Tao of Balance and Harmony
Song of a New Heaven on Earth
By Michael Winn
Tao births the One.
One births the Two.
Two births the Three.
Three births the 10,000. things.
- Verse 42, Tao Te Ching
This Healing Tao USA logo is a map of Higher Consciousness based on Taoist cosmology. I designed it based on decades of exploring the secrets of Taoist internal alchemy meditation, deep experience of qigong (chi kung), and study of the ancient classic - I Ching: Book of Unchanging Changes.
Are you ready for a quick journey deep into Taoist cosmology?
The logo maps an image of a vibrational experience: flowing consciousness is being “sung” into physical form through a pattern of subtle tones. A subtle tone is just a vibration moving in a particular pattern, that can be known by the shape of what is created.
Just as Nature sings itself into existence, we each sing our human body-mind into existence. But humans are generally not aware of how we “sing-vibrate” the shape of our reality.
This image expresses the principle of balance in the yin-yang pulsations of the chi field. Chi, also spelled “qi”, is the subtle breathing of Nature. Yin-Yang is any polarity - male-female, positive-negative, etc. - flowing dynamically in equilibrium within a matrix of neutral or Original Chi (yuan chi).
Tao as Musical Cosmology
Each of the eight trigram tone-symbols has three lines or notes that form a musical chord. The eight trigrams are from the Early Heaven (formless) arrangement, in which each trigram-tone is the mirror opposite of the trigram-tone facing it.
This creates four pairs of musical chords that represent the primordial Tao or Nature “singing itself into creation” as the four sacred directions/ cardinal vibrations.
The fifth direction – the Center – is symbolized by the five-pointed star emerging from the “vesica piscis” or sexually coupled large red (fire) and blue (water) spheres. Three forces are coiled inside this geometric vesica piscis – the black and white spirals of primal yin-yang chi force, and the golden glowing sphere of Original Breath, or yuan chi.
In the center of the star is a tiny circle, representing the Original Breath emerging from the Supreme Mystery, or Wuji. This center can never be fully known, it is the Mystery beyond all other mysteries. Yet this Mystery lives inside each of us. It divides itself out three times into:
- The Fundamental Tone of Oneness (yuan or Original chi field).
- The chi field of Two-ness (Yin-Yang polarity).
- The Five Phase cycle (five-ness called Fire, Earth, Gold, Water, and Wood).
These three core layers of tonal patterns are vibrating simultaneously in everything in nature, creating the seasons, the flow of chi inside our body meridians and organs, the spin of galaxies and atoms.
Five Elements Pattern at Core of Every Human
The 5-pointed star in the center also represents a Completed Human Being. This is any human being who has internalized the five sacred directions/elements/tones within themselves. When this happens, there is no boundary between their body and the body of Nature.
This is a human being in perfect harmony and balance with its environment, they have expanded their awareness to become one with the universal natural flow. It is a state of consciousness that is simultaneously transcendent (multi-dimensional) and immanent (physically present).
The star expresses the principle of five elements/five phases, which, along with yin-yang theory, is central to all Chinese culture. These principles are the foundation of Chinese medicine, feng shui, qigong, inner and outer alchemy, astrology, face and palm reading, martial arts and war strategy, city planning, the Chinese calendar, etc.
Five Elements is also a universal pattern, found in all ancient cultures as the sacred four directions and the Center.
Flipping Yin-Yang Poles to Rejuvenate Life
The mirroring of the eight trigram tones also suggests a timeless equilibrium of cosmic musical forces that are all held in the Unnamed center, as a 9th tone-force. This is also known as the Fundamental, or Original Tone that sings out all the tones of creation.
The eight tonal-trigrams in my arrangement have been changed from the normal Early Heaven arrangement: each pair of trigrams has been flipped or inverted twice. Heaven (three solid lines) used to be on top, now it is below. Earth (three broken lines) used to be on bottom, now it is on top.
Fire (yang-yin-yang lines) and Water (yin-yang-yini) lines have reversed their positions o the left and right.
This flipping of the eight trigram-tones naturally occurs the “refining” process of inner alchemy meditations. When we meditate, we dissolve our fixed sense of duality/separation by “flipping” the energetic poles inside our body-mind.
This produces a refreshed state of consciousness, and one that is more stable. This is similar to life and death cycles in nature rejuvenating each other.
The flipping or inverting of any two polarities creates a new awakening of the third force in the center, the Original Breath of Humanity.
Paradigm Shift: A New Heaven on Earth
What does “a new Heaven on Earth” mean? The Chinese term is “zhong tian”. It implies the sexual coupling of Early Heaven (formless plane) and Later Heaven (physical plane). It also reveals that humanity is in a major paradigm shift, a major birthing process, a critical point in the turning of the great cosmic wheel.
Heaven, the formless, is below Earth, the embodiment of form. Heaven supports Earth (vertical axis), and Fire is stabilized by Water (horizontal axis). This represents the free flow of chi or subtle energy between these poles – the state of wu wei manifested.
Wu-wei is the “no-resistance” state of grace natural to every being. It was made famous by Lao Tzu in his 2500 year old classic, Tao Te Ching (daodejing).
Qigong and Meditation as Best Tools for Personal Change
Tao inner Alchemy and qigong (chi kung) are the meditation and movement aspects of an ancient spiritual science. Healing Tao USA has as its mission to make these wonderful spiritual tools available to you. They can help each of us to speed up the process of unfolding our Natural Path.
Alchemy is the ancient term for the natural way to speed up evolution. It allows us to more easily and quickly merge with Nature and the formless Oneness of the Tao while preserving our individual will and responsibility for shaping creation.
Note: This logo was created with computer assistance from Mike Teeters. See his photo and image art at arrowofmoonlight.com. This logo will eventually be produced as a poster that can be hung in your meditation room or home. It can help you to alig with the paradigm shift to a New Heaven on Earth filled with balance and harmony.
This bagua logo is currently available on a custom ordered basis. This work of art is a beautiful hand-made eight-sided dark rose-wood frame, size 19 inches x 19 inches. The image is printed on three different levels to add visual depth. Each one is hand made by a meticulous craftsman. Cost: $199. + shipping/handling.
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