CONSCIOUS ALCHEMY

Self-Care * Self-Regulation * Self-Help * Minbody Lifestyle Philosophy

OPEN YOUR MIND AND OPEN YOUR LIFE

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power." (Lao-Tzu)

NEURALSYNCH
CONSCIOUS SELF-MASTERY: 21st Century Alchemy

Welcome to CONSCIOUS ALCHEMY, the art of modulating your own psychophysical chemistry for increased quality of life. Do you ever feel like you live in the Bizarro Universe, where everything seems totally backward? You try and try, but can't seem to get where you would like to be. Somehow, it seems the 'bad guys' thrive yet you can't make any consistent progress with your life. Or, maybe you would just like to enhance the success you have achieved even more.

WHAT'S THE MATTER? We need to learn the art of living well, instead of living better. This means alignment of our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual lives.  We can root out the disturbances of the past and transform them into assets, or strengths.  We can remove the incongruencies of conflicting agendas in our belief systems and their fallout - our feelings.  When we change our attitudes about ourselves and our past, we initiate a cascade of neurological changes that cover all four domains of our being. We can cultivate deeper awareness. The mind can change what "matters".

ANCIENT/FUTURE METASYN: We can take responsibility for our bodies and health, reclaiming our inherent shamanic, yogic and psychosomatic self-healing power. This alone changes our compassionate spiritual relationship to self, others, and universe. The old-yet-new healing paradigm includes non-material but highly-effective shamanic, psychic and spiritual tech that can be applied effectively in any cultural context. Mind is more than a powerless prisoner of the body. It has the power of focus, committed attention and intentionality. Take responsibility for you own healing and well-being, of your own life, the self-organizing power of your own hyperdimensional organism. 

CHANGE N A HEARTBEAT: The average heart beats 2 billion times and you can change utterly in any one of them. Reclaim your innate capacity for changing the cellular, subatomic, and psychophysical processes of your energy body. WHAT you THINK and the excitation level of your overall system changes your chemistry, markedly. We are fluid fields, through which energy and matter dynamically flow and change. Lifestyle, diet, emotional state and consciousness play a huge role in health and disease. We can catalyze our psychophysical homeostasis and spontaneous healing processes, complementing any traditional care we may require.

SELF-IMPROVEMENT: Who says Life is Fair? If there is no Justice, maybe, there is JUST US. Directed self-motivation is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and it can be learned. YOU HAVE THE POWER - the power to focus your attention where it will do the most good, the power to create instantaneous change in your moods, attitudes, and feelings. Through subtle, disciplined techniques you can do it by connecting with the creative Source. CONSCIOUS ALCHEMY means changing the psychological Lead of your unrefined personality into the Gold of creative self-fulfillment. Every day is a Vision Quest.

NEW SELF-IMAGE

Is pain, grief, depression, fear, anxiety, guilt, relationship or career disappointment, rejection, alienation, inner conflict, victimization, resentment, superstition, rage, self-doubt or procrastination holding you back,  Perhaps your old view of your self has become confining, obsolete, role-bound, or you just feel stuck. Are you afraid you can't cope with either failure or success? We always have to adapt to our environment. You have to TRY, even to fail. Maybe you think your 'glory days' are all in the past. 

Through CONSCIOUS ALCHEMY you can retrieve the psychophysical biochemistry of your balanced and peak performance states. You can apply this to pain management as well as emotional issues or boosting your potential. By recalling vital times, you essentially regress your body chemistry to a more youthful you, and minimize the toxic chemistry of stress. This allows both body and mind to relax and recalibrate homeostasis. You can also draw on the support and encouragement of your evolving future self through imagination. Just as one incident can create trauma, one healing moment can change that instantly.

AUTOSUGGESTION: Even small changes in your thinking and attitude can change the way you think and feel about yourself, and your potential for self-expression, challenge, and resilience.  It can help you feel you can regain a measure of control over your body and mind. The more positive energy in your life, the less room there is for self-defeating negativity. The more you move toward your positive future, the less the past can exert its backward pull. All you need is the resolve to meet the fear and pain that block you from creative change.

