People talk about being “in the flow” when they are creating. When they’re not, they use words like “stuck”, “blocked”, and “distracted”. Does any of those sound familiar? Is there a creative approach to qi through the five elements?
They don’t just apply to visual artists, dancers, musicians, and theatre people. The concept of creativity is much bigger than that. Making lunch, arranging your living room, ordering your bookshelves, deciding what to wear, and writing an email. These all can have an art to them, a flow. It’s more often how you do something than what you do.
In the past several decades, quite a few useful books and experts on the subject of flow have come into the general zeitgeist. However, it is important to remember this idea of flow has been around for centuries. In the medicine I practice, it’s called “a smooth flow of qi”. One way of describing this flow of qi is by using the Five Phase / Five Element paradigm or wǔxíng. Most notably recorded in the Huang Di Nei Jing (the Inner Cannon of the Yellow Emperor), a classic text compiled in 475-221 BC and still used today in acupuncture and herbal medicine schools all over the world.
Five Phase / Five Element paradigm or wǔxíng
The wǔxíng is grounded in the flow of nature from winter to spring to summer to late summer harvest to fall. Each has associations with different sounds, odours, tastes, smells, colours, organs, areas of the body, emotions, movements, etc.
In following the cycle of the seasons in an internal fashion, we can discover where the blockages to flow exist in our bodies, minds, and hearts. Subsequently, we can begin to learn how to shift them back into an easier flow-like state.
This cycle is best visualised if you think about an oak tree, which moves through being an acorn underground, a seedling, a fully grown tree, bearing fruit (acorns), and shedding leaves when dormancy sets in for winter.
The parallel in the creative process is as follows: the blank page, the creative spark and execution, the completion of the creative endeavour, the harvesting of the results and people’s reactions to it, the assessment of what worked and the letting go of what didn’t.
When we get stuck, it can be in any one of those phases, resulting in fear, frustration, lack of joy, isolation, inability to accept praise, harsh self-criticism, and myriad other responses. I will talk more about this in my upcoming master’s class for Content College in May.
Learn to shift our bodies and emotions
The good news is that we can learn to shift our bodies and emotions to overcome these blocks. We can then get on with the work of being creative. These are the skills I teach my acupuncture patients, my Distance Mind Body Integration clients, my students, and my teenager. In truth, all I’m really doing is reminding people to respond to life the way they did when they were small. If a kid falls and skins their knee, they cry while it hurts, get a band-aid and move on. If you ask them about it later, they want to show you their “cool band-aid” and drag you off to see what they’re doing now. We all used to be that way. We are born with a “smooth flow of qi”. Wouldn’t it be fun to get that back? I’m here to help you remember what you already know.
About the Author Dr Janice Campbell
Janice is a creative, nonlinear thinker who has a superpower for acknowledging the unspoken and transforming it into assets, skills, and opportunities.
She does this in many ways, both in person and online. Her magic is best viewed in total on her new all-in-one website, Dr Janice Campbell. Regardless of which way you engage with her, Janice’s overall mission is to call us all back to our humanity through emotional body awareness, greater storytelling, and creative community building. Her Distance Mind Body Integration sessions are perfect for individuals and groups alike.
As she says, “Life is too short not to be having a good time – and if the process of getting there isn’t as rewarding as the final product, I haven’t done my job.”
Janice was our Wisdom Whispers host for our theme of Creativity. We learned so much from her about the 5 Phases of Creativity. We had a close experiential look at the ancient cycle that flows through the seasons, our creative pursuits, and our bodies, minds, and hearts. This was her lovely Wisdom Whispers session with the Wisdom Seekers.
Janice is also a valued member of the Wisdom Seekers. She has shared an extra special set of practices for each of the 5 elements that are included with your Wisdom Seekers membership.
Through a series of engaging short resets, Janice Campbell will lead you on a short, mesmerising exploration of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal—the fundamental elements that weave through our existence. Each element holds a unique energy and significance, influencing our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Join the Wisdom Seekers Society to experience these for yourself.