Love is the way

Renee Lehman

(8/2019) In many previous articles it has been discussed how Natural Laws are followed in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Five Elements, as observed by the ancient Chinese, are felt to be the prime energetic building blocks from which everything in the material world are composed. The Five Elements reflect a deep understanding of natural law, the Universal order underlying all things in our world. It provides a master blueprint that diagrams how nature interacts with the body and how the different dimensions of our being impact each other.

The Five Elements organize all-natural phenomena into five patterns: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. So, every living thing and every person are a unique embodiment and combination of these Five Elements. Together, the Five Elements help us to understand the process of dynamic harmony and balance in the whole system of energy. Therefore, when it comes to our health, if all Five Elements are in balance within us, then we are at a state of optimal health/wellness.

We are currently in the season of summer, which relates to the Fire Element. The universal energy of summer and the Fire Element are most directly aligned with the Heart’s energetic frequency. Fundamental factors that can lead to balanced Heart energy are to empty the mind and to be peaceful inside and out. Our stressful modern-day lives that involve demanding schedules often make it difficult to achieve this state of peacefulness, but it is always possible to bring love and happiness into your being.

Close your eyes. Picture someone or something that you love deeply. Notice how your body responds to that memory. Maybe your face relaxes, your smile widens, your heartbeat slows—your whole body responds. That is love. That feeling is true.

Love is not just in the mind; it has energy and consciousness. Just think about the bible passage:

Corinthians 13: New International Version (NIV)

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Many people have heard this chapter as a reading used at weddings. Yet the chapter is not written to a couple. It is written by Paul to members of a church. These church members have found many ways to imagine themselves as superior to others in the same community: some speak in tongues; some have prophetic powers; some have knowledge that baffles their brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul asserts that even such gifts as these are nothing if those who possess them do not also have love.

Let’s combine a couple of these characteristics of love and apply them to life in general.

For example, "love is patient," together with love is not "rude" or "irritable." Being patient rather than rude and irritable isn’t easy. None of us likes it when our plans are disrupted or delayed. We get frustrated with traffic jams and long lines at the check-out counter at the store. Our natural response is to get impatient and respond rudely to those who’ve been an inconvenience. Let’s be honest: you could say that sometimes we are by nature irritable people! We can be impatient and mean, envious and boastful, arrogant and rude.

So how do we deal with this irritable side of ourselves? The only hope is for us to let go of expectations that we have for our life. For example, we need to let go of the expectation that we will have a trouble-free life with no inconveniences. We need to let go of the belief that others must satisfy my needs and not irritate me. When we let go of these expectations and demands, these are examples of love for self and others.

Another way of interpreting the 1 Corinthians 13 scripture could be:

If I live my life to perfection, doing what is right and good on behalf of others, but act with compulsion and without love, then I am nothing at all.

If I take care of the needs of everybody in the world, especially the poor, because of my own need to help, but am without love even for myself, then I am nothing at all.

If I am efficient and successful in all that I do for the sake of justice, but act out of drivenness and without love, then I am nothing at all.

If I am cultured and refined, and in touch with the pain of existence, but am absent from the pain of persons in the present moment who need my empathy; and if I act without love and compassion, then I am nothing at all.

If I have the gifts of wisdom, insight, and understanding, but am not engaged with those around me in the present moment and am without a spirit of compassion and love, then I am nothing at all.

If I am faithful, loyal, and obedient, and never deviate from the law, but am judgmental and blaming, and am without love, then I am nothing at all.

If I live in a pain-free world of dreams and plans, enjoying optimism and pleasurable options, but am not addressing present problems and am avoiding people in actual distress and am without love, then I am nothing at all.

If I am strong and powerful but lose my best self in a spirit of resentment, retaliation, and vindictiveness, and know nothing of the vulnerability of love, then I am nothing at all.

If I am settled and accommodating, holding onto a sense of distance and calm, but am not journeying inward to know and appreciate my weaknesses and gifts, and am neglecting my own legitimate calling to love myself, then I am nothing at all.

(Original author unknown)

Love is a choice? Love can be warm and fuzzy, it can be found in the discipline of a child by a parent or in a truth spoken between friends. Love is the way!

All your cells have a memory of love, so this energy can be saved as data (the example from the beginning of the article). Memorize it down to your cellular level. Then later, if you feel depressed or stressed, or if something bothers you, sit back, close your eyes, and conjure up that feeling of love.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, each organ has a time of governance throughout the day. Heart time is between 11am and 1pm. Find a few minutes during this time to close your eyes. Bring your feelings of love to the surface and continue to practice feeding your body love. Eventually, with love and a sense of peacefulness, you’ll be able to achieve a higher state of being and deeper level of self-development. You’ll be able to share your gifts with the Universe!

Practice Love!

Renee Lehman is a licensed acupuncturist, physical therapist, with over 30 years of health care experience. Her office is located at 249B York Street in Gettysburg. She can be reached at 717-752-5728.