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Heaven is my father and Earth is my mother, and even such a small creature as I finds an intimate place in their midst. That which fills the Universe I regard as my body; that which directs the Universe I regard as my nature. All beings are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions. — Zhang Zai (11th century, China)

 

He wants to have right without wrong, order without disorder, does not understand the principles of heaven and earth. He does not know how things hang together.

-Chang Tzu

 

I do not admire the excess of a virtue like courage, unless I see at the same time an excess of the opposite virtue… Extreme courage and extreme kindness. We show greatness, not by being one extreme, but by touching both at once and occupying all the space in between. -Blaise Pascal

 

Yin and Yang

 

Yin and yang are opposites. Everything has its opposite—although this is never absolute, only comparative. Water is yin, but hot water is yang compared to cold water.

 

Part of yin is in yang and part of yang is in yin. There are always traces of one in the other. For example, there is always light within the dark (e.g., the stars at night), these qualities are never completely one or the other.

 

Yin and yang are interdependent. Nothing is totally Yin or totally Yang. The classics state, “Yin creates Yang and Yang activates Yin.” One cannot exist without the other. The spirit needs the animal body and the body needs the spirit.

 

Yin and yang are infinitely divisible into one and other, as they can be further subdivided. Morning is the yang within yang, the afternoon the yin within yang, the night the yin within yin, the breaking day is the yang within yin.

 

Yin and yang consume and support each other. Relative levels of Yin and Yang are continuously changing. Normally this is a harmonious change, but when Yin or Yang are out of balance they affect each other, and too much of one can eventually weaken (consume) the other. When you brought one log of wood for your camping trip and suddenly it snows, the snow (yin) consumes the warmth of the fire (yang) rather quickly.

 

Yin and yang can transform into one another. At a particular stage, yin can transform into yang and vice versa. For example, the wick uses the wax to keep the flame alive. In the natural world we see summer changes into winter, day changes into night, life into death, happiness into unhappiness, heat into cold and vice versa. For example, the great euphoria of a drinking spree is quickly followed the next morning by the depression of a hang-over.

 

Seeking balance is the key to the philosophy and the medicine.

 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine channels are unseen pathways that carry vital life energy, or qi, throughout the body, connecting organs and unifying all bodily functions. They form a complex network with specific points along them acting as gateways for the vital energy. Some modern research suggests links to fascia (connective tissue) and bioelectric signals, viewing them as pathways for communication and energy transmission.Health is a balanced qi flow through these channels, while blockages or imbalances lead to illness, addressed through therapies like acupuncture to restore flow.

 

Treatment: Therapies aim to harmonize qi by stimulating acupoints, promoting smooth circulation and restoring yin-yang balance.

 

Modalities: Acupuncture (needles), moxibustion (heat), acupressure (massage), and cupping are common techniques.