stand there for hours, longing to dive in, but afraid. The whole family tried to help, but she vigorously resisted our many ef- forts. On our next to last day there, to our astonishment she walked out to the end of the dock by herself and jumped into the lake. Delighted by all the clapping and cheering, and jubilant and exhilarated herself by her own courage and the new experience of the lake, for the rest of that day she jumped in, again and again and again until at last the day ended. That evening I asked her to tell me what she had been afraid of all that time. Very simply she said, “I was afraid of the unknown.”
Two Parts of Ourselves This story illustrates the dilemma that
most of us have when we face stress. There is a part of us that “holds on for dear life” to the familiar, and another part that knows that the “juice” of life really lies in the unknown! There is a part of us that is negative, fearful, defensive, and suspicious of anything new. There is another part that is positive, trusting, curious, and open to the mysteries of life. Stress sets up a dia- logue between these two parts of our- selves--our survival instinct that always looks to the past, takes no chances and wants to stay alive at all costs; and our
creative intuitions that whisper to us in dreams and waking reveries, dropping seed thoughts into our minds about our unfolding future, about truths as yet undis- covered and potentials not yet manifested. This part encourages us to venture beyond our comfort zone, say yes to what comes to us, and give birth to our visions at all costs. In the following poem, the poet Rumi describes this state of being:
The Breeze at Dawn
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want. Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don’t go back to sleep.
If you choose to make the choice to engage with “creative stress” instead of running from “negative stress,” and to look inward to find the part of yourself can say “yes” to whatever is happening and engage it, then it can be very helpful to understand the energetic origins of these two opposite parts of yourself, how they relate to one
another, and to learn some practices to help bring these two parts of yourself into balance.
How the Meridians Can Help In the Chinese system of energy map- ping, meridians are the energy pathways that flow like rivers through the connective tissue layer of our bodies. In the ancient world, not only the Chinese people, but almost every culture around the world, knew about these energy channels, and knew how to work with them to facilitate mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. These meridians form the basis of a governing system for the energy body not unlike the governmental structure of a city, state, or a country. They possess intel- ligence, exchange information, have job descriptions and areas of expertise and influence, and direct activities and func- tioning on many levels—physical, emo- tional, mental, and spiritual. Ideally, the meridians operate as one
The Triad’s Newest Full Service Cooperative Market!
Local, organic, and sustainably-raised meats, produce, eggs & dairy Hot bar buffet, salad bar, Grab n’ Go Coffee bar and bakery
Large selection of NC beer & wine Bulk grains, beans, nuts and spices Health & body care products
Open 7:30am-8pm daily
268 East Front St. • Downtown Burlington • 336-223-0390
www.CompanyShopsMarket.coop
30
NaturalTriad.com
smooth flowing interconnected whole. However if the body tightens and tenses, blocks occur which constrict this flow. Some meridians become very strong and dominant, and retain excess energy and power while other meridians become weak and incapacitated, and unable to successfully perform their duties. There are fourteen meridians but the two meridians that help us to best understand how the body responds to stress are the Triple Warmer and Spleen meridians. The reason why these meridians are so important in regard to stress is that they form the two arms of the body’s immune system, which orchestrates how we identify, assess, and react to “foreign” or unknown elements in our external or internal environment. Triple Warmer is a yang meridian and Spleen is a yin meridian. In simple terms, this means that Triple Warmer is like the husband and Spleen is like the wife. Just as in a marriage or partnership, it is very important that the couple communicate with one another, support each other, col- laborate, and establish a balanced distribu- tion of power in order to have a happy and healthy family. In order for you to have a creative response to stress instead of a negative one, these two meridians must accomplish the same goals within your energy system. The first challenge to this happening is that the two meridians hold such radically different perspectives. Next, let’s meet them!
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
