每当我对某一行有新的洞察，或者像近期开始对两行关系有更深的感悟时，都会让我心生欢喜。我将自己视作这些启发的源泉，但我不确定其他五行针灸师在多大程度上用我这样的方式来研究五行。毕竟，这可能只是君火的特点之一——在试图更清醒地面对这个世界时，君火总会不断地探寻自己与周围人、事的反应，就像我一直做的那样。很可能其他行的人，没有像火行那么倾向于向内求的方式，去解释他们与其他行之间的人际关系。对于我这个火，每个感悟都是我对亲身经历的深思熟虑中启发出来的。
01
为中国教学所做的探索
其中一个感悟，是我在为中国未来教学做规划的期间产生的。目前在中国的许多教学工作，都是我的好朋友、也是我曾经的学生，盖·凯普兰与我一起完成。我们共同研发了许多很有创意的教学方法，以帮助中国学生尽可能多地学习和实践五行针灸。我和盖有幸跟师学习了多年，但对于中国的学生们来讲，向有经验的五行针灸师当面跟师学习的机会还是相对较少的。为了帮助中国学生们克服这个不足，我们研发了许多有创意的教学手段。当然，实际上每个中国学生从出生开始就被中国传统文化滋养着，这为我们在中国的成功教学奠定了深厚的基础。
以中国学生为例，他们对五行的理解是如此的根深蒂固，我便不需要像教导英国学生理解五行那样费时费力、又可能徒劳无功地去解释——五行不仅是哲学概念，还在我们每个人身上有实际可见的存在。
经常有英国学生问我：“你真的确定我们能感觉到、看到、闻到或者听到那些被称为'五行’特质的东西吗？”他们中有些人没有迈过信念的门槛，就不能真正接受五行的存在。
我从来不需要说服自己相信所学五行的真实性，因为第一次接触五行针灸治疗给我带来的震撼效果，就使我确认五行针灸确实是一门建立在人类生命本质基础之上的针灸法脉。
在中国的文化中，五行是具有象征意义的，用来定义所有生命现象并决定着人类行为，正如五行之轮驱动着流年和季节的轮转。因此，中国的学生会很好地理解五行针灸的基本原理。
这对中国的五行针灸教学是一件幸事，毕竟我们每年只能来中国两次，提供为期短短几周的教学。在过去长达12年或更久的中国往来教学中，中国的学者们对五行针灸的理解和实践是如此的迅速，以至于他们中的一大批人现在正在中国各地开展着自己的五行针灸基础班，为我们来中国的教学做着更充分的准备，这真是令人鼓舞振奋。
02
对金与火关系的新洞见
这次他们将会惊喜地发现，对于盖和我所代表的两行——金和火之间的关系，我的理解又更进了一步。我经常喜欢用我们两个作为鲜活的案例去解释五行，如果学生们足够细心，他们就可以从我们清晰展示的教学中，获得深刻的个人见解——这些是盖的金行呈现，这些是我的火行呈现。特别是五行的阳腑——属于盖这个金行人的阳腑之大肠，属于我这个君火行人的阳腑之小肠。
大肠和小肠这两腑在命名上如此贴近，我认为不是巧合。这不仅代表它们在人体器官上的紧密联系，还代表着它们有更深层次的情感链接。当我近来意识到这点时十分欣喜，因为它帮我解释了为什么盖和我这么多年来可以如此密切和谐地共事。
大肠和小肠在人体器官中的连接，反映了它们更深层次的精神和情感联系。所以，我开始研究这种紧密联接背后所反映的这两行的本性，特别是这两行的阳腑，它们是如何相互作用的。以下是我认为我最有意义的发现之一。
凭借多年的密切协作经验，我和盖会谨慎对待我们协作关系的某些方面，否则很可能在那之上产生情绪或分歧。
我能看到的仅是我个人需要处理的方面，这样就导致盖在某些方面不得不解释他所选择去实施的观点。他发现我有个令他烦恼的习惯，那就是我会让他突然面对、处理我产生的一系列新想法。
每天早上，是我一天当中灵感最充沛的时间，这期间会有各种各样的新想法涌进我的脑海，我很期望在下次见面时与他讨论所有这些想法。但从盖的角度来讲，他需要时间来分析理解这些想法，我完全理解他，而我的思维特别容易从一个想法跳到另一个想法上。
所以当我向他滔滔不绝地表达我的想法，他脸上开始出现些惊慌的表情时，我就意识到我给我们的关系带来了紧张的气氛。因此我需要让自己收敛一些，给他时间，让他按照自己的节奏，一个一个地吸收采纳我的新规划。
我认为盖的反应是金行人的一个特质，特别是作为金行的大肠之腑，要负责清理它感觉需要丢弃的东西。相比我处理新想法的方式，大肠则需要更长的时间去评估，哪些该保留，哪些该丢弃。
我曾希望他能适应我多维度的思维过程，然而他是需要时间来对我的想法一一回应的。这让我看到金行的一个特质是——
金行需要处理已经呈现给它的信息，
而不是它自己发起主意。
我突然意识到，在我们一起工作的这些年里，我的主要任务是在五行针灸的教学中提出新的尝试想法，盖的任务是在我提出的想法上做修正完善，或干脆把他认为没有用的想法剔除。相比之下，我更关心的是形成新的想法，但常常忘记考虑如何具体实施，以及可能的后果。正是在这一点上，盖发挥了金行的特长，经常用他的金之利剑把我的建议砍到一定程度，或者完全否绝它们。
我还需要提醒自己，五行循环中金和火的位置关系，因为这反映了他们行为的重点，也有助于我解释我和盖良好的合作关系。
最后
虽然五行创造了一个永无止境的循环，没有一个确切的起点，亦没有终点，我们还是愿意以木行为起点去考虑，因为木代表自然界中四季之春，接下来是火、土、金、水。这是有逻辑的循环，因为在自然界中，木的芽苗展现着循环的萌发开启，而秋天的凋落则表示进入尾声。
这个循环中每一行的动态，小到一个想法，大到一个季节，都代表了一种特定的势能。
我的火行建立在木行的能量之上——当木行从水行沉睡的种子中萌发，循环把它带到火行全面绽放的状态，然后将能量传递给土，使其结出丰硕的果实。之后，土把一切都交给了金，使其提炼所有行为的意义和价值，就像金秋让大自然驶入一年的“阴”的能量里。
我觉得我和盖的关系与此很相似。
英文原文
A new insight into the relationship of Fire to Metal.
Posted 12 Jan 2024
