{"id":1599,"date":"2018-02-17T20:05:26","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T02:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/?p=1599"},"modified":"2018-02-17T20:05:26","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T02:05:26","slug":"nourishing-loyalty-qi-of-the-yang-earth-dog-wu-xu-%e6%88%8a-%e6%88%8c-year-2018-4716","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/?p=1599","title":{"rendered":"Nourishing Loyalty\u2014Q\u00ec of the Yang Earth Dog W\u00f9 X\u016b \u620a \u620c\u2014Year 2018\/4716"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Lunar New Year, below is an article\u00a0from Tiger’s Play Astrology to illustrate the upcoming Year of Dog would be a\u00a0year of fairness and equality!!!!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u200b<\/span>VIEW\u2014FREEDOM and FATE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Astrology, \u661f\u547d\u5bb6, and Geomancy, \u98a8\u6c34, are two premier subjects of the Chinese Traditional Mantic Arts. \u00a0Their development in China over the last 2,500 years continues a tradition whose history is incalculable.\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nAccording to Chinese Astrology, human beings are a compound of Character, \u6027, Nature, \u9053\u5fb7, and Fate, \u547d. \u00a0Nature, the world, and human beings are a single interconnected, on-going cyclical pattern of self-arising and self-resolving movement called \u201cTime.\u201d\u00a0 Due to Time\u2019s cyclical and repetitive nature (like the changing of day to night \/ night to day and the alternation of the 4 seasons), it becomes possible to name and characterize. \u00a0In Chinese Astrology, the patterned movement of Time is called Q\u00ec, \u6c23.<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nWe characterize Q\u00ec, or Time, by\u00a0<\/span>y\u012bn<\/em>–<\/span>y\u00e1ng<\/em>, the 5 phases, and the 12 animals of the zodiac, a metaphoric language describing the facets and flavors of change itself.\u00a0 The real nature of our experience is a constantly unfolding, non-solidified, un-abiding movement of Q\u00ec.\u00a0 The profundity of Chinese Astrology is found in the direct experience that everything is compound and in a constant process of change, \u6613.\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn human beings, these qualities compound during birth to create what we call \u201cQ\u00ec Character.\u201d \u00a0In each moment, the universe exudes a certain pattern, and when you are born, you emerge as a living, embodied expression of that pattern.\u00a0 The pattern of the universe, patterns you.\u00a0 Our Q\u00ec Character does not dissolve until death and therefore constitutes our basic \u201ccapacity\u201d to resolve Fate in this lifetime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fate is the predispositions we inherit from our many past lives and Ancestors, \u5b97, to re-create and solidify karmic patterns.\u00a0 As Liu Ming once said, \u201cFate\u2019s most bitter edge is the apparently \u2018un-learnable\u2019 lesson \u2013 repeated inauspicious conduct. \u00a0We have all probably said: \u2018I can\u2019t believe I did that again!\u2019 \u00a0Freedom\u2019s worthless edge is sloth. \u00a0Squandering freedom is common.\u00a0 Most of us spend most of our time in the vagaries in between.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because we are a compound of patterns in flux, we have no permanent or abiding self, for a permanent self could not interact with an impermanent flux.\u00a0 Our Original Nature is neither fixed nor unchanging.\u00a0 Our nature is Freedom, the freedom of light to move within space unimpeded, creating the appearance of solidity. \u00a0Our Nature is Pristine Awareness, fundamentally empty, \u7a7a, and therefore free to manifest or project an apparent “world.” \u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nThis freedom, what Buddhists call Emptiness,\u00a0<\/span>\u015a\u016bnyat\u0101,\u00a0<\/em>\u821c\u82e5\u591a, does not manifest chaotically.\u00a0 To the conceptual mind, freedom is chaos,\u00a0<\/span>h\u00fantun<\/em>\u00a0\u991b\u98e9, but because it is chaos, it manifests order, for chaos without order would be meaningless.\u00a0 It does so through rhythms of time, space, and light.\u00a0 The movement quality of time, space, and light create the \u201cappearance\u201d of an abiding \u201cworld\u201d and \u201cself,\u201d subject and object, but upon investigation these appearances are empty projections. \u00a0Their appearance is nothing other than movement, a dream, a vision, a film, a mirage, a phantasm of light that plays out in open space. \u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nFate and freedom interact and alternate.\u00a0 The way we use our freedom can untangle our fate or harden it into tighter knots.\u00a0 According to Chinese Astrology, this untangling process is immanent.\u00a0 All knots are predisposed to untangle.\u00a0 This is the\u00a0<\/span>D\u00e0o<\/em>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>W\u00faw\u00e9i,\u00a0<\/em>\u7121\u70ba.\u00a0 The story we imagine to be a \u201cself\u201d is Nature\u2019s predisposition to manifest in limits that resolve back into Nature without a trace.\u00a0 In this way all animate beings are unborn.\u00a0 Human beings are not IN Nature.\u00a0 They are Nature.\u00a0 This is the\u00a0<\/span>principle of\u00a0<\/span>D\u00e0od\u00e9,\u00a0<\/em>\u9053\u5fb7.<\/span>[1]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Everything that goes out returns. Everything that is compound dissolves.\u00a0Everything that struggles exhausts itself.
\nFollow what is compound back to its Simplicity. Trace what is Moving to its constant Unmoving.
\nFollowing\u00a0and tracing I find No Two. No Two rises to Luminosity and descends to Always-so-of-itself.
\n\u200b\u00a0Always-so-of-itself, what is it? The mirror\u2019s capacity\u2026 We call it Dao. \u2013 Liu Ming\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

