The difficulty of such an exercise lies in the fact that in all the phenomena that surround us – nature, the seasons, life – nothing is ever static, everything is in motion. One moment we believe we have found the answers to our questions, and the next everything becomes confusing again, giving us the impression of living in a world that is as illusory as it is ephemeral. And throughout all this time, despite this sense of eternal recommencement, the little spark that glimmers inside us gives us the hope and courage to push our research further, to always move forward!
If Life Could Be Told
It is not new that humans ardently desire to understand the mysterious workings of life, the mind, behaviors and emotions. They have always asked existential questions: Who am I? Where am I going? Why? Where do we come from? Who is the master architect of all this? For more than 10,000 years, great Eastern sages and philosophers have asked the same questions. Let us see what they have found.
In the Beginning Was the Word
Each manifestation of life – the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, climate variations, the seasons, sound waves, light, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human being, emotions, death, etc. – everything comes from one and the same energy. While some use the expression “The Breath” to describe it, others use “The Word”, and Easterners call it “Qi”, the universal creative energy.
According to Eastern wisdom, “Qi” is everything, it creates everything, it is in everything. Some religions refer to “Qi” when speaking of “God”, “Allah” or “Yahweh”. It is the universal fundamental substance. All phenomena in the universe, everything that surrounds us – from the smallest ant to the most gigantic planet – result from the movements and transformations of “Qi”.
Strict Rationalists, Please Abstain
For us Westerners, this concept is very nebulous and often the subject of ridicule from strict rationalists. The idea that something can be both dense and subtle, that it constitutes life and sets it in motion, that we can see it and yet it is simultaneously invisible… All of this can only be a subterfuge, a grotesque joke, an illusion!
New ideas have always shaken established thinkers and convinced scientists. Yet not so long ago, people still said the Earth was flat… I sincerely believe that in the near future the scientific explanation of “Qi” will be validated by many experiments and all sectors of our lives will be influenced for our greatest good. But while waiting for science to catch up, the practices of Qi Gong, Tai Chi, acupuncture, Feng Shui, etc. are accessible to all those who want to experience “Qi” through their senses.
Let’s take night and day as an example. They are…
- Opposites: when one is present, the other is not.
- Complementary: in the night there is the seed of day, and in the day there is the seed of night.
- Interdependent: night cannot exist if day does not exist.
- In balance: each has its share of the day.
- In transformation: one transforms itself, making way for the other.
- They are in perpetual motion and will remain so until the end of time.
5 Elements: 5 Movements
Always seeking to help us better understand the universe around us, to the two forces of Yin and Yang were added the following categories – 5 elements: 5 movements – representing a more subtle gradient, a more precise regulatory system. If yin/yang represents the faithful couple, the 5 elements are their offspring and, of course, they have a lot of character. Each element nourishes another and each element controls another. If each respects its role, dynamic balance is maintained.
The deepening of these concepts led to the development of a system of thought, “Taoism”, which has long influenced Chinese culture in all aspects of life: astronomy, philosophy, science, medicine, psychology, food, design, environment, art, spirituality, etc.
This system of thought – at once extremely sophisticated, precise and logical – arrived in the West around the 1970s. It allowed thousands of people to become aware of the close link that exists between humanity and the universe it inhabits.
Once properly understood and assimilated, Taoism lends itself to a thousand and one applications.
One thing is certain: humanity is part of this great Whole. Every second of life is influenced by the fluctuations of the multiple cosmic energies that surround us. Birth, life and death are subject to the same dynamism, the same forces and the same logic, from the smallest to the greatest phenomenon. We can thus better understand ourselves, better understand others, and better understand life in order to live it more fully. That is the essence of Taoism.
The sages of these ancient times leave us a remarkable message of hope, saying: “Have no fear, you are part of the whole and this whole is infinitely perfect, just and eternal. So, bon voyage!” ♦