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© David Corby 2017 of 40

Contents Ba Gua Constitutions ............................................................................................................................................. 3!

1 Water .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4!

2 Earth ............................................................................................................................................................................ 6!

3 Thunder .................................................................................................................................................................... 9!

4 Wind .......................................................................................................................................................................... 12!

5 Central Palace ................................................................................................................................................... 15!

6 Heaven .................................................................................................................................................................... 18!

7 Lake ........................................................................................................................................................................... 21!

8 Mountain ................................................................................................................................................................ 23!

9 Fire ............................................................................................................................................................................. 26!

Motivations .................................................................................................................................................................. 28!

Water (water and mountain) ...................................................................................................................... 29!

Wood (wind and thunder) ............................................................................................................................. 31!

Fire .................................................................................................................................................................................. 33!

Earth ............................................................................................................................................................................. 35!

Metal (heaven and lake) ................................................................................................................................ 36!

Keys to Each Motivator .................................................................................................................................. 38!

Appendix: Date Calculations ...................................................................................................................... 39!


Ba Gua Constitutions


1 Water Yang Water – Bladder channel Physically Lumbar pain, tight superficial back line, tight hamstrings and gastrocnemius, waking to go to the toilet at night, tight Achilles, hearing loss, soft tinnitus Motivating feelings Fear, loneliness, impotence, control, safety, connection and closeness, trust/distrust, security Behaviour Water types want to be connected and close to others. They don't like the feeling of others withdrawing from them. To cope with difficult feelings like withdrawal or loneliness they withdraw from themselves in an effort to limit and control their awareness of it. When they withdraw from their feelings of being withdrawn they can feel numb and become really disconnected. The irony is that this disconnection from self then leads to a disconnection from others, in effect locking in a sense of loneliness. They can be in a room of people and still feel alone. They are usually highly motivated and driven if their underlining response to fear is to control rather than withdraw. They like to keep on the go and usually push through their fear. The more disconnected they are, the more they tend to seek adrenaline style activities that challenge their fear: things like parachuting or rock climbing or bungy jumping. This ultimately changes if their health deteriorates. As they push themselves beyond their physical limits they will lose the capacity to stay driven. Alternatively, they may feel impotent and a victim of fate if their underlining response to fear is to withdraw rather than control. In this case, they respond to fear by trying to be a small target – being “invisible”. This invisibility then feeds back into feelings of disconnection because they feel people don't notice them. The truth is that with both patterns they don't notice themselves. In particular, they tend to live in their heads, being vigilant and relying on thinking to keep them safe. This leads to excess thinking and a propensity to get anxious. This type of anxiety pattern is rooted in fear.


There is often a difficulty trusting themselves and others. Partly this reflects confusion around instincts. They don't realise that anxious feelings are the product of their excess thinking, but rather assume the anxious feelings relate to their instincts. As a result, they don't know what to trust. They like to accumulate knowledge, thinking knowledge is a substitute for wisdom or will eventually lead to wisdom. What they don't realise is that the inherent limitation in knowledge is that it feeds the logic brain, and thus is about the bits and pieces in life. It is not useful for the new or unusual or in understanding the whole. For example, the question of whether to trust someone or not comes down to a read of their entire character. This is an instinctive process. If you try to study them logically you get lost in categorising the trees in their metaphorical forest without really seeing the forest as a whole. There is no certainty in that analysis, and hence this does not provide a solid ground for trust. Solutions It’s very important that Water types become aware that instincts come from their wisdom – which is an innate knowing. ‘Knowing’ is certain – there is no ambiguity. Eg. you may ‘know’ your son or daughter or dog when you bond with them. It’s not a logical process but instead relies on the other side of the brain (Gestalt). Knowing is not felt but known. It’s dead certain.

•! Do you love your son? Yes! Why? Usually people reply with a blank stare and say ‘because I do’ or something like that. There is no ambiguity in the answer. They are dead certain. This is knowing.

So, the answer to fear is to trust this innate knowing/wisdom. As they begin to trust this they think much less and respond more instinctively to situations. Trusting themselves provides the platform to connect to and trust others. They use their instincts to discriminate and know when to trust or when not to trust. The solution to loneliness is to reconnect with self. When someone is truly connected internally they also have a sense of connection to all things. This sense of connection does not require physical presence of others. They can feel connected regardless of whether people are physically there. Goals I connect with my inner self / wisdom I trust my instincts to keep me safe I connect with all of me I trust in myself and connect with others


