Feng Shui Articles

by Suzee Miller Feng Shui Master®

The Destructive Cycle of the Five Elements

A New Perspective Sheds Light on a Dark Subject in the Mountains

by Suzee Miller, Feng Shui Master®

I am losing an 800+ yr old tree (one of the rarest and oldest trees on the mountain in Lake Arrowhead, California), and many 300 yr old trees as well. It's been devastating to watch, and the loss breaks my heart. I cried for days when my trees were attacked by the "bark beetle," then while out on a walk last week, I had an AWESOME epiphany. As I was walking through the woods near my home last week, in horror of thousands of dead and dying trees, I asked God and the Universe to share with me what I needed to learn from the land (as Feng Shui is an earth art and earth science). Almost like magic, in less than a minute, I found the answer in grains of falling sand. Nearby, "weightless" earth started to slide down a slope, washing away the decaying roots of another dying tree. As I looked around, I was shocked to see hundreds of trees sandwiched together on this mountain top. I had taken the same journey on the same path as many times as there were trees, and NEVER once did I notice how prolific the imbalance in nature was.. until then.

In Feng Shui, there are five elements: FIRE, EARTH, METAL, WATER, and WOOD. A "destructive cycle" exists when one or more of the elements DOMINATE the others (i.e. "too much"). FIRE burns METAL, METAL chops WOOD, too much WOOD depletes the EARTH, EARTH damns WATER and too much WATER puts out FIRE. At that moment in the forest, it was so obvious to me what was happening - all I needed to do was open my eyes and see. We were, have been, and are in the midst of a destructive cycle with WOOD sucking all the nutrients from the EARTH.

When I saw the destructive cycle, my anxiety and anger disappeared. I realized that it wasn't the bark beetle that was injuring us, in fact, just the opposite was true. Nature, in her gentle and pervasive way, has been space clearing the forests to bring man and earth back into balance. In essence, we've been living in the heart of the largest and most spectacular forest fire on the planet (as animals and insects represent the "FIRE" element). So, what's happening to us in California is anything but a tragedy. On the contrary, in her most magnanimous and gracious way, MOTHER NATURE has been sending in troops of warring soldiers, BILLIONS of bark beetles, to set the forests ablaze... without injuring one life or home in the process. All this and more nature has done to bring us back into harmony and balance with our environment. This is... AMAZING GRACE.

From a Feng Shui perspective, there are only two ways to correct the WOOD imbalance we are experiencing in the mountains and in many other areas of the world right now. The first is what nature is doing on her own with the bark beetle, it's called the "REDUCTIVE" cycle. Another way to use this cycle is with the element FIRE itself, for when fire dies out it creates ash which replenishes the earth. Also, with skill, we can employ the DESTRUCTIVE CYCLE in a positive way, which we are also currently experiencing on the mountain with all the felling trees, where METAL (saws) chop or destroy WOOD.

Feng Shui is not superstition, philosophy, or a religion - it is the art and science of living in harmony with the environment. Literally translated, Feng Shui (pronounced “Fung Schway”) means wind and water, and represents the invisible and visible forces in nature. For example we cannot see wind but we also cannot discount it's presence either, for we can witness the evidence of it by the blowing leaves on a tree. The Chinese call this dynamic Ch'i... and in our Western world we refer to it as ENERGY. The goal of good Feng Shui is to bring man and woman into balance with the visible and invisible energy in our environment. If you are a skeptic, then you might want to consider this: At the subatomic level, our human bodies are 100% Feng Shui! For without FENG..WIND/breath, we would die within minutes, and because the human body is approximately 60% water, without SHUI..WATER, we would die within days.

Thus our goal, as global citizens, is to help the earth and planet heal, and return our environment to the "PRODUCTIVE" cycle of energy in nature, where all the elements are balance (i.e. FIRE creates EARTH, EARTH create METAL, METAL produces WATER, WATER feeds WOOD and WOOD fuels FIRE). Thus, the last thing you want to do in the mountains right now, or anywhere that there is drought, is to plant another tree! You can however add colorful flowers, small shrubs and ground cover to help contain, beautify and nurture the earth.

Unlike our Western world, that sees itself separate from nature, the Chinese have known for centuries that we are ONE with nature. And, because we live in a holographic universe, when nature is out of balance, our inner and outer lives are also out of balance. At it's purest level, Feng Shui is the study of quantum physics, the flow of organ inc and inorganic energy and the interconnectedness of everything in the Universe, including our thoughts, feelings and actions. Thus, at the quantum level, a bark beetle flapping it's wings to find it's next Pine in Lake Arrowhead, has the power to cause a tidal wave reaction in the Middle East and vice versa...

Thus, in the illusion of devastation in our forests and in countries around the world, I invite you to join the global community of conscious citizens by living life mindfully and gratefully with Feng Shui.

In peace, balance and ONENESS with the Earth,

Suzee

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