I imagined I was in a safe garden and had balloons representing things I needed to let go. At first I thought, well, it's bad to release balloons in the air, where is this going? But I stayed with it. I didn't want to give the balloons pretty colors, so I thought of yucky colors.
The first color was a murky blackish red, it almost looked toxic congealed blood. This one represented the negative past romantic relationships I had.
The second color was black, but it was like the "pit of despair" kind of black. Not a slick, shiny black, but the kind you look at and you just feel like you could fall into it and be miserable. This one represented past sexual trauma.
The third color was a gross pus - like yellow orange. Like pus mixed with a little bit of blood. This one represented the mental and emotional distress I experienced, as well as the stigma from having a previous mental illness diagnosis. In the past I had been hospitalized and medicated.
The fourth color was a rotten green, that looked like decay. This one represented my low self-esteem and the need to be perfect. I don't have to compare myself to others and wish I am all "caught up" to everyone else.
As the guided meditation went on, it said to imagine trying to let go of one of the balloons, but it sticks to you.
You're probably wondering what's so positive about all of this.
Letting go is difficult. But then you relax and acknowledge the pain, you just let it go and watch it float up into the air. It then pops. The string disappeared too, by the way.
So you let go of each of the balloons. They all float up, one by one, and pop.
I felt a lot better afterwards. Guided meditation is a powerful self-healing tool for me. I noticed I haven't been feeling as bogged down with the past.
My acupressure instructor (also a licensed acupuncturist) had us pick an element or an alternative method of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) to do a brief report on. I picked the metal element, since I'm a metal rooster. Metal governs the large intestine and the lungs. Psychologically, it relates to grief and sadness but also inspiration and wisdom. Autumn signifies letting go of negative influences and making room for positive influences.
A person with a balanced metal energy is conscientious, well-organized, and self-disciplined. The lungs are full of Qi energy and protect us from illness. Emotionally, we let go of what no longer serves us. Digestion is smooth and easy. Metal imbalance includes susceptibility to colds, allergies, and shortness of breath. The lung meridian also affects the skin, so rashes, eczema, and sweating problems can be related to a metal imbalance. Constipation (and other bowel problems) can afflict those who have a metal imbalance and can manifest in a form of depression because a person has a hard time letting go.
I'm not sure if they're coincidences, but I look back to the times when I was under extreme stress and had bouts of depression. I noticed I had digestive problems and/or allergy flare ups. It was horrible. Eating certain food would give me negative digestive reactions ranging from gas to diarrhea to vomiting. I had acid reflux and had to take Prilosec. I was pescatarian for seven years then gluten free for nearly three years because any time I ate land animals and later anything with wheat, my body didn't like it. I always had sinus infections because I used to live in a place with carpeting and worked in a place that had a lot of dust. At one point my left nostril felt permanently clogged. I even went back to smoking regularly at one point because I was so stressed. I still occasionally bum cigarettes if I'm out but I'm working on it.
After I reduced the stress and changed my home and work environments, my digestive and allergy issues gradually lessened. I'm still mostly pescatarian, but I cautiously reintroduced land animals and wheat. Bacon was the gateway meat for me, haha. I don't need to take any meds for acid reflux and allergies anymore. I do get affected by the vog, but I can feel the difference between having vog-induced sinus problems and a dust allergy flare-up. Everyone is different and with the help of my GP and allergist, I was able to break away from being dependent on allergy and acid reflux meds. I've also weaned myself off of meds for mental illness with the help of a therapist and psychiatrist. Every month i check in with my MDs to make sure I'm doing okay. Again, each person is different so I'm not telling everyone to get off their meds.
In TCM, autumn is also a good time to get rid of material possessions that no longer have any value to you. I usually get rid of things seasonally. Mostly I have old papers that I need to file or shred, so I need to get myself a filing box and to dig out the shredder. I don't allow myself to buy new clothes unless I get rid of some of them. I do have some clothes and kitchen appliances that I'm hanging on to but plan to get rid of. Perhaps I should pick up Marie Kondo's book for some pointers.
