Winter is the season of potential. The essence of the kidney is likened unto a seed. A seed hidden by soil or leaf litter or snow or ice. A seed in dark potential storing and protecting all of the necessary information and instructions to grow at just the right time. This is not the sprouting of the seed for that is spring.

We all have latent abilities that arise situationally or can be developed. What are yours?Within the science of ourselves and the universe our potential, systemic energy is stored and dependent upon relative relationship forces like gravity, elastic, stresses and our own electric, magnetic charge & position. What forces are you aware of that effect your potential & energy?

I recently did a Tony Robbins team training with @agrosharemd. My biggest take away was the simple concept that if I had not achieved my goal up to this point, I would not achieve my goal with the same thinking, patterns & actions that I had in place.

My potential energy freed itself when I changed my mind, my patterns and my actions. That changed my results! Wow. So simple. So powerful.

#potential #elementwisdomcards #winter #water#fiveelements #lifecoaching #naturopathicdoctor

These 18 days around each equinox and solstice is ruled by Earth.  Sound and color are powerful agents to help balance the Earth organs of spleen, stomach and pancreas.

The color yellow in Ayurvedic medicine is associated with Manipura Charaka, digestive organs, individuality and trust.

The color yellow/gold strengthens the function of these organs and emotions.  Wear a gold layer near your digestive organs.  Wrap in a golden scarf. Use golden linens on your table. Place your element wisdom cards in a earthen bowl on your table or kitchen bar and choose one each day.

Fill your pancreas with golden light.

Fill your stomach with golden light.

Fill your spleen with golden light.

Purchase your Element Wisdom Earth Deck here

The number one question I get in January is “What do you think about this detox kit or that cleanse program or this product? My general answer is Winter is NOT the most harmonious time of the year to detoxify – save it for spring and fall.  And always, always prepare your body for a detox by opening the 5 avenues (emunctories) of elimination  ~ more on that later. Winter is for resting, restoring, dreaming, merging – hibernating in essence.

I do understand the desire, even the need to reset after the overindulgence of the holidays and to affirm our newfound, yearly commitment to healthier habits with action.  Over the next weeks, I will guiding you through a simple winter soup cleanse with soup base modification, organ specific spices along with seasonally appropriate practices to feel better now. 

I will be delivering lifestyle and winter wellness tips, whole food hacks in a mini blog format. Click here to have the blog delivered to your inbox, so you don’t miss these insider tips. 

The soups journey you through each of the the 6 yin/yang pairs of the organ network to gently cleanse and restore – a perfect winter way to care for yourself. 

Soups:

Lung/Large Intestine ~ Cauliflower / Cabbage

Stomach/Spleen ~ Butternut Squash

Heart/Small Intestine ~ Asparagus/ Turnip & Pumpkin/Chili

Bladder/Kidney ~ Lentil/Cilantro

Gallbladder/Liver ~ Beet/ Parsnip

Triple burner/ Pericardium ~ Kale/ spinach/ chard

Lung/Large Intestine ~ Carrot/ Leek /Ginger

All in a base of onion, garlic and sea salt

For 2 servings: combine one medium onion, 2-5 cloves garlic, seal salt to taste in 1 quart of filtered water. Simmer until onions are not quite clear. Add chopped vegetables until fork tender. Blend with immersion blender, blendtech/vitamix, or blender. Add a little olive oil. 

Optional spices to taste like cardamom, curry, turmeric, Chinese five spice, fresh parsley, basil, chives, etc.

Be creative and enjoy.

If you wish to go deeper into seasonal wellness purchase your Winter/Water Element Wisdom Card Deck here for 73 unique messages of inspiration, affirmation, jedi mind tricks, inquiries and instructions and to support this restorative cleanse.

In Chinese culture the circle shape is associated with the Metal/Fall season and represents oneness, unity and being fulfilled. Perhaps one of the most common circles we encounter in our daily lives are mirrors. It is in a mirror that we can physically reflect on ourselves, however it is possible to reflect without a mirror as well. Look for circles today, but more importantly, reflect on what makes you whole. 

One self-care practice that I invite some of my patients to incorporate into their daily lives is looking into their eyes in the mirror daily and speak aloud ‘I love you’ or ‘You, darling, are fabulous’ or some such phrase. It works to change the way in which we see ourselves and reflects how to accept compliments with grace. Will you accept this November challenge to voice and reflect love to yourself? 

The organs of the Metal season are the Lungs and Large Intestine

Metal: structure, boundaries

The characteristics of metal are hard, strong and precise.

The emotion connected to the lungs and large intestines is being excessively judgmental or stuck in grief or when out of balance and letting go of that which no longer serves and healthy boundaries when in balance.

