Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese science of balancing the energy in the home or office, also provides us clues as to how to balance one's food, or in this case, the food of our pets — actually, for many, this information will help both them and their pets — a double bonus!

I just finished providing you with an introduction to the five elements, also referred to as the five energies. But now it's time to explore this concept a little deeper.

Our investigation of the five elements will help us see that food is not the only source of the five elements. We will also begin to discover just how the five elements affect health?

Ultimately, when the five elements are in balance, one experiences good health. However, everything is in a constant state of change but more than that, we can, without knowing it be creating an imbalance ourselves.

When the body is healthy, all five elements are in balance. Each element feeds the next element and helps to ensure that no element becomes out of balance. But when an element becomes out of balance, we need to work to balance the body.

The outer arrows flow in a clockwise manner. This is the direction in which the energy flows. Each element feeds the element following it with energy. Each element also restrains the element following the element it supports from becoming too dominant or powerful — these are in the inside arrows — don't worry, I will give examples too. Ultimately, all five elements are interconnected in numerous ways.

In looking at the image of the five elements, you will notice that:

1. Wood feeds fire (outside arrow) but wood restrains earth (inside arrow), the element directly after fire.
2. Fire feeds earth (outside arrow) but fire restrains metal (inside arrow), the element directly after earth.
3. Earth feeds metal (outside arrow) but earth restrains water (inside arrow), the element directly after metal.
4. Metal feeds water (outside arrow) but metal restrains wood (inside arrow), the element directly after water.
5. Water feeds wood (outside arrow) but water restrains fire (inside arrow), the element directly after water.

The following shows you what the five elements relate too:

           Wood         Fire       Earth     Metal      Water
---------------------------------------------------------------
Attribute  Germination  Growth     Trans–    Reaping    Storage
                                   formation
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bodily     Liver        Heart      Spleen    Lungs      Kidneys
Organ      Gallbladder  Small      Pancreas  Large      Bladder
                        Intestine  Stomach   Intestine
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sense      Eye          Tongue     Mouth     Nose       East       
Organ
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tissue     Tendons      Vessels    Muscles   Skin       Bone
                                             Hair
---------------------------------------------------------------
Emotion    Anger        Joy        Worry     Grief      Fear
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sound      Shouts       Laughter   Singing   Crying     Mourning
---------------------------------------------------------------
Season     Spring       Summer     Late      Autumn     Winter
                                   Summer
---------------------------------------------------------------
Color      Green        Red        Yellow    White      Black
---------------------------------------------------------------
Climate    Wind         Humid Heat Dampness  Dryness    Cold
---------------------------------------------------------------
Form       High         Sharp      Flat      Round      Wavy
           Cylin–       Pointed
           drical
---------------------------------------------------------------
Taste      Sour         Bitter     Sweet     Spicy      Salty
---------------------------------------------------------------
Direction  East         South      Center    West       North
---------------------------------------------------------------

Looking at the chart, we can see that a pet suffering from kidney problems probably also has an underlying fear related issue. This could be generated as a result of too much water energy in the body.

A pet suffering from asthma may also have grief related issues. This could be a result of too metal energy in the body.

A pet suffering from pancreatitis might have too much earth energy in the body.

A pet suffering from heart related problems may have too much joy in their life due to an imbalance of the fire energy.

A pet with liver problems may have anger related issues due to excess wood energy in the body.

We can begin to go a little further now by looking at the colors related to each of the elements.

If a pet has kidney problems (water), then there may be excess black in the surroundings.

If a pet has lungs problems (metal), then there may be excess white in the surroundings.

If a pet has pancreas problems (earth), then there may be excess ochre yellow (golden yellow) in the surroundings.

If a pet has heart problems (fire), then there may be excess red in the surroundings.

If a pet has liver problems (wood), then there may be excess green and/or blue in the surroundings.

The excess colors could be blankets, paint on the wall, carpeting, etc.

In the kitchen or where you feed your pets, you want to avoid excess red. It's not that there can't be red, but excess red will create too much fire. This in turn can lead to aggression, stress, restlessness — things you want to avoid while feeding both your pets and your family.

Using the chart, we can begin to see how climatic conditions can begin to affect health. We can begin to see how certain sounds, even how the energy of crying can affect our pets.

To really understand the five elements takes quite a bit of time. But this is a good start — an introduction to build awareness.

All health problems happen as a result of an imbalance. Diet has the single biggest impact on the balance of our body but the energy around us also affects our health and the health of our pets.

We all know the value of a harmonious life. But no matter what you do, some discord cannot help but occur. It could be something as simple as someone being stressed, angry or even too happy that causes an imbalance.

In Chinese herbal medicine, it is said that too much happiness causes heart problems. So as you can see, it is about balancing all energies — both what are perceived as positive and negative energies.

All things are poison and nothing is without poison. It is the dose that makes a thing poisonous.

— Paracelsus, 16th century pharmacologist

Now Paracelsus was not Chinese, he was in fact born in Switzerland in 1493. But his statement is very powerful.

What Paracelsus is saying is that the difference between poison and medicine is in the dose. Thus even too much happiness, when in excess, can cause problems.

One thing we can do is to energetically cleanse the rooms in our house, especially the kitchen or the area where we feed our pets. To achieve this, the Chinese created the Feng Shui Rose Elixir. Essentially this is rose water. All you do is either mist the air with some rose water and/or use a cloth to wash the walls, countertops, tables, furniture, etc.

You can mist the air every few days, wipe the furniture every 2 to 4 weeks, plus you can apply some rose water to your face.

Rose water is also used in cultures like India where it is used in Ayurvedic medicine too. It's also possible to make your own rose water — you can find guides online.

Most health food stores sell and provide rose water but there are many of other sources too.

Ultimately, rose water has a very clear and extremely high energy in combination with a wonderful fragrance that will help create harmony in your home, with your family and pets.

Keep reading by choosing another page or topic.

• Introduction
• Carnivores Have A Really Big Stomach
• What Can I Do To Have My Pet Eat More?
• Grains Should Not Be Fed To Dogs and Cats
• Chew or False: Dry Foods Do Not Clean Teeth
• Commercial Pet Food: Fast Food For Dogs and Cats
• Diet: One of The Keys To Dog Whispering
• Puppies and Kittens: Detoxification, Worms and Discipline
• The Funny Thing About Health
• Yin and Yang Easily Explained, Easily Understood
• The 5 Elements — An Introduction
• The Five Elements Explored A Little More
• Yin and Yang In The Diet
• The Yellow Emperor and Other Early Chinese Healers
• Feeding Fish To Dogs and Cats
• Feeding Whole Prey To Dogs and Cats
• Feeding Bones: Thoughts About Calcium and More
• Heartworm
• Natural Bug Lawn Spray
• The Rabies Vaccination: Is It Really Effective
• Are Antibiotics Really Needed After Surgery?
• The Great Pet Food Debate
• Cats Need To Scratch
• MSG In Foods
• Random Bits of Information
• The Yogic Triple Breath For Health
• Solving Constipation In Dogs and Cats