1 Guide to the 5 Elements

Transcription

1 Guide to the 5 Elements Class 1 - Overview and Wood Cindy Black, L.Ac, LMT Founder, Big Tree School of Natural Healing 1 Guide to the 5 Elements

2 Guide to the 5 Elements - Class 1 What we ll cover in this class: Self-Cultivation Beginner s Mind The Five Elements and Chinese Medicine Yin and Yang The Origin of the Five Elements From One, to Two, to Five The Generating Cycle Forming Relationships with the Elements Yin and Yang in the Human Body The Energy of Wood Physical, Mental, Emotional Wood Summary Wood at Work in Everyday Life Self-Cultivation There s a lot more to Chinese Medicine than just acupuncture and herbs. It s a multi-layered and multi-faceted healing modality, which includes practices like self-care, lifestyle, meditation, exercise and movement, nutrition, massage, and more. All of these things operate under the same theory of healing, so you can really focus on any one of them and create powerful energy shifts within your life. Whichever angle you take, self-cultivation plays a big role in Chinese Medicine. It also opens you up to the healing power of the Five Elements. Self-cultivation is the practice of working with yourself to become more balanced. Even though we can go to a practitioner, they can only do so much for us. They might work with us for an hour or two, but then we re back out in the world on our own. Without self-cultivation, we run the risk of falling back into the old patterns that led to imbalances which landed us with a practitioner in the first place. Self-cultivation helps us slow down our habitual reactions, and then we can become more self-aware. We become very compassionate with ourselves. As this happens, we find greater understanding of the Five Elements within ourselves and all around us; we see them at work in the world, in others, and in nature. The more we can open ourselves to the influence of the Five Elements, the more receptive we are to their wisdom. There have been times when I ve turned to the Five Elements and received powerful intuitions you could also call them messages, ideas, or just infusions of energy. So the practice of self-cultivation and opening to the Five Elements, helps us to learn to balance our own energy so that we have better health and in turn become better practitioners. 1 Guide to the 5 Elements

3 Beginner s Mind Suzuki Roshi s book, Zen Mind, Beginner s Mind, is one that never gets old for me. Even opening the pages puts me in a state of receptive learning, so I can get something new from it each time. Roshi points out that in the beginner s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert s mind, there are few. I wanted to bring this up as we begin class together because a lot of us have been practicing in this area for a long time. We feel that we know our stuff. That s great... but if we think we have it all figured out, then sometimes we stop learning. We close off to what we think of as old information Yeah, yeah, I ve got this. Who needs to talk to a pine tree one more time? With a beginner s mind, we can be open to learning from things that aren t so obvious things like pine trees, rocks, or water. A beginner s mind also helps us deal with confusion. When we approach something like a beginner, we re learning new material. It means we re figuring things out, and in that process there s usually a stage called confusion. If we can be compassionate with our confusion, then we can be more open to learning in new ways. So, while remembering the benefits of a beginner s mind, let s look at the Five Elements. 2 Guide to the 5 Elements

4 The Five Elements The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine are: Fire Earth Metal Water Wood Each element is associated with a particular season. You re probably saying, Wait a minute there are only four seasons! You re right. Even the Yellow Emperor Classic of Medicine recognizes four seasons. However, there s also a concept of five seasons. Here s how it goes: We live on Earth, so as the seasons move around us, the Earth is at the center. At some point in Chinese Medicine history, somebody stuck Earth in between summer and fall, making a late summer. Fire Earth Metal Water Wood Summer Late Summer Fall Winter Spring I m from Upstate New York, and I think of late summer as those long humid days that make you feel as though fall is coming, but summer is still hanging on; it really is this transitional, in-between stage, which we find that present in everything. For example, it s present between one paragraph and the next. See, we just experienced late summer. You knew the last paragraph was coming to a close you could see where the lines ended on the page but this paragraph hadn t started yet. That s late summer, and that s Earth. We ll get more into this next week, but for now you have a foundation of understanding. 3 Guide to the 5 Elements

