Wholehearted Enthusiastic Summer Solstice 2020 Greetings!
Greetings of the Summer Solstice to you all. As I write this to you today, I invite you to dive deep with me into to the depth and meaning of “Wholehearted” and “Enthusiastic!” This is an invitation to the amazing deep dance of our times and to awaken your own deep enthusiasm for all of life.
Summer Solstice 2020. a year, and a season of great change! In this moment we are in the middle of three eclipses in a row, with the central solar eclipse coinciding with Summer Solstice. With the solar eclipse the image suggests that the shift and change of our times is midway in the making. It’s a powerful time of awakening. It includes some shouting, and some deep listening. Many voices are calling loudly, on the streets, and in our hearts.
Join with me now as I explore the nature, promise and possibility this time of change holds for humanity. First I need to frame this with some prophetic words from “Black Elk Speaks” the Legendary “Book of Visions” of an American Indian.
For many years, I believe it is safe to say we have been living in the time of what Black Elk’s vision called the “Third Ascent:” In this ascent, “All the animals and fowl that were the people ran here and there, for each seemed to have his own little vision that he followed and his own rules: and all over the universe I could hear the winds at war like wild beasts fighting.”
And even though we may be still living through this wild time of madness and confusion, with people fighting and running every which way following their own visions like angry beasts, there is yet the promise of the fourth ascent ahead of us! In this ascent, “’All over the universe they have finished a day of great happiness.’ And looking down I saw that the whole wide circle of the day was beautiful and green with all fruits growing and all things kind and happy.”
Being an eternal optimist, I believe this day of “all things kind and happy” is possible, in our hearts, and in our nations. On this day of Summer Solstice greetings in the midst of this season of eclipses, I call out with wholehearted enthusiasm for the dawn of a new day!
Let’s break that greeting down!
- “Wholehearted” is a vast and inclusive energetic awakening. For those not familiar with the term I recommend the book “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown. There you will find a solid and workable ten-step path to awakening within you your wholehearted feeling for life.
- “Enthusiasm” is also a vast and important feeling within the wholeness of the heart. You know it when you feel it. It is a deep, “connected to source” kind of feeling. When enthusiastic you have the feeling of being “all in!” Aligned with your truth, connected to your vision, and willing to roll up your sleeves and get to work on that which makes your heart sing!
To identify, acquire and develop your natural “enthusiasm” for life, let’s explore some helpful Chinese Medicine ideas! Enthusiasm need not be just a fleeting feeling. It can be an actual sustained experience mindfully generated, when you are in possession of the awareness and skills necessary to its generation. This awareness and skill is developed through the lens of what I share below.
In Chinese Medicine, we speak of Five Fundamental Substances; the Jing, Blood, Moisture, Qi and Shen. Of the Five Substances three of them exist on the “material plane.” They are called “Yin.” They are tangible. You can hold them in your hands, take samples, look at them under a microscope. Determine their constituent parts. These are Blood and Moisture and Jing.
Blood and Moisture are the most readily graspable through our awareness of bodily functions. The activity of blood is something we measure all the time. Blood pressure, pulsation, circulatory system functions and nutrient distribution throughout the body. Moisture too is something we are acutely aware of at almost every turn. Hydration, sweat, saliva, mucus, sexual fluids, etc…
Jing, a “foreign term” may, as a concept, seem the least palpable of the three yin substances. Yet, it is simply the very foundation tissue that makes up of our entire body. Jing is our genetic material. It unfolds into the face we recognize in the mirror, and to which we imbue so much value. Jing is that which holds and directs all of the ancestral traits; gender, ethnicity, eye color, hair color, size and structure; handed down to us to construct the persona we come to know. We often either curse, or bless these traits, but ultimately we must come to terms with them. We often hold a sense that these ancestral traits are accountable for our very place and position in the social order into which we are born.
Now Qi and the Shen occupy a less “tangible” space among the fundamental substances. They are described as “yang,” ephemeral, ether, of the sky. You cannot “hold” these qualities in your hand, cannot place them under a microscope for examination. And yet we know them in our feelings, our consciousness, our attitudes, beliefs, values, our very awareness of life expression itself.
Qi is the animating force of mind, the awake consciousness that observes, notices and imbues all things with life. Without human living Qi, human tissue is lifeless, blood does not flow. We note this in the cessation of life in the body when we die. The heartbeat stops, Blood no longer flows. “Time of death” is declared. Moisture yet has an active part to play as bodily decomposition ensues, but the Qi of life has left. So, when we are alive we are imbued with living human Qi!
What of Shen? Shen in a word is “spirit.” It is the very breath of life itself. We might call it the “super-conscious” in the West. It is this stuff of religion. Religious zeal is indeed one place where we might readily see Shen’s expression. We also see it at political rallies, athletic and artistic performances, music, dance. It is evident in painting, sculpture, color and light. When our Shen is high, our eyes are bright and sparkly. When it is low we are depressed and the “light has gone out” of our eyes.
You see, Shen and its quality as it expresses itself through the Jing of our lives, is the actual root ingredient of all enthusiasm. Without Shen in Jing there is no enthusiasm. Without Shen in Jing you do not throw yourself into a cause or project. Without Shen in Jing NO LIVES MATTER, no political position carries any interest, no art is performed, no muse appears to inspire you to expression. Without Shen in Jing, sports contests would not take place, battles over ideologies would not be fought. Blood would not flow. Existence itself is no more.
And here’s where it gets exquisite. The interplay of Yin (Jing) and Yang (Shen) is the dance of life itself. Shen and Jing exist together to co-create enthusiasm! When there is a split between our Jing and our Shen, we are in something akin to post-traumatic-stress-disorder. Anxiety reigns, our sleep is disturbed, we may be in hyper-vigilience or on hyper-alert. This may seem quite animated for a time, yet it cannot be sustained. It is ultimately debilitating and draining.
When Jing and Shen are in harmony, we are in something akin to post-traumatic-triumph!
And to do this, there are three basic steps.
- Connect to your breath, emotions and body
- Express what is latent within you in a safe and generative space
- Share your expression with the world in a powerful way
When we are at peace with anything and everything that has transpired in our lives, and have converted that experience through our breath, emotions and body into creative expression, then we are stronger and better for all of it. We tap into our enthusiasm for life and share that with a world waiting for our deep true expression!
In the words of Helen Keller, “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
So when I send you a “Wholehearted Enthusiastic Summer Solstice Greeting!” it means all this!
May your Jing and Shen ever be in harmony, your life imbued with the infusion of spirit through and through the very tissues of your being! May your expressive passion, creative intensity of feeling and high awareness of the interconnectedness of all things be strong and flowing.
If we are to realize the beauty of the fourth ascent, when “all over the universe we have finished a day of great happiness,” and WE can see that “the whole wide circle of the day was beautiful and green with all fruits growing and all things kind and happy.” then the wholehearted enthusiasm that is the birthright of each and everyone is going to be required!
If you are intrigued by what I share here, and would like to learn my signature system for uniting Jing and Shen and generating wholehearted enthusiasm in your life, I invite you to book a free “Enthusiasm Call” today!
https://HeartMindSessionScheduling.as.me/enthusiasm
Wishing you a blessed summer season in this time of great global awakening.
Matthew
Book your time to learn more about my signature system for uniting Jing and Shen and generating wholehearted enthusiasm in your life! Book a free “Enthusiasm Call” today! https://HeartMindSessionScheduling.as.me/enthusiasm
