I mentioned in my earlier post “An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine” that I have created a Reiki healing system based on working with the “Five Elements” of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In a series of articles I have been talking about different aspects of the Five Elements and how they impinge on people’s lives: how imbalances in the five elements can show themselves as physical conditions and particular emotions and states of mind.

I have written about how the elements support and control each other through the nourishment and control cycles, I’ve spoken about the meridians and body organs that relate to each element, and in my recent articles I have been talking in a lot more detail about the emotions of the elements and the states of mind of the elements.

In todays blog, which ends our series of blogs about the Five Elements, I will be talking you for a run through a big collection of other areas where the five elements impinge on our lives…

The many Correspondences of the Five Elements

Each Element has associated with it a sense organ, a body part, an orifice, a physical manifestation, and a variety of other aspects, for example a colour, a taste, and a time of day. An imbalance in an element can show itself as a characteristic symptom in one of these areas.

In the following paragraphs I am just going to touch on a few of these.

Wood

The Eyes are represented by Wood, so an eye problem could be associated with an imbalance in the Liver and Gall Bladder: blindness, short- or long-sightedness, astigmatism or any sort of distorted vision. These organs are associated with planning, judgement and decision-making, and you could say that it takes vision and sight to be able to make proper decisions.

Headaches at the crown, temples or behind the eyes are characteristic of Wood imbalance.

Since Wood governs cycles of growth, Wood imbalances can cause irregular or painful menstruation or premature birth, in growth disorders in childhood or puberty, and in cancer.

A healthy Wood element grows out in all directions, so imbalance may show itself in symptoms that only occur in one side of the body or in diseases where there is lack of co-ordination in the muscles, or glands or organs. Wood has an important role in co-ordinating the right and left hemispheres of the brain, and an imbalance can be expressed in psychiatric and neurological disorders, in Schizophrenia, and in some forms of epilepsy.

Finally, Wood is associated with the sound of Shouting, not surprising when you think of its connection with anger and aggression, so a person who always talks in a kind of shout, aggressive and forceful, is showing a Wood imbalance.

Fire

The Ears are represented by Fire, and so the Heart, the Small Intestine, The Heart Protector and the Triple Heater are all involved in hearing. The Small Intestine would be involved in sorting sounds, and so ringing in the ears and deafness could be related to a Fire imbalance. These are more organic things, but a Fire imbalance could also be seen in someone who has difficulty in listening to others. Interestingly, the four Fire meridians are found near the ears.

The Tongue is the sense organ of Fire, so a speech impediment may be related to an imbalance in Fire, and this has already been discussed in more detail earlier. Fire also governs the maintenance and regulation of the entire circulatory system, so arteries and veins are the ’tissue’ of Fire, and so are the Heart, Pericardium (the Western anatomical structure), the capillaries and all the hormones and regulatory mechanisms that are involved in the control of circulation. Thus an imbalance could be represented by hardening of the arteries, varicose veins, cold hands and thrombosis.

In ancient times the Pericardium was seen as an organ of Water, as a ‘Yang-Kidney’, and even now is seen as occupying a special central position between Kidney and Heart, between Water and Fire, between the upper and lower poles of a person. The significance of this is that in Chinese medicine it is seen as desirable to maintain a balance between left and right, above and below. In Western civilisation we have come to value the upper pole, to value Fires associations with love, speech and intellect. These are more treasured than the depths of Water, with its sexuality, meditation and sinking into the archaic levels of the soul. A balanced Pericardium forms a bridge between Water and Fire, allowing us to experience a fulfilled sexuality that brings forth joy and laughter. If the Pericardium is balanced, and chi can flow properly, then we feel a deep connection between sexual lust and love, and we are able to freely give and receive.

Though the Heart and Pericardium are both Yin organs, they are very different in their functions: the heart is responsible for inner matters like clarity of thought, speech, responsibility and motivation, whereas the Pericardium is responsible for blood circulation, heartbeat and heart rate on the physical level. Because of this, cold hands and feet are an indication of a lack of energy in the Pericardium, as is the person who has little warmth. Such people do not find much joy in sexuality, the stingy people who have a difficult time giving, people who need a long time to thaw, and closed people who do not laugh.

Earth

Earth is represented by Flesh – the connective tissue and fat tissue – and a wasting disease may be due to an Earth imbalance. The state of the flesh reflects the Earth element. Earth also represents muscle. Since Earth is also related to the Mouth, many mouth diseases can be related to an Earth imbalance and practitioners of TCM can assess the condition of the Stomach and Spleen by looking at the lips.

Since Ideas and Opinions are associated with Earth, then someone who is displaying extreme dogmatism, or who is unable to create ideas or conclude thoughts, may have an Earth imbalance.

The colour yellow is associated with Earth, so if a person seems to have a subtle yellow hue coming from their face then this is indicative of an Earth imbalance. It is beyond the scope of this course to teach Oriental Visual Diagnosis, and it is unnecessary for our purposes.

Metal

The Nose is associated with Metal, and so a limited or non-existent sense of smell can be associated with a Metal imbalance. The Chinese imagine an elemental spirit of Metal: an animal instinct that gives us the ability to ‘smell’ danger, to sense how other people are thinking and feeling about us, and to foresee future events. It is our sense of smell that allows us to differentiate between foods, people and surroundings that are good, or bad, for us. The connection with the Lungs is obvious and, interestingly, the Large Intestine Meridian is close to the nose.