5 Yin and Yang The Origin of the Five Elements When you look at a Yin Yang symbol, one side is white and the other is black, but both have a small circle of the opposite color contained within them. This symbolizes that nothing is purely Yang and nothing is purely Yin. These opposite energies always contain one another; they are always dancing with each other and even flowing into one another becoming one another. We find this principle present in all of life... even in Einstein s famous equation E=MC2. This equation means that energy equals matter multiplied by the speed of light. If matter is Yin and light is Yang, then we put them together and get energy the basis of all existence. It s easy to brush aside the Yin-Yang symbol and say you understand it, but I encourage you to have a beginner s mind about this. Let yourself take the time to ponder it deeply and experience it in new ways. It really is quite amazing. Let s talk about this all existence that I mentioned in the Einstein parallel the whole that gave rise to the two opposites. That s where Yin and Yang come from. The whole is symbolized by the entire circle that contains both of them. So, the One gives rise to the Two. But what is the One? Nothing, really... but it s also everything! In this philosophy, it s known as Wu Ji, which means real emptiness. It means there is no polarity, and no differentiation between anything. Negative and positive are one; back and forth are one; it s a state where everything exists but nothing has manifested yet. So, out of the Wu Ji (the One) comes the Two (Yin and Yang). This event has different names but is often called the trigger, and the result is the first polarity of opposites. Now we have day and night, black and white, left and right, up and down, etc. It also means we have right and wrong. It can be tempting to get caught up in this duality to see the world in terms of black and white. However, part of the practice is not getting caught up in those judgments because one polarity always flows into another. We can chase down right and wrong all we want, but one is always going to become the other. Energetic medicine focuses on the energy behind the manifestations. It tells us we can run around in circles chasing manifestation all we like... but what we re running away from will just pop up in another form. Rather than wasting so much time and energy, we can get to the root of the issue by shifting energetic patterns. That s what self-care and self-cultivation are about. 4 Guide to the 5 Elements

6 From One, to Two, to Five From the One, we get Two. From Two, we separate further into Five. Basically, all of the Five Elements are different combinations of Yin and Yang. Our resources have just increased. Now instead of just day and night, we have times like morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and midnight. Instead of one or two choices in our lives, we can step back, get some insight, and realize we have many options. Yin and Yang are the mother of ten thousand things, and all of these things can be associated with the Five Elements. It can get very overwhelming trying to sort out which Element is associated with what and which category something goes into within your healing practice. Everything is interconnected, and it s not always easy to separate and sort out. Some people have to just go back to Yin and Yang and it makes things simpler. Others have an easier time understanding things through the lens of the Five Elements. Whatever works for you is okay. The Generating Cycle This is the idea that each element generates or gives rise to another element. It s also called the Creation Cycle or the Mother and Child Cycle. Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, and then we re back at the beginning; it s a cycle. A very literal example of how Water generates Wood is how when we give a plant Water, it grows. When we add Wood to a Fire, more flames are generated. It also works for the five seasons. We could say that winter generates spring or that spring is the child of winter. We can also see the cycle at work in the non-physical realms, like our emotions and ideas. We are not going to get much deeper into the Generation Cycle, but this is a good introduction. You might want to keep it in mind as you read and go about your week. 5 Guide to the 5 Elements

7 Forming Relationships with the Elements Forming direct relationships with the Five Elements usually involves interacting with them in some way, whether that s looking at pictures, working in your garden, wearing metal jewelry, or just running your fingers through a bowl of fresh water. Take some time to sit with the elements, experience them, and compare them to one another. Listen within for any direction of movement in your body or in the Earth. You may be surprised at what comes up in your body, thoughts, and emotions. Feel free to write all of that stuff down. We can connect with the elements by considering them in the context of Yin and Yang. Yin is associated with night and Cool, while Yang is daytime and Fire. As the seasons move from winter to summer, we move from Yin to Yang. Wood falls in the beginning of the Yang cycle spring. We can also break anything down through the lens of the Five Elements. We could view a whole day through the Five Elements. From midnight to noon, things get brighter; and from noon to midnight, they get darker. I encourage you to get up before sunrise. (Just try it!) You will get a direct experience of Wood as the sun rises, and feel all the changes that happen. Try sensing the element at different times throughout the day. Are there certain times of day that you can t stand or some you just love? What are the elements associated with those times? Yin and Yang in the Human Body For every element, there are two Organs one Yin and one Yang. Chinese Medicine considers the human body as a microcosm of the universe, so we have everything all the elements, Yin and Yang, and all the energies present within ourselves. Physically, this means we contain all the elements. For Wood, the Organs are the Liver (Yin) and Gallbladder (Yang). Yin Organs are generally considered more vital than Yang Organs. This doesn t mean you want to try to live without your Yang Organs! It just means that in terms of transforming energy, the Yin Organs are more dominant. In Chinese Medicine, we capitalize the Organs, because we re not talking about a single mass of tissue we re talking about a whole set of ideas. So when I say Liver, it also refers to Wood, spring, warming up, and morning. Try to feel your Liver in different ways, focusing on the Organ s location in your body without getting too focused on the tissues themselves, to gain access to the Organ s wisdom. 6 Guide to the 5 Elements

