Guest guest Posted May 20, 2000 Report Share Posted May 20, 2000 >--------- Forwarded Message --------- > >DATE: Thu, 18 May 2000 17:08:28 >Dagmar Riley <dagmar-riley >Letter-from-China > >_____ > >LETTER FROM CHINA >May '00 (2) >A newsletter on and modern China > >by Dagmar Riley >______ > >In this issue: > >THE 5 ELEMENTS >...(A) Short Revision >...(B) Balancing Heart Disharmonies - 1 > >BEIJING MEMOIRS OF MY CANADIAN FRIEND ROBIN >...The Cricket > >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) BALANCING HEART DISHARMONIES - 1 > >Balancing Heart Disharmonies includes 3 aspects: >*your lifestyle >*nutrition >(nutrition is part of your lifestyle, but it's a large >enough issue to be treated separately) >*medical (self-)treatment >including herbal products, acupuncture, acupressure. > >In this issue, we will look at the first aspect: Lifestyle. > >ABOUT CALMING THE FIRE >Let us revise the following three characteristics of >Fire-energy: ><<Fire needs to consume substance for its existence; out of >control, it consumes more and more substance (Yin) as it >grows, and ultimately kills itself by depriving itself of >its source of existence. This can happen if the Fire-type >becomes addicted to constant emotional or sexual stimulus >without any rest, or if the internal organs associated with >Fire (the Heart and Small Intestine) become unbalanced.>> > ><<Once joy is uncontrolled or tends towards lust and selfish >pleasure, the substance or Yin aspect of the body is affected. >A " joyful heart " then turns into a hectic, nervous, manic or >obsessive " heart " . Lasting, well-founded happiness is >something very different from the obsession with constant >joy!>> > ><<In his unbound hunger for life, the Fire-type needs to >realize that fire has to be fed by substance, the Yin aspect, >and that he needs to nourish his Yin aspect with quiet, >meditative hours. After experiencing peace on his own and >recharging his batteries, he is ready to go out again and >inspire us, enlighten us, and make our hearts >feel warm and alive!>> > >The bottom line is: Learn to calm down once in a while! After >expressing their seemingly unbound fire, Fire-types have to >learn to fill up their reservoir again: > >a) relationships and solitude >To stay healthy, the Fire-type needs people, he needs >relationships and intimacy. For him it is extremely >important to have friends where he can express his >emotions and live out his feelings. He suffers more than >others when friends leave or when there are problems in a >relationship. To remain balanced, the Fire type should make >sure that he/she has a good and active social life. Music >and dancing are great ways to meet lots of people and express >his/her fiery self. >Solitude will give you clarity so that you don't get muddled >up in complicated relationships, it will also give you the >energy to maintain your social life. It doesn't have to be >meditation: Listen to some music, take a walk on your own, >play an instrument (the violin - what a great " fire instrument " , >aaaaaaaah!) take a bubble bath, light some candles - and >just be with yourself. > >b) sports and rest >Sports are wonderful for everyone. For the Wood type, healthy >competition was important, for the Fire-type it is - guess >what? - the social aspect. Team sports and social sports like >tennis or skiing are ideal, especially if the Fire-type can >dress up in the latest ski- or tennis-fashion! The Fire-type >enjoys the audience as much as the activity itself. In contrast >to the Wood-type, for him winning is not everything (although >he does not shrink away from competition). The Fire-type is >happy when he is seen by and meets lots of people. If he has >fun and can laugh with everybody, this is the kind of sport >that makes him happy and that he should go for. He should >avoid highly competitive sports or teams with lots of Wood-types. > >Resting: As Fire is an energy that blazes up when out of >control, the Fire-type's Qi is easily concentrated in the upper >part of the body. Breathing exercises are wonderfully calming, >and breathing into the abdomen can rebalance the Qi being >stuck in the upper part of the body. Sit down cross-legged, >close your eyes and breathe deep into your lower abdomen. >5 minutes is all you need. > >c)Summertime. >Summertime - and the livin' is easy. remember this song? >Fire types should take it easy in the summer. Summer is the >season of the fire type, but he/she is also most susceptible >to imbalances during this time. Extreme heat is a burden on >fire types, and combined with over-activity and the Fire-type's >tendency to enthusiastically start 10 projects at once can >deplete Yin. Being active but relaxed, you can use " your " >season to preserve and strengthen your energy. > >d)saying " no " - just sometimes >The Fire-type wants to melt with everyone, hug the world, >love the universe. He does NOT want to say " no " . He wants >to say yes to everyone and everything. Which is wonderful. >But he has to remember that it is physically and mentally >impossible to participate in everything around him. It is >also important to say " no " to people, if the situation >requires it, in order not to lose yourself. Just sometimes. > >FIRE TIME > " Fire time " during the day is from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. >For the healthy Fire-type, this is his/her time to be creative, >make difficult decisions or complete important tasks. If you >feel especially tired or overexcited during this time this >may be a sign that your fire-energy is out of balance. > >FIRE LIFESTYLE CHECK-UP >If the fire-type feels out of balance, it is worthwhile >thinking about the following aspects: > >*relationships and social life: >Do I have enough friends that I can share my joy of living >with? >Do I have good friends that know me well and that I can share >my feelings with, or do I jump from one person to another? >Can I be alone with myself? >Do I have enough time for myself? >Can I deal with my emotions or am I often overwhelmed by them? >What can I do when my emotions are too much for me? >Can I express myself and my feelings clearly? If not, why not? >Have I found a good balance between activity and rest? > >*work >Do I have a job that allows me to express my social talents? > >*living environment >Do I live in an environment that offers enough cultural and >social