A related correspondence is that of Mucus, and Metal governs the secretion of mucus by mucous membranes, and particularly in the breathing passages. So a dry throat, coughing etc. are associated with a Metal imbalance, as are a persistent nasal drip and blocked sinuses.

The themes of breathing, and the disposal of waste, are continued in Metal’s association with the Skin. We are in contact with our environment through our skin, symbolic of the way that Metal connects us to the Universe. The skin is said to reflect the condition of the lungs, and it is not uncommon in Western medicine to see skin problems like eczema (skin problem) associated with asthma (lung problem). Psoriasis and rashes would be connected, as would acne, boils and pimples, which are all related to the accumulation of and getting rid of waste products through the skin. In a wider sense, we show our attitudes towards other people by allowing them to touch us, or by avoiding contact with them. We are ‘in touch’ with nature only as long as we enjoy the sensation of the wind, the coolness of water, the warmth of the sun and the feeling of the earth and plants.

The time of day for Metal is 0300 hrs – 0700 hrs. If we were to get up with the dawn, then this would be the time when we would start the day with some deep breaths, and defecation would take place quite naturally during these ‘Metal’ hours. Energy cultivation techniques like Tai Chi would be done in local parks when the sun is rising, in the fresh air.

Water

The elemental spirit of Water is our will power, our will to survive, our sexual drive. It represents the vitality with which we master life. This spirit – called Zhen – can unfold when the organism is flowing freely, fresh and clean inside, and when the hormonal system is functioning effectively so the metabolism is finely tuned. In these circumstances power and vitality can develop. This power shows itself in supple body movements, flexible joints, sexual potency, strong bones and healthy teeth, a silky shine to the hair, good hearing, a tremendous urge for action and activity, and a healthy ability to adjust to the demands of circumstances.

Balance within Water depends on the relative strengths of the yin and yang Kidneys. When the yang energy is weak, or when the yin Kidney is relatively strong, then the will to live, vitality, and sexual drive decrease. The results may be a general weakness, impotence, frigidity and paralysing fear. When the yang Kidney is dominant then you may find a person who is constantly in a hurry, or a person who exhibits rigid behaviour and body movements. This rigidity shows itself mainly in the lower back, the sacro-iliac joints and the back of the legs (along the course of the Bladder meridian). Symptoms of this rigidity are such things as hollow back, disk problems in the lumbar area, sciatica, lumbago and bladder infections.

Other signs of a Water imbalance are kidney stones, kidney and urinary tract infections, bone diseases, loss of hair, some types of watery diarrhoea, menstrual disorders, insomnia, and constantly cold hands and feet.

In fact a lot of sexual functions depend on balance in Water: the health of reproduction and the workings of the testicles and ovaries for example.

The Ears are connected with Water, though we have already spoken about the effect of Fire, and the Small Intestine’s sorting functions, on hearing. Water is more related to the sense organ itself and the semicircular canals. For this reason vertigo, lack of balance and dizziness can represent a Water imbalance, as well as middle ear infections.

The time of day for Water is 1500 hrs – 1900 hrs. A person with a Water imbalance might feel that this time of day is their best, when they feel more alive than usual, but more likely it might be the time of day when the person feels at their lowest ebb. There may also be an urgency to urinate during this period.

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Five Element Reiki

“Excellent and informative book. Great guidance and exercises to follow with ease.

As a 5 Element Acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher, I can only say I would have loved this to have been a course support book on my TCM Degree.

It has been a wonderful refresher and one to keep close with those few special books that need picking up all the time. Once started I found I needed to keep reading, it was like a breath of fresh air, the author has gathered and passed on some gems on 5 Elements and Reiki. It has been a pleasure to read and review this book.”

Ann Charlton

Five Element Reiki

A Unique & Powerful Healing System for All Reiki Practitioners

Five Element Reiki is a unique way of working with Reiki. It’s acupuncture without needles, or acupressure without pressing on anything, and without having to learn about or focus on the body’s meridians or their acupoints.

This system, created by Taggart King, is a way of working with the energies of the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine so that the meridians and organs ‘resonate’ with the energy you channel, removing blockages and bringing a state of balance on all levels.

You’ll use special symbols and creative visualisation, focus your intent and hone your intuition through a whole series of practical exercises found in this comprehensive guide. You’ll learn the essence of five element theory and understand how imbalances show themselves in your body, emotions and states of mind.

This book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in exploring and experimenting with the energy and who wants to learn a unique and powerful system for self-transformation.

This professionally-printed Reiki book has 292 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 292 pages.

Price: £13.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £10.99

I mentioned in my earlier post “An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine” that I have created a Reiki healing system based on working with the “Five Elements” of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In a series of articles I have been talking about different aspects of the Five Elements and how they impinge on people’s lives: how imbalances in the five elements can show themselves as physical conditions and particular emotions and states of mind.

I have written about how the elements support and control each other through the nourishment and control cycles, I’ve spoken about the meridians and body organs that relate to each element, and in my recent articles I have been talking in a lot more detail about the emotions of the elements.

Now in some blog posts I am talking about particular states of mind that derive from each element and which relate to a particular body organ. Today we talk about…

The Mental states of Water

Water represents Winter: life has withdrawn into the ground, the power of life lies dormant in the seeds; we are in the period between death and rebirth. The characteristic of Water is sinking below, moving downwards, reaching the lowest level. Its energy is a vertical flow to the centre of the earth; Fire draws up to the heavens and Water pulls us down to the depths, and on a spiritual level Water leads the soul and life back to its origins, to a deep consciousness, to the central core. “The river picks up the stream and leads it back to the sea”.

