamese summer? </li><li>How does the individual human body's microcosm interact with the macrocosm of both Heaven (the sun in particular this month) and Earth (the geography and climate in our immediate external environment)?</li><li>Always my favorite question, what can we learn from the locals?</li><li>And my least favorite but essential inquiry, where do we just have to realistically accept the limits of adaptation and hide in an air conditioned room? </li><li>Last but not least, one question that we actually do answer in this podcast: What's Leo's single most effective trick to quickly yet gently replenish fluids depleted by excessive sweating?</li></ul><br/><p>As our listeners will be able to tell, we definitely have more questions than answers this month. If you are intrigued by this conversation and want to help us try and disentangle some of the many loose ends, we would love to have you join our "Golden Koi School." There we offer a historical case of heat damage treated with ice cream, watermelon, and shigao (gypsum),;discuss replenishing soups in more detail; dive deeply into fluid physiology by differentiating between jīn 津 (thin, superficial, quick-moving Yin fluids) and yè 液 (thick, deeper, slow-moving Yang fluids); translate the original source for Ding Zhi Wan (Will-Settling Pill), and so much more.</p>

Episode thumbnail for Three Friends Springrolls: Sustainable Agriculture that Harmonizes Heaven and Earth

May 17, 2026

Three Friends Springrolls: Sustainable Agriculture that Harmonizes Heaven and Earth

<p>In today's episode, which actually was recorded with both of us on the same continent, and even in the same area, near Danang, Vietnam, we consider ancient agricultural traditions. In the spirit of our new season, this is again more of a travelogue than a nerdy Chinese medicine podcast. Let us know how you like this direction for our podcast.</p><p>After a quick stop in the Swiss Alps, we explore specifically the sustainable organic farming practices that have been celebrated for centuries in the vegetable island of Tra Que near the ancient Vietnamese port city of Hoi An. From crop rotation to fertilizing with seaweed and buffalo "poo" (as my local guide called it), raising fish in the watering ponds, and extensive shading with palm fronds or loofah trellises, the fecundity of the place really impressed us. For Sabine in particular, the skill and expertise in tending the ubiquitous flower and vegetable gardens just made me so happy and truly showed the value of an unbroken farming tradition. It also gives us hope for the future of humanity that there are places all over the world where humans have lived and, more importantly, CONTINUE to live in a way that does not destroy our natural environment but treasures and shapes it sustainably. We have so much to learn from such places and cultures!</p><p>So what's the story of the Three Friends Springroll that Sabine learned to make in her cooking class? Well, you'll have to listen to the podcast to find out (:</p><p>And if you want to learn how to make rice pancakes and hear more about our travel adventures, Vietnamese cinnamon, and the benefits, dangers, and treatments for overconsumption of raw fruits, why don't you check out our new Frolicking Fish Community? There we offer a monthly selection of educational, inspiring, and joyful videos, translations, and discussions for the Chinese medicine community and beyond...</p>

53 total episodes available

Recent guests on A Pebble in the Cosmic Pond

Guests from recent episodes — sign up to see every guest that has ever appeared on this show.

Sabine

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Leo Lok

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Jack Schaefer

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Cynthia Li MD

Guest

Cara Conroy-Lau

Guest

Kris González

Guest

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What is A Pebble in the Cosmic Pond?

Tune in every New Moon for inspiring, joyful, and informative conversations with Sabine Wilms and Leo Lok on transforming ourselves, our communities, and the world, in the spirit of traditional Chinese medicine, spirituality, and philosophy. Separating fact from fiction, we aim to bring you medicine from China's distant past, translated here to meet YOUR needs today, in your personal practice, in your community, and in the clinic.

Sabine Wilms, PhD, is a medical historian, recovering university professor, and author and translator of more than a dozen books on the Chinese healing arts, from gynecology and pediatrics to medical ethics and materia medica, published by Happy Goat Productions. In addition to writing, she runs the only advanced 2-year classical Chinese training program for practitioners of Chinese medicine and contributes insights from her checkered past as a biodynamic goat farmer and musician, all under the banner of her favorite phrase, “cosmic resonance,” a.k.a. the Chinese ideal of harmony between the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. Leo Lok, our "purveyor of multiple perspectives," is a practitioner and independent scholar of Chinese Medicine. A native speaker/reader of Chinese languages, Leo is one of the rare clinician-scholars in the world who excels in researching and translating ancient Chinese medical literature into the English language.

Together, we offer courses on the Chinese healing arts and run the "Frolicking Fish Community" to provide deep, sustained engagement with our work and play. In a lovingly curated themed collection, we present you each month with the introductory "moongate," original translations, creative expressions, and audio and video recordings on the Chinese healing arts, culture and history, food and art, philosophy and religion, Qi cultivation, and more. In addition, the community forum offers connection, education, and inspiration.

We both love to inspire people and spread around some healing and loving vibrations. Here are our three main goals:

  1. Bridge-building: We gather to explore the liminal sweet spot, in between Heaven and Earth, the distant past and the present moment, East and West, the clinic and the academy, the healer and the scholar, the discernible and the unfathomable, oral lineage and written text, and, ultimately, Yin and Yang.
  2. Collaboration: The treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine is bigger than any single person's expertise, no matter how vast. We actively pursue and embrace a diversity of opinions so that we can collectively deepen our understanding. We always aim to approach our disagreements with curiosity and mutual respect, instead of defensiveness.
  3. Authentic Transmission: Translation, from the past to the present, from Chinese to English, from texts to clinical application, etc., invariably involves an alteration and adaptation of the original message. How do we stay true to the wisdom and spirit of the ancient Chinese texts while still making sense to our modern English-speaking listeners? We invite you to consider the creative challenges of this task with us.

In addition to subscribing to this podcast, we invite you to sign up for our newsletter (at Happygoatproductions.com/connect), where we share resources like free articles, announcements of new courses or publications, updates on our work and life, little glimpses of love and joy and beauty, and occasionally Sabine's poetry and farm pictures.

How often does this podcast release new episodes?

This podcast updates monthly.

Where can I listen to this podcast?

This podcast is available on 9 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.

Does this podcast accept guests?

Information about guest appearances is not available.

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