Summer of Love

Here we enjoy ourselves, and in liking ourselves, glorying in our splendour, we can like and give love to others, and in so doing become one with them. Our radiant energy flows outwards, and in others is reflected back to us, and we see the true life within us.

Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott

Summer, Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott, continues to write, is “the phase when what we planned comes to fruition, and we see that our creation is good. It is a time of integration and wholeness, all parts functioning together – spirit, mind, and body working together and at peace.”

According to Chinese Medicine, Summer is the Fire Element/Phase and governed by the Heart and Small Intestine energy. Summer is “the eager anticipation of youth to maturity.” (Clogstoun-Willmott 1985). We begin to see the fruits of the trees we’ve planted, the time to take in that sweetness, so full of sunlight.

In the 24-hour clock, each of the twelve meridians and organ energies is most active for two hours in this cycle. This is the one energy travelling through our whole body.  According to TCM the Heart meridian is from 11AM to 1PM and the Small Intestine from 1PM to 3PM.  In Jin Shin Jyutsu, we work with the peak times so the Heart Function Energy is most active from 12 noon to 2PM and Small Intestine, 2PM to 4PM. This provides a couple of frameworks through which you can investigate your own energy flow. For example, you can observe the time of the day that you tend to feel tired, out of balance, ungrounded, etc. This can be a starting point for you to support your body.

Note, in either case, the Small Intestine energy follows the Heart energy. Let’s see why this is an important point. Small intestine is about making decisions. It’s deciding what is useful for us and directing what is not useful to be eliminated. So our ability to make aligned decisions comes after our heart energy is activated, harmonized, and flowing.

The Heart is considered the ruler because like a benevolent and enlightened monarch, it is all-knowing and ever-present, sharing its wisdom unconditionally for the good of the whole. Our Fire aspect represents fulfillment: the total expression and integration of our being, the full extent of our expansion, maturation, and development.

Harriet Beinfield, L.Ac & Efrem Korngold, L.Ac, OMD, Between Heaven & Earth

The Heart, in Chinese Medicine, is believed to be where the spirit resides. A peaceful and calm heart allows us to connect with the greater Spirit, for it to manifest in the right time and place. As love and joy. in our relationships.

Spirit is “the totality of the person’s life force at any given moment and represents the complete outward expression of the Qi through the personality.” (Beinfield & Korngold)

It is easy to step out of our own natural time, when we live in a world regulated by linear and artificial time.

Yet we know and we feel that it is only a construct. We’ve all experienced an expansion of time, when we are in flow. When we are so attuned to the present moment, and absorbed in our craft, the conversation, our presence, being with someone else…

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it….It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Mary Oliver, Don’t Hesitate

In Jin Shin Jyutsu, the Heart and Small Intestine function energies correspond with the attitude “trying”. This in many ways correlate to an undefined ego/heart centre in Human Design, which has the theme of needing to prove oneself.

What is “trying”? That’s when we are pushing ourselves to be something or someone we are not, fulfilling other people’s expectations, which we may have taken on. Is there a person whose approval means everything to you? This is also reacting to ancestral wounds, living by other people’s rules, bowing to their authority…Our Heart energy becomes depleted, stagnated, or otherwise disharmonized and it literally hurts our heart!

Try this Jin Shin Jyutsu Self-Help tip : hold your pinky finger whenever you feel the need to prove yourself or catch yourself trying. A few minutes here and there also has a cumulative effect.

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