So what would you have me say about the Water Element? What mysterious spirit is this? How shall its energy be revealed to you and to me? Through the awakening of the Kidney and Bladder Meridians. You have to put in the time to advance from Metal to Water, but then you will learn how to survive the initiation of the Water Element. Let’s get one thing clear, the energy of Water is the most ultimate power indeed. But it’s power is finite, and once it’s used up then it’s used up.
So, right up front I have given you the truth, the rules of magic and water. Because the Water Element cultivates itself from great internal stillness. This type of mental stillness must be cultivated through meditation, and I recommend the image of the stillness of winter outside. Look at the winter scene and observe how much stillness is found in nature, can you see the frozen water outside? Compare it to the activity of summer and spring where trees are alive and both animals and insects are moving around you everywhere you go. Winter is stillness, the stillness of frozen snow, and the picture of icy stillness. If you can go really deeply inside yourself all the way to your DNA then you will know the spiritual teachings of the Water Element.
Spiritually the Water Element is about cultivation of wisdom while facing our deepest fear. Your shadow will come forward and start using the unconscious to bring what you would call darkness into your life. Whatever aspect of the human psyche that has darkness, and wisdom, and fear, and magic, that psychic aspect brings the Water Element into your conscious. To evolve past the spiritual teachings of the Water Element we must heal our deepest emotional wounds. It is then that you are in the murky waters of an element that will make you face your deepest spiritual fears. Our greatest emotional trauma may be found in this element, one that can often drive a person to madness. We need the virtue of the Water Element, we need Wisdom to confront our fear of change, and wisdom to handle our fear of the unknown.
It will be your greatest victory when you move beyond your greatest fear, through this forgiveness and letting go of the illusion we can acknowledge that true benevolent wisdom is always present, and our greatest wound is healed. The pain becomes smaller and you become less tense when you realize the power of water is ultimate. I oftentimes find sexual abuse to manifest itself in the psyche of a Water Element archetype, and these types of patients are often my favorite clients to work with. To be allowed to witness the patient’s healing take place from a space so deep inside is a real gift from the Universe. When patients are finally at peace with what had taken place, I smile and I truly say an acknowledgment of the gratitude I feel from treating them. I quietly root for these brave souls who face the darkness of humanity, because those who face rape and molestation are the bravest of all souls I am privileged to give acupuncture. I admire these people greatly.
Acupuncture and Water
From an acupuncture standpoint the meridian theory seems to be about the development and movement of fluids of the body. When you speak and teach about Water you are referencing the kidney and bladder meridians and the movement of certain types of fluids. A couple of those fluids are called Jin Ye Fluids. Jin Fluids are thinner and more mobile fluids of the body. Sweat secretions and fluids pertaining to moisturization of the skin surface. Dehydrated skin doesn’t nurture the flesh or mucus membranes of the body because of the lack of water. This Jin Fluid is more Yang in action within the body compared to Ye Fluids. When we examine the Ye Fluids, you will find them strengthening bones, brains, and internal organs. These fluids are denser and nourish the orifices of the nose, eyes, mouth, etc. The abundance of these fluids give luster to the skin, and often transform into Jin Fluids. These fluids come from the same source, and could alternate into the other when one is weak.
Water can take many forms
When we teach on Jin Ye Fluids, we are including all normal body secretions and moisture except blood. Blood is the Wood Element. Jin Ye fluids are basically responsible for moisturization, lubrication of joints and tendons, and nourishment of skin and brain and bone. Similar to how Metal generates Wei Qi the Water Element creates all these fluids and circulates Jing. Stem cells and DNA travel through the Water Element and reach a destination for maintaining health in our body. Watching older people dehydrate and wither is watching the slow drying up of fluids and the Water Element, again I stress that once the Water Element is used up it is used up.
Jing Qi is essentially genetics theory from the perspective of a spiritually evolved culture who shared a collective intuition. Taoism allowed the culture to explore the inner worlds and examine reality from a non-linear perspective, and that meditative exploration led the Ancient Chinese Taoists and acupuncturists right to the teachings of the Water Element. Jing as a concept has poetically the same functions as DNA and the switching on and off of our codons. If you can see the essence of this theory, then you will understand what Jing really is. Move beyond the intellect when you meditate on the Water Element and Jing.
Jing serves many functions: Your basic constitution and physical make up, as a counterpart to your spirit, create a perceptual awareness of Jing. Jing is responsible for all growth and development, and an example would be how quickly different children accelerate in learning. All Life activity derives from Jing and you wouldn’t want to have to maintain consciousness of all brain and body activities required to maintain homeostasis. So we can see that Jing is what makes each person unique and each individual has a truly unique DNA pattern. Can you imagine having to balance your own blood and fluid levels to maintains all functions? Our bodies of mostly made of the Water element. Jing is responsible for fluid metabolism and reproduction fluids. You have an immortal soul and spirit animates flesh, but through Jing we have a UNIQUE EXPRESSION. This unique set of Jing and genetics gives us special tools to use during our incarnation, this essence is the vehicle for the experiences of our life that go beyond anything we have been taught in this life. This essence and ancestral Qi we are born with is the greatest gift you have been given in this incarnation. Because of Jing Qi, you are like no one else in the Universe, and it has nothing to do with anything you have learned in this life. Ancestral Jing is encoded, the DNA helix is everywhere inside of us, and fighting it will only cause you to wither and die. Best to treasure your Jing and nurture it through this life.
