This site is a chance for me to share thoughts, words, and ideas about life, the universe, and everything.
Whilst I am currently halfway through a degree in Chinese Medicine, I have been studying and practicing esoteric and mystic arts for over 15 years. I have travelled around Australia and a few places overseas, and have met numerous interesting and wise folk who have always been more than happy to impart their own worldview.
One thing I have been fascinated in are peoples’ stories: their myths, legends, and theories on what life is, how the world works, and why we are here. These stories are an important part of healing and health, as having a sense of place and/or time is a vital aspect of feeling whole. The World Health Organisation’s biopsychosocial model of health imparts this idea that good health is inter-related with our social environment.
In most (if not all) cultures, there is an understanding of duality and polarity. Some would argue that the universality of this concept is based upon the biological realities of the twin hemispheres of our brains. The ancient Chinese symbol of the dragon and the phoenix are zoomorphic representations of yang and yin respectively. Yang is the dynamism of life, whilst yin is the structure within which yang is encouraged to thrive – one cannot do without the other.
According to Daoist belief, Heaven and Earth are the temporal manifestations of this primal duality. Heaven (yang) represents the realms of higher consciousness, of spiritual and philosophical endeavours; Earth (yin) represents the material world, the realm of the mundane. The two realms are inter-related, inter-dependent, and inter-transformational.
Like seekers and adepts from many cultures and traditions, the Daoist seeks to unify the two, and to walk the middle path: this is the alchemical way towards wholeness!
For what is the point of spiritual power if there is no world in which to wield it?
This concept of course is summarised succinctly in the symbol of the tai ji tu:
Good health and happiness comes when we become the curved line between yang and yin – firm enough to separate the two, yet yielding enough to move with the flow of each.
This is the union of Heaven and Earth…