NOURISHING LOYALTY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welcome to the Year of the Yang Earth Dog,\u00a0W\u00f9 X\u016b<\/em>\u00a0\u620a \u620c, also known as the Mountain Dog.\u00a0 Be warned\u2014we each have a unique Q\u00ec Character and Fate.\u00a0 Therefore, we digest the year differently.\u00a0 There is no \u201causpicious year.\u201d \u00a0The following is a rough approximation.<\/p>\n

Yang Earth is the Dog\u2019s Native Element, so this is a double Earth year.\u00a0 For the Dog, Yang Earth represents territory.\u00a0 The impulse of Dog Qi surveys and guards the Earth and can traverse territory quickly through explosive movement.\u00a0 The Dog\u2019s keen senses cover the land and go for miles.\u00a0 Yang Earth represents the virtue of support, stability, solidity, and alliance.<\/p>\n

The intensity of the past two Fire-Metal Monkey\/Rooster years, characterized by passion and delusion\u2014enlightenment and clarity, the very heart of alchemical transformation, will stabilize, harmonize, settle, and every insight garnered has the chance to gain maturity and fruition in the grounded and stable image of the Earth Dog.\u00a0 In the cycle of Time, the Dog manifests the Vision of the Rooster and then guards what has been created with great devotion, for better or worse, so in the Pig year we can relax and enjoy the fruition of the 12-year cycle.<\/p>\n

The intense scrutiny of the Fire Rooster has brought us great clarity, insight, and certainty of belief.\u00a0 The Rooster has crowed\u2014the Dog will now follow orders.\u00a0 If you have been waiting for change, action, to move forward\u2014Earth Dog is the Time.\u00a0 This year presents a capacity for action, manifestation, and fruition that has not been present for quite some time.\u00a0 So, look deeply into the past year and ask\u2014what have I learned about the nature of Life?\u00a0 What do I want from life?\u00a0 And most importantly\u2014whom do I care about?<\/p>\n

Fire and Wood are \u201cun-manifest,\u201d invisible, so the past four years have provided little Qi for outer or worldly accomplishment.\u00a0 To have accomplished \u201cworldly\u201d goals would have proved both exhausting and frustrating.\u00a0 While the past four years have lacked manifestation, they have provided a tremendous inner intensity, a journey of self-discovery and transformation, and now is the Time to bring forward that intensity in the form of our most noble aspirations and insights, all that we demand of life, not for ourselves alone, but for those we care about.<\/p>\n

