Welcome to East Meets West

We are an online educational company.

Our Objective

We aspire to build a bridge of knowledge that shares information and teaches skills in Acupuncture and Asian Medicine to practitioners of Nursing in an easy and enjoyable way.

These courses will provide continuing nursing education credits.  The courses are designed to share the deep resources of Eastern medical theory, philosophy of healing and centuries of knowledge in Asian diagnostic traditions with those in Western Nursing professions. 

These courses will expand the scope of diagnostic skills of each participant and promote the health and wellness of our patients. EMW will share diagnostic observations skills and techniques that can be integrated quickly into the daily use of every Western nursing professional.

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The 5 Elements

In Oriental Medicine there are 5 Elements: WOOD, FIRE, EARTH, METAL, WATER. They correspond to the 5 Seasons: SPRING, SUMMER, LATE SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER.

Water In nature, Winter is the time when the chi or energy descends into the full expression of Yin. It is about storing, conserving, replenishing, and receiving. What happens in Winter? In the Winter, the sap descends to the roots of plants, the daylight lessens and the days are shorter, the animals go into hibernation. WATER, when it flows, will always descend and this is the attribute of WATER, to descend. In a human, descending might mean taking time to reflect. It might simply mean to rest, to sleep, or to go into the unconscious.

The nature of WATER is to soak and descend and this makes it the most Yin of the 5 Elements. It is the darkness and the coolness. It penetrates the depths and it’s direction is down and in. It will follow the path of least resistance on its descent creating rivers and streams.

The organ functions of the WATER element are the KIDNEYS, which are the Storehouse of the Vital Essence; and the URINARY BLADDER, the minister of the Reservoirs.

The WATER element governs the bones, teeth, head hair, ears, and lower orifices. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas guide the body, mind and spirit toward homeostasis. Our “bodies” want to be in balance and these ancient Asian treatments move us in that direction.

For those of us fortunate enough to be in good health and who take care to eat well and exercise appropriately, 5 Element Acupuncture offers a preventative approach to long life and vitality with the Horary or Seasonal treatments. These treatments are done at the change of the seasons, which is 5 times a year. This interval can keep our subtle energies well “tuned” and harmonious thus keeping us healthy on all levels.
Water : Winter Wood The symbol in nature for the WOOD element is a tree or bamboo. A healthy tree, like a healthy person, is well rooted, is flexible and is upright. The two organ functions of the WOOD element are the LIVER and GALLBLADDER. They hold the energy that we see so abundantly in the Spring. Hormones are rising in the animal kingdom; new life is blooming in the plant kingdom. Health is found where there is balance in all things. The directional correspondence to the WOOD element is the EAST. This makes sense. The sun rises in the east to start a new day, and the WOOD element is about rising upward and new beginnings.

There is a virtue for each element. The virtue for the WOOD element is Benevolence. Human Beings are the vehicle through which Heaven is made manifest on Earth, and Benevolent service is the virtue of Human Beings which “ empowers the unconstrained evolutionary journey of all things” on their progressive upward spiral.
The energy of Spring is filling every living thing. In nature, it is the time when the potential stored in the seeds of possibility in Winter begin to move and rise upward in creative manifestation. As a crocus pushes through the frozen ground toward the sun in a forceful upward direction, it creates a flower from a seed. That creative force is what gives us a sense of purpose and direction in our lives.

In Lonny Jarrett’s book Nourishing Destiny, he says, “the WOOD element ensures that life never proceeds in a circle but always in an upward evolutionary spiral. Hence the rhythm of WOOD is a continuous streaming that never falters, joining each moment to the next in the endless progression of all things toward heaven.” Wood : Spring Fire The Fire Element and the Summer Season are intrinsically linked. Their very nature embody each other. They correspond to the color red, the sound of laughter, the emotions or love and joy.

Summer is where maturity happens. Fruit and vegetables ripen on the vine. The Fire Element governs all aspects of our relationships. It is the most Yang of the elements and its’ nature is to ascend.

