The Zen Diarist

Author website of Andrew Marshall

Archives

Categories

How to balance our inner fire

by Leave a Comment

Fire and WaterFire, one of the five elements in Qigong, is particularly strong this year, and even more so in the summer months. Fire governs the heart and circulatory system in our bodies. When it is in balance, the body functions well, but when it is too strong our health can suffer. When we are feeling agitated, irritable or angry, it is often because our inner fire is burning too vigorously. There is too much heat in our system, which can easily damage our heart and circulation.

Fire on the world stage

This year, we have seen many examples of anger and hatred in our towns and cities. On the world stage also, violence in the Middle East conflict has flared out of control. Untold suffering is being created by the thoughts and actions of supposedly intelligent people, but when Fire is too strong, it unbalances minds. Hatred ignites far too easily and intelligence becomes charred remains. But all is not lost.

The antidote to excess fire

The strongest healing power in the universe is love, unconditional love. That is what the world needs and that is what a balanced heart will give out. Fire element is not bad – it helps us to think clearly and to radiate love and joy, healing and nurturing – but it needs to be in balance.

Balancing with water

We cannot change the world directly, but we can help ourselves to find balance. In the summer months, it can be helpful to balance our inner fire by being near water and greenery. We can meditate near water or simply visualise a lake or a waterfall – whatever appeals. Fire can make us overthink or become anxious. Sipping water often can help. Breathe slowly and calmly, then smile. That way, our contribution to world consciousness will be more balanced and soothing, and that is no small thing.

Do less to accomplish more: The Art of Not Doing

Related posts:

  1. Losing those we love, and the search for constancy
  2. Vibration – the key to our wellbeing
  3. Strength: 3 reasons why balance is better than muscle
  4. Motivation: how using Nature’s power can change your life

Vibration – the key to our wellbeing

by Leave a Comment

Vibration affects every second of our lives

Vibration is the key to all life. Everything in the universe, us included, is energy and takes and maintains its form due to vibration. A significant factor for our wellbeing is the effect of the vibration of things around us, and of the people and organisations we associate with. We similarly have a vibrational impact on others and our environment by the way we think, speak and act. To use a modern idiom, each one of us is an influencer, whether we use social media or not.

Vibration to make a difference

Many people can feel the “vibes” or energy a person or place gives off. These may be uplifting, which we could say are positive. A comparatively negative quality, on the other hand, might make us feel uncomfortable or even pull us down. If we want to make a difference to our world, we can. We can do it by aligning or associating ourselves with higher quality energy, and the highest form is love – unconditional, non-judgmental. The universe has an unlimited supply of it – we just have to be open to it. It really is that simple.

The best vibration is the simplest

Simply by being kind and by loving, we raise our own vibration – of our mind, emotions and our entire energy field. That’s all we have to do. When we love, our body heals faster because all our energy channels open up. Loving those around us helps them heal faster, too. When we love unconditionally, we help the world because all tension eases, both in us and around us. Everything responds to love. Whatever our day to day responsibilities, grand or small, spreading “good vibrations” is our role, too. Cheers to that, I say!

Awakening Heart – The Blissful Path to Self-Realisation

Related posts:

  1. Healing energy, the Universe and You
  2. Thoughts: Why we need to think less
  3. Autumn is here – does your body know?
  4. Diet: the Vegans may have landed but don’t lose the feeling

Autumn is here – does your body know?

by 4 Comments

As we head deeper into autumn, we may find that our energy is changing. Nature withdraws and becomes more yin – turning its energy inwards to strengthen and restore. Our bodies, too, need to adapt and change with the seasons. They are part of this world, not separate from it, and so they appreciate the nurturing aspects of the inward turning energy. If we fight that need by becoming more active instead of less, we create strain – and that will weaken the body rather than strengthen it.

Listen to your body because it is listening to you

Please take care of your body and listen to what it needs. Maybe it will not appreciate the cooling foods of summer so much now. Instead, it may relish warmer, moister and a little more unctuous, food more often. Soup, anyone? According to traditional Chinese health advice, and to Ayurvedic understanding, the autumn can be drying on the body. This can particularly affect the lungs, and to some extent the skin. A tendency to a dry cough or some itchiness may be a sign of this. Pears, incidentally, are said to be a very kind fruit for our lungs. Sipping warm water at times throughout the day (or, better, yin-yang water1) can help balance the body, too.

