Once we learn to juggle the laws of the Five Elemental Forces and have a better understanding of the principles of health—how we feel and think according to our energy pattern in general—our pattern of tensions and the health of our internal organs start to make sense. Clients become more predictable because practitioners know that they feel and think according to the health of their internal organs. It is important to understand this before we can heal and change. First we need to know what needs to be changed and feel it. As Moshe Feldenkrais used to say in his classes on awareness of movement, “You can’t get what you want if you don’t know what you do.”
We, in Western culture, have learned through our educational system that rational thinking should dominate our mind, body, and spirit. The basic tenets of psychology stipulate that we think before we have emotions. We perceive, at the most, only two mental aspects: rational thinking and emotions. Both are qualified as mental—“in your head”—and have placed a dualistic perspective on human behavior: Either it is clear and logical, and originates at the mental level, or it comes from the shadows of the different layers of the unconscious mind. The inability to recognize our emotions, our denial, is mostly attributed to a lack of mental capacity.
According to Taoist perspective, we have neither one nor two but five mental aspects. These mental aspects stem from the Five Elemental Forces, and only when these five aspects work harmoniously do we have full mental capacity.
Plates 15 through 22 illustrate the general points made in this part of the chapter.
Plate 23 relates the law of creation with mental aspects and both positive and negative emotions.
As we learned in Chapter 2, Water nurtures Wood. Once we attain a good amount of power with Water, our Wood grows in a healthy manner. This means that our ability to be creative with Water will feed our rational thinking. Abstraction and dreams feed our ability to discover and understand. The same way that the tree, the symbol of Wood, is a complete ecosystem, our rational mind, our intelligence, creates our own universe.
Once we understand (Wood), our wisdom (Fire) leads us to believe and to know. We then have a strong sense of guidance toward our life purpose; we call it intuition. Intuition is our highest level of intelligence. It is the complete growth process of Wood culminating in the bloom (Fire). This also means that our intuition is proportional to our level of mental cultivation. If our intelligence is low, we can’t expect our intuition to be any higher. There is no shortcut in education. Only discipline, training, and consistent work can enable our Wood energy and intelligence to bloom into intuition, wisdom, and the spiritual guidance that tells us what to do, what our heart wants, and what makes us happy and gives us enthusiasm for life.
Once we know (Fire), then we feel happy and comfortable, and we can enjoy the fruits of having a secure foundation and a good perspective on life (Earth). This allows us to manifest the right idea at the right time, at the right place, for the right purpose, with the right people. This is what is meant by being clever, spontaneous, and practical. We can then enjoy a strong sense of authenticity with a solid appreciation for life on Earth and behave effortlessly and comfortably with a sense of purpose.
Only when we stand on the firm ground of recognition and validation (Earth), and are solid enough to get that clear perspective on life, can we afford to be sensitive enough (Metal) to have the courage to face the nonrationality and immediacy of our feelings, to grow from them and be emotionally mature. Only then can we be completely honest with ourselves and with others, and be on good terms with our emotional life, the very fabric of our soul.
Once we feel our emotions (Metal), then we dream (Water) about them. Our dreams feed on the abstraction of our emotional life, from the bottom of which creativity, vision, and willpower emerge. In Water is also our instinct that makes us react without thinking. Water carries the original information, the idea that will be developed and cultivated in Wood. Creativity waters the growth of our mental cultivation (Wood) and turns it into clarity.
With further cultivation, more fragrant and colorful blooms produce more delicious fruits as the upward spiral of refinement continues. This is the principle of internal alchemy held sacred by Taoists monks and Chi-Kung practitioners.
