In Wood, I make my plans ...

[soaring crane]

.

In Wood, I make make my plans and start out on my journey, collecting experiences along the way.

In Fire, these experiences culminate and I can see where the journey was leading me.

In Earth, the experiences take root and begin to ripen.

In Metal, I can reflect on the process and begin to decide which of the fruits to keep, which to let go.

In Water, I store the finest fruits, the ones that I decided to keep, and they nourish my wisdom and my essence, providing me with a stronger basis for the next cycle...

...which begins in Wood, when I make my plans and start out on my journey ...

.

Edited April 18, 2014 by soaring crane

[JohnC]

Awesome for the seasons.

 

Wood - spring - Liver - Anger - Green stuff

Fire - summer - Heart - Joy/mania - Red stuff

Earth - Late summer - spleen/stomach - Worry - Brownish stuff

Autumn - Metal - Lungs - Grief - White stuff

Winter - Water - Kidneys - Fear - Blue/purplish stuff

Edited April 18, 2014 by JohnC

[soaring crane]

I was describing the sequence that takes place in every process, on the macro and microcosmic scales.

[JohnC]

And I was adding that it fits for the seasons, and has been my experience.

[soaring crane]

Yes for sure. It could as easily begin 'In Spring, I...'

 

But it could also begin, 'In the morning I... '

 

Or, 'when I'm born, I...'

 

Or, 'when I feel hungry, I...'

 

Or, 'when I feel tired, I...'

 

Or, 'when I turn on my computer, I...'

 

That's what I was trying to convey. The universal aspect on a personal level.

[JohnC]

I dig it.

[soaring crane]

Or the birth of a galaxy, a star, our sun... :-)

[Gerard]

Let me add that the process actually starts with water (root), the mother of wood (tree).

[soaring crane]

Well, it's not really like that. Water is in itself completely passive, lethargic. It just lies there, allowing itself to be pulled by gravity deeper into the pool, or the kidneys. Wood has (or, better said, is) the power to draw it upward and bring it into the circuit.

 

And distilled water is only good for ironing clothes and filling car batteries. Without metal to fortify it, water doesn't contribute anything to the circuit. And where does the metal come from? From Earth contracting and compressing. And Earth is the ash that's left behind by the Fire which is the ultimate culmination of the Wood which grows from the mineralized Water, ad infinitum.

The five phases exist in and of themselves, simultaneously, but the energy passes through them in this order. There is no start or finish.

 

Determining one as the beginning is a useful model, a diagnostic tool, but not a universal truth.

 

When I choose a phase to describe the process of life, I choose Wood, because Wood is living, it's birth and growth. It's the start of any activity or event, no matter the size or scope.

Edited April 19, 2014 by soaring crane

[Captain Mar-Vell]

...

Are there ANY "Universal Truths?"

 

What might they be?

 

Is not all truth relative?

 

Crack The Codex (The Great Detective).

All be Thought in Mind of Man,

Every Let and every Ban.

Every Fact and every Fiction.

De Cypher Word of Perfect Dicktion!

...

Edited April 19, 2014 by Captain Mar-Vell

[soaring crane]

...

Are there ANY "Universal Truths?"

 

...

Yin and yang and change. Beyond that, it's an open field.

[soaring crane]

also - sex (in some form or other, so long as it results in procreation) and consumption/digestion/elimination. I think those things are universal for all life in the universe.

[dawei]

Well, it's not really like that. Water is in itself completely passive, lethargic. It just lies there, allowing itself to be pulled by gravity deeper into the pool, or the kidneys. Wood has (or, better said, is) the power to draw it upward and bring it into the circuit.

 

Except water comes in at least three compositions... as a gas it is more active, and maybe primordial.

 

I am of the opinion that the reason that water shows up in very ancient chinese cosmologies is due to the 'mist' aspect; it is the equivalent to ancient Qi on some level. If one were to see the ancient script for Qi, one sees 'vapor'.

[soaring crane]

No variance in temperature or pressure or other force = no mist. Mist is the effect of wood on water. Without external influence, water does nothing. It's very stubborn that way. The most valuable things in life take effort to acquire :-)

 

Wood is in every change, in the sense that change =growth. Every change of position or condition is wood.

Edited April 20, 2014 by soaring crane

[soaring crane]

I want to add that the rootwork is the most woodsy of the wood, the most active part of the tree. That water in the ground (or kidneys) doesn't enter the roots (liver) of its own accord. It takes a lot of work to effectively absorb it and transport it up the trunk.

 

In fact, regarding real trees on our planet, their growth is limited by the height that water can't effectively been drawn from the ground and transported upward.

[Captain Mar-Vell]

...

Every change of position or condition is wood.

 

Perhaps the World Tree Yggdrasil is eternally expanding and outward flowering in infiniite creative variety.

 

Hence Perpetual Change.

...

Edited April 20, 2014 by Captain Mar-Vell

[soaring crane]

Ahhh... Nice but, Capt, that's where fire comes into play.