In the body, Water manifests itself as the Kidneys and the Bladder, which – like all the ‘organs’ – are present at all levels of our body-mind-spirit.

The Kidneys

The Kidneys are the storehouse of our vital essence, or basic constitution, something that we receive from our parents and our distant ancestors: our Ancestral Energy, an energetic ‘genetic code’ if you like. Imagine the seed that represents the potential for development, compressed into a tiny space. The Kidneys are the guardians of this essence. On a practical level, symptoms such as lethargy, a lack of acuity or perception, wishy-washy behaviour, and aching in the lower part of the abdomen, all point towards a lack of vital essence.

In Western medicine the Kidneys are responsible for dealing with water, which constitutes 65% of our body weight, and in Oriental medicine the Kidneys can be seen as the controller of the water supply in agricultural communities, a highly honoured position. The Kidneys continually purify the organism through the filtration of water. They do not provide nourishment (Stomach and Pancreas), they do not supply us with life energy (Lungs), but there is no bodily function that cannot be carried out without water. Water picks up waste products, prevents stagnation, it makes movement, freshness and the ‘fluidity’ of the body possible. The kidneys regulate the amount of water we have in our bodies and so a Kidney imbalance can show up in a variety of different ways, for example in swelling and bloating, difficulty in urinating, and inability to digest food.

Inner secretions require water, and digestion requires water when food is taken in and converted into a ‘pulp’ (this is where the phrase “Kidneys, Passage to the Stomach” comes from). The Kidney is also referred to as the ‘gateway to the stomach’ because the vital essence is seen as contributing to the rotting and ripening function of the Stomach, the bringing to fruition and the assimilation. Thus the Kidneys support the stomach in its job. Water moistens the body’s orifices: the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, anus and sexual organs. It is necessary for temperature regulation – through perspiration – and for the maintenance of joint and muscle fluids.

The Kidneys are responsible for regulating the body’s salts and minerals, and this hints at Water’s connection with bones. Our nervous system can only function properly when the body’s fluids have the right composition of salts and minerals, and the proper functioning of our muscles depends on this too. The brain and the spinal cord are in fact assigned to Water, and in ancient texts the brain is called the ‘Sea of Marrow’. In Chinese medicine the Kidneys are considered as important as the Heart because they maintain the internal environment; the Kidneys are the basis of life.

TCM sees two distinct aspects of the Kidney: the yin-Kidney and the yang-Kidney, with the former corresponding the functions that we would be familiar with in Western medicine. The yang-Kidney corresponds to the endocrine system: the adrenal glands, the sex glands, the islets of Langerhans in the Pancreas, the thyroid, the thymus and the pituitary. Of the hormones produced by the adrenal glands, the androgens exert a direct effect on libido, and adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol and aldosterone regulate blood pressure and the balance of fluids in our body. Interestingly, the adrenal glands produce hormones that mediate our fight-or-flight response: our biochemical response of fear, the emotion of Water.

The Bladder

The Bladder is not just seen as an organ of storage and elimination, but works with the Kidney in storing the vital essence. The Bladder is flexible and adaptable in its ability to store a little or a great amount without discomfort, and this flexibility and adaptability appears on all levels. So someone who tends towards depression, or feels unable to cope with life situations, or someone who fears change, may have a Bladder imbalance.

Water holds the deepest secrets of life. When we accept the power of Water we become quiet inside and the surface of the lake becomes smooth. In this inner quiet, the world of dreams and the unconscious begins to open up. Water is the element of the deepening of self and meditation. If one is at home in the depths then one can meet the storms on the surface calmly. With Water – more than any other element – we come across that which has no name: the Tao.

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Five Element Reiki

“Excellent and informative book. Great guidance and exercises to follow with ease.

As a 5 Element Acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher, I can only say I would have loved this to have been a course support book on my TCM Degree.

It has been a wonderful refresher and one to keep close with those few special books that need picking up all the time. Once started I found I needed to keep reading, it was like a breath of fresh air, the author has gathered and passed on some gems on 5 Elements and Reiki. It has been a pleasure to read and review this book.”

Ann Charlton

Five Element Reiki

A Unique & Powerful Healing System for All Reiki Practitioners

Five Element Reiki is a unique way of working with Reiki. It’s acupuncture without needles, or acupressure without pressing on anything, and without having to learn about or focus on the body’s meridians or their acupoints.

This system, created by Taggart King, is a way of working with the energies of the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine so that the meridians and organs ‘resonate’ with the energy you channel, removing blockages and bringing a state of balance on all levels.

You’ll use special symbols and creative visualisation, focus your intent and hone your intuition through a whole series of practical exercises found in this comprehensive guide. You’ll learn the essence of five element theory and understand how imbalances show themselves in your body, emotions and states of mind.

This book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in exploring and experimenting with the energy and who wants to learn a unique and powerful system for self-transformation.

This professionally-printed Reiki book has 292 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 292 pages.

Price: £13.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £10.99

Picture credit: Bert Kaufmann

I mentioned in my earlier post “An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine” that I have created a Reiki healing system based on working with the “Five Elements” of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In a series of articles I have been talking about different aspects of the Five Elements and how they impinge on people’s lives: how imbalances in the five elements can show themselves as physical conditions and particular emotions and states of mind.

