by Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. & Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.
Seeing the glow coming out of the center of the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island was certainly the highlight of our recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii.
As we sat listening to the waves crashing and the birds chirping outside of our condo, we were inspired to share the insights we gained from our time with the volcano and invite you to be a part of our experience.
Evening glow of the Kilauea Volcano just weeks after its December 21, 2020 eruption.
In this episode, we discuss the Fire element of Chinese Medicine as it relates to the Kilauea Volcano and its recent activity as the ultimate expression of Fire in nature.
In Chinese Medicine, Fire as an element has a lot to do with transformation so it's no wonder that this lava forms at the core of the Earth and then comes to the surface to create transformation. It actually is able to create land.
Fire is not only the element that creates transformation, but it’s also the element that relates to unconditional love and to self love. The Heart is related to the Fire element and opening your heart is what allows you to experience these forms of love.
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The importance of that in terms of healing is that when you're able to experience unconditional love and when you're able to give that love to others, that means that you have you can experience miracles and even spontaneous healing.
In Chinese Medicine, vaporizing phlegm through the opening of your heart is what allows you to have this experience, but of course, that seems like a daunting task and quite challenging.
The Lungs support us to let go, which relates to our judgments — letting go judgments of ourselves, of others, of life circumstances, because otherwise the action of holding in the Lungs can oppress the heart from opening. So we need to let go so we can have a more neutral take on life, to have less attachments (Learn more about letting go and the virtue of the Lungs in this article).
As lava cools, it becomes volcanic glass known as Obsidian as well as Rhyolite which is a lesser known stone. Both of these stones are warming and have an active quality in the body and mind. The challenges of working with these volcanic stones is that they can initiate a healing crisis because they can reach deep into your core and pull out your shadows.
As they move this powerful Yang Qi in our body, they can dredge up the shadow qualities that lie deep within, similar to the way the volcano pulls things to the surface from the core of the earth.
Lava and these stones can pull out of our subconscious or unconscious that we don't want to really look at. And they come to the surface that could be quite disruptive and could initiate a healing crisis emotionally.
Volcanoes are the core of the earth erupting and this core metaphorically can relate to the Kidneys, or essence known as Jing; the life purpose or curriculum you hold within your Jing. Your purpose is expressed through the Fire element. The volcano erupts through Fire, through lava. And it's a really beautiful metaphor for how we are in life as well.
However, the Kidneys also store our fears, especially those that are unconscious. So these volcanic stones can really move a lot of our fears, so we have to take a look at those things that really maybe keep us stuck in life from living out those dreams and our higher purpose.
A lot of us might not even know what our purpose is because there's so much trauma that's stored in that same area in the Kidneys that inhibits us from really knowing what it is that we're meant to do in this lifetime.
Coming to places like this or having experiences with natural elements like volcanoes helps us to process a lot of those fears and traumas.
A lot of what happens in the world can ignite fears in our individual lives. Stone medicine can quell these fears and anxiety so you can be more present.
Obsidian and the volcanic stones can really stir things up, so it would be better to use more cooling stones like Mangano Calcite along with a quartz. You can use Amthethyst which is a quartz so it enhances but it’s also a Lithium stone so it calms the nerves along with Rhodochrosite and Mangano Calcite. Amethyst also helps with sleep.