activities? > >*partner >Does my partner understand my need for lots of friends and >social contacts or does he/she get jealous? > >Join us again next time when we will talk about nutrition! >______ > >ABOUT LAST TIME'S CORRECTION >Last time I sent out a correction notice, telling you that >the Heart is not associated with the ears, but with the tongue. >This notice has caused considerable reactions amongst my >readers who are Practitioners, saying that >the Heart is indeed associated with the ears, and why did I >correct it. >Here is the explanation: According to the classic > " Simple Questions " (Su Wen), the Heart has a secondary opening >into the ears, that's true. >That means when treating ear problems, practitioners also >have to take the Heart into consideration (as well as e.g. >the Kidneys). >Everything is somehow connected to everything else, but in >order not to make things too complicated for my laymen >readers, I thought it to be better to only mention primary >openings, really. The Heart's primary opening is into the >tongue. >_______ >*********************Ad 1******************************* >Concerned about chemicals in your garden? Terra Viva's >Organic Living newsletter offers free advice on how to >garden without pesticides. >Subscribe at: http://www.tvorganics.com/main.cfm?action=showSubscribers >Terra Viva Organics - www.tvorganics.com >*********************Ad 2******************************* >Life is a long journey. You don't have to make it alone. >WomanLinks.com offers a forum for women to support, inform >and empower each other. For all the roles you play, >WomanLinks.com is your safe haven on the Net. >http://www.womanlinks.com >*********************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.] > >Congratulate us! We have a new addition to our family. Michael >was out to lunch yesterday with the guys from work and since >he had given out some Cimco (the company he works for) baseball >hats, one of the guys presented him with a gift in return. It >was a beautifully etched bottle made out of a gourd (I think) >and inside it was a Chinese cricket! As some of you will know, >crickets are omens of good luck and the Chinese carry them >around in these little gourds (with ventilation holes). > >He arrived home with it and the leftovers from lunch. As he >stood inside the door he announced that he had received a gift. >At that point a very strange noise started coming from the >vicinity of his stomach. I thought he had one of those gag >mechanical crickets, but he undid his shirt and pulled out this >gourd, announcing that it was real. > >He also had two bags of plastic containers with him, one of >which he allowed me to look in and one he suggested strongly >that I didn't. In the first one were Chinese pastries and his >left over lunch, which were fried scorpions. He thought I might >want to try them. Yeah, Right! In the other was the cricket's >food---He tells me that they are maggots -I chose not to look. > >He then wanted to show me his new pet. I wasn't too sure but >he pulled off the lid of the gourd and shook out the cricket. >It doesn't look like the crickets at home but, in fact, more >like a grasshopper. It is actually, quite pretty with a >fluorescent green/blue colour and is about 2 inches long with >long legs and " grasshopper like " head. Apparently it doesn't >jump and when he put the opening of the gourd over it- he just >climbed back into his home. > >As with all kids who bring home a pet, I told him in no >uncertain terms, that he would be the one to feed and care for >it! Quite enthusiastically he told me that if you keep it warm >that it would sing for us. So, we put it in a warm place near >the heat, and sure enough, he started chirping. The funniest >thing was that during the night it didn't stop singing and so >Michael had to get up and place the gourd in a cooler place so >that we could get some sleep. You all know what it is like with >a new puppy, well now so does Michael! I chuckled a lot over >that this morning. > >For the last few days it has been getting progressively warmer >and sunny. In fact Beijing gets very little cloud, I have found. >Needless to say, I was going to enjoy sightseeing outside. > >Jing Shan Park is the park across the street from the Forbidden >City and as I was dropped off by the taxi and crossed the >road I saw a view of full sized mannequins dressed in traditional >costumes set up on a stage at the entrance of the park. A little >boy played on the steps and another photo opportunity presented >itself. I wandered along the pathway looking for the steps to >take me up to the pavilions that I could see on the top of the >hills in the park. I found what looked like a good place to >start up the hill and as I started climbing I realized that >there were literally hundreds of steps straight up this " hill " . > >They took me higher and higher and as I got halfway up I stopped >and looked behind me. I could see over the top of the wall >containing the Forbidden City, and rising out of the mist (smog) >were rows and rows of curved tile roofs. As I continued up the >steps, I passed a Chinese woman of about 55 coming down. We >smiled at each other and went on our way. I finally got to the >top and was rewarded by a view of Beijing that showed the old >(the Forbidden City) and the new (sky scrapers and cranes)- it >was truly a breathtaking sight. > >I wandered along the top of the hill and visited the different >pavilions constructed to provide a new vista from each one. >I noticed a woman climbing the stairs who seemed to be the one >I had passed on my way up, but she had been going down, so >obviously I was wrong. In the distance I could see a white >pagoda in a park to the west of the one I was visiting so I >decided to explore that. As I descended I again passed the >same woman climbing the hundreds of steps up this " hill " . >By now, her face was red and her hair was getting wet. I smiled >and gestured " three times? " she shook her head and held up >FIVE fingers. Five times!!! I bowed with respect and she giggled. >Who needs a stair master!! > >I could see another park in the distance and will explore that >another day. >______ >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 --------- ______________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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