ENVISION YOUR FUTURE

Perhaps you've just lacked the right tools to help you realize your potential, to make it so. Self-mastery is a continuous process which can be used to improve your position wherever you currently find yourself. Our motivations come from our beliefs and values. But along the road of life we may not have developed the resources to deploy our skills or have fallen into traps that derail us when we try.  Identifying beliefs and roadblocks is a solid first step to change. You already probably know exactly what you would like to change, and just how you feel when that's not happening, and even where you feel that in your body and what it is like.

The body is an alchemical furnace. The brain sends chemical messengers - neurotransmitters of pain and pleasure - throughout the body.  In turn, the body sends signals to the brain about its sense of distress or safety and well-being. We can intervene intentionally in this cycle at any point.  We can use nutrition, exercise, and psychosensory exercises that create the kinds of experiences that move us forward in our goals.  This is 21st Century alchemy - intentionally changing body chemistry from both inside and outside.  Our organism obeys one of the maxims of information technology: "Garbage In; Garbage Out".

IT'S ALL IN YOUR IMAGINATION

DISCOVER THE WHOLE IN YOUR SOUL: What lies beyond the MYSTIC VEIL just out of your reach, what NECESSARY THINGS that make life more worthwhile? WHAT ARE THE FIVE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS of nourishment we can draw from beyond the Mystic Veil of pure potential? Maybe the blessings of infinite love without fear, or optimal health, infinite bounty or infinite Oneness?

What's wrong with the outmoded picture you hold of yourself, your beliefs and your internal map of reality? You can learn to bring more resources from the world of potential into manifestation. Imagination is your greatest tool for self-change. You have an inner directing voice ready to help. Visions, dreams, myths, language and philosophy are more than mere phatoms.  They can become as tangible as human flesh.

What is your most precious possession? YOUR BODY! because without it, nothing else matters, not family, relationships, career, money, hobbies, or possessions. Good nutrition, (what you eat to fuel your body and what you don't eat), supports your physical, emotional and mental health. Bodies like routine. A healthy body supports a healthy mind. Without it you can't model good self-care for your loved ones. You can approach your body like a work of art.

PARTICIPATORY WISDOM: Self-Reliance

SELF-DIRECTION: You can apply the same disciplines to your mind, as well. We can use proven techniques to develop more resilience and flexibility in both mind and body. Studies have shown that the mindbody cannot distinguish imagination from reality in its automatic reactions. The same internal chemistry is produced whether you do something or imagine it, making mind and body truly one.  Transform your imagination into reality.

It all starts and ends with imagination - with what you picture in your mind and the self-talk you use to convince yourself what things mean and what to do. This is where you develop vision and create meaning which leads to purpose and understanding your mission in life. To change your mind, along with the feelings, attitudes and chemistry that it creates, just systematically change your imagination - the image you hold of your self, others, and world.

INNER GUIDANCE: There is an intimate connection between the chemistry of your body and that of your mind and moods. Health and well-being involves physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions. A healthy mindbody opens the way to balance, integration, and inner peace, without resorting to personality-distorting medications. Research has shown that therapy is as effective as antidepressants. We all need exercise, affection, and discipline. We also benefit from reflection or self-knowledge. This INVESTIGATION OF SELF is a spiritual journey toward increased balance and mastery.

MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES: Methods of Operation

Barry Hostetler is an investigator of mitigating circumstances in capital crimes.  He's had the opportunity to interview inmates and hear first-hand how they went wrong. Iona Miller is a Hypnotherapist and writes about human potential and cultural shift. They've learned first-hand, that when people derail, it isn't as simple as "poor choices".

We all have problems. Many have diagnosable disorders: addiction, brain injury, developmental disorder, adjustment disorders, attachment disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, mood disorders, impulse control disorders. Many of us only have tendencies in these directions but they keep us from fulfillment. Obsession means lack of balance and compulsion is an exaggeration of passion. Narcissism is toxic self-absorption, manipulation and exploitation of others.