2 Earth Earth – Spleen and Stomach channel Physically Low energy in the afternoon or after meals, cravings for sweet foods, bloating, diarrhoea, oedema, feeling heavy, sluggish, foggy headed, appetite, mouth ulcers, haemorrhoids, prolapse Motivating feelings Care, nurture, satisfaction, neediness, truth, meaning and purpose, selfishness, oversensitivity, sympathy, protection Behaviour Earth types are oversensitive to others. As a result, they feel other people’s feelings as if they are their own. They feel drained when others are hurt or sad or negative. There is a compulsion to give, help, or advise people in order to ensure they are happy. Earth types focus on others in order to ensure they are happy. They find it difficult to receive, feeling that they need to pay any support back with interest. Their focus on others drives them to over-think and worry. They are often protective and try to shield them from hurt. This overthinking is part of their primary imbalance. They focus on what's outside themselves and lose track of what’s inside themselves. They feel others feelings but not so much their own. They are more used to mental knots and think through everything. In essence they live in their head and forget their own heart. They like to be needed and generally base their relationships around meeting other’s needs. Not all earth types are this way. Some earth types are the opposite: they are needy and constantly look to others to meet their needs. They struggle with the concept of selfishness. It’s almost as if its evil to be selfish. This then makes it difficult to put themselves first and they end up consistently putting others first. So, earth is a lot about priorities. Since I can’t give to everyone I need to prioritise. Usually that comes down to a list of most important people to least important. Commonly Kids come first, partner second, extended family third and so on. Last on the list is themselves.


They are usually blind to what drives this list of priorities. What they don't recognise is that by neglecting their own needs (and focussing on everyone else’s needs) they end up with unmet emotional needs. They are actually needy. Their need for others to be happy is a ‘need’. It's a requirement for them to be happy. This means they have a need for others to behave a certain way – in particular they need them to be positive, have a good ‘energy’, be uplifting and so on. When others don't follow their advice and remain unhappy they feel drained and blame them for how they are feeling. This can lead to frustration. While this frustration is projected onto the other person, what lies at the heart of it is their own inability to prioritise their own truth. Because they focus on everyone else they are unable to be true to their inner self. Often they even go as far as to say their purpose in life is to live for others. Living through others places a great deal of pressure on others, particularly their sons and daughters. The big delusion of earth is that they are responsible for other peoples’ feelings. The flipside of that is that they feel that others have power over their own feelings. That conception of the world is extremely disempowering and means that they must devote themselves to managing other people’s feelings in order to guard their own. They don't realise that feelings are internally generated. Feelings reflect the meaning we assign to external events, in terms of how we feel about ourselves. If someone calls you a ‘monkey’ whether you respond to that or not, depends on what meaning you ascribe to it. If it means nothing to you then you don't respond. If however, you see it as a reflection of how you already feel, eg. your issues around being hairy, or stupid or animalistic etc., then you will get upset and respond emotionally. Solutions So, the solution is to become responsible for our own feelings. Recognising each feeling says something about our relationship with ourselves. It’s very useful to explore with them how they feel about the people they are bonded with. For example, their kids. Do they recognise something unique about them that is beautiful and true? Yes. Do they want their kids to bring out this truth in their life or do they expect their kids to devote their life to looking after their needs and other people’s needs? They always answer that they want them to bring out their own truth and beauty. Once they acknowledge this it is important for them to think about why it feels different for themselves.


The key is to prioritise their own truth. In effect recognising the beauty of their inner child and the importance of them being able to mother their own inner child. This enables them to embrace the key truth: that our primary responsibility in life is to nurture our own inner child so that we can be authentic and true to ourselves. Goals I am true I live authentically I mother my inner self I nurture and care for me I put my inner self first I nourish and care for me I am responsible for my feelings I am responsible for my inner child My purpose is to be true to myself


3 Thunder Yang Wood – Gall Bladder channel Physically Pain and stiffness down lateral side of body, pelvic problems, sacrum, headaches and migraines that are on parietal lobes or occiput, premenstrual tension, regurgitation, reflux, intermittent constipation and diarrhoea, hypermobile joints or stiffness Motivating feelings Acceptance, judgement, criticism, rejection, not being good enough, failure, improvement/performance/ success, freedom, flow, stagnation/stuck Behaviour Thunder types have high expectations of themselves. They are sensitive to criticism and try to avoid it by being perfect. Inevitably this leads to disappointment and self-criticism when things don't go perfectly. The outcome is a sense of failure and a perception that they are not good enough. What drives them is a need for acceptance or a need to avoid rejection. They equate acceptance with a need to do and perform to people’s expectations. They use their mind a lot to try to work out what others expect. This makes decision making very difficult because they try to balance to find a path that conforms with the often-conflicting expectations of different people. Sometimes the need to avoid failure is so great that they become completely stuck – not willing to do something new and risk failure. This leads to tremendous stress over time because they inevitably get to a point where doing nothing is also perceived by them as a type of failure. So, they are damned if they do (possibly fail) and damned if they don't (doing nothing is a failure). This can lead to tremendous frustration. The need to be perfect drives a need for constant improvement. Their life is about performance and doing. Being a ‘blob’, doing nothing, is not an option. This need to improve can make it difficult for them to speak about, or admit to, things not being optimal. “I used to be like that” is a common thing for them to say.


