In the contemporary world of holistic living and complementary health, we have several exciting and new topics that would offer us new insights and help fire up our imagination. However, there is one ancient fount of wisdom that is timeless and is as pertinent today as it was the very day it was written. This is the I Ching. A philosophical book that delineates the beginning and essence of life on earth, the I Ching has never been modified or edited or altered in any way since its inception. It is about 5,000 years old, making it one of the most ancient books in history.
Everything in the world from the viewpoint of the ancient Chinese was ruled by the principles of the five elements and Yin/Yang. The latter was a belief that the world is in a never-ending state of change with the change being deliberate and never random. Actually, according to the laws of yin and yang, the world was changing based on a predictable pattern.
The other principle, the Five Element theory, was derived from a precise observation of nature going back thousands of years ago, whereby the wise men of ancient times attempted to explain and understand the natural rhythms of life. The five elements produced certain influences and trends by interacting with each other in certain ways in the life of the planet and the lives of people in the planet.
Productive Cycle: Wood is greater than Fire, which is greater than Earth, which is greater than Metal, which is greater than Water
Water nourishes Wood;
The Cycles of Destruction: Wood turns to Earth, which turns to Water, which turns to Fire, which turns to Metal.
Metal transforms to Wood
At any given moment, when a specific element is in excess or is active, it exerts an influence on one of the other elements, leading to shortage (example, excess Wood results in a shortage of Earth). If one element is passive weak or passive, this can have an impact on the element that goes before it in the clash cycle, providing it in turn, with excess (example, passive Wood results in Metal excess).
What this implies is the relevance of a normal relationship between the five elements.
Balance
When assisting the five elements associate with each other in a, ‘harmonious’ way, one can attain the goal of harmony and balance. When an expert comprehends the five element theory with the view to attaining the proper balance, he or she can work out the best way to bring a certain situation towards a healthier and proper conclusion.
Hence, by introducing a certain element into an equation, a person can significantly help to bring about the proper outcome:
Each element can be fitted in to the Chinese calendar and in to time;
Each element possesses a number;
Each element possesses a trigram;
Each element comes with a color;
Each element is affiliated with a certain area of the body;
The Trigrams
There are eight trigrams with each trigram having a symbol that’s denoted by three lines (either negative and broken or positive and solid) associated with either Yin or Yang. These eight trigrams have directions, names, body parts, family links, elements, body areas, elemental features (shapes) and seasons. The I Ching is made up of 64 Hexagrams that emanate from the eight trigrams. One relationship of a trigram is represented by a hexagram that has a relationship with itself in addition to the seven other trigrams providing eight kinds of energetic effects. When we add together all the eight trigram effects, we come up with sixty four. In each Hexagram, the trigram is a vita and indispensable element.
More popularly known as an oracle tool, the I Ching is a way of deriving answers to questions of relevance and advice that pertains to the life of a person. The I Ching is made up of 64 symbols. One Hexagram is made up of six lines associated with Yin and Yang. There is a specific name in each Hexagram that will provide a person with a general interpretation of a certain state of energy or an active state of being.
According to Taoist philosophy, everything changes and nothing is permanent or fixed. This basic fact is essential in the understanding of I Ching. Time is an aspect of what we refer to as change. When translated, the I Ching means the Book of Changes. It is immortal and is an overarching code of life.
Good Health and the I Ching
Every now and then, all of us may require advice and assistance with regard to our well being and health both mentally and physically. The I Ching is a book offers not only much needed guidance but also a certain sense of spiritual wisdom. This Book of Changes is all about regeneration change, and development. In it, a person can discover conversations about natural forces, key points, negative and positive polarities, and trends and predispositions. Over the last one hundred years, modern physics is now only beginning to expand its horizons in terms of understanding the universe and life on this planet. This discipline has also difficulty in presenting its experiments and formulas in a language that is easily understood that’s in compliance with the laws of nature. Nevertheless, the achievements that have been made in quantum mechanics and physics have resulted into something really interesting: its theories have some parallels with Eastern philosophies.
It is totally plausible that the age-old understanding of the universe and its states of being and energies (via the I Ching) can be considered far superior to modern science. Not only is the I Ching considered a guide to science and natural laws, it also can describe psychological and emotional states from a humanistic point of view.
The universe’s hidden truth is the Dao. Dao is the path to all things. There is faint energy existing everywhere and in everything that is interlinked and connected. This can be best symbolized by the well-known symbol of Tai Chi. The Dao is the circle of Tai chi, which itself is invisible and filled with mystery. The interactivity between the dualistic energies of Yin and Yang are one of its expressions.
World renowned Swedish psychologist Carl Jung, whose work many current therapies and counseling are based on, spent an entire season attempting to discredit the I Ching. But instead of disproving it, he actually came to respect it so much so that he began integrating it into his work! Jung called certain aspects that are somehow tied to coincidences or unexpected as a form of ‘synchronicity.’ One can describe synchronicity as when a person thinks of someone and that someone phones, or when someone looks for something and fortuitously finds what he is looking in a book, magazine, or newspaper.
Tai Chi, Acupuncture Orlando, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qi Gong, the Art of War by Sun Tzu, Reflexology, Chinese Herbal Therapy, Chinese Nutritional therapy, Ba Zi Chinese Horoscope, Feng Shui, and the genetic code of the DNA of all living things are all sciences and disciplines that are derived and connected to the 64 Hexagrams and the I Ching in one form or another.
The I Ching has 64 Hexagrams. There are 64 parts code words or parts of the DNA of a human being. All of these fields of study are medical sciences; the I Ching plays a huge role and has a profound influence in the well being and health of a society and a person as a whole.
The DNA helix has the universal code written on the steps of its coiled ladder. This helix has eight steps that come with a 360° turn. Within the I Ching and Feng Shui are 8 trigrams that symbolize the 8 directions within a 360° turn degree turn.
One progression towards spiritual development and physical well being is to develop a consciousness about the reality of Qi. Typically, the nervous systems and consciousness of individuals are not sensitive enough to feel the Qi that is both outside and inside their bodies. Qi cannot be seen but its internal and external effects can be discerned through the mystery of life and death.
Diligent practice and study of the healing arts of ancient China, plus the thorough understanding of the I Ching can hone our inherent energies to the max, which in a lot of instances the indirect outcome will be been the complete treatment of several types of diseases, that can range from fatigue to high blood pressure and from migraines to cardiovascular diseases. Its most important aspect is its amazing ability to prevent illness by maintaining state of balance of our internal energies. According to ancient Chinese medical belief, illness is the externalization of energy distortion and disorder inside the body. It’s a state wherein the nervous system and the various organs are working inefficiently or ineffectively in a manner that is either, too strong or too weak, too fast or too slow, or too wet or too dry. When the Qi moves through the various energy pathways or meridians of our body smoothly without a hitch, the organs of our body are in a state of harmony and balance and are thus healthy and strong. Disease will only come about when this Qi becomes obstructed or imbalanced, which implies that the circulation of Qi needs to be rectified.
Via the understanding of the five element theory and the I Ching, the vigor that has been trapped inside an imbalanced and taut body is freed and allowed to sustain and resuscitate natural health. This applies to all of the healing arts of ancient China.
The tendency to disregard the natural laws of the universe becomes highly likely when we’re not aware of these laws. This leads to a loss of harmony and balance both externally and internally. If these disharmonies and imbalances keep on recurring, they will ruin mental and physical health. When we begin to realize that every aspect of our life and energy is a manifestation of the natural law of the universe, we become instantaneously become one with the universe, and as a result, we naturally become recipients of the blessings and benefits nature and the universe has to give.