An ancient Taoist text, The Secret of the Golden Flower, describes the miraculous exchange between fire and water: when the fire of our spirit mingles with the depths of our source, the resulting power enables us to spiral upward and transcend the material world, to live on the plane of the phenomenal.
As discussed earlier, and illustrated in the horizontal-vertical grid, the horizontal plane is the "doing" plane, where source and spirit manifest through the material world: projects, work, family life, creativity, thought, word, and deed. The vertical plane is the plane of "being," where our Divine nature manifests, aligning itself with our highest spirit to let our radiance shine through.
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The Vertical Conduit of Fire and Water
Water is the medium that joins heaven and earth. It rains down from the clouds and, through the power of the sun, evaporates from the earth to start the cycle over again. In the same way, water connects the lower body's energies with the fire of the upper body, joining our potential to our highest expression, enabling us to live our destiny.
The fire-water connection reveals itself most notably between the first menstrual period and the last. At menarche, the onset of menses, the heart brings blood and its life-giving spirit to the uterus, the "palace of the child," and endows it with the ability to bring forth life. At menopause, the end of menses, the uterus gives the gift of life back to the heart so that its love and wisdom can be shared with the world. Ways To Increase Getting Pregnant
The channel of communication between the heart and the kidney essence, represented by the creative powers of the uterus, must be open for the spark of life to be ignited in any form. The void in the center of the heart and the void in the center of the uterus are the sources of women's strength and conduits to the universal process of creation. When obstructions exist, life energy can stagnate, but with proper attention and honoring, our inherent creativity can once again flow.
The Maturation Process
According to the I Ching, seven is an auspicious number, and we can see its importance when we look at typical female maturation. Women typically mature in seven-year periods: In times when women were in touch with nature and themselves, most girls lost their baby teeth around age seven and started menstruating at age fourteen (the age today can be as young as the singIe digits). By twenty-one, their hormonal, reproductive, and musculoskeletal systems are developed and by twenty-eight their vital energy, blood, and organs are at peak condition. Then, at age thirty-five, women's skin begins to change; the complexion wanes, and hair color begins to fade around forty-two. Menstruation ceases around forty-nine (though today the average is closer to fifty-two) and the physique becomes more delicate.
The maturation process is revered by Eastern cultures because of the wisdom gained through experience. Women entering the revered state of menopause feel surges of heat as their fire energies shift upward to fuel their transition to the highest level of heart-centered wisdom. While many Western women resist menopause, matriarchal cultures see it as a time when women increase their power. In Chinese, there is no word for menopausal symptoms, because the process isn't resisted. The Chinese believe that heat or discomfort is natural and should be accepted - a rose does not resist the opening of its petals. According to this system, resistance disappears when you treasure nature's ability to allow you to unfold into your most radiant bloom.
But it takes tremendous energy to fuel this vital process. To enable your body to function at its best during menopause, I recommend eating a healthy diet, nourishing your source, and drinking additional water so the kidneys have an abundant supply. While this natural condition is not an illness and doesn't need to be "healed" per se, certain herbal blends (such as black cohosh and epimedium) and supplements (such as calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D) can help support the body as it experiences these changes. Though Western medicine is still undecided on the effectiveness of these natural therapies, many of them are supported by long histories of traditional use. Before trying these therapies or making changes to existing treatments, be sure to check with a naturopath or other health care professional who is knowledgeable about natural medicine to avoid interactions between supplements and medications.
The Dynamics of Fire and Water
Fire is the ultimate yang element: it is bright and moves upward and outward. But with enough fuel, fire can burn out of control, devouring everything in its path. The ego, like fire, can burn out of control when it feeds on itself too much, and become an insatiable flame. Ways To Increase Getting Pregnant
Water is the ultimate yin element: when permitted, it goes deeper and deeper, always seeking darkness and depth, But water is also associated with fear, and can become a tool of the ego, supporting its false need to protect itself. Then the water element can approach the world as if everyone in it is its enemy, waiting to drain or pollute it.
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Fire and water keep each other in check, as do their associated organs, the heart and the kidneys. The kidneys provide coolness, moisture, and nourishment to balance the heart's outward dynamic, but if there is conflict between the two, either of these elements can take control. When fire burns out of control because the kidneys are unable to cool and nourish properly, you may become restless and unfocused. You may also lose perspective because your emotions are erratic, or tend toward anxiety because your spirit has no nourishment or reason to come home to the heart. Conversely, when the water element is too abundant, it may put out the heart's fire. You may become depressed and begin to spiral down.
We in the West tend to favor light and brightness and reject everything that we consider dark and negative. We look for external happiness and elation and try to avoid being melancholy by covering up and ignoring negative feelings rather than using the information they give us to help us reach again for connection. We reject yin, or darkness, but it is yin that puts lightness into perspective. As we look to move to ever higher planes of vertical living we need to accept all of ourselves, both the light and the dark, and know that no emotion is ever inappropriate. By learning to shine the light of our spirit on all that we have hidden from ourselves and from the world, it's possible to rise above the debris buried in our deepest caverns and find grace. To learn more, you can check out Ways To Increase Getting Pregnant.
