What is the quality, the energy, the vibe of an Autumn air? Fresh; clear; cool; crisp; chilly some days. After I repeated all these obvious associations to myself, a word ‘reminder’ came.
As a season of the year – or season of life – Autumn carries this subtle vibe of a ‘reminder’. The early Spring has a similar temperature and light levels but the energy is that of a ‘promise’. When it’s still cold in spring, we know that there will be more warmth and sunshine ahead. But on a warm and sunny autumn day we feel – we remember – that we are heading for winter (a long winter in cold climates) and we treasure the sun and the warmth as if wanting to conserve it within us. The autumn energy is that of a contraction, not an expansion and open search of spring.
In parallel to nature, consciously or not, we are closing in on finishing of what we started in spring and symbolically decide what we take into the next Winter: the essential, the basic, the core. And we need a foundation on which to stand and ground ourselves in this present moment, season and a stage of life.
Autumn is the ‘Metal Element’ season according to TCM. Metal fosters a sense of Self and Self worth. Metal is a big letting go season – and often it just means that in order to understand who we are, we walk the path of who we are not… Metal inner journeys can be deep and revealing – as nature is preparing for a deep sleep of winter and the cycle of the year started with new beginnings of Spring, actions of Summer and harvest of Early Autumn completing, we are being reminded about inevitable closures; impermanence and transience of all things.
One of the best ways to support the health of Metal is to feed and stabilise the Earth to create balance and peace, contentment and calm, comfort and Self assurance.
- If you journal, here is a prompt: what is this time of year – and this particular autumn – seem to remind you about?
- If you do Colourpuncture or Acupressure, Acupuncture point St36 will promote a healthy Metal by strengthening the Earth Element as Earth precedes Metal in 5 Elements circle. St36 has many gifts but here we focus on the stability it brings; you can use it alone or add to any treatments which feel incomplete, wobbly or unsettled – or not completely understood. A classic Acupuncture Yang Ming combination translated into Colorpuncture colours will work as more advanced Colourpuncture. Make a good use of a really effective Colourpuncture Metal Element ‘prep’ and the Lung/LI system treatment and make this season into a building a sustainable health season – and stop having ‘a flu season‘. Add Lymphatic and Lungs and Large Intestine treatments, ‘Neutral Earth’ triangles and the ‘sun-lines’ but if you only do one thing, do your St 36 – a real staple of Acupuncture and a core element of several foundational treatments of Colourpuncture.
- If you do Dreamwork, use the ‘Letting Go’ Dream Zone to support a gentle but deep exploration and healing of the Metal element. Ultimately letting go reveal what is underneath; all the tangible and intangible stuff that we accumulated to the present day. We will always get closer to our true, inner Self in the process.
Good old clutter clearing always works wonders. Let go of things which outlived there usefulness or were never yours in the first place – from coats and shoes to mental attitudes, habitual reactions and unconscious, automatic choices. Let them all go with gratitude – stopping for a moment to understand and appreciate the purpose that a now outdated item or a thought form served for you; observe how it changed and what it is wanting to transform itself now.
An easy self-care combination would be to start with the Letting Go zone supporting this stage with St36 for balance, grounding and strength. Record your dreams in words or pictures and do your version of DreamWork or come to us for the Winter Solstice preparation DreamWork challenge ‘Dream Yourself Together’ at the end of November. Your dreams at this time will likely reveal your connection to and your place in your ancestry system and there also could be dreams pointing in a direction of your own creativity, Self, and your values.
While decluttering, letting go, deepening into the Yin energy and preparing to contract for Winter, build yourself this reliable foundation, clarify your needs and how to fulfil them and relax into yourself in this moment, in this season and the stage of your life. Stabilise yourself well and you would be able to dive as deep as you want or invited to in the Metal element season.
Learn simple Journalling tools and discover how Yin Yang principle play out in your life as reflected in your journaling – join us for our Yin Yang Journaling online workshop on the 9th of November 2024 (in collaboration with Angela Mendes, the author of ‘Getting there by Being here, Life’s invitations to dance’).
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