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The three Months Of autumn They denote taking in and balance. The qi of heaven becomes tense. The qi of earth becomes bright. Go to rest early and rise early, Get up together with the chicken. Let the mind be peaceful and tranquil so as to temper the punishments carried out in autumn. Collect the spirit qi and cause the autumn qi to be balanced. Do not direct your mind to the outside and cause the lung qi to be clear. This is the correspondence with the qi of autumn and it is the way to nourish gathering. Opposing it harms the lung In winter this cause the outflow of undigested food and there is little to support storage -Nei Jing Su Wen
P o Spirit: T he Lungs The Po, also recognized as the white soul, is associated with the season of autumn, and the mental element. It is the spirit form of our existence that needs the body to survive. It is attached to the physical form of the body and returns to earth after death. The Po is known as the Yin aspect of the soul of the body, and responsible for somatic expression movement, agility and balance. It serves to modulate our growth, and our physiology. This feature of our spirit connects us to our instincts. It is aligned to our breath and modulates responsiveness to our environment. The Po helps support our natural ability to thrive. Po is connected to the Hun, Soul of the liver, which is more related to purpose, and our pathway of direction in behavior. It is said that the PO serves the Hun working to come back to its need to fulfill our unique truth. It is important when we think of this connection to recognize what we instinctively respond to and react to, and how we modulate our growth and development relates into our purpose in life. The Po is all about our passions and the responsive reactions that dominate people’s lives and desires. It is said to support tangible consciousness through the two eyes, two ears two nostrils and one mouth. With its relation to sensory organs, it also connects us to mental awareness and shaping our image of reality, It directs our present or immediate behavior in our environment, and known as the animal soul because of its relationship
to instinct and reactions. We liken the Po’s existence to the deeper drive arrangement of the individual. Po relates to the metal element by modulating how we allow the environment to enter and exit our individual system through tour breath. It regulates how and where we show up as people within Response to our environment. It is responsible for our desires is anchored to our physical foundational energy found in the way we bound it to the structures and tissues of our body. It that allows us to feel and seek sex, wealth and food. Clinically when these aspirations become out of balance, a variety of issues show up in the human psyche and behavior. We typically know Americans for excessive behavior, everything is big, fast, immediate, overwhelming and over indulgent. This sets up a perfect storm for distraction of the Po .  When the Po energy does not have a relationship to purpose and feeds on the lower sources of sex wealth and food, It can bring up a host of negative psychological behaviors that cause problems with how we interface with the world. The Po when imbalanced can filter all of our experiences through desire and self fulfilling needs. We can relate these behaviors to narcissistic factors of manipulation and control that center on seeking primal urges, misuse of power, and a fundamental disregard for our impact on others. This misuse of power or narcissism as it relates to taking in relationships and expressing outward in connections becomes an underpinning of tangled distortions, that define our instinctual development from feeding our bigger purpose in life and existence as spiritual beings.
When we reduce ourselves to the carnal desires of just the physical body, the maturation and development of our connection to source or higher self becomes limited, resulting in a shallow personality that feeds off the egoistic beliefs of the mind. When out of balance or unruly, the Po can also lead to betray, as well as revenge. When we look at the driving forces under betrayal; One has to question why they would be incapable of honesty and protecting or maintaining the structures of relationship. It is coming from these deeper overtaking drives of desire, whether that be through success or attaining pleasure and satiation that feed the self distracting us from considering the bonds or ties that we have committed to. This can lead to a host of destruction of self-esteem and trust issues in our partners and family members when loyalties are broken. Because of the metal element’s relationship to value, it draws us closer into the core of what is important within our identity. We recognize a function of the Po in relationships to hold a instinctive support system to allow us to behave and interface in a way that upholds others identities and needs as well as our own equally. This mutual exchange provides for maturation and growth on both sides of the relationship, when modulated by a healthy Po our instincts and responses do not insult others values or betray them and we both grow. Revenge, and the bumbling rage or vengeance, that seeks to punish or inflict injury though seeking justice or equality for a possible injury received brings up the old adage an eye for an eye.  There’s a bitterness in revenge that connects to our deeper desire for self fulfilling desires. The Po’s natural responsiveness to change and processing behavior as it relates to the influence of surviving our environment should temper the desire for revenge in the most conniving sense
Out of balance revenge is unchecked acceptance, or the misdirection of a brutal desire for pain. Martin Luther King Jr. said an eye for an eye leaves us both blind, it is within the balanced state of response that we can find new solutions for that transcend the desire to inflict suffering on another. Seeking revenge is the inability to let something go and is connected to motivations around power and control. It serves to block the energy of forgiving and understanding. This illustrates that the individual seeking revenge is less focused on the connection of relationships, community and or universal needs and seeks to fulfill their own values. Typically there is a sort of catharsis associated with revenge, which also leads into understanding that revenge is to fulfill some physical desire within the self to feel complete. Revenge is different than justice because it seeks to fulfill narrow needs of the individual versus social and cultural norms of balance. Historically, we’re in a time where much of our post spirits have been finding their way to these unruly states. And we are faltering into these behaviors or psychological traits as protective mechanisms. Clinically over many years I’ve seen the disconnect from purpose and potential in life being an underpinning of deep disruption in the Po spirit. Our breath, responsiveness and reactivity has learned to serve something other than our truth. We waste it on seeking attention or gaining attention, fulfilling career pathways or ultimately, being the best at sex money or gain.
