Recently, many of my brothers and sisters have been telling me they’re already feeling the influence of the Li Fire major cycle (离火大运). Their emotions and mindset have grown increasingly restless and anxious — it’s hard to settle down and get anything done.
So I thought it was time to write something to help cool that inner fire. Let’s talk about how to achieve what the ancients called a state of calm Chi, tranquil spirit — where everything flows smoothly.
First and foremost, the most important thing in this Jiachen Year is to truly grasp the power of one single word: less.
Less desire. Less agitation. Less worry. Less food. Less irritation. Less complaint.
The Tao Te Ching offers a line worth meditating on: “Less brings gain; excess brings calamity.”
So I believe the highest form of self-care during this Li Fire period is to minimize your losses wherever possible — eat less, indulge less, rest more.
At the same time, quiet your mind. Don’t let distant, far-off concerns disturb you.
Learn to attend only to what is directly in front of you.
Eat the meal in front of you. Drink the water in front of you. Do the work in front of you. Care for the person in front of you.
Above all, let go of that obsessive, all-or-nothing mindset. Stop spending every day fixated on making it big, earning money, striking it rich.
Remember this clearly: the vast majority of illnesses in this world have their symptoms in the body, but their roots in the mind.
If your heart is weighed down by a thousand-ton burden, how can you expect your body to stay healthy, your days to go well, or your efforts to bear fruit?
Buddhism speaks of the five afflictions: greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt (贪嗔痴慢疑).
These five words have already captured every source of human suffering — and at its core, all suffering is a sickness of the mind.
So this Jiachen Year, I hope you can let yourself eat when you should eat, sleep when you should sleep — and while you should put in genuine effort, never drain yourself completely dry.
Learn to face all outcomes with equanimity. And always leave yourself some breathing room in advance.
I don’t know how much of this will land for you — but if you finish reading and feel a sudden clarity, as though pure light had poured straight into the top of your head, that alone proves your understanding runs deep.
I myself only truly grasped this after stepping into middle age: we are born human, yet ultimately we are simply one among all living things, unable to escape the orbit of the Dao. Certain natural laws go without saying — and as long as you follow them, they will reward you.
Eating must be simple and nourishing — but go easy on spice, oil, salt, sugar, and anything overly stimulating. Never eat until you’re stuffed. High blood sugar and digestive strain are genuinely damaging to the body.
Sleeping — sleep early and rise early. No endless late nights chasing entertainment. The best rhythm aligns with the sun and moon. If you must stay up late, be lying down with your eyes closed by eleven, letting your vital energy restore itself. Chronic sleep deprivation burns through your Chi (气) — it genuinely shortens your life.
Beyond that, we are human — the most conscious of all living beings, yet still living beings. So get outside more. Soak up the sun. Immerse yourself in nature. Watch animals and plants. Stroll through parks, visit zoos, wander through lush green countryside.
And during this Jiachen period, I also hope you’ll nourish your mind and spirit:
1. Build inner strength — allow everything to happen. Accept both the good and the bad with open arms. When good things arrive, cherish them, hold onto them, accumulate every victory. When bad things arrive, don’t be discouraged. Instead ask yourself: What is this hardship waking me up to?
2. Don’t get entangled — learn to observe. Train yourself to view your circumstances from the outside, like a bystander. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses from a calm, objective standpoint. If every little setback sends you into emotional turmoil, you will never amount to much.
3. Stop blaming heaven and earth. Never fall into the habit of constant complaint. When you complain, two ugly things happen simultaneously: your body floods with stress hormones that push you toward avoidance, and your vital spirit collapses — making you progressively more pessimistic, until good fortune gives you a very wide berth.
4. Don’t obsess, force outcomes, or stubbornly refuse to let go. Never trap yourself in a single result to the point of demanding you must succeed. The outcome of many endeavors is decided long before your effort even begins — that is heavenly will. Learn to flow with things naturally. Learn to move with the current. Only then can you accomplish truly great things.
5. Don’t chatter all day. Unless a reader comes to me seeking analysis of their destiny framework (格局), I keep what I carry inside to myself. In ordinary life, I don’t proactively guide anyone — there’s simply no need. The mouth is the gateway to the heart: once opened carelessly, vital essence leaks out. And inserting yourself into someone else’s karma uninvited is, frankly, a foolish thing to do. In daily life, keep your lips sealed.
6. Remind yourself: “After a long yin season, yang returns. After prolonged darkness, light must emerge.” No matter how deep your valley right now — every valley has its rebound day. Learn to honor the rhythm of the heavenly mandate (天命). These days, many of my friends in business come to me with their troubles. I tell them all the same thing: life runs in waves, good stretches and bad. So when you’re in the bad stretch, let the bad fully exhaust itself. When all the negatives are spent and all the bad luck has cleared out — the future actually becomes brighter for it.
Finally, let me share a few truths as simple as the great Dao itself:
★ Except for terminal illness, every wound in this world can slowly heal within two or three years.
★ Experiencing more pain in life is actually a wonderful wake-up call and catalyst for growth. It only makes you stronger.
★ Read more. Walk more. Sleep well. Do your work with care. The clouds will part and the sun will break through — in time.
★ Spend tender time with those you love. It does wonders for the spirit. Just don’t let it tip into excess.
I hope every brother and sister who reads this to the end will begin, right now, to truly love themselves.
And don’t forget — somewhere in this world, there is someone called Master Chi who loves you very, very much.