I love it when I get a sudden new insight into an element, or, as happened recently, into the relationship of two elements to each other. I use myself as the source of many of these revelations, and have always done so. I’m not sure how far other practitioners look to themselves in quite so studied a manner as I do. It may, after all, be one of the characteristics of Inner Fire that, in trying to sort out its encounters with the world, it is constantly querying its own reactions to what is going on around it, as I always do. It may well be that other elements are not so intent on looking inwards to discover an explanation for their relationships to other elements. I just know that everything I am aware of has to be filtered carefully through my own interpretations of the significance of what I am experiencing.
One of these acts of filtration occurred whilst I was planning future work with our Chinese students. Much of my current teaching in China is now done with my good friend and former student, Guy Caplan. Together we have developed many quite innovative ways of helping our Chinese students learn as much as they can in an environment where they only have few opportunities to learn in person from experienced five element acupuncturists, as Guy and I had the fortune to do over many years. To help our students overcome this handicap we have developed many creative approaches. What has, of course, also contributed to our success in doing this is the fact that much of the groundwork has already been laid for us because of what each Chinese student absorbs from birth as part of their cultural inheritance.
Their understanding of the elements, for example, is so ingrained in them that I have no need to go through the often laborious procedures with which I try, sometimes unsuccessfully, to help English students to an understanding, not only of the existence of the elements as a philosophical concept, but of their practical and visible presence in each one of us. Often I have been asked, “But are you sure that there are qualities called elements which we can feel, see, smell or hear?” Some of my English students could not make the initial leap of faith necessary to allow them to accept the existence of the elements. I myself never needed to convince myself of the truth of what I was learning because the startling effects of my first acupuncture treatment had confirmed to me that five element acupuncture did indeed base itself on a truth about human nature.