Starting with Yin Water, the most Yin, the deepest, most hidden and essential manifestation of our thinking process, is our ability to be creative, to conceive of and summon new ideas from the depths of our psyche from the abstraction of our dream world. Creativity is our mental Water aspect. Next, our mind grows fully formed thoughts in the Wood mental aspect of intelligence, with our ability to develop theories, make plans, and create strategies for solving problems. Our mind then blooms into the Fire mental aspects of wisdom, spirit, and guidance. We are then able to use the right idea, at the right place, at the right time with Earth, thus making practicality and spontaneity the Earth mental aspects. Great awareness of emotions comes out of this Earth support, thereby becoming the mental aspect in Metal, allowing us to outgrow these emotions and to become a better and more mature self.
If our energy is high, all goes well and the cycle of creation nourishes our mind in a productive way. But when our basic life force weakens, there is a lack of Chi in our Water system (kidneys and adrenals); we become tired, we are not very creative, and our thinking becomes fuzzy (Wood). Our spirit is then disheartened (Fire), we have a tendency to lose perspective on things (Earth), and we become quite insensitive and depressed (Metal).
When our energy is low or stagnant, we experience the negative aspects of our mind. Likewise, when we are refreshed and relaxed, and our energy runs abundantly, we experience the positive aspects of our mind. These are all natural reactions. It is pure physics. Remember, we don’t choose our feelings; we get them. If we had the choice, we would go for what feels good! Forcing ourselves to “think positively,” “smile,” or “just forgive and forget” means forcing our thinking process to overcome our emotions, which is impossible. Metal cuts Wood (see the next section on the law of control). Only in cases where the mind is so strong and the emotional charge very weak or mostly outgrown, can Wood overpower Metal. What happens is that, in most cases, we force ourselves to become numb and hide the emotional charges in parts of our body that we have to alienate from ourselves to avoid feeling bad. This is the legitimate thing to do since we were originally born to enjoy life, not to suffer. But we can never really forget these emotions hidden within ourselves; all our nervous system can do for us is to try to not remember!
In scientific approaches, as well as in Taoism, there is no moral judgment involved when we talk of “positive” and “negative” emotions. Positive and negative are understood at the strictly energetic level: in physics there is nothing wrong with the negative pole of a battery and nothing especially good about the positive pole. It is all a matter of magnetic charge. Similarly, with emotions, when the energy is low or stagnant, we experience negative emotions, and when the energy runs healthily and abundantly, we experience positive feelings.
Let’s start with Water, extreme Yin, even though there is no real beginning or end to the cycle.
The emotional force of Metal nourishes the emotional force of Water.
Positive emotions: If Water energy is plentiful, we feel full of life force, and we have so much energy to spend, that we have to be calm and gentle. There is no need to rush or to rev up the engine. We can just follow the momentum since it is so strong. It is much like a large but calm river that flows swiftly, compared to a little stream that appears to be rushing. Our great awareness and the courage to face our emotions, and the uprightness and pride in Metal, allow for great calm, originality, and a great outflow of effortless power in the creative energy of Water.
Negative emotions: Let’s assume that energy is running so low that the basic life force is dropping. Since Water is the most Yin, most essential element for life, the feeling connected with losing it is fear. This is legitimate, and there is nothing wrong about feeling afraid when we feel weaker than a given situation would require. If we feel too weak to run from the beast, then extreme terror arises. If we know that we can outrun the situation, just a small amount of fear is all that is necessary to make us run a little faster.
The phenomenon of paralysis and numbness from terror is a necessary reaction in nature so that animals can naturally succumb to predators without suffering. The energy that would be used to run away turns inwardly to paralyze and numb the victim. In the context of weakness and negative emotional charges, depression, sadness, and grief in Metal will provoke weak will in Water, leading to fear and paranoid tendencies.
The emotional force of Water nourishes the emotional force of Wood.
Positive emotions: If the energy from Water is strong and feeds us with plenty of calm, then we are going to grow a lot of kindness and generosity in Wood. When a tree is abundant with ripe fruit, it has to let the fruit drop. There is no other choice—if it doesn’t, the fruit rots on the tree, and the whole tree then rots and dies. When we are wealthy (money, knowledge, wisdom, skills), we need to circulate that wealth and share it so that we, too, don’t rot and die with it!