I have written about how the elements support and control each other through the nourishment and control cycles, I’ve spoken about the meridians and body organs that relate to each element, and in my recent articles I have been talking in a lot more detail about the emotions of the elements.

Now in some blog posts I am talking about particular states of mind that derive from each element and which relate to a particular body organ. Today we talk about…

The Mental states of Metal

Metal, the element of autumn, represents concentration, condensation, drawing in; Metal is concentrated energy, the opposite of Wood. Metal is represented by the Lungs and the Large Intestine, the ‘organs’ responsible for energy transfer on all levels; they receive and they release.

The Lungs

The Lungs receive chi from heaven and replenish us. The Lungs are the receivers of energy, taking it from the outside into ourselves. We receive on all levels, so we breathe emotionally and not just physically. In the Hindu tradition, the essence of breath is called prana which is of course analogous to the Chinese qi, and breath control is an important part of meditation techniques, where our breath is our connection to the universe. With each in-breath we take in energy from the universe, and with each out-breath we release toxic substances, creating space for new energy production.

If we follow thoughts of breathing a little further, we can imagine a couple of different sorts of people. In the first category are those who breathe in too much and breathe out too little. They strut around with inflated chests, they hold on tightly to what they have, and they cannot let go and relax. In the second category are those who breathe out more than they breathe in. Their chests are collapsed and they are continually lacking in energy. They constantly look needy.

The Large Intestine

The Large Intestine is rather like the dustbin man and its function is to store and dispose of waste. It can also be seen as the generator of evolution and change. If there is an imbalance in this organ then the rest of the system is put under strain, waste begins to accumulate and the other organs are put under more pressure. Symptoms such as feeling bloated, swelling, constipation, emotional ‘stopping up’, bad acne and boils, headache and stuffy nose, can all point to a Large Intestine imbalance. These descriptions are on a physical level, but the Large Intestine is seen as working on all levels of the body-mind-spirit. If a person is unable to let go then they will be constipated and stagnate on all levels, so the Large Intestine is just as important as the Lungs in terms of our ‘connection to heaven’ (heaven is a synonym for our mental and spiritual world). We can only grasp fresh ideas and think new thoughts if we can let go of mental waste and obsolete mind patterns. So on the mental level, the Large Intestine represents clarity of thought and the power of discernment, the striving for intellectual quality.

Connection

Since Metal represents our energetic connection with the universe, a Metal imbalance can show in a person as an inadequate bond to one’s environment. Imagine a person who is lonely and withdrawn, who seems hard, cold and isolated from their surroundings. They show little feeling. These people have a Metal imbalance.

Sometimes the imbalance can show in people who have high ideals, striving for something that they can never achieve. Some may follow religion in a fixed and dogmatic way. They are intent on getting to heaven, know how to purify themselves, and want to convert others to their beliefs. However, and this is an important point, they are unable to let themselves go sufficiently to receive the spiritual quality of the essence of Metal. Too shallow breathing and too little excretion increase the desire for inner and outer purification, and we can think of cleanliness and hygiene fanatics, and highly dogmatic followers of a religion, as compensating for this Metal disturbance through their behaviour. Metal’s striving for intellectual quality can turn into a rigid outlook, intolerant Puritanism, religious fanaticism, a type of spirituality that is lacking in enthusiasm or warmth, or spontaneity. These characteristics are typical of many religions, unfortunately.

The essence of Metal is not easy to deal with. Metal is concentration, letting go, grief, going within, leaving the world. At the same time Metal is our connection to the environment, to our vitality, to heaven. Often we need to go deeper within to perceive a deeper connection that is not visible in our daily lives. Only when we let go can a space be created in which the old can die and the new can be born, completing the circle. By letting go of our outer form our essence can be revealed.

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Five Element Reiki

“Excellent and informative book. Great guidance and exercises to follow with ease.

As a 5 Element Acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher, I can only say I would have loved this to have been a course support book on my TCM Degree.

It has been a wonderful refresher and one to keep close with those few special books that need picking up all the time. Once started I found I needed to keep reading, it was like a breath of fresh air, the author has gathered and passed on some gems on 5 Elements and Reiki. It has been a pleasure to read and review this book.”

Ann Charlton

Five Element Reiki

A Unique & Powerful Healing System for All Reiki Practitioners

Five Element Reiki is a unique way of working with Reiki. It’s acupuncture without needles, or acupressure without pressing on anything, and without having to learn about or focus on the body’s meridians or their acupoints.

This system, created by Taggart King, is a way of working with the energies of the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine so that the meridians and organs ‘resonate’ with the energy you channel, removing blockages and bringing a state of balance on all levels.

You’ll use special symbols and creative visualisation, focus your intent and hone your intuition through a whole series of practical exercises found in this comprehensive guide. You’ll learn the essence of five element theory and understand how imbalances show themselves in your body, emotions and states of mind.

This book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in exploring and experimenting with the energy and who wants to learn a unique and powerful system for self-transformation.

This professionally-printed Reiki book has 292 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 292 pages.

Price: £13.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £10.99

Picture credit: woodleywonderworks

I mentioned in my earlier post “An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine” that I have created a Reiki healing system based on working with the “Five Elements” of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In a series of articles I have been talking about different aspects of the Five Elements and how they impinge on people’s lives: how imbalances in the five elements can show themselves as physical conditions and particular emotions and states of mind.

I have written about how the elements support and control each other through the nourishment and control cycles, I’ve spoken about the meridians and body organs that relate to each element, and in my recent articles I have been talking in a lot more detail about the emotions of the elements.

