About

Hello, I am Shinta Amelia, B.Med. I studied Traditional Chinese Medicine and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

I have suffered from various illnesses since childhood. My body has always been weaker than most. While ordinary people are not particularly prone to illness, even a slight infection can make me sick immediately. And once I fall ill, it becomes incredibly difficult to recover. I can have the flu for months, whereas others only have it for a few days before recovering. My body also seems to be prone to more serious conditions. Before I turned twenty, I had undergone three surgeries. But perhaps the most serious of all was my eye condition.

I have a pair of eyes that even the medical world struggles to explain. Some doctors diagnose one thing, some another. I simply go with the one that sounds best to me—a condition that, according to my doctor, will not worsen with age but also will not improve. I choose to believe this, because the other diagnoses predict my eyes will inevitably deteriorate, and if they are right, I could lose my sight. Surely, it’s better to believe in the good than to dwell on the bad, right?

This condition severely limits me. There are many activities normal people can do that I cannot. I can actually do everything well—but with limited vision. That is why I ultimately couldn’t pursue a career in medicine, even though I was considered capable. It wasn’t that I lacked intellectual ability; it was that I faced physical limitations. When I was a child, my dream was to become an ophthalmologist. The goal? To heal my own eyes.

This situation, besides limiting me, also brought many painful experiences from unkind people—discrimination, insults, rejection, even bullying. I was pushed into a harsh world—a world filled with negativity—forcing me to defend myself from constant attacks.

But of course, not everyone is like that. There are many unkind people, but there are also many kind ones. I want to believe that life is not only filled with hardship, but also with beauty and goodness. There are kind people whose compassion can move me to tears. Their kindness dispels the pain caused by cruelty. And I have also received many good things.

I ranked first in both elementary and middle school, consecutively, out of 200 students. I also won a sub-district science competition in middle school. In college, I received several awards, including Outstanding Student (Academic Years 2006–2007 and 2007–2008), Winner of the Chinese Scholarship Council (2008–2009), Winner of the Sanjiu Pharmaceutical Scholarship (2009–2010), and wrote three articles published in Tianjin Metro Express newspaper—two of which received Second Place (2007) and Runner-up (2008) awards. I also authored a scientific paper published in the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Journal, Volume 30 Supplement, September 2011, titled 中医药在印度尼西亚的发展情况 (“The Progress of Chinese Medicine in Indonesia”). I have also worked as a lecturer and trainer of Chinese Medicine at several accredited institutions and a leading pharmaceutical company. In addition, I am a member of the Chinese Medicine Competency Certification Institute, a drafting member of the Indonesian National Qualifications Framework (KKNI) for the Department of “Sinshe” (Chinese Medicine), and have been certified as a Sinshe Competency Test Examiner. And, for more than a decade, my work in healing and education has allowed me to guide and support thousands of patients and students, each one bringing a one-of-a-kind story and journey.

The main reason I wanted to study health science was because I wanted to heal myself—yes, I must be honest for this. Some pursue this career to achieve noble dream, some are for having good career and high salary. But, I chose this path, because I was tired of my circumstances. Why must I have a body like this? Why must I endure so much mistreatment from others because of my physical condition? I also pursued Master’s studies in Neurology of Chinese Medicine and Psychology, but due to my heavy workload, I was forced to discontinue. My physical limitations restricted me in many areas. There are many fields of study I wish to explore, but my physical condition has prevented me from doing so.

However, perhaps my greatest accomplishment—the one I am truly proud of—is that I have managed to improve my health.

Yes! After all, Traditional Chinese Medicine is a medical science. Although it is traditional, it is still medicine. This field is highly demanding, requiring dedication, integrity, determination, and mental fortitude to study and practice correctly. Even long after graduation, we are required to stay humble and continue learning. Yet I managed to overcome it all—and beyond the awards, achievements, and a successful career, I gained something even more valuable: I made my body friendlier to me.

If I used to be weak and easily fall ill, now I have greater stamina—and even when I do get sick, I recover quickly.

I have managed to improve many of the physical conditions I once suffered from.

And I have even improved my eyesight! While not completely cured, my vision has become much better. Furthermore, with the help of technology, people no longer see me as “super weird,” as they often did when I was younger.

Of course, I feel deeply grateful that I can now use this knowledge to help heal others, as well as to teach and train.

Spiritually, there is a saying about situations like mine: “If you have many serious illnesses but can overcome them, it means you have ‘Something’.” However, because my mindset tends to be rational, logical, and critical, my first instinct is to immediately question that.

So, I don’t soon blindly follow and believe the idea, but I don’t immediately reject it, either — I question it.

Everything I’ve been through has made me question many things. Some cultures encourage curiosity, while others see the habit of asking too many questions as defiant or rebellious. Yet all my experiences naturally led me to ask questions—even when I wanted to simply accept things and follow all of it quietly.

My motivation for asking is not to resist or rebel, but to dig deeper—to uncover what lies beneath the surface:
What is truly happening?

So, I questioned this all; my situation, my experience, my body—everything. And the more I questioned, the deeper I dug and the more I discovered—but at the same time, it also leads me to even more questions. I felt compelled to keep exploring, searching, and connecting the dots—and eventually, I realized that everything is interconnected.

This is where my motivation to pursue the field of Symbolic Holistic Mirror began.

Through my own experiences—interactions with patients, students, institutions, and even with difficult people—I have continued to gain insight in this field. Indeed, I have developed a deep interest in many areas of knowledge because of all these experiences. Somehow, I feel like I live in a “liminal” space—not entirely A, not entirely B. People say my life has been difficult, yet I have received many blessings. People say my life is bright, yet I have experienced much darkness. There are still many dark chapters I could share, but they would be too long for this page, so I don’t do that.

I have studied not only Sinology and Chinese Medicine, I also explore Western medicine, STEM, psychology, philosophy, culture, business and management, social sciences, humanities, art, technology, and more. I am also deeply interested in spirituality and metaphysics—Chinese, Western, and global metaphysics alike.

I believe I am rational, logical, and critical. Yet I also believe I am intuitive, sensitive, and deeply attuned to feelings and emotions.

All these experiences have further strengthened my “liminal” nature.

Because of my life, I love asking questions; because I love asking questions, I have been drawn to pursue knowledge; and because of that, I have devoted myself to developing this field.

This, perhaps, is the path life has chosen for me.

I hope I can continue to do well in this field—and that through it, I can bring goodness to this world.

To all of you.