Transformation of Energy or Chi According to Five Phases in Chinese Medicine.
Transformation of Energy or Chi within the Five Phases theory is central to Chinese tradition. Five tastes of pungent, salty, sour, bitter and sweet are used in everyday cooking to affect the flavor of food, and five tones in music makes music sound truly Chinese.
Melting and mixing of colors white, dark blue or black, green, red and yellow are used in transformation of energy if something disagreeable is sensed in the environment.
The Five Phases or Elements of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth are regarded as five features inherent in all living things and should be understood as processes or tendencies in transformation of energy rather than concrete physical manifestations.
The processes express the interdependence and restrain that is evident even in tiniest particles of life. The Five Phases are one with the natural progression toward balancing Yin and Yang, while each phase simultaneously represents its own related functions and qualities.
Nature is intelligent beyond our comprehension in its constant change through the transformation of energies. We can only fathom that within every cell of each living organism is a 'Tao code', which determines the form, function and quality of the cell's unique expression of life.
And that expression when not interfered from its alignment with Tao, is always life giving and harmonious, even in time of decay as beauty 'burns' to ashes and nourishing continues in a new way.
Five Phases within the Human Body.
The cyclic interaction within the body mirrors the interaction of the Five Phases in greater nature. In the practice of Chinese Medicine they are used in diagnosis and treatment.
Metal - Lung/Large intestine - represents autumn, decline but also substance, strength and structure. The color is white, the flavor pungent and the negative emotions are grief and sadness; positive courage, dignity, appropriateness.
Water - Kidney/Urinary bladder. The associated season is Winter when nature is at rest before starting another cycle of growth. The color is black or dark blue, the flavor is salty and the emotion fear or fright, which through the transformation of energy becomes alert stillness and gentleness.
Wood - Liver/Gall Bladder - is associated with Spring and activity, constantly growing and rapidly changing. The color is green, the flavor sour and the negative emotions, when Chi is not flowing naturally, are anger, resentment, jealousy; positive are kindness, forgiveness and assertiveness.
Fire - Heart/Small Intestine and Pericardium/Triple Warmer - is associated with summer. It represents a function which has reached its maximum stage before it begins to decline - Fire is dynamic and moving, brilliant in its activity. The color is red, the flavor bitter and the negative emotions are hate, impatience; when transformed they are love, joy, gratitude, creative enthusiasm, honor, etc.
Earth - Spleen-Pancreas/Stomach - is associated with the harvest time. It is the patient and nourishing mediator, it represents balance and neutrality. The color is yellow, the flavor bland or sweet and the negative emotions are worry and over thinking; positive are fairness and openness - and singing is associated with the free flow of spleen Chi.
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The Five Phases correspond to each other through nourishing and controlling cycles. Metal nourishes Water, Water nourishes Wood, Wood nourishes Fire, Fire nourishes Earth, Earth nourishes Metal.
In the controlling or destructing cycle Metal shapes Wood, Water quells Fire, Wood controls Earth, Fire forms Metal and Earth controls Water.
Each element within the phases relates to the functioning and transformation of energies of the internal organs. It promotes the following element and controls the element across the cycle.
However, if the Chi within an organ function is unbalanced, that organ, not being able to complete the transformation of energy within the natural meridian circuit, may act adversely across the cycle.
For instance, if Chi within the heart is unbalanced it may overact on the lung (since fire controls metal) causing congestion. This results in lack of oxygen, which can lead to a congestive heart failure.
The law for nourishment and control is an important consideration in any treatment plan. “In order to bring the body into harmony one observes and keeps constant the standard of the Five Phases of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal.” - Neijing.
In this constant transformation of energy we could describe Chi as matter OR matter as Chi. Divisions dissolve . . . AHA!. . . Could we correlate this to the ongoing quandary about quantum objects which Einstein described as being light waves OR particles?
"The cosmos itself is an integral whole, a web of inter-related things and events . . . Within this web of relationships and change, any entity can be defined only by its function and has significance only as a part of the whole pattern." - 'The Web That Has No Weaver' by Ted Kapchuk.
When we habitually attune to the unseen, unified dynamics of life we learn to understand the interrelationships or patterns within the web of our wonderful creation.
By doing this we can knowingly assist Mother Nature in her constant transformation of energies and balancing Yin and Yang, not only within our own being but also within the greater cosmos.
Nature is intelligent beyond our comprehension in its constant change through the transformation of energies. We can only fathom that within every cell of each living organism is a 'Tao code', which determines the form, function and quality of the cell's unique expression of life.
In this constant transformation of energy we could describe Chi as matter OR matter as Chi. Divisions dissolve . . . AHA!. . . Could we correlate this to the ongoing quandary about quantum objects which Einstein described as being light waves OR particles? 