Most people with personality disorders have no insight; they are blind to it. But even so-called 'normal' people can have sub-clinical tendencies, self-destructive compulsions, self-sabotaguing impulses, or neurotic self-defeating patterns.  This is our psychological baggage.  Physical impairments can be another form of baggage or a challenge we can meet.  It all depends on our attitude and willingness to give ourselves the time and self-care we need to be good to ourselves.

PIVOTAL MOMENTS

We can learn to let go of both mental and physical baggage.  Mental baggage is not only stored in the body, it IS the whole body which is our subconscious memory. We embody our mental, heartfelt and gut-reactions. The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind of our whole organism. If we stray too far from balance, due to stress, trauma or other factors, we lose touch with our essential nature.

Most people recognize psychosis when they see it, but few people realize that personality disorders can warp an otherwise "normal" seeming individual with a personality defect.  The deficits range from relatively harmless dysfunctionality and dependencies, to "drama queens" to sociopaths without any conscience. Intelligence is no mitigating factor for the toxic or exploitive; they will use their intelligence to blame the problems on others, for games and rackets. Often they are unconscious masters at employing what are essentially brainwashing techniques to convince you of their warped perspective.

You can tell when a transaction or relationship is off, because you want to scream "STOP! You're driving me crazy", or you find yourself "walking on eggshells" around them, so they don't go off on you.  But that is never enough; the disturbance is independent of your interaction with them, and they will make chaos happen no matter what you do. Their lives are based in perpetual turmoil and chaos, and that is what they find familiar, while normalcy seems boring.

Characterological disorders include Narcissism, Borderline Personality Defect, Antisocial or Oppositional Disorder, Paranoia, and Sociopathy. Typically, victims who are warped become victimizers, manipulators, predators.

All criminals have an M.O., a modus operandi or METHOD OF OPERATING, that predicts how they will behave and what patterns they tend to follow for good or ill.  A self-destructive or self-defeating tendency is part of the problem and often leads to capture. This M.O. is more pronounced in some, describing their pathological criminal behavior.  Profiling is a way of figuring out an M.O. when you don't know the perpetrator's identity.

But we each have an M.O. in life, which is the way we typically operate in life based on our beliefs and values about WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN LIFE.  Often we can clearly see the problems and road hazards for others, but we are blinded or unconscious of our own deficits, our secret shame.  They are in our Shadow and we are unable to alter them despite our yearnings for change or personal growth.

We've interviewed hundreds of people on their childhoods, beliefs, motivations, attitudes and behavior. We've seen their patterns of dysfunction, pathologies, denial and their guilt, their rage and vanity. Most criminals are first and foremost toxically narcissistic, if not sociopathic. Many have severly damaged or malfunctioning brains. Others had abusive childhoods. You don't have to be criminal to be a toxic narcissist but just be so self-absorbed that others suffer from your constant selfishness.

We can all claim mitigating circumstances, reasons we are the way we are and do what we do. This led us toward identifying a few practical techniques, MILESTONES for changing self-defeating patterns. Part of it includes clarifying values and beliefs, life scripts and games. Supporting a healthy lifestyle with good nutrition and exercise for a healthy body and meditation for a healthy mind.  Everyone in the fast-paced modern world can benefit from a daily "time-out" to clear the mind and connect with their own Essence.  This is spirituality, whether you do it in a religious or non-religious context.

It is vitally important to well-being to care for both mind and body. With simple spiritual technologies, we can transform ourselves to be closer to what we would like to be, which reveals our spirituality. Make PERSONAL GROWTH a priority, in the sense of 'Know Thyself'.  You will probably come up with as many questions as answers, but let's travel down this spiritual path together for a bit and see what we discover.

YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY:

PEAK EXPERIENCE: Have you ever experienced a moment of surpassing bliss? Maybe on the rapids of creative work when a force greater than yourself is guiding your movements to trace out the shapes of truth and beauty? Or perhaps you have found such a moment in the ecstasy of romantic love? Or in an extraordinary success you achieved with a team of good friends? Or perhaps there was a song or a melody that managed to smuggle itself into your heart, setting it alight with kaleidoscopic emotion?