This has been a bit of the underpinning of the modern American dream. This year in the case of it being a metal year exacerbated and expanded to highlight some of these norms and behaviors building the undercurrent of our culture. Looking at the physiological impacts of these behaviors on the body we see patterns of how we have become imbalanced, the Po modulates seven physiological functions of the body, helping to refine instinctual nature and keeping us alive amidst dealing with the environment. Growth and development when unmoderated by purpose can become erratic and results in maladaptive physical and emotional behaviors causing a host of destruction.
Incantation for the Seven P o Souls The seven Po spirits:
1. Stinking Lung: Regulate the breath capacity and exchange of oxygen through the lungs modulates the spiritual energy of breath into the body. Imbalances in the function include snoring and sleep apnea
2. Remover of Filth: Processing This function supports the removal of toxins, through the urinary system as well as the colon. Imbalances include bed-wetting and waking up in the middle of night to pee.
3. Flying Poison: Responsible for dissolving This aspect regulates body temperature and dispersing hot and cold conditions in the body. Imbalances include chills, or night sweats.
Jade Emperor the Highest Sovereign, the Highest ruler of Ultimate Divine. T he ten thousand spirits pacify the country, the seven corporeal souls are sealed in the body. Must not commit mistakes and not be influenced by the evil. After long dwelling in the body, completely to transform into immortal. E ternally preserving the spirit form, guide me to attain the truth. T ravel the celestial palace as an imperial visitor. Inside is the spiritual essence, within the body flows the jade saliva. Protect and defend me against the evil influence of sexual desires. Immediately execute this command. 4. Thief Swallower: Fight off pathogens This function is connected to defense and influences the coordination and development of the proper responsiveness of the immune system to fight off illness.
5. Yin Sparrow: Sexual ability This aspects has to do with recovery after sexual arousal, when in a dysfunction state can create imbalance in sexual desire.
6. Hidden Arrow: Digestion during sleep This aspect takes care of processing food in our sleep. Waking up with no appetite after going to bed with a full stomach and potentially bad breath indicate imbalance as a result of un digested material being held in the body
7: The dead dog: Vigilance This function modulates sleeping awareness, when overactive creates restlessness or inability to stay asleep or when sleep is too deep or “dead to the world” the body doesn’t arouse in the potential facing of danger.
Grief
Grief is said to be the inability to accept what is happening around us. It is the hallmark of change, grace, and ease that we have through the process of letting go. It allows us to move through change in a way that creates release, cutting back and letting go, so we can ultimately achieve freedom and development of the self with a balanced sense of moving forward.
unwind through the natural unfolding of change. This is where grief sets in. Through the loosening and unwinding of letting go, we need the time to honor and release with respect the way we have held on to those bond and honor the process of grief as a contracting inward state that returns us to preserving and identifying with what is valuable and honorable in our lives.
The character in Chinese medicine of grief is written as a refusal of something over the heart. This is seen as an inability to accept at the level of the heart what is happening external to us, whether that be through a loss of a relationship, a change in job, death of a loved one, or navigating the ultimate new terrain of social and cultural unrest that is happening around us. There is a natural process of release that is happening as the trees are letting go of their leaves to draw their resources inward to the core. The trees know that, although the beauty of the leaves is gone, the core of the value and the roots that maintain the structure and the nourishment for further future growth and development still remain.
When we don’t take the time to allow things to move on with grace and ease we result in carrying unresolved fibers or areas that we hold on to that result in deterioration, pain, or illness in the body. The lung and large intestine are responsible for the movement of the energy of grief and become typical spaces of restriction when we don’t have the space to resolve the letting go process. From constipation to shortness of breath and lack of inspiration or release, physical symptoms are commonly associated with grief.