Now in some blog posts I am talking about particular states of mind that derive from each element and which relate to a particular body organ. Today we talk about…

The Mental states of Earth

Earth represents the time of year of harvesting, sorting, collecting together and storing. While spring looks forward, and summer enjoys the pleasures of the present, late summer – Earth – looks back at what was, and processes it. Earth is the pause between the upward and outward movements of Wood and Fire, and the inward and downward movements of Metal and Water that follow it. Earth is also the transition between each season or phase, the time for looking inside and collecting oneself; Earth’s direction is horizontal, a closed circle.

On a mental level, Earth can be described in terms of the late summer: gathering, processing, selecting, mental nourishment, survival, and gaining the wisdom that gives us the security to deal with difficult situations in life.

The Spleen-Pancreas

The Spleen-Pancreas holds qualities like logical thinking, a rational intellect, the ability be critical, the ability to think things over, and a good memory. The downside of the Spleen-Pancreas is represented by worrying about a thousand and one things, brooding over the past, and indulging in reminiscences.

An ‘over-stimulated’ Spleen can show itself in greed for knowledge and the latest news, and an addiction to reading. The most characteristic example of this is the person who accumulates knowledge about detailed areas of human life. This is the type of knowledge that specialists have: concentrated without seeing the context, the connection to the bigger picture. Another characteristic of an excess energy in the Spleen is seen in the person who can’t stop thinking, who has to think through and consider everything.

Yet another example would be the one-sided advocates of science and reason, people who judge and reject every other way of looking at things. These people are said to compensate for a deficit in Earth by mentally clinging to an apparent security in the logical verification of things. Compulsive behaviour, fixed ideas, obsessions and a passion for collecting that has become obsessive, also represent an excess of energy in the Spleen.

It is interesting at this point to note that it is not only desirable to have balance between the elements, but to also have balance within an element. The energy in earth has to express itself on many levels: physical, mental, emotional etc. If a person takes up a huge amount of energy in digestion and nourishment then there will not be a great deal of energy left over for thought and reflection. If lots of Earth energy is used up in intellectual activity, then there will be a deficit on the emotional level, leading to a lack of compassion. Excessive intellectual activity can also produce problems on the physical level, with allergies, menstrual problems, stomach ulcers or metabolic disorders.

The Spleen and the Stomach are good examples of the way that Chinese medicine interprets the idea of an ‘organ’ differently from Western medicine, even on an organic level. The ‘Spleen’ for example is seen as encompassing the part of the Pancreas that produces digestive enzymes used in the Duodenum. The ‘Stomach’ is seen as including the duodenum and the first six inches of the Small Intestine, which is why digestion, nourishment, assimilation and absorption are classified under the heading of ‘Earth’. The ‘Spleen’ also represents the lymphatic system: nodes, vessels, tonsils and thymus, it represents the red bone marrow and the mucous membrane of the intestines, since they have a large lymphatic component. So the idea of ‘nourishment’ also extends to providing oxygen – via the red blood cells – to every cell in the body.

So the ‘Spleen’ oversees the transportation of water from the tissues back into the bloodstream, the absorption of fat from the intestine into the lymph system, the production of white blood cells and the storage and breakdown of red blood cells. The Spleen is the ‘mother organ’ of the whole body. It regulates the distribution of water and blood, it nourishes the body, and it maintains the integrity of the body through the immune system. It is also seen as responsible for fertility, pregnancy and birth, together with the Kidney and the Uterus (an extraordinary organ that is not assigned to an element). The breasts are assigned to Earth.

The Spleen is important, and can be seen as being responsible for distribution, and the transport of energy throughout the body-mind. If there is a Spleen-Pancreas imbalance then other parts of the body-mind wouldn’t get the energy they need, and for this reason it is said that the ‘five viscera’ all get their breath of life from the ‘Spleen’.

The Stomach

The Stomach can be seen as the organ that receives nourishment, integrates it and brings it to fruition, and then passes on the food energy to be distributed by the Spleen. The Stomach is almost the most important function in the body-mind because our energy feeds from it, and it takes in every aspect of our lives.

If there is a Stomach imbalance then we cannot get the proper benefit from what we take in, whether this is food for our body or food for our mind. What we take in won’t be utilised properly. If we can’t get energy from our food properly then we will feel weak, lethargic, we will be depleted and debilitated. Obviously, many digestive problems are associated with an Earth imbalance.

So in practice, Earth imbalances could show as various disorders of the digestive system like indigestion, gastritis, gastric or duodenal ulcers, incomplete digestion, pancreatitis, diarrhoea and constipation. The immune system could display allergies, auto-immune diseases, immune deficiencies, a tendency towards illness, menstrual problems, infertility, pain and swelling in the breasts, inflammation of the mammary glands, problems with lactating, skin diseases, oedema, as well as diseases of the lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels.

On a different note, disturbances in the natural rhythm of life point to an Earth imbalance. The rhythms of sleeping and waking, of appetite and digestion, breathing, the menstrual cycle would all depend on a balanced Earth. In early Chinese writings on the five elements, Earth was in the centre, and Wood, Fire, Metal and Water were arranged around it. Not only that, but there were medical and spiritual schools based on handling every physical and spiritual complaint by bringing Earth into balance in a variety of ways encompassing the use of herbs, massage, acupuncture focusing on the Spleen and Stomach meridians, and mental and physical exercises.