Xing Yi and Water
To master the Water Element in Xing Yi Quan you ultimately come to fluid compressions. Go beyond thinking of blood pressure and body fluids, think beyond to the place of fluid compressions of the spine and arteries to heal the body of pain. If the Water Element lubricates all joints and tendons and ligaments, then you will understand its vital role in managing or healing people from the symptoms of arthritis. Imagine how much you could change the pains of aging for Baby Boomers if you could get them to practice openings and closings of joints? If you can change fluid compressions throughout the body, you can offer amazing restorative powers through the cultivation of Water. Your nervous system could attain a balance between parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system activity. Through the Water Element the parasympathetic nervous system can regulate our reality. Through cultivation of Kidney and Bladder Qi the Water Element can heal low back pain. Pain from old age can disappear from nurturing and healing the Water Element and giving it strength.
It is said the generation of Metal into Water is the hardest transition to make in the internal arts. You stand in San Ti until it happens one, on that day the Metal Element spills over and creates Water Qi. Your actual kidneys and adrenal glands begin to glow with a static-electric and tingling type of qi in the region of your kidneys. You can walk the circle in the single palm change of Ba Gua until you awaken the spiral from inside your consciousness. Energy begins to spiral all over your body, we begin the process of strengthening the spiral, and that tightening of the spiral is what keeps your DNA stronger. This profoundly changes your nervous system when we awaken the healing potential inside of Jing inside us.
Jing also has a profound effect on our adaptability and emergency energy needs just like your DNA. Jing like DNA is the foundation upon which all functions rest. All Qi and Blood are derived from Jing. Jing is broken into 2 categories with Yin and Yang functional comparisons.
Jing of Former Heaven is described in Taoism and Oriental Medicine to be derived from the essence of blended sexual energy from your parents. Another name is Congenital Jing or Pre Natal Jing. The next Jing category is called Jing of Latter Heaven, and is defined as Post-Natal and acquired from the food we eat and the air we breathe, just like epigenetics. The Ancients saw how the air and food altered or even mutated our Jing (DNA), and acknowledged our sacred connection to the environment around us.
Jing of Former Heaven creates your basic constitution from physical to mental development. This Jing activates our spleen and stomach meridians (digestion) at birth to begin creating Jing of Latter Heaven. Our Jing is a fixed amount, can only be used, and can never be replaced. Jing of Latter Heaven circulates through the organs and maintains continuous function of the organs through nourishment. This forms the basis of reproduction through producing sperm and eggs. Jing of Former Heaven and Jing of Latter Heaven are stored in the kidneys where they are undistinguishable.
The Kidneys
The kidneys are the energetic movers of water and the location where our ancestral energy is stored inside us. That essence, that DNA gives the egg and sperm the POTENTIAL to create LIFE. Water creates life, that divine spark, that miracle creates new life. Here deep inside our kidneys are our deepest reserves that we may call upon in times of our greatest energy needs. Out of this vital inherited energy comes our will power. Our will to live. Through the cultivation of will, we find our strength to cultivate lasting vitality, and we accept our special purpose on this planet at this time. It is said both skill and ability come from the creative power of our WILL. It is magic and imagination disguised as a concentrated energy reserve, and with this concentrated energy reserve we can go BEYOND our LIMITS. At times when situations in life create the need for us to tap into a spiritual inheritance reserve, the Water Element is what you are using and burning up.
When we have used up our Water, the image of bones becoming porous, having holes, becoming deformed or osteoporosis are appropriate. Broken bones and dried withered bones fall under the Water and Jing categories for the human body. The kidneys hold a secret reserve for us to tap into when we access the potential to reach within the deepest part of our spirit. Our richest and most creative reserves that are needed when life has been its hardest. Again I stress the importance of preserving your fluids and reserves, being conservative like a banker with this energy is like cultivating wisdom indeed. If wisdom is the virtue of water, then it is a wise man, an expert, or a man full of virtue that serves humanity with combining experience and knowledge to generate wisdom. The kidneys serve us with a vitality and deep richness of spirit, and teach us the wisdom for the healing of our deepest wound.
