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“The three months of summer:
…allow the qì to spill out, as if what you love is on the outside.”
--Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen, ch. 2, trans. Sabine Wilms
Summer is like a dear friend that I get to play with and lean on. Its warmth gives spaciousness and ease. As if in a hammock made of light, I feel held and I can let go. In the sun's cradle I don't have to be anywhere else. It doesn't ask me to leave, to do more, or plan for the next thing. It asks me to be still and receive its warmth. In a dreamy wonder, I let myself spill and connect with what I love.
Central to Chinese medicine philosophy, the body is an expression of celestial patterns.
The patterns and motions of the stars resonate with the body's organs giving them form and function. The stars' patterns—constellations, red dwarf stars, for example—are an edict for the patterns of motion on earth and within the body. The configuration of the stars in the summer resonates with the heart. The heart is considered a sovereign organ, the foundation of life storing shén míng, spirit luminosity. Shén míng is "a special form of illumination that is shared by all living beings. It is a type of light that organizes and brings coherence to life,” says my teacher Dr. Edward Neal. The illumination in our heart is shared with the sky's illumination. There is an open portal with flowing brilliance between us and the stars. It enlightens the body with joy and the natural world's beauty. Laughter is the heart's sound, red is its color, and fire its element. In summer, a glowing laugh echoes through our body's chambers drawing us near to what we love.
Let it spill. Be with your love.
—Paige Barnes
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