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Five Element Reiki

“Excellent and informative book. Great guidance and exercises to follow with ease.

As a 5 Element Acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher, I can only say I would have loved this to have been a course support book on my TCM Degree.

It has been a wonderful refresher and one to keep close with those few special books that need picking up all the time. Once started I found I needed to keep reading, it was like a breath of fresh air, the author has gathered and passed on some gems on 5 Elements and Reiki. It has been a pleasure to read and review this book.”

Ann Charlton

Five Element Reiki

A Unique & Powerful Healing System for All Reiki Practitioners

Five Element Reiki is a unique way of working with Reiki. It’s acupuncture without needles, or acupressure without pressing on anything, and without having to learn about or focus on the body’s meridians or their acupoints.

This system, created by Taggart King, is a way of working with the energies of the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine so that the meridians and organs ‘resonate’ with the energy you channel, removing blockages and bringing a state of balance on all levels.

You’ll use special symbols and creative visualisation, focus your intent and hone your intuition through a whole series of practical exercises found in this comprehensive guide. You’ll learn the essence of five element theory and understand how imbalances show themselves in your body, emotions and states of mind.

This book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in exploring and experimenting with the energy and who wants to learn a unique and powerful system for self-transformation.

This professionally-printed Reiki book has 292 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 292 pages.

Price: £13.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £10.99

Picture credit: Alan Levine

I mentioned in my earlier post “An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine” that I have created a Reiki healing system based on working with the “Five Elements” of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In a series of articles I have been talking about different aspects of the Five Elements and how they impinge on people’s lives: how imbalances in the five elements can show themselves as physical conditions and particular emotions and states of mind.

I have written about how the elements support and control each other through the nourishment and control cycles, I’ve spoken about the meridians and body organs that relate to each element, and in my recent articles I have been talking in a lot more detail about the emotions of the elements.

Now in some blog posts I am talking about particular states of mind that derive from each element and which relate to a particular body organ. Last week I spoke about the mental states of Wood. Today we talk about…

The Mental states of Fire

Fire is the only element that is represented by four organs: the Heart (yin organ) and Small Intestine (yang organ), the Heart Protector (yin organ) and the Triple Heater (yang organ). The Heart Protector is also known as the Pericardium or the Circulation Sex and, along with the Triple Heater or Sanjiao, has no physical Western counterpart.

The movement of Fire is vertically upward, from deep in the earth up into the sky, from the material to the spiritual, from unawareness to consciousness. On the mental-emotional level, Fire brings out joy, dancing, laughter, awareness, and the ability to have an encompassing view of things.

The Heart

The Heart can be viewed as a ‘supreme controller’ overseeing the workings of the body-mind-spirit, and in Japanese acupuncture writings the Heart is seen as so sacred that it is not treated directly. An imbalance in Heart energy is like chaos ruling in a kingdom, with a lack of peace and harmony, and leads to feeling a kind of inner panic and loss of control. The Heart is seen as the centre of consciousness, feelings and thoughts, and is one of the places where ‘Shen’ resides.

Shen can be translated as spirit or soul. A person is said to ‘have spirit’ and this gives an idea of what is intended by the word Shen. Shen lives in the heart, its Lower House, and here it makes sure we have balanced feelings and a clear, honest way of speaking. Its higher house is the third eye chakra, where it brings forth clarity of thought and a conscious life direction. When a person has these characteristics, then their Shen is powerful and healthy, and it is said that you can se this by a sparkle or light in the eyes.

If Shen is confused or lacking in energy then it is noticeable in unclear thinking or an inability to organise thoughts, in speech defects like lisping, stammering, stuttering or even muteness. It produces emotions full of highs and lows: one minute you are shouting for joy and the next you want to die. This description would fit with hysteria and manic depression also. A dispersed and confused Shen shows itself in nervousness, fearfulness, stage fright, insomnia and dull, unfocused eyes, all caused by a disturbance in Fire.

If there is too much energy in the Heart then there can be talkativeness, excessive perspiration and nervous tension. People believe that they must do everything themselves and not delegate, they must keep control of everything and they are incapable of letting other people take responsibility. This behaviour equates with the ‘Type A’ personality – manager sickness – with its stress-related illnesses from high blood pressure to heart attacks. This imbalance is usually connected with an energy deficiency in Water, the element that controls Fire.

On the other hand, when the energy in the Heart is weak, a person may become unable to express themselves clearly, or it may result in partial or total muteness, and a dulled or non-functional sense of taste in both the gastronomical sense and in terms of the psyche.

The Heart Protector

The Heart Protector, or Pericardium, is seen as a ‘buffer’ that takes the bumps and bruises that would otherwise go straight to the heart and disturb the integrity of the body-mind, so the Heart Protector allows the ‘supreme controller’ to carry on its work without interruption. It works as a bodyguard. On an emotional level, the Heart Protector helps to protect the ’emotional’ heart, and it brings out the ability to be generous to oneself and to others, to radiate warmth and to love. It also affords us the ability to give and the ability to accept complaints, criticism and love from others. A healthy Pericardium produces a person who is able to speak from the heart and be cordial and affectionate, enthusiastic, humorous and ‘hearty’. The opposite of this can be seen in someone who is ‘cold-hearted’ or small-minded, someone who has a ‘heart of stone’.

On a physical level, the Pericardium meridian would be treated when there were problems like heart pains, angina, tachycardia, heartbeat irregularities or circulatory problems. The Heart Protector governs the ‘pulse of life’.