 

People who lack fire for example, tend to bubble over with talk and plans, but never come to the point or complete the prohect.

[soaring crane]

Likewise and for example, hypothetically speaking, inefficiently functioning metal can let poisons pollute the water, and when the wood transports it skyward, it can manifest in unpleasurable ways ie rage.

 

Sufficient fire can control it, but where there's no fire, there's no end to the storm...

[zerostao]

Or the birth of a galaxy, a star, our sun... :-)

or the birth of an idea, ideal, dream,,,,,,

[traveler]

Interesting read, this. From your descriptions here, I see a good correlation between these element aspects of our journey and The Color Code by Taylor Hartman. There are four colors which define four types of personalities. Red is proactive and bossy, blue is carrying and loving, white is peaceful and a bit stubborn, and yellow is fun-centered. For yellow, the world is divided simply into fun and not fun. Fire would be red for nothing gets done without action and reaction. Where do the other elements fit these personality types? Or, do they? Taylor Hartman says we all have a main color or personality with bits of the other types added in. The goal is to drop the negative aspects of our main color type and add the positive traits from the other colors.

So, we have five elements. If you view these as parts of your character, then you can see that the Fusion of the Five Elements is attempting to achieve the same thing as Taylor Hartman is suggesting with his Color Code: To improve the character through mixing, removing, and adding aspects of our personal traits and tendencies. The elements are a way to organize our thoughts and set goals for self improvement. Self-evolution also seems to be an automatic process which we are only able to observe, once we allow our deeper self to surface and take more control of our progress.

Regardless of how you view any of these ideas, one thing is certain, there is a process going on inside of us, and in our environment as well, which cycles over and over, but not in circles; it is a spiral, ever reaching upward into new inner experiences.

[soaring crane]

or the birth of an idea, ideal, dream,,,,,,

Absolutely.

 

And great post, traveller, thank you. I'm on the mobile atm so difficult to write a full reply but I enjoyed your post :-)

[nestentrie]

I suppose I could look it up, but your adlib descriptions are more interesting than reading a dry webpage and what's the point of a forum if not to discuss things?

 

Is it possible that the energies can 'flow' backwards through the cycle? I understand that the correct fucntion and flow of them is set out, but what for instance happens if fire is tending back to mingle with wood? Or would you just say that the process of wood transitioning to fire is simply interuppted/hindered and that wood still comes first?

 

I suppose an indirect question, it's just that I had a strange sleep. Somewhat restful but upon waking i'm extremely bleary and feel somewhat that my head is burning (especially just behind my eyes). I'm also dehydrated (yesterday I had a kind paradoxical attitude to water; felt a lot of fluid buildup around my chest and was not at all thirsty for the whole day as a result).

 

How would you plan for this?

[soaring crane]

 

So, we have five elements.

 

Just want to mention that 'elements' is a somewhat weak misleading word to describe this. Think of five notes in a pentatonic scale. Now hear all those notes being played at the same time. Now raise the volume on one of those notes so it becomes the clearly dominant note in the mix, but the other four are still ringing below it, albeit at varying intensities. Now understand that when one note is raised in volume, it take a while for it to swell, and then it reaches its pinnacle before it begins to fade, and then the next note begins to swell and dominate the chord.

 

That's also a weak image,though, because each phase in the Wuxing has a much more distinctive character than any musical note. But the basic idea is there. Each phase is a unique combination of the same basic ingredients, with one of the ingredients in pointedly stronger concentration.

Edited April 21, 2014 by soaring crane

[soaring crane]

I suppose I could look it up, but your adlib descriptions are more interesting than reading a dry webpage and what's the point of a forum if not to discuss things?

 

Is it possible that the energies can 'flow' backwards through the cycle?

 

I agree, I much prefer to read people's personal understanding of these things as opposed to repeats of the information we get from books and webpages and seminars

 

About 'flowing backwards', there isn't really any 'flow' to begin with. It's just changing concentrations. All of them are there always, like family members (probably the best kind of illustration, but takes too long to write out) at a picnic.

 

The fire mingling with wood, and 'reverse flow' in general, is 100% part of the model. But I can't sum that up here for you. And, even though i just wrote that thing about books and webpages and seminars, It would be better if you take a look at the wiki page to get a basic, classical, understanding first:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xing

 

One thing to ponder when thinking of 'reverse flow' - can the past be changed? Does the study of history actually change the events that came before?

[Rocky Lionmouth]

Nice nurturing description Crane!

 

History always was in the hands of the conquerors, or at least those who had wit to spread the right propaganda.

 

As i've understood it the five ministers need to be strong in themselves to not get bullied by their once removed colleague and raise their subordinate strong and well behaved. Being too stern will also stifle a subordinate and in the long run do them harm and leave them weakened, incapable of leading their own subordinate.

The right amount of nurturing leadership, control and independence (to ward off rebellious behaviour) keeps the whole kingdom happy.

Edited April 23, 2014 by Rocky Lionmouth