In the West we endeavor to understand complex things by breaking them into constituent parts. We dissect the body and look at things under microscopes. We conduct research trials that attempt to eliminate all but a few variables. We've made incredible discoveries and developed lifesaving therapies. Western medicine is miraculous, but we've focused so intently on the details of eradicating disease, that we've largely overlooked the big picture of promoting health! What does it mean to be healthy and how to we encourage this for all people? This is a big complex question with many variables. Unfortunately, our tools are inadequate for investigating complex systems and many of our old ideas no longer hold up to new evidence .

 

Over the last hundred years, scientists have been developing theories about the nature of matter, energy, and time that don't fit our current paradigm. We are discovering that life is far more complex than we thought. Time is not linear. Cause and effect aren't as we thought. Biological processes resist simplification. Our version of reality has reached a limit and we are facing something ineffable, yet undeniably real.

 

Now let's contrast this with the Eastern concept. Time is cyclical, spiraling from one day/season/year to the next. Eastern medicine is based on direct observation of humans within the larger natural cycles. Everything is interconnected and intertwined. There is a subtle realm of energetic interactions underlying and preceding everything manifest in the physical realm and it is possible to directly perceive this energy (called Qi) and consciously engage with it. 

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