Smooth Emotions BETTER Health!

"Above all else, calmness is the most important thing."        - Master Feeman Ong

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) there are 2 things to look at when we speak of living a healthy life. External influences and internal ones. The TCM view is that sickness is brought about by these two things. Traditionally external is looked at first and internal second. External being those things in our environment, lifestyle, diet, exercise, etc. Internal being our mindset and emotional state.

Both of these things can bring about drastic changes in our health and wellness. Today we'll be covering internal influences. Particularly the problems stemming from excess//unbalanced emotions and correct attitudes toward life which can deter these problems altogether. This of course includes meditation so I'll be following up this post with the most important attributes to all meditation practices.

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"Most sickness comes from the mind"
-Master Lee

Some words of caution. In TCM emotions are directly linked to organ function in the body, therefore, I want to start by outlining Master Ong's take on emotions and the potential problems they may cause either directly in the body or indirectly by taking action while in that emotional state.

• Worry:
  • Worry is the first emotion to look out for it has the potential to interrupt your sleep, negatively influence your eating habits and muddles your thinking... primarily affects Spleen and Stomach
• Anger:
  • Anger causes similar symptoms as worry but also projects your problems outward onto others and causes more pain, inflammation, tension and similar problems in the body, in TCM it is said anger causes the Chi to rise and act chaotically... primarily affects Liver and Gall Bladder
• Sadness:
  • Sadness is held to be the worst of the three because while sad and depressed the mind constantly tortures oneself, so in the end all your good thoughts are undermined by your sad demeanor. Sadness is said to cause the Chi to malfunction in its duties... primarily affects Heart, Small Intestines, Pericardium, Sanjiao, and the Shen or 'spirit'

Out smarting your emotions!

Life will always have ups and downs, it's our outlook and attitude that makes the difference. Difficulty cannot be avoided, circumstance, hardships, death and failure cannot be erased. In short we will always be faced with hardships and the emotions that go along with them. Feeling and acknowledging your emotional state is very important and indeed the first step toward living an upright and great life. There is an old Chinese proverb that says...

"Sit under a bitter tasting tree, play the guitar to be happy."

Basically it means find and do what makes you happy in times of hardship. That being said it is important to distinguish destructive desires from healthy habits or disciplines. It didn't say "sit under bitter tasting tree and drink a bottle of wine." Another thing implied by the saying is bring value to others, playing the guitar brings music and joy to others. In finding our personal happiness we are able to then share and expand that joy to others.

Having this attitude of seeking happiness is the first step and it will allow you to overcome problems quicker. Some things are harder to overcome such as a death in the family, but remembering the good times and facing reality by doing what makes you happy will help you reach calmness.

Finding happiness is important and I urge everyone to take the time to keep a journal and really explore the depths of your mind to find your true happiness. That being said it is important to use happy things as a tools to reach calmness, not to get lost in our pursuit of happiness and in turn lose our spirit and minds. This leads to our next segment... To weather the storm of life our mind must be trained, this is the importance of attitude and meditation.

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Master Feeman Ong's 4 Pillars to Training the Mind

1. Kindness: establish a mindset to live without harming anyone or anything
2. Conservative​: not in the political sense but be conservative in food, money, sleep... Don't eat, spend, or sleep too much... Replenish and relax, make our life happy not miserable! 
   "Caution is the best self protection in life... When things are going well for you you should remember that it will not last forever" -Master Lau Pui Chung
3. Peace of/in Mind: The better your relationships are the more relaxed the mind is. Hold peace in your mind and act in a way that holds your peace of mind.
4. Quiet: Every day take time to relax your body and mind, meditate.

Followup post on Meditation