Bring forward these aspirations with caution\u2014the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and if we do not take care, whatever certainty the Rooster has created, the Dog Year will manifest, for better or worse\u2014war, violence, territoriality\u2014all possible in a Dog Year! \u00a0Bring forward your aspiration with the question\u2014how can I support and empower others? \u00a0In the Dog Year, power is wielded not through leadership but from behind the scenes. \u00a0This year is about the cheerleading squad, not the quarterback\u2026follow the leader, but without leaders.<\/p>\n

The Qi Character of the Earth Dog year will bring a powerful sense of social and family value in the form of the wolf-pack.\u00a0 We will be prompted to nourish\u00a0our sense of loyalty and re-value all our relationships.\u00a0 Rooster year offered great reflection in terms of the \u201cpecking order,\u201d social hierarchies, power structures, sexual\/gender\/personal identity\u2014who are we in relation to others?\u00a0 The movement to dismantle oppressive power structures and condemn sexual predation have been very characteristic of a Fire Rooster year; so has been the tendency of those in power to further entrench their beliefs.<\/p>\n

Earth Dog year will provide a wonderful opportunity for the social and political change we are seeking, not through huge public demonstrations (that was Goat year), but through the strength of personal alliance\u2014friendship, family, partnership\u2014small, personal, local, grassroot demonstrations of conduct\u2014how are we to change the world if we cannot change our ourselves, our family, our neighborhood?<\/p>\n

Overall, this is a year of fairness and equality\u2014all controversial issues will be given their due, revolutions may be successful, politics – liberal, and political oppression – opposed.\u00a0 Integrity and honesty can flourish under the Dog\u2019s just influence, that is, if we use our freedom well.<\/p>\n

Our culture is obsessed with dogs, so Dog Qi may be the easiest for us to understand. The greatest virtues of the Dog are subordination, service, and loyalty\u2014think Samurai.\u00a0 Yin behavior when faithful and devoted; Yang behavior when a fierce guardian.\u00a0 If you want to make the best of Dog year, work to strengthen, heal, and solidify your alliances, and do so with altruism, kindness, and inclusivity\u2014welcome everyone into the pack\u2014some sniffing and growling is okay; I know we are all a little guarded after the chaos of the past two years.\u00a0 Do as the bumper sticker says\u2014wag more, bark less.<\/p>\n

Dog Qi functions based on a deep and simple principal of trust.\u00a0 When we meet a dog (the animals) we encounter a defensive territorial stance, so we put out our hand, they sniff; we pet them, offer treats.\u00a0 If their human shows acceptance and lets you into their home, dogs can quickly switch from defensive to slobbering love machines.\u00a0 The Dog\u2019s instinct is to protect no matter what, so it perceives everything as a potential threat to those in its territory.\u00a0 But at its core, Dog Qi is overwhelmingly loving.\u00a0 Dogs alternate from growling to rolling over and showing you their belly.\u00a0 They go from \u201cI can kill you,\u201d to \u201cdo me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Show up for people like your dog shows up for you.\u00a0 You\u2019ve had a rough day; you walk in the door and are met with waging tails and puppy licks\u2014how much does this brighten your day?\u00a0 Imagine friends like this.\u00a0 Who shows up for you?\u00a0 Who is there without you having to ask?\u00a0 Who values you despite your flaws and shortcomings?\u00a0 To whom to will you offer these virtues?<\/p>\n

Make time for people, for family, for dinner dates and quality time, for small gestures of love and loyalty.\u00a0 Ease up on the judgment.\u00a0 Stop double-checking to see if everyone is worthy of loyalty; value yourself and all others as perfectly lovable humans as you\/they are.\u00a0 If they turn out to be jerks, who cares; shake it off like a wet dog.\u00a0 You can be friendly and warm without sacrificing your boundaries.\u00a0 Boundaries are healthy; walls are not.<\/p>\n

