I’d like to de-mystify pulse listening today. As beginners, we are all intimidated by the subjectivity of pulse listening. One person hears loud indication in one finger, another practitioner notices lack of pulsation in other fingers. Add the Lines, Textures, Organ Functions, and Depths, and things appear quite complicated. There is also no easy way for the JSJ instructors to transfer their ability and skills to their students – the pulses change from moment to moment and person to person. So, what are we to do?

Don’t give up on pulse listening just yet! I’d say, just listen to the pulses before and after a JSJ application and pay attention to how they change. In my experience, it is not that important whether it is this finger or that; or whether you hear the texture or not. The most important aspect of the pulses is actually one that is easily mastered. When you become acquainted with your pulses, then you will have a natural sense of what is harmony and what is not.

Take for example this story. When my son started pre-school, he would get sick with flus and colds frequently. I was exasperated. I asked the teachers on numerous occasions to enforce personal hygiene and hand-washing. But those were the times before the Covid-19 Pandemic, and the common wisdom was that he was building immunity. So, there wasn’t much to do but to give him JSJ treatments in hope to help him get through.

I remember, I always listened to his pulses before and after but no flow seemed to be able to harmonize them completely. One pattern that emerged from all the pulse-listening, however, was that there was always a very strong pulsation in the index fingers – both in the superficial and deep levels. A time came that I was able to check whether he had yet another school bug by simply listening for that pattern. If I heard loud indication in the index fingers – it was again a flu or cold. If the pattern appeared different, however, I knew it wasn’t a bug – perhaps an allergy, or exhaustion, or one of those mysterious quick discomforts of childhood.

And here is a more recent story. Last night my husband was not feeling well so I offered to give him a JSJ session. The pulses before were quiet in the superficial and somewhat unsettled in the left middle finger in the deep level. After I used the Mediator flow, all pulses appeared harmonious – rhythmic, silky-quiet, and in sync. I was happy and told my husband that everything was ok. He responded, somewhat apologetically, that he was still unwell. You see, he likes receiving JSJ, and he’s felt well so many times because of that, so he didn’t wish to appear ungrateful. 🙂 But then, today, he told me that fifteen minutes after we had finished, his symptoms did disappear just as I had “predicted.” So, the pulses were right, after all!

Here is a challenge for you, my dear readers! How well do you know your own pulses? Do you know how they feel when you are happy? When you are under the weather? Or sad? What stops you from exploring them? Keep a journal and see if you can find your own patterns. There are discoveries waiting for you out there!

P.S. If you are unsure how to listen to your pulses, I have a picture and some explanations on the Pulses page. I know, I know – it’s hard to learn from a picture and text – so I am really hoping that most of you have already taken one 5-Day class and have learned the basics. If not, send me an email with your questions.

If you wish to see what more patterns I have discovered on my own, check out the Puzzles Page. The puzzles there emerged from a quest to find one flow that harmonized what I felt in the pulses. Also, check out how the pulses feel according to a JSJ student who recreated their rhythm and sound on his drums.