It could have something to do with your next career move, or the step you make towards consolidating your relationship. It might be the decision you make to leave town in search of a new challenging life experience! Regardless, some of the consequences of making decisions are perhaps not always what you may have expected. And indeed, here and there, you are inevitably left with nothing but a huge mess to clean up.  

If for whatever reason your decisions are based on emotion, there will be a mess to clean up! Nothing could be more certain.  When angry, your Liver energy will be uprooted and  in a volatile state, you will make decisions that are unstable. When sentimental, your Heart energy will become scattered and in a frenzy, you will make decisions that are chaotic. When worried, your Spleen energy will become decimated and in depletion, you will make decisions that reflect your neediness. When sad, your Lung energy will become stale and you will make decisions based on what it feels like to drown in an ocean of despair. When fearful, your Kidney energy will be exhausted and you will make decisions based on desperation.

None of these responses is appropriate. They will all lead to the disintegration of your personal energy fields and disempowerment. 

If you signed up for the job because it would pay you better than the gig you really had a passion for, you will not be able escape the gnawing feeling that you sold your soul. This feeling will eat away at you until you lose your marbles or you dump your dissatisfaction on the wrong person at the wrong time and wind up paying a high price for your frustration. At the end of the day, the infamous Doctor Faustus thought he could make a deal with Lucifer and paid the ultimate price. You don’t want to end up like him. The moral of the story at any rate is that when you do something without love it will always backfire and you will have to pay the price for it.

Similarly, if you constantly pick up the broken pieces of your daughter’s life  and try to fix things for her, she will be the one to miss out in the long run and her growing ineptitude will be the mess you have to clean up. Why? Because you taught her to be like that. If you want to help a youngster you have no choice but to show them what it means to stand on their own two feet, to be loving and compassionate, and to be confident in finding solutions for their own problems – with support and guidance when necessary. A failure to do this will reflect poorly on you. So, do you intend to bring up a child for life? Or did you intend to raise a real human being? If you were brought up to be needy, it is likely you will project this onto your own kids. If you were raised to develop independence, compassion and initiative, you will probably enjoy watching the same qualities flourish in those that follow after you.

We all have our messes. It helps if you know what they are specifically. Be honest and impartial when investigating them. Start with finding out where you stand in relation to your career. What about your personal relationship? Then move onto your family. Are your financial affairs in order? If not why not? It doesn’t mean that you have to be held to a budget’s ransom but you do need to know what comes in and what goes out and if you are serving your purpose. If you’re not healthy, when will you get your act together? Are your friends the kind of people that are suitable associates for your ongoing development? Do you make time for stillness? If not, how are you going to slow down long enough to assess what your requirements are? 

As you can see, cleaning up messes is a process. It is a working, moving meditation. It never ends. But it does need to begin sometime. If you are serious about reducing the interval between cause and effect, the time has come for you to answer the big questions. They are not difficult to answer but they do need to be approached. Otherwise, you will get stuck and never seem to get off the roundabout!

The words of someone skilled at talking it up, never present a reflection of the true story. This always rides on the back of deficiency or a lack of substance. Otherwise there would be no need for all the noise.  

Watch the front very carefully! On the surface, it only masks the opposite. But we know the opposite is there. It has been there the entire time.  

Someone that only shows you their smiley face is hiding their insincerity.  

Someone that only shows you anger is hiding their fear.  

Someone that only shows you sorrow is hiding their potential for joy.  

In dealing with people, see the opposite in anything and everything.

This will allow you to see the whole story before the end of the first chapter.  

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!  

from ‘The Danger of the Secret’

Reading people is not as difficult as it may seem. And it could come in handy! Who knows? You might just be the one to orchestrate a winning strategy because you were able to accurately evaluate the mentalities of those around you.

And on that note, imagine sharpening your awareness so finely that you were able to see into the core nature of people and things at a glance. As if you could see it all – equipped with a crystal ball and highly developed powers of observation.

In China several thousands of years ago, the King of Huainan invited a number of sages to his court in an effort to compile a comprehensive body of teachings on life. The plan was ambitious but not without a chance for success. And the King as an established patron of the arts intended the auspicious gathering of the wise to serve as a model on how to live in society harmoniously.

Happily, the result was the erudite collection of sayings known as the ‘Huainanzi’ – the teachings of the Masters of Huainan. No doubt the King thereafter felt as if he had the good fortune of looking at life through a crystal ball!

From a layperson’s perspective, the most striking features of the ‘Huinanzi’ seem to focus on the sages’ abilities to see directly into the heart of the human condition.  With chapters on society, peace, war, and government, the authors speak with a lucidity that only the wise can muster. In one famous passage they also seamlessly evaluate people in terms of status and intention. Some examples of their prowess follow. 

On High Status

In evaluating people who hold positions of high status, carefully observe what they promote. In observing what they promote you will know their genuineness.

The key here is in the observation of promotion. I once knew of a respected chief administrator who consistently used all the right words at just the right pitch to deliver his message with plenty of passion.

Unfortunately, as believable as his message happened to be, the actions of those he represented didn’t match his words. In other words, his position of status afforded him the luxury of posturing without substance.

On Giving

In evaluating the wealthy, observe what they are prepared to give. In watching what they are prepared to give, you will know their parsimony.