Spirituality includes flesh and bones

Being kind to the body is an important aspect of spirituality. Your body listens to the messages you give it. If we cannot be kind to ourselves, it is difficult to cultivate compassion and kindness for others. Not to be confused with indulgence, this is about living from the heart, fully and completely. Let’s celebrate autumn and indeed every change of season as it comes, and be happy and peaceful. The world needs us to be just that, particularly now.

  1. Yin-yang water is said to be very balancing for the body at any time of year. It is easy to prepare – simply add boiling water to cool or room-temperature water, 50-50. Drink it while it is still warm. Some people like to fill a flask with it to use during the day. ↩

Related posts:

  1. Healing energy, the Universe and You
  2. Longevity: seven secrets of ageing gracefully
  3. Diet: the Vegans may have landed but don’t lose the feeling
  4. Energy circulation: why it is better for health than jogging

Happiness or joy – which is better?

by 4 Comments

Happiness or joy, which is better? Of course we all want to be happy but joy doesn’t get a mention quite so much. Rather like a pleasant tinkling bell, happiness can rise up quickly but can then fade almost as fast, so we have to keep renewing it. Joy is a much deeper affair, like a very large bell whose resonance continues for a long time.

Happiness and joy are both excellent medicines

Happiness is delicious and thoroughly recommended. It is light, tasty and easily digested. It comes in all sorts of flavours and is available right now in your local universe. All we have to do is select it. If we make the choice to be happy now, the delivery is automatic and completely free of charge. We just have to keep our head up and flick our happiness switch. As we smile, the energy channels in the body open more and allow our vital energy, qi, to flow more easily. The more we smile, the more our vitality improves, which is brilliant for health and our sense of wellbeing. The bonus is if another person sees us and smiles in return, their channels open a little too. When we smile with our face and with our heart, the effect can be quite profound.

Appreciation creates joy, and joy heals

Our world is a very beautiful place and if we choose to appreciate what we have and what is around us, we will see that. Even though we are deluged with messages telling us that everything is wrong, we should not rely on news and social media to create a world picture for us.

Balance is essential and each of us has the ability to choose to see what we have in a positive light. Nothing is what it seems and this world has many dimensions, as do we. If we appreciate and are grateful for everything, we will be a friend of the world. We will generate great joy, whose vibration, like the waves from a resounding bell, will travel far and wide. Everything in the universe is energy, and to love, to vibrate joy and happiness are the most wonderful things we can do.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. There are many short articles on this blog and some books available, too. Some guided meditations are still available – they were put together some time ago but they still work!

Related posts:

  1. Motivation: how using Nature’s power can change your life
  2. Something to smile about
  3. Thoughts: Why we need to think less
  4. Healing energy, the Universe and You

Faith in yourself is as easy as letting go

by Leave a Comment


Faith in yourself is an essential ingredient for creating a happy and fulfilled life. It harnesses energy by the bucketload and has the potential to make enormous changes – or none. True faith doesn’t come from anxiously repeating affirmations until the brain gives in but is a mental state embracing the elements of complete trust, relaxation and poise. Intuitively, deep in our bones, we know everything is working out as it should and that nothing can threaten us. We just have to learn to let go.

Faith, waves and the art of eliminating the little me

The biggest threat that we have is not from some outside source but from the belief in something fake – the “little me”. This little me does not ultimately exist but we think and act as though it does. We cling to individuality, yet it is as impermanent as an ice sculpture. Everything in the universe is a play of energy and everything is connected to everything else. We are all part of that play, and it should be fun.

Let’s stop creating disasters

The disasters that humankind keeps propelling itself into come from denying that interconnectedness. Whether as individuals, a group, a sect, or even a nation or culture, our problems come from belief in a permanent individual self. That self will seek out anything that reinforces its delusional independent existence. It is madness and is as ludicrous as a wave on the ocean believing it is a wave, wanting to be bigger and better than all the other waves, when really it – and everything else – is simply water.

The strength of holding onto nothing

Faith is knowing that we are more than that wave. Each of us is a manifestation of, and part and parcel of, the universe. Our true nature is unbounded in every sense but we are so often tricked by the form in the mirror, by our fears, feelings and beliefs. Having faith in ourselves is knowing that all those things are like appearances in a dream. We can continue to hold onto them and perpetuate the dream, or we can safely let go because there is ultimately nothing to cling onto. That’s a very liberating faith.

Thank you to those who occasionally get in touch or comment. It’s always good to hear from you!

Awakening Heart: ebook and paperback

Related posts:

  1. Why freedom and happiness are here now, if we want them to be
  2. Something to smile about
  3. Simplicity – the root cure for all problems?
  4. Looking for light is vital for our future