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

Thorsons

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published by Thorsons 1999

Copyright © Angela Hicks and John Hicks 1999

Angela Hicks and John Hicks asserts the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Text illustrations by Su Eaton

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Source ISBN: 9780007326402

Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2017 ISBN: 9780007483266

Version: 2017-08-14

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Author’s Note

Introduction

Chapter 1. THE FIVE ELEMENTS, CONSTITUTIONAL TYPES AND THE EMOTIONS

Chinese medicine and disease

The Five Element ‘types’

What are the Five Elements?

How do the Five Element associations connect?

How did the Chinese use the Five Element theory?

A short history of Five Element types

Finding our Five Element type

Finding the underlying cause

The Organs and the Five Elements

How did our Elemental imbalance originate?

Our Elemental imbalance and our emotions in our early life

The Organs and the emotions

Core motivators – each person has a BIG one

What are the positive emotional capacities of each Element?

What emotional experiences does a constitutionally weak Element lead to?

What has being healthy got to do with our constitutional imbalance?

Is a type always based in weakness?

What is an emotion?

How do we know someone is angry?

What is the difference between feeling angry and being an angry person?

How do emotions cause disease?

So, again, what is an emotion?

The rest of the book

How to discover your type

I Relate to Many of the Elements as I Read This Book. What Should I Do?

Help, I Can’t Decide Between Two Types

I Think I Know my Type but I’d Also Like to Do Some of the Exercises for the Other Types

Chapter 2. THE WOOD TYPE – ASSERTING OURSELVES

Delia is a Wood type

The Wood Element in nature

The background to Wood in Chinese medicine

Introduction

The Organs of the Wood Element

The Liver and Gall Bladder and its Mental-Spiritual Aspect

Our Smoothly Flowing Qi

Storing the Blood

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

Observable Signs of a Wood Type

Posture, Gestures and Facial Expression

The emotional capacity of the Wood element

Rules, Structures and Boundaries

Flexible Boundaries and Assertiveness

Emotions we experience when the ability is impaired

Frustration and Anger

Some research about anger

Ambivalence and Indecision

Excessive anger and our health

Recognizing the Emotion of a Wood Type in Everyday Life

Big Issues and unanswered questions for the Wood type

How would you know your friend is a Wood type?

Responses to the Big Issues

Organizing, Structuring and Getting Things Right

Rebelling Against the Rules

Seeking Justice

Indirectness

Not Planning or Wanting Anything

Virtues and vices of a Wood type

A famous Wood type – Christabel Pankhurst

Some golden rules for Wood types

Chapter 3. EXERCISES FOR WOOD TYPES

Introduction

Using the exercises

The exercises for Wood types

Exercise 1 – Focusing

Exercise 2 – The other’s point of view

Exercise 3 – The objective point of view

Exercise 4 – Finding what I really want

Exercise 5 – Forgiveness

Exercise 5a – Protecting ourselves

Exercise 5b – Understanding the other person

Exercise 5c – Enacting forgiveness

Exercise 6 – Beating cushions

Qigong exercise for the Liver

Chapter 4. THE FIRE TYPE – LOVING OURSELVES

Nadine is a Fire type

The Fire element in nature

The background to Fire in Chinese Medicine

Introduction

The Organs of the Fire Element

The Heart and the Heart Protector

The Mental-Spiritual aspect of the Heart

The Small Intestines and Triple Burner

These symptoms may arise when the Heart and Pericardium are weak or obstructed

Observable Signs of a Fire Type

Postures, Gestures and Facial Expression

The emotional capacity of the Fire Element

A Fire Type and Relationships

Becoming Close to Others

Opening up our Heart Protectors

Emotions we experience when the ability is impaired

Feeling Miserable and Vulnerable

The importance of our emotional ties

Fluctuating Emotions

Feeling Muddled

The benefits of happiness and laughter

Recognizing the Emotion of a Fire Type in Everyday Life

Big Issues and unanswered questions for the Fire type

How would you know your friend is a Fire type?

Responses to the Big Issues

Being Cheerful

Clowning and Performing

Opening up Inappropriately

Becoming Isolated

Closely Relating

Virtues and vices of a Fire type

A famous Fire type – Marilyn Monroe

Golden rules for Fire types

Chapter 5. EXERCISES FOR FIRE TYPES

Introduction

Using the exercises

The exercises for Fire types

Exercise 1 – Discovering you are lovable

Exercise 2 – Building relationships with the people in your life

Exercise 3 – Entering an intimate relationship

Exercise 4 – In a relationship, ask for what you want!

Exercise 5 – Resolving our feelings of shame

Exercise 6 – Taking pleasure from the world

Exercise 7 – Releasing sad feelings

Exercise 8 – The inner smile

Qigong exercise for the Heart

Chapter 6. THE EARTH TYPE – NOURISHING OURSELVES

Martine is an Earth type

The Earth Element in nature

The background to Earth in Chinese medicine

Introduction

The Organs of the Earth Element

The Stomach

The Spleen

The Mental-Spiritual Aspect of Earth

These symptoms may arise when the Stomach and Spleen are weak or obstructed

Observable signs of an Earth type

Posture, Gestures and Facial Expression

The emotional capacity of the Earth Element

Taking in Support and Nourishment

Giving Support and Nourishment

Emotions we experience when the ability is impaired