Most wealthy people become wealthy and stay wealthy because they have learned how to keep their hands on the dough once they have it. We have all heard of the famous Dickens character Scrooge. He kept it all too himself and earned a reputation as a miser. Then there are some who give it away freely. The key to this evaluation is on the quality of the giving rather than the amount of it.

After all is said and done, giving to charities is one thing when you have plenty stashed away and it looks good on the books. But there is another kind of giving. It is often measured in terms of time and energy. 

On the Poor

In evaluating the poor, observe what they refuse to accept. In watching what they refuse to accept, you will know their pride.

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins for good reason. Not only does it defy logic but it also gets in the way of taking the next step – in terms of growth. Football teams have their pride to contend with, as do all those who are in competition with one another. We expect that from our sporting heroes. In the real world however sadly, pride does go before a fall because strengthening of the ego cripples common sense.

In Oriental philosophy, pride is often associated with arrogance. There is a Yin type and a Yang type. Yin arrogance belongs to the one who believes that the world owes them a living! They suffer silently but cannot mask their discontent. Yang arrogance on the other hand is more up front and in your face. The prevailing belief is that it is one’s birthright to belligerently uphold an opinion and shout about it!

The bottom line is that pride erodes any relationship to humility that one may have. The latter is essential for personal growth. The former precludes it!

On Resentment

In evaluating people who are of low status, observe what they refuse to do. In watching what they refuse to do, you will know their resentment.

People will only refuse to do something if they think it is beneath them! This means that there is an existing inferiority complex. A man or woman of humility will not hesitate to do the dirty work if called upon. 

This is because there is no regard for either superiority or inferiority. It is all the same for this person.

Refusal to do the work however is a by-product of resentment – especially concerning those of low status. People accumulate resentment when they think they’ve been hard done by. So resentment is a justice issue as much as it has to do with being a victim of the system. The bottom line is that resentment is the brewing of unresolved emotional issues that have festered in the swimming pool of the family dynamic. 

On Greed

In evaluating the greedy, observe what they will not take. In watching what they will not take, you will know the quality of their satisfaction.

Greedy people usually take anything and everything they can get their hands on. So it’s interesting to see them leave something alone. This will only happen when they have enough of course. So we know they must have quite a bit stored away! Observation of the greedy also indicates much about personal values. 

On Self-Restraint

In seeing people change difficulties, you will know their courage. Entice people with the promise of joy and happiness and you will see their capacity for self-restraint.

Those lacking in self-restraint are prone to excesses of one kind or another. Usually this revolves around the endless pursuit of desire. Yet few realise that those who are incapable of restraint can never be truly happy. In other words, indulgences stretch the boundaries of balanced behaviour and lead to extreme shifts between sanity and neurosis.

Moreover, desire is an endless pit and the consequences of chasing after it are rarely considered. This is predominantly why ‘The Secret’ was such a runaway success. When people get a sniff of something that can lead to the fulfilment of their wildest dreams they will jump at the chance to do something about it regardless of the consequences.

So we know that self-restraint and the working off of karma have something in common. Though it is true that every desire must eventually be realised, the cultivation of understanding can sometimes knock a few unnecessary desires off the list and in so doing, bolster spiritual economy.

On Humanity

Entrust people with goods and money and you will see their humanity.

When people are in the throes of feathering their own nest though not accustomed to doing so, they invariably become self-obsessed and lose sight of others. Humane people on the other hand, always look out for those less fortunate than they are. 

This premise is really about the acceptance of responsibility. To what extent are we responsible for each other? In the grand scheme of things personal autonomy is one of the higher spiritual goals. You are not responsible for me in the sense that I must cleanup after myself. And vice-versa.

That being said however, am I able to respond to your plight (whatever it is) with compassion? This doesn’t mean I am obligated to do your dirty work but in the same breath I am responsible for helping you to learn about personal autonomy.

On Discipline

Shake people with fear and you will know their discipline.

It takes tremendous discipline to overcome fear. To begin with, one must dispense with indulging in disturbances of one kind or another. Then one must pay attention to everything that is happening with enormous sensitivity.

The current economic rollercoaster is a case in point. The fear of losing everything (if one has investments) or never recovering (if one is dependent for anything on those who are players in the market) can only be overcome by limiting desire and consolidating one’s position through cutting down on spending.

To put it another way, fear drives people to accumulate. When things go awry, there is panic. Don’t worry about accumulation and focus on the day-to-day. 

In Summary

How many people do you know that fit into any of the categories outlined? There are probably a few. Make an effort to apply something that you’ve learned today. Observe what others promote. Watch what they give. See what they refuse to do. Assess what they resent. How do your values rate in terms of the greedy? Do you possess any self-restraint? Would others call you humane? And are you an accumulator?

In fairness to those sages who spent time and energy putting together a book to harmoniously live by, we might do well to pay more attention to our observational habits. Reading people is not difficult. And it does get easier with practice.

The First and Last Goodbye

Kolita tells his father that everyone must follow his own destiny in order to fulfil soul’s purpose. It is a prelude to his immanent departure and a gesture of respect. Deep down, Kolita is ready to go. He understands he cannot live without passion and expect to be at peace with his soul. There are too many questions unanswered and too many problems left unsolved.