The Small Intestine

The Small Intestine can be seen as separating the pure from the impure, sorting and grading and redistributing, and this is seen as happening on all levels. The Small Intestine sorts particles of food: keeping those with nutritional value and passing on the rest as waste, but you can also see this process carrying on at the emotional level, and at the mental level, with the sorting and sifting, the assimilation, of ideas and thoughts. An energy deficit in the Small Intestine is displayed in a person who takes in knowledge, convictions and beliefs from others in an ‘undigested’ form, and they are unable to develop personal views and belief systems out of this. It is said that the appearance of a person who is able to assimilate is displayed through a fine, silent laughing in the eyes and around the lips.

If this organ is out of balance, then we may see symptoms that express confusion of the body-mind. For example, hearing difficulties could be seen as an inability to sort sounds effectively, and digestive problems could be seen in a similar light.

None of the elements exist in isolation, separate and unaffected by the others, so if there is an absence of proper sorting, if there is unclear information coming through, then decision-making is going to be affected (the realm of the Gall Bladder).

The Triple Heater

The functions of the Triple Heater are closely connected with those of the Heart Protector; in fact it is ‘assigned’ to the Pericardium. Again it does not have a Western physical counterpart, and its functions are protective. It is the most complex of the ‘organs’. The Triple Heater’s function is to guard all the body’s organs and control their temperature. The torso is seen as being split into three ‘burning spaces’ or ‘burning cavities’, with each space corresponding to certain organs. The upper space contains the Heart and Lungs, the middle space contains the Stomach, Spleen, Gall Bladder, Liver and Small Intestine, and the lower space contains the Large Intestine, Bladder and Kidneys. Thus the upper space is concerned with respiration, the middle with digestion, and the lower with elimination and reproduction. The Triple Heater co-ordinates these three areas of the body. For example, it co-ordinates the depth and frequency of the breath in relation to digestion and sexuality, it maintains the body’s temperature at optimum levels within the three burning spaces, so that the organs can carry out their functions in harmony.

Because the Triple Heater is so complex it is the easiest to bring out of balance, and in Acupuncture the Triple Heater would be considered whenever there was an imbalance in the energy of one of the organs, otherwise the cause of an illness might be misdiagnosed.

In Five Element Reiki we are able to work on the level of dealing with energy imbalances in a particular organ, though initially we focus on bringing balance to each element in its entirety. By balancing an element and flushing its energy through its organs, we usually bring its organs into balance, and bring balance to the other correspondences of that element. By balancing Fire, and flushing Fire Energy through its organs, we will be bringing the Triple Heater into balance without having to consider it specifically, though we can focus energy on it, and the Heart Protector, using intent.

Finally, what does balanced Fire bring to us? Well, when the Fire element is balanced in a person, summer brings us joy and fulfilment. We have an inner balance from which to oversee events, we know when to speak and we know when to remain silent. We can feel joy without becoming excessive. We can steer and lead others, while knowing when the time is right to pull back. Our eyes glow, we know goodness and magnanimity, and we have good taste.

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Five Element Reiki

“Excellent and informative book. Great guidance and exercises to follow with ease.

As a 5 Element Acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher, I can only say I would have loved this to have been a course support book on my TCM Degree.

It has been a wonderful refresher and one to keep close with those few special books that need picking up all the time. Once started I found I needed to keep reading, it was like a breath of fresh air, the author has gathered and passed on some gems on 5 Elements and Reiki. It has been a pleasure to read and review this book.”

Ann Charlton

Five Element Reiki

A Unique & Powerful Healing System for All Reiki Practitioners

Five Element Reiki is a unique way of working with Reiki. It’s acupuncture without needles, or acupressure without pressing on anything, and without having to learn about or focus on the body’s meridians or their acupoints.

This system, created by Taggart King, is a way of working with the energies of the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine so that the meridians and organs ‘resonate’ with the energy you channel, removing blockages and bringing a state of balance on all levels.

You’ll use special symbols and creative visualisation, focus your intent and hone your intuition through a whole series of practical exercises found in this comprehensive guide. You’ll learn the essence of five element theory and understand how imbalances show themselves in your body, emotions and states of mind.

This book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in exploring and experimenting with the energy and who wants to learn a unique and powerful system for self-transformation.

This professionally-printed Reiki book has 292 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 292 pages.

Price: £13.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £10.99

Picture credit: DammitKarissa

I mentioned in my earlier post “An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine” that I have created a Reiki healing system based on working with the “Five Elements” of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In a series of articles I have been talking about different aspects of the Five Elements and how they impinge on people’s lives: how imbalances in the five elements can show themselves as physical conditions and particular emotions and states of mind.

I have written about how the elements support and control each other through the nourishment and control cycles, I’ve spoken about the meridians and body organs that relate to each element, and in my recent articles I have been talking in a lot more detail about the emotions of the elements.

Now in the next five blog posts I am going to be talking about particular states of mind that derive from each element and which relate to a particular body organ. Today we talk about…

The Mental states of Wood

Wood brings forth the desire for movement and growth. Its nature is expansion, growing in all directions. It brings forth the creative processes of planning and decision-making. It gives us the desire to undertake a new project, to set sail for new horizons and new discoveries.

Wood is represented by the Liver (yin organ) and the Gall Bladder (yang organ).