Metal element energies modulate our capacity to build bonds with people and strengthen those bonds through the experience of feeling and connecting through shared concepts, alignment, and allegiances, as well as the expression of emotion. All of these experiences allow us to deeply identify with others and build self-awareness through our relationships we teach ourselves who we are. We learn to take in the ideas, opinions, feelings, and experiences of others, and allow them to intermix with our own sense of self. This enduring and tender state of the connection is arguably what makes life worthwhile. Grief is difficult for many because there are attachment and fondness in relationships to these states of connection however, it is inevitable that the bonds that we have with others, experiences, jobs and social situations, through life will tend to loosen and
Letting Go is a natural process that happens in its own unique timing that can be deeply disrupted by trauma or particularly sudden loss. When there is shock involved in a situation or any kind of extraneous physical or emotional trauma, it makes the releasing and unwinding of our bonds more difficult as the timing is not done gradually. Immediate loss can be harder to process and can result in buried pain or resentment Anybody who has ever lost somebody tragically, or gone through the experience of loss centered around trauma knows that one of the most difficult things is having to continue to exist in our day to day lives, still having to feed ourselves, show up at work, parent our children and handle the menial tasks of daily existence; while the rawness of these bonds ripping apart burns us. Socially and culturally we don’t typically have time to grieve. This can again result in a bypassing of honoring. We are descending to what is known as the yin phase of the year and have just passed the turning point
of this transition. Cultural traditions of the celebrations of the last harvests, the ancestors, and the coming darkness prepare us with a ritual to move through this phase. The unique isolation of this year in particular is amplifying this process for each one of us making it a powerful time of descent. Each one of us in American culture has faced a certain level of isolation as a result of the global pandemic and political mandates that have changed the way we bond and relate to one another. Isolation is a typical response to our inability to face change or avoidance and irritation around letting go. Socially being forced betting our control into isolation has exacerbated these experiences, and has created a sense of unrest, sweeping across the nation, resulting in increased mental and emotional health issues skyrocketing. People’s natural tendency towards shared experience has been ripped away; we’re left reaching out from the presence of our homes through screens and robotic communication. devices that limit the capacity for physical touch and connectivity gripping on to connection from a faraway sense of letting go. What a paradox this has brought up for us all! Grief is related to depression and the underpinnings can result from vital un-fulfillment, or lack of inspiration, could that with the social distance and disconnect we are facing a mental health crisis. Whether that be the lack of connection or strength in our bonds where we don’t feel fulfilled to give out and take in; or living lives that have taken us away from our truth we all have had time to assess these varying degrees of depression within, some better than others. Social media has become a place to lash out in our isolation or grip on to a false sense of normalcy. We culturally have traded our breath and our energy for someone else’s dream and the awareness of this is becoming more and more apparent. Through loss and cumulative incomplete grieving, where we haven’t had this space to stop and honor fond remembrance or move through understanding the evolution of our identity through loss and connection; another formula for depression lurks in as normalcy. Low self-esteem and social
or relational rejection have become the new angst beyond teenage identity struggle to scroll through timelines to stay relevant. The natural capacity to connect or be connected to is something that we’re facing more and more through the social and cultural dynamics of relating with one another through the computer. Where our Instagram feed becomes the reflection or relevance of Instagram and like button the measurement of success we have further traveled away from human bonding and human connection and been thrust into isolation. We are all learning to modulate our connections through an electronic device that has made us feel less relevant and less competent. It is important to identify the underpinnings of the feelings or sources of depression so that we can reclaim or take the appropriate therapeutic direction of shifting our energy to transcend these states. Recognizing we are not alone and that grief and change is experienced by each and every one of us. As we move through the stages of this unique time in our history is more important than ever to make space for connection while we are being told to disconnect. Together our bonds allow us to have a deeper capacity to go through the process of surrendering to the free flow of life. We know that familiar frameworks of our day to day lives have been changing dramatically and as we all wait with bated breath to see the political landscape evolve itself over the next three to six months we are going to meet more fortification of inner value and connection to our roots than ever. It is almost as if the old situations of familiar existence are being bid farewell under conditional uncertainty of not knowing what is on the other side. This dynamic makes the resistance to change even more difficult. Typically, when we let go, we find a certain level of freedom within ourselves. The freedom to recognize that which influenced us and brought us great development is still a part of us and helps us be better people. Or we gain the freedom to release and let go of an emotional state or relationship or job that has been holding us back. There has to be faith or hope on the other side Of scrolling through timelines comparisons and these deep states of reaching out without real connection that magnify where hope has been lost. From a satisfaction standpoint most Americans at this
