Activating a Healthy
Response Using Chinese
Herbs and Flower
Essences
Steven Horne
Activation Principle
• Besides building the body with good nutrition and
cleansing the body to remove toxins, we also need
to activate a person’s ability to achieve better
health.
• This is done by helping them learn to deal with the
mental and emotional stress they face and cope
with life with a positive mental attitude and healthy
emotions
• Activating a healthy response is important because
it also helps people eat healthier and otherwise take
better care of themselves
Chinese Five Elements
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal
Water
5-Emotions
Wood Element
• Energy of youth, life and growth
• Desire to be free to pursue our
desires (will)
• Manifests positively as growth,
expansion, development, drive,
goal-setting and ambition
• When thwarted, wood energy
becomes anger, irritability,
jealousy and discouragement
Emotions Associated with
Wood Deficient
Excess
• Being will-full, wanting
one’s will fulfilled at the
expense of others
• Win/Lose attitude
• Anger, irritability
• Losing one’s temper,
shouting and arguing
• Feeling frustrated,
thwarted and stifled
• Being weak-willed,
putting other people’s
needs ahead of one’s
own
• Lose/Win Attitude
• Feeling “run down,”
discouraged, low energy
levels
• Feeling resentful,
resigned
• Unable to stand up for
oneself
Symptoms Associated with Wood
Excess
• Fatigue in the mornings,
groggy, difficulty waking
up
• Occasional
Sleeplessness, difficulty
falling asleep
• Vague symptoms
• Bitter taste in the mouth
• Stiff and achy muscles
due to exercise and
overuse.
Deficient
• Anemia, fatigue
• Difficulty getting to sleep,
difficulty waking up
• PMS symptoms or
moodiness
• Heavy menstrual bleeding
(women)
• Depressed, discouraged
feelings
• Hypochondriac feelings
• Frequent skin conditions
Balancing Wood Energy
Reducing
Chinese
Liver Balance
Formula(s)
Flower Essences Keep Cool
Emotional Needs Kindness,
empathy,
listening to
others
Increasing
Blood Stimulator,
Mood Elevator
Find Strength
Speaking up for
oneself, standing
up for oneself
Fire Element
• Energy of adulthood, joy and
excitement
• Desire to find happiness,
pleasure and passion in life
• Manifests positively as
happiness, enthusiasm and
positivity
• When thwarted it becomes
nervousness, restlessness,
mania, excesses, confusion,
fatigue and “burn-out”
Emotions Associated with Fire
Excess
• Feeling manic (like you
can do anything)
• Excessive excitement,
enthusiasm and optimism
• Restless, high strung,
always on the go, can’t sit
still
• Difficulty relaxing, getting
quiet, meditating or
otherwise being calm
Deficient
• Feeling overwhelmed (like you
just can’t cope or “take it
anymore”)
• Loss of joy, excitement or
enthusiasm
• Feeling tired, withdrawn, loss of
the ability to “get up and go”
• Difficulty getting motivated or
inspired
• Restless sleep with disturbed
dreams
Symptoms Associated with Fire
Excess
• Mania, being unrealistic and
unreasonable, overly
optimistic
• Highly volatile emotionally
• Anxious, nervous, dizzy or
light-headed
• Hyper personality, talks too
fast, fidgets, restless,
always on the go
• Thrill-seeking, craves
excitement and stimulation
Deficient
• Feeling overwhelmed,
burned out and unable to
cope with life
• Muddled thinking,
confusion, forgetfulness,
absent-mindedness
• Waking up frequently,
restless dreams, night
sweats
• Loss of sexual desire
• Extreme fatigue, reduced
immune response
Balancing Fire Energy
Reducing
Increasing
Chinese Formula(s) Stress Relief
Nervous Fatigue
Formula
Flower Essences
Be Response-Able,
Distress Remedy
Be Courageous,
Find Strength
Emotional Needs
Creating order and Lots of rest,
peace in one’s life, avoiding
prayer, meditation stimulation and
excitement
Earth Element
• Linked with the ability to absorb
and transform, to concentrate
and empathize
• Enables both concentration and
empathy
• Manifests positively as faith,
trust, belief and honesty with self
and others (being “real” or
“down to earth”)
• When thwarted it results in
worry, being overly pre-occupied
with ourselves or with others
Emotions Associated with Earth
Excess
Deficient
• Concentrating too hard
on things like study or
work, obsessive preoccupation with any
activity (pensive)
• Lack of connection with
one’s body, not being
grounded
• Being excessively preoccupied with self
• Excessive empathy or
concern for the welfare
of others
• Worry and obsessive
thoughts about family
members and friends
• Lack of clear
boundaries between
our concerns and the
concerns of others
Symptoms Associated with Earth
Excess
• Indigestion, acid indigestion,
belching after meals
• Bad breath or foul taste in
mouth, “rotten egg” taste
• Gas, bloating, belching after
meals
• Cravings for sugar
• Temporary loss of appetite
• Heavy feelings in the
stomach
• Heavily coated tongue
Deficient
• Poor muscle tone or thin
and unable to gain weight
• Occasional bloating,
intestinal irritation, leaky gut
syndrome
• Low energy levels
• Loss of energy
• Chronically poor appetite
• Shallow breathing
• Difficulty digesting proteins
Balancing Earth Energy
Reducing
Increasing
Chinese Formula(s) Anti-Gas
Spleen Activator
Flower Essences
Open Heart
Find Strength,
Release It
Emotional Needs
Being aware of the
needs of others,
cultivating trust
and openness
Having faith and
hope, having
confidence and
trust in others
Metal Element
• Associated with our ability to
defend and protect ourselves, also
with being structured (orderly and
organized)
• Positive manifestation, being able
to breathe freely and feel calm and
stable, also the ability to “let go” of
the past and move on
• When thwarted it leads to grief,
sadness, aloofness, coldness,
anxiety and feel stifled
Emotions Associated with Metal
Excess
Deficient
• Acute anxiety and stress
due to shock and loss
(death, loss, trauma, etc.)
