Four Directions

 Four Directions

Shifu Andrew Miles

Qi raises, descends, enters and exits.


The way of nature is to balance the four directions and the way to unbalance is to go against this natural equilibrium.

Within the human body if energy is stuck you must first move it out before new energy can come in.  If you tonify (add energy) into an excess condition it will make the condition far worse.  The first step is to release the stuck energy and draw in fresh qi.  Often people have a common cold and take ginseng.  This is rarely the correct thing to do.  The cold is often due to inefficiency rather that simple weakness.  Adding ginseng in this case is exactly like throwing money into a poor investment.  If the body process is efficient, but low on resources, then ginseng is very useful.

A business that is inefficient will lose money.  If the answer is to invest a large amount of money into an unbalanced process the result will be waste.  The right thing to do in this scenario is to review the system and let go of any processes that create waste.  After this has been achieved money will easily flow into the company.  A company may be growing quickly as money travels outward.  This is the equivalent of using ma huang (herba ephedra )or causing sweating within the body.  The energy goes upward and outward.  If you do this too much the interior becomes weak.  Within business these fast growth markets burst.  A company may shrink and become more profitable or grow and become less.  The key is balancing the four directions.  All companies have wasted effort, just like every human body also wastes effort.  They key is to study the laws of nature and change to achieve a greater degree of grace and efficiency.

 
In combat there is offense, defense, rising and sinking.  If I go forward and the opponent goes forward and we become locked up we lose flow.  At this stage we may both expend great effort which will be wasted.  If I release the power, I can regain flow and easily change their direction to achieve victory.  Rising I can defend and sinking I can attack. 

A person's nature may be introverted or extroverted and their spirits may be high or low.  A person with a large ego may be uprooted by praise.  This is why praise should be reserved for those with low spirits while criticism best serves those who are feeling pride.  Neither pride nor lowliness are good, the only goodness is a balance between the two. If you feel that you are outgoing and in high spirits, make a conscious effort to have time alone and be still.  In this way you won't burn out.  If you have been alone and in low spirits, get out and focus on other people.  In this way the four directions can achieve harmony.

Qi can go to ones head and get stuck leading to narcissism, leaving the interior bankrupt.  Self destructive behavior eventually brings people down.

Qi can go down when people get depressed and get stuck.  Self cutting is the body attempting to move qi out through the blood.  In these cases the liver is treated as wood is the transition upward between yin and yang. 

Within every endeavor human face we may rise, fall, take and give.  Everything depends upon this balance.