If you have experienced such a moment, experienced the best type of such a moment, then a certain idle (but sincere) thought may also have presented itself to you: “Oh Heaven! I never realized it could feel like this. This is on a different level, so much more real and worthwhile than anything else. Why can’t it be like this always? Why must good times end? I was sleeping and now I am awake.”

MODUS OPERANDI
What is YOUR M.O.?

MOTIVES AND OPPORTUNITY

In the process of investigation and self-investigation, it is necessary to figure out the M.O. or motivating factors that lead to behaviors. These are our basic life patterns. We all make decisions based on our internal map of reality and unconscious hierarchy of values. Values and beliefs drive our behavior.

If we make our own values and beliefs conscious and focus on them, we can direct our energy toward what we really want in life. Question WHY certain values are important to you, what situations you want and what you want to avoid at any cost. Have a friend prompt you with the comparisons to make it easier. List and relist them as you adjust their relative importance. Don't analyze it and don't overthink it or add any other strategy in this exercise.

THE WHOLE IN YOUR SOUL

1. WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT LIFE?

2. Look again and add more values later; they may be more important than your first thoughts.

3. Think about when you were highly motivated and what values drove you.

4. Which values are most important? Rank them in order and re-compare them.

5. Compare each to all the others: If I could have this and not that...would it work for me?

6. IS THIS ME? What is the thing that generates what I ACTUALLY spend my time on, not what I think I should spend it on?

7. Identify conflicts in values. Am I moving away from any values? WHY is that important? Don't pretend or censor yourself.

8. Frame values positively.

What you FOCUS ON is THE secret of life.  You can EXPAND your internal map of reality beyond egocentricity and materialism to global beliefs that sustain humankind and our planet.

CONSCIOUS ALCHEMY: Easy Techniques for Transformation is a weekend workshop offered in Southern Oregon by Barry Hostetler, P.I. and Iona Miller, CHT. Sessions limited to 10 people for personal attention. Inquire by Email for details. iona@ionamiller.org

Barry Hostetler has been a world-class body-builder and trainer, a Hollywood actor, screenwriter, producer, and director who is currently a licensed private investigator. He has worked on capital crimes and such high profile cases as O.J. Simpson and Randy Weaver (Ruby Ridge). Over the years he has cultivated his mind as well as his body, using meditation and therapeutic techniques.

Iona Miller of Edgeworks Hypnosis is a consultant, writer, hypnotherapist and multimedia artist doing groundbreaking work on the fusion of chaos theory and emergent paradigm shift in experiential psychotherapy, new physics, biophysics, philosophy, cosmology, medicine, creativity, art, spirituality and society. Co-author of THE MODERN ALCHEMIST: A Guide to Personal Transformation.  Iona is a Webauthor, and published by Phanes Press, Destiny Books (Inner Traditions International), Autonomedia, Nexus Magazine, Dream Network Journal, Journal of Nonlocality and Remote Mental Interactions (JNLRMI), Chaosophy Journal, DNA Monthly, Bolero, and more. She serves on the Board of Directors for Medigrace.org, and The Wisdom Center, nonprofit organizations. http://ionatopia.50megs.com

THE FIVE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

INFINITE PEACE
INFINITE LOVE
INFINITE BOUNTY
INFINITE HEALTH
INFINITE ONENESS

AWAKEN YOUR GENIUS: These attributes or qualities of the Infinite emanate out from a center that is everywhere and nowhere or Nothing. You can imagine it as the unbound Zero Point Energy of subspace beyond energy/matter. Everything in existence comes from this groundstate, the blueprint of creation. Everything and nothingness emanates in all directions to a circumference both everywhere and finite.  We can tap this NEGENTROPY with the Power of Insight and self-expression. It is the wellspring of creativity.

