Guest guest Posted May 5, 2000 Report Share Posted May 5, 2000 -- --------- Forwarded Message --------- DATE: Fri, 05 May 2000 01:31:38 Dagmar Riley <dagmar-riley Letter-from-China _____ LETTER FROM CHINA May '00 (1) A newsletter on and modern China by Dagmar Riley ______ In this issue: THE 5 ELEMENTS ....(A) Short Revision ....(B) The organ associated with Fire: the Heart BEIJING MEMOIRS OF MY CANADIAN FRIEND ROBIN ....a walk down the street DISCLAIMER SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE information ______ Please feel free to FORWARD this newsletter to friends. ______ A)SHORT REVISION: The 5 Elements are a symbol for the 5 basic energies of the Universe. The 5 Elements are: Wood - Fire - Earth - Metal - Water. The Element FIRE is associated with: Summer - Growth - Joy/Lust - Heat - Heart - Small Intestine - Tongue - bitter. For BACK ISSUES of this series, please visit http://www.topica.com/lists/Letter-from-China/read B) THE 5 ELEMENTS - FIRE If you just joined us and haven't read the Letter from China [00/1 (2)] explaining the fundamental difference between the Chinese concept and the Western concept of the internal organs, please go to http://www.topica.com/lists/Letter-from-China/read As you read about the function unit of the body that the Chinese call the Heart, it is helpful to keep one thing in mind: One of the main differences between Chinese and Western medicine is, that internal organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are not defined as physical matter but as functions. The Chinese Heart has 6 main functions: *It governs Blood *It controls the blood vessels *It manifests in the complexion *It houses the Mind *It opens into the tongue *It controls sweat. In the oldest classic, the " Yellow Emperor (compiled around 2600 before Christ) the Yellow Emperor asks his Minister Qi Bo: " Explain to me the functions and relations between the 12 internal organs and their meridians. And Qi Bo answered: " [...]The Heart governs all other organs, it represents the consciousness of a person. It is responsible for intelligence, wisdom and spiritual transformation.[...] Before going into the functions one by one, let us remember that in there is no separation of body and mind. Body and mind are dependent on each other, nourish each other and therefore also influence each other in cases of disharmony. This interdependence is especially apparent in the physiology and pathology of the heart, and many cases of mental disturbance that would be treated by psychiatrists or psychologists in the West are treated as a Heart disharmony in China. I know that at first sight this sounds incredible, but stop and consider: Nowadays, the concept of " Body & Mind " also becomes more and more popular in the West - I see the slogan printed on countless New-Age books. But we tend to apply this " Body and Mind " concept only in one direction (undoubtedly influenced by Western psychology): We only concentrate on influencing the body through the mind. Techniques like rebirthing might be wonderful tools. But " Body and Mind goes further than this, it also works the other way around. What follows from that is, that we have a chance to give our overburdened minds a rest: It is extremely hard and frustrating to control emotional problems just with our minds. Everybody will agree that you can't just make yourself feel not-depressed, that you can't make yourself an extrovert, happy and compassionate person just by will. If you merely try to imitate a happy charismatic person and don't have the necessary body constitution, your efforts will appear empty, without substance, fake. It is great to think or talk emotional problems out - if they just arose and only affect the mind. Once these emotional problems are around for a while, they affect the body - the heart. Now it is not only a problem of the mind, but of the body as well. People who physically feel bad tend to (unintentionally) behave bad, a fact largely ignored by psychotherapy. If you make your body feel better, it makes it much easier to act better. Once you act positively, you will feel positive emotions. Instead of ONLY thinking emotional problems out and trying to control our minds and emotions by will, let our body take action instead: Eat good and healthy food, live a good lifestyle, exercise. I know this sounds like your grandma's advice, but it is far more effective than brooding or feeling guilty and frustrated in a hopeless battle against your mind/emotions. Grandma spoke wise words! The functions of the Heart in detail: GOVERNING BLOOD Like in western medicine, the Heart is responsible for blood circulation. If circulation is good and Heart-blood is sufficient, the person will have a regular pulse, a strong body constitution and warm hands and feet. When this function is impaired, the hands are cold. Intellectual overexertion and reading in the evening (reading that requires a lot of concentration) can cause Heart-blood deficiency. CONTROLLING THE BLOOD VESSELS A regular pulse, not too weak and not too forceful, shows a healthy heart. MANIFESTING IN THE COMPLEXION A bright and healthy complexion, slightly moist, not pale but not red, reflects a healthy Heart and ample blood supply. A Heart-deficiency pattern will result in a pale complexion. A Heart-excess pattern will result in a red complexion. The Heart not only