To learn more about our seasonal self-care card deck visit element-wisdom.com

Mink Creek at Alberta Orchard Wellness

Winter, according to the wisdom of the elements, is about dreaming, resting, relaxing, restoring, recharging and germinating seeds which will break through the thawing frozen ground of winter come spring when energy naturally moves upward and outward.  Plans made and action taken in harmony with the greater cycles of the cosmos, are much more likely to come to fruition. Over the last few years, I have been observing, studying and syncing myself with the elemental cycles as practiced by the ancients. I often call it ‘re-wilding’ myself. I started with Seasonal Wellness classes in 2015. In 2019 I printed 5 seasonal Element Wisdom Decks – 73 cards for each season totaling 365 days of clinical pearls, lifestyle tips, jedi mind tricks and some deeper dives into traditional medicine, physchology and spirit.

Nourish the water element during the winter season:

•  Go to sleep early and rise with or just before the sun rises. I use an alarm clock only when I have an important appointment.  Natural light awakens me if my internal clock has not.  I am learning to trust this more and more each season.

• Unplug: allow yourself to disconnect from all technology when the sun sets.  Yes, you read that right: read a book, light a fire, make a cup of tea, color, paint, play board games, take a long bath, make music, make love.  Do nothing. Need convincing? Check the research:
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  • Technology, sleep & children
  • Sleep complaints & technology

• Watch every sunrise and sunset possible. Everything has a beginning, middle and end.  Watching the sun rising and setting reminds us as does observing our breath:  the beginning of the inhale, the middle of the inhale, the end of the inhale, a gap or turning, the beginning of the exhale, the middle of the exhale, the end of the exhale, a gap or turning and so it goes.  The most blissful moments as well as the most awkward or difficult days have a beginning, middle and end.  Our breath is like the incoming and outgoing tide of our life’s ocean. Following these cycles develops equanimity; equanimity undoes suffering.

• Be with water as often as possible:  the ocean, rivers, creeks, waterfalls, springs water sound machines, aquariums, you tube water videos. Last winter, I planted 90 ferns in the creek that runs under the screened porch of my off grid tiny house (check back for that blog post).

• Observe how water moves and flows around obstacles. How can we be more like water in our movement in our inner and outer worlds?

• Replace one of your bathroom lights with a red light, so as not to wake your adrenals into a cortisol rise if you need to get up during the night.

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Wolf Bay Sunset, Alabama Gulf Coast

Today we invite you to embrace your Earth Element via self-care.  Take this quiz and download a tip sheet full of balancing superfoods, lifestyle suggestions and even an affirmation to start or refine the dynamic journey to the healthiest version of you as you discover your Elemental Constitution and begin your journey of re-wilding yourself back to source.

Click here for Elemental Wisdom Quiz

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We are dynamic beings.  We change.  We change under influences such as the seasons, life situation, and our current physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states and even the aging process.  Typically we have main constitution element and a secondary constitutional  (which may be the same or different as the main element). As we become more and more self aware and heal our imbalances, we will manifest and move more freely from one elemental state to the next during the natural generative cycle represented by the seasons.  Come back and take our quiz again in another iteration of yourself!

The 12/12 full moon illuminated our final earth transition phase for the year.  In Traditional Chinese Medicine the transitional time between the changing of the seasons, is referred to as the ‘Doyo’. Each season corresponds to a specific element and the seasonal transition periods relate to Earth element(click to read Return to the Earth post). As we approach the Winter Solstice (December 21), we are currently in the transitional period between Autumn to Winter from the end of Metal to the start of Water.

Earth element is the transitional time between the seasons.

The Earth element is associated with times of change throughout the year, which happen between each of the seasons around the two solstices and the two equinoxes.  Solstices and equinoxes are astronomical event of the Sun reaching its highest position in the sky as viewed from the North or South Pole, one day to mark the onset of the winter season and one day to mark the onset of the summer season of 72 days each . On these days the tilt of the axis of the Earth (with respect to the Sun) is the maximum at 23° 26′. A transition phases begin about 7 days before each solstice and equinox and continue for about 7 days after, which constitute an approximate three-week period of adjustment between the seasons. Totaling 72 days, the Doyo, or Earth, is its own “mini-season”. It is a time of transformation and balancing, as well as a time of fluctuating temperature and weather before completely transitioning to the next season. It is common for people to get sick or have health complications during these transitional periods. It presents an opportunity for us to fortify our own internal Earth, to claim or reclaim our central and rightful position between heaven and Earth, and to allow the proper flow of energy (qi) and healing light through us.

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Wealth & Debt. As we continue through the seasonal and elemental period of metal/autumn toward the return to earth transitional period around the upcoming winter solstice, it would be incomplete not to touch on the subject of currency, money and wealth. Here I share with you some questions, key concepts and influencers which have helped evolve my relationship healthier with money and currency exchange.

My relationship with money, abundance or poverty, is my responsibility.