8 Let s talk about the network of Wood in the human body. The Liver and Gallbladder are the central points for Wood, but it also branches through the body with the ligaments and tendons. It s also associated with the eyes (every element is associated with one of our senses), and if you could taste Wood, it would be sour. You may be thinking, Sour? Wood would not taste sour! But remember it s associated with springtime, when plants are tender, green, and growth is unripe. Plenty of fruits taste tart or sour if you eat them before they re ripe. The energy of Wood moves through your body in a sprouting way. It begins deeply within your body, and moves up through your shoulders, neck, and head, while simultaneously out through your skin. The Energy of Wood Physical, Mental, Emotional Imagine a little plant pushing its way up through the asphalt. How is that energy that persevering, assertive energy reflected in human thought and behavior? On one hand, we see a tenacious little plant like this and we feel inspired to work hard, to not give up, to push forward; but there s also a kind of aggression there. That plant didn t care what was in its way; it forced itself up in an almost angry, defiant way. So that s the negative side of the Wood energy. We have dedication that keeps us growing and pushing onward, but the emotions of anger and aggression also have a very outward, strong, shoving energy. We can see the same kind of energy in people. For example, someone trying to make a big impression at the office might make us step back and say: Oh, look how assertive she is. She s really going to get things done. Or we might say: She seems so unhappy and aggressive. Whether you take one point of view or the other probably depends on your relationship to her. As practitioners, we don t have to view this energy in either the positive or negative light. We don t have to associate with the dualism. We can step back and just notice the Wood energy popping out and making itself known. Wood also helps ensure Qi flows smoothly throughout the body. Imagine a traffic cop at an intersection, making sure that every car gets a chance to go, no streets get backed up, and that traffic flows smoothly. That s similar to the way Wood guides Qi in your body. Another way to think about the Liver and Wood, and the way they affect energy in the body, is to imagine a hot stuffy room with closed windows. We could say the Qi is stagnant there. However, if we turn on the ceiling fan, it gets the air moving. Then the room feels a little better. We don t want the fan going too quickly that s uncomfortable too but at the right speed, the energy is moving perfectly. That kind of moderation is important in Chinese Medicine. 7 Guide to the 5 Elements

9 Each of the Five Elements is also associated with a certain kind of weather, and for Wood, that s wind. So imagine you re sitting in a quiet room, and someone bursts in rushing to tell you something they find very important. It s like a gust of strong wind unsettling a tree s calm branches; it s shaking everything up and literally bending the Wood of the tree. Again, it s a very assertive energy. Wood Summary The element of Wood is associated with spring, the color green, morning, wind, assertion, aggression or anger, the Liver, the Gallbladder, ligaments, tendons, the eyes, and sour flavors. It s associated with smooth-flowing Qi and detoxification. It s also associated with the nervous system. If you ve heard that Water runs the brain and spinal cord, you re right and it can be confusing to understand this web of ideas with our Western minds, but bear with me. Think about the kind of energy you experience when you re threatened that fight or flight energy that makes you stand up and defend yourself, or just get out of there. That energy has a powerful, outward, and forward momentum, which reminds us of Wood in the body. Mentally, Wood is associated with planning and making decisions. It goes hand in hand with that assertive, aggressive energy, and with the reaction of the nervous system; because it allows you to strategize and make plans that get results. Think of this as your thoughts reaching out of their current cycles in order to create something new. Again, we ve got that upward, outward energy. So if you have trouble making decisions, it may be your need to balance your Wood element a little more. When we talk about the eyes in Chinese Medicine, we re not just talking about gelatinous orbs in our faces. We re thinking of the entire Wood network Liver, Gallbladder, assertion, decision, beginnings, spring, morning, etc. Being associated with the eyes, Wood is also about vision your vision for yourself, for your future, and for your plans. This ties back into strategizing, planning, and expansion. If you have a vision of sending a rocket to the moon, you ve got a lot of planning to do. If you re going to break out of your current job, or move across the country, there s planning and determined action that has to take place. Are you getting a sense for how all of these things are related? 8 Guide to the 5 Elements