PERPETUAL MOTION: This process sustains our mindbodies and works for us even better when we tap into it consciously each day for refreshment and renewal.  This creative spirit is constantly in motion and a manifestation of our sacred inwardness, attributes of our personal genius, the self or essence, authentic spirit. If we have fallen into self-estrangement from perfection, it is into narcissism or false ego. The past is behind ego; the future is in front of ego. Your future is a process, not a destination. Self as mindfulness, is always here NOW. Your own interior space is the labyrinth of transformation.

SOURCE: Each day we can feed on or absorb the qualities of authentic genius. We call a person a genius who manifests exemplary humaness at its most creative, who is in tune with the times or zeitgeist. We may not "be" a genius", but we each "have" potential genius within us. The influence of primordial genius transcends time and space. We seek it in the Abyss of our primordial selves. What is best and oldest within us transcends creation, where the self begins. Art is itself Nature, and the art of being fully human means expanding our consciousness beyond mere personality.

SUSTENANCE: To absorb means to take something in as through the pores or every atom of the body, to engross our full attention or energy, or to assimilate fully. We are a conduit or transformer of the unmanifest to the manifest. This is the deep nature of our embodiment, augmenting ourselves as we move from the past to the future. Fierce originality is a quality of self-actualization. Genius is a mystery of consciousness that arises in the individual imagination whenever it appears. Our genius is our inclination, natural gift or inborn imaginative power. Genius recognizes itself. Genius has no limits.

ANCHOR GENIUS: If a practice augments our consciousness -- intensifies, clarifies, activates or widens our awareness --why wouldn't we use it? All generic forms of meditation, visualization and active imagination do this if we but use them. We can imagine our thumb is Infinite Oneness and attribute the other elements to our fingers in no particular order. This allows us to create simple ANCHORS in the receptive state as cues we can 'fire off' by touching thumb and fingers together to potentiate and manifest each quality with appreciation and gratitutude. 

UNBOUND SELF: This is an instant signal to the mindbody which can be reinforced each day, reminding us to let the energies of Oneness, Peace, Love, Bounty and Health flow through us unobstructed. This is the apprehension of our own genius, our inmost creative spirit. This is what we mean by Self-Reliance -- relying on the greater self, rather than the mediocrity of our narcissistic egos. Self is the primordial I AM of Being, as fundamental as inhalation and exhalation. Our lives are defined by their limitations and the strategies we use to cope with and overcome them.

FLOW: Genius embodies powers greater than our own for no one can ever embody at once all the potential qualities of archetypal Self. But we can become extraordinary by tranforming our character like carving a diamond from the rough. The self expresses the unity of the personality as a Whole, our holistic organism. The unconscious, including the mindbody and energy body, is the medium from which the sacred Source flows forth.

EXPANDED SELF: The self is the whole range of psychic phenomena, a psychic organ of perception. The self is transcendent, a center between conscious and unconscious, because it points to an unlimited future and unbound creative expansion of the evolutionary process. It signifies the harmony and balance of various opposing forces. Symbols of the self can be anything the ego recognizes as a greater totality than itself: the androgyne, the diamond body, the flower of life.

HUMAN SURVIVAL TECHNOLOGY: Why settle for mediocrity. Genius is in us all, awaiting discovery. We can touch the truly sublime if we but turn our attention receptively in that direction. Talent is a gift; genius is a given ~ but you must claim it to make it yours. Technological development will likely make lots of things quite unexpectedly different quite unexpectedly soon.

We are moving toward sweeping transformation, a transhuman era, in which Bio-art extends our perceptions and enhances us with Superlative State Technology available on demand. Emerging technologies will allow people to control their experience of trust, love, lust, jealousy, loyalty, fear, aggression and hatred. How can we preserve human choice and freedom in a world where people can change their own desires and motivations? But why wait? Soft technologies, meditation and process therapy, are available now. Jumpstart your meaningful process and prepare for your own evolution.

ARE YOU A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH?

Where are the boundaries of conscious experience and self, and why do these boundaries exist? What is beyond this mystic veil? How do boundaries, roles and pathology develop in interaction with parents, caregivers and others? In what ways are they conditioned by prevailing systems of belief, philosophy, sociocultural history, and environment?

