One of the problems that I face in attempting to explain what I have learned is that there is a difference in orientation between the way that I view the world and the way most people see things. Because people can only see things from their own perspective, the knowledge a person possesses changes what that person sees; a large dog looks very different to a dwarf that it does to a giant. This is not to say that either perspective is necessarily superior - merely that each gets only a part of the picture. While a giant is able, potentially, to see farther than a dwarf - since there are fewer obstacles in a giant's line of sight - a giant loses the up close detail available