In the Qi Gong exercise, 8 Pieces of Silk Brocade, the first movement is called Shuang Shou Tuo Tian, Two Hands Hold up the Heavens. The movement ends with the arms up above the head, with palms facing upwards, and fingers pointing towards each other. It’s a wonderful stretch for the meridians that run along the arms, but I also use this exercise as a time to remember my unique position as a human being on earth, and my contract with heaven.
In Eastern philosophy, human beings are the product of the union between heaven and earth. They are sustained by the power of earth and transformed by the power of heaven. We can think about heaven and earth as being relative aspects of the same thing, qi. After all, the universe came from nothing, so everything in the universe has been transformed from that something that came from nothing.
Human beings are not separate from the earth, or heaven, they are simply a particular configuration of qi with a unique ability, through the capacity of consciousness, to direct their destiny. In having consciousness, human beings are both the lightest aspect of qi, heaven, and in having a body also the densest aspect of qi, earth (qi is commonly translated as energy, but is more like a motivating, animating force). Standing as the highest manifestation of the evolutionary process (through the capacity of high states of consciousness compared to other living things) human beings have an obligation to push the leading edge of evolution forward, which is to relate to one another, all other living things, and the earth with a higher state of consciousness/mindfulness/compassion.
The philosophies of the East have long been based on an understanding that all life is connected, a unified whole, and it seems that modern physics is catching up, with the discovery of the illusive Higgs boson particle (1). When atoms (or you and I) pass through the Higgs field, particles from it attach to the particles in atoms giving them weight: in other words making them manifest. Matter is constantly passing through the Higgs field, so everything really is connected. Science may yet discover that thoughts and emotions also are made manifest by the same process, which would make the Higgs field what some describe as universal consciousness. Our sixth sense, and intuition, which we have learned to mistrust in Western societies, is my proof of this.
So in discussing man’s place, standing between heaven and earth, I have sought to describe our purpose in life, which is to manifest our true potential to the best of our abilities. In my next blog I will write about Yin and Yang, through which everything in the universe can be described. Practitioners of acupuncture observe the state of Yin and Yang in the body, and work towards harmonising it.
(1) Nick Collins, Science Correspondent, 04 Jul 2012, Higgs Boson: Q& A, The Telegraph. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/large-hadron-collider/9372661/What-is-Higgs-Boson-the-God-Particle.html
Fire Horse Rising 