Earth:     Lǎo shànrén kàn wǒ xìn shí. Wǒ xìn shí.

老善人看我信实。我信实。
Cleansing doubt & blame. Affirming信实xìn shí, the virtue of deep trust, integrity & trustworthiness.

~Confucian Chant, 500BCE

Trust (n) As early as 1200AD the word traust appears likely originating in the Old Norse referring to help, confidence, support, reliance from sound qualities; religious faith (v) have faith, to rely, make safe and strong *source

The emotional spectrum of the Earth element is worry to faith. The organs associated with the Earth element are the spleen, stomach and pancreas. Worry can manifest as blame and doubt, while faith express itself as trust and integrity. Worrying injuries these organs, while trust or faith heals and strengthens them. 

Suffice it to say, that trust (or mistrust) has been an element in relationships since the beginning of relationships. Trust (or distrust) has created empires and started wars. Although non-verbal, trust (or distrust) is apparent in animal behavior.  

How is trust developed?

Pause and allow yourself to answer that question. 

photo by TyliJura

Experts, leaders and psychologist agree upon several qualities that are essential to developing deep trust.  Some of those include:

• Reliability, predictability
• Care, compassion, empathy
• Authenticity, transparency, integrity
• Respect, benevolence
• Active listening & capacity to receive feedback

Do you agree?  What would you add to this list? 

Trust is an emotional process that is influenced by our attachment style, life experiences and personality. Trust is also a neural process influenced by oxytocin and dopamine and can also be linked to pool of hormones and neurotransmitters like cortisol, endorphins, GABA, endocannabinoids, etc.

The best way that you can find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them

~Ernest Hemingway

The digestive organs are injured by stagnation.  Desk or remote virtual jobs, long hours of studying, research and writing keep us seated.  Relaxing and decompressing may also become habituated to screen time, gaming or media binging. Fatigue sets in from lack of activity; a sedentary life is injurious. Frankly, it is killing us slowly. The combination of oversitting and overthinking is a harmful combination for the earth organs,  particularly the spleen.  The lack of healthy circulation settles dampness deep into our systems. If you are prone to oversitting, please build in healthy habits. 

Set a timer at the desk for 30 minutes to take a 5 minute movement break out of the chair.

Shake away any accumulated worries, negative postures.

Take a few stretches or yoga poses.

Walk to the water station and hydrate.

Walk a few flights of stairs.

Take a walk around the block.

Learn and practice Heaven & Earth Rotation Daily

Heaven & Earth Rotation: Qi Gong Earth Exercise

1. Open the gates of heaven (top of head ~ meeting of ten thousand things) and earth (bottom of feet ~ bubbling spring) again. 
2. Pivot from the lower back with smooth and continuous action. The left palm, facing earth, pushes downward while the right palm, faces heaven, pulls upward. 
3. At the end of the pivot, alternate hand positions. 
4. Repeat 40 times while imagining healing, golden light internally healing and balancing your spleen, stomach and pancreas.

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Cultivate wellness this Earth season by practicing exercises for healing the spleen with Qigong support.