Month: April 2012

Earth Element and its Role in Acceptance

Facing DifficultiesWe can not receive nourishment without acceptance of our task at hand. Partaking with some sense of openness, we may transform our duty into something of personal, or even greater, value. This ability to transform is a central focus of the earth element in oriental medicine. Sometimes the foreign experience we must digest does not resemble something conferring nourishment, but rather a pile of something indigestible; something difficult and unwanted that we are faced with. The spirit of sharing sympathetic kindness, an emotional attribute of the earth element, can be very helpful to one in the process of facing a daunting experience, both to offer as well as to receive.

The sweetness of sympathetic kindness can serve to remind us of what our transformation is ultimately for, so that we have a little more ‘stomach’ to digest and make good from the challenge that has been presented to us.

Well-Wishes to You

Posted by Wendy in analytical

The Pivotal Role of Emotions

How All Disease Is a Matter of Heart-Spirit, According to Classical Chinese Medicine 

The defining classics of Chinese medicine establish that it is the invisible forces of Shen [Heart-Spirit] and Qi [vital energy] that rule matter. While western medicine is rooted in the modern science of matter analysis, modern and ancient physicians of classical oriental medicine view nature, energy, and consciousness in the relationship of matter..

“Heaven comes first,” states the Ling Shu, “Earth is second.” Or in the more elaborate words of Liu Zhou, a 6th century philosopher: “If the Spirit is at peace, the Heart is in harmony; when the Heart is in harmony, the body is whole. If the Spirit becomes aggravated the Heart wavers, and when the Heart wavers the body becomes injured. If one seeks to heal the physical body, one must therefore first regulate the Spirit.”

Chinese medicine asserts that discovering well-being comes from appreciating the real goodness inherent in very simple experiences, pivotal to emotional wellbeing.

Posted by Wendy in analytical