How is adult experience and sense of self altered by physical, psychological, social or spiritual development? How does subjective experience relate to intersubjectivity? How do changes in conscious experience affect one's sense of self, for example through meditation, mysticism, or in pathological states?

BEGIN WITH YOUR BELIEFS

When Staying Safe means Staying Stuck your solution IS the problem, it is time for change. We create an internal map of reality so we can feel safe in our family and environment as children, but it is the viewpoint of a child which becomes outmoded or obsolete. Beliefs can come from the inside or outside. We filter sensory input and focus on certain details and delete others, uconsciously, missing the big picture that can challenge and foster our growth.

Values control and organize our beliefs associated with those values. They tell us what's important and help us create operational rules for our lives. Some are empowering and some are disempowering. Values determine what we spend our time on by creating what's important to motivating us to spend time on certain things.

How we evaluate that can lead to conflicting values. They arouse emotion. When you are totally motivated what feelings do you have? Notice how important it is and find its value. If something isn't on your list of values, you won't be motivated. If there is conflict, sometimes you do one thing while other times you do something totally opposite. You spend more time on the most important values whether they contribute or stand in your way of taking action.

Value hierarchies are created in youth (uncritical, unfiltered imprinting up to age 7; modelling and hero worship at ages 7-14; chosen socialization from society at large, 14-21) but the conflicts can be resolved by focusing on their order of importance. Safety is the biggest criteria for value choices. Parents, peers, media, church, local culture are effects. So are historical events and cultural differences.

The part of you that creates a sense of safety also resists positive change, consciously and unconsciously. Part of us wants to remain the same despite our conscious desires. There is a price to pay for changes because it involves moving through the fear and pain to create the results we want.

We all have an internal map of reality and our beliefs generate our reality. Our main agenda is to be right about our beliefs. Values are the source and desire for motivation. Motivation comes from values; sense of safety comes from beliefs. If you create a 1 minute movie internally about what you WANT it is more effective than obsessing on what you don't want. It is even more effective when you are in a meditative state.


SELF-REGULATION: ALPHA AND THETA MEDITATION

If we care for our bodies and minds, they care for us in return. Meditation helps us recalibrate our entire system by taking a time out from the daily grind to refresh ourselves with the blessings of Source, our sacred treasure.  Poetry, prayer and meditation open new realms of genuine giving and receiving. This creative power feeds, sustains and revitalizes our special qualities of spirituality; Love, Communion, Vision, Freedom, Expression, Humility, Integrity, Honour and Peace.

1. The first step is relaxation or surrendering of the body and mind so that the mind is uncluttered by unrelated and disturbing thoughts. If thoughts come let them float away like clouds without attaching to them. Let go of disturbances and psychophysical stress. Notice the vibrancy of silence.

2. The second is concentration on a limited area of mental focus to control and direct the mind towards the chosen "object" of concentration. You can focus on a figure, an object, the concept of love or the energy in your heart center, mindfulness, compassion, emptiness or whatever you like. Hold your mind to thatpoint of focus, bringing it back if it wanders to various other unrelated thoughts like daily life, needs, desires, the future and the past. Empty your mind and pass through the Mystic Veil.

3. The third stage transcends all symbols. There is eventual transcendence of the mind, thoughts and all identification with the body and personality. We pass through the Mystic Veil, entering into a state of super-mental union with infinite Oneness. Relax into that receptive mode of being. This is our source of energy, security, self-worth, freedom, strength and peace that helps us cope and deal with our daily lives. We have so much to gain by dedicating at least 20 minutes a day.  We obtain greater clarity, health, harmony, happiness, intuition, understanding, creativity and problem solving ability.

These three aspects, RELAXATION, CONCENTRATION and TRANSCENDENCE are the basis of most meditation techniques.

TAOIST Wisdom:
Flowing with Nature and Mankind

The process of FLOW shares everything with the performance edge of BEING IN THE ZONE. The flow state is like the Zen Archer who takes aim calmly yet accurately. When things flow we feel at One with Nature, Self, and Cosmos.

