KI REVIEW

I offer shiatsu along with a ki energy health evaluation, supported by basic macrobiotic dietary and way of life guidance, in Fairfield, CT, and Manhattan. I also offer classes in Five Transformations theory and Nine Star Ki, from my personal viewpoint. For further information, please contact me at Tel: 203-254-1795.

I am taking appointments for housecalls in Manhattan on Thursdays and Saturdays.

While based on my understanding of the macrobiotic teachings of Georges Ohsawa and Michio Kushi, and of Daoist and Buddhist thought, my blog entries, unless mentioned otherwise, are original material following my personal line of thought, the result of in-depth research over many years. I hope you enjoy this material, find it informative, educational, interesting and helpful. But please, if you pass any information from this blog on in any way, whether complimentary, critical, or otherwise, be sure to mention my name and the website address, so others can decide for themselves. Thank you.

Present

A Very Happy New Year!

Adele, 3 Tree ☳

(b. 5.5.1988, Tottenham, London, England [Wikipedia])

The following profile on Adele, the cover story, comes from the Time issue "The Year Ahead" 2015/2016.

Adele Is Music’s Past, Present and Future, by Sam Lansky, Time, December 28, 2015 - January 4, 2016

Thunder and shock

'Prognosticators anticipated that 25 might sell a million copies in its first week, an extraordinary figure in an anemic music industry that has seen physical record sales wither. Selling 2 million units would be miraculous…. But by the first week’s end, Adele had sold 3.38 million copies of 25, making it the biggest sales week in history. Then sales passed another million the following week. Then another...Adele can’t account for how she pulled off the seemingly impossible. Reclined on the floor of her hotel room a few days after the concert, she says she has “no idea” why she’s sold so many records. “It’s a bit ridiculous…” … The lead single on 25, “Hello,” also shattered records: its music video was viewed at a rate of 1.6 million times per hour on YouTube.'

“… shattered records …”: No idea? While we must begin with her extraordinary talent, and the success and fame she had already achieved, energetically two things were happening to build on this. The first concerns the simple expression of her inherent 3 Tree nature. The 3 Tree I Ching trigram, “Thunder”, images a powerful force and sound, which shakes the earth and thus, draws our attention. In classical commentaries, shock is often used to describe its energy. It corresponds in nature, with the moment when a plant is trying to break through the earth (darkness), and into the light. Once it sees light it grows rapidly. Her fans haven’t heard from or seen her for the past few years, so a new record is bound to attract an already huge, receptive audience. Secondly, 3 Tree is an initiating energy; its most powerful effect is at the beginning, imaged by this yang force trying to break through the earth. With this understanding we can understand its influence as disruptive or “shattering”, especially concerning early sales. In addition, 2015 was a 3 Tree year in Nine Star Ki, meaning the number 3 occupied the center position in the Magic Square associated with it. It suggests those born in a 3 Tree year would in some way take a central position this year; “all eyes” (and ears in Adele’s case) would be on them this year.

A tree grows / A tree has roots

'In a stunted pop economy in which her contemporaries try to sound simultaneously like each other and like what might be trending next, Adele does the opposite: she sounds like the past ...’

“… a stunted pop economy …”: It is uncanny how often the writer of a profile employs imagery that corresponds with the Energy of the person being profiled. Most often “stunted” describes growth or development issues in different aspects of life. Since, quite simply, a tree grows, I maintain that usually, growth problems correspond with Tree. Therefore, we are talking about a Tree problem, in terms of Adele in contrast with her contemporaries, regarding the state of popular music today; it’s not developing (growing) properly. It’s like an overcrowded forest of human planted trees, all of the same type, unable to branch out (to express individuality), and struggling to be seen (for light). “… she sounds like the past …”: A tree has roots, and the roots feed energy all the way to the most recent growth areas of a tree; the roots of her sound, early influences, appear in the present. Original Rolling Stones members, Brian Jones (2.28.1942, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire – 7.3.1969), 4 Tree, and Mick Jagger (b. 7.26.1943, Dartford, Kent), and Keith Richards (b. 12.18.1943, Dartford, Kent), 3 Tree, were strongly influenced by (had their roots in) the blues.