The Liver

The Liver represents the ability to make plans and to see life on a material level; it embodies the power of imagination and creative energy that results in growth. It is the inventor, the discoverer. It sees the meaning of life. It develops the vision, the plan. Every new idea that we take hold of, every new concept, broadens our horizons. We take risks and go into the unknown. We grow, and growth or expansion is the essence of Wood.

You might imagine that when this ability falters then some symptom would arise. For example, a migraine may appear when Liver energy is out of balance, and you could see this as frustration with the system because plans were not made or followed. So a person with a Wood imbalance might say that they felt ‘jammed up in the head so that I can’t think, or plan, or do anything’.

The Gall Bladder

Related to the Liver’s planning is the Gall Bladder‘s function in decision making: the ability to assert our needs in the outer world. If you see the Liver as an architect, then the Gall Bladder is the builder who makes the decisions and arrangements necessary for the blueprints to become a reality. Imagine a person who has difficulty in making decisions, even very little simple ones, and you are thinking of someone with a Gall Bladder imbalance.

The two functions of Liver and Gall Bladder are very closely connected. Without an all-encompassing concept, the decisions in day-to-day life are incoherent, and similarly the best plans and projects are worthless if they cannot be carried out. Depression and resignation may have their roots in a Wood disorder: the vision is missing, the plan is lacking, or a person may have many plans and ideas but cannot make them into reality.

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Five Element Reiki

“Excellent and informative book. Great guidance and exercises to follow with ease.

As a 5 Element Acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher, I can only say I would have loved this to have been a course support book on my TCM Degree.

It has been a wonderful refresher and one to keep close with those few special books that need picking up all the time. Once started I found I needed to keep reading, it was like a breath of fresh air, the author has gathered and passed on some gems on 5 Elements and Reiki. It has been a pleasure to read and review this book.”

Ann Charlton

Five Element Reiki

A Unique & Powerful Healing System for All Reiki Practitioners

Five Element Reiki is a unique way of working with Reiki. It’s acupuncture without needles, or acupressure without pressing on anything, and without having to learn about or focus on the body’s meridians or their acupoints.

This system, created by Taggart King, is a way of working with the energies of the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine so that the meridians and organs ‘resonate’ with the energy you channel, removing blockages and bringing a state of balance on all levels.

You’ll use special symbols and creative visualisation, focus your intent and hone your intuition through a whole series of practical exercises found in this comprehensive guide. You’ll learn the essence of five element theory and understand how imbalances show themselves in your body, emotions and states of mind.

This book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in exploring and experimenting with the energy and who wants to learn a unique and powerful system for self-transformation.

This professionally-printed Reiki book has 292 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 292 pages.

Price: £13.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £10.99

Picture credit: Shaggy Paul

I mentioned in my earlier post “An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine” that I have created a Reiki healing system based on working with the “Five Elements” of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In a series of articles I’m going to be talking about different aspects of the Five Elements and how they impinge on people’s lives: how imbalances in the five elements can show themselves as physical conditions and particular emotions and states of mind.

I have written about how the elements support and control each other through the nourishment and control cycles, I’ve spoken about the meridians and body organs that relate to each element, and in my recent articles I have been talking in a lot more detail about the emotions of the elements.

But elements do not just appear as physical organs, meridians and emotions: they appear as particular states of mind, and each ‘organ’ relates to a particular state of mind. That’s what I’m going to be talking about briefly today…

States of mind

Each element is represented by a couple of ‘organs’, and in the case of Fire, by four ‘organs’ – two of which do not have Western anatomical counterparts. The ‘organs’ for TCM purposes are much, much more than what we think of in the West.

Each organ has a number of correspondences attached to it, so when in TCM someone thinks of the Liver, they are not just imagining the anatomical structure, but also anger – as we have seen in a previous blog post – and the ability to plan ahead (as we will discover later).

The ‘organs’ operate on all levels of the body-mind-spirit, they are energy fields that resonate throughout our being and exhibit their characteristics in different ways.

The diagram below shows how the organs relate to the different elements, and their associated emotions and states of mind.

In a series of posts I am now going to go into a lot more detail about how imbalances in the energy of the ‘organs’ show themselves in our lives.

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Five Element Reiki

“Excellent and informative book. Great guidance and exercises to follow with ease.

As a 5 Element Acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher, I can only say I would have loved this to have been a course support book on my TCM Degree.

It has been a wonderful refresher and one to keep close with those few special books that need picking up all the time. Once started I found I needed to keep reading, it was like a breath of fresh air, the author has gathered and passed on some gems on 5 Elements and Reiki. It has been a pleasure to read and review this book.”

Ann Charlton

Five Element Reiki

A Unique & Powerful Healing System for All Reiki Practitioners

Five Element Reiki is a unique way of working with Reiki. It’s acupuncture without needles, or acupressure without pressing on anything, and without having to learn about or focus on the body’s meridians or their acupoints.

This system, created by Taggart King, is a way of working with the energies of the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine so that the meridians and organs ‘resonate’ with the energy you channel, removing blockages and bringing a state of balance on all levels.

You’ll use special symbols and creative visualisation, focus your intent and hone your intuition through a whole series of practical exercises found in this comprehensive guide. You’ll learn the essence of five element theory and understand how imbalances show themselves in your body, emotions and states of mind.

This book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in exploring and experimenting with the energy and who wants to learn a unique and powerful system for self-transformation.

This professionally-printed Reiki book has 292 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 292 pages.

Price: £13.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £10.99

Picture credit: Hey Paul Studios