The Five Elements in Chinese Philosophy

The yin and yang philosophy was further refined into the system of the five elements to gain a deeper understanding of how the body, mind and spirit work and acupuncture.

The microcosm of the body is linked to the universe and is affected by the daily and seasonal cycles of nature. (Think about the seasonal affective disorder which manifests itself in winter or when the light is not sufficient). The individual and the world are changing all the time. But Chinese believe that these changes are occurring in certain order and in cycles. (We can think about these like our economic cycles or agricultural cycles. A period of growth is always followed by a period of stagnation or unemployment. In the stock market, a bull market is always followed by a bear market etc.) In the same way, a seed planted in spring blooms in summer, seeds itself in late summer to autumn, dies in winter, and a new seed grows again in spring. It is part of a never-ending cycle and each phase has its role to play in maintaining the balance of nature. The same process of change occurs within the body. Cells grow and die to make way for new cells, and body systems depend upon each other in a similar way to the seasons, working together to ensure the balanced functioning of the body, mind and spirit and the healthy flow of life through the whole person.

 

Representation of The Five Elements  

 

 

Are you creating a perception gap?

If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions, your inner ‘you’ doesn’t match the ‘you’ that others see.

1. Do you care what others think about you?  Are you paranoid you’ve created the wrong impression, obsessing about trivial details in conversations?  You may underestimate how others think of you.

2.  Do you feel exhausted after a day at work and short-tempered at home once you can let your guard down?  This is a sign of people pleasing; the effort of presenting a different ‘you’ is so tiring that, when you’re behind closed doors, the anger and resentment spills out.

3. Do you tidy up your house scupulously before anyone comes round?  This is a good way of judging how much you care about what others think of you.  How much do you care if people see your mess?

4. If someone says something negative about you, how much does it hurt?  If you’re secure, congruent and know who you are, a criticism won’t be wounding.  You’re more likely to feel, ‘This is part of being me.  If I can accept it, I hope others can, too.’

Delayed Decisions Freeze Fear in Place

Fear is the reason we delay taking an action.  We’re afraid we’re going to fail, or we’re afraid of the unknown.  The irony is that by delaying, we freeze the fear in place.  Permanent fear leads to a kind of chronic, emotional, psychological, and spiritual pain.

Let’s say you’re afraid of asking a man out to dinner because you’re worried he’ll turn you down.  As a result, you delay asking him, rationalising that the time isn’t right.  The longer you delay, the longer you will remain fearful of his rejection.  As long as the outcome is in doubt, you are still frightened.  That fear continues to lead you to delay, and since there’s no perfect time, you can keep on rationalising your inaction until he goes out with someone else.  Then you can shrug it off, say it wasn’t meant to be, and find someone else not to ask out to dinner.  By delaying, you’ve locked your fear in place.  It will be there to delay you the next time you meet someone and the time after that.

Only by taking the action and experiencing either success or failure can you get past this fear.  Stop waiting for the perfect time, it will never come.  Instead, realise that today is the best time to do anything.  This is the moment.  There’s no time like now, so take the action.  It may not always turn out positively, but at least you will put the fear behind you and be able to move on.

There’s a wonderful little story in the Talmud about a wise man walking in the countryside all by himself.  He rounds a bend in the trail and comes upon a pack of wild dogs.  Since he’s afraid of dogs …..  he immediately sits down among them.

One of the hidden points in that parable is that the wise man ‘immediately’ sits down among the dogs.  He doesn’t waste time worrying about what might happen or how things could turn out.  He realises every moment spent hesitating is another moment living in fear.  He doesn’t wait for the dogs to lie down to sleep, or to become distracted by a rabbit, or to start playing with one another.  He realises there’s no perfect time to take the action.  He knows the best time to take action is now.