ZHI
The spirit of Zhi in the Water Element relates directly to cultivation of our Will. Zhi or Will is the ability to maintain our power, the ability to maintain our intentions and focus. The Yi (concentration and intentions) arrives and allows us to manage the details that come up in the midst of our focus. The nervous system is altered and those who have stronger Jing survive the transformation. More often than not in modern society the Will is overloaded with stimulus, and the person collapses from a weakness or distraction. Transformation and stability are necessary as this progression of spirit grows, a meditative thought completes itself, and purpose of meditative thought is revealed in Water. Without ability to cultivate the Water Element inside us, we will not have the Will to sustain anything because our Yi(intention) has no root. A rootless kidney pulse shows a profoundly broken person who has burned through the energy reserves to survive and suffered a broken will in the process of becoming Kidney deficient. Another way to see this spiritually, is this is the energy or element they used the most to adapt to life inside a human incarnation.
Going further we can see that genetic memories and experience are passed for generations, not just in physical health and genetic mutations, but even subtle emotional neurosis can be shared in families and the DNA. Now imagine why people become overly-controlling with bloodlines and achievements, and family history, and think about the children of the parents who suffer with PTSD from being in war and or military service. My father was special forces, I can tell you that I often feel edgy and need to practice tai chi to calm down, cool off, and use water to soothe my fears. His adrenaline surges produced inside of me a host of urges and emotional mood swings and aroused spiritually positive qualities as well. He killed people with his bare hands, stabbed people in the throat, and shot them. That Jing exists inside of me, that type of Will to survive exists to tap into whenever I need it. That is the truth of the Water Element and Jing.
The Root
Whether you are doing acupuncture, Xing Yi, Ba Gua, or Tai Chi, the spiritual root of the body is contained in the Water Element. Your energetic root is awakened through Kidney 1, this acupuncture point is underneath your feet, and when practicing push hands or doing San Ti posture this point must be opened to have any power. Going further with this concept of Root we begin to see that it is more than just energy structure, power generation, and the root of all Yin and Yang of the body. Imagine your nervous system and the Tree of Life, this Tree of Life has roots to keep it strong. When an attack comes, the storms of life come, and we are under extreme stress, then it is our Root that we must fall back on. With this Root we are able to withstand the force and the oncoming assault, we can take the energy and send it down through our Root without becoming broken or uprooted by life.
This is well of the body, it is the primordial elixir of all Life inside our body, and with this Root found inside the Water Element we can come to recognize cosmic order and know our place in this world. That is how we generate wisdom, and that is where the cunning nature to survive is expressed from the depths inside a human psyche. The ability to survive countless unspeakable odds comes from Water and a strong Root. Our fundamental will to live, our desires and motivations in life, and what we want to become are expressed through Water.
Disharmony
Reproductive issues and infertility
Bone development and strength
Teeth issues
Endocrine systems
Thyroid
Adrenals
Kidneys and water metabolism
Retention of fluids (hypertension)
Congestive heart failure
Hearing loss
Herniated disks
Low back pain
Insomnia
Hormonal issues like menopause
Kidney stones or infections
Autoimmune conditions
The Bladder
When examining the paired Yang meridian to the Kidney, we have to take time to become aware of the gifts of the Bladder meridian. The bladder stores and excretes urine, it precipitates the conversion of waste fluids into urine. The bladder is traditionally depicted as the bucket to draw fluid from the well (kidney), and is responsible for the equal and even distribution of resources throughout the body. If Water and Jing are to be distributed to other elements or internal organs, then our bladder meridian better be functioning and up to the task. The management of resources, how our essence is stored and used are found to be expressed in the bladder meridian. The bladder meridian begins in the eyes and conveys the outer world to our Yin and inner world of the kidney meridian. Without this conduit to the outer world and the knowledge acquired from the outer world, then the kidney can develop phobias and anxiety. When people have proper reserves, they are not easily frightened, they know their own power, and how and when to direct that power. The bladder stores and controls our acquired reserves from post-heaven production of all fluids in the exterior world. Urine, sweat, internal secretions, reproductive fluids, hormones, tears, saliva, lymph, digestive juices, and enzymes. The bladder makes fluids available to these systems as needed, it could be said the bladder offers containment and sets boundaries for the Water Element. If there is no harmony in our Water Element, if the bladder is unbalanced the people feel stuck, they lack fluidity, are constantly tired, and they constantly are pushing themselves. Pathological psychology associated with the bladder would be insecurity, jealousy, and holding petty grudges. A bladder imbalance can create these emotions, as it would reflect the dirty parts of our psyche reflecting turbid fluids and thoughts that have no value just like urine. The bladder has direct contact with every official/organ of the body through the back-shu acupuncture points for a reason. It has immediate access to all the organs to manage resources, to be in contact with the wisdom of the kidney and how our life should be lived. If our bladder Qi is depleted, we will spend more than we have and can’t manage our resources. People get into financial trouble, emotional trouble, and keep burning the adrenaline past a healthy point. We suffer from burnout and can cause deep wounds that could take years to mend. The bladder is the source of our deepest reserves and strengths and should be treated with reverence.
I hope you have enjoyed exploring the Water Element.