‘Because my consciousness is beginning-less I know that I have taken countless rebirths in samsara,’ he says to the man who once was his idol and a Brahmin well versed in the classics.

‘I have already had countless bodies… if they were all gathered together, they would fill the entire world, and all the blood and other bodily fluids that have flowed through them would form an ocean! So great has been my suffering in all these previous lives that I have shed enough tears of sorrow to form yet another ocean!

‘In every single life without exception… I have experienced the sufferings of sickness, ageing, death… being separated from those I love… and being unable to fulfill my wishes. If I do not attain permanent liberation from suffering now, I shall have to experience these sufferings again and again in countless future lives.

‘From the very depths of our hearts… can we not at least try to abandon our attachment to worldly pleasures and attain permanent liberation from contaminated rebirths?’

Question:

What would you say to your son upon hearing that?

The moral of the story is that if you think having a baby will bring you happiness, think again! And this brings us to an interesting point. It begs the question, what is happiness? And, how do you tap into it?

According to the ancient sages, freedom from emotional entanglement is the measure of happiness. So what is emotional entanglement then? In a word, it is very simply ‘attachment’ to either ‘this’ or ‘that’. And most of us spend the bulk of our waking moments dedicated to the preservation of these attachments – whatever they may be – and with whomever. Unfortunately, attachments only serve to strengthen the fear of losing what one has become attached to and this sets in motion the vicious cycle of  entanglement. 

If happiness is caused, watch out! True happiness has no cause and comes into being quite naturally when the urge to be somewhere else or do something else comes to an end. This is called being in the moment. When awareness is from moment to moment, the observer and the observed merge and there is no separation between them.

Meditate on this! 

‘From the Top’

Geoffrey Wilson (Copyright September 2007)

INT. OFFICE — CONTINUOUS
(JB to listeners)
JB
Hello everybody and welcome to oriental mind secrets, an audio series designed to provide you the listener with access to the amazing work of Geoffrey Wilson – author of a remarkable distance learning course on oriental
psychology.

(JB to Geoff)
JB (CONT’D)
And hello to you, Geoff. What’s happening down under?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
The weather here in Sydney is gorgeous at the moment – but we’re not here for the weather, are we JB? We’re here to talk about oriental mind secrets.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
I miss the Sydney weather to be honest, Geoff. You can’t tell me morning meditations followed by a walk on the beach aren’t to die for?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
You’ve got a point JB. That’s how my days start when the sun is out. I’m a lucky man.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Some people say we make our luck, Geoff. What’s your take on luck?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Good question. I think there are two aspects to luck really. One aspect is staying true to your vision.

(MORE)
2.
GEOFF (CONT’D)
When you stay true to your vision and your spiritual plan, your heart energy aligns with your higher soul purpose. Amazing things happen as a result. The second aspect of luck is that good fortune seems to smile on those who are favoured by the grace of God – that little piece of serendipity that comes the way of people who consciously live in
such a way that the laws of cause and effect are respected and followed. Living in this way, the interval between cause and effect never gets too wide – which means there are fewer messes to clean up – unnecessary time is
therefore not spent on doing things that are not productive.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
So what you are saying is that everybody is capable of receiving their fair share of luck as long as they abide by the spiritual rules.

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Precisely. Another way of saying much the same thing is to suggest the term ‘creative living’. When we live creatively, fear is removed as a response to the challenges we face – and in its place, we discover that the vision is everything. When you live in your vision, your heart automatically governs proceedings – in other words, your thoughts and feelings are elevated to perform a more spiritually aligned function in keeping with a higher purpose.
When this purpose is shared, we discover we aren’t alone.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
On that note then Geoff, how do you see your purpose?

(Geoff to JB)
3.
GEOFF
It has evolved over time I think, JB. Initially, I was immersed in the process of learning what oriental medicine actually is – how it operates, the principles, the art. Once, I became comfortable with my relationship to it, I began to explore outside of the box. I discovered that oriental medicine provides a template for the cultivation and refinement of the complete human being – and that within its structure, it is possible to bring the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects together holistically. I tested this out in the clinic, in the classroom, in every conceivable way. And I learned that in general, people are not aware of the mind,body,spirit connection on a
deep level – that is, as far as it determines their experience of health, balance, and harmony. So as far as purpose goes now, I see myself expanding on playing an educational role. One of the avenues for presenting material
is through seminars and classes. Another avenue that I’m becoming increasingly more interested in is television – presenting holistic medicine in a stimulating and visual way. And of course, distance education is the way of
the future.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
I think you are right, Geoff. The indications certainly are that ‘e learning’ is gaining in popularity. What was it like to design the oriental psychology course? What factors did you have to consider?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
I’ve been involved in curriculum development since 1988. The technical aspects of writing curriculum are straight forward. What I really wanted to do with writing an e course though, was to design the program in such a

(MORE)
4.
GEOFF (CONT’D)
way that students would be able to get as close as possible to a classroom situation. To do that it was necessary to include stimulating and exciting learning activities that supported their reading. The most important element however, was the selection of the material to be used. The fields of oriental philosophy and medicine are huge – they are literally worlds within worlds. I wanted to make sure there was plenty of reference to the classics -
especially the I-Ching, the Chuang Tzu, the Wu Chen Pi’en, the Huinanzi, and the Art of War.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
What is it about those classics in particular that led to them being included in the course? Let’s start with the I-Ching.