point, feel hopeless and are having an inability of letting go, because the strength of our bonds has been ripped apart, away from us traumatically. The fear of the unknown can be quelled and modulated by having faith that our breath connects us to the next vital moment of staying alive. Can we really move past prolonging our resistance to change in uncertain times by honoring that now is a time of growth and development and we are all moving into new stages of understanding and awakening? Can we find compassion as everyones journey inward is on blast through a zoom screen? Can clinging to the old stories not be our source of self-confidence. How do we find the bravery to go within as we chart uncharted waters and face something new? It is important in this time of letting go that we did not throw the baby out with the bathwater being excessive about letting it all go and burning down the whole system, because then we will have no anchor or attachment to value, and what is important. If we release everything we will lack the development of the bonds that have helped support us in our evolution and will become generalist sheep that have nothing to attach to as a foundation of truth or value. Whether it be your material possessions, relationships, death, or the inevitable, moving on and letting go faces us with the reality that change is the only thing that we know as a constant in our lives. This is the time that we can look to the trees to find grace and ease and sinking back into what is valuable to us and into our roots and releasing or cutting back, things that aren’t serving us, Psychologists for many years have looked at grief in stages, they’ve identified seven main stages of grief that help people identify the process of this experience of change. The stages of grief are not always going to be experienced in order and all of them aren’t already always experienced but can give us a framework to recognize where we
can have a little bit more ease and internal development to help through the process of letting go. The seven stages of grief include: Shock & Denial This is the space where we can’t accept what is happening and we want to reject the experience as if it doesn’t even exist. In this stage, it is important to stay grounded and touch with reality. Because shock and denial can push us to a vulnerable state of dissociation, this is a space where it is easy for us to disconnect from what is physically tangibly happening. Strategies for supporting this stage include anything that brings you into the tangible world including feeling “feels” touching something real, putting your feet on the earth, and being with people that keep you present in the moment. Take the time to feel your physical body and nourish yourself. Pain & Guilt This is the stage where you may feel actual physical pain showing up in your body, particularly around the heart, chest, and lungs. This is also space where the pain of guilt can become overwhelming. Guilt can come from facing areas that you weren’t able to repair, or not accounting for spaces where you were discouraging or hurtful. This is the time we’re at a stage when it is imperative to go inside yourself and seek motivation for forgiveness. And actually physically beginning to move the restrictions of pain, out of the body, bodywork, energy medicine and physical movement can be invaluable. Time in nature can help degauss or shift the energy of pain and guilt into forgiveness. Anger & Bargaining Anger can be a mask of grief, whether that anger is at whatever was the cause of taking something away from you; or anger be at the person that left the relationship or the boss that fired you. These two energies run
hand in hand and create resistance to recognizing what’s really going on. Anger when not processed can become resentful and implosive, or it can become explosive and damaging to those around us. It is important at this stage to make sure that you have a pathway to move and express feelings of anger: move it, shout it, briskly walk or more to shift it out of your body system, or seek the support of someone in a safe space to help you process. The bargaining sets in when we make deals with God, or with ourselves, of how we’re going to do better, or change, so that we don’t have to suffer anymore. This bargaining coupled with anger can turn into space where we begin to make statements like..” if I had only” or “ I promise in the future” these negotiations misdirect our actions and connected into guilt forcing us to unduly seeking compromise when we need acceptance.
Depression This is the space where resistance sets in sadness become overwhelming, the questions of what’s the point of moving on come into play. At this stage, despair is recognized and you may notice yourself coming into states of solitude or isolation and feeling sullen and mournful. It is valuable to seek the counsel of others, to ask for support, particularly having basic needs met, like having a friend to cook you a meal or just sit with you and begin to create a space to process. If things feel stagnant. The body needs the capacity to move inward and outwards, breath practices, and the support of friends and professionals here is key. Upwards Turn This is the space where realizations come in and all aspects of the experience start to set in and integrate, you begin to see hope, or see the light at the end of the tunnel, or recognize the freedom of moving forward. Reconstruction The ability in this space to integrate your identity and recognize who you are after the loss has passed, recognize how you hold the fond remembrance of the experience or person that you have lost and you have the tools and actualization to begin to build a new way of being in life. Acceptance & hope This is the stage where we have moved through all layers of the process and we are able to recognize that life keeps living, breath keeps giving, and faith will allow us
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CONTROL
From a psychological standpoint, control is the idea that we have the ability to influence what or will happen in the environment, outside of us. These belief systems and thought patterns are learned and modified through life. We inherit them from our parents and our culture, through our experiences of loss or change and start to mature and evolve our understanding of what we have, and don’t have control of in life though, change, accomplishment and growth. Control is said to be the mother of all belief systems and greatly associated with the inability to accept the natural flow and movement of the environment and changing expressions of those around us as well as our inner self-perception of ability related to factors that hold us back or support us. We need control to help us cut back things that do not serve us and release Physical or psychological ties that bind us or hold us back. We need it to foster confidence and inner motivation to inspire and have faith in moving forward. When we try to over involve ourselves or micromanage all aspects of all of our existence, we resist the potential of growth and development that comes with connecting and un-connecting with the natural flow of life There is a certain level of directionality that comes with control when it is balanced that becomes flexible and allows us to accept he evolution and movement of our lives. Balanced control engenders balanced discipline in our physical, spiritual or mental activities, contentment, and self-confidence based on our behavior control supports a state of
