Small Intestine Constellation

Active Time: 1-3pm
Element: fire
Fundamental Principle: yang
Season: summer

This is the third installment on the meridians used in my Inner Constellation work. The first article was entitled Spleen Constellation and the second, Heart Constellation. Today I'll highlight Small Intestine (SI) meridian. The small intestine separates the pure from the impure in regards to food, liquids, thoughts and beliefs. When the small intestine is healthy it's said to recognize and extract goodness from even the nastiest of environments or situations. I think of the SI meridian as the alchemy stream, where one can gain insight on extracting gold from dross.

Imbalances in SI meridian show up as disorders of the ears, eyes, throat, digestive system, habits of over eating, as well as certain mental illnesses. As much as ninety-five percent of the brain's mood regulating chemical, serotonin, is contained in the small intestine. It makes sense that we tend to feel strong emotions like fear and excitement deep in our gut.

SI meridian outline from etouchforhealth.com

SI meridian is a yang meridian associated with the element of fire and most active during the hours of 1-3pm. For a quick boost during this prime time it can be tapped most easily at SI-3, located along the outside edge of your palm. Give this area a few solid thumps with the fingertips of your opposite hand. SI-3 is also referred to as the Karate Chop point. It's the meaty part of your palm where you might "hi-ya!" a board if you felt so inclined :) You can also trace the SI meridian as part of a daily routine, beginning on the outside of your pinky finger and proceeding staight up the arm to the shoulder, dropping back on the scapula, across your neck and up to the checkbone to end at the opening of the ear.

SI-3 (Karate Chop) is the point used whenever one begins a tapping algorithm and is the point tapped when stating the set-up statement which defines the target for treatment. It's a vital point for literally tapping into the gut, seat of emotions and storehouse for the "feel good" chemical. SI-3 is a wonderful emergency point when someone feels overwhelmed. I've seen this point produce an immediate tranquilizing effect.

You might be noticing a method to my meridian tracing madness: Spleen Constellation (9-11a), traces to armpit, where Heart Constellation (11a-1p) then begins and traces to the pinky finger which is where Small Intestine (1-3p) Constellation begins. Connect your beautiful dots back through the articles if you need a refresher. Also, if you wish to shoot ahead, here's a link to a wonderful example of a YouTube Meridian Trace, beginning with Spleen, proceeding to Heart and Small Intestine and tracing the remaining nine meridians. For now, however, we're half-way through the day; next, the evening hours. TTFN.

Heart Constellation

Active Time:  11am-1pm
Element: fire
Fundamental Principle: yin
Season: summer

This is the second installment on the meridians used in my Inner Constellation work. The first article was on the Spleen Meridian. The week celebrating Valentine's Day seems the perfect opportunity to highlight the Heart (HT) Meridian. Interestingly, HT meridian consists of three branches. One travels to the small intestine, another runs upward past the tongue to just under the eye and the third branch crosses the chest and travels down the arm to end at the inside nail bed of the pinky finger. The heart is called "king" of all the organs and governs blood and pulse in addition to mind and spirit. The heart contains its own intelligence, with an electromagnetic current 45-70 times the amplitude of the brain. Our heart rhythms influence the brain waves of those within 8 feet of our center. Imbalances in HT meridian can often present as heart problems and symptoms such as dry throat, heart pain, palpitations, excessive thirst, pain in chest and forearm, yellow eyes and insomnia.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Heart meridian is a yin meridian associated with the element of fire and most active during the hours of 11am-1pm. This is an optimal time to work on HT meridian as part of a daily maintenance routine. For a quick boost it can be accessed at its end point, HT-9, located at the inside nail bed of the pinky finger. Tap on HT-9 for about seven seconds or consider tracing the Heart meridian in its entirety. The Heart constellation is a very easy path to trace--start at your armpit and follow down the medial or inner arm and off your little finger (palm facing up).

