Element Wisdom

 

 

 

 

Ways to Play Element Wisdom Card Deck™ for one person

Elemental Wisdom Decks™ can be used as support for the individual constitution & current season

• Open, Ground & Contain:  Infuse Intention ~ Arrive and acknowledge the directions & elements. Clear the space with sound or smudging. Invoke Spirit. Invite Universal connectedness. Remember we are the microcosmic cycle within the macrocosmic cycle. Activate the top (vertex) of the head at Governing Vessel Du 20 Bai Hui ~ Gathering of 10,000 things ~ to the heavens. Open the feet at KD 1 (Bubbling Spring) to the Earth tapping into the springs that nourish. Seal the Vessel: Kegel or pelvic lock (mula bandha) (click for instructions https://drsaritaelizabeth.com/happy-summer-solstice/) Handle the deck with focus. Reorder by trusting yourself & the process. Choose or drop a card.
• Constitutional Support ~ Element Wisdom Card decks can be utilized to restore and balance your constitution.  Ask your 5 Element practitioner which constitutional element type you are or take our quiz at www.drsaritaelizabeth.com Choose a card daily, three for a weekend or 7-14 for a week or two of committed wellness practices. These can be used during any season.
• Seasonal Harmony ~ Choose a card daily for an entire season.  Choose a constellation of cards for weekend, a week or weeks as a wellness series. Element wisdom card complement other wellness practices, seasonal cleanses and self care periods.
• Speak it Three Times ~ Arrive in your heart (gratiduce gets you here!).  Speak the message of the card three times during the day. Pause for a moment after speaking.  Scan your body.  What arrives?
• Mandala ~ Create sacred space. Choose 5-8 cards.  Arrange them in a circle within concentric rings of found or precious materials like seasonal fruits/vegetables, flowers, leaves, shells, stones, sticks, feathers, etc.  Choose an elemental center piece:  an earthenware filled with soil/clay, a transparent vase of water, a bell, a wooden bowl, an incense burner. Cards and objects may also be arranged by cardinal directions.
• Journal ~ Consider a daily, mid-week or weekend session of 10 minutes to write (pen & ink) about the card (or series of cards) that you have chosen.  What does the message mean to you? What do you feel in your body when you tune into the message? What sensation do you feel and where do you feel it?  What questions arise when you consider the card? What whisperings of wisdom arise when you reflect on the message of the card?
• Totality of the Seasons ~ Pick one card from each season in the generative cycle order (Sheng Ke). Repeat frequently or as desired to harmonize to natural cycles & rhythms.

1st Wood
2nd Fire
3rd Earth
4th Metal
5th Water

Amplify seasonal selection by incanting the 5 healing sounds, notes or Confucian Chants of Virtue bringing forward our own health & happiness ~ transmitting the deep politeness to our families & practice partners as we follow the way of the universe, the dao, reflecting connectedness, trust, justice, compassion, generosity, respect and love into our human relationships with each other in ritual space.

Click here for Healing Sounds & Confucian Chants to clear negativity and develop virtues of each Seasonal Element in our Cultivating Wellness Blog

listen to the healing sounds here 

8 Ways to Play for 2 or more people

• Pick One. Give One ~ Choose a card for yourself. Choose a card for another: deliver it, mail it, text it, email it.
• Serve the Servers ~ With intention randomly choose cards for errand going. With each service received gift a card in return.
• Re-gift ~ Choose card with intention. Re-gift card to another: text a beloved, share with the coffee barista, give to a stranger, pass to a fellow attendee in a meeting.
• Random Act of Kindness ~  The world can use more kindness.  You are the giver of kindness. Keep a deck of cards in your car, your lady purse or man purse, your messenger bag. Pair a card with a simple gift such as a fresh flower, a cup of coffee, a snack bar. Go ahead, make the world a kinder place.
• Intentional Acts of Connectedness ~  Choose a card for yourself and choose a card for two or more people at the same time.  Close the gap of separation by sharing these messages in a group setting or message while encouraging all participants to reply how the wisdom touches them in this moment. Separation is the untruth; unity is the truth.
• Book Mark ~ Place as book mark for reading; leave in library book marking a passage that was particularly meaning to you upon return.
• Fill the Dish ~ Place a card as a message in a dish or tray that you return to your friends, family or neighbor from the casserole or party tray that was left at your home.
• Choose from the Bowl ~ Place cards in a bowl at the entry to your home for guest to choose one upon entry or exit. Bowl can support constitution or be changed seasonal: glass (water/winter), pottery (earth/transitions), wooden (wood/spring), metal (metal/autumn), fireproof vessel: burn as offerings (fire/summer)

3 Ways to Play with the Group 3-73 people

• Place Cards ~ Set a card as a ‘name plate’ for dinner parties. Set a card at each place setting at shared family meal. The cards can invite a go-around about one way each person was healthy today and one way they can live in more harmony with the seasonal rhythms tomorrow.  Place in gift bags for party favors at birthday parties, celebrations, events, giveaways as inspirations.
• Icebreaker ~  Cards are spread messages up. Each person previews then chooses a card. Collect selected cards. Volunteer or choose participants to speak as to why he/she picked which card & why.
• Trading Places ~ Choose a card for another in the group with whom you connect. Be the messenger. Deliver the wisdom card with grace and ease trusting yourself that you know exactly who needs that message today.  It matters not if you actually know the person.  Connect with the person with extended eye contact with prayer hands over activated heart or hug for at least 40 seconds.  Oxytocin, baby! Oxytocin changes our minds; Loving kindness changes the world.
• Group Mandala ~ Create sacred space. Choose an elemental center piece:  an earthenware filled with soil/clay, a transparent vase of water, a bell, a wooden bowl, an incense burner, holiday or ritual item. Each participant chooses and contributes a card and arranges them around the center. Additional concentric rings of found or precious materials like seasonal fruits/vegetables, flowers, leaves, shells, stones, sticks, feathers form additional rings. Cards and objects may also be arranged by cardinal directions.