| |
Articles
What are the Five Elements?
by Deborah Valentine Smith
Five Element theory is a metaphorical description of various attributes of matter, energy and spirit. Ultimately, all is one: the Tao. But to have subject and object, the opportunity to play with the stuff of the universe, the One differentiates into different qualities that may then interact and create existence as we know it. The ultimate division is into yin and yang. But even yin and yang must begin and grow and diminsh. The five elements - or, more accurately, phases - describe the beginning of yin (Metal), the fullness of yin (Water), the beginning of yang (Wood), the fullness of yang (Fire), and the midpoint, the transition between them (Earth).
-
Earth/Yellow
Middle, Indian Summer, Maturing
Stomach and Spleen/Pancreas Meridians
Earth, grounding, the energy of the middle; the stillness at the extreme of the pendulum swing, the balance in the transitions from one thing into another. The "officials of the public graineries" (Nei Ching). Responsible for nourishment at all levels, for digestion of raw materials into absorbable chunks, be it food, ideas, emotions. The organs break food down physically (stomach) and chemically (spleen/pancreas) into such small parts that everything is reduced to the same few basic building blocks. The emotional and spiritual functions break down the complexities of the individual into the universal qualities shared by all. Understanding. Sympathy. Recognition. Connection. Home.
-
Fire/Red
The South, Summer, Blossoming
Heart and Small Intestine Meridians: Sovereign Fire
Pericardium and Triple Warmer Meridians: Supplemental Fire
Fire, expanding, the energy moving up and out; light, warmth, brilliance. The heart is the emperor. When any other official is in charge, it is by definition out of balance. The Heart issues the commands based on attunement with the Tao. Supplemental Fire carries out the commands through the circulatory system (pericardium) and the cycles of energy transformation (Triple Warmer). The Small Intestine determines what will enter the blood stream from the outside, and thus come close to the emperor. The amplifier of the emotions, the Heart stores the Shen, or the Spirit, and unites all the emotions. The healthy heart reaches out in Joy, Compassion, Creativity, Relationship.
-
Wood/Green
The East, Spring, Sprouting
Liver and Gall Bladder Meridians
Wood, growing, moving relentlessly through or around obstacles toward its vision of the light, the sun, the Shen. The ability to move with strength and flexibility, the meridians govern the tendons and ligaments, both stabilizing the joints and causing movement of the bones through their connection to the muscles. The Gall Bladder influences all the other organs of the digestive system by a simple "yes" or "no," releasing or not releasing the bile into the Small Intestine. On the emotional level it also governs decision-making, while its partner, the Liver, governs planning and synthesizing. Growth, development, becoming our potential through movement of the body, the emotions, the spirit.
-
Water/Blue
The North, Winter, Keeping Still
Kidney and Bladder Meridians
Water, most receptive of the elements, moves only when moved, finds the shape of its container, and by the completeness of its passivity, becomes powerful. As it falls down the mountain it gains the power of gravity, as it absorbs the warmth of the sun, it gains the power of heat and light. It stores energy. It takes in. The Kidney monitors the levels of many necessary electrolytes in the blood stream, including calcium. If that mineral is lacking, the kidney function stimulates its release from the bones. And so the water element governs the bones, the core, the essence, the reserves. Fear is mobilization of the reserves, Will is the gathering of them. It monitors the metabolism of water - the medium in which most chemical reactions take place. The Bladder stores, holds, puts away, puts things behind us. In the Winter we let drop away what is non-essential, store what is essential and conserve our Qi.
-
Metal/White
The West, Autumn, Pulling In, Letting Go
Lung and Large Intestine Meridians
Metal, crystal, the treasures of the deep earth. That which gives shape and structure to things so we know what is inside, what is outside. The breath, the skin, the Protective Qi. Metal grasps what is precious, like gold, and eliminates what is not. The lung eliminates carbon dioxide, the Large Intestine eliminates solid waste. They both take in water. Holding on and Letting go at the emotional level reveals what is important to us; grief allows us to pull our energy back from that which is no more. The spiritual aspect of metal is the animal spirit that holds on to the human body so that the spirit may manifest in it. It is revealed as our physical energy, our instincts, our sense of preservation and beauty.