calmness that becomes higher wisdom, spirituality, and philosophy; all of these states are related to metal element psychology. The metal element energy provides us with ambition and the capacity to connect to strong, forward-thinking ideas, where we have the tools and capacity to deal with drawbacks and failures without controlling the outcome. Metal is all about a deep sense of acceptance. When this energy is out of balance or excessive, we can shift into patterns of perfectionism, rigidity, and dogma where the order of extreme discipline gives us a very rigid, sharp framework for moving through life that doesn’t have much capacity to shape new potential. This hard and inflexible energy becomes unyielding and can lead to distortions around jealousy and greed as we seek to maintain perfectionism. There, there’s a natural tendency for us to ebb and flow taking in and releasing out through life and moving through stages of change. When we excessively hold on to our identity and our structures or ways of doing things we miss the yielding an opportunity to mature. When the metal energies around control are deficient this can lead to no boundaries and our identity wrapped up in a need for approval from the external world, behaviors can be clinging, attaching to the things that keep us safe or relevant. Our identity is wrapped up in other people’s approval, which shows that self-confidence is limited and this leads us into a sense of over sensitivity to other people’s influence on our lives. Through the inability to let go and actualize wisdom, our inner self is less developed and the metal deficient person shows a sense of surface behavior or shallow psychological self-awareness. Exploring the mind-body connection of how these psychological states of excess or deficiency around control can show up as symptoms in the body system. The autumn season highlights this mental energy and
tends to bring deeper-lying patterns to the surface and shows us the aspects that are out of balance showing up physiologically or physically in the body system. All of the body systems and areas that separate us from the environment, or modulate how we take in and let go of great food, experiences, and connection are affected.
Symptoms of metal element issues: Rigidity or stiffness Shortness of breath The inability to fully breathe in or fully breathe out Bowel dysfunction including constipation or loose stool Dry Skin or nails Cracking or dryness around the lips, nose, and mucous membranes Lack of perspiration Inability to bond Inability to let go of bonds
People seek control as a source to gain or maintain a sense of influence in their lives. This can show up as control in relationships, work environments, or social structures. Control psychologically serves us better when reflected inward at discipline and structuring function into our own development so that we have the capacity to show up more efficiently within our relationships. When we direct control outward and try to maintain control of others or situations, it creates a rigidity that makes people and experiences hard to deal with blocking the natural capacity to let go. Control energy being spent outward dissolves potential for development inward. The desire and maintenance of control outward to others is an underpinning of relationship dynamics that lead to stagnation and self-poisoning behaviors. People seek control to develop strategies to fulfill their desires and goals in life. When those desires and goals are in balance with purpose, there is a necessary carving out and structuring of our responsiveness and capacity to do things that lead us to spend our energy on achieving a goal. However, when we are disconnected from our purpose, and our goals are remaining in the carnal sense of desire, or success, or proving of self-worth, we begin to set up a mechanism within ourselves that wastes our energy on these external successes creating resentment and unfulfilled lack of inspiration. This is where we get stuck in patterns that don’t really serve us. There are many individual differences in why people seek control of themselves and others which have to do with their unique constitutions and experiences in early childhood as well as relationships through life. Control as a belief system is deeply related to our internal and external locus of control, which is a mental concept that refers to the capacity for us to have control over
situations we experience in life. Internally we look at the control we have to modify or change our behavior and motivations. This relates to our behavior because we are able to, with that inner discipline, fulfill our roles and responsibilities to seek accomplishment and self-development. Externally we measure the barriers or resources we have to support our development and growth. These perceptions are very important for us to be clear about, for the capacity for behavioral self-management and discipline to achieve and accomplish rely on the internal locus of control where we are able to allocate breath and resources towards any given goal, and the perceived challenges or conflicts outside of us that we must face or transcend to have success. There’s a nuance between the belief of recognizing if our destiny is controlled internally by our behaviors and thoughts and directions, or if we are under the influences of our fate, higher source, or authoritarian structures that suppress our capacity for development and achievement in life. There’s also belief in fate and destiny, particularly alignment to our true blueprint as a resource that supports the capacity for us to have more aligned internal control. In Taoist energetics, it is believed we each have a unique pathway of alignment based on our patterns and time of birth, and the more we train our organism to fulfill that destiny to be more aligned and successful our lives will be. We can learn to uncover this purpose through introspection and connection to remembering our truth and “higher” self and learn to master the deficits that distract us from our path. Mental energy and perspective of internal and external responses to the environment need to be in harmony to stay with this alignment. The idea that when we align with our truth and purpose, our destiny and faith will support the proper action and integrity of our internal control to evolve and achieve that destiny.