Thunder types have a mental list of attributes that they are trying to live up to. They plan and work towards goals. Often their list of expectations dominates their life. What they don't realise is that their list is what is responsible for their lack of freedom. It’s not that they are constrained by society, but more that they constrain themselves. This leads to a sense that they are stuck, leading to frustration and anger. Anger is the emotion associated with being stuck. Thunder types inevitably will have anger – either repressed and pushed inside or expressed. They are very hard on themselves and often this is internalised as anger with themselves. They tend to be habitual – holding to the same patterns for a certain amount of time. However, the energy of thunder allows for some occasional clarity and plenty of impetus for large change. So commonly they make a large change in their life every now and then and then settle down into the same patterns. They are so used to thinking of others expectations that they often have difficulty connecting with what is right for them in their own heart. In relationships this can make them really indecisive. ‘Is this the right person for me?’ is a common question. Solutions The key for thunder types is they need to redefine their conception of who they are. While they are what they do they will never have freedom. They instead will be a slave to expectations and perfectionism. The question that needs answering is: if I take away what I do, what is left? To answer this, they need to think of someone or some animal they have bonded with. Ask themselves why do I accept and love them? Is it because they are useful and perfect? When they do this they realise that there is something unique and beautiful inside their pet/ child or partner and it is that which they accept and love. Seeing inside is the key. Once we really see the beauty of what’s inside its impossible not to accept unconditionally. Freedom is found by being comfortable just ‘being’. It comes from letting go of the list of expectations we have of ourselves and allowing ourselves to just be ourself.


Goals I accept by core self/ inner self I accept all of me I am acceptable regardless of what I do I accept myself regardless of what I do I freely flow from my core I am my core self and am accepted I am perfect as I am


4 Wind Yin Wood – Liver Channel Physically Pain and disease affecting the scrotum and vagina, itching of scrotum and vagina, tiredness first thing in the morning, symptoms that are worse with stress, reflux and regurgitation, heart burn, hypertension, pre-menstrual tension, vertex headaches, pain that moves, intermittent constipation and diarrhoea. Motivating feelings Acceptance, judgement, need to improve, rejection, not being good enough, not letting others down, freedom, flow, stagnation/stuck Behaviour Wind types primary dilemma relates to how life flows. How much do they need to push to make things happen? Will it just happen of its own accord? It has lots to do with the energy of pushing. Like a seed that must push through the ground to become a plant, they are often forging new paths and breaking new ground. The constant need to push often creates a sense of struggle – it’s like they are constantly walking against the wind. The roots of this struggle come from the myriad of goals that they set themselves and must push to achieve. Goals and achievement become the key focus in life. They must improve, or see themselves as improving. They don't so obviously avoid criticism, because they usually see feedback as being helpful in their need for improvement. This does not mean that criticism has no emotional significance. It wears them down particularly if it is constant. The most significant criticism comes internally. They can be very hard on themselves. If the self-criticism becomes overwhelming they can reach a point of hopelessness, particularly if repeated attempts don't succeed. Generally, wind types are positive and hopeful, planning for a brighter future. They tend to weigh all options, obsessed about making the right choices. They can still be decisive though, particularly where they recognise success requires quick decisions. They believe that even if the decision turns out wrong it still offers an opportunity to grow and learn and move towards perfection. This constant focus on the future drags them away from the present. Their lives are very full: focussed on performance and doing. The art of just ‘being’ is lost.


They see themselves as what they do, rather than what is inside. Sometimes they don't even understand how a person could be defined outside of what they do. They usually are bound by a long list of internal rules and expectations. This is what limits their freedom. It constrains them and increases their level of frustration. This can breed anger, most of which is internalised. The best metaphor for wind is that of a person standing before a river. The river is symbolic of the flow of their life. What they tend to do is see an objective on the other side of the river that they then make it their goal to achieve. They jump in and swim against the current to reach it. Once there they look across the river and set their next goal and repeat the process. As a result, life is a constant struggle against the current, pushing to achieve goals. Solutions The answer to this struggle is to let go of the lists and goals, jump in and allow the flow of spirit or life to take them. When they don't struggle against the current things feel easy. What this really represents is a battle between the two halves of the brain – or if you like between the head and the heart. The head sets all these arbitrary goals looking for improvement – driven by an underlying sense of lack (not good enough as I am). This lack is never satisfied with achievement. Its root cause is an inability to see what is already there. The more they look forward the more they are unable to see what is already there. The answer is to truly view the beauty of the inner self. Just like they see in their pet or child, that same beauty is within them. Recognising this frees them from their list. Instead of being a slave to their own expectations they can follow the dictates of their own heart. This is the path to ultimate freedom. Freedom comes from yielding to the heart rather than the arbitrary expectations of the brain. Exercises that encourage them to switch off their brains and yield to the present are incredibly liberating for wind types.


