Friday, August 20, 2010

The 5 Elements: the third Element is Earth

Earth is the element of spleen and pancreas, and rules the muscles and the flesh. The emotion related to the spleen is worry and anxiety: when you have anxiety in your dreams, it is the first sign that something is wrong with your spleen. The sound related to the spleen is singing.
The "sweet" taste is the taste related to earth : with sweet we mean natural sweet like in carrots and onions: eating this kind of sweet is good for the spleen. The mouth and the taste are influenced by the health of the spleen.
In nature we see earth as dampness, as late summer, as transformation, as yellow, as sweet, as middle and the earth grains are millet and barley, so both very healthy for the spleen.
In late summer we should pay special attention to the spleen: Zen meditation and abdominal breathing are ideal for this season and will prevent diseases later on in wintertime.
For foods you should choose mildly sweet foods and round foods (e.g. pumpkin) and foods that represent the center: millet, corn, cabbages, sweet potatoes, squash, sweet rice, rice, peas, chestnut etc...
A three day single grain fast should be very beneficial in this season. If you combine foods, leave the combination as simple as possible and with a minimum of seasoning as we have to prepare for a period with less choice in food.
When the spleen is healthy, we are immune for any disease, and are hard working, practical and responsible. To read the first and the second Element, click here.

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