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
The I-Ching is a book of ancient Chinese wisdom and contains the secrets of 64 spiritual principles – keys to successful living – as it were. And successful living depends on self-mastery.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
The Chuang Tzu is a mysterious book thought by some to contain nothing but riddles. Is this true?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
The Chuang Tzu is one of my absolute favourites. In a sense, it is a book of riddles and quite difficult to comprehend without a background in oriental thinking or spiritual practices. It exposes the human condition, sets aside illusions, and does this through storytelling. The book is full of brilliant anecdotes, tales, and stories that are as relevant today as

(MORE)
5.
GEOFF (CONT’D)
they were when they were written, several thousand years ago. Some of the stories in fact are used in modern psychology as a reference – the famous butterfly dream being a good example.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
What is the significance of the butterfly dream?
(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Chuang Tzu has a dream. He wakes up in the morning startled to find he is Chou. He doesn’t know whether Chou has dreamt he is a butterfly or if a butterfly has been dreaming it is Chou. The point of the story is to contemplate the nature of psychological transformation – the butterfly does this instinctively. It simply emerges from they cocoon to discover the joy of flight. A human emerges from the darkness of obscurity at some stage to discover
enlightenment, it is not a simple task and it certainly is not easy. The process of transformation is a struggle because the human has a mind and a mind is something that goes astray! It, the mind, can never be whole – it cannot see the front and back simultaneously – hence, the problem of division. So the journey of transformation for the human is to discover the ending of separateness. This can only be done when distinctions between this and that cease.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Wow! What about Wu Chen Pi’en?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
The Wu Chen Pi’en is a classic text of spiritual alchemy.

(MORE)
6.
GEOFF (CONT’D)
It is basically a spiritual guide to penetrate the mysteries of the inner teachings of Taoism – and these are primarily concerned with eliminating the negative and destructive influences of temporal conditioning – so that the mind becomes empty.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
There is also the Huainanzi – the teachings of the masters of Huainan – sometimes called the book of leadership and strategy. It’s an incredible book.

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Yes. Anyone genuinely interested in the arts of leadership should become familiar with this collection of sayings. The king of Huainan was a ruler of a small principality within the empire of Han dynasty China – second century
BC. He was already quite a distinguished patron of learning when a group of traveling Taoist masters appeared at court. The teachings follow the ancient tradition of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu and reflect the distillation of the essence of Taoist wisdom and the arts of living using a variety of techniques. Written in a period of reconstruction
following centuries of civil wars, the teachings emphasise the deleterious effects of habitual desires, the negative impact of greed and aggression on human psychology, and the importance of self-knowledge.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Finally Geoff, there is the Art of War, compiled by a mysterious warrior-philosopher, it remains one of the most influential books on strategy in the world today. In essence, what do you think the book is about?

(Geoff to JB)
7.
GEOFF
When viewed in the light of the spiritual tradition of Taoism, the art of war is a study in the psychology of conflict. By understanding conflict, one develops the skills to diffuse or avoid it entirely.

(JB to Geoff
JB
How does that work in a practical
sense?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
The beauty of the art of war as a philosophical treatise on avoiding conflict is that it can be applied to business as readily as it can be applied to the running of a household or a medical practice. Let’s take an example. The famous
general Jia Lin said, ‘The strength or weakness of a country depends on its generals. If the generals help the leadership and are thoroughly capable, then the country will be strong. If the generals do not help the leadership, and harbour duplicity in their hearts, then the country will be weak. Therefore it is imperative to be careful in
choosing people for positions of responsibility.’

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Excellent! I’ve also noticed that you place a lot of emphasis on finding a way for students to reconnect with their purpose.

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Without an awareness of purpose, life can seem like an endless struggle and sometimes this can lead to the experience of negative thoughts and feelings that inhibit and obstruct spiritual growth and development.

(JB to Geoff)
8.
JB
What do you think gets in the way of connecting with purpose? Are there warning signs that we might be able to recognise?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
There are many. Usually the warning is one of these: You either hate your job or see it as going nowhere fast. Your relationship is either in a rut or you both are going your own separate ways and too afraid to address it. Unresolved issues with mother and father or brother and sister guarantee resentment and blame, and strengthen a case for separation – which is counterproductive. You have money problems that don’t seem to ever go away despite your best attempts to do the right thing. You suffer from chronic health problems that are getting worse and you want to get fixed – as opposed to participating in the process and doing the inner work. Your circle of friends is exclusive and rarely expands to invite now experiences and a welcoming of fresh attitudes. Creativity suffers a loss because you don’t allow for recreation of any kind – and perhaps you have forgotten how to play. You have no relationship to your own sacred space and cannot find a point of sanctuary within that serves as a spiritual refuge. You think with your mind instead of your heart – sentimentality triumphs over love – the connection is therefore cut.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Your students insist that your contribution to the development of oriental medicine in the west has been to design a metaphysical approach that makes it possible to understand how the medicine works and involves the participant
directly. It is quite unique. How would you define this approach?

