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HEALING WITH THE SEASONS.

FIRE.

We continue our study with the FIRE season as this begins around the Summer Solstice.

According to the Five Transformation Theory, The Spirit of Summer creates the state of transformation called Fire and it says:

"From the SOUTH comes extreme HEAT; HEAT creates FIRE,

The Forces of SUMMER create HEAT in Heaven and FIRE on Earth.

They create the HEART organ and The PULSE within the body...

And the TONGUE, and the RED color, and the BITTER flavor...

The emotion JOY and the ability to make a LAUGHING sound."

This is from the Nei Ching (Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine) as reported in Naboru Muramoto's classic, "Healing Ourselves". It goes on to say about the HEART;

"The heart nourishes the blood, and the blood enlivens the stomach; the heart rules over the tongue."

"Extravagant joy is injurious to the heart, but fear counteracts joy."

"Too much salt in food endangers the heart, and 'the pulse hardens, tears make their appearance and the complexion changes'".

Classification by The Five Transformation Theory:

As stated, the Fire Season begins traditionally at the Summer Solstice although I believe this is not the case everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere; the local geography and topology of the place where we live will mean the date when the change takes place will be different for different localities. Thus we each need to be attentive to the changes occurring in nature to find out when the change takes place where we live. What we are attempting to do is harmonize our blood quality with that of the seasonal changes and since the cycle of the red blood cells circulating in the bloodstream is four months (120 days), we need to begin introducing those foods which are strengthening to the heart and small intestine, (since the small intestine is the complementary paired organ of the heart) approximately four months ahead of the date the season changes from the Wood Season (Spring; Liver and Gall Bladder) to Summer.

The important point to grasp is during the Heart Season (Summer) the atmospheric chi/etheric dynamics are focused (obviously ALL the states of Transformation of chi/etheric forces are active all year round) on the heart and small intestine and those tissues and senses related to them in such a way that they are being strengthened, cleansed and harmonized in their structure and activities. This means if those organs are toxic and stagnated (which is necessarily the case if we are eating the modern "meat and chemicals" diet) then the strengthening and cleansing of them by the Fire state of Transformation will be manifested as symptoms indicating those organs are being detoxified - sore tongue, flu-like symptoms, tiredness, (especially between the hours of 12 Noon-4 PM), fever, hysteria, excitability and grief, headaches, redness of the face, dizziness and a feeling of "spaciness".

Of course if we get these symptoms often and throughout the course of the year, this means the heart and small intestine and related tissues and senses are chronically toxic, which is hardly surprising since most people eat the modern "meat and chemicals" diet all the year round and year in and year out and have done so since they were born.

This of course means there are further symptoms indicating a more chronic condition of Fire Disease and these include poor digestion like malabsorption syndrome, bloating, chronic constipation and/or diarrhoea and dysentery and parasitical infections in the small intestine. Also poor circulation of the blood meaning among other symptoms the feet and hands are always cold, body temperature is unstable so we can get too hot or too cold easily, deterioration of the blood circulation generally, angina, high blood pressure, cardio- vascular insufficiencey, heart attacks, and deterioration of the speaking voice so we get stuttering and other speech impediments. Chronic lower back pain. Also chronic tiredness from having weak and anemic blood. The complexion of the face is either very red or very pale.

The emotional/psychological symptoms of Fire Disease include hysteria, over excitability and too much talking as well as feeling dull and bored and suffering from ennui and feeling blue.

Now, all these symptoms can be cleared up by going a macrobiotic dietary program and doing ginger compresses on the abdomen.

The main foods which cause damage to the heart and small intestine include fruits, milk and milk products like butter, ice cream etc., any food with a high sugar content like fruit juices, sodas, sports drinks, also refined white flour products, as well as those foods which are extreme yang like meat, table salt, dried foods like chips etc. This list is pretty much the same for all the organs but emphasis must be put on spices and other strong tasting foods like garlic, peppers etc. which are particularly harmful to the heart, as are foods with a high fat content. So, necessarily, we need to avoid eating these in order to lessen the stress on the heart/small intestine.

Summarizing the foods which actively weaken and damage the heart and small intestine:

refined salt.

animal protein and fats.

foods with simple sugar content- dairy products like milk, ice cream, cream; alcohol; all fruits.

all foods and drinks with refined sugar content- soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks.

all refined, processed foods, including refined flour products.

all cold producing foods like raw food, salads.

all spicy, hot foods.

any alcohol.

It occurred to me while writing this that I have never mentioned the whole realm of drugs, whether they be narcotics, hallucinogens, medications, antibiotics, anthelmintics etc., or vitamin and trace element supplements and the so-called "super foods" like blue-green algae, spirulina, chlorella etc. All these without exception are toxic to all the organs, but especially the liver, as well the small intestines and kidneys and it is definitely highly recommended that people wean themselves off these at the earliest opportunity. However, since many of these drugs are extremely powerful it is only recommended this is done under the guidance of someone with several years of macrobiotic experience and knowledge.

We also need to start on a macrobiotically oriented and informed dietary practice and one of the fundamental insights derived from the Five Transformation Theory is we begin introducing those foods which are also manifestations of Wood state of transformation. The following is a menu which is specifically designed to strengthen and harmonize the functions of the heart and small intestine, and therefore also the tongue, the circulation and the digestion in the small intestine.

Click on the link to go to a MENU for strengthening Fire.

Comments or questions can be sent to the address below as I check this address every few weeks. Please mention Alchemycal Pages in the subject line. Thank you. Patricia

kaareb@mac.com