Goals I adhere to/ obediently follow my heart I am what is inside of me I see the beauty inside myself and others I accept all of me I accept my core self/ inner self I am my core self and am accepted I flow from inside I accept and flow from my heart


5 Central Palace Central Palace encompasses the whole. All channels are included, but themes most align to metal and earth. Physically Digestive issues, lack of energy in the afternoon, bloating, gastric infections, gastrointestinal disorders, bronchitis, sinus, asthma, lung infections, tight shoulders, appendix Motivating feelings Satisfaction, a yearning to have everything, ‘balance’, fullness: feeling like they are getting the most out of life, supported, unsupported, empty, undeserving, sense of being part of something bigger than oneself (spirit connection) Behaviour Central palace types strive for balance in their lives. This means that they want to feel fulfilled in all aspects of their lives – personal, professional, spiritual etc. They want every aspect of their lives to be fulfilling, and are dissatisfied if one aspect is not optimal. This means they find it very hard to be satisfied. This constant need to make things right leads them to be very active in life. They push to have things go the way they want, using their analytical mind to work through the best approach. Relationships are important for Central Palace. It is one of the factors that they feel they need to be going right. It’s important to them that their close friends and partner are attentive. This focus on others requires energy and thought. They often keep a lid on their emotions, trying to stay controlled so as to ensure they have a positive communication style with others. The impact of this is to create an imbalance between their head and heart – they tend to overthink and become numb to their feelings. This is all part of the broader pattern that sees their relationship with themselves given a lower priority than others. Inevitably this leads to a loss of connection with themselves and a sense that their heart is closed.


They are driven to have their emotional needs met but can be blind to this. They may find it hard to acknowledge that they are needy and may even feel repelled by that thought. However, it is common for them to feel that how other close friends and family are feeling is important for their own emotional state. Often they feel bad if their close friends and family are not happy. As a result, they become preoccupied with helping those around them to be happy, becoming very sensitive to others feelings. Aiming to make others happy or to have a positive impact in the world they overthink as they assess what others need or what the world needs. It is this overthinking that creates their poor digestion. The root of this overthinking is in the belief that others are essential to meeting their own emotional needs. For example, in their quest to feel supported they may believe they need to provide support to others. In order to support others they think about what they need and what is the best way to support them. With their mind constantly active it’s very easy for them to lose touch with their deeper self, and this separation leads to a sense of lack or loss. Sometimes this sense of loss leads to a quest for more spirit in their lives – perhaps leading them to explore a religion or meditation or possibly more time in nature. The more separated they are from their sense of spirit the more they will feel unworthy. Some even feel as if they don't deserve to receive. Often there is a sense that they must prove themselves first, or contribute first before they are ‘deserving’. The concept of deserving everything doing nothing is completely foreign. The root problem is that by living in their heads they don't respect their own inherent value. It is not until they have a moment where their mind switches off and they open to their surroundings that they remember that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Solutions The key for central palace is openness and connection to all things. Its central theme is that of assimilating the whole – that requires openness and an ability to recognise I am part of the whole. This openness to spirit – i.e. the ability to recognise that I am part of creation and interconnected to all things – is the key to balance. True balance comes when we are connected to spirit as the sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves grounds us, and reminds us that all creation has inherent value including ourselves. This is the key to feeling deserving of everything doing nothing.


By opening to spirit they become open to receiving from everything and everybody. Life is not then just about output. As they move back into their bodies they more easily navigate feelings and express them and this enables them to open their hearts and truly connect with others. Because their needs are being met internally and through their awareness of spirit, they no longer need to focus on meeting others needs and the need to overthink and strive vanishes. Goals I deserve everything doing nothing I open to spirit I openly receive I am part of everything I am at one with my core, my life and the universe I receive the gifts of spirit I allow spirit in to nourish me I open my heart and connect I value my inner self I put my inner-self first


6 Heaven Yang Metal – Large Intestine Channel Physically Shoulder tightness or pain, conditions of the colon and appendix, fevers, asthma, bronchitis, breathing difficulties, immune disorders Motivating feelings Belonging, abandonment, separation, value and worth, respect, emptiness, undeserving, loss, alienation Behaviour Heaven types want to belong. Feeling like they are part of a group or part of a relationship is of primary importance. It leads them to either try to lead and gather followers or submit and follow the group. When they submit, they feel very disempowered. They can often get into situations that are very compromising to their sense of personal power – manipulated or abused or bullied. This perception of the experience reinforces this sense of a lack of power, which is itself disempowering. Even if they lead they are not empowered. Their focus is still on maintaining their group – and this total focus on the group means that they neglect themselves. By setting themselves as above the group they actually can never really feel part of the group. These themes of being better than others and also not worthy are actually not contradictory. The root of them both is a belief that they are different from others, separate or alien. This sense of separation is driven by the conception that spirit is outside of themselves – not part of their body or humanity. There is something fundamental about themselves that they don't value – usually their gender or their humanity. They often don't like humanity – seeing instead all the problems that humans cause. This is a major issue because by not valuing humanity they are not valuing their human self. The lack of acknowledgement of their humanity drives that alienation from others and the lack of worth.