A stately tree

‘Her music is dignified, even stately, cutting across demographics.’

“… dignified, even stately …”: We speak of a stately tree, tall, well established, majestic, qualities that come with age, qualities we can connect with the next observation.

The soul of a tree

‘Pop’s oldest soul returns to the spotlight’

‘On 25, as on her previous releases, she cements her reputation as pop’s oldest soul with songs that are intimate and simple.’

“… pop’s oldest soul …”: For me, these quotes brought to mind the book “The Soul of a Tree”, by master woodworker, George Nakashima. According to classical Chinese medicine (CCM for brevity), the soul corresponds, in part, with Tree. To me, an “old soul” suggests a wise person, a person who has been through a lot, yet managed to survive, and in the process, acquired a mature level of understanding of life. It seems to repeat the image of an old tree, one that has managed to “weather many a storm”; grand, immovable, peaceful, protective. Not surprisingly in this light, Aretha Franklin (b. 3.25.1942, Memphis, TN), known as the Queen of Soul, was also born in a Tree year, a 4 Tree year.

A tree has rings which tell its age

‘In person, Adele is frank and funny, peppering her speech with profanity and self-deprecating asides. Perhaps that’s why it’s startling to register how young she still is. 25, like the two albums before, is named for the age she was when she recorded it.’

“… it’s startling to register how young she still is. …”: From my research, age issues of all kinds, arise often in Tree people profiles, much more than in the profiles of those born in any other Energetic year. “… 25, like the two albums before, is named for the age she was when she recorded it.”: A tree distinctly records its age from year to year as we see in its rings. It’s an interesting point to me. Does it suggest that Tree people are especially in tune with, or conscious of the aging process? For me, more research is needed, but this observation is an interesting starting point.

A tree occupies one place

‘Superstardom came the following year when she released another single, “Rolling in the Deep,” a stomping anthem that set the tone for the record that followed and topped charts around the world.’

“… a stomping anthem …”: Since a tree occupies one place, and stomping repeats force on basically one place, and since the Tree energy channels, liver and gallbladder, flow along the legs, we might say that stomping corresponds with Tree; an expression of Tree, a way of releasing pent up Tree energy. In addition, the 3 Tree trigram, ☳, traditionally corresponds with the feet.

At limb's length

‘After giving birth, she did the most radical thing an artist at her level could do: she went mostly dark to spend time with her boyfriend, charity executive Simon Konecki, and their son Angelo. “I was very conscious to make sure that our bond was strong and unbreakable,” she says. “I had to get to that point before I’d come back.”’

“… went mostly dark … spend time with her boyfriend, … and their son Angelo. … make sure that our bond was strong and unbreakable, ... before I’d come back.”: For a 3 Tree person, it’s like an image of retreating back into the earth. In a number of Tree people profiles (Jimmy Carter, Cate Blanchett, Sean Penn, Jacques Verges, and Huguette Clark) issues of elusiveness or reclusiveness have arisen; they seem to disappear for a period. Adele gives us a reason why this may occur. In classical Chinese medicine, the eyes correspond with the liver, and the gallbladder channels begin at the outside corner of the eyes. Thus, in addition to protecting oneself in a way, one may step back to gain a different perspective on things, “seeing the forest, not just the trees”, or in a 3 Tree case, wanting to see things totally fresh, as if for the first time.

The overall growth of a tree is slow and steady

‘This is important to her: the ability to make her own decisions and work at her own pace. She could have released 25 earlier to make it eligible for the 2016 Grammys, but instead it arrived when she was ready.’

“… work at her own pace … arrived when she was ready …”: 3 Tree people may tend toward impulsiveness, but considering the overall lifespan of a tree, patience corresponds with Tree in CCM.

Review: Adele Holds Firm on ‘25,’ Even as Pop Shifts, by Jon Caramanica, The New York Times, November 18, 2015

Like the rings of a tree

'Pop moves and mutates, but Adele more or less does not. Naming her albums for different ages in her life doesn’t indicate radical changes from era to era, but rather reinforces the reassuringly slow march of time. Her music is like time-lapse photography of a busy street: Small parts move, but the structure of the whole picture remains essentially intact.'

