Angela Hicks - Healing Your Emotions - Discover your five element type and change your life

Cravings for Support, Sympathy and Understanding

The power of emotional support

Struggling to Assimilate

Empathy in our early life

Worry and Over-Thinking

Assessing the Earth type’s sympathy

Big Issues and unanswered questions for the Earth type

How would you know your friend is an Earth type?

Responses to the Big Issues

Mothering and Caring

Not Asking but Expecting

Expressing Needs a Lot

Searching for a Centre

Homemaking

Virtues and vices of an Earth type

A famous Earth type – Diana, Princess of Wales

Golden rules for Earth types

Chapter 7. EXERCISES FOR EARTH TYPES

Introduction

Using the exercises

The exercises for Earth types

Exercise 1 – Points of view – objective, other and self

Exercise 1a – The objective point of view

Exercise 1b – Experiencing another person’s point of view

Exercise 1c – My own point of view

Exercise 2 – Creating a balanced point of view

Exercise 3 – The people I care for

Exercise 4 – Dissolving your worries

Qigong exercises for earth types

Qigong exercise for reaching heaven and earth

Qigong exercise for grounding ourselves

Chapter 8. THE METAL TYPE – RESPECTING OURSELVES

Joan is a Metal type

The Metal Element in nature

The background to Metal in Chinese medicine

Introduction

The Lung

The Lung and Defensive Qi

The Mental-Spiritual Aspect of the Lungs

The Large Intestine

These symptoms may arise when the Lungs and Large Intestine are weak or obstructed

Observable Signs of a Metal Type

Posture, Gestures and Facial Expression

The Emotional Capacity of the Metal Element

Qi and Heaven

Receiving Richness and Quality

Receiving Acknowledgement and Recognition

Emotions we experience when the ability is impaired

Bereft, Grief-Stricken, Incomplete or Inadequate

Bereavement and our immune system

Not Recognized or Misunderstood

Loss and diabetes

Recognizing the Emotion of a Metal Type in Everyday Life

Big Issues and unanswered questions for the Metal type

How would you know that your friend is a Metal type?

Responses to the Big Issues

Distancing and Protecting

Doing Well and Doing More

Resignation and Cynicism

Seeking Quality

Relating to the Father

Virtues and vices of a Metal type

A famous Metal type – Richard Feynman

Golden rules for Metal types

Chapter 9. EXERCISES FOR METAL TYPES

Introduction

Using the exercises

The exercises for Metal types

Exercise 1 – Giving gifts

Exercise 2 – Receiving gifts

Exercise 3 – Educating others

Exercise 4 – Checking out my standards

Exercise 5 – Dealing with loss

Qigong exercise for moving energy through the chest

Qigong exercise for breathing fully

Chapter 10. THE WATER TYPE – REASSURING OURSELVES

Frank is a Water type

The Water Element in nature

The background to Water in Chinese medicine

Introduction

The Kidneys

The Mental-Spiritual aspect of Water

The Bladder

These symptoms may arise when the Kidneys and Bladder are weak or obstructed

Observable Signs of a Water Type

Posture, Gestures and Facial Expression

The emotional capacity of the Water Element

Assessing Risks

Protecting Ourselves Appropriately

Emotions we experience when the ability is impaired

Anxiety and Panic

Reassurance and recovery

Paralysis

Fear, Apprehension and Dread

Fear and our health

Phobias

Recognizing the Emotion of a Water Type in Everyday Life

Big Issues and unanswered questions for the Water type

How would you know that your friend is a Water type?

Responses to the Big Issues

Taking Risks

Anticipating Risks

Questioning

Fearing the Worst

Reassuring Others

Virtues and vices of a Water type

A famous Water type – President John F Kennedy

Golden rules for Water types

Chapter 11. EXERCISES FOR WATER TYPES

Introduction

Using the exercises

The exercises for Water types

Exercise 1 – Dissociating from our fears

Exercise 2 – Transforming our fear

Exercise 3 – Reclaiming our lost sensations of fear

Exercise 4 – Reassuring ourselves

Exercise 5 – Dealing with one-off fears and phobias

Qigong Dragon swimming exercise

Qigong exercise – the hula hoop

Chapter 12. THE FIVE TYPES – WHICH TYPE AM I?

Introduction

Using the questionnaire

If all else fails

Questionnaire

Appendix – Five Element type and acupuncture

Notes

Bibliography

Useful addresses

About the Authors

About the Publisher

We have capitalized all Chinese medical terminology in this book in order to differentiate it from standard English terms.

Our thanks to all of the people who have helped us with this book, especially:

Mark Allan; Marguerite Beckerlegge; Gill Black; Janice Booth; Heather Bovey; Mark Bovey; Sally Blades; Judith Clark; Tony Connor; Di Cook; Ian Dixon; Di Eckersley; Jane Ford; Julia Funk; Rosemarie Gallagher; Gaby Hock; Sue Horne; Lizzie Hubbard; David James; Mary Kaspar; Chris Kear; Lawerence Kershen; Stella King; Magda Koc; Madelaine Molder; Carey Morgan; Keith Murray; Ilana Pearlman; Barbara Pickett; Fiona Reynoldson; Jane Robinson; Jo Rochford; Sandy Sandaver; Marcus Senior; Kath Simmonds; Deborah Thomson; Carmel Twomey; Penny Wilson; Julie Wisbey.

We would also like to thank all of the people who have come to our ‘Oral Tradition’ workshops which we set up to deepen understanding of the Five Element types.

All names have been changed for confidentiality.

Secondly, we would also like to thank the people who have taken the time to read through this book and comment on it. Especially Judith Clark, Jane Grossfeld, Sophie Hayes, Gaby Hock, Helen Knotts and Peter Mole.

Thirdly, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to our learning of NLP, especially Eileen Seymour-Watkins, Graham Dawes, Gene Early and Robert Dilts. We would also like to thank Richard Bandler, one of the co-creators of NLP.

Finally, we wish to thank all the people who have enabled us to learn this style of Chinese Medicine. Most of all we wish to thank JR Worsley who originally taught us acupuncture and demonstrated the skills of Five Element diagnosis with such elegance. We would also like to thank all of our friends and colleagues who we worked with at the Oxford Acupuncture Clinic in Farmoor including Judy Becker-Worsley Meriel Derby, Julia Measures, Peter Mole and Allegra Wint. We learned so much with you over those years. We would also like to thank all those who make the college function so well, including Helen, Wanda, Sean and Julian. Also everyone on the faculty of the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine who by their teaching give support for the development of the acupuncture and herbal medicine professions.

Alex, a friend of ours, went to a Chinese doctor for some herbs — she had a number of ailments — digestive problems, headaches and insomnia. The doctor asked her questions about her health then took some minutes to carefully feel the 12 pulses on her wrist — an important part of Chinese Traditional diagnosis.

Finally the doctor sat back, his diagnosis completed. He looked her straight in the eye and told her, ‘Your problem is that you worry too much. You must stop worrying.’ Alex was — unusually — stunned to silence by the doctor’s directness. She merely nodded and said, ‘Yes I’ll stop worrying’. Later that day as we talked on the phone we all laughed as she started to worry about how to stop worrying!