Negative emotions: If we are afraid in Water, and that fear is feeding our Wood, frustration and anger are going to grow in Wood. There is nothing wrong with this. If we are subjected to abuse, dispossession, and submission, we will react with anger. This is a healthy reaction. Anger is a surface emotion (Yang) that raises power and protects us from feeling the underlying emotions of sadness, grief, and fear, which would paralyze us and rob us of the energy necessary to respond to the situation if we let ourselves feel them.
The emotional force of Wood nourishes the emotional force of Fire.
Positive emotions: If we have strength and calm in Water, it will grow into so much wealth that we have to be generous and kind in Wood so that we can be joyous and happy in Fire. We are successful, and we can enjoy it.
Negative emotions: If we grow anger in Wood, then we’ll eventually explode into absolute impatience and hatred in Fire. We just can’t take it anymore; it is time for change. We can then become completely insensitive (because Fire melts Metal—again, see the next section on the law of control), slashing, burning, and killing without a second thought. This would be a natural reaction.
The emotional force of Fire nourishes the emotional force of Earth.
Positive emotions: If we are calm in Water, kind and generous in Wood, and are happy and enjoy a high spirit in Fire, we can then enjoy emotional stability, fairness, and good perspective in Earth. This allows us to be practical, present, authentic, and spontaneous.
Negative emotions: If we live with impatience and hatred in our heart (Fire), we won’t feel good or comfortable experiencing the present moment. Instead, we will feel like hurrying. We’ll feel like the world is inhospitable, and that we are standing on shaky ground. It is hard to feel good about ourselves under such conditions, when we feel rejected by earth and existence. From here, poor self-esteem, worries, and chronic anxiety arise.
The emotional force of Earth nourishes the emotional force of Metal.
Positive emotions: If the energy coming from Earth is strong, solid, and abundant, and we feel comfortable, accepted, validated, and allowed to really be ourselves and are proud of it; likewise, if we experience high spirit and joy from Fire, clarity of mind and kindness in Wood, and strength and calm in Water, we can afford to have the courage to face the deepest, darkest, most unpleasant sides of ourselves in Metal. This is true honesty and takes courage, uprightness, and pride. It takes these kinds of emotions to let ourselves feel intensely and completely. This is why healing at the emotional level is so difficult. We won’t heal if we are prevented from developing our emotional and mental aspects. We won’t have the strength to face our hidden selves.
Negative emotions: If we stand on shaky ground in Earth, we will feel like looking for protection and advantages even though our very condition prevents us from having a good perspective on things. We are “out of touch” (Metal), so we’ll experience confusion in our feelings. We will be unfair and biased and are in no condition to be honest with ourselves or with others. We’ll make mistakes by looking for protection through what is most convincing rather than by what is real, trusting appearances rather than reality. Sadness, melancholy, and nostalgia, at best, are all that we can feel, but numbness and depression are the result of our not being able to let ourselves feel emotional at all.
Plates 16 through 18 illustrate the points about mental and emotional aspects. “Healthy” and “weak” describe the energy of the overall organ system. For example, weak Kidney energy, which causes fear, means that if we have weak kidneys, we will have a propensity for being scared, and being scared all the time will eventually weaken the kidneys. By “Kidney,” we not only mean the kidneys, but also the bones, the marrow, the teeth, the ears, the Kidney and Bladder meridian system, and the DNA.
Water (healthy Kidney energy): inspired, creative, inventive, insightful, original, dynamic, productive.
Wood (healthy Liver energy): thoughtful, intelligent, clear, articulate, cultivated, prosperous, progressive, constructive, open-minded, curious, always ready to learn more.
Fire (healthy Heart and Endocrine energy): bright, high-spirited, humorous, spiritual, respectful, humble, reverent, virtuous, intuitive.
Earth (healthy Spleen-Pancreas energy): aware, practical, smart, content, satisfied, balanced, good judgment, good taste, present, authentic, conciliatory.