"... 'Pop moves and mutates, but Adele more or less does not ...": This quote reinforces the image in the title of this piece, "Adele Holds Firm on '25' …” - a tree grows in one place from which it does not move. "... Naming her albums for different ages in her life … reinforces the reassuringly slow march of time ...": A beautiful quote to me. We count the rings of a tree to tell of its age, but they add on gradually; annually. "... Small parts move, but the structure of the whole picture remains essentially intact ...": To me, this quote could easily be describing the slow growth of a tree.

Adele Cries to Her Music, Too, by Jon Pareles, The New York Times, November 12, 2015

The rings of a tree are connected

‘“Hello” doesn’t just introduce “25”; in many ways, it sums up the album. On “25,” the rage and heartache of “21” are replaced by longing: for connection, for youth, for reconciliation and for lifelong bonds. Like other songs on the album, “Hello” is filled with thoughts of distance and the irrevocable passage of time, of apologies and coming to terms with the past.’

“… longing: for connection, for youth, for reconciliation and for lifelong bonds … thoughts of distance … the irrevocable passage of time … of apologies … coming to terms with the past.’

To me this quote suggests how much she is still connected with the past, and in a Tree profile we can explain this in terms of a tree’s rings. Rings show a record of the tree’s history; when there was a drought, or a fire for example. The rings are also connected, and thus we can see, how the past directly influences the present, and future growth. In terms of healing it highlights to me the importance of the health condition of the Tree related organs, the liver and gallbladder. Often, by healing these organs, mental problems such as those mentioned can be reduced. A classic example is anger, the Tree related negative emotion, that can clearly be reduced, and even eliminated, by changing one’s eating/drinking habits.

At limb’s length 2 / Getting back to one’s roots

‘“Everyone thinks I just disappeared, and I didn’t,” she said. “I just went back to real life, because I had to write an album about real life, because otherwise how can you be relatable? If I wrote about being famous — that’s [expletive] boring.”’

“… Everyone thinks I just disappeared, and I didn’t,” …”: This point sheds further light on an observation already discussed in the first profile.

Adele: Inside Her Private Life and Triumphant Return, by Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, November 3, 2015

At limb’s length 3

‘"My career's not my life," she says. "It's my hobby." She wants to be able to release her albums, live in public for a while, and then return to her private existence — for years at a time, maybe, so she can live enough to write the next set of songs. "I think she'll make 20 records," says her manager, Jonathan Dickins. "We're playing for the long game."’

“… live in public for a while, and then return to her private existence …”: This quote sheds even further light on an observation discussed twice before.

Thunder, Quaking

‘"It's impossible to question why she's where she is once you sit down with her to write a song," says Jesso. "She was the first introduction I had to somebody who could sing words on the spot that were actually really great." Jesso's manager told him that he could hear Adele's voice from the street outside the house where they were recording, that it was practically shaking its foundations.’

“… he could hear Adele's voice from the street outside the house where they were recording, that it was practically shaking its foundations.”: The 3 Tree I Ching trigram is called “Thunder”; it is also called “quaking”. This quote shows us how Adele expresses this quality through her voice.

A tree grows toward / responds to light: let’s pretend

‘She does understand artists' temptation to create chaos in their lives. "I would have been totally up for that had I not had a kid," she says. "I didn't think I'd settle down. I always loved the drama, you know? Always wanted to be in love but always loved the drama, since I was very young."

The following quote from the above profile, “Adele Cries to Her Music Too”, sheds a little more light on this part of her nature:

‘Adele would not revisit the making of “21” even if she could. “I just used to let myself drown,” she said. “If I was sad, if I was confused — which I would say were the running themes for most of my records so far — I’d just go with it. I’d let myself fall apart, and I’d sit in darkness, and I’d feel sorry for myself, and I wouldn’t accept any help to get out of it, in terms of going out with my friends to cheer me up, or staying busier. No! I loved the drama of it all.”’

“… always loved the drama … I loved the drama of it all”: As I have mentioned many times, from my findings, more Tree people by far, are involved in acting, than of any other Energetic year.