Paul captures Jeremy and Faye at play beside Three Sisters Waterfall.

Last weekend, Paul and Faye went to San Diego and graduated as Certified Bazi Practitioners. They also took a side trip with their colleagues Philip Tan and Jeremy Gilsoul from Aspire Wellness:

Recently, I traveled to San Diego, California, the home of my Shifu 師父 (a term to describe both mentor and father-figure) — world-renown Dr. Richard Tan. My Shifu is responsible for changing many aspects of my life, from my understanding and practice of Acupuncture to my patient treatments. This trip was to complete a years-long study of Bazi (pronounced bah-tze).

Bazi is a Chinese birth chart with a life progression. Based on solar, lunar, and elemental influences, this tool provides insights into the stages a person life moves through from their initial breath to their last heartbeat. The interpretation of one’s chart can have a profound impact on persons looking to optimize the subtle, but certain, energies that influence our being. Aspects from marriage and personality to wealth, children, and especially health are notable insights that one can gain perspective on when a Bazi is read.

However, this article isn’t just about Bazi, rather, it is about support and friendship; personal challenges and the actions necessary to overcome them. It’s about accepting and loving yourself, then dedicating your everything to the ever-winding journey that each of us finds ourselves on.

Three Sisters Waterfall is a moderate to difficult hike about 1.5 hours to the east of San Diego, California. The hike is about 2 miles down into a valley that brings you to a river. Following the river to the falls, large boulders with stunning shapes weave a labyrinthian path to ponds created by the spilling water. Micro pools and mini water falls litter the landscape of this serene environment. The beauty and excitement of this place is amazing, the pools of water spectacular. On a lovely Thursday in February, four people spent several hours together on a simple hike in these San Diego hills. You may be wondering, first Bazi and now some story about a hike… Where’s the connection?

Here goes. This hike was difficult for me. Google review indicates it’s difficult for many, but it was especially difficult for me. While challenging, my friends made the trip not only achievable, but unforgettable. My three friends offered no judgement about my struggle climbing down and up what felt to me to be a mountain. Their support, eased the hardest parts of the journey. Their words of encouragement drove me to push through pain and struggle. Their company made the journey something special, something
experienced together.

The most profound moment was standing before a large pool of water, created from water cutting through the boulders. A simple challenge, “Let’s go in!” Immediately fear, limitation, self-expectation, self-judgment, even guilt coursed through my body. There was no pressure so it would have been easy to say no to the maybe 50-degree water. However, my friend Paul spoke a simple sentence that will serve me the rest of my life. Simply, he said, “Jeremy, touch the waterfall. When are you going to get an opportunity like this again in life?”

Everyone has in front of them a 50-degree pool of water waiting at the bottom of a mountain, and the climb back up from there as well. There will be things that you really don’t want to do, but the experience will forever change your life. The sense of accomplishment, of personal victory lies waiting on the other side of challenge. For me that day, running into the freezing water, touching the waterfall, and climbing back up a very large and steep hill, pushed me in a whole new direction.

If you are struggling, feeling lost or confused, or just tired, sick, or in constant pain, perhaps now is a great time for you to visit an Acupuncturist or other qualified healthcare provider for a new perspective. Perhaps a Bazi reading will unveil for you some of the mysteries that surround your life. Whatever the challenges or obstacles you’re facing, now is the perfect time for you to “…touch the waterfall.”

I promise you, amazing things will come your way!

— Jeremy Gilsoul, C. Ac.

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