(Geoff to JB)
9.
GEOFF
There are three kinds of doctor. The first treats the symptoms. The second treats the cause. The third teaches the way of life – governed by the principles of balance and harmony. When something is wrong in the body and mind, it is because these principles have been neglected. Make the corrections and health can be restored.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Can you give some examples of how this works?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Sure. Unfulfilled desires lead to depression. This upsets the energy of the liver. When the energy of the liver is unbalanced, the ethereal soul suffers from neglect and this disconnects the sufferer from living the vision and supporting the life purpose. The medicine therefore consists of reconnecting the sufferer with vision and purpose. Once this is done, the depression lifts. This can be achieved through acupuncture, herbal medicine, effective strategy, and spiritual practice. In other words, to connect with vision, there has to be a sense of higher purpose.
Without this, most people get frustrated, become angry, and look for ways to engage the emotional volcano. The bottom line is that all physical disorders are spiritual disorders. All disorders have a relationship to the internal organs, and each of the organs stores an aspect of the mental-spiritual dynamic.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Wow. So what you’re saying is that psychology drives the body.

(Geoff to JB)
10.
GEOFF
Correct. And there are five aspects of psychology to consider in relation to the body-mind dynamic. Theses are: the ethereal soul stored in the liver, the spirit stored in the heart, the intellect stored in the spleen, the corporeal soul stored in the lung, and the willpower stored in the kidneys.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
What functions do each of them perform?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
The ethereal soul stored in the liver is to the psyche what the corporeal soul is to the body. Psychologically, the corporeal soul stored in the lung is the realm of the body unconscious – with its storehouse of sensations, emotions, passions, and feelings that represent the neurological intelligence of human beings.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Fine, that’s the ethereal soul and the corporeal soul. What about the heart spirit?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Psychologically, human beings are assaulted by a lack of intimacy in relationships that is exacerbated by the modern lifestyle and the ramifications of responding to it in a state of de-sensitisation. Many people in fact, use the technique of rationalising themselves into insensitivity, as Robert Aitken puts it, because the levels of shock experienced while living in the world are too intense – and numbing out is an effective, if not dangerous and ultimately destructive, coping mechanism. In simple terms, numbing out is a protective mechanism.

(MORE)
11.
GEOFF (CONT’D)
Unfortunately, activation of the rationalising policy inhibits the capacity for the heart spirit to be satisfactorily nourished.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
It would seem so. And the intellect? How does that work?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Psychologically, disturbances of the intellect stored in the spleen are caused by self-absorption. Worry and obsession are close relatives. Consequently, life experience cannot be transformed into ideas and intentions that
otherwise would become profound expressions of the heart spirit.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Willpower is a curious phenomenon. Where does it come into the equation in terms of oriental medicine?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
Psychologically, the most recognisable disturbance of the willpower stored in the kidneys is the person who is either caught up in compulsive activity or locked into the inertia of a stagnant lethargy. Without acknowledging
the existence and relevance of the ethereal soul, the corporeal soul, the intellect, the heart spirit, one is distracted by the illusion of self-importance. Drained by life instead of empowered by it, the strong urge to control the world because of fear dissipates any possibility for a sense of trust in the process of life to develop. The willpower is usually disturbed because most people push themselves to the brink of adrenal exhaustion. Without connecting to the source of vitality, artificial measures are relied on to sustain lifestyle

(MORE)
12.
GEOFF (CONT’D)
and along the way, people get lost in the traffic of competition and ambition.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
How amazing. What a model, Geoff. How many practitioners of oriental medicine do you think understand the mind in this way?

(Geoff to JB)
GEOFF
It depends on their training for the most part, I think. Those who have studied and trained in an environment dominated by the pursuit of academic objectives, tend to miss out on getting a taste for the spiritual tradition
that is the source of the real medicine. Certainly in terms of oriental medicine, Buddhism and Taoism play a big part in the successful and artful expression of diagnosis and treatment. At the end of the day, the quality of spiritual practice will determine the effectiveness of any interaction that takes place between the practitioner and the patient. This is why my favourite teacher told me, there are three kinds of doctor. The first treats the symptoms. He is an ordinary doctor. The second treats the cause. He is thinking bigger but still not getting it. The third teaches the way of life. He is solid as a rock on the inside and as flexible as mercury on the outside. Therefore he can develop endlessly.

(JB to Geoff)
JB
Perhaps this is something we could all aspire to. Thank you so much for the interview Geoff. We have covered much territory and there is certainly plenty of food for thought.

(JB to listeners)
13.
JB (CONT’D)
You heard it from the horse’s mouth folks. I think what we have discussed today provides a platform for deep contemplation. Till we meet again, this is James Brown signing off and fare ye well!

FADE OUT:

Without knowledge of this secret, the purpose of your life may become confused and as a result you may get distracted and lose your focus.

Lost Secret #2
Soul moves through the endless ages accompanied by the karma acquired from birth to birth. There are several different kinds of karma and each must be worked off (eliminated) before a human being can leave this life permanently.

Without knowledge of this secret, you may fail to reconcile cause and effect in which case you will continue to be the effect rather than the cause of your life.