Control on an internal psychological level allows us to develop self-efficacy, which supports the belief that we can actually execute behaviors that will help us to attain and evolve in our life. This is where we have the ability to essentially, through discipline, have control over behavior, and motivation and how we show up in social or structural situations. Psychologically, there are four main sources of self-efficacy that include mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and emotional states. These states provide us an internal taste or desire for mastery and propel our behaviors to engage and learn and build competency around our experiences in life. When we have a goal that moves us forward and then arrive at that goal, we learn to understand a sense of accomplishment through challenge and find inner mastery. This increases confidence and motivation to move on to the next goal or development of ourselves. Other people’s influence increases or decreases our capacity to succeed or not succeed. There is a fine line of mental clarity and understanding of our inherent value that helps us cut away attachments to things or people that hold us back. Our self-efficacy is directly related to the treatment and interface that we receive in relationships from our parents, our partners, co co-workers, and people we connect with. We can increase self-efficacy by challenging ourselves or centering around people who bring out mastery within us or have achieved greatness in areas we seek to excel. The Vicarious experience of outer potential awakens potential within us and clarifies the pathway forward to our own achievements. When we take ownership of our choices, we increase self-efficacy, and when we couple this ownership and internal control with the support of those around us to bolster our interests with encouragement, we are able to also succeed in our competencies. This is a powerful time of year to begin to think about what relationships need to be let go of that is holding us back. So that we can get deeper into our sense of internal value and clarify our own motivations for what’s important. Behavioral control is a particularly important aspect of our perceived sense of control. This is the ability for us to respond, act, or not act upon our desires and impulses as it relates to situational experiences that we have. Behavioral control is psychologically assessed and comprised of the components of self-efficacy and controllability. It deals with our capacity to perform a behavior and pull upon the resources available to us to transcend barriers. Psychologically when we look at our resources, our opinions of obstacles and perception of barriers have a direct relationship to our ability to actually execute behavior. These attitudes towards behavior can be positive or negative and are an important expression of appropriate response and reaction in our environment. Winston Churchill said that “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. “ The way we approach life and our attitude to create change or move through change, from a mental standpoint has a direct impact on how we’re going to react or behave when faced with a task or process at hand. If we feel stuck or oppressed or held back, we are likely to execute our behaviors through those filters which create resistance within and more barriers to motivation and discipline. Whereas having a positive attitude of confidence and ability will then support our capacity for success in our behaviors. Many people feel a sense of overwhelm and helplessness in the current conditions that we are existing in, which is creating a recipe of destruction in our capacity to make change through these external situations that we have socially and culturally embarked upon. New landscapes of social distancing, mandates of behaviors, or the waiting and uncertainty of political futures have led to internal and external overwhelm and restrictions that have been placed upon. There is a strong influx of issues around mental health and emotional harmony in our society as a result of the conflicts of internal and external control.
As things external to us change dramatically, we have a choice greater than ever in our modern history, to enhance our own behaviors, and internal or external locus of control, through our self-efficacy, to rise to the occasion of transformation, and evolution. This requires healthy mental energies, allowing us to recognize what is of value to us. What needs to be let go of right now is historically and powerfully transcending perceived helplessness. Right now to assess our belief systems is a revolutionary act that each one of us is facing at varying degrees to assure survival, mentally, physically, and emotionally during these times. Spending time assessing our belief systems and our ideas, our mental states, and our approaches to our behaviors is necessary for us to be able to have the resources to alter our beliefs and begin to make changes in our life. How are we facilitating or impeding our behavior at this time, and what is valuable to us creating a sense of motivation and development. As we explore the core capacity for control, it is important that we center that control internally on to our mastery and evolution at this time and stop, through abuse of power, misunderstanding, judgment, and dissonance trying to control others. Now more than ever, we need to seek source and relationship to what is important, so that we can show up in our families and communities in alignment and support others through their own behavioral changes. This is a psychologically difficult time for American society and a historic time of self-transformation, which may lead to the evolution of transformation that socially and culturally will provide us new frameworks of support and development in the future. It is not a time to control others, to hold onto waste and poison ourselves with the resistance to change.
