Healing Thoughts
A Winter’s Lesson (in the style of Robert Frost)
I fed ChatGPT a prompt on the Taoist understanding of Winter and how it reflects the idea of STILLNESS as presented in Hexagram 52 ( MOUNTAIN ) of the I Ching and told it write a poem about it in the style of Robert Frost…
HARMONIZING WATER IN WINTER
In Taoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), winter is associated with the Water element, which is the most yin of all the Five Elements. Understanding its qualities and supporting your body and mind during this season are key to maintaining balance and health.
“Autumn Metal” by Henry David Thoreau*
In the autumn, the Taoist sees the Metal Element at work—a season of order and restraint, where discernment sharpens like the chill in the air. As the farmer gathers his harvest, so must we gather the fruits of our labor, the thoughts we have tended through the spring and summer. We should ask ourselves, are these fruits wholesome? Do they align with the values we profess? Have we been kind, wise, and harmonious, as the natural world around us strives to be?
Fall Food for Thought
In Taoist medicine, Autumn is associated with the METAL element. The organs associated with Metal are the Lungs and Colon.
Lungs Protect and the Colon Lets Go ;
THE METAL ELEMENT IS BOTH OUR ARMOR AND OUR SWORD.
Here are ways to STRENGTHEN YOUR METAL this Fall…
Fire Meditation
The strength of fire is in its focus. When fire is focused, it can warm your home, cook food, or light the night. Bring to your awareness a manifestation of fire: fire in a cozy home hearth, or perhaps the fire that flows through wires as electricity. Consider the fire that moves an automobile, or even the fire that cooked your last meal.
REVERE THe fiRe wiTHiN yOU.
Sense your inner fire. Notice the warmth in your belly, your breath, your heart. Feel the warmth in the palms of your hands. Notice how steady your inner warmth can be, and allow it to light your awareness with creativity, inspiration, and upward moving energy.
Nurture your fire so it can light up your life, and inspire others. Sense the energy of fire within you as your inner passion and compassion come into focus.
Summer Synchronization ; FIRE
The three months of summer, they denote opulence and blossoming.
The qi of heaven and earth interact and the myriad beings bloom and bear fruit.
Go to rest late at night and rise early.
Never get enough of the sun.
Let the mind have no anger.
Stimulate beauty and have your elegance perfected.
Cause the qi to flow away,
as if that what you loved were located outside.
This is correspondence with the qi of summer and it is the Way to nourish growth.
Opposing it harms the heart.
Follow our journey.