Lost Secret #3
The opposite is implied in everything. Therefore, it is better to avoid developing preferences for either this or that. In order to see the truth then, one must hold no opinions for or against anything.

Without knowledge of this secret, you may develop bad habits such as the strengthening of prejudices in which case you will experience the conflict of the opposites.

Lost Secret #4
Problems are nothing more than our reactions to things. We become unhappy because we react instead of responding without judgment.

Without knowledge of this secret, you may never experience freedom from judgement in which case peace and harmony will elude you.

Lost Secret #5
We get attached to our feelings, especially when we’re flying high, and we hope it lasts forever. It doesn’t of course, and this is what makes us feel miserable. It is better to see through the things of the world and accept impermanence for what it is without wanting to argue about it.

Without knowledge of this secret, you may find it difficult to adapt to change and consequently get fixated about things. The world is impermanent. Soul is not.

Lost Secret #6
Anger, passion, anxiety, sorrow, and fear, are just reactions to what is going on externally – that is to say, on the outside. In ancient times, they were called the five thieves and the sages made it a point to restrict their influence by cultivating the five virtues of benevolence, compassion, sincerity, true sense, and wisdom.

Without knowledge of this secret, you may become a victim of emotional excess and lose your relationship to personal stability.

Lost Secret #7
The soma/psyche (body/mind) relationship can be understood easily by likening it to a coin. On one side of the coin, are thoughts and emotions arising in our minds. On the other side of the coin, are the respirations (breath) and sensations (pleasures, aches and pains) associated with our bodies.

By observing these carefully, as front and back, we can actually observe the nature of our mental impurities. This is called insight meditation and was discovered by Gautama Sakyamuni (a.k.a. the Buddha).

Without knowledge of this secret, you will not see that whatever has a front also has a back and that the bigger the front, the bigger the back.

Lost Secret #8
You must be able to sink your breath to the lower belly. That’s where the power is. Vital force comes from the waist… the waist is everything! That is why it is important to use the mind instead of force so that the vital energy will follow in the wake of the mind and circulate over the body. This is what is called being lithe in appearance and powerful in essence.

Without knowledge of this secret, you may find it difficult to maintain balance because if the vital force doesn’t follow the mind, chaos ensues and the body becomes confused.

Many patients no longer want to be merely ‘fixed up’. They want to be shown how to manage their lives! This requires a demonstration of what it means to achieve a very real functional balance and practical harmony in daily life. Ultimately, this depends on the process of education. Thus, education must be employed as a tool to engender wholeness.

Over the past 20 years, society has welcomed and embraced natural medicine. People have warmed to the idea of living a more natural lifestyle. Natural therapies from both the East and the West have blossomed. Yet, the thread linking them together has not been clearly identified and nor has it been used to cultivate the principle of wholeness accurately. The reasons for this seem to hinge on the fact that teachers of these modalities remain locked in the kind of thinking that still insists on seeing the symptoms of the patient as something to be fixed rather than as an indication of a deeper maladjustment to the challenges of living. It appears that no one is prepared to set the record straight.

The tragedy of technology is evidenced by the imposition of isolation on the individual. It is also a guarantee that maintaining a fragmented lifestyle will sustain this conflict. The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health of the individual in our modern age, the new age, is threatened beyond what either Orwell in ‘Coming Up For Air’ and ‘1984’, or Huxley in ‘Brave New World’, imagined! The recent movie ‘The Island’ is another case in point.

The ability to cope with and manage change remains the single most important dish on the menu for those entrusted with the responsibility to give advice on any meaningful level. This is especially true within the relationship that exists between a patient and practitioner. To this end, the Oriental Health Sciences & Traditional Oriental Healing Arts offer a comprehensive perspective on how to make this a practical reality. Unfortunately, there are few reliable interpreters of the paradigm.

Today, most teachers of the Traditional Oriental Healing Arts have not been trained to perform beyond the realm of technical expertise and certainly do not embody the essence of holistic health principles that many generations ago, formed the basis of practice.

To illustrate the point, consider that the ‘Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine’ composed over 3,000 years ago, remains influential today! A classical student of the Oriental Healing Arts is still required to study it. Yet, those same students are no longer versed in the principles of the ‘Yi-Jing’ (I-Ching or Book of Changes) and it is treated merely as something to be entertained by.

This is unfortunate because teachers and students alike have missed a unique opportunity to learn the fundamental principles behind the secrets to recovering wholeness and repairing the damage done by our conditioning on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.

Therefore, the challenge for teachers, students and practitioners is to embrace the approach of an ancient sage who once said:

“There are three kinds of doctor. The first treats the symptoms. The second treats the cause. The third teaches the Way of life.”

The medicine of the future is based on bridging the gap between the patient and the practitioner, the teacher and the student. Where before a distance separated them, the challenge now is to bring them together through embracing the principles of health care that are mirrored by the laws of nature and spirituality.

The ability to accept greater levels of personal responsibility and accountability remains the core issue in terms of development for humanity at large. Education is the key and educators need to be reminded of their responsibility to guide others with integrity. This means learning to take account of the whole. The whole includes everything and to follow the path of healing is to put all aspects of daily living in order.

Change occurs on the inside first and then permeates outwardly. It can never be the other way around. In order to teach others how to manage their lives, it is necessary to tidy our own back yards first!

