Elements and the Cycles of Change
Jasmine has experienced many recent changes. In June we completed renovations to expand the space, services, and number of practitioners. We now have a new name “Jasmine Day Spa”. We have a receptionist allowing the door to remain open regular hours for retail sales, gift certificates, and making appointments. We have two new treatment rooms, new practitioners, and new services. How did all this happen so fast? A lot of hard work, many supporters, and looking back, a little boost from the five Chinese elements.
According to Feng Shui and Chinese Medicine, everything is comprised of five elements: water, wood, fire, earth and metal. These elements have a constructive and destructive cycle. In the constructive cycle water feeds wood, wood feeds fire, fire feeds earth, earth feeds metal, and metal feeds water starting the cycle over again. This constructive cycle can be seen as the stages of any project, or in creating a change.
Water is the element of dreaming. It is the element of deep winter as well. This past winter, I spent time imagining what the space would look like if I expanded. I had previously looked at the apartment next door to my original space so I could imagine what the two would look like as one. It took me a while to figure out exactly how I could make it work without really huge renovations, but as soon as I could see it clearly in my mind, well….the next phase happened.
Wood is the element of spring, new beginnings, and planning. As soon as I figured out how to make the two spaces work together, I mentioned to my landlord what I was thinking, just to put it out there, and voila, he said we could do it the next day! That totally unexpected response sent me into major planning mode, and lead to a new beginning. Jasmine Day Spa was born.
The next phase, or element, is Fire. Fire is summer and it is about doing, feeling enthusiastic, and about people. This summer we completed the renovations. My co-workers joined me, and we opened the doors to our new establishment. Together, we created new services, put out our first newsletter, offered our first month long sale on retail products, and began working as a team.
The next phase is earth – late summer – a time to revel in the fruits of our labor and to simply be. Earth is about nourishment and home. During late summer, we settled in, with each other and the space. We paused, looked around us, and saw what we had accomplished.
The final phase and element is metal. Metal is about refinement. In the fall, when metal rules, it is a great time to put the finishing touches on any project and shear up before winter comes. This fall, we are putting final touches on our project by giving it the new name, Jasmine Day Spa. We feel this better reflects what we have become during this cycle of change.
With winter, and water, the cycle starts anew. It will be time again to dream, and go deep within to find what truly fulfills us so we can bring it into the world with wood in the spring, make it happen with fire in the summer, enjoy it with earth in the late summer, and refine it with in the fall.
Of course, this cycle doesn’t just happen over the course of a year. It can happen in a day, or over a long period of time. The dreaming stage of expanding Jasmine Aesthetics into Jasmine Day Spa actually lasted quite a long time. Once the vision was clear, and the time was right, the whole project moved along as if it was meant to be. Looking back, I can see the cycle of the Chinese elements clearly supporting us all along.
Look at any project you have completed. Do you see this cycle? Are you stuck in any particular area of a project? If so you can seek the help of the next element to keep it moving.