All tasks perform themselves and you just take the credit

How to fuel yourself through phases of extreme challenge in respect of getting temporal things done and done well.

Bear with my repetitiveness if you’ve been in this conversation a while and hear me say it many times before, but the medicine of the ancient Taoists, which is nowadays simply called Chinese Medicine – a bit like calling say Elgar, the Beatles, or Blur, English music to someone who’d not heard of any of them, English Music – it doesn’t say much, but there we are – this prosaic world of ours – what was I saying, yes, in Taoist medicine, the capacity and drive to keep going, keep focused, and complete any challenging task with excellence, derives in a tangible sense from three vital organs in particular: the kidneys, liver and spleen.

I say tangible because you can, with sufficient sensitivity and focus, actually feel the push coming from these while in the midst.

The kidneys provide the will – you have to have the will, to be willing, to complete the task with excellence – and not just when you begin, but right the way through to completion.

The liver provides the vision to accomplish whatever it is – and again all the way till completion.

And the spleen provides the strength of mind to remain mentally orderly and organized so you take the best steps in the best order in the best way to produce the best result.

So next time you’re in the midst of demanding activity relating to any task or series of tasks in need of completion, give yourself regular ‘out’ moments wherein you do as follows:

Just visualize (not actually make) the sound FUIIIIIII (FU in falsetto then sliding down to bass over the IIIII, or EEEE if you prefer). And picture the sound warming the kidneys.

Next visualize the sound SHHHHHH emitting from your liver, making the liver relax and expand.

Finally visualize the sound HUUUUUUU (with deep resonance) emitting from your spleen (on the left under the ribs), causing the spleen to compress itself.

The kidneys thrive on warmth, the liver functions best when relaxed and expanded, and the spleen operates most efficiently when compressed tight.

Having done this which takes about 50 seconds, observe how your drive is renewed, any sense of panic dissolved, and perspective (vision) is restored.

Will, vision, and order – the three requirements to get the job done.

Though talking of order, it’d be possibly more orderly of me to put the liver first, however the liver so much depends on the kidneys for strength I felt it more responsible to put them in the order I have.

And may all tasks perform themselves and you just take the credit.

With love, Barefoot