Category Archives: Spirit

Altruism

Earth Element, Gift, Joy, Spirit, , ,

The Gifts of an Element represent the essential goodness of the Element, its deepest nature. One of the greatest Gifts of the Earth Element, whose season of Late Summer we are now traversing, is altruism.

Selfless GivingAltruism is the highest form of giving. It is not simply giving to another in need but also includes a selfless concern for their well-being. It often involves some kind of sacrifice on the part of the giver, a sacrifice of energy, time or possessions, without any thought of receiving anything in return, either directly or indirectly. There is no expectation of recognition, gratitude or even a subtle desire to feel good about the giving.

Interestingly, when a person takes an altruistic action, it does feel good. Neurobiologists have found that when people placed the interests of others before their own, the generosity activated pleasure centres in a primitive part of the brain that also lights up in response to food or sex. Even when the altruistic action is done with no expectation of reward, there is a pleasurable sensation.

Philanthropy is the concern for others which arises out of love for humanity and which has come to be associated with charitable giving. Altruism goes further in that it includes unselfishness. At its highest, there is actual selflessness, a lack of self. In this state, the giver has no sense of himself as a separate individual but rather as a part of the infinite web of manifestation. There is no sense of giving from one to another because there is no separation. No gift, no giver.

This brings to mind Lao Tzu’s thoughts on the subject:

The Master stays behind;
That is why she is ahead.
She is detached from all things;
That is why she is one with them.
Because she has let go of herself
She is perfectly fulfilled.

The ego is inherently selfish and self-serving. When there is no ego self, there is no selfishness. There is no self-centred action because there is no self there to act. Therefore, the way to true altruism is through disengagement from this false self and engagement with the True Self, which is not a separate individual but a manifestation of the Infinite. Then, fulfilment is not in the doing but in simply being.

Consider:
• What are your motives for giving?
• What is the most altruistic thing you have done?

Book cover

 

This is an extract from my forthcoming book The Way of the Five Seasons. Publication by Singing Dragon Press March 21st 2016. For more information and to pre-order click here

Resurrecting Spirit

Breathing difficulty, Depression, Psycho-emotional, Spirit, , , ,

As we come to the end of a cold, wet winter in southern Australia, many minds are turning towards spring. Before we leave the winter and the Water Element, let’s have a look at a powerful spirit point of the Kidney meridian.

Lingxu – Spirit Burial Ground – Kidney 24

2.17The character Lingxu is made up of two parts, ling meaning spirit, and zu meaning an old burial ground or a wild wasteland. Ling depicts three shamans dancing, supplicating the spirits for rain.[i] The character for doctor or healer also contains the image of a shaman. All of this puts me in mind of Kaptchuk’s description of JR Worsley, father of the modern Five Element tradition, as the greatest shamanistic healer he had ever seen.[ii]

Worsley’s background predisposed him to regard healing as more than just working with the physical and emotional aspects of a person. His acupuncture work retained the aspects of spirit that were excised by the Chinese communists when they created what they called Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the 1950s and 60s.

Most texts of TCM pay little regard to the esoteric aspects of the Kidney points of the upper chest, utilising them simply for physical conditions related to respiration, chest pain and vomiting. In the Five Element tradition, these points can be used to deeply touch a person at the level of spirit. Perhaps the most powerful of these is Lingxu – Spirit Burial Ground.

Lingxu, K 24, lies in the middle of a string of points that begins with K 22 Walking on the Verandah and ends with K 27 Store House. These points lie in the region of the heart and are a reminder of the significant relationships between Kidney and Heart, Water and Fire, jing and shen. K 22 is the exit point of the Kidney channel, where Qi moves to Heart Protector in the Wei Qi cycle. The remaining points on the meridian represent a mysterious journey of spirit into the darker regions of the human spiritual experience. “The spirit burial ground can appear as a dark foreboding place to those who have not cultivated the virtues of faith, wisdom and reverence for the will of heaven.”[iii]

One of the most profound uses of this point is to treat what is known as a spirit block. This is when the person’s spirit had become disconnected in some way from the bodymind. When it appears that a person’s spirit has died; when his life appears as a dry and barren landscape, lacking in direction and meaning; when the structures of the ego-self have obscured the True Self to such a degree that connection to True Nature has been lost, Lingxu has the capacity to restore a person’s connection to source.

The struggles of the spirit described here recall the notion of the dark night of the soul, first stated in a poem by 16th century Christian mystic John of the Cross. The main idea of the poem can be seen as the painful experience that people endure as they seek to grow in spiritual maturity and union with God. This journey through darkness to the spiritual light can be seen as an explication of these Kidney points of the chest, and of K 24 in particular.

In treating this point, the intention of the practitioner will determine the level of the client’s being that is addressed. If the practitioner uses the point with the intention of clearing a cough and improving breathing, the effects will be restricted to the physical level. There will be a very different effect when the intention is to revive a person’s spirit and his connection with the Tao.

[i] Ellis A, Wiseman N & Boss K, Grasping the Wind, Paradigm 1989, p. 380
[ii] Eckman P, In the Footsteps of the Yellow Emperor, Cypress 1996, p.173
[iii] Jarrett L, The Clinical Practice of Chinese Medicine, Spirit Path 2003, p. 452

2.18Location of Kidney 24

Located in the chest at the side of the sternum, the point lies in the third intercostal space and 2 cun lateral to the midline. Note that in males it is one rib space above the level of the nipple. Use direct, moderate pressure.

 

This is an extract from the forthcoming book ‘The Way of the Five Elements’ by John Kirkwood, Singing Dragon Press. Publication date November 21st, 2015. You can now pre-order this book at Fishpond, Book Depository and other online booksellers. (108 days to go!)