The Five Elements: Understand Yourself and Enhance Your Relationships with the Wisdom of the World’s Oldest Personality Type System

Acclaimed dancer, teacher, and speaker Dahlin (The Little Book of Energy Medicine) proposes that human behavior, emotions, and health are influenced by the five elements—earth, fire, metal, water, and wood—and that personalities can be distinguished by them. What do Angelina Jolie and Barack Obama have in common? They both possess the metal personality type, according to the Five Elements Personality Type System. Dahlin credits this Chinese system for strengthening her ability to get along with others and helping her negotiate tricky situations in work and uncomfortable phases in relationships. In this study of the human experience, Dahlin encourages readers to reexamine and expand what they think they know about themselves and others by studying the traits of the different five elements. Each chapter focuses on one of the five elements, describing the attributes of each, such as the fact that earth personalities are drawn to people in need, fire personalities are impulsive, and water personalities live to eat. The fun personality-assessment quiz included in each chapter allows each reader to easily identify his or her dominant element, and the last chapter delves into how each element interacts with the others. Readers who are open to these teachings and wonder why people do what they do will have their questions answered many times over. (Oct.)