A Sample of Self-Acupressure: Jin Shin Do® Bodymind Acupressure™ for Neck and Shoulders
Stranger in a Strange Land
by Deborah Valentine Smith (originally printed in Jin Shin Do® Foundation Newsletter)
Recently I received a brochure in the mail that invited me to "cash in on the $13 billion Alternative Medicine Industry." This seminar promised an overview of the professions and products available in this "new and lucrative" field. My gut response to this was a deep, sinking "Uh Oh." I couldn't seem to clarify my feelings and get them down on paper, so I went to the old master, the I Ching. It spoke to me of the Wanderer and of Modesty. The warning was to be careful to remember that we are not at home. When one is not at home, one may still find shelter, even acquire property. But one must always be alert and on the defensive because one is always viewed as an outsider. By carelessness--by laughing and joking, not taking things seriously enough--even the temporary resting place may be destroyed. Whether in a high position or a low one, the best approach is to be modest. There is no need to brag about accomplishments and no need to avoid attention. The best position, the I Ching says, is to be interested in your work.
My client today had bronchitis and asthma--bronchial spasm. She is seeing a doctor who is giving her drugs, and an acupuncturist who is needling her and giving her herbs. I asked her why she thought of getting a Jin Shin Do® session. She said that the other treatments were effective but Jin Shin Do® is different. She felt she needed body work
What was different about it?
She said she had been sick and stressed for long enough. "I need some hands-on assistance to release. Jin Shin Do® is focused attention. Working points on your self is one thing, but being touched by someone else is different. It is an intersection of many fields. Touching another vessel of life force makes new energies available. And Jin Shin Do® is pleasant. Well...not always, but frequently it induces a state of relaxation that can be very opening. I'm ready to look at what this tightness is about."
The Jin Shin Do® practitioner wanders through the hospitals and doctors' offices. "What do you do?" they ask. Remembering we are not at home, we translate the language of energy fields into the language of medicine. We speak of the effects of energy flow on physical structure. We notice physical manifestations. We address symptoms. And this is true. This is part of what we do.
Part of the skill of addressing symptoms is learning the diagnostics of Traditional Chinese Medicine, though we are careful to call it "assessment of the energy condition" because we are not at home in TCM either. We don't address yin/yang, dry/damp, hot/cold, excess and deficiency in the same way as acupuncturists or herbalists. "What do you do?" they ask. We speak the language of meridians and Extraordinary Vessels, of Eight Principles and Five Elements, Six Divisions and Four Levels of Protection. We follow the flow of Qi. We assist in correcting imbalance and opening blockages. And this is true. This is part of what we do.
As the blockages open, we work with deep emotions, memories and trauma. But we are not therapists. "What do you do?" the therapists ask. We talk about segments and emotional armoring; about body memory, meridians and emotions. We follow the Qi, we notice how the mind tries to stop the feelings, stop the flow of Qi. We follow the workings of the mind back to the healthy core of the being. The true nature speaks. The spirit makes itself known in whatever way necessary. We are on its side. And this is true. This is part of what we do.
But we are not ministers or priests or gurus. "What do you do?" the spiritual people ask. And we speak of the Shen, the light of the being and its connection to Tao. Sometimes we translate Tao to God because it is the language of the land we are in. And this is true too. This is part of what we do.
But we are not at home in any of these lands. When we attempt to set up permanent residence in any one of them or we lose our true resting place--our nest will burn. Like the birds, our home changes from season to season. We may rest a while in this or that place, this or that discipline or institution, but we carry our home with us. This is the miracle that is Jin Shin Do®.
The I Ching, long before Heinlein, described the Stranger in a Strange Land. The Old Master's advice to the Stranger is to be modest. A stranger has no large circle of friends. Not many are like him, so it is best for him not to give himself airs. "If through carelessness a man loses his cow--i.e. his modesty and adaptability--evil will result." Modesty, when it is in a high position like the mountain, dispenses the clouds and rain that gather round it and disperses light. Modesty, when it is in lowly position like the earth, is lifted up.
The superior man reduces that which is too much
And augments that which is too little.
He weighs things and makes them equal.
The I Ching says also that the plain--the area between the mountain and the valley--took a long time to achieve through these means of building up the low and diminishing the high. In the end it seems easy of accomplishment and self-evident. This is the image of modesty.
Isn't this true of Jin Shin Do®? It is a coming together of many elements. It is the lofty aspects of the spirit, the lowly material aspects of the physical body. It has taken thousands of years to develop, yet seems "natural" as we practice it. The spiritual is not more important than the physical/emotional. Neither is the reverse the case. Where a person is over focused on one to the detriment of the other, we help him/her to find balance. This too is modesty.
How do we describe all this on an insurance form? When we are asked for a protocol for asthma or bulimia or arthritis, what do we say? Is there a code for modesty? It becomes necessary to use the language required in the land in which we find ourselves. But we must remember that we are visiting. We may speak the language fluently but we do not look or act the same as the natives. When we give up being ourselves, we lose our true resting place.