The Colon is the Yang aspect of the metal element and responsible for Extracting and absorbing the last bit of water out of our waste before elimination. it works to form the stool and process the release of excrement to rid the body of waste. Waste physically is the byproducts of digested food ans well as emotional and psychological experiences that are ready to be released. When we hold on to the waste we need to process we begin to self poison and hold on to toxic patterns. The Colon related bio energetically to patterns of control, release, holding on or letting go.
The Colon is 5 Feet Long Food Takes 12 to 48 Hours to Make Its Way Through the Colon Approximately 100 Trillion Microbes Live in Your Colon Your Colon Absorbs About 1 Quart of Water Each Day Normal Frequency of Bowel Movements Varies
Large Intestine 4 HeGu Supports the free flow of Qi Treats pain, cold and flu Command point for the face and mouth Treats Constipation Supports release of grief Depression & anger Hold point with firm pressure or energetic awareness, breathe deeply into the point to activate and support elimination and release physically and emotionally.
Chong Qi
The qi of breath is known as chong qi it is ruled by the lungs . The lungs work to expand and contract brining breath in and out of the body modulating the connection between the human being and environment . The lungs are also known to be the minister of ecclesiastic affairs supporting the capacity to attach and engage with the spiritual realms. The depth and quality of the breath depends on the depth and quality of this qi and its capacity to move water downward and mist or distribute its energy over the organ systems . Chong Qi is located in the upper respiratory system the lungs heart and throat. This qi can be impacted negatively by air pollution and weakened in this qi correlates to shallow breathing patterns. The Emotions of griefsadness , worry and guilt are closely associated to this type of qi . Cong Qi can regenerate quickly with support of clean air, deep breathing practices and the processing of stuck emotions .
The Healing Sound of Metal
Experience
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Experience
Food As Medicine As the weather turns cooler and dryness of autumn ensues the shift in out bodies is looking for a foods that begin to stick to our bones and support storage of energy for the winter months. Longer cooking methods that simmer ingredients slow and slow and incorporate pungent and acrid flavors to stimulate our inner dispersing of energy blend well with this season. Think stews and crock pot recipes that fill the house with the aromas of spices and seasonings warming us from within. The acrid flavor combines a bit of bitter, spicy and pungent together. This season is a perfect time to layer your cooking in stages and add dimensions of flavors that will secure a sense of satisfaction inner support. Extra garlic, ginger and onion are a simple way to increase these flavors and have to added benefit of being anti microbial, antiviral and immune boosting. I love to make spice blends like chai, curry and chili bases to have on hand and am sure to stock up on seasonal veggies that are perfect for roasting to add into dishes that create depth and a rooting sense of inner grounding. This month we featured the flavor of ginger as a spicy and pungent addition to all kinds of dishes and drinks sure to warm up your inner fire and keep you warm moving into the winter.
Pungent Or Acrid Flavors for fall Cooking Black pepper Chive cinnamon bark Cinnamon Clove Parsley Dill seeds Fennel Garlic Ginger (dried or fresh) Grapefruit peel Green onion (leaf and white head) Green pepper Kohlrabi Kumquat Leaf mustard Leek Marjoram Nutmeg Peppermint Radish Red pepper Rosemary Soybean oil Spearmint Star anise Sweet basil White pepper Wine
P umpkin Ginger Soup 4 TBS Coconut oil 4-5 Lbs Pie Pumpkin 6-8 Cloves Garlic minced 2 TBS Fresh Grated Ginger 1 Medium Onion chopped 4 Cup Stock 1 C Coconut Milk 1 TBS salt -1/2 Tsp Cayenne 2 tbs maple syrup to taste Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut pumpkin in half and gut out seeds place cut side down in roasting pan and ad 1/2 cup water to pan. Roast for 35-45 minutes until tender. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Heat oil over medium heat and sautĂŠ onion, garlic and salt until onion is translucent (about 5-7 min) Scoop Flesh of pumpkin out and add into pan. Add ginger, cayenne and stock to pan and bring to a soft boil before lowering heat to a gentle simmer, cook for 20 minutes. Stir in coconut milk. Puree in batches in a blender or with immersion blender. Return to pan and season with salt, pepper and maple syrup to taste. Serve with fennel compote and pesto, pumpkin seeds and rustic bread.
F ennel P esto 1 Cup fennel tops chopped roughly Juice of 1/2 lemon handful of walnut or almonds 1 clove Garlic 1/4 Cup Olive Oil + 1 Tbs C60 Purple Power Avocado Oil Add to food processor or nutribullet and blend until smooth. Serve with soups, pasta or a spread
F ennel Compote 6 Tbs Butter 3 fennel bulbs 1 small onion Slice onions and fennel on a bias and place in a large cast-iron pan with 2 tbs butter. Cook on low heat to caramelize over one hour, stirring occasionally and adding in tablespoon of butter as needed to avoid burning. Serve as a condiment with soup, meat or over toast.