manifests in the complexion but also in the expression of the face, it reflects a person's charisma. HOUSING THE MIND " The Mind " stands for -consciousness -mental activity -the emotional state of a person -thinking -sleep -memory If the Mind is disturbed by Heart-fire or is not nourished properly due to Heart-Blood or Heart-Yin deficiency, it won't be firmly rooted and grow restless. A person with a healthy heart will sleep deeply and will wake up feeling rested, whereas a person with Heart-fire or a deficiency of Heart-blood or Heart-Yin will have dream- disturbed sleep, have difficulties falling asleep or tend to wake up during the night. If Heart-blood is not nourishing the Mind, mental restlessness, anxiety, emotional problems or depression may result. People with a restless mind may talk and laugh inappropriately (e.g. laugh too loudly, too often, or uncontrollably) and tend to avoid eye contact. Heart imbalances are also the root cause for many mental disturbances and illnesses. OPENING INTO THE TONGUE Tongue diagnosis is of particular importance in respect to heart disharmonies. The color of the body of the tongue, its shape and whether it is moist or dry reflects the state of the Heart. For example, a red tongue with a redder and swollen tip with red points and possibly a midline crack that reaches the tip is a sign of Heart-fire. Deficient blood will reflect in a pale tongue. A healthy Heart enables a person to express his feelings and emotions clearly. Remember how the Fire-type personality loves to talk and is able to express his thoughts and feelings so clearly that his listeners are charmed, delighted, fascinated. In the case of Heart-Qi or Heart-Yang deficiency patterns, the patient often talks slowly or does not like to talk and communicate his feelings/thoughts to others. It follows naturally that people with Heart disharmonies who can't express themselves well also feel that nobody really understands them and tend to feel lonely and isolated. The opposite is the case in Heart-fire patterns or Heart-Yin deficiency: The person can't stop talking and talks very fast. Stuttering and other disorders of verbal expression are also due to heart disharmonies. CONTROLLING SWEAT A Heart-deficiency pattern may result in spontaneous sweating, empty heat patterns can cause night sweating. HEART DISHARMONIES: LIST OF SYMPTOMS Possible symptoms of DEFICIENCY PATTERNS: *palpitations *pale, dull face *pale tongue *cold hands and feet *weak and irregular pulse *tiredness, lack of vitality *flush easily *restlessness *dizziness *sweating *feeling of stuffiness or discomfort in the heart region *easily startled *disturbing dreams *sleeplessness *poor memory *stuttering or other speech disorders *aphasia *lack of concentration *no zest for life, not able to " just enjoy " , often says he/she is " too busy " to enjoy him/herself. *not able to finish anything: Patients with a deficiency pattern lack the " fire " , the ability to give themselves to a project to make it come alive. They perceive the demand to give themselves as too overpowering and rather quit and start something else instead. *not able to maintain close relationships over time *fickleness in relationships: love-hate relationships, always changing between too trusting and distrust *desperate to be liked, fear of rejection *lack of efficiency *anxiety Possible symptoms of EXCESS PATTERNS: *palpitations *red face *very red tip of the tongue, possibly a midline crack reaching to the tip *thirst *mouth and tongue ulcers *dark urine *inappropriate, too loud laughter *incessant talking *hyperactivity, always seems like he/she has drunk too much coffee. *sleeplessness *anxiety *sweat easily *can't pay attention *too much ( " fire " ) enthusiasm for too many projects at once, that they are then unable to finish. *restlessness *manic phase *possibly mental illnesses Possible symptoms of EMPTY HEAT: [ " Empty Heat " is caused by Yin deficiency. The lack of Yin makes Yang-fire appear to be in excess (whereas, in reality, the quantity of Yang hasn't changed and the apparent excess is due to the Yin deficiency), the patient can show symptoms that seem to point to an excess pattern. However, these symptoms can often be distinguished from the " real " excess symptoms.] *red cheeks only(the whole face being red points to " real excess " ) *night sweat *feeling hot in the palms of the hand and the soles of the feet *feeling of heat especially in the evening *dry mouth and throat *ulcers in the mouth *sleeplessness *palpitations *insomnia *dream-disturbed sleep *easily startled *poor memory *anxiety The emotional symptoms of people with " empty heat " are similar to people with excess, but " empty heat " people are easily tired and worn out. Possible symptoms of HEART BLOOD STAGNATION: This pattern usually results from other Heart-patterns and does not occur on its own. In addition to the symptoms of the Heart-pattern it is combined with, symptoms include *pain in the region of the heart, radiating to the left arm or shoulder *feeling of oppression of the chest *bluish or purplish lips *cold hands <NEXT ISSUE: Balancing Heart Disharmonies> *********************Ad 1******************************* Relieve physical & mental stress by improving your financial future! Get the most recent back issue of Probe Consultants' Free Household Money Saving Tips