Nurturing with the Earth – As per the Five Element Theory
My previous article was about using the awareness of the Chinese Five Element theory to help balance your emotions. This article will focus on understanding the earth element. Future articles will address the other four elements, metal, water, wood and fire.
The earth element’s corresponding organs are the spleen and stomach. A person with a healthy earth balance will have good digestion while someone with an imbalance of the earth will tend to have digestive problems. Earth imbalances tend to manifest as obesity because people overuse food as a way to seek balance while a person with a healthy earth will be very nurturing and harmonious.
There are basic associations with the earth element as shown below:
- Color Yellow
- Sound Singing
- Odor Sweet
- Emotion Sympathy
- Virtue Integrity
- Desires Connectedness
- Virtue Loyalty
- Path Service
- Values Harmony
- Talent Negotiation
An earthy person is very nurturing and likes to help others. I like to think of it as the compassionate giving element. In nature it is the earth that grows our food and provides us with stability – as in having solid ground to stand on. The earth element stands for inter-dependence vs. independence. It nurtures family and relationships. It stands for diplomacy, loyalty and commitment.
When a person has a disorder in their earth aspect they could have an aversion to change or have an addiction to being needed. They may question their role in life and seek comfort from others by seeking to please them. Fear of being alone and fear change is prevalent in their lives. Greed, conflict, insecurity and appearing to be very separate from others are often present. A common trait is to spend excessive amount of time thinking about thing.
Earth has its strongest time from 7 am to 11 am and at its weakest time from 7 PM to 11 PM. Based on this it is best to have your biggest meals when the earth element is strongest and able to absorb nutrients.
The earth can be used to dam or control water. Since the water element is damaged by fear, one can see that the qualities of earth such as service, harmony and loyalty can be very nurturing and help others overcome fear. Earth is controlled by wood as a tree’s roots hold the earth. Metal is nourished by the earth as one would use the earth to make a cast for a metal form. Fire nourishes earth as can be seen by the ashes left behind.
How does the element of earth affect your everyday life? Look for ways to incorporate this newly found awareness and information to improve and seek more balance in your everyday activities.
The author, Jacob Barrocas, lives in Western NC and will be having workshops in this and other useful subjects to help bring balance to your personal life as well as your business. Jacob has a unique background with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Chinese Medicine. His 35 years of experience includes being an Engineer, a Corporate Executive, an acupuncturist, a consultant and a home builder.
For more info about Jacob go to www.consultitgreen.com.