Of course, passion, meaning and purpose will vary tremendously from person to person. Whereas financial liberty is the hallmark of freedom for someone with an aim to ‘do as one pleases whenever one pleases’, a peaceful heart and mental serenity might well be the crowning achievements of another.

Regardless of the goal however, the one thing people have in common with or without conscious awareness of it, is the urge to truly love and in turn, be loved. In fact, this urge is arguably the single most powerful driving force behind our behaviour across the board and serves as the inspiration for many of the things we do and are involved with, from business to pleasure.

Strange as it may seem, many of us actually struggle to come to terms with the way we go about achieving this common but often ungraspable goal. Of course, there are many reasons for this.

One of them is that we get too caught up in the pursuit of our goals and consequently forget to nurture the important things. Another is that we simply get confused about the nature of passion, meaning and purpose and end up trying to satisfy each and every desire that springs to mind. Yet another is the habit of mulling ceaselessly over the past and projecting wild imaginings about the future.

Often never in the present long enough to smell the roses, we go around in circles looking to make amends for the mistakes of the past. Rarely do we realise that we’re likely to make the same mistakes in the future, unless safeguards are put into place that provide some substantial clarity – the anchor of sound decision-making.

In the context of what has already been mentioned then, I’ve put together my ‘hard-core’ checklist of spiritual qualities that support personal freedom. I say ‘hard-core’ because some of you may find these qualities either unrecognisable or unattainable. Perhaps some of them will even seem unrelated to you or your own personal mission. Regardless, I can only suggest that you take a look and keep an open mind. Over a long period of time, I’ve tested them all and have found them to be extremely useful guidelines.

1. Freedom from Exploitation

If you are exploitable, you will be suspicious of everyone and everything. Desire makes for greed and greed produces the exploiter who will most certainly become the exploited, sooner or later. Exploitation means that you will exploit someone or something to get what you want.

The wanting of anything makes you exploitable. Wanting means you are not content with ‘what is’. What price then, have you placed on your own head? With price comes the ending of self-respect. How can you then respect anything or anyone?

2. Freedom from Isolation and ‘Shut-Down’

If you are separate, you will shut down from everyone and everything. To separate means to cut off, isolate or alienate yourself from others. Usually this happens when you have been hurt, insulted or rejected. Closing off is a protective mechanism that prevents further insult to injury.

Being separate however, means that you won’t be able to trust anyone or anything. Cut off, shut down, self-protective and disconnected, the link to spirit is severed.

Being separate is the same as being unreceptive. This is a recipe for resistance and resistance means going against the flow of life. Resistance will guarantee pain. To resist in effect, means to not accept things as they are. Accepting things as they are, is what flow is all about.

Resistance then, is that peculiar brand of pride that suggests we know better. It also sustains control. We don’t like not being in control. This is why many find it difficult to link up with spirit. Some people even make excuses such as: “Better the devil you know!”

3. Freedom from Procrastination and Indecision

If you are a victim, you will always blame someone or something else for your circumstance. This is of course, the justification one gives for a lack of understanding.

Do not make the mistake of thinking you understand something deep within yourself, when in fact, you only understand it verbally or intellectually.

You will procrastinate and feign indecision to the extent that you believe your problem is not your’s to deal with – that it is not your challenge to face! This is the origin of the excuse.

Once you become aware of the law of cause and effect (karma), however, excuses come to an end. You will know that everything you do has a consequence. When you understand the relationship between cause and effect, you will know that you are living proof of your circumstance. For you will know that every cause produces a corresponding effect.

How could it not be so?

4. Freedom from Misfortune and Calamity

Misfortune is something that is earned and follows in the wake of the law of cause and effect. Blessings are likewise earned. To be prosperous then, is to be inwardly content and outwardly receptive. In this, there is no limit to spiritual growth and development.

If you are rebellious, you will always be arrogant and resent others. This will make you envious. You will not be able to get rid of anger and hatred. Jealousy is another obstacle that will always stand between you and the unfoldment of your True Self.

Put them altogether and we have the perfect recipe for disaster. You will not like being told what to do and so will develop a deep resentment of authority. And yet, only surrender to the highest is the ladder upon which one may climb out of the labyrinth.

To know that we exist because the Divine wills it, is truly the kind of grace only the sincere and humble are afforded the opportunity to discover and learn. Therefore obedience to spirit is the only real safeguard against calamity.

5. Freedom from Wanting

If you are prone to wishing and wanting more, you will be deceived by your desire and fail to realise that negativity rules your life. You will never be satisfied, or content.
You will make a habit of hoping that life gets better without understanding anything about what you are hoping for.

Hoping, wishing and wanting for someone or something, are all based on falsehood and can never lead to truth. The avoidance of ‘what is’ (that is to say, things as they actually are), getting caught up in hoping, wishing and wanting, is an immense obstacle.

It is like walking around with blinkers on. Avoiding ‘what is’, therefore, is merely being dishonest. Dishonesty is the precursor to insincerity.

6. Freedom from Attachment, Cynicism and Nostalgia

If you live in the past, you won’t be able to live in the present. Living in the past is a vote for nostalgia. Cynicism is a vote for negativity.

