Physical challenges caused by heat combining with humidity came up recently. In places where humidity is high on a hot summer day, the air feels stagnant. The excess moisture combined with warmth makes one feel sluggish.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, damp heat means dampness obstructing the energy flow, trapping heat in the body causing digestive and skin issues. When I experienced damp heat from a recent trip, everything tasted bitter.
Influenced by Ayurveda, I see damp heat as imbalance of the water and fire element. Water represents the ability to be flexible with changes, and fire represents the ability to digest our experiences so that we can act accordingly.
Spiritually, when our awareness expands and our system takes in high frequency light, the body needs to adapt. The “damp heat” symptoms I experienced were indications that my body was restructuring.
Labels we have for symptoms or problems often carry a lot of weight. When we are open to diverse perspectives, we do not lock ourselves into black-and-white thinking. Integrating wisdom from different views allows for creative solutions.
For a few years, I had felt that my former career was no longer right for me, but my next step was unclear. One winter day, water started to drip from the ceiling of my bathroom. A contractor made repairs, but the roof leak continued.
When I went to a retreat later and saw water leak in the cabin where I stayed, it got my attention. The water leak that had “followed me” felt like the Universe was showing me I needed to face something that I had been avoiding.
I worked through the fear about my future at the retreat. When I came home, I was relieved that the roof leak in my house stopped without further intervention. That roof also passed inspection when I sold the house years later.
That taught me how the condition of a house can reflect the state of its inhabitants. I have noticed similar phenomena in various cases. Seemingly unrelated phenomena share common causes, and we must be open to see.
A young mother told me mold “followed her family” from California to Hawaii. Mold in a living space is caused by dampness. Her story made me wonder if the outer environment was reflecting the family’s inner landscape.
In Ayurveda, water represents fluidity with emotions. To me excess moisture in a space mirrors emotions that haven’t yet found healthy expressions.
Our conversation started with how she felt stuck seeing her husband trying to make a decision on his next career move. They have changed jobs and moved cities in the last two years. Opportunities didn’t pan out or got delayed.
In situations like this, I see people at the crossroad. The bigger version of us tries to emerge, but the small self wants to stay with the familiar. Choices made by the small self lead to chain reactions prolonging distress.
We often endure the internal turmoil until it manifests into physical challenges, such as a disease or hazard in our home. If we only focus on the problems at the surface, we might miss the lesson.
Life has a way to keep presenting the same lesson in different forms until we are ready to listen.
As the young mother and I went deeper, she attributed challenges in her family to generational traumas. That felt true, and I also notice that many of us are so focused on ancestral traumas that we forget the great gifts from our ancestors.
Freedom from life’s limitations comes from embracing the gifts that are here. When we focus on past traumas, it is harder to notice the good in life. We can spend years healing traumas and overlook the gifts we are here to inherit.
If making peace with ourselves is part of the solution for a healthy body and home, I can’t help but wonder how befriending our thoughts and emotions can support the health of the Earth, which is the home of humanity.
The human body is about 50 to 70% water, depending on the individual. About 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. If water plays such a big role in our lives, the quality of water must be inherently ours.
When I think of the state change of water from gas, liquid to solid, I see that reflected in our adaptability. A river may seem gentle, but it can polish and reshape rocks. Lao Tzu had a beautiful quote about the power of water:
“Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than water. Yet nothing surpasses it in overcoming the hard and strong.”
May you feel the connection with water, letting it support you to navigate through obstacles that seem too hard to overcome. In certain traditions, water is revered as sacred and it brings wisdom to all our relationships.
With Love,
I help clients regain vitality,
transcend limitations, and
own their divine presence.