Remember a time when someone supported you without reserve\u2014keep this feeling in your heart throughout the year and approach each situation with an open heart.\u00a0 Also, please make time for yourself\u2014every Dog has in them a touch of the lone wolf. \u00a0Dogs are characteristically private and enjoy solitude.\u00a0 Enjoy yourself, but don\u2019t hesitate to reach out; join the pack, or you may be forced to go at it alone.<\/p>\n

Classical Chinese Medicine associates the Dog with the Pericardium, \u5fc3\u5305, which represents social bonding, our capacity to love and be loved.\u00a0 Like the\u00a0X\u012bnb\u0101o<\/em>, the function of the Dog is to protect what is most valuable\u2014our precious Human Heart, \u4ec1\u5fc3.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The Dog exemplifies “trauma informed care.”<\/p>\n

The past two Years have been about Mental Health, taking care of our \u201cinner landscape.\u201d\u00a0 We have been called to honor, understand, and destigmatize mental illness, to open the conversation around anxiety, depression, and the social construct called \u201cmental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year is about social welfare, equity, and equality.\u00a0 The Dog calls us to acknowledge the fact that humans are not meant to go through the world isolated or alone.\u00a0 The Dog loves everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, economic status, or legal documentation.\u00a0 In our culture, work, and social lives, we will be called to befriend, protect, and advocate for all those without support.\u00a0 So, speak up!\u00a0 Bark at injustice!\u00a0 Make the change, implement the policy, and stand firm at the lines that will not be crossed!\u00a0 In our personal lives, we will be called to nourish, heal, and process the deep traumas around our Heart, the ones that keep us from experiencing the true connection we desire.\u00a0 We will be called to let down our walls and let in love.<\/p>\n

The New Year is, traditionally, a time for repentance and forgiveness, so wipe the slate clean; forgive those who\u2019ve wronged you and let go of any judgmental Rooster Qi you\u2019ve been holding onto\u2014happy Dogs don\u2019t hold grudges.\u00a0 The Dog\u2019s ears and keen senses intuit and feel; they listen carefully and closely with the spirit of\u2014how can I help?<\/p>\n

The happy Dog is faithful, loving, loyal, caring, protective, helpful, intuitive, insightful, private, just, expansive, congenial, quiet, and calm under fire.\u00a0 The pathological Dog is territorial, stubborn, argumentative, spiteful, vain, rigid, stingy, critical, and frozen with anxiety.<\/p>\n

Dog Qi most exemplifies the Buddhist\u00a0Bodhisattva<\/em>\u00a0Ideal, so be like\u00a0Gu\u0101ny\u012bn,\u00a0<\/em>the one who hears the cries of suffering throughout the six-realms, whose compassion is limitless.
\n\u200b
\nI wish you the all the best in this New Year and hope you find true loyalty and devotion in your Heart.<\/p>\n

Every harmful action I have done<\/em>
\nWith my body, speech, and mind
\nOverwhelmed by\u00a0attachment,\u00a0anger\u00a0and confusion,
\nAll these I openly lay bare before you.<\/em>
\nWhile circling through all states of existence,<\/em>
\nMay I become an endless treasure of good qualities–
\nGathering limitless pristine wisdom and positive potential.<\/em>
\nMay all beings have happiness and the cause of happiness.<\/em>
\nMay they be free of suffering and the cause of suffering.<\/p>\n

May all beings remain in boundless equanimity, free from attachment and aversion!<\/em>
\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy Lunar New Year, below is an article\u00a0from Tiger’s Play Astrology to illustrate the upcoming Year of Dog would be a\u00a0year of fairness and equality!!!! \u200bVIEW\u2014FREEDOM and FATE Astrology, \u661f\u547d\u5bb6, and Geomancy, \u98a8\u6c34, are two premier subjects of the Chinese … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[554],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asian-cultures"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1600,"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1599\/revisions\/1600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biculturalhealth.apacommnet.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}