I often include HT meridian in algorithms I design targeting physical pain, speech impediments, circulation, insomnia, anger, grief or when releasing and letting go of something that no longer serves. Consider giving Heart meridian a little extra love this week for an especially happy and healthy Valentine's Day.

Spleen Constellation

Active Time:  9-11 am
Element: earth
Fundamental Principle: yin
Season: late summer

For the months of February and March, I'm making a commitment to IC blog readers to offer clear, concise articles on each of the 12 major meridians that are accessed in my Inner Constellation work. We'll be starting with Spleen  meridian. Spleen is a vital immune organ and digestive meridian. It's responsible for transforming food and drink into body fluids, blood and Qi (life force). Spleen is also believed to govern the quality of our thoughts. Some symptoms of imbalance in the Spleen meridian include digestive problems, asthma, bleeding disorders, menstrual discomfort, stiff, swollen or weak limbs, allergies, extreme pensiveness and mental confusion.

World Health Organization
Standard Acupuncture Point

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Spleen meridian is a yin meridian, associated with the nurturing element of earth and most active between the hours of 9-11am. I like accessing Spleen meridian during these morning hours as part of daily Spleen hygiene. For a quick boost, it can be accessed at its end point, SP-21, about 2 hand widths from the concave of the armpit (sixth intercostal space--shown in picture). Tap this spot with finger tips or flat of hand or pressure SP-21 for about 7 seconds. If you have a few extra seconds, consider tracing the SP meridian. Imagine the paths I'm about to describe as invisible lines connecting constellation points in the night sky. Begin at your big toes (SP-1) and move up the insides of both feet and inner ankles. Continue to climb your inside calves and thighs to the pelvis and alongside the outer part of both breasts to end at the underarms (SP-21 mentioned above). Remember the meridians are bi-lateral and are best treated on both sides of the body.

I include SP meridian whenever I construct tailored algorithms for my clients in the following areas: trauma, physical pain, digestion, shame, phobias, anxiety, depression, frustration and addictions. SP-21 is the sole IC point when addressing peak performance and installing positive beliefs.

Hope the tips for working with Spleen meridian prove helpful. Consider tapping SP-21 or tracing the Spleen constellation in its entirety during the morning hours, or contact me regarding a tailored algorithm in the event SP meridian needs some extra attention. Happy tapping!

A Brave Young Woman is Cancer Free!!!

Hello Dear I.C. peeps. I heard the best possible news today--a friend's daughter is cancer free! After many months of treatment she has been given a clean bill of health. The story of this brave young woman correlates perfectly with a notion I've been tossing around of late: the act of transforming the hard knocks life presents. How do we take a devastating situation and turn it toward the good?

My friend's daughter is the perfect example of becoming a "transformer." As part of her Gold Award for Girl Scouts she spearheaded the purchase of over 60 teddy bears for kids receiving cancer treatments at her hospital. She wrapped each one, attached a personal note and delivered them during her most recent visit. She transformed her own cancer experience by bringing joy and hope in the form of  a cool bear for others to hang onto during their treatments. She became a light to others by giving voice to what she was in the process of overcoming.

I remember a dream I experienced, one time when I was going through a particularly hard time. Wise words were spoken to me, and I woke with renewed hope:

"Everything, no matter how devastating, has the ability to be transformed."

The above notion follows two of the Inner Constellation truths:

1) Everything is energy
2) Energy constantly changes form

What in our lives needs transformation? And then, once the areas are pinpointed, how do we do it? Use the young woman above as a model, perhaps do a significant act and become a "transformer"--change the energy, shift it, write a new story: A Brave Young Woman is Cancer Free!!!