Metal (healthy Lung energy): emotionally intelligent, very sharp, nonjudgmental, sensual, playful, sociable, refined.
Plate 19 illustrates the negative mental aspects.
Water (weak Kidney energy): slow, tired, weak, uninventive.
Wood (weak Liver energy): limited, stubborn, dogmatic, obsessive.
Fire (weak Heart and Endocrine energy): stern, dark, secretive, severe.
Earth (weak Spleen-Pancreas energy): dissatisfied, gluttonous or restrained, austere, disproportionate, disharmonized, tasteless, artificial, unfair, prejudiced, desynchronized, unfriendly, inhospitable.
Metal (weak Lung energy): dull, out of touch, timid, dishonest, biased, artificial.
Continuing to refer to Plate 19, positive and abundant energy has the following emotional aspects.
Water (healthy Kidney energy): calm, gentle, embracing, limitless, encompassing, determined, creative, sensual.
Wood (healthy Liver energy): generous, patient, kind, tempered, cool-headed, pleasant, discreet, relaxed, cooperative.
Fire (healthy Heart and Endocrine energy): joyful, warm, compassionate, spiritual, hearty, respectful, polite, patient, loving, forgiving, unconditional, passionate, enthusiastic.
Earth (healthy Spleen-Pancreas energy): fair, empathic, supportive, solid, consistent, congenial, spontaneous, genuine, harmonious, centered, rooted, stable, balanced, solid, healthy in appetite and desires, regular, harmonized, synchronized, sociable, hospitable, nurturing, comfortable, ease of being, easygoing.
Metal (healthy Lung energy): courageous, cool, firm, uplifted, resonant, pure, pardoning, forgiving, upfront, true to one’s feelings, upright, proud, honest.
Plate 19 illustrates the emotional aspects found in the face of negative or deficient energy.
Water (weak Kidney energy): afraid, rough, cold, slippery, small, scattered, speedy, stagnant, running in circles, boring, sterile, tedious, lewd, paranoid.
Wood (weak Liver energy): angry, frustrated, aggressive, stingy, violent, sly, hot-headed, explosive, obstreperous, tight, obsessed, obstinate, formalistic, utopian, competitive, antagonistic, arrogant, thoughtless, petty, jealous, resentful.
Fire (weak Heart and Endocrine energy): impatient, hateful, spiteful, vicious, cruel, cynical, inconsiderate, mocking, insensitive, obsequious.
Earth (weak Spleen-Pancreas energy): anxious, awkward, imbalanced, inconsistent, absent, intrusive, worried, shaky, envious, jealous, low self-esteem, unreliable, irresponsible.
Metal (weak Lung energy): reactive, hypocritical, cowardly, hesitant, treacherous, deceitful, sad, depressed, emotionally confused, unsure.
Using the law of control, we can change undesirable emotional patterns, controlling negative feelings (see Plate 24).
Now, what do we do if we feel a certain way that we don’t like feeling, and we want to change? It is clear that no amount of understanding will change much of the condition. We are aware that these unpleasant feelings result from energetic charges that are difficult or impossible to digest. We know that these emotional charges affect our physical self, according to the function of that physical aspect of ourselves. What we need next is a system of guidance to help process these charges efficiently. This will first involve our mental functions to validate the feelings in order to give permission for the growth process and change to take place. Second, physical touch might be necessary to help stimulate our system and guide the negative charges into complete processing and elimination.
If our energy runs low or is congested in our Kidney-Bladder energetic system, we experience feelings of fear. If we look at Plate 25, showing the elemental universal laws of nature, we see that Earth controls Water. The mental aspects of Earth are awareness, practicality, and spontaneity. Practical awareness is a bridge to clarity and logic and will help counteract the irrationality of excess fear by bringing a sense of perspective, and some feeling of solidity, stability, and safety in the here and now.
• Fear extinguishes joy and enthusiasm from our Heart (Fire).
