EARTH...Stable, compassionate, empathetic, a good listener, emotional, a lover of hugs. These are the qualities, or general personality traits, of the element of Earth, according to TCM.
What may happen when Earth is blocking another element? When Earth blocks Water, it fears lack. Earth is in charge of acquiring everything we need to live life happy, healthy, safe, and with sanity. These are things like food, shelter, and money, but it also includes things like love, support, family, and friends. Earth takes care of our physical and emotional needs. Water wants to spend these resources in order to participate in life. To start anything, it takes a little time, money or attention. It takes resources to initiate action. Earth feels that there aren't enough resources to waste on what Water wants. "If I spend money, then I'll be broke. If I spend energy, then I'll be exhausted. If I use any of my precious resources, then I'll be depleted." The problem in this is not actually deficiency, but rather, stagnation. Earth is like a hoarder with stockpiles of resources to the ceiling. It keeps gathering in with fear of lack, but in reality, needs to clear out some excess. It is not that there are not enough resources, but that they are stuck and unusable. Like having a million dollars in a safe, but you forgot the combination. It feels like you don't have any, but it's just out of reach. Although the person may want to do things, they feel like they don't have what they need, and thus lack the confidence to try.
What may it look like when Earth is the one being blocked? When Wood blocks Earth, the person is working so hard to live up to other people's expectations that they don't even know what they think or feel about a situation. These people often feel too emotionally vulnerable so they put up walls to protect themselves from others. They become less affected by others on an emotional level, but still allow people to stress them out. Anger is one of the few emotions that is not weak, so it is often the one that people fall back on. Earth's ability to form deep, loving relationships is stifled because the person cannot risk letting anyone in. They have to fight for anything good in their life because nothing comes easily. They feel taken advantage of, will of isolate, but keep bending over backwards to live up to expectations. In the end, they lose connection with their self identity and self worth.
What happens when Earth is opened? When Earth is opened, people feel very emotionally vulnerable. Earth is about taking things in, which partly relates to satisfying our needs, but also refers to one's ability to be affected by other people and environments. When we walk into a room, we get an instant impression of how that place's energy makes us feel. A hospital might feel stressful or sad. A party might feel exciting or overwhelming. The same goes for the people we interact with. This forms our essential empathy. The question Earth is trying to process is, "What is me and what is everything else?" At the beginning, one's energy and that of everything around them becomes merged and messy. There is no clear distinction between anything. This can be emotionally exhausting as the person is unintentionally taking on other people's disfunction. Earth comes to realize what part of this mess is you and the rest is pulled away. The core of one's being is now separate and contained with the rest of the existence floating around it. In this separate state, a person can come into relationship with anyone and not get enmeshed in their toxicity. Earth has the unique ability to separate good from bad, needs from nonessentials, nutrients from wastes. The person only takes in the good aspects of a relationship or situation, and the rest rolls off leaving the person safe and happy. Earth helps one draw healthy boundaries between themselves and others while still remaining open. Many people realize that all the expectations, criticisms and ugliness that was driving Wood out of control were someone else's ideas. It is not how the individual feels or thinks, and so the pressure to live up to those things no longer feels so important. This is the first step to understanding one's true self, worth and purpose.
Earth is connected with the stomach and digestion. It is responsible for acquiring all the resources the body needs to do everything. All the nutrients, Water and energy all come from Earth. Digestive enzymes are vital to digestion's ability to extract these vital resources. When enzyme production is low, bitter herbs can stimulate their release and strengthen digestion. Fire aids Earth by keeping all the organs warm and active, otherwise digestion becomes slow and weak. Carminatives are helpful to keep things flowing smoothly through digestion and prevents gas formation. When Earth is too absorptive, as in the case of leaky gut, astringents help to tone the intestinal walls and regulate what gets in and what goes out.
In addition to emotions, there are many other correspondences to each of the five elements. For example, Earth's quality is nutritive, its movement is sow/grow/reap, its direction is center, its color is yellow, its taste is sweet, its climate is dampness.
For an explanation of the theory of the Five Elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine, please see our past post entitled, "A Simple Introduction to The Five Elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine". Past blogs, and one future blog, continues to explore individual elements of the Five Elements theory and how they relate to our emotions. We're excited to share more with you soon!
[The information in this blog is used with permission and taken directly from the transcript "The Mind-Body Connection in TCM" by Paige Hill of Oak Leaf Herbal. It is for educational purposes only.]
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