The Five Phases of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wood, Fire Earth, Metal and Water, coincide with the five major Yin Organ systems, Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung and Kidney. When dealing with patterns of psychological disharmony, each of the Five Phases evokes a set of in-built practical solutions, as shown here, ensuring that all facets of the psyche are functioning optimally and co-operatively.
Wood / Liver
Just Do It!
- Get on with it! Take action.
- Re-assess your goals and get a clear vision on where you are intending to go.
- Is that vision congruent with all facets of your being?
- Harmonise – clear up your living and work spaces (Metal controls Wood).
- Tap in to the source of your creativity and will (Water nourishes Wood).
- Disperse frustration with joy (Fire sedates Wood).
Fire / Heart
Adopt an attitude of Joyful Interest!
- Wake up!
- Celebrate your existence.
- Express your personality.
- Govern your attitudes and speech with coolness and respect (Water controls Fire).
- Movement and exercise encourage mental clarity (Wood nourishes Fire).
- Calm your mind by being grounded and tactile (Earth sedates Fire).
Earth / Spleen
Be Here Now!
- Get real!
- Get grounded, be still.
- Consolidate.
- Balance complacency with appropriate action (Wood controls Earth).
- Mental clarity encourages focused productivity (Fire nourishes Earth).
- Keep your space calm and focused by regular cleansing
Metal / Lung
Get Over It!
- Let go!
- Remember impermanence. This too will pass!
- Get out of your comfort zone.
- Balance excessive destruction with intelligence and insight (Fire controls Metal).
- Peace and quiescence encourage detachment and equanimity (Earth nourishes Metal).
- Everything that decays will be re-born and re-generated.
Water / Kidney
Tap into the Power and the Passion!
- Regenerate – get out into nature.
- Connect with life by nurturing wholesome relationships.
- Create something, bury something!
- Balance fear with mental focus and contact with the earth (Earth controls Water).
- Clear the old to make way for the new (Metal nourishes Water).
- Feel the fear and do it anyway! (Wood sedates Water).