This is one of the biggest problems people face regardless of circumstance. Our culture runs on the principle of nostalgia. We are taught to remember the good ‘ole days!

The past is over. This is an indisputable fact. Why do we then deify that which is dead, buried and gone? That which you cling to, will cling to you. You can be sure of it.

7. Freedom from Dullness (Repetition)

If you are still playing the broken record that has become what you might call ‘your life’, the creative principle will remain hidden from you and nothing will ever be fresh. Creativity requires innocence and innocence means that you no longer have any investments in an outcome.

An investment is the motive you have for doing what you do. Because you want comfort and pleasure and will avoid pain at all costs, innocence will be compromised.

There are those who invest in ideals and there are those who invest in self-gratification.

Be careful if you invest in the ideal. You may mistake the ideal for truth and in so doing compromise your ability to see clearly. As for self-gratification, indulgence has a price.

8. Freedom from Ceaseless Striving

There is nothing that is not sacred. Only prejudice makes such a distinction. This includes the prejudice of insisting that YOU are mot sacred. Sacredness means the honouring of truth. Truth is sacred.

To tap into it, you have to look inwards. You will find it when you investigate. The investigation itself is very specific. To look inwards, means to explore the inner screen of your consciousness.

It is like going to the movies, where you watch the moving pictures on a screen. Going inwards includes watching the screen already built into your consciousness. If you can learn how to access this screen, a whole new world will open up for you.

What are you chasing after, then? Why are you so obsessed? Have you ever wondered why it is that you are here? Is it to really chase after things that cannot endure? If you cannot stop to rest, you will most assuredly run out of gas!

9. Freedom from Vanity

If you have bought into the illusion that your ego is real, your own self-importance will blind you to the actual reality. You will spend your days seeking trophies to put on display in your home so that people will be impressed by your achievements.

You will also sink to the level of sentimentality so that your consciousness will be governed by a host of conditioned feelings. It will be a battle to experience the meaning of calm.

Vanity means getting caught up in the appearances of things. Appearances are always misleading. But you know that there is something underneath the veneer. This is why you can never judge a book by its cover, including this one! What stops you from taking a closer look?

This checklist is considerably useful if you are at all serious about living a balanced and harmonious life in accord with the principles of spiritual philosophy. Furthermore, any petition or prayer to the divine will be answered to the extent that the checklist has been satisfactorily completed.

Intent

As far as the spiritual is concerned, by now, having read thus far, you will know whether or not you are a candidate for living a different kind of life. May the blessings be! Trust and know that there is a way to live a thoroughly peaceful and enjoyable life supported by knowledge of higher truths.

It is called balance and harmony – living a spiritual life while living in the world. And it doesn’t ask anything of you except that you give up fear and live honestly: with pure intent!

Intent means the way you approach something. If you have an investment in the outcome, for example, the approach is prejudiced from the very beginning. You will sweat on the result. If you don’t get the result you want, you’ll be disappointed. This is a corrupted intention. It is not pure.

Intent is nothing more and nothing less than attitude. A pure attitude means you have gotten rid of negativity. To attain a pure attitude is neither difficult nor easy. You need only have the vision of higher truth and see everything in this way. Drop the investment in the outcome from the beginning and you’ll be surprised at what happens. After a while, purity leads to clarity.

Once clarity is established, this leads to ‘emptiness’. This means free from burdens. For most people though, life revolves around the daily struggles associated with making money, developing or wishing for meaningful personal relationships, and securing the future. That these pursuits are often fraught with danger and obstacles is par for the course.

That we don’t know ourselves as well as we might and so prevent danger and eliminate obstacles is similarly apparent. Freedom from strife and struggle therefore, means the ending of money problems, the actualisation of harmonious relationship, and putting a stop to worrying about the future.

To live like this, free from anxiety about tomorrow and free from the pain of yesterday, the inner ‘being’ (you on the inside) must be put back together so that the ‘outer’ being (you on the outside) reflects composure, stability, contentment and enjoyment.

The reason why people have such vastly different attitudes is due to their differences in living the higher truths. If you are a calm, caring and considerate kind of a person and I am not, then obviously our life experiences will be quite different. Compassion and benevolence will be extended to you and I will most certainly find only self-centredness and alienation. That you are caring and considerate is based on attitude.

This attitude has developed through the unfoldment of spiritual evolution. You worked hard to earn the right to live this way and you live this way because it dawned on you at some point that a balanced and harmonious life is the only way to go! Then you set about the task of going into training.

Training Requirements

The training requirements for living a balanced and harmonious life are simple to understand. They were established firstly, by the ancient masters and personally transmitted by genuine spiritual teachers. Then the Chinese sages documented a more generalised framework of these teachings and wrote them down several thousands of years ago in a book called the I-Ching (The Book of Changes).

Some of the more fundamental secrets of mastery are contained in this great book, but unless one is able to penetrate the meanings hidden in the language of code, the only revelation for the reader or student, will be fancy talk and rhetoric!

The aim of the exercise therefore, is to help you gain knowledge of yourself and in the process, positively develop the ability to transform the source of any problems that you have either inherited or created.

By knowing yourself, you know others. When you know others, you are no longer exploitable! Not able to be exploited, everything is then in perfect order. There is in effect, freedom from agitation.