The FIRE Element has 4 organ functions associated with it. The organs and meridians are; The Heart or Emperor, The Small Intestine, or Minister of Sorting Pure from Impure, The Pericardium, or Heart Protector, and the Triple Heater, or Minister of Harmony & Communication. These Officials are responsible for many different aspects of our health and wellbeing.
For example, the Small Intestine sorts the foods we eat and decides what is nutritious and absorbs it from what is waste and passes it along toward the Large Intestine. This ability of sorting happens in every aspect of our lives. Mentally, our brain has to decide what goes to the conscious brain and what goes to the unconscious. Emotionally, we have to sort what emotions are healthy and what are not.

Think of the SUMMER season and you will know the FIRE Element, heat, warmth, the most daylight all point to the Fire.

Recognizing, disharmony early and making the proper corrections using acupuncture and herbs is some of the best preventative medicine around. Fire : Summer Earth The EARTH Element is the energy of Late Summer. We think of it as Indian summer, the hot, humid, still time before Fall arrives. It is about abundance and abundant harvest. This is the center and the turning point, after the rise of Yang and before the decent of Yin, there is the Earth element. It is like the pause between an inhale and an exhale.

The organ functions associated with the Earth element are the Stomach or Minister of Transformation and the Spleen or Minister of Transportation. The Stomach, not only transforms food into us, but it transforms thoughts into action. It is the power behind our ability to manifest our dreams.

The Spleen transports or moves things. It moves the blood, it moves the food through the digestive tract, it moves the lymph and it moves our thoughts and emotions.

There is a balance in all things even abundance. TAO is always about The Middle Way.
One might have too much real estate, especially if it is not paid for. Or too many children or animals and not be able to care for them properly. It may be as simple as too much food on our plate. It is easier for us to understand the lack of abundance than the state of over abundance. The Spleen is responsible for the bowels ability to move, too slow constipation, too fast diarrhea. It governs the blood flow and the integrity of the vessels.

Varicose veins may indicate some Spleen issues, diabetes, arthritis, nausea, vomiting, proper food break down to name a few. When the Earth element is struggling, the mind is not quiet. It is churning our thoughts over and over again, worrying, worrying, obsessively over thinking.

In balance, it is the gift of a mind that can quiet as in meditation. The virtue of the Earth is integrity. The Earth element is where clear inspired original thought comes from. Earth : Late Summer Metal The METAL ELEMENT is the AUTUMN SEASON. It is the decent into Yin. You can feel it, that melancholy time when the days are getting shorter, the air is dry and the sunlight sparkles like crystals as nature’s abundance is dying off. Preparation for Winter and rest is beginning.

In nature, the Autumn Season is the time when animals are preparing for hibernation. The plant world is changing as the sap returns to the roots of trees the leaves fall and the vegetable gardens die as the sunlight and warmth fade away. It is the time of letting go for nature.

The time when the growth and productivity of Spring and Summer turn to the retreat and storing of reserves in Autumn and Winter. Energy goes inward filling our reservoirs, gathering and collecting the various forms of chi.

The Metal Element officials are the LUNGS, minister to the Heart and the LARGE INTESTINE, the Great Eliminator. The LUNGS receive the heavenly chi. The LARGE INTESTINE let’s go of what in no longer useful. The METAL Element is our barometer for knowing what is truly valuable and for the quality of our self worth. People with Metal imbalances may be hoarders and collectors of all kinds of junk. Or perhaps they are collectors of fine art, jewelry or money and think those things are what make them valuable.

The direction of the Metal Element is West, the color is White, the sound is weeping and the smell is rotten. These markers are the body’s way of showing us where the problems are first showing up. The virtue of the Metal is the ability to change. Think of a sword. Melt it down and reshape the metal into a cup. Change is valuable. Metal : Autumn

ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture is one of the best preventative medicine approaches to healthcare available.

The Asian cultures view the natural world and human life as completely interconnected. Taoist traditions and the Laws of Nature are the basis of Chinese medicine. With the fundamental laws of nature in mind, human life can be understood through the lens of natural phenomena and the 5 Elements. 

Acupuncture and herbs, date back over 5000 years. They have withstood the test of time. The continued widespread use of these therapies in Asian countries and the increased use in Europe and the Americas is a testament to their effectiveness. Asian medicine’s roots run deep in Taoist philosophy.

The Americas have become the melting pot for information from around the world. Acupuncture is designed to treat the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels and treats all health concerns in a non-toxic safe and effective way.

Get In Touch!

Page Paterson
pagepaterson@mac.com

Wilmington, NC 28411