In August of this year, I was wildly proud to reach debt-free status.  In my starry-eyed idealistic fashion of being in the world (we are all complex and complicated beings) I took out a student loan, only to cover tuition, at National University of Natural Medicine. That 6 year endeavor cost me around $135,000 plus $25,000 interest over then next 14 years in exchange for a skill set in holistic medicine (not business or entrepreneurship).  I took the 6 month grace period of non-payment after graduation and committed to a graduated 30 year payback.  During the economic downturn of 2008, I enrolled in IBR (income based repayment) in order to keep my business open, making minimal payments.  In 2013, when the economy, and out of pocket health services were again marketable, a financial advisor, Robert Cotton of Edward Jones, offered the following wisdom:  if you want to remain in poverty, stay in the IBR program.  If I wish to move out of poverty, pay off the upfront interest required to exit that program (wait for it……$5,550.01). 

The Envelope Method

He offered excellent advice, and I took it….. seriously.  Something shifted in me: the borrowed debt became a double dare ya endeavor to payoff the man and rid myself of the albatross of student loan debt.  During the downturn and recovery, I implemented Dave Ramsey’s envelope method.  It’s an eye opening process to divide your work compensation (in cash) into categories for all money spent:  housing, food, transport, insurance, entertainment, etc.  I learned a lot about myself.  I have always enjoyed cooking at home with whole food ingredients.  I found when I did go out to eat, with a friend, I was very quick (too quick) to pick up the check.  I balanced this by inviting friends over to cook together.  We could chop, cook, create with the best ingredients our town and gardens have to offer with no rush, no worries about the check!  I still listen to Dave Ramsey on Triumph during my work commutes to Mississippi and continue to be positively influenced by his tough love suggestions. I make decisions that create my financial situation. Life happens from birth to natural disasters that impact our economy. Institutional systems of money provide opportunity and suck at the same time.  Greed is real.  Generosity is more real.

Does my time spent and lifestyle reflect my value system?

This is a question that I ask my patients and myself frequently.

Other powerful influences for me have been: 

The Botany of Desire explores the relationship between our human desire and plants:  tulips, potatoes, apples and marijuana. Who influences who?? How do your desires, or hungry ghosts, direct your personal economy?

You can watch a video clip or even download a free audiobook of The Botany of Desire (or one of thousands of other titles) via Internet Archive: a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.

https://archive.org/details/BotanyOfDesire2009

Prosperity 2017 Film

While in Park City this fall, I was introduced to Pedram Shojai and immediately watched and wanted to share his work.  He was educated as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and shifted to documentary film making as he became disenchanted with our current system of health care.  He is making a big difference offering us insights and examples of healthy change that can repair and renew our broken and outdated systems.

Watch his film here (free) https://www.well.org/prosperity/

There have been several very good films regarding our financial systems as of late.  Be aware.  Invest in systems that reflect your values.  Do you big corporate bank or small local bank?  If you have a retirement portfolio, what are you supporting:  big tobacco, big pharma, emerging markets, municipalities, innovative technology?  Have you considered micro lending? Have you considered investing in preservation of lands for public or private use? 

Ask yourself the hard questions of how you are supporting a sick or healthy infrastructure. And further, how is this a reflection of yourself?

To dive in:  check out Garrett Gunderson and his wealth factory concept of conscious investing.

Do the work.

I watch many friends and family members struggle with money. From chronic low income earners with limitless possibility to those that have so much but still mire down in scarcity and greed, as well as those that blow through inheritances or paychecks like the wind.  I have family and friends that live well from the art they create, the music they make, the medicine, programs or companies they develop. Some resist the fact that our current economic system runs on money or stand strong that all money is evil. I have reflected, intentioned, acted and continue to make changes – mentally and emotionally – which provide freedom from this and other shackles that we wear. There will be highs and lows, financially, and otherwise. Such is life. 

Work only with those that have at least as much integrity as yourself.

Fortunately, I was raised by two parents with strong work ethics. I have always been very honest likely due to unsavory family dynamics.  Several years ago, frustrated with the work relationships that I was co-creating, I affirmed to work only with those that have at least as much integrity as I have.  Unhealthy relationships started falling away and healthier ones were established. I have to occasionally press the reset button on this one.  Give it a try.  You will be amazed with the results, and prepare to let go!  I have found and continue to find wholesome relationships with money.  I have also learned to rely on professionals from insurance agents, office staff and attorneys, financial advisers to accountants that can help our system thrive.  Several years ago, I started working with Steve Richardson, CPA in Tuscaloosa as my business became more complex.  He has helped me gain confidence as an entrepreneur, strategize taxes and plan for growth.  He has an insightful, practical newsletter to which you can subscribe and start using right away.  And if you are looking to grow your financial team they work local and non-local. Link to Steve Richardson, CPA newsletter.

Do we have the equanimity that we need to heal our suffering?

Strike a right balance between giving and receiving. Be radically generous with yourself, your love, your resources. It more than comes back to you.

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Seasonal  Mountain Meditation allows us to become grounded and connect with our inner strength when faced with stressful and challenging situations, both internal and external.

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