10 Wood at Work in Everyday Life Analogies work really well in helping us to understand Chinese Medicine. You ve probably noticed I use a lot of them! Well, here comes another one. I decided to feature people who seem to embody the different elements in strong ways. For Wood, I wanted someone who had an expansive, growth-centered, forceful presence. Someone who was a planner and decision maker, a visionary, and who had perseverance. I chose Martin Luther King Jr. Talk about an incredible visionary with a talent for perseverance and breaking out of old ways of being! Here s one of his quotes that embodies this spirit perfectly: If you can t fly, then run. If you can t run, then walk. If you can t walk, then crawl. Whatever you have to do to keep moving forward. That s Wood in a nutshell. The decisive, directive energy of Wood helps keep our Qi flowing. It helps us keep growing. If we re not growing, we re stagnating. That s when energy gets backed up and imbalances occur. So it s important to have that guiding, directive Liver energy. On the other hand, we don t want to be constantly confronted with making decisions. That can stress the Liver, and if it s stressed, it won t be able to function as well. Then, what will happen with our Qi? It won t flow as smoothly and it will stagnate. Since everything is interconnected, that s going to have consequences on every system of your body; not just the Wood element. In modern, Western society, we re very heavily lopsided toward the Wood element. Many people have overworked Livers. As practitioners, it s good to be aware of that. We can bring balance to that area and harmonize the meridians with compassion, being gentle as we work through old blocks and stagnations. Here s an exercise for connecting with your Liver because I want to encourage you to get very physical and grounded in these ideas. Take your right hand and put it over your Liver on the right side of your body, just up under your ribs. If you re touching your hip, you ve gone too low. Just press gently, and let your eyes close or soften for a few minutes. Just focus your attention on that part of your body where your hand is feeling your skin and your skin is feeling your hand. What does it feel like from within, where the gentle pressure is gathered? Just spend some time there, breathing and saying hi to your Liver. It might take some practice, but this is a great way to get a real physical understanding of the Wood element within your body. You can receive wisdom and information about that Organ and your Wood element, that can open your mind to new ways of growing, resolving imbalances, or unblocking stagnation. 9 Guide to the 5 Elements

11 Now we re getting back to self-care and self-cultivation. The more you connect with your Liver in this way, the more you can become aware of your own imbalances and how to nurture yourself through them. It s so important in the West because our culture really does call for making a lot of decisions. Even going to get a cup of coffee is riddled with Liver directions. Do you want a large, a medium, or a small? Do you want whole milk, skim milk, 2%, soy, or almond milk? It s not that all these are big, difficult decisions... but people do have the tendency to over-think things and attach more importance to their decisions than there really is. And yet, we still have the big decisions to make. Who do you want to spend your life with? Are you living the way you want to live? These are the big decisions. However, in the West, there s the tendency to use up a lot of decision-making energy on the little things. Then we don t have much energy left to focus on planning the big things. Self-cultivation means you develop your ability to pay attention to how the Wood element is working in your life and where you re using your decision-making powers. The more aware you become, the less you can stress about the little things, the better care you can take of yourself, and the more you can guide others to do the same. The next class will focus on Metal, which balances Wood in a big way. 10 Guide to the 5 Elements