This difficulty valuing the physical body and human self is seen in many ways. They try to be an image of what others will value – through appearance and/or success and/or the appearance of success. They may dress carefully and put effort into their appearance. When they focus on success as a way of being valued they then are driven to perform. This can drive them to be a perfectionist, always needing to achieve and do. These efforts to be valued never succeed because they feel that it is just a veneer – a mask over a void or emptiness inside that they need to ensure others don't see. They feel others just value the mask rather than what is inside. The difficulty valuing the physical body extends to the animal-self inside. This includes urges, cravings, lust or feelings of a deep nature. It often comes out as a revulsion or difficulty with the enjoyment of sex, and being comfortable about having their own sexual needs met. In relationships they tend to get attached to their partner leading to power issues within the relationship. Being in an open-hearted relationship is important to them but extremely difficult because the openness requires them to expose what is inside of them. Loss, grief and guilt are commonly experienced. They all come from the same source - loss. Guilt is felt because of a sense of loss of value and respect for self. In response to loss they try to hang onto the past. They hang on by moving into their head (logic brain) and disconnecting from their heart (gestalt brain). The heart is always present in the moment. It moves on. We feel grief because, in response to an external event, we cut ourselves off from our heart in order to try to hang on to the past and not move on. The grief comes from the loss of self. We only overcome grief when we reconnect again. Solutions Belonging comes when a person drops their awareness into their bodies and has a sense of being part of something bigger than themselves. This requires them to be completely comfortable with their physical self and makeup – recognising it as part of the miracle of creation. It is a spiritual state but a very grounded state. Like the bushman that lives on the land and is in tune with the land. Explore how you feel when your mind switches off and you become aware of all that is around you. This may be on top of a mountain or by a waterfall. In that moment, do you get a sense that you belong there? The key for heaven is for them to always live congruent with their deeper principles. This is a steadfast type of power. Not pushing, not yielding, but steadfast. It comes when a person honours their own deeper self. This in turn comes when they embody spirit and this spiritual connection drives those deeper values.


When that state is reached, they have a sense of being part of creation, belonging to their humanity, gender, and family. It’s an inherent state, that they deserve and respect. Goals I live my deeper principles I value/respect/honour my deeper self I embody my spirit I am part of creation/humanity/god I value my masculinity/femininity/humanity/sexuality


7 Lake Yin Metal – Lung Channel Physically Shoulder tightness or pain, constipation, dryness of the skin, dermatitis, cough, wheezing, asthma, bronchitis, breathing difficulties, immune disorders, pneumonia Motivating feelings Value, worth, emptiness, innocence, joy, respect, being part of something bigger than themselves Behaviour Lake types in harmony have a reverence for life and an innocence. They experience life with an open heart and have lots of joy. The child is often like this. They lose this innocence when they get attached to things they value – possessions, relationships, love, money. They change their behaviour in order to hold onto things, losing in the process their spontaneity and joy. The root of the problem is that they see value in external things. They believe they only have value if they have these things. This can lead to them hoarding or collecting. Alternatively, they may choose to have nothing because the pain of loss is too great. This prevents them losing anything. Of course the ‘having nothing’ state makes them feel loss anyway – because it is felt as less than the ‘having something’ state. They are driven to find and hold onto value because they don't feel they have value inside. This lack of worth is driven by their alienation from self. Usually this is because there is something fundamental about themselves that they don't value – their femininity/masculinity, their humanity, their physical existence. They often feel empty or that they are nothing inside. They then seek to hide this by wearing a mask and being an image they feel others will value. They may also seek to achieve and succeed if they feel others value this. In that case, they will have a tendency to be a perfectionist that must achieve and do lots. Since they can’t be perfect they will inevitably be hard on themselves.


Having a loving relationship is one of the things they often value. But it creates stress because opening up the heart creates a fundamental vulnerability. It leaves them open to losing the respect of the partner as the partner begins to see all that they are. The loss of this type of relationship can be devastating and lead to them not risking another one. They are often not comfortable about their physical body and physical existence. This includes lust, urges, and the enjoyment of sex. It stems from perception that human experience is not valuable or beneath a more spiritual existence. Spirit is usually seen as outside of themselves. They recognise its importance but it seems impossible to be spiritual and live a mundane earthly life. Their preoccupation with loss means that they consistently experience grief and guilt. Guilt represents the feeling we have when we feel we have lost value. Grief occurs because of our response to something being taken away. The common response is to try to hang on to what has been taken away. If grief comes after someone dies, the problem with trying to hang on to the past is that it drives us out of heart and into our head. The head is filled with memories, where the heart is always in current time – in the present. It's the cutting off of the heart, the loss of our self that creates the feeling of grief. We only overcome grief when we reconnect again. The heart moves on but is also always connected to the person that has passed away. In essence when we stay connected to ourselves we also have a sense of connection to the person that has passed on. Solutions Our sense of value comes when our mind is still and we connect to the beauty around us. In this state where we feel part of something bigger than our self, we have a reverence for all of life, including our self. By recognising and connecting to the implicit value of all of creation we recognise and value our implicit self. This includes revering our physical body and all that comes with living a human mundane life. In essence our conscious drops into our body and we live a more grounded open hearted life. Goals I value all of me I value my spirit I embody my spirit I value my femininity/masculinity/ humanity I am worthy regardless of what I do I value my animal self


8 Mountain Yin Water – Kidney Channel Physically Lumbar pain and stiffness, weak knees, dryness, thyroid conditions, metabolic problems, lack of vitality, adrenal fatigue, waking up at night to go to the toilet, urinary infections, kidney disease

