About Eric

I’m Eric Grey, an acupuncturist, classical Chinese herbalist, writer, and longtime student of Zen based in Astoria, Oregon—where the Youngs & Columbia Rivers come together with the mighty Pacific Ocean.

For the last 15 years, I’ve worked at the crossroads of ancient medicine, real-world practice, and the quiet (but relentless) question of how to live well. I co-founded Watershed Wellness with my partner Amanda Barp in 2009. What started as a small practice in Portland has since become a thriving integrative clinic on Oregon’s North Coast, where we serve many hundreds of people each month in a building on a Pier surrounded by the Columbia River.

I studied Classical Chinese Medicine at National University of Natural Medicine, where I later joined the faculty to teach herbalism, medical philosophy, and clinical reasoning. Over the years, I’ve also taught workshops, created online courses, and mentored students and practitioners looking to ground their work in something deeper than marketing tips and hustle culture.

I’m driven by a lifelong curiosity about systems—biological, philosophical, social—and by a desire to understand how we can live and work with integrity inside them. That inquiry has led me through many disciplines: from Zen to business planning, from classical texts to software like The Brain, from deep ecology to the practical realities of running a clinic in a country that often seems hostile to deep flourishing.

I’m also currently in the early stages of learning Japanese, with the long-term goal of developing full fluency. I hope to one day attend Zen services and Meridian Therapy lectures in Japan without a translator—and more deeply inhabit the cultural and linguistic worlds that have shaped so much of my path.

Language has never come easily to me, and this project has required deep persistence and rethinking how I learn. Along the way, I’ve found tools, stories, and moments of insight worth sharing. If you’re also studying Japanese—or thinking about it—you’ll find resources and reflections woven throughout this site.

These days, I spend more time writing than teaching, and more time thinking about legacy, land, and lineage than about levels of growth. I’ve returned to public writing because the questions feel urgent again—and maybe they always were. How do we heal when the world is unraveling? What does a sustainable practice look like—medically, personally, ethically? How do we stay upright and whole?

I write for:

Natural medicine providers who want to go deeper
Students and teachers of East Asian medicine
Zen practitioners exploring what embodied practice can look like
People building meaningful businesses in a chaotic world
Japanese language learners, especially those exploring Zen or traditional Japanese medicine
Anyone who suspects that care, clarity, and context still matter
Nerds of all shapes and stripes

You won’t find me on social media, but you can read my Field Notes hosted via Microblog. It's a similar format to most social media sites, but without the corporate control and algorithmic stressors.

I live with my wife Amanda and our three cats (Nimbus, Dudley, and Spruce) in home surrounded by a burgeoning rhododendron forest. I drink a lot of tea, tend herbs in the backyard, and try to remember that this life—this one right here—is enlightenment.