It's mind-blowing to me that I unintentionally tied in my metal element research with the guided meditation of letting go I recently started doing. We technically don't have four seasons in Hawai'i. I, however, like the idea of looking at how time passes in cycles here, too, and incorporating how other cultures mark the passage of time.
I love learning about different cultures and how similar and different they are. I am fortunate to have grown up in places that had diverse cultures and to have open minded parents. Mostly, I see how similar they are, particularly the connection to nature.
I had no idea massage school would be such a soul-searching type of experience, but I'm glad to be exposed to various types of philosophies and modalities. There's so much more out there to learn but it's so exhilarating to deepen my knowledge.
Autumn is around the corner, but why not get a head start? Clear the air, clear the bad shit. Make room for growth. Take a deep breath. Ahhhh, so much better! That's so frickin' metal.
My acupressure instructor (also a licensed acupuncturist) had us pick an element or an alternative method of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) to do a brief report on. I picked the metal element, since I'm a metal rooster. Metal governs the large intestine and the lungs. Psychologically, it relates to grief and sadness but also inspiration and wisdom. Autumn signifies letting go of negative influences and making room for positive influences.
A person with a balanced metal energy is conscientious, well-organized, and self-disciplined. The lungs are full of Qi energy and protect us from illness. Emotionally, we let go of what no longer serves us. Digestion is smooth and easy. Metal imbalance includes susceptibility to colds, allergies, and shortness of breath. The lung meridian also affects the skin, so rashes, eczema, and sweating problems can be related to a metal imbalance. Constipation (and other bowel problems) can afflict those who have a metal imbalance and can manifest in a form of depression because a person has a hard time letting go.
I'm not sure if they're coincidences, but I look back to the times when I was under extreme stress and had bouts of depression. I noticed I had digestive problems and/or allergy flare ups. It was horrible. Eating certain food would give me negative digestive reactions ranging from gas to diarrhea to vomiting. I had acid reflux and had to take Prilosec. I was pescatarian for seven years then gluten free for nearly three years because any time I ate land animals and later anything with wheat, my body didn't like it. I always had sinus infections because I used to live in a place with carpeting and worked in a place that had a lot of dust. At one point my left nostril felt permanently clogged. I even went back to smoking regularly at one point because I was so stressed. I still occasionally bum cigarettes if I'm out but I'm working on it.
After I reduced the stress and changed my home and work environments, my digestive and allergy issues gradually lessened. I'm still mostly pescatarian, but I cautiously reintroduced land animals and wheat. Bacon was the gateway meat for me, haha. I don't need to take any meds for acid reflux and allergies anymore. I do get affected by the vog, but I can feel the difference between having vog-induced sinus problems and a dust allergy flare-up. Everyone is different and with the help of my GP and allergist, I was able to break away from being dependent on allergy and acid reflux meds. I've also weaned myself off of meds for mental illness with the help of a therapist and psychiatrist. Every month i check in with my MDs to make sure I'm doing okay. Again, each person is different so I'm not telling everyone to get off their meds.
In TCM, autumn is also a good time to get rid of material possessions that no longer have any value to you. I usually get rid of things seasonally. Mostly I have old papers that I need to file or shred, so I need to get myself a filing box and to dig out the shredder. I don't allow myself to buy new clothes unless I get rid of some of them. I do have some clothes and kitchen appliances that I'm hanging on to but plan to get rid of. Perhaps I should pick up Marie Kondo's book for some pointers.
It's mind-blowing to me that I unintentionally tied in my metal element research with the guided meditation of letting go I recently started doing. We technically don't have four seasons in Hawai'i. I, however, like the idea of looking at how time passes in cycles here, too, and incorporating how other cultures mark the passage of time.
I love learning about different cultures and how similar and different they are. I am fortunate to have grown up in places that had diverse cultures and to have open minded parents. Mostly, I see how similar they are, particularly the connection to nature.
I had no idea massage school would be such a soul-searching type of experience, but I'm glad to be exposed to various types of philosophies and modalities. There's so much more out there to learn but it's so exhilarating to deepen my knowledge.
Autumn is around the corner, but why not get a head start? Clear the air, clear the bad shit. Make room for growth. Take a deep breath. Ahhhh, so much better! That's so frickin' metal.