Black pepper roasted chicken with ginger, fennel & apple 8-10 cloves garlic 4 tbs Whole Black Peppercorns 1 tbs coarse salt 1-2 tbs olive oil 2 Onions quartered 2 apples cored and rough cut in chunks 1 bulb of fennel sliced 1 parsnip chopped roughly 1- 2 inch piece of ginger roughly chopped 1/4 c Apple cider Vinegar 1/4 cup chicken broth Pre heat oven to 450 degrees . Rinse and pat dry whole roasting chicken and set in roasting pan Brest side up. Combine garlic, black pepper corns salt and olive oil in nutribullet or mortal and pestle and grind into a paste . Rub paste under the chicken skin and on top of the skin. Place one quartered onion inside chicken cavity. Arrange chopped apples, fennel, parsnip, remaining quartered onion and ginger in baking dish around chicken Add Apple Cider Vinegar and broth to baking dish Back at 450 Degrees for 20 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees and back for another 40 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165degrees , baste with pan juices ever 1015 minutes. Let rest 20 minutes before cutting. Serve with roasted apples and vegetable and any other side you enjoy‌the roasted green onion or green beans dressed in miso ginger dressing goes amazing with this meal
Roasted Green Onion with Garlic & Ginger
2 bunches of green onions 1- 2 inch knob of ginger sliced One Head of Garlic Chili Flakes Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Toss onions and ginger with olive oil and arrange lengthwise in roasting pan Cut top off garlic head to expose cloves and brush with olive oil place cut side down in roasting pan Sprinkle with salt and pepper and chili flakes to taste Roast for 60-75 minutes Turning occasionally Serve as a side
Ginger Miso Dressing 1/4 c Peanut oil 1/4 Rice Vinegar 3Tbs White miso 1 tbs Sesame oil 2 chopped carrots 1-1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger Dash Mirin Blend all ingredients until smooth and season with salt and pepper to taste Wonderful as a dressing over warm roasted seasonal vegetables or a brown rice macro bowl
Ginger Plant Medicine
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Ginger is the light of the world. The sun in a plant. He directs and pushes. He exposes that which is in darkness and creates movement for all that has been stagnant. He moves like a great prophet who speaks in parables and dazzles the believers with solar powered wind magic. He travels by foot through hot deserts and greets everyone he meets with a divine message and eyes like blazing fire.
Chai Spice Mix 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon ground cardamom 1 tablespoon ground ginger ½ tablespoon ground cloves ½ tablespoon Black peppercorns
Super Immune Boost Mushroom Chai Simmer your choice of adaptogenic mushrooms (dried or powdered) over a low heat for 60 minutes. Try Reishi, Cordyceps, Lions Mane or Chaga combinations. Add raw or powdered spices and simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes for powdered and up to an hour for raw herbs. Strain mushrooms and set aside to use later or make again. Combine with milk of choice and maple syrup to taste
Super Antioxidant Chai with C60 Purple Power Add 2 tbs of above dry ground spice mix to 16 oz spring water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add One Tbs loos leaf black tea, turn off heat and allow to steep for 3-5 min. Strain though small sieve and return to pot. Combine 2/3 steeped liquid with 1/3 part milk of your choice and sweeten with honey. Add one Tsp of C60 Purple power for a super antioxidant boost
Ginger T ea 1- 2 inch piece of ginger sliced 24 oz water Bring ginger and water to a boil and turn down to a low simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with honey and lemon to taste. Drink hot.
Ginger Garlic Lemonade 1 Tsp Grated fresh ginger 1 clove garlic grated Pinch of cayenne 1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar 1-2 Tbs honey Pour 8 oz boiling water over the above ingredients cover and steep 10-15 minutes. Drink hot as a cold remedy
Ginger Onion P oultice One Large Onion roughly sliced 1- 2 Inch Piece of ginger sliced Bandanna or cotton cloth hot water bottle Saute onion and ginger to release aroma over medium heat for 4-5 min. Place onions and ginger in a bandanna and tie of or fold. Place over chest, back or neck with a hot water bottle for 10-15 to relieve and disperse congestion.
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A letter from the editor: Reasons & Seasons is a creative labor of love, wellness and elevation! We are an educational platform designed to support health and welling though following the language of nature, rhythm and creativity. Interested in getting this information out to your network? Please Share and contact us for partnership and advertisement opportunities! Now more than ever people need to activate the medicine within them though behavior, creativity and expression. Seasonal living and natural stages of change are the metronome of our existence. Look to the stars, follow the sun patterns and remember you are a part of this vast experience, giving and receiving, your purpose is needed now! In Wellness
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