Newsletter. Send an email to autoresponder tips?Subject=LtrChina To free online or for more information, visit: http://www.go-probe.com/householdtips.shtml?LtrChina *********************Ad 2******************************* FREE Healing Herbs Newsletter~Weekly articles on Natural Health and Healing, with verse by the Master Healer! Join us for a chance at FREE weekly ads! healingherbsnl- *********************End Ad***************************** ______ BEIJING MEMOIRS OF MY CANADIAN FRIEND ROBIN [i had the opportunity, over the past year, to visit China. My husband is a refrigeration mechanic who was sent to Beijing to build an ice rink in a shopping plaza so that you can skate and shop. Since I love to travel, I quit my job to follow him. This is the story as it unfolds.] Today I am going to take you on a walk down Beijing's streets and try to give you a picture of what it is like. As you come out of the World Trade Center and start walking down the road toward the Silk Market, you will find a " glassed in " sign board with today's newspaper spread out for all to read - both in English and Chinese, and there is usually a few people standing there catching up with the days events. As you pass that and walk further along the men with the carts that have candied lichees and mandarin orange slices offer a sample of their wares. In case you don't want dessert first there is a cart with a big barrel of hot coals. On the grill are baking yams which are quite delicious and people often have them for lunch. Along the sidewalk a littler further is a cart with what looks like a pizza shell sized tortilla warming on a hot stone. The " chef " slathers a chili sauce over it and then ads scrambled eggs on top, folding it with a spatula and presents it to the buyer for breakfast. I haven't tried that yet - I am a little nervous about the chili sauce since I have a pretty bland palate. The smell of all of these carts is quite wonderful and is one of the things I will miss. As you stroll along, there are people that are obviously from the area of China near the Mongolian border. They are dressed in the local costume - long tunics with Russian style fur hats with flaps that hang over their ears to keep them warm. They often have children with them who are dressed alike and have jet-black sparkling eyes and rosy red cheeks. They are showing their wares - skulls of cattle or goats complete with the curly horns-not on my list of souvenirs. Of course there are salespeople everywhere and you are offered silk woven tablecloths in bright colors, " CD ROMs and CD Music " hats, scarves and mittens from a blanket spread out on the walkway and musical " Chairman Mao " lighters. You have now come to where you cross the street. That is a feat in itself. In the middle of the wide street is a policeman on a platform trying to direct traffic. It is only the cars that obey, what you have to watch out for are the bicycles - hundreds of them-all who have the right of way, as far as they are concerned. I have become very adept at walking, stopping and generally avoiding crashing with these fearless riders. It was in this area that we met two young artists who noticed our Canadian flag pins on our coats and wanted to talk and find out about Canada. Everyone wants to know about our country. After walking a short way with them, they veered off to a side street and offered to show us their work in their school. However, we didn't have the time and with cheery waves off they went. Along the way you will notice people with little bunnies in chicken wire cages that they seem to take everywhere with them. Also their birds complete with cages are taken on family outings to where ever they may be going. The barbershops are something to behold. Along one of the main roads are chairs set up with men and boys draped with sheets having their hair cut in view of all who pass by. This occurs even in this weather and is one of the many pictures that will stay with me. After much dodging and weaving through people you finally arrive at the Silk Market, which is in fact only about 3 blocks from where we started but many indelible pictures away. ______ DISCLAIMER The material in this newsletter is intended for informational purposes only. I do not prescribe and I do not diagnose. If you use the information in this newsletter without the approval of a health professional, you prescribe for yourself, which remains your constitutional right, but the author assumes no responsibility. _______ SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE The Letter from China is published every two weeks on Fridays. New rs will be forwarded the current issue. by sending a BLANK email to: Letter-from-China- by sending a BLANK email to: Letter-from-China- submit your own personal stories gesund2000 and write " article submission " in the subject line. comments, suggestions or criticism gesund2000 and write " comment " in the subject line. for back issues visit http://www.topica.com/lists/Letter-from-China/read _______ Copyright ) 2000 by Dagmar Riley. All rights reserved worldwide. _________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics --------- End Forwarded Message --------- --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Before you buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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