8/31/15 This journal entry is being written a few days past full moon, and eight days past 處暑chu shu/limit of summerheat. It is eight days to 白露bai lu/white dew. The days are noticably shortening. After a bristling, humid heat wave, a cooler, more breezy weather pattern has dissipated the excessive sweating, fatigue, skin rashes and heat diarrhea that I had been observing in patients just a week ago. The cooler weather brings calming, refreshment and joy at being able to sleep better, think more clearly, and write again! The 暑氣summerheat qi is especially draining, as the yang qi is in a weakened state so late in the summer, and the great yin is on the rise. In California, where the seasons lag behind the rest of the country, this is when we see our hottest weather as large high pressure systems push ‘Santa Ana’ winds from the desert down to the coast, along with wildfires, before the first rains occur in November or December. Along with the seasonal change, there is more intellectual stimulation, new books, and discourses online. Now is the time to protect the lung qi from excessive dryness, with foods such as pears and herbal medicinals such as mai men dong.
