Honing your crafts
It is sharpening your blade. It is precision thinking.
It is the ten thousand hours of practice that empowers your electrifying performance.
It is your consistency in the gym and proper diet that enables you to show up every day (most days anyway) as your best self.
It is paying close attention to details while studying that gives you a demonstrable edge when exam time comes.
Look at the exceptional
The top gymnast in the world, Simone Biles is the most outstanding in multiple events. No one can seriously compete with her. At this point, she is so good that she is merely competing essentially with herself. As a result, she continues to improve. She is self-motivated, self-confident, precise, analytical and she continues to do her homework. Yin Fire!
Various examples can be given from the likes of Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali to Madame Marie Curie and many others.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles” -Sun Tzu
What is the origin of the concept?
Yin Fire is a principle that has its roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is based on the activities of the five basic elements. Fire, Earth, Metal, Water & Wood. Each element has a dual expression as either Yin or Yang.
TCM is a sophisticated system with multiple components and subsystems. Many of which have not been introduced to the public and are minimized or ignored in most of the TCM Universities.
If you ask, most practitioners of Chinese medicine will tell you that yin fire is a pathology. Indeed there is such a condition and it indicates a type of physical and/or energetic deficiency. However, what I am referring to is the long lost, forgotten and sometimes hidden, astrological component of TCM.
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” -Madame Marie Curie.
Chinese Astrology
Chinese astrology is a subsystem of TCM that has been historically used as an effective diagnostic tool in regards to physical and psychological health. Even though it has been trivialized in modern society, it has great value when utilized within the proper context.
For example; The year of the Snake is Yin Fire, the Year of the Horse is Yang Fire, the Rooster is Yin Metal while the Monkey is Yang Metal and so on.
Furthermore, it’s not only the “Year” that resonates with an element, but also the month, week, day, hour and right down to the minute. Each moment in time transforms into a different manifestation of the various elements. This is why an accurate time of birth is so important for any accurate astrological reading.
Interestingly, the associated animal has nothing to do with an individual’s personality or psychological profile. It is the underlying element and its yin/yang expression that is the key to one’s capacity and opportunities. Nevertheless, that is a discussion for another day.
In the meantime, suffice it to say that each mode of the various elements has potential assets as well as liabilities. It all depends on specific circumstances.
What’s the point?
In short, the ability to shine like a champion in achieving life’s goals (yang fire), one must first cultivate and refine their chosen skill set to the utmost (yin fire).
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” –Bruce Lee
Exceptional success is all but guaranteed when you convey harmony and balance. Energy medicine is what we’re talking about.