• Metal sensitivity can only turn our fear (Water) into a flood.
• No amount of explanation (Wood) can sufficiently calm our fear.
• Only by being aware, by seeing that at least, here and now, in the present (Earth), everything is okay, can we calm down.
Strong Earth holds Water. Mental stability counteracts excess fear. Strengthening our Earth attributes consists of:
• Attending to our home and sense of comfort.
• Following the Three Laws of Dietary Hygiene (see Healing from Within, p. 148) on a regular basis.
• Practicing the Earth Chi-Kung exercises and meditations.
This will eventually provide us with enough stability, solidity, and balance so that chronic fears can evaporate from our Water system.
Anger is a very important emotion, but it is also frightening, so we have a tendency to hide it from ourselves and from others. A Wood attribute, anger comes with thinking and planning. It arises spontaneously when things don’t go as planned. Since it also comes from our liver, the main internal organ of the Wood system, it also means that when our liver is congested or overwhelmed with toxicity or pollutants, we can’t help but feel hostile. A certain level of hostility is so frequent among some of us that it is now considered “normal.” We have no idea how much hostility we carry, and how detrimental our chronic anger is to our own health. This anger always underlies our activities, especially our leisure, games, and pastimes. It is easily apparent in our sports, our favorite shows that contain some sort of violence, the use of weapons and explosives, and by our propensity for seeking scapegoats or competitors to blame for difficulties.
When this happens, there is no amount of reasoning possible because to do so requires clarity of mind (Wood), which is completely immobilized by its negative emotional aspect, aggressiveness. This actually makes us very sharp “intellectuals,” who constantly find reasons to justify the way we feel. Remember, Metal cuts Wood. The only way out of the escalation of violence is to stop thinking and start breathing! Only deep breathing can bring us back in touch with the nonrational, but nevertheless very important emotional level and appreciation for life, which is lost with excessive thinking. Once positive feelings are pumped back into the lungs (Metal), anger (Wood) transforms itself into its positive counterparts, kindness and generosity (see Plate 26).
Driving fast or walking fast without being in a hurry, even under the pretense of having fun, is one of the main symptoms of undetected emotional Fire imbalance and inner impatience. Often, impatience and insensitivity are a result of excess Wood over-fueling Fire, a side effect of denied anger feeding insensitivity and impatience. Cutting Wood with Metal can help, but sometimes the Fire is burning so intensely that no amount of breathing can extinguish the fire of derision and cruelty. In fact, breathing will make it even stronger; it will make us laugh! The Fire has to be controlled by Water (see Plate 27). Fear, of course, can put a damper on our over-impatient and hasty Fire element by frightening us with the prospect of punishment. However, from a more positive aspect, stimulating and cultivating creativity and sensuality, providing a safe and hospitable place (Earth) where creativity (Water) can be channeled, will progressively transform impatience and hastiness into high spirit and enthusiasm.
Anxiety is a sign of weak Earth, like standing on shaky ground (see Plate 28). When Earth is low, it is easily flooded with Water, which is why anxiety and fear are very closely related. In addition to fear, poor self-esteem comes with weak Earth, which is what differentiates it from a Water imbalance.
I have noticed that anywhere the land has been exploited, over-industrialized, mined, or drilled for oil, the quality of Earth Chi feels depleted. I have also noticed that people living there are usually not very hospitable and look very submissive and angry. Even people working in shops, hotels, and restaurants in these areas don’t feel like investing in qualities that will attract and maintain a clientele, and they lose business as a result. I believe that we become anxious and scared when we don’t feel supported by Earth. Unconsciously, we become hostile and, of course, look for and find all kinds of reasons to be that way. There is a noticeable difference, for example, in regions where a national park or a nature preserve has been established on landfill or a former dump site. As soon as you step through the gate of the park, a positive energy charge is instantly felt.
