Chinese medicine and professional development
I have been thinking quite a bit about my February Year of Sagely Living goal. Before I reveal what I’d like to do this month, I want to look at the symbolism of this month in a little more detail. Let’s revisit the original explanation in the inagural post of this project.
February - Liver, Chou 丑 (Ox): Strategy/Business: This category will contain practices in the realm of business development and strategic planning in the professional world. Why this pairing? The Liver is the general of the body, so has a natural affinity for this kind of activity.
Liver as the General
In the Neijing (Chapter 8), it is said:
肝者將軍之官謀慮出焉
gān zhě jiáng jùn zhī guān móu lù chū yān
Translations vary, of course. Here are my favorites: “The liver is the official of managing the horsepower, planning and strategizing emerge from it.” “The liver is the general who is valiant and resourceful”
I think a lot of people who are interested in Chinese medicine tend to shy away from the old General. We don’t like to hear that we have a Wood voice, we shy away from the concept of an organ as associated with war. We look down on people who express their anger, even in appropriate ways. I don’t feel this way. I embrace the General. The wood is the motivating and moving force in nature, in our bodies, and in our organizations. I reckon that my school and our profession in general could use a little invigoration. Certainly it must be kept in balance - but a focus on this powerful force can only be a boon for me and mine.
When I think about the General, I think of so many of the personal development gurus I’ve known and learned from over the years. David Allen. Steven Covey. Anthony Robbins. Many others. I’m not implying that these folks are constitutionally Wood (though certainly a couple of them are) but simply that what they do resonates with the principle we’re trying to invoke this month. A focus on developing ourselves into the kinds of people that effortlessly and courageously interact with the world in some of its more difficult and potentially conflict-ridden arenas - business being one of those. So, resonant activities for the Year of Sagely Living should take the General as their inspiration. They should involve managing the horsepower (resources), planning, strategizing and valiant effort.
February - the end of Winter
About now in Oregon, everyone is complaining about the weather. Constitutionally damp and cold people have finally become saturated and get depressed. Even folks with strong Spleen energy start to long for the easy warmth and beauty of spring and summer. But I’m smiling. Because I feel the energy on the upswing. In fact, the winter is as good as gone! My bulbs are sprouting vigorously. Buds are growing fat on the Japanese maple. My dog is shedding. I am strangely compelled to play frisbee in the rain. February for me is all about opening myself to the increased activity of the spring season. In that way - a focus on the strongly outward realm of business is certainly warranted. It will help shake out the cobwebs. :)
I do recognize that the weather is still quite cold most places in the Northern hemisphere. In fact, the agricultural nodes for Liver time all relate to intense cold. Further, the time associated with the Liver (1-3am) is certainly a deep and dark time of the day. This is why we didn’t choose to put a type of activity here that was strongly physical, demanding lots of opening of pores or outdoor activity. Do keep this limitation in mind when crafting your goals for February.
Many realms of professional development :my interpretation of February’s category
A variety of activities could fit in this category. On the more low-key end of things, you might think about reading a book on small business, leadership development or the history of some great leader in your religious or cultural tradition. On the more intensive side of things, you might consider developing a business plan (if you don’t already have one), setting some new goals for your (already existing) business, or taking a professional development course. On a more subtle level, you could consider doing a series of meditations on Liver, general, and the wood element in general and how those forces are functioning in your life.
This category is a little challenging for me because I’m already engaged in so many streams of habit that would fit in it. For instance, I’m working my GTD system. I’m the President AND Vice President of my class. I’m engaged in a variety of leadership development groups in Portland and at NCNM. My partner and I are working through our own business plan while we are both taking formal classes about business! Because of all of this, I think I will take one of the more low-key options. I’m going to be reading one of two books (or their audiobook versions) - either Principle Centered Leadership by Steven Covey or Personal Power II by Anthony Robbins. Along with this, I will be doing daily meditations concerning my future business - simply stilling my mind and letting myself be guided. Simple, but I think powerful.
Eric
If you like what you read here, you may want to keep updated by using my RSS feed. Want to know more about RSS/feeds? - read more here. Thanks for visiting!
