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con·nect /kəˈnek(t)/: to join, link, bring into contact, unite or bind; to establish communication between
According to Classical Chinese symbolism, summer is associated with the qualities of fire 火 (huǒ) and the Heart organ network. This means that the energetic gestures behind these facets are practically synonymous.
We see two main expressions of fire in nature. One is literal fire: it moves quickly and intensely, creating heat, destroying and transforming states of matter. It is transient and functional. The other expression of fire is the sun, whose warmth and radiance sustains all life. It is stable and essential.
Just as the sun is the center of our universe, Fire is the central element. It is the only element associated with four organ networks rather than two. Likewise, the primary organ network associated with the Fire element, the Heart, is the central organ network of our being. In Chinese medicine, it is referred to as the “emperor,” and all other organ networks adhere to it.
In Chinese medicine, Fire is the most immaterial element. Therefore, it is the realm most intimate with all that is subtle and immaterial. Subtle sensations, feelings, emotions, epiphanies, and synchronicities of the spirit all touch the Heart. As the ruler of the kingdom, what moves through the Heart immediately sets the tone of our entire being; our subtle and emotional states affect the functioning of the whole. Likewise, it is nearly impossible for any pathology not to distort the Heart in some way.
We know about the molecular makeup of the sun, but we do not know what charges it; there is something ungraspable about its nature. The sun is the center of our universe yet it is physically unreachable. Likewise, in Chinese Medicine, the Heart is positioned at an elevated, respected position as if untouchable. We do not treat it directly, but instead we treat it through its network of connections.
The quality of the Heart is communication, both its output and reception. Simultaneously, the arteries bring blood from the heart to the furthest reaches of our being, and the veins carry blood from the furthest reaches of our extremities into the heart. In this way, the Heart is like a vortex that opens, expands, emits and receives subtle information from the body in a continuous exchange. One could say that the blood vessels are the physical system by which the Heart communicates its orders to the other organ networks, while also accepting nourishment from them. In Chinese Medicine, it is said that the blood carries spirit: animation, consciousness, memories, sensations, and subtle imprints. Blood returns and outflows from the Heart at a higher velocity than anywhere else in the body, which speaks to its magnetism and momentum. The Heart is immersed in the thick of the emotional body: the presence within the process.
The field of Neurocardiology is catching up to the ancient knowing that the heart is more than just a pump, claiming that it has its own nervous system which functions independently from the brain. Essentially, sensations can be emitted from the heart and then communicate with the brain, vice versa. Prior to this new understanding, we thought the brain was the only one running the show.
At the same time that the Heart receives subtle gestures from the external world, it also vessels our creative force: whatever wants to move through us and out into the world moves first through the Heart as a subtle imprint, where it is then emitted through the blood. The tongue is linked to the Heart, which symbolizes the communicative expression of who we are.
The emotion associated with the Fire element is joy; not mania, but joy from a peaceful place within. When the Heart is harmonious, we are grounded in this inner peace which is comparable to the radiance of the sun.
The sun doesn’t have to over-exert itself to be valuable; it is whole and complete as it is. We are also whole and complete in our beingness. Sometimes we might overcomplicate things and forget this, but our joyful wholeness is always present, radiating at the root. It is a central source that we can return to again and again. Some call this the inner child.
Relationships and connections live through the Fire element. There are those that burn with the passion and intensity of literal fire which eventually burn out. And then there are those that radiate like the sun, in a warm, grounded and sustainable way.
Many Fire pathologies manifest as issues with our capacity for connection, or an inability to access our own inner stability and joy. When we are out of touch with this innate warmth, we may chase intense highs: addiction to drugs, peak experiences, transient connections, endless sexual encounters. Perpetually seeking new peak experiences involves the Lung, and actual states of mania have to do with the Stomach seeking to fulfill its cravings, but there is a quality of heat underlying these states which is the nature of Fire. We chase experiences that appear alive and warm outside of us because we’ve lost contact with that aspect within us. Intense highs burn hot and then extinguish, and when they do we are often left feeling emptier than before, so we may try to fill this void with the next high. In a state of contraction, the Heart is manic.
The Heart can hold on to trauma and intense imprints: hatred, jealousy, betrayal, rage, obsession. An envy of material things is related to the Lung, but jealousy associated with our relationships is related to the heart.
The Heart is not naturally bent towards the material. In its healthiest expression, it does not want to hold or possess; it wants to be empty and open without carrying projections or preconceived imprints. As material beings, the empty openness of the Heart is something that must be consciously cultivated. The Heart is prone to excess, which sometimes must be intentionally cleared away.
Opening our heart means opening it to the potential depths of both joy and pain, but feelings are transient. They can always be expressed, emptied and renewed if we respect the nature of what is subtle and let them move without holding onto them.
The joy of life is in our exchange of energy and connection. We do not have the space to receive others when we are closed off to the radiance of our own inner fire. And when we suppress or hold onto emotions, they take up space and become barriers in the way of contacting the depths of who we are. And if we do not make contact with the blood of our being, we cannot live it out. This can lead to bitterness, which is another gesture of a constricted Heart.
The greatest medicine for the Heart is to love and express your inner child, to let feelings come and go, and to cultivate a state of openness and wonder that is capable of receiving joy. Remember that this summer, and always. We do not have to take everything so seriously. We do not have to attach so tightly. We can let things go, laugh at all of it, and play.