Motivating feelings Fear, safety, loneliness, withdraw, closeness, connected, stillness/peace Behaviour Mountain types want to be close to others, and generally try to reach out to people by giving to them. They equate giving to connecting and find it harder to receive. They assume that if they are selfish others won’t want to connect with them. The focus on others drives their minds to be overactive and can prompt digestive issues. It also makes their interactions with others draining and requires them to have quiet time/ alone time to recuperate. Under pressure they also have a tendency to withdraw, not just from others but also from their own feelings. In imbalance, they become numb to their feelings. They can even withdraw from their feelings of being withdrawn because they are uncomfortable with feeling lonely. Recognising this deep sense of loneliness is an important first step towards making change. What drives the loneliness is their disconnection from their own core self. This comes in part because of their focus on others, also in part from their tendency to be numb to their own feelings. They may also use constant movement and activity as a way of distracting themselves or running away from difficult feelings. They can fear stillness – the lack of motion actually brings to their attention their underlying sense of fear. Fear is ever present. They are vigilant and can be anxious, looking for signs of danger. They have a distrust of their own feelings as the anxiety tends to create physical sensations that don't accurately reflect danger. It is very important that they understand that the anxiety is coming because of excessive thinking, and the anxious feelings are the result of this.


They can be confused about intuition and instincts. They may have equated the anxious feelings with instincts and thus have a distrust of them. Their predominant response to fear is to withdraw. For example, they usually control their feeling of fear by withdrawing from it – ignoring it or numbing themselves to it. This can make them appear to handle difficult situations well, as they go ahead without seemingly any fear (at least on the outside). Their internal numbness can prompt them to do adrenaline pumping or dangerous activities (like parachuting, rock climbing, bungy jumping) as a way of evoking some excitement. While they can respond to fear by trying to control their environment they are more prone to try to control their internal environment to limit their perception of fear. They can very tightly control themselves. This entire pattern is one of using the head to try to control what is inside. This comes at the cost of internal connection. The irony is that because they are not internally connected they find it very difficult genuinely be close to others, which is one of their core motivations. This is the root of their feelings of loneliness – it comes from their own disconnection from themselves. One of the core themes of mountain is movement. Their constant movement and activity keeps their mind continuously active. This makes it very difficult for them to connect with their wisdom. Solutions A person has thoughts, feelings and knowing. Knowing is something that is known inherently, and for which the person is dead certain about. An example is the love for a child or animal. You can ‘know’ them – their unique character/ spirit when you connect and bond with them. When you connect on that level you gain a certainty about them. Wisdom and instincts are on this level – they are known and certain. The feeling of safety can only be experienced when a person connects with their knowing and trusts it. We have instincts that tell us when we are safe or not. Trusting these instincts allows our mind to calm and be at peace when we are safe. This enables us to connect with ourselves and others. Stillness is the key. When our mind is still we are connected with ourselves, and by being connected with ourselves we feel connected to all things.


Goals I connect with my inner self/ spirit I trust my instincts/ wisdom to keep me safe I connect to and trust my innate self I open to the stillness inside I am true to myself and am connected I put myself first and am connected I connect to and meet my own needs


9 Fire Heart and Small Intestine Channels Physically Heart disease, dysrhythmia, palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, restless sleep, mania, issues in the scapular region, chest pain, pain down the inner arm to little finger Motivating feelings Sharing, bonding, openness, expression, vulnerability/ shame, exposure, love, joy Behaviour Fire types seek relationships where they can share and be open. This enables them to feel joy and love. When it stops, they feel over-exposed and hurt. The hurt they feel comes from their response to being over-exposed. They tend to shut down or close down their heart and it is this response that creates the hurt. They can become very defensive, particularly when someone is touching on a hurt. By closing down they actually lock in the hurt. It tends to fester and they can become bitter. This can come out as sarcasm and a general lack of joy. They may use laughter or humour to mask their hurt. They are quick witted and can turn the conversation away from topics that touch on their hurt. Where the feelings of vulnerability and overexposure are extreme, they may feel shame. The closing down of their heart brings on boredom and a craving for stimulation. This stimulation can come in the form of drugs, parties or anything that is exciting. It ultimately leaves them feeling a sense of lack, because elation is short lived and not grounding. In harmony, they are spontaneous and joyful. They are the sort of person that naturally makes you smile. Their own smile can be infectious. When they close their heart, they lose that spontaneity their face can become deadpan. When this happens, their facial expressiveness diminishes, particularly the capacity for their smile ‘to reach their eyes’. In neurological terms their social nervous system is toned down. This makes it difficult for other people to really ‘get them’ and they often then feel misunderstood.