On the other hand, the reverse is felt in certain zones of power all over the earth. For example, where I live, there is a hill that feels extremely calm. Even the shopping mall on top of the hill is calm and quiet. I find the shopkeepers and clerks there more easygoing and pleasant than in any other shopping mall I have ever patronized. One day, I even took a nap in the parking lot! It is so calm that the management decided to relocate the movie theaters and the car dealers to the next hill because they felt they could do better business there. I believe that the original hill must contain some strongly positive telluric force or perhaps it was a sacred place for earlier civilizations and still carries that residual energetic charge.
If you would like to raise the quality of the Earth energy near you or where you live, all you have to do is practice Earth Chi-Kung and meditations on a regular basis. Another good technique is to visit your favorite powerful places on earth—your personal places of power, your favorite lookout over the ocean, your favorite mountain, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Mount Shasta, shrines, monasteries, temples and churches—and bring the positive feelings from these places back to where you live, and to places where the earth feels depleted, and meditate and exercise there. This really works!
A very effective way to transform an Earth imbalance in yourself is by cultivating your Wood intelligence. Study, learn a new language or craft, learn to play an instrument, or do anything to stimulate your nervous system, to open your mind, and raise your spirit.
I have heard it said so often and in so many ways: “I was saved . . .” by Jesus, by Mary, by the Goddess, by Allah, by Buddha, by the Tao, by my guru, by God. These are examples of religion saving people from deep depression, the angst of existential anxiety, and from suicidal tendencies. Religion, however, must first feed the spirit and raise it to a level of being where we are in touch with our life purpose. This doesn’t mean, though, that the only way out of depression is to join the first religious group or local cult available. Indeed, for some of us, this would have exactly the opposite effect.
What is important is to raise the spirit, and this can be accomplished through various means. Norman Cousins, well known for documenting his own healing by filming himself being treated for terminal cancer, discovered the way to salvation and complete remission through laughter.10 He would get videos of his favorite comedians and watch them all day long, forcing himself to laugh. Some of us have achieved the same result by playing laugh-along audio recordings. We have even formed laughing clubs and associations, meeting every morning before work to exchange a few jokes and coax each other to laugh for several minutes every day. My main Chi-Kung master, Mantak Chia, has made Laughing Chi-Kung a regular part of his practice.
Yet, for others, raising our spirit requires completely different means. Again, we are all different, and these differences have to be respected in order to come up with something genuine and authentic so that we can overcome depression, and rekindle our enthusiasm for life.
One form of depression, which is very common in affluent countries, stems from having too many options, too many possibilities, too much choice, too many liberties, not to have to do anything with our life. We have tried different religions, different self-help programs, have traveled everywhere, and seen all the movies and comedies. Yet, we still have no taste for life because our spirit is low. We don’t know what to do with ourselves. We have lost, or never acquired, our sense of purpose or destiny. Some of us are faced with the opposite, being prevented from realizing ourselves due to economic or prejudicial reasons.
Again, this is not about looking for solutions. We are faced here with something that has no solution. The only way out of emotional distress is not to try to solve anything, but to outgrow the situation. Literally, growing out of it means digesting it, being able to take in what we need and eliminate what we don’t. Each of these reactions is, in fact, a healthy reaction to an unhealthy situation. Anyone placed in the same situation would experience the same thing or even worse. The way out of emotional distress is emotional maturity, which requires having undergone emotional episodes and survived. (See Plate 29.)
Note to Practitioners: The job of the practitioner working with a depressed client is not to find a solution or remedy, but to train the client into feeling more instead of less, by widening the spectrum of feelings. Only systematic exercises in deep breathing and meditation can do this. These will usually bring the person to the bottom of depression (the price of awareness), but also eventually to breakthrough (the reward). This is very hard to do and requires strength, determination, and experience as well as unconditional mental and emotional support from the practitioner.
The arts and professions are associated with mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Arts can balance our professional choices. Plate 30 shows these associations.