"Jin Shin Do® is intuitive and spontaneous." my client said. "It is what it is." Not acupuncture, not bodywork, not therapy, not laying on of hands. Yet all that. We can speak the foreign language and still remember from whence we come.
Suggested Reading
The Acupressure Way of Health: Jin Shin Do, by Iona M. Teeguardan
Japan Publications, Tokyo, New York, 1979
Iona's first book about Taoist Philosophy, Jin Shin Do® and the Strange Flows, including locations for the first 30 points.
The Joy of Feeling: Bodymind Acupressure , by Iona M. Teeguarden
Japan Publications, Tokyo, New York, 1987.
Since the publication of the first book, Ms. Teeguarden developed the "Emotional Kaleidoscope," a particularly effective depiction of the interaction of emotions correlated with the five element theory of acupuncture taught in Advanced Jin Shin Do®. This book describes these "Five Lands" of the emotions and explores them through descriptions of actual therapeutic sessions with clients.
A Complete Guide to Acupressure, by Iona M. Teeguarden
Japan Publications, Tokyo, New York, Revised, 2002
This book was written with Senior JSD teachers. It outlines key theories such as Qi, meridians, segments, Strange Flows, and Five Elements. It also includes several chapters on applications, including 60 release examples for common problems.
"Acupressure in the Classroom," by Iona M. Teeguarden.
East West Journal, August 1985
"Acupressure Therapy for Tension Headaches," by Dorothy Kroll
Alternative and Complementary Therapies, November 1995
Asthma: Breathe Again Naturally and Reclaim Your Life, by Mimi Weisbord
St. Martin's Press, New York, 1997.
Products
Music/Meditation CDs from Deborah Valentine Smith
Three CDs: Bodymind Ease, Meditation and Music for Relaxation; Bodymind Treasures, Meditation and Music on the Five Elements and Bodymind Wisdom, Guided dialogue with inner wisdom and music. Hear clips and order at http://www.bodymindtreasurs.com
Available from the Jin Shin Do® Foundation
The Jin Shin Do® Acupressure Catalog includes books, booklets, charts, article reprints, video and audiotapes, and other information and material available from the Jin Shin Do® Foundation. It, as well as copies of the annual newsletter Acupressure News, may be requested from the Jin Shin Do® Foundation for Bodymind Acupressure™ , 1084G San Miguel Canyon Road, Watsonville, CA 95076, or downloaded from http://www.jinshindo.org.
Video:"Natural Pain Relief" produced by Wellspring Media and the New York Open Center. Features guided JSD self-neck release by Deborah Valentine Smith, self-reflexology by Elaine Hyams Koelmel, and Awareness Through Breathing and Visualization with Jeanne Anselmo. It is distributed by Fox Lorber Associates, Inc. $19.95 from Deborah Valentine Smith. E-mail for order form to jsdeast@aol.com.
Helpful Links
- The Jin Shin Do® Foundation for Bodymind Acupressure™
Official site of the Jin Shin Do® Foundation for Bodymind Acupressure™ . FAQs, recent articles and international directory of practitioners and teachers.
- The American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia
Official site of the Ameridan Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia. FAQs and info about Asian Bodywork Therapy, directory of member practitioners and teachers.
- Cayce/Reilly School of Massotherapy
Offers the full JSD Practitioner Training in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Teachers: Terese Cannon, Deborah Valentine Smith, Iona Marsaa Teeguarden.
- Acupuncture
FAQs about acupuncture and herbs; directory of practitioners, resources including schools, books, and charts., and current articles about acupuncture from the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Includes an interactive model of acu-points.
- Dr. Shen's Chinese Herbs
Information on Chinese herbs. Excellent Q&A about specific herbal remedies, and international directory of practitioners
- BCATA
The site for the British Columbia Acupressure Therapists Associaton. FAQs, articles, directory of practitioners and teachers in British Columbia.
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Online Pharmacy
Chinese Materica Medica database for 700 herbs.
- Directory 4Health.com
Online health Directory and Health Resource
- Health 4 Search.com
Health Directory and Fitness Resouce
- Chinese Medicine Directory
- Directory of Schools and Practitioners of Chinese Medicine**
Contact Information
For further information, or to report problems with this web site, contact Deborah Valentine Smith, jsdeast@earthlink.net
The Jin Shin Do® Foundation for Bodymind Acupressure™ may be reached at PO Box 416, Idyllwild, CA 9249, or http://www.jinshindo.org.
This site was designed by  and last updated on 12/12/07.
Tao Te Ching quotations from Stephen Mitchell translation
Site ©2000-2007 by Deborah Valentine Smith
|