When they are shut down like this they tend to lose their awareness of social cues – making their socialisation clunky and at times inappropriate. This is the opposite of what they are like in harmony – their innate openness ensuring their interactions are intuitively appropriate for the situation. Fire types naturally are commanding and can dominate a room of people. Fire is warm and can be inviting if they are open hearted. They can also try to dominate others in order to be loved. In disharmony, it can also go the other way – they may submit in order to be loved. The motivation for either is a need to share their heart with someone. Where they crave love they can have a series of relationships where they feel they lose themselves in the relationship. They try to hang onto the partner because they feel they need that love. Solutions The key for fire is openness: the ability to open the heart and freely express themselves. To be able to do this they need to come to terms with vulnerability, realising vulnerability is necessary for openness. As they open their heart the hurt that has been locked in will dissipate and they will begin to be more spontaneous and joyful. Joy is the feeling that comes when we freely express our hearts. It is a feeling that is grounded in us being ourselves. Opening the heart will also increase their facial expression. The face tends to soften and others will respond to this, finding it easier to understand and connect with them. In essence by opening to the heart and following it, the fire type becomes empowered to be and express themselves. This ensures they submit to their heart rather than others. Goals I openly express my heart I openly share my heart I express my inner beauty I shine I open my heart I love all aspects of myself I am lovable as I am I love all my emotions I follow my heart


Motivations


Water (water and mountain)

They are relatively easy to spot because they are tightly controlled internally or externally. They can have the money bag cheeks and the gravelly voice. The main difficulty with water is where they withdraw from their withdrawal. This type of water will be internally controlling and this will need to be broken through so they can connect with their own pattern. Once they are connected with the felt sense it is usually not too difficult. However, keeping them engaged in the process across sessions is a challenge because they have a tendency to run away from difficult emotions and this can extend to them running away from therapy once it is going somewhere. The best approach is to take your time. If addressing loneliness, it is good to have them relate to their inner child, potentially do an inner child process and feel that loneliness. The recognition of the loneliness is in itself a partial correction since the root of the loneliness is personal disconnection. With numbness, it is good to activate the gastro and soleus muscles and the arch of the foot where the tendons of muscles that run up the posterior of the lower leg attach to the foot or big toe. These muscles are heavily impacted by control, and it’s that internal control that needs to be broken for numbness and withdrawal to come out.

Water

Fear

Safety Loneliness

Numbness/ withdrawal


Where trust is an issue it is important to explain the difference between anxious feelings and the things they know with certainty that comes from connecting to knowing. Explain there are thoughts, feelings and knowing and that trust in knowing is the solution to fear. The confusion around feelings and instinct can be cleared up cognitively once they realise those anxious feelings are not related to instinctive knowing.


Wood (wind and thunder)

Wood is very easy to spot because of the way they Express Themselves in CAPITALS. Also, they have that tense jaw line and give themselves a hard time. The key for wood is to change the conception of self away from doing to what is inside. To do this it is important to be able to have them get into the experience of when they have bonded with an animal or small child. Explore that with them – why do they love the animal? Is it useful? What happens when it does something wrong? Do they still accept it? Once they are in the experience of unconditionally accepting the animal then ask them how would it be if they could feel the same way about themselves. Then the change can be seen as finding/seeing the dog within. In essence the whole pattern is about what we see – whether we see only the doing or go beyond that to what is inside of ourselves. Working with 3’s can be hard because they can become very stuck. There is always the potential for major change to keep you hopeful but often they just sit in their same pattern. The need for improvement is about being good enough.

WoodFreedom

Stuck/ frustration

Criticism/ Rejection Acceptance

Being good enough

Improvement


Freedom is the flipside of being stuck. Freedom comes when I can be me when I am around other people. What cages me is my own expectations of myself. Criticism/ rejection and acceptance are all about performance. They always struggle with ‘what is’ instead of recognising what is and making the most of what is.


Fire

Take notice of the Fire face. Is it smiling and expressive (notice the eyes) or deadpan. It gives you an understanding of how closed they are. The second thing to watch for is defensiveness. The best way of dealing with that is to energetically back away, call it out and discuss it. “So when I asked … you responded …, does that mean that you are unwilling to …?” You can see the importance of this, can’t you? If we are going to … then we will probably need to look at … Is that something we should do now or not?” That usually works well. What does not work is to continue to push them. Another approach is to activate around the scapula region and/or activate scoliosis (if you know that). In terms of the motivations you need to address either vulnerability style issues, hurt and/or openness. If its vulnerability the essence of this is exposure. You will need to sit them in the feeling of being vulnerable and open. Remember that the opposite is the feeling of closing the heart i.e. ‘hurt’. It’s very important that people realise that an open heart is a two-way door, it’s not just about giving but also about receiving. If the fire type is a woman, then this can also be complicated by yin deficiency issues related to being uncomfortable with the softness and openness of the female. This is particularly true if they have metal in their other numbers.

FireExpression

Sharing/ love

Vulnerability/ shame

Lack of joy/ bitterness

Hurt/ broken heart


Usually with a fire type the emotions are just under the surface ready to crack open. Once they let go of the defensiveness then one of these felt senses will come to the fore and you can have them sit in that while you hold points. The essence of this entire pattern is expression and openness. That is what needs to be addressed if fire is to be in harmony.