We are usually drawn to the profession that matches our psychological profile, because it increases or justifes, and thus anchors, our natural tendencies and imbalances. In most cases, however, it is not necessary to change professions. We are better at what we do than anyone else because we enjoy what we do. Changing professions would only bring grief and add to the stress response. What is important is not to change the profession, but rather to change the accompanying mental and emotional attitudes. These attitudes can radically transform when aided by practicing at leisure the art corresponding to the controlling element. Of course, it is important that such art be practiced with its corresponding mental and emotional attributes. However, it is common that after going through healing, we find it necessary to change careers. Then, of course, we would naturally be attracted to activities that support our personal evolution and healing process.
Professions: commerce, finance, diplomatic corps, travel, consulting.
Arts: figurative arts—painting, drawing, and sculpture, as well as photography and film—bring the essence of life to figures and manifest the power of abstraction and dreams.
If you are dominated by Water, you will usually be attracted to and be successful in the fields of finance and commerce. When plagued by a Water imbalance (excessive fearfulness, paranoia, irrational terrors), you might want to cultivate a taste for gardening, horticulture, or building or fixing something in order to exercise your ability to be practical and ingenious, and to develop a taste for stability, solidity, nurturing, and harmony.
Professions: military, law enforcement, firefighting, paramedics, politics, legal professions, management, clerical work, academics, science, psychology, physics, environmental studies, and all specialized professions.
Arts: writing in general, poetry, and martial arts.
If you are dominated by Wood, you might do very well working in the field of management, the sciences, the legal profession, politics, the military, and any field involving strategy. If you have a Wood imbalance (daydreaming, insomnia, obsessions, chronic anger, alcoholism), find solace in learning to play an instrument, listening intensely to music, or involving yourself in the esthetics of fashion, clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics to get in touch with your emotional life without the need for understanding or justifying.
Professions: teachers, doctors, spiritual leaders, priests, monks, gurus, physicians, herbalists.
Arts: performing arts—dance, singing, mime, acting, theatre, opera, drama, comedy.
Fire-dominated people often work as doctors, healers, teachers, trainers, and spiritual leaders. With a Fire imbalance (always in a rush, impatient, insensitive), you can find peace in painting, photography, sculpting, and the like, and cultivating your dream life by maintaining a dream journal (Water).
Professions: architecture, construction, carpentry, masonry, electrical contracting, plumbing, engineering, antiques dealing, agriculture, horticulture, gardening and landscaping, restoration, farming, fishing, hunting.
Arts: all artisans crafts—knitting, shoemaking, tailoring, jewelry making, furniture building, pottery, weaving, and cooking and all culinary and domestic arts.
Earth-dominated people can often be found as artisans, construction workers, farmers, hoteliers, or restaurateurs. If you have an Earth imbalance (uncomfortable, dissatisfied, poor self-esteem), you can find support, and start to learn about satisfaction, through Wood-related activities such as writing, reading, or martial arts. Additionally, you would benefit from any type of study that improves mental capacities such as foreign languages, mathematics, physics, astrology, botany, anthropology, history, and geography.
Professions: perfumers, trend-oriented professions, publicists, fashion and other designers, couturiers, estheticians.
Arts: music, the art of summoning feelings from pure abstraction.
If dominated by Metal, you are in touch with trends, esthetics, appearance, and health, and will do well working in any of these fields. Your Metal imbalance (depression, grief, sadness, and melancholy) can be relieved through dance, singing, chanting, and getting in touch with spirituality (Fire). Also you will find relief by strengthening old friendships or building new ones, adopting a pet, and finding love.
. . . The song is to the singer, and comes back most to him,
The teaching is to the teacher, and comes back most to him,
The murder is to the murderer, and comes back most to him,
The theft is to the thief, and comes back most to him,
The love is to the lover, and comes back most to him,
The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him—it cannot fail,
The oration is to the orator, the acting to the actor and actress, not to the audience,
And no man understands any greatness or goodness but his own, or the indication of his own . . .
WALT WHITMAN, “A Song of the Rolling Earth”12