Time Course Review: Half Time
We have now completed half the course. The three months of spring-wood-liver became the three months of summer-fire-heart. The inside turning out, showing all it has to the world, the bare cold branches now lit up with life, all the immense power of spring forcing its way through in growing green, that rising, outing, shooting, reaching, heaven-bound ascension that helps, supports and underlies the liver’s innate qi-changing, blood-moving, hun-lifting expressive potency. We saw that each month brings lunar help to the solar, the lung, the large intestine and the stomach meridians in their successive 1st, 2nd and 3rd monthly turns backing the liver. And the matching meridians of the triple heater, large intestine and small intestine giving variety and diversity to even more supporting points. Timing is using what is active, it is not a restriction, but a focus, not a narrowing, but an opening. It is climbing the wave of current qi and letting it take you, surfer-wise, on the journey. Timing is using time to the full, using less effort and attuning both practitioner and patient to the reality and healing of the present.
The 90 day seasons, the 30 day months, the 15 day solar periods with associated traditional qi gong exercises, the 6 day hexagrams, the 5 day images in nature, the solar and lunar festivals, the sayings, the rituals, the customs and games, the foods and drinks, all remind us of the changing times and synchronise us with the rhythms and cycles that all of life depends on. It has been an astonishing eye-opening period of attunement and awakening of consciousness to our environment and all the signs life has to show us where we are.
In the fire season of the summer this bing wu 丙 午 fire horse year we have had extreme periods of heat with serious illness, death, dehydration, forest fires, destruction of properties and vast areas of nature. We have learned to stay out of the heat, keep the yin and the shade, protect the heart and support it with the 4th, 5th and 6th lunar months giving the spleen, heart and small intestine meridians in turn. And the matching meridians of the pericardium, heart and lungs in sequence providing more support to cool the heat and the blood, refresh and guard the heart.
Importantly we learnt not just to run and hide, but how to use this heat in the three hottest periods of the year san fu tian 三 伏 天. Using the principle of ‘winter disease, summer cure’ dong bing xia zhi 冬 病 夏 治, we know the three specific periods to use the traditional herbal plaster treatments on Ren 17, Du 14, BL 13, BL 14, BL 43 or use moxa on the points instead. This uses the time of summer heat to reach internal organs easily and increase respiratory resistance, improve immunity, prevent asthma, chronic bronchitis and other autumn and winter diseases. Use the heat to drive out the lingering cold and damp. Remember this also for those suffering from repeated bouts of winter cold and exhaustion since Covid times.
Note that the recordings of the Time course are now becoming available on the Net of Knowledge website www.netofknowledge.com.
Read the articles on the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. Or go deeper with Spring, A Seasoned Surfer’s Guide. Or follow my Qiological podcase Time, Timing and the Timeless with Michael Max. All are available for free on the Guan Academy website.