October - Acceptance

According to the classic Su Wen text the 8th of October marks the beginning of the third month of Autumn. We have just been through the Autumn Equinox, which is the celebration of the equality of Yin and Yang in Nature. From now on, for the next six months in the northern hemisphere, we will be surrounded by the dominance of Yin in Nature. Of course, it is progressively increasing until the Winter Solstice and will be progressively diminishing after that.

Yin is that which is passive, receiving, slow, closed in, dark and cold, etc. Hence, the Equinox is a prelude to all those qualities. What is helping in the process is the element of Metal - the Element of Autumn. Metal is associated with Lungs and Large Intestines. Metal element is introducing us into the Yin phase of the year by its Lung-related quality of acceptance. Acceptance is what keeps our Metal element in balance. If you think of the air you breathe, you take in and accept all that enters your Lungs without a filter (except some large particles filtered by nasal hair). With the very first breath, you accept coming here to Earth at birth and you continue accepting this life with each breath you take. The air that falls into your abdomen is like the leaves falling down to the ground in Autumn.

If you are in conflict with the life around you, you may develop Lung problems as your breath becomes short and shallow with habitual rejection of the present life. Many of you would have gone through major life changes in the last couple of years which have asked of you a great deal of acceptance. Big and fast changes can create resistance to accept everything, inflicting on your breath and Lungs.

Accepting is not the same as assimilating. Once the passive act of breathing is complete the Metal element inside of you judges what is valuable to hold and what is not. That which you consider unworthy, you will eliminate through Large Intestine. The Colon clears all that you subjectively consider simply "rubbish". Hence, some well placed judgement will help your guts work smoothly.

Imagine when this natural physiology and balance between the Lungs-Colon is infringed. Do you know what happens? You either feel emptiness in your life, leading to melancholy and depression, or you are full of debris held and not eliminated.

You will feel emptiness if you cannot accept things as they are, since you do not breathe with full Lungs. That habitual rejection a priori makes you disconnected from as-it-happens life. Further, it does not give you the essential material from which to extract your precious gemstones, leading to a lack of meaning in life, in what you do, at work, or perhaps in relationships, and eventually leads to a lack of meaning in your existence. That could make you feel empty inside. As a result we reach for substitutes that make us feel "alive" or "connected", such as cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, etc.

At the other end, literally, in Chinese Medicine we say that in order to take things in we must empty first. Ancients would say that we should have a bowel movement after each meal. However, our sedentary lifestyles have already changed that. It is acceptable as a healthy rhythm to empty once a day. If you consume regular meals and do not empty once a day, you mostly probably hold onto stuff you should eliminate. My master teacher would vow that if we wake up at 6am each morning we would not have emptying issues as we stimulate the Colon movement by getting up and about. The 5am to 7am correspond to Colon time in the Chinese Medical Clock.

Even my singing teacher used to say: empty completely your Lungs of all the air and then the next breath will come automatically and will be deeper. In fact, to sustain the health of Autumn related organs, we can help ourselves with breathing exercises (including singing!) and movement: stretching, yoga, Qi Gong, walking and bike-rides in the Nature, will stimulate our Lungs and Colon to extract more meaning from our existence and regularly get rid of trash.

If you nevertheless experience problems with elimination on physical, mental or emotional level, or feel depressed not finding meaning and value in life, there couldn't be a better time to get some acupuncture treatment and Chinese Medical diagnosis to help you with the process of accepting and letting go.

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Clover, red or white? Three or four leaves? - the plant of equilibrium as well as good fortune

I had known Red Clover (Trifolium pratenseas) as one of the women's herbs for a long time but it wasn't until I tried it that I really appreciated how gentle, tender but effective this plant was.

It is one of the most utilised plants across the globe, cultures and traditions.

It is considered women's herb as it is essentially Yin in nature although it is holding Yin to nourish Yang. It is associated with Bladder and Kidney (Water element) and Lungs and Large Intestine (Metal element). Hence it goes deep to ancor and hold energy (Qi) and essence (Jing) in our body just as it fixes nitrogen into the land. Nitrogen is an element that builds strong roots of any plant.

