About a month ago, I had a guest speaker come talk to one of the groups I run. She is an acupuncturist....a five element acupuncturist to be exact. 5 element is a style that works at the levels of both body, mind, heart and spirit.
I loved what she taught us. It was fascinating to me and I've thought about it many times since listening to her speak. The other day as I was walking & talking to a friend on a beautiful Spring morning, I was telling her about what I had learned. She told me "you have to blog about this!". So, here it goes. Now mind you, I am no expert in the field of acupuncture, nor am I pretending to be. This is simply what I learned and absorbed while listening to the expert:
The 5 elements make up who we are and how we are in the world. They create the seasons and the 12 main meridians of energy inside us. The Chinese recognize 5 different seasons.
I'm going to start with Spring. Wood is the element of Spring and is associated with the emotion of anger. Now when most people think of Spring, they think of the beauty associated with Spring. Of all the blossoms and the beauty of the world waking up and coming to life. However, in order to get to the blossoming of Spring there is a process that must first happen. Often times we forget about the struggle that takes place prior to blossoming. Imagine a bulb, down beneath the frozen ground. Before it can do what it was created to do, it will hit up against the frozen ground, which may be the first barrier, it might hit up against another root system, which would be another barrier. As it goes through the struggle it will eventually find its way around the barriers encountered and fulfill its destiny.
The next season is Summer. Fire is the element of Summer and is associated with the emotion of Joy. Picture the Summer campfires with people sitting around socializing, telling stories, roasting marshmallows and singing. Think of the barbecues we have with friends and family during the Summer. Summer is a time when we want to get out and make connections. The struggle we face in this season is the fear that we've connected too much, shared too much or been too vulnerable with others.
The next season is Late Summer. Earth is the element associated with this season and sympathy is the emotion. This is the time when we are harvesting. We are gathering the fruits of our labor. Food and understanding are important in this season. Can you recall being the recipient or the giver of an abundant harvest? The struggle associated with this season is a sense of emptiness or neediness in our own life. Wondering if what we have is adequate, is it enough? Are we enough?
The next season is Autumn. Metal is the element and Grief is the emotion associated with this season. This is a sacred season. During this time, there is a search for that which is pure and spiritual. Sometimes we grieve over what could have been... did I say what I felt? Do they know how I feel? Did I do enough? Autumn is also a time of trust and faith in which we let go. In letting go, we open ourselves for what is to come. It's transforming.
The next season is Winter. Water is the element of Winter and is associated with the emotion Fear. A lot of people don't like Winter. They may even try to escape by going someplace warm and tropical during the Winter months. I've been known to plan a few get aways myself. This isn't wrong, but we also need to understand the purpose of Winter. Think of plants, trees, shrubs....during the Winter, their roots have to go down deep in order to find the nourishment they need. Getting our roots deep and knowing who we are gives us a level of persistence and determination to excel in situations which would otherwise be scary or intimidating. Wow! There's such a power that comes with the stillness of Winter and sending our roots deep.
As a therapist, I see so many ways to apply these concepts to the ongoing work of my clients as well as my own personal work. However, since this has already been a very long post (thank you for sticking with it) I'm going to choose 2 points and save the rest for another post. First, I think it's important to listen to our spirits and to honor the season they are living in. I think it's important to recognize that the season our Spirit is in may not always coincide with the season we find ourselves living in on the planet. Respect and honor where you are and what you need as much as we honor where the planet is. Nobody plants a garden in Autumn and expects to harvest in Winter. Second, trust the process. Where I live, we just had one of the hardest Winters we've experienced for several years. A lot of snowfall, even a freezing rainstorm...which we don't get. It's been like 30 years since the last one. However, as the snow continued to fall and the rain froze, nobody was worried that Spring wouldn't come. We didn't fret that maybe, just maybe things wouldn't thaw out and allow us to barbecue in the Summer. Trust the process. Recognize when you're in a Winter season and trust that Spring will follow. You will move beyond and blossom once again.
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