Emotional Alchemy
Beginning March 12, 2023
This online seasonal course works within the 5-element medicine wheel of Daoism and Chinese Medicine, but offers practices, theories, and techniques across several traditions and cultures for coming into deeper connection with and therefore creating transformation through the emotional body.
We use the term emotional alchemy to refer to teachings and practices
from an array of diverse inner alchemy traditions designed to transmute
imbalanced emotions. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to healing;
however, no path can bypass the emotional body, as is being increasingly
recognized by western science and medicine. We are complex beings
inasmuch as our mental-emotional-physical-spiritual interconnections are
profound. As such, emotional alchemy also addresses the ways in which
our stagnant emotions relate to our stuck mental patterns, as well as how
imbalanced emotions affect us physiologically.
Throughout the course of the next year, we meet two times each season for a total of 10 classes. You can register for one season at a time, or plan to be with us throughout the whole year.
Emotional Alchemy
Course Exploration
The art of alchemy refers to the process of changing one form into another. While the word ‘alchemy’ often conjures up images of medieval alchemists focused on transmuting lead to gold, many ancient spiritual and medicine traditions focus on the art of inner alchemy whose ultimate goals are to enhance health and vitality, promote longevity and transform consciousness.
An integral part of inner alchemy traditions as diverse as Taoism, Tantric Yoga, Hermeticism and Egyptian Alchemy is focused on transforming the energetic frequency of imbalanced emotions. The inner alchemists consider balanced emotions natural, universal and appropriate yet characterized imbalanced emotions such as chronic fear or stagnant anger as ‘internal pathogens” that contribute to emotional, physical, mental and spiritual distress or dis-ease.
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Modern discoveries in quantum mechanics parallel inner alchemy’s
understanding that emotions are ‘energy in motion.’ Like all forms of energy, emotions move, transform, and contain a specific vibrational frequency or energetic signature. Dr. David Hawkins created a system to. test and measure the sound, light, and electromagnetic waves coming off of the morphogenetic field of the human heart while a person is thinking, emoting or creating. His research demonstrates that higher frequency emotions like joy, compassion and love correlate with physiological
experiences of expansiveness and lightness and resonate with higher frequency energy systems. Conversely, lower frequency emotions such as anger, shame, guilt and fear correlate with feelings of contraction and resonate with lower frequency energy systems.
We use the term emotional alchemy to refer to teachings and practices from an array of diverse inner alchemy traditions designed to transmute imbalanced emotions. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to healing;
however, no path can bypass the emotional body, as is being increasingly recognized by western science and medicine. We are complex beings inasmuch as our mental-emotional-physical-spiritual interconnections are profound. As such, emotional alchemy also addresses the ways in which our stagnant emotions relate to our stuck mental patterns, as well as how imbalanced emotions affect us physiologically.
Alchemizing our emotions is a process that is sometimes challenging as it requires vulnerability, a willingness to feel the discomfort in our bodies of our imbalanced or unprocessed emotions. Emotional alchemy often requires faith in what is unseen and intangible.
The good news is that when we trust the process, ourselves and each other, the results are nothing short of miraculous. Emotional alchemy has the potential to free our minds from the millions of traps it sets for us through fear, worry, and hopelessness. It frees our bodies from stagnation resulting in pain, inflammation, and nervous system deregulation. It frees our spirits from wherever they’ve been hiding. Emotional alchemy ultimately connects us powerfully to ourselves and all beings.
The model we’ve created for this course transmits synthesized wisdom, teachings and tools from diverse systems, including Taoism and Chinese medicine, Amazonian plant medicine traditions, Ayurveda, Tantric Yoga, Quantum physics, and sprinkles of magic from other esoteric and mystical spiritual traditions.
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Five Elements, 5 Modules
Our journey starts with a Spring unit and continues with a Summer, Late Summer, Autumn, and Winter module.
Each class meets for 2 hours on 2 different Sundays of that Season.
All classes take place on Zoom.
SPRING
March 12 & April 16
Wood: Anger & Benevolence
SUMMER
June 25 & July 9
Fire: XXX
LATE SUMMER
August 27 & October 1
Earth: Worry & Integrity
- Introduction to Emotional Alchemy
- Nei Dan: Inner Alchemy and Yin Yang Theory
- The Wood element in the macrocosm
- Anger and its Transformation to Benevolence
- Movement and meditation practices to support the wood element and
transmute imbalanced anger
- Seasonal Self-Care: Herbs and dietary therapy for spring/wood
constitution
- The Fire element in the macrocosm
- The Alchemy of Fire and Water: Heart-Kidney Axis
- Imbalanced Joy and its Transformation to Propriety
- Spiritual Sovereignty
- Movement and meditation practices to support the fire element and transmute imbalanced anxiety
- Seasonal Self-Care: Herbs and Dietary therapy for summer/fire constitution
- The Earth element in the macrocosm
- The Earth element’s role in digestion: food, thoughts, emotions, experiences
-Worry and its Transformation to Integrity
- Movement and meditation practices to support the earth element and
transmute worry
- Seasonal Self-Care: Herbs and Dietary therapy for late summer/earth
constitution
AUTUMN
October 27 & November 19
Metal: Grief & Awe
- The Metal element in the macrocosm
Metal organs and functions: Lungs and Large Intestine
- Grief and its Transformation to Awe
- Movement and meditation practices to support the metal element and
transmute grief
-Seasonal Self-Care: Herbs and dietary therapy for autumn/metal constitution
WINTER
December 10 & January 14 (2024)
Water: Fear & Wisdom
- The Water element in the macrocosm
- Water organs and functions: Kidney and Bladder
- Fear and its transformation to wisdom
- Movement and meditation practices to support the water element and transmute fear
- Seasonal Self Care: Herbs and dietary therapy for winter/water constitution