So, it nourishes body fluids, from vaginal dryness, dry cough, dry skin to brain function and memory. By clearing the fluids it is also diuretic.

As it has a balancing effect on body fluids, it balances hormones, and quenches the menopausal hot flashes. In reality, it aids both female and male hormones. It is particularly useful in peri-menopause phase for women and in early signs of prostate disfunction for men.

Since it clears blood, it clears skin problems, including chronic conditions such as eczema and skin cancers.

As you may have noticed it works on both lymph and blood, which is rare to see in one herb. It is synergetically working with the Yin and Yang liquids of the body.

It is so gentle in detoxing both fluids and blood that I would consider it as the first herb to take in the detox program.

It is even neutral in its temperature, although some say it is slightly cooling due to its Yin nature.

There is a numerical curiosity about this plant. It comes only in two distinct colours, white or red, it is largely presented with three leaves but on rare occasions (apparently one in a thousand) it presents four leaves. Numerological links then are 2, 3 and 4. Two represents Yin and Yang; three represents completion and change; four represents Earth and stability.

So, Clover has it all. The energy of equilibrium, the capacity to change (your fortune perhaps) and gives a grounding and strength to four limbs. Therefore, it can be used in situations that are destabilising, to feel more sustained, supported, calm and at the same time able to change in a balanced way. It is a kind of an energetic rescue remedy.

These are pretty powerful energetics for one tiny, common plant.

Doing a numerological I Ching on 234 number, it comes up as the Lake trigram, which is the Metal element. The plant numbers further confirm its energetic function.

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September - homecoming

The 7th September marks the beginning of the second month of Autumn according to the Su Wen division into four seasons. However, energetically, dividing the seasons into Five Elements, we are still in Late Summer and the Earth Element season. Depending on the geographical position you live in, Autumn will distintly be felt coming, at some point during this month.

Actually one of the tell tell signs of Autumn coming is the formation of the White Dew in the morning. We have had copious amounts of it even here in Italy since August. The sign of Late Summer is the presence of much higher humidity in the air and the sweet smell of ripe fruits.

September is the month of centering ourselves after flying high during the Summer months. That centering energy was already present in August, however, it is much more sobering now. With the warmth of August temperatures we felt more cuddled and pampered by the Earth energy. Now we are approaching and intertwining more with the oncoming Metal energy of Autumn. And it is that Metal energy which is adding more sobriety.

Apart from the physical "homecoming" after summer holidays, it is the most auspicious time for entering in contact with our inner selves. We are helped by the Earth energy, which is associated with the centrifugal force. In classical Chinese philosophy it is known that the centre holds all the directions, like the axle of a wheel. "Everything has to be organised from the centre if you want to command or exert influence" (Elisabeth Rochat commentary on Su Wen Ch.4).

That means you need to give careful attention to yourself, recognise your needs and address them. Are you feeling well in body, mind and spirit? If not, what is it that is missing in your daily life that could nourish and nurture you better? Ensure you add what is missing to your daily routine during this month and you will feel the strength coming back to you tenfold.

How about the balance between what we give to ourselves and what we give to others? The axle of a wheel holds everything together only if it is strong itself.

Earth Element is associated with sweet taste, which is slowing energy down. Combining it with heaviness of the climatic humidity of Late Summer you may want to actually reduce or cut out sugars and sweets (including dairy) to avoid feeling too sluggish. It applies to any time of the year, but it is felt strongly in Late Summer.

Humidity may contribute to reappearance of skin fungus, or candida. In those who have chronic conditions, flare-ups may occur. In some of you the digestive system may feel more sluggish now for apparently no reason. More so in persons whose predominant energy is Earth Element. If you wish to find out what Element / energy is predominant in you, take a very short Quiz to find out www.dorotao.com

The key is to avoid humidity producing foods (as mentioned before) and get more movement. The best kind of movement for Earth energy is walking, however, working out the muscles by stretching and free-weight exercises will add to your centrifugal strength.

This month, dedicate time to yourself and you will enjoy the fruits of your work!

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