Points
Behaviour
Wind types primary dilemma relates to how life flows. How much do they need to push to make things happen? Will it just happen of its own accord. It has lots to do with the energy of pushing. Like a seed that must push through the ground to become a plant, they are often forging new paths and breaking new ground.
The constant need to push often creates a sense of struggle – its like they are constantly walking against the wind. The roots of this struggle come from the myriad of goals that they set themselves and must push to achieve.
Goals and achievement become the key focus in life. They must improve, or see themselves as improving. They don't so obviously avoid criticism, because they usually see feedback as being helpful in their need for improvement. This does not mean that criticism has no emotional significance. It wears them down particularly if it is constant.
The most significant criticism comes internally. They can be very hard on themselves. If the self-criticism becomes overwhelming they can reach a point of hopelessness, particularly if repeated attempts don't succeed.
Generally wind types are positive and hopeful, planning for a brighter future. They tend to weigh all options, obsessed about making the right choices. They can still be decisive though, particularly where they recognise success requires quick decisions. They believe that even if the decision turns out wrong it still offers an opportunity to grow and learn and move towards perfection.
This constant focus on the future drags them away from the present. Their lives are very full: focussed on performance and doing. The art of just ‘being’ is lost.
They see themselves as what they do, rather than what is inside. Sometimes they don't even understand how a person could be defined outside of what they do.
They usually are bound by a long list of internal rules and expectations. This is what limits their freedom. It constrains them and increases their level of frustration. This can breed anger, most of which is internalised.
The best metaphor for wind is that of a person standing before a river. The river is symbolic of the flow of their life. What they tend to do is see an objective on the other side of the river that they then make it their goal to achieve. They jump in and swim against the current to reach it. Once there they look across the river and set their next goal and repeat the process. As a result life is a constant struggle against the current, pushing to achieve goals.
Solutions
The answer to this struggle is to let go of the lists and goals, jump in and allow the flow of spirit or life to take them. When they don't struggle against the current things feel easy.
What this really represents is a battle between the two halves of the brain – or if you like between the head and the heart. The head sets all these arbitrary goals looking for improvement – driven by an underlying sense of lack (not good enough as I am).
This lack is never satisfied with achievement. Its root cause is an inability to see what is already there. The more they look forward the more they are unable to see what is already there.
The answer is to truly view the beauty of the inner self. Just like they see in their pet or child, that same beauty is within them.
Recognising this frees them from their list. Instead of being a slave to their own expectations they can follow the dictates of their own heart. This is the path to ultimate freedom.
Freedom comes from yielding to the heart rather than the arbitrary expectations of the brain. Exercises that encourage them to switch off their brains and yield to the present are incredibly liberating for wind types.
Pattern
The trigram for wind comprises two yang lines above one yin line. This is a symbol for the eldest son and in balance relates to gentle, quiet movement, penetration, progress, and obedience to the way (the true path for their life).
The big dilemma for wind types is knowing how hard to push for things to occur versus letting things develop on their own accord. Can they allow themselves to just flow or do they need to push towards certain goals trying to ensure that those goals are achieved?
The motivation for these goals is to not let others down and to ensure they are acceptable.
In disharmony they are constantly striving and pushing to achieve their goals. When one goal is achieved a new goal is set and they are already moving towards their next goal. This constant striving leads to them feeling like life is a struggle. The goals are driven by their logic brain and don't necessarily reflect what their heart desires. It leads to a imbalance between the head and the heart. Their life is focussed on doing rather than being.
The yin line, being at the bottom of the trigram is symbolic of what lies at the start of our path. It represents submission and obedience to following their spiritual path. Wind provides movement and flow, and enables them to continually move along this path. It travels everywhere and provides the power for movement and change.
Wind travels effortlessly around obstacles. It penetrates everywhere and can travel great distances. There is a great deal of effortless power to flow and move associated with wind.
If we stand or walk against the wind, or try to control its flow, life becomes difficult. When we do not go with the flow of our spirit, life is a struggle as we constantly battle to get our way and to meet our expectations. Anger, frustration and resentment result whenever something stands in our way. Anger relates to being stuck or constrained. The focus on achieving goals limits our expression – it constrains our behaviour. Instead of just being in the moment we focus intently on achievement, striving and performance.
Wind can also be too strong, chaotic, and destructive as it blows down anything in its path. This image is symbolic of us trying to always hurry life along, constantly striving to move more quickly. We tend to hurry life, never content with our pace of progress, movement and application.
The other possibility is that the person submits to the will of others in order to avoid rejection. In submitting to others they are unable to submit to their soul. This pattern reflects their inability to accept themselves which generates a need for other people’s acceptance. It is important to find a balance between rigidity and flexibility.
Lesson
The key is to follow and submit to your true path, allowing life and your soul to flow. True freedom comes from continuous expressing your true nature in life, allowing yourself to just be you, freeing yourself from living up to expectations.
The key is to be able to view what is inside themselves. When they bond with others or with an animal they can appreciate and accept that other person/ animal unconditionally. They accept the innate self – and don’t require the person or animal to perform to be accepted. This experience is important because it provides the solution to their own pattern. They need to be able to see inside themselves to be able to accept themselves as they are. In viewing their true self they become free to just ‘be’ instead of having to ‘do’.