Hoping for advice

Hi guys, pleased to be a member.

I signed up hoping that some of the people here could give me some advice about something, but first, I'll briefly introduce myself:

I'm a happily married man, a writer by profession. I'm a longtime practitioner of Chinese martial arts (I have a 7th duan black in Paochui [cannon fist] hence the name) and Qi Gong (about 20 years). I've been involved in various areas of the western mystery tradition (Hermeticism, Thelema, Chaos magick, Paganism etc.) for about the same amount of time. I'm also an initiated adept of the Nath Sampradaya (a Hindu tantric sect).

My academic background is in philosophy and the study of religions, and recently I've been contemplating doing a PhD in alternative medicine (my focus would be on alternative energy systems accross the east and west).

I'm planning to enroll for the PhD with the Indian Board of Alternative Medicine (I can't post a link, but if you google it, it should come up). They look pretty credible to me. As far as I can tell they're legally operating and accredited by India's accreditation authority (UGC) and they seem to have some pretty credible alumni.

Does anyone know what the place is like though? I have heard a mixture of things online, and don't want to waste time and money on a diploma mill.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, and glad to be here :-)

Cannonfist.

[knightofalbion]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

[Clover]

Hi Dr. Cann,

I am going to move your thread to the general health section so you can get a better chance at replies to your question.

Welcome to the forum

[Adrienne]

Welcome to the forum Dr. Canonfist,

I would be a little hesitant with going with an online PHD course, accredited in India. The whole idea sounds a bit leary to me . Just because they are accredited in India, does this mean that this is accepted worldwide ? Of course, I am speaking in the dark as I have no idea where you are located, and you don't have to say.

I would look into something else, if it were me .....

Best wishes to you

Adrienne

Thanks for the welcome Knightofalbion, and cheers for moving this thread to a more suitable place BlueClover.

Adrienne, thanks for the reply. I doubt it would be accepted world wide, but not many qualifications are without independent verification. As to where I am, I live in the Channel Islands, a tiny little place of the coast of France, in the English Channel.

My reason for approaching them is that they seem to have some quite respectable people listed as alumni (Arun Shridhar Apte, the celebrated sahaja musician; Dr Tsundu Sengye Nyinda; Sufi scholar Fida Hassnain; and Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, the chairman of the Central Council of Tibetan Medicine in Dharamsala, for example).

I have contacted a few alumni to get a handle on what they thought of the institute. So far, only Dr Anthony James (head of the SomaVeda college of natural medicine and lineage holder of the Buddhai Sawan tradition, amongst other things) has replied. He basically said that he went there 16 years ago and that it was a positive experience, but he cautioned me that if I wanted to get licensure as an acupuncturist in America it might not qualify me under current legislation (as I'm neither in America nor hoping to be an acupuncturist, this is not a big concern for me).

As I hear more and continue to research, I'll post what I find in this thread in case anyone else out there has similar concerns.

Thanks again everyone.