• Feeling stifled and
stagnant, unable to move,
unable to breathe freely
• Shock and anxiety cause
vasoconstriction, limiting
airflow to the lungs
• Grief and sadness that
are internalized, or
excessive grief and
sadness over the course
of one’s life leads to
being withdrawn
• Person can become cold,
aloof, difficult to get close
to and self-righteous and
stuffy in their personality
Symptoms Associated with Metal
Excess
Deficient
• Acute respiratory
congestion, sinus
congestion, coughing,
sneezing
• Difficulty breathing, acute
shortness of breath
• Allergic reactions
(hayfever)
• Swollen lymph glands
• Difficulty breathing,
shortness of breath
• Immune weakness,
chronic infection in lungs
• Tightness in the chest,
difficulty breathing,
wheezing
• Dry, unproductive cough
• Feeble speaking
• Tuberculosis,
emphysema
• History of smoking
Balancing Metal Energy
Reducing
Chinese Formula(s) Breathe Activator
Flower Essences
Release It, Distress
Remedy
Emotional Needs
Allowing time to
grieve, breathing
out (exhaling),
letting go, releasing
the past
Increasing
Lung Support
Open Heart
Integrity and
dignity, creating
“breathing room”
for self and others
Water Element
• Associated with the ability to
be fluid, to flow with life and
be flexible and yielding
• Healthy manifestations
include being patient,
tolerant, kind, flexible, open
and spontaneous
• Thwarted energy results in
fear, anxiety, stress,
premature aging
Emotions Associated with Water
Excess
Deficient
• Acute fear, the body
contracts away from life
towards the center
• Being timid, wishywashy and excessively
yielding to others
• Overly agreeable, not
wanting to “rock the
boat,” trying to hard to
keep the peace
• Becoming emotionally
rigid, inflexible, afraid to
try new things, unable
to adapt to or cope with
new situations
• Chronic stress, difficult
remembering things,
premature aging
Symptoms Associated with Water
Excess
• Water retention,
edema
• Feeling sluggish, tired
• Wake up at night to
urinate
• Scanty or pale urine
Deficient
• Dark circles under eyes
• Neck pain, stiff neck –
due to exercise or
overuse
• Leg cramps or pains –
due to exercise or
overuse
• Weak knees, ankles,
legs
Balancing Water Energy
Chinese
Formula(s)
Flower Essences
Emotional Need
Reducing
Increasing
Kidney Activator
KB-C
Be Response-Able,
Distress Remedy
Practicing courage
and developing
self-confidence
Be Courageous,
Open Heart
Practicing self-care
and stress
management
Summary: NSP’s Chinese Products
Element
Excess
Deficient
Wood
Liver Balance
(Anger/Discouragem
ent)
Fire
Stress Relief
(Excitement/Burnou
t)
Earth
Anti-Gas
(Pensive/Worry)
Blood Stimulator
Metal
(Anxiety/Grief)
Breathe Activator
Lung Support
Water
(Fear/Rigidity)
Kidney Activator
KB-C
Nervous Fatigue
Spleen Activator
Summary: Flower Essences
Element
Excess
Deficient
Wood
(Anger/Discouragem
ent)
Fire
(Excitement/Burnou
t)
Earth
(Pensive/Worry)
Keep Cool
Find Strength
Be Response-Able,
Distress Remedy
Be Courageous, Find
Strength
Open Heart
Find Strength,
Release It
Metal
(Anxiety/Grief)
Release It, Distress
Remedy
Open Heart
Water
(Fear/Rigidity)
Be Courageous,
Distress Remedy
Be Response-Able
Thank You