Tags: Business, business development, Leadership, liver, ox, Personal Development, professional-development, strategic planning, symbolism, winterRelated posts
Living in harmony with the seasons: Introduction - Part I
This is the first part in a ten part series about living in harmony with the seasons. I do not have a solid timetable for the release of the other nine parts, only promising that the two parts on Fall/Autumn will be released shortly. I recognize that for some folks, the release of the Fall series will be out of step with their environmental reality (hello Australia!) and I apologize for that. Further, some of you may living in places where seasons are simply not the same as they are in China, where the Chinese theory of seasonal living was conceived. I am unclear as to what folks living in these areas should do - perhaps that is a discussion for another post.
From a Chinese medicine perspective, is essential that we learn to live in harmony with the seasons. There is, of course, no monolithic “Chinese medicine perspective” but regardless of your ideological preference, the reality of seasonal energy and the importance of flowing in step with it is practically irrefutable. There are many mentions of seasonal energy in the Neijing
The recent movement around local and seasonal foods is a nod to the importance of this timeless principle. People are recognizing that living in accordance with their immediate spatial and temporal environment is not just for hippies (although, for them too). Food tastes better, is more healthful, is less expensive and somehow just FEELS better when it is eaten at the right time for the place that one is in. The macrobiotic movement also took note of this and suggested that one eat food that is grown in one’s region.
But the Chinese philosophy on living in balance with seasonal energy goes farther than food choices. In fact, most of what I have found in Classical texts has nothing to do with food but instead focuses on various aspects of a person’s lifestyle. Read more
Tags: Classical Texts (general), dietary-therapy, fall, food, habits, lifestyle-counseling, nature, neijing, seasonal-living, Seasons, spring, summer, winterRelated posts
See how easily you can use 5 element theory to eat optimally
I’ve been seeing quite a few articles about balancing color in one’s diet as a way to eat well. These articles are always so beautiful - illustrated with plenty of photos of gorgeous blueberries, tantalizing tomatoes and the like. Further, the concept of choosing your food by color is an attractive one, simple and engaging of the senses. I’d like to add a little to the conversation by showing how you can similarly choose foods to create an exciting and balanced diet by using two symbol categories associated with the five elements: color and flavor. Each elemental phase has a color and flavor traditionally associated with it, and while competing theories exist regarding the exact assignment of correlation - what I’ve listed below is what is most commonly agreed upon.
My thought is that by using the following structure as a guideline, you could easily create a balanced diet. Below I just list a few examples of foods that would fit in each category, you should pick a variety of foods in each category for maximal health. I have experimented with this structure in a number of ways:
- I’ve used a different element for each of 3 meals and 2 snacks
- I’ve tried to use all five elements in each meal
- I’ve even used the creation and control cycles to have fun with recipe planning! Let me know if you use this structure and how it works for you in the comments!
- Fire: Element of Heart, Pericardium, Triple Burner and Small Intestine. Resonates with the season of summer, inspiration, intimacy and the Sun.
- Red, the color of Fire
- Red vegetables: Tomatoes - from a Chinese perspective, tomatoes are cool in nature and have both sweet and sour flavors, and go to the Stomach and Liver channels - both prime candidates for suffering due to heat. From a Western perspective, tomatoes are a great source of antioxidants like Vitamin C as well as being a source of lycopene, a cartenoid thought to be helpful in cancer prevention. Other red foods: Beets, strawberries, raspberries, pomegranates
- Bitter, the flavor of Fire
- Bitter greens: Swiss chard - Bitter flavor clears heat, and given that these leafy green are cooling, they can be a great addition to the diet of someone who has followed the Standard American diet and thus have a lot of built up heat and dampness. From a Western perspective, all leafy greens contain very high amounts of essential vitamins and minerals, as well as providing a healthy amount of fiber. Other leafy, bitter greens: collards, kale
- Red, the color of Fire
- Earth: Element of Spleen and Stomach. Resonates with the times between the seasons or the very late summer, nurturing, stability and the earth beneath our feet.
