How do you organize your life around your dreams? Start by asking yourself:
HOW CAN I SUPPORT MY DREAMS?
Then let the Five Elements do the work! Yes, the Five Elements could help.
The Five Elements, also known as the Five Movements, Wu Xing (wu-hsing), describe a process or system of relationships and patterns that are used in Chinese medicine and Feng Shui. This system was developed sometime between 500 B.C.E. and 200 B.C.E., a long time ago! This isn’t new information, but tried and tested over time, lots of time. This tool is used to describe and understand patterns, like seasonal changes, our lifecycle, illness, moods and behavior, how a space feels. The pulsating of life—growing and shrinking, creating and destroying, expanding and contracting—and the tension between these opposing forces, is demonstrated by this system. This kind of tension is necessary for movement, it creates life force. But as with anything, too much and it becomes exaggerated, too little and it becomes deficient. Using the Five Elements, we can locate the spot(s) that either need nourishment and support, or need to be subdued. We can then use this information to bring things back into balance. When there’s harmony in the cycle, with equal amounts of nourishment and tension, equilibrium is restored. This cycle is without beginning or end. There’s no “starting” element. Each element continually gives birth to, consumes, or tempers another. The elements are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal.
What does this have to do with your dreams? Well, your dreams become evident in your behaviors, in the ebb and flow of your lifecycle and choices, they are affected by your moods. Dreams can be energizing and make you feel alive. Do you feel energized by your dreams? Hallelujah! That’s a great feeling. You can look to the elements to keep you on that path - to support you. Water helps you stay connected to your dreams, Wood supports you in learning more, Fire keeps you excited, Earth grounds you, Metal assists you in making boundaries - all in service to staying in tune with your dreams.
Dreams can also become stagnant and stuck. Do you feel like your dreams are a little stuck? There may be some stagnation, deficiency, or even an overactivity in the Five Element cycle. Without enough Metal you don’t know where to begin, without enough Earth your overwhelmed, without enough Fire you lack the passion, without enough Wood you give up, without enough Water you forget you even had dreams. Let me just say, this ebb and flow is part of nature, just as nature goes in and out of balance, so does our life. That’s why this tool is so amazing - it’s based on the natural flow of things, we can see this all around us! Looking at the pattern of your behavior, mood, or choices, you can locate the point of imbalance, find your way back to the path, and see a way forward. Do you notice any of these patterns in your life?
If you feel stuck, let the Five Elements do the work. Say you don’t know where or how to begin, Metal is one place you could look. Metal is all about clarity, boundaries, letting go of what no longer serves you. It’s also about awe, and a deep reverence that comes from the center of your being - a feeling you can get from trusting your dreams. How could finding some clarity, making a boundary, or simply being in awe of something, anything, become a path to beginning? Perhaps the first step is clearing a little clutter, dusting off your desk or that book that inspired you, making a boundary in your schedule or with the news or a person (all Metal activities). The lungs are the organ associated with metal, the first tiniest step could simply be taking a deep breath. Try it out. I would love to hear how it goes. Do any of these elements and their energies resonate with you? Think about how you can tap into their essence for support. Would love to hear about what you find. Leave a comment below.
Upon waking this morning, I was thinking about the imbalance in our world, and how looking to the Five Elements could offer some direction. Perhaps there is an overactive Metal energy happening, making too many boundaries and divisions, justice that is out of control and ineffective, letting go of systems that are still needed to keep people cared for. This could be Metal taking too much from it’s “mother” which is Earth. An element that is about community, grounding, support. In keeping too much energy for itself, Metal is also not feeding its “child” Water, which is dreaming, imagination and our ability to tap into ancestral wisdom. Perhaps it could be controlled with the use of Fire, which is kindness, love, passion, the heart. Fire controls Metal, heat melting metals. Seeing this all as patterns at play, there may be a solution that is made clear by looking to nature.
The Five Elements are a vast system, this is a small taste. If this got you curious (a Wood quality), come join me for my upcoming workshop! It will develop your understanding of how to use the Five Elements to connect with your personal values. For more information click on the link below.
“a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
To sign up for the workshop, click here:
To buy the Elemental Values Deck click here:
The workshop will be held at The Qi House, check it out here: