Wild Peace March News: Solstice, Feng Shui and NQA
Great joy to you this Spring Equinox!! (Thursday March 20th at 5:01am EDT), I am struck by the variability of spring:one day sunny, one day stormy, 75 degrees today, 39 degrees tonight, wind, rain,dryness, all five climates showing within a few days and then cycling back again. Headaches, tics, irritation are all signs of the wind and the quickening of energy in springtime.
It’s a good time of year to remember that the irritation we feel may a function of weather rather than “ours.” Consider the positive expressions of the Wood phase: Kindness and Creativity. When irritation shows up, be kind to yourself and see if you can devise a creative response to whatever is irritating you!
In this newsletter:
- Rethinking of the five element emotions
- Feng Shui
- NQA (National Qigong Association) Conference acceptance
- “If” by Rudyard Kipling
A recent confluence of events caused me to look at the Five Element emotions from a different perspective. Jane gave me a set of Tibetan prayer flags in the colors of the five elements. She suggested adding intentions to the flags and explained to me that hanging them during the lunar eclipse was a particularly powerful time to activate them.
This raised two questions:
Firstly, what intentions did I want to inscribe on the flags?
Earlier I had seen a representation of traditional virtues associated with power animals. I was drawn to this idea of the virtues but I couldn’t find the particular image again. So, I started to broaden my thinking. I wondered what would be in harmony with the studio, and with the healing that I hoped, intended, for the people who visit, study, practice, receive healing, etc. within?
It dawned on me that while we frequently look at the negative expression of the 5 element emotions,acknowledging anger, grief, fear, overthinking, and mania as signs of imbalance, we rarely consider the emotional signs of balance, their positive expression. I went back into my notes and materials and came up with the following positive emotions:
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Wood phase: Kindness and Creativity - Fire phase: Love and Enthusiasm
- Earth phase: Compassion and Empathy
- Metal phase: Courage and Strength
- Water phase: Faith and Gentleness
These are the qualities and intentions that are now inscribed on the flags.
Next, I needed to consider where best to hang the flags?
Trina has been helping me re-balance the studio’s energy. The placement of items in and around the studio is critical to creating and maintaining a clear, balanced, harmonious and supportive Qi Chang (energy field.) We’ve cleared the space, placed salt and stones in and around the studio, placed the owl feathers that Tena gifted us, shifted some artwork, moved the kitchen island, added paper blinds, moved the screens, weeded and placed prayer flags around the outdoor area, Ashu has done a special new moon ceremony twice now, and I have burned sage, other herbs, and incense to reset, balance and protect the field. There are a few additional “cures” to consider as the energy settles and takes its newest form.
As Trina felt into the studio’s indoor and outdoor energy, she suggested placing the new flags outside. I found a spot along the path to the studio that felt “right” and, on the day of the lunar eclipse, hung the flags. I sent the image to Trina so we could discuss. She had images of laughing Buddhas and laughter replacing frustration! Since then laughter has been a regular visitor and creative insights are flowing! 
We continue to adjust and clear, and now the challenge is to find or write a procedure for regular maintenance and enhancement of the Qi Chang.
I am so very grateful to everyone who has helped in this transformation of the studio that has brought the energy of much needed laughter into our lives! Thank you!
In other news, I have been selected to be a presenter at this fall’s National Qigong Association‘s annual conference in Richmond, Virginia, September 24-26! The conference theme this year is “Harmony in Motion” and my topic is “The Mystical Zone of Taiji and Qigong.” I am both honored and excited to be participating in the conference!
My acceptance has been a decidedly group effort!! Gene encouraged (read gently pushed) me to apply to the NQA and made sure I didn’t miss the deadline. Rufina, Trina and Jana helped me to rewrite my bio and to own my qualifications. With the acceptance, Rob has helped and created a vibrant 90 second promo video and up-to-date head shot and action photos. Jane and Lorraine have volunteered to help me polish the presentation once it is ready for review! (This will be later in the summer…) This will be a group effort all the way! Thank you so much for your encouragement, support and belief!
With all the craziness going on around us, I am reminded of the importance of staying grounded and centered, and to take care of ourselves! I was reminded of the poem “If…” by Rudyard Kipling. (Note that while it is written to a son, we ladies can simply substitute Woman and Daughter in these days of more equal consideration…)
If—
By Rudyard Kipling
(Originally published in ‘Brother Square-Toes’—Rewards and Fairies)
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Wishing you a most wonderful spring in your dance step! I look forward to seeing you in the studio and online!
Peace, Joy, Love,
Corinne