Sphere in China

In the forbidden palace in Beijing, China, there are two lion statues. One lion is female and one is male. The male lion has its paw over a sphere. (click on picture and then focus in on the sphere to get a good look.)

 There is a design around the sphere which is the Seed of Life pattern.

The Seed of Life pattern is formed in 6 elements. The history of this pattern is very ancient. The meaning is faded and forgotten over the ages.
But what does the sphere under the lion's paw represent? ... It represents the totality of Buddhist law.
What is the totality of Buddhist law? ... The spherical Heart at the center of our being and all that it represents; consciousness, power, dharma, our eternal nature, and much more. The spherical Heart has a structure based on 6 elements.
The spherical meridian flow reflects this sphere of Buddhist law.

The well "regulated" heart in a sphere of light

The 6th element, Seed, represents the coordination and regulation of the other 5 elements. We see this in how the palm coordinates the 5 fingers and in how the endocrine system regulates the body functions. We also see it in the pericardium that surrounds the heart.
Without regulation, life could not have developed. Is there a place in the history of Chinese medicine that talks about regulation? --- Yes.

"When our Hearts are well regulated, our senses are well regulated too.
When our Hearts are at rest, our sense organs are at rest too."
Nei Ye, Chapter 49, Guan Zi

And so it is that the elements cannot self-regulate through mutual destruction/discipline in the Heart, as 5-element theory would see it. Their unification and interaction must be regulated and in that way the 5 senses are well regulated too. When our Hearts are at rest (regulated homeostasis), our 5 senses are at rest too. Homeostatic regulation gives rest to the 5 elements.

The 6th element, Seed, with its meridians SJ/Pc, is the element for regulation and homeostasis. It is only found within living beings.

The passage above continues...

"The Heart thereby contains a Heart.
(That is to say) within the Heart there is another Heart."

The Pericardium (meaning peri = around and cardium = heart) surrounds the Heart and protects it. The pericardium provides a protected space for the Heart in which it can be regulated.
Just as the palm surrounds the roots of the 5 fingers, thus coordinating them, the pericardium surrounds the Heart structure giving a space for coordination.

The Nan Jing says, "The source of the Heart comes out at Pc7."  Pc7 is at the base of the palm, which surrounds the 5 fingers. The source of the Heart is at the base of the protected space shown by the palm.

and then you tie this back into the spherical Heart and the total integration of meridian theory in the spherical meridian flow, and you have unified theory for a living being.

I end with a quote to wrap (surround) it all together...

"The Heart of Heaven and Earth – Where is it stored? Yin and Yang stimulate it to manifest a sphere of light."
Li Daoqin

Point combination: Febrile disease without sweating: Yangming stage

There is a  point combination used for the Yangming stage with fever without sweating. I will analyze the point combination using the spherical flow.

The combination is Shangyang LI1‚ Hegu LI4‚ Yangxi LI5‚ Xiaxi GB43‚ Lidui ST45‚ Laogong P8 and Wangu SI4 (from the Great Compendium).

In the Yangming stage, the Yangming channel closes down, thus concentrating Qi in a heating cycle.
What points would you use to release the heat?
You would use points that unlock the Yangming channel:
St45 is used for heat conditions related to the stomach meridian. This point opens the St-Yangming channel to release heat.

What about Large intestine, the other half of the Yangming channel?
Above you see 3 points from LI that open up LI in order to release the heat in the heating cycle; LI1, LI4 and LI5.

Now on the spherical flow you have the following meridians connected in Sheng sequence.  SI4 > LI points > Pc8 > GB43 > back to SI4. (cyclic connection of points.)

When an objective meridian is to be unlocked, it is common to see point combinations using a point from the preceding meridian, a point from a following meridian and a point from the objective meridian itself (according to the spherical flow).
Thus in this point combination, the goal is to unlock Large Intestine in a strong way, by using SI4 (preceding meridian) and Pc8 (following meridian). When LI is closed down strongly, sweating is stopped.
Such a strong use of points to unlock the LI should lead to sweating to cool down the body.

GB43 is added to balance LI and make feedback loop to SI4.
The points selected from the meridians correspond to releasing heat.

According to the spherical flow, the order of needling would be... St45 > Pc8 > SI4 > LI1 > LI4, LI5 > GB43. (Order of needling is following meridian, preceding meridian, then objective meridian.)

This point combination looks to be a very powerful one for releasing high fevers with no sweating during a Yangming syndrome.

General Dynamics of Spherical meridian flow

The 12 meridians each have a place around the spherical meridian flow (SMF). There are pathways leading between the 12 meridians. Qi, life force, moves along these pathways passing through the expressions of each meridian.

As Qi passes through a meridian, the meridian is activated; it expresses. The spirit of that meridian expresses in the body. The Qi then continues flowing on to activate other meridians.

As Qi progresses through the meridians around the SMF, the body is healthy. Yin & Yang are balanced and coordinated.

6th step of Physical Order - Qi Gong

The next step is Liver meridian (mutable-fire). Blood freely flows through the veins and arteries. The movements in this step are free, expressive, jubilant, optimistic, dancing, leaping, jumping, swinging, energetic...

In step 5, the body moved individual parts. Here many parts are coordinated into larger movements. The body develops freedom of expression.

The movements are energetic, so empower your breathing with deep breaths. and continue until you feel like slowing down. Then relax....

You have completed the first half of the physical body series.