Some thoughts on Earth deficiency

According to the five elements, if Earth is deficient then Wood over-controls and is excess. Water is excess as it is under-controlled. Metal doesn’t receive proper nourishment from Earth and Fire is drained by the deficient Earth. 

Earth is the matrix and web within which all qi moves around. If the web is weak, the qi moves too easily through it. To understand this more easily, think about the difference between dropping a weight through water and dropping it through the air. It falls much more heavily through the air and does more damage when it hits. The same weight through water falls slowly and gently settles on the bottom. Wood rises through the web of Earth and Metal descends through the same. 

Wood qi rises without resistance. We see heat and excess qi in the head in the form of headaches and rashes in the chest and head.

Metal qi falls without resistance. When Earth is deficient, we can see a thickening of the Earth web which can lead to constipation. The metal Qi has trouble descending through the thickening and the bowels are obstructed. As the Earth yang gets more deficient, the web may weaken and break up, at which point the Metal Qi falls downward without resistance and we see explosive diarrhea.

Water is not controlled properly by spleen. Think of the Earth qi as the baffles and honeycombs holding the water in place. When the Earth Qi is weak, the Water falls downward in the body to it’s natural place near the earth (earth/man/heaven). We see edema and swelling in the four limbs. The transportation and transformation of fluids in the body is Earth holding Water in it’s proper place. 

Image courtesy of Jenny Downing

Extraordinary vessels as soul catcher

Extraordinary vessels are just that, extra-ordinary. They are essential to the body's functioning, but don't behave like regular meridians. They organize the internal energy of the body, how the shen behaves within the body without relation to the outside world. The 12 meridians are effected by and effect the exterior world. The EV's organize the interior world. EV's are built and grow in utero as the fetus grows, before the first breath, they must be complete.

In working with pregnant women, I've noticed that the soul of the baby hovers around the mother and the fetus, but doesn't completely enter the fetus. As the pregnancy continues, it's harder to reach the soul as a separate energy from the mother's energy. When the baby is ready to be born, the soul of the child realizes that it is a separate entity from the mother, but the soul of the baby doesn't fully enter the fetus until the baby has taken it's first breath.

The EV's are both the blueprint and structure for the fetus, allowing it to grow without guidance from a soul, and then they function as the lattice within which the soul resides. The are a deeper level of energetic flow in the body, one that has to do with basic structure in the body and how the soul interacts and is held within the body.

Water extending to the knees.

As the five transformations cycle through us, Fire extends above our bodies into the world and Water below our bodies to root in the ground. The internal transformations cycle through our torsos circulating qi and allowing our bodies to function. Fire extends above our torso into the head, which is a wonderful way for us to receive information from the world. Water extends below our torsos into our knees and legs.

When the Water element is dysfunctional, we may experience it as knee pain. If water qi doesn't descend properly, the knees can be in a state of deficiency. Or they may disconnect from the body and their motions become improper. Or the lack of flow causes the knees to lose lubrication which leads to problems. In all cases, part of the cure is helping the transformation of Water extend below itself and into the knees.

Photo courtesy of postbear

Fever

Fever is one of the body's way of purging itself of unwanted Qi. When a person is sick, the five transformations shift and the body locks itself into the Fire element. During the Fire transformation, the exterior is open as the Fire element connects to the Qi of the surrounding world. In a fever, the exterior is purposely left open to allow something to exit, kind of like leaving the gate open to get an unwanted dog out of the yard.

To make sure that the dog leaves, the Fire element warms the core of the body and takes over the role of protective qi from Metal. If you've ever stood near a hot fire, you know that your reaction is to move away from the heat. The fever plays on the same principle. The expanding internal heat drives out any external improper Qi, and prevents anything else from entering into the body.

When the fever breaks, a person often sweats. This closes the exterior and signals that the body is resuming it's normal transformations in shifting from Fire to Metal.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Greenberg

Wood: Where you look is where you go

The classics teach that Wood pushes up and out, and the liver opens through the eyes.

When I was learning to drive, I was told to pay attention to where I was looking because where you look is where the car will go. I've spent enough time on the road to know that this is true.

Eyes are both receivers and directors. We receive the image as we see it, but our actions are directed by what we see. We go towards the things we see. Wood energy reaches out into the world in all directions looking for connections. When our eyes fall upon something, we move towards it to make a connection. Observe an infant exploring her world as her body moves towards each new sight.

Within Wood is the desire to conquer and the desire to hunt. Wood is involved with dominance over the world and over others, and our competitive nature. Our ability to maintain that focus and vision of where we are going allows us to work steadily. If we lose focus or sight, then we falter. As the expression goes: keep your eyes on the prize.

Photo courtesy of fatboyke (Luc)

Five Element Pulses

My friend and colleague Ethan Borg came up with a wonderful way of taking pulses based on the Su Wen. I think it's a great way to describe the pulses in addition to overall quality. It gives insight into the five transformations within the body.

Each element is represented by a facet of the pulse. Metal is felt on the top of the pulse. Wood runs lengthwise along the sides of the pulse. Water is felt at the bottom of the pulse. Earth is the fullness of the blood passing through the vessel, and Fire is the motive force of the pulse itself. Keep in mind that these are both energetic and physical attributes, so they can be palpated by either adjusting your fingers to that facet of the pulse, or by adjusting your intention.

A wiry pulse can be seen as a Wood excess leading to stiffness and enlargement of the sides of the pulse. If it's narrow, one knows that the excess wood has led to an earth deficiency. Or one can feel as if the center of the pulse has also become stiff which would indicate that wood has invaded earth. A knotted pulse indicates a problem with the heart, which is represented by the a dysfunction in the motive force of the pulse.

For a deeper exploration and understanding of this style of pulse taking, including the quotes from the Su Wen upon which the system is based, see page 21-29 of The Secret Chamber by Ethan Borg.

As a side note: Meridian style acupuncture looks for relative imbalances within the six positions of the pulse, dividing each position into an upper yang and a lower yin position. For an excellent description of that style of acupuncture and pulse taking, I recommend Denmei Shudo's Japanese Classical Acupuncture: Introduction to Meridian Therapy. This Su Wen style of pulse taking can be done in addition to the Japanese style for greater insight.

Sleep: the descent into ourselves

Sleep is the process where a person's qi retreats from the world into the inner cycle of five. The outer cycle is about interacting with the world, but the inner cycle flows through the body alone.

When we fall asleep, the energetic flow contracts into the body. We close our eyes to fall asleep and then our senses dull while we're asleep. Loud lights or noises can intrude into us, but we stop seeking connections and energetic input from the outside world. Wood, which normally pushes out into the world, settles into itself, content with just pushing up within the body, but not above it. During this time, the Wood and Metal cycle through the earth of our body to aerate and clean it.

Fire, which is connected to the flow of qi in the world around us, connects instead to ourselves. It sinks down from our heads, and above our heads, into our physical heart and connection with ourselves. In our hearts, we also find a connection to God. Our dreams reflect ourselves, though some dreams go beyond ourselves through our internal spiritual connection to God.

Metal descends qi and moderates barriers to the outside world. When we are falling asleep, deep breathing helps us to descend into ourselves and fall asleep more easily. Lying down changes the orientation of the descending qi so we are no longer descending into the Water roots of the ground beneath us, but our whole body sinks as one. We sleep not connected above and not connected below, but flowing gently through ourselves.

When we wake, our bodies are contracted, our spines are shorter than at the end of the day. The transformations that normally extend us above and below are just starting again to connect us fully to the world.

Photo courtesy of onkel wart