Bringing The Five Elements Theory To Life

Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 1:06 pm

And Quiz Time Folks! Want to Discover Which Element You Are?

Fill in the questions further down this page and find out!

I have never really comprehended why the term "five elements theory" is still used. As you will see below, we have a beautiful and very real relationship with the Five Elements when we know how to live in harmony with them, but we do pay a price if we don’t. Certainly no mere theory - I see it working everyday with patients!

My Relationship With The Five Elements

The signs and symptoms are many and varied because we don’t just experience disharmony through the functioning of one Element at a time. If one Element is stressed on any level, spiritually, mentally, emotionally or physically, it will also affect the others, as the part affects the whole. How much other Elements are affected depends on the degree and nature of the imbalance and the period of time it has been present.

The seed of harmony and health lies in the knowledge and belief in the authentic self as a spiritual being who is innately peaceful, loving, benevolent, happy and wise. The seed of all states of imbalance and disease are caused by identifying with the body, its roles and relationships rather than with the spiritual beings that we are.

In diagnosis, there are key indicators that will point to the root Element that has become our main weakness, but which emerged out of our speciality. (A vice is just a virtue we have distorted through false identity.) These indicators are the predominant, but subtle colour in the face, the sound of the voice, inappropriate emotion and odour. Other means of diagnosing, such as asking the patient about their symptoms, palpation, feeling the pulse etc. are secondary and misleading.

If you would like to have fun and discover which Element type you may be, then fill in the questionnaire Which Five Elements Type am I? and the Scorecard below. Read through the descriptions of the Five Elements and see which one fits you the best. In reality we are all the Elements and so you may find you can identify with more than one.

Here is the the questionnaire. It is best to print it off so it is easy to input your scores with a pen.

WHICH FIVE ELEMENTS TYPE AM I?

Am I Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water? In reality we are a combination of all of them. This questionnaire is designed to help you identity or at least, narrow down the choice.

Using the scoring below, put a number adjacent to each question before looking at the scorecard, then fill it in at the end and add up the total in the columns. This will indicate which Element you probably are. Read about the Elements in the apprpropriate posts in the Five Elements category and see which one fits you.

It’s more fun if you read about them AFTER you have filled in the questionnaire!

Scoring System

Strongly agree 3

Just agree 2

Agree only a small amount 1

Do not agree at all 0

Example: If you agree with Question Number 1 write 3 in the space provided. Answer all the other questions and write a score 0 - 3. Have fun!

QUESTIONAIRE
   1. I can get dizzy or light-headed when standing up.
   2. I am often anxious and restless.
   3. I often have loose bowels.
   4. I am easily disappointed or offended, but rarely show it.
   5. People think I am intuitive, but I think ahead and working things out.
   6. When someone is being treated unfairly, I am often stand up for the under-dog.
   7. I laugh or giggle a lot.
   8. At times, I have difficulty in taking information in.
   9. As soon as things do not work out, I think it is better to cut your losses
            and move on.
10. In a crisis, compared to others I am cool and can take charge.
11. Correctness and fairness are important, but difficult to achieve in practice.
12. I can be hurt by one simple comment and nevertheless hide my feelings.
13. I enjoy helping others and being useful to them.
14. I hate losing even small things.
15. I have weak or sore knees.
16. I often get really wound up and frustrated over issues.
17. Being happy is not the only thing in life, but it is close to the top of my list.
18. I feel worse with damp or humid weather.
19. I think, and others confirm this, that I am not emotionally expressive.
20. I sometimes get puffiness and dark bags under my eyes.
21. I prefer not to be supervised or overseen by others.
22. I look forward to socializing with or working with people.
23. I often feel tired and heavy.
24. I think a lot my good qualities are not appreciated or recognized.
25. Having sex makes me tired/weak afterwards.
26. I often feel like rebelling or challenging authority or conventional wisdom.
27. I think that I am over excitable.
28. I will often worry about things, even when I cannot do anything practical
           about them.
29. I easily catch colds.
30. All I have to do is think about certain situations to make me feel concerned
           or even frightened.
31. I get blurred vision or tired eyes.
32. If my close relationships are not stable, I am not stable.
33. I am frequently worried and concerned about something.
34. My voice is a bit weak.
35. No one can reassure me – I need to reassure myself.
36. I enjoy organizing and structuring any situation.
37. I can easily doubt that someone loves me or cares for me.
38. I have some problems in balancing others and my own needs.
39. I appreciate it if I can do more and better than others.
40. I often need to assess a situation and check out whether I am safe.
41. On issues to do with who is responsible for what, I either have very specific
            views or I am completely easy.
42. A hurtful look or comment can leave me feeling very sad.
43. I sometimes do not digest well.
44. I frequently cough, with or without phlegm.
45. I am easily frightened, have phobias or get paranoid.
46. I have difficulty digesting fatty foods or a poor tolerance or alcohol.
47. I can go up and down a lot, loving things at one moment and feeling miserable
            the next.
48. I have an eating disorder or some irregularity of appetite.
49. I tend to set high standards for myself – and others.
50. I think people often tell you ‘everything will be fine’ and it won’t.
51. It is better for me to be in control and have the power in any situation
            rather than be cooperating with and depending upon others.
52. I love safe heart-felt contact with others.
53. My abdomen bloats after eating.
54. I always notice that when people start talking about getting the best quality this
            and the best quality that.
55. I am good at looking ahead and anticipating what might go wrong.
56. I can get frustrated and wound up.
57. I often get tongue-tied or mix up my words.
58. I can be hungry, even after eating.
59. Finding your spiritual path is twenty times as important as just a good time.
60. I tend to believe the world is a dangerous place and one needs to be careful.
61. I get muscle tightness or tension.
62. One of the best things in life is contact with other people.
63. I sometimes feel muzzy headed or can’t think well.
64. Whatever I do. I prefer to do it as well as and preferably a lot better than others.
65. It takes me a while to really trust someone.
66. It makes me angry to see others being treated unjustly or unfairly.
67. Closeness with people is important to me.
68. I will sometimes worry about getting my needs met.
69. I easily get short of breath.
70. I urinate frequently and sometimes with urgency.
71. My nails are weak or split.
72. I could be anxious and insecure about going to a party that I wanted to go to,
            but where there would be a lot of people I don’t know – and I might not go.
73. Food and cooking are very important to me.
74. My breathing is shallow and sometimes weak.
75. People need to prove to me that they are trustworthy – I don’t just believe it.

Now fill in the Scorecard to discover which Element you probably are. For example, if you put 3 as your score for Question 1 in the above questionnaire, then place 3 in the space next to Q.No.1. If you put 0 as your score for Question 2, then place this in 0 in the space next to Q.No.2. Carry on putting in your scores, then add up each column at the bottom. The one with the highest total score is probably your element. Then click below on that particular element to read about it.

Five Elements Scorecard