- Yellow, the color of Earth
- Yellow vegetables: Yams/sweet potatoes - Okay, so these are often orange in color, but some are paler. Work with me, here. From a Chinese medicine perspective, sweet potatoes are sweet in flavor and neutral in nature. They work on the Spleen, Stomach and Large Intestine - so work powerfully on a number of levels in improving digestion. From a Western perspective, they are a potent source of antioxidants and vitamin E. Other yellow vegetables: corn
- Sweet, the flavor of Earth
- Whole grains: Whole wheat and/or spelt, brown rice, quinoa, millet - People are often confused about the sweet flavor in Chinese medicine. This is not the sweet of ice cream, Skittles and soda. To experience the ideal sweet flavor, take a bit of well cooked brown rice and chew thoroughly. That’s sweet. :) So whole grains are the ideal candidate in this category. Rice is sweet and neutral and goes to the Spleen and Stomach. It is the perennial digestive booster, powerful enough to be effective but gentle enough for convalescing individuals. From a Western perspective, whole grains are the foundation of a great diet - providing key minerals, B vitamins and fiber for digestive health.
- Yellow, the color of Earth
- Metal: Element of Lung and Large Intestine. Resonates with the autumn, justice, permanence and high mountain glaciers.
- White, the color of Metal
- Tofu/tempeh and other legumes, fish, chicken: quality protein sources in line with your ethical standards, keep it free-range, organic, local and well-cooked. Most of the greatest protein sources are white (or beige, or something like it). For those of you who want to argue about some of the legumes, point taken. But even many beans that are one color on the outside are pale within. Any of these sources, when prepared sans cream sauce, are excellent sources of protein as well as many minerals. In the case of legumes and their products (tofu, tempeh, etc) you will also get a decent amount of fiber.
- Pungent
- Onions: Flavor is important, and pungent flavor is great for keeping energy moving through the body. Onion is both bitter and pungent in flavor and warm in nature. It goes to the Lung, Stomach and Large Intestine. It can activate the Yang principle of the body as well as helping draw energy downward as might be desirable in constipation. It also reinvigorates stomach fire when used responsibly - good for sluggish digestion. From a Western perspective, there is some evidence that onions may have protective effects against cancer. Other pungent foods: garlic, chilis
- White, the color of Metal
- Water: Element of Bladder and Kidney. Resonates with the energy of the winter, wisdom and contemplation and the vastness of the ocean.
- Blue, the color of Water
- Blue fruits: Blueberries - Blueberries have been in the media a lot lately, mostly their antioxidant benefit is touted. Unfortunately, I do not have information about the Chinese classification of berries in front of me but my sense is that they are probably both sweet and sour, with a neutral nature and probably an affinity for the Large Intestine among other organs. The data on blueberries from Western medicine is easy enough to locate - they are a potent source of vitamins C, E and several protective compounds that are being heavily researched now. Other blue fruits: boysenberries, black raspberries, blackberries
- Salty, the flavor of Water
- Seaweed, condiments: Again, for food to be a holistic experience it must not only satisfy our intellectual understanding of nutrition or our emotional need to be able to look forward to a long, healthy life but the food must also taste good. I have used seaweed in place of salt in many situations with great results - many products are available to make this a simple experience. Other condiments are also fine, especially high grade sea salt and organic nama shoyu.
- Blue, the color of Water
- Wood: Element of Liver and Gallbladder. Resonates with the springtime, Yang energy, motivation and new beginnings and a rapidly growing field of grass.
- Green, the color of Wood
- Green vegetables: Broccoli, from a Western perspective, is a powerhouse food full of vitamins, minerals and the ever crucial fiber. There are so many green vegetables to choose from, this is a category that you can expand pretty much endlessly - even including a green food of each flavor for a five flavored green feast! Other green vegetables: Lettuces, peas, celery, green beans
- Sour, the flavor of Wood
- Citrus: Lemons - From a Chinese perspective, most citrus have both sweet and sour flavors, but lemon is distinctly sour. Its nature is slightly cool, which makes it a great candidate for cooling summerheat - the old time tradition of lemonade has some basis after all! It also goes to the Liver and the Lung - given that the sour flavor astringes, it may be helpful in restraining Lung Qi as in a cough or restraining an overactive Liver. From a Western perspective, these fruits are a prime source of Vitamin C. Other citrus limes, grapefruit
Enjoy!
Eric - Green, the color of Wood
Related posts
-
-
What am I up to?
-
Subscribe to Deepest Health