In China, the elements are symbolic qualities which define all life and determine human behaviour as much as they dictate the cycling of the year from season to season. Chinese students are therefore already well on the way to an understanding of the basic principles of five element acupuncture. This is a blessing when we consider that all we can offer them are the few weeks of our twice-yearly seminars. It is therefore very encouraging that in the 12 or more years of these visits, they have developed so rapidly in their understanding of five element practice that a large group of them is now running their own introductory seminars all around China in preparation for our visits.
They will therefore be pleased to discover that I have made a further step in my understanding of the two elements which Guy and I represent. I always like to make us living examples of our elements so that they can, if they are attentive enough, gain a deep personal insight into those we display so clearly in front of them as we teach. These are the Metal element, which is Guy’s, and the Fire element, which is mine, and specifically both the yang officials of these elements, Guy’s the Large Intestine and mine the Small Intestine, the yang of Inner Fire.
I think it is no coincidence that these two officials are so tightly linked together by name, which represents not only their close physical relationship in the human body, but their much deeper emotional relationship. When I realised this, which I did only recently, it made me smile, because it helped explain why the two of us have worked together so closely and so harmoniously over many years. The physical link, where the Small Intestine joins the Large Intestine, is reflected in the deeper mental and emotional associations. So I set myself to work out exactly what this close relationship told me about the nature of both elements, and particularly of their yang officials, and how they interact with one another. Here then is what I consider to be one of my most significant findings.
We are both extremely sensitive to those aspects of our relationship which our close association over the years has taught us might well be areas of tension or disagreement between us. I can only look at those which I have personally had to deal with, leaving it to Guy to explain his side of things if he chooses to do so at some point. I know what he finds disconcerting is my, to him, disturbing habit of suddenly confronting him with having to deal with what is often a series of new ideas which I have come up with in the most fertile time of my day, which is the early morning. It is then that all sorts of new ideas crowd my mind, and I am eager to discuss them with him when we next meet. Guy, on the other hand, quite understandably needs time to absorb these new ideas, whereas I have learnt that my mind is quite able to dart from idea to idea quite easily. Having seen the strain this puts on our relationship, by observing the somewhat startled look on his face as I launch into what I want to tell him, I have learnt to interpret this as a sign that I must hold back and give him time to absorb each new project of mine at his own speed and definitely one at a time.
I see Guy’s reaction as an expression of his Metal element, and specifically his Large Intestine, which is the Metal official in control of expelling what it feels it needs to discard. It needs longer than I do to assess new ideas to give it time to decide which it thinks should be kept and which should be rejected. I used to want him to match my multi-dimensional thought processes, whereas what he needs is the time to work out his response to my ideas one at a time. This has made me see that one of the Metal element’s qualities is that it needs to work on what is there, on what it is presented with, rather than what it itself initiates. In our relationship, it is I who tend to initiate, and Guy who tends to work upon the ideas I present him with. In our work together over the years, I now recognise that it has been my task to initiate new approaches to teaching five element acupuncture, and it has been Guy’s to work upon what I have initiated, by modifying it or also quite firmly setting aside what he does not consider to be useful. By contrast, I am much more concerned with formulating new ideas, but often forget to work out the implications and ramification of what I have formulated. It is precisely at that point that Guy comes into his own, often with his Metal sword cutting my suggestions down to size or completely rejecting them.
I also need to remind myself of the place in the cycle of elements taken up by Metal and Fire, because this reflects the focus of their activities, and helps add to my explanation of how well Guy and I work together. Although the elements create a never-ending cycle, without an actual starting- or end-point, we like to think of it as beginning with Wood, as a reflection of spring in the cycle of the seasons in nature, followed by Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. There is a logic to this, because in nature the buds which Wood displays start the cycle of activity ending in autumn. Each element in this cycle represents a particular aspect of every activity, just as much of a thought as of a season. My Fire builds on Wood’s energy as it emerges from Water’s slumbering seeds bringing the cycle to full blossom, as nature shows in the blaze of a summer’s day, before passing this on to Earth to bring to full fruition. Earth than hands over to Metal to draw meaning and value from all this activity, as autumn draws nature down towards the yin of the year. I see Guy’s and my relationship in similar terms.
The end
本文选编自
诺娜·弗兰格林老师微博文字
英文原文：诺娜·弗兰格林
中文翻译：赵申申、林莉
校对：王晶颖、王桓
审核：五行针灸学术部
编发：林莉
图片来源：AI创作
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