Heart Mediator 9 and Triple Heater 1: First Points of Contact
HM 9 and TH 1 are the two ‘first contact’ points. When you reach out to touch someone, this is where the first contact happens.
HM 9 ZHONG CHONG Rushing Into the Middle, Middle Rushing In, Right Into the Middle of Rushing, Full Tilt Into the Middle, Center Highway
We could say that the Heart Mediator meridian begins at HM 1, but there’s good argument for beginning on the other end, at HM 9. In some ways, it’s the ‘first point on the meridian’ because it’s the first point of contact. It’s the finger that—when it’s too hot—will get burned.
HM 9 is the Wood point and the tonification point on Heart Mediator. HM 9 brings the sense of rushing right out to our periphery to make contact. It is the springtime of intimacy, like a first date. “All right, I am going to call him up now.” If you’re doing HM 9 on somebody because of deficiency, it helps bring a person’s boldness and warmth out so that they can reach out to others. People who are strong in this point can jump right into relationship, with no shallow end of the pool.
As the last point of the meridian, HM 9 can be needled to turn the direction of meridian flow around, for someone whose connection energy is rushing impetuously out into the world. Needle it, and WHHHUM! all that connection energy surges just as fast and just as fully into the center of the chest. It is no longer rushing into the world-as-center, but rushing into the inner center here in the chest. It’s quite an extraordinary feeling to be living full tilt into outer relationship, and then remember that I can come back in, and make the center of my chest the primary locus of consciousness. I can be in here, and from here we can still relate.
This usage of HM 9 can be helpful for people who engage in what I call emotional bungee jumping, or sequential, intense, high-risk crushes that seem like love at first, but never actually last long enough to make it past the fingertip to HM 8 and the long path of true intimacy.
When HM 9 is in health, it’s a warm forward movement to the growing edge of the relationship. It’s the ability to reach out and shake hands, ready to engage a new connection. This works really well, if TH 1 is doing well too.
TH 1 GUAN CHONG Rushing the Frontier Gate, Check Point On the Highway
Both HM 9 Zhong Chong and TH 1 Guan Chong are first contact points. While HM 9 is an impetuous rushing in to the middle, TH 1 is a checkpoint at the perimeter of a territory. The name of TH 1 shows an interesting pair of characters to have together: Chong and Guan. Chong is a tempestuous rushing; Guan is a barrier gate. It’s like “Toll Booth on I-90 in Rush Hour.” Socially, it is a gatekeeper point. You’ve got to present your passport and have it stamped, or no entry.
Both HM 9 and TH 1 are Fire meridian points at the fingertips, so they are both about first contact issues, but TH 1 is the Metal Point on TH, while HM 9 is the Wood point on HM. That makes all the difference! HM 9 is about moving forward boldly, while TH 1 says, “Let’s swiftly assess a few relevant details first.” HM 9 is the gas pedal for exciting new relationships; TH 1 is the brakes.
In the first moment of contact with a new person, HM 9 says, “Ooh, great prospect, let’s check it out now!” Then in the very next moment, TH 1 has to be able to make a split-second critical assessment based on immediate presentation as to whether it’s really a good idea to jump into this. All we’ve got is little clues about whom this person might be underneath, and we’ve got the Metal point on Triple Heater on our second-longest fingertip to give us the best possible sense of how to read and evaluate those signals accurately.
In TH 1 there may be ways in which we cause ourselves social grief by closing the door on people who might actually turn out to be rather marvelous, because of some superficial detail. Or there may be ways in which we cause ourselves grief in our social lives by not closing the door over what is not a superficial detail but actually a telling sign.
In terms of self-presentation in social situations, it’s good to be aware of the basic standardizations: what one does, what one says, so as to be able to present effectively, i.e. knowing what to say on a first contact. That combination of Metal and Triple Heater makes for incredible salesmanship. There’s a superficial quick charm with just the right immediate touch to self-market. What are the essential factors in the first contact that are going to open doors to a worthwhile connection?
Some people are TH 1 geniuses. Within moments, they’ve summed up the situation; they know what to say, they know what to do in order to open all the social doors. They’re intelligently reading the very early signs so that they have the best pick-up lines in the world, and differential pick-up lines, too. It’s an enviable skill.
To learn more about Fire element healing, join Thea at one of her upcoming Fire events. Fire Re-Ignition is happening on June 25th, 2023, and Whole Heart Acupuncture Fire is happening on July 8-9, 2023.
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