Earth

Earth are obvious from the way they try to be positive and are so over-analytical. They also tend to have a sing song voice. The rhythm of your questions and interactions is very important when dealing with earth. They are used to using their logical analytical thought patterns that in effect keep them in mental loops and removed from their emotions. They return again and again to this intellectual edifice. To break through they have to break out of the rhythm of their thoughts. A quick succession of feeling questions is one way to break the rhythm. The alternative is to try to get them into their body using physical activation. The key to their motivator is to help them to see that the life they are living is a lie. They think they are being good people because they help others. What they are intentionally blind to is what drives their giving. They are repulsed by their own needs and don't want to acknowledge them. Yet it’s those needs that drive their giving pattern and the pattern of their whole life. Recognising they need things from other people is one place to start. “how do you feel when your close friends and family are not happy? If they were never happy how would you cope? Does this mean you need them to be happy? OR If you were all alone – the only human left and you could help no one how would you feel? “If their purpose is other people then they need other people. If they are only happy if others are happy then they need other people to be happy…

EarthTruth

Selfishness

Support/care

Completeness, satisfaction

Meaning and purpose


Metal (heaven and lake)

Metal is about the animal self. Is it valuable? They are separated from it because they believe humanity/ masculinity/ femininity is not valuable – only spirit (outside of their bodies) is valuable. Sometimes this needs to be addressed head on – their difficulty enjoying sex and other physical pleasures producing strong emotional responses that relate directly to the motivating feeling – sometimes they use the words “dirty”, “slutty” or something denoting fundamentally wrong. Another key aspect of metal is that they want to ensure people don't see what is inside. What is usually underneath this is a sense of emptiness/ nothingness. This generates the search for value external to themselves (doing patterns or hoarding patterns). Once they connect with the emptiness just sit them in that feeling. Its driven by their own separation and goes when they have a sense of themselves being part of something bigger than themselves. The need for belonging is very strong and often drives their dysfunctional power issues. They often give up their power to belong. Usually they are not blind to this need to belong and it can be a good felt sense to work with. Obviously, the root of this is their inability to accept being a human.

MetalBelonging

Loss = grief and guilt

Emptiness/ nothing

Value/ worth

Separation from animal

self


They need to be acknowledged/ valued/ respected/ honoured. Sometimes this is the motivating force behind their pattern. Usually they will connect with one of these words more than another so use whatever word they connect with the most. Acknowledgement starts from within – they need to acknowledge their own self. This does not happen when they are constantly focusing on what others will value. Another metal style issue is bullying. This is an extension of their patterns of powerlessness. If they are going to feel empowered they need to move beyond this victim mentality. To do that they need to recognise their own contribution to the bullying – i.e. their own lack of self-respect. It is this that is reflected back to them by others. When this shifts the bullying usually shifts as well.


Keys to Each Motivator Wood is about the energy of pushing through – asserting. This energy, if centred in the heart, just unfolds and flows. If centred in the head it leads to constant striving and motion on the outside and stagnation on the inside. It becomes head centred because they reject the innate. Focus on seeing what is inside. Fire is about expression and exposure. Focus on expression. Earth is about truth and meaning – can we give priority to being our truth? Focus on priorities. Water is about being close rather than running away. Focus on connection. Metal is about our conception of our animal self and the recognition of its value. Focus on the body.


Appendix: Date Calculations Determining Your Constitution Use Step 1-3 to determine your three numbers. The middle number is the motivational number, usually. Step 1 – Innate Nature The first step is to find the aspect of the Ba Gua associated with your year of birth. Look up your year of birth in Step 1 below and note the number associated with it. Each number relates to an aspect of the Ba Gua. This yearly number relates to your innate nature or tendency towards a specific constitution in this life. Note: If you are born between 1 Jan and 3 Feb you need to use the number associated with the previous year eg. 3 January 1945 is considered to be 1944. Finding the aspect of the Ba Gua associated with your year of birth Year 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Year 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Number 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2


Step 2 – Motivation This number is the key number as it usually relates to the person’s motivator. Determining the aspect of the Ba Gua associated with the month of birth

Born Between For Numbers

1,4,7 3,6,9 2,5,8

6 Jan – 3 Feb 6 3 9 4 Feb – 5 mar 8 5 2 6 Mar – 5 Apr 7 4 1 6 Apr – 5 May 6 3 9 6 May – 5 Jun 5 2 8 6 Jun – 7 Jul 4 1 7 8 Jul – 7 Aug 3 9 6 8 Aug – 7 Sep 2 8 5 8 Sep – 8 Oct 1 7 4 9 Oct – 7 Nov 9 6 3 8 Nov – 7 Dec 8 5 2 8 Dec – 5 Jan 7 4 1

Step 3 – Mind and Mundane Challenges Once you have determined the aspect of the Ba Gua associated with the month of your birth you can then determine the third number that has an influence on our life. This number represents the more mundane challenges, generally the behaviour patterns we tend to adopt in an effort to get the motivator. It particularly reflects our Mind and mental approach to life. In the table below find the column that relates to your year of birth and the row that relates to the month of your birth. The intersection of that column and row will give you your mind number. Finding the aspect of the Ba Gua that relates to your Mind

Ba Gua Month Number

Ba Gua Year Number

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 6 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5

Ba Gua Constitutions v20170627 - ccm.edu.au · © David Corby 2017 Page 2 of 40 Contents Ba Gua...

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Transcript of Ba Gua Constitutions v20170627 - ccm.edu.au · © David Corby 2017 Page 2 of 40 Contents Ba Gua...