Csikszentmihalyi's message, FINDING FLOW, encompasses an inspiring and challenging truth: that "it is how we choose what we do, and how we approach it, that will determine whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art."

Taoism places emphasis on flow, drawing primarily on the metaphor of water's natural behavior. The Tao, itself, revealed graphically in the YIN/YANG symbol, escapes any attempt at definition. In fact, "the Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be defined is not the unchanging name." The Tao is the divine way of the universe, a path of least resistance, the essence of all life.

In Taoism, divinity is both transcendent and immanent, without and within. In this philosophy, the yin forces are exalted, and the creative force is called the mother of all things. It can only be known through mystical insight. It refers to the way we should order our lives to flow with the way the universe operates.

The typical themes and premises of Taoism share much in common with shamanism, Gestalt therapy, Maslow's concepts of self actualization and peak experience, and modern chaos theory. They hold in common the principle of harmonization with nature. They manifest as existential philosophy, nature mystic experiences, and process-oriented therapy. The principle of "flow as health" is fundamental to both Gestalt and Maslow's psychology. The concept of "universe as bountiful parent" is somewhat reflected in the Higher Power model and re-parenting.

Contrary to the schismatic, out-dated Western view, nature, man, and God are not separate. Nature obeys the law of effortlessness, and we can too when we tune in with our deeper essence. Taoist thought has the principle of WU WEI, which is that through inaction and passivity (yin forces), true results are obtained. IT IS A PHILOSOPHY OF BEING, NOT DOING.

The aim of the wise one is ethical living (integrity), in harmony with the Tao, by living in accord with nature. And nature unfolds or creates through the dynamics of chaos and flow. It is a way of living which minimizes stress, strain, and striving.

We can learn directly, experientially from nature. Not just by observing her, but by immersing ourselves in her, becoming one with Her again. The river way teaches us about the nature of flow, and has a spontaneous healing influence.

Nature provides many natural metaphors which parallel, evoke, and mirror human transformation. Taoism reveres the virtues of water first and foremost as exemplifying the Tao, itself. Parallels with process-oriented psychology are easy to find in Taoist literature.

The natural phenomena which the Taoists saw as bearing the closest resemblance to Tao itself was water. They were struck by the way it would support objects and carry them effortlessly on its tide. The Chinese character for swimmer, deciphered, means literally "one who knows the nature of water." Similarly one who knows the nature of the basic life-force knows that it will sustain him if he will only stop his thrashing and flailing and trust it to buoy him and carry him gently forward.

The Ancients had 4 essential elements (fire, water, air, and earth) and a fifth which combined them all: the quintessence. In India, they were called The Tattvas. Whatever names were attributed to them, their archetypal interaction was codified in divinatory systems, such as Tarot and the I Ching, which describes the interplay of Yin and Yang, Feminine and Masculine energies.  The "changing lines" in the I Ching describe the dynamics of the present state evolving into the future.

The tension between continuity and change is not simply an ancient philosophical conundrum. It is also at the root of the most pressing questions of our time. Scientific theories in physics and cosmology; in biology and evolution; in psychology, neuroscience, and studies of consciousness and personal identity are all informed by questions of change and continuity.

We wrestle with the tensions of tradition vs. innovation in the law, in religious thought, and political life. Culture itself is the expression of the tension between continuity and change. Our daily headlines announce it!

In addition, the pace of change in scientific discovery, religious thought and practice, technological advancement, environmental transformation, and globalized culture is accelerating at such a dizzying rate that our abilities to cope are tested to the limits. But the key to our thriving and flourishing as human beings, perhaps, to our very survival, depends on how we find continuity in the midst of such rapid change.


"There are no unnatural or supernatural phenomena, only very large gaps in our knowledge of what is natural... We should strive to fill those gaps of ignorance."
"There are no unnatural or supernatural phenomena, only very large gaps in our knowledge of what is natural... We should strive to fill those gaps of ignorance."
-Astronaut, Edgar Mitchell