Exercising Freedom as an Act of Resistance

Don’t know if you all have been keeping tabs on the protests in Egypt. This Wednesday, January 25, marked the one year start of the revolution that overthrew the country's president and his corrupt regime. Last year, the protesters marched with the slogan, “Down with, down with, Hosni Mubarek.” This week, they repeated a similar cadence but voiced a different demand, “Down with, down with military governance.”  Hundreds of thousands of marchers descended on Tahrir Square, in Cairo, a surprising majority women, who, just weeks before, had been beaten, violated and shamed by the current government’s army. They were back in an unprecedented display, demanding their voices be heard.  The women of the Middle East are my present metaphor for freedom beyond the physical, beyond what can be desecrated and even destroyed. When I watch the Egyptian people, I recognize their North Stars as "freedom", I see them Chart their Courses through their acts of protest and I acknowledge their Arrivals—all in spite of the atrocities they experience, for there is a more enduring Inner Constellation lighting the way. 

Joan of Arc (January’s Freedom Series Heroine) accessed this Inner Constellation as did all individuals highlighted in the Freedom Series posts. How might we be inspired this week to access a state of inner freedom in spite of outside limitations? Sometimes to protest, as the people of the Middle East so bravely do, is the equivalent of carrying a torch of hope. I think of the sonnet by Emma Lazarus (1849-1887), engraved on the Statue of Liberty:

"Liberty" by uploathe at DeviantArt.com

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles....
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Exercising Freedom by Following One's Inner Compass

AAAARRRRGGGG! It's been almost two weeks since writing a blog article! I apologize, never has it been so long. A loved one had fairly extensive surgery, and I was focused on his comfort. Good news is--tapping came to the rescue once again. My charge is doing fantastic and he attributes his quick recovery to the meridian tapping :) OK, so I bit off a huge bite in my last article, saying the month of January would address "freedom" as a North Star. We discussed my favorite seeker of freedom, Joan of Arc, last article, and this week we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. So, I was thinking, why not highlight these two stellar examples of freedom exercised at its finest.

To me, one definition of living free means to follow one's inner voice. Joan did this par excellent, even when her internal compass went against the authority of her age--the Church. MLK is another such person recently honored for his persistent voice of freedom in the face of social injustice. His internal compass of equal rights for all was perhaps best expressed in his "I have a Dream," speech. Both Joan and MLK maintained their personal visions even when they were not yet reality. For MLK equal rights would be another twenty years in coming after his death, and interestingly, for Joan, the same span of years would pass after her burning before her people were free from English occupation.

For both MLK and Joan, living free was first perfected on the inside. If you were to live free and follow your inner compass what would life look like? My wish for myself and others is inner freedom regardless of circumstances and the exercising of our dreams until they become reality. In the closing words of MLK, "Free at last, free at last, thank God, Almighty, we are free at last!"

Happy Birthday Joan of Arc!

Yesterday, January 6, was Joan of Arc's birthday. She was born exactly 600 years ago in the year 1412. As I slacked on the blog post (sorry yesterday was crazy), the country of France wildly celebrated Joan's birthday anniversary. If you're up for a bit of a history lesson, check out my Joan of Arc website where you can take a journey through images of France and get a feel for her accomplishments. If you wish to read an engaging first-person account of Joan from a mystic's perspective, check out my ebook on Amazon or my website devoted to my Joan writings. This exceptional girl has been a strong influence in my personal and professional Inner Constellation work and here's why:

1) Joan valued personal freedom above all else ('freedom' was her North Star)
2) She identified anything encroaching upon this basic human right and overcame it (i.e. foreign invaders entering her country)

I decided to highlight Joan in this month's Freedom Series and as January unfolds, explore her North Star--that of freedom. Here are some questions I'll be considering, great ones for the new year, 2012:

1) What does it mean to be free both in actuality and symbolically?
2) How do we identify and knock down obstacles to complete freedom?
3) What does it mean to be strongly rooted in the North Star of freedom in spite of opposition?
4) In what ways is Joan's North Star continuing to shine around the globe, especially in places like the Middle East and countries continuing to fight for this most basic of human rights?

Whew, that should keep me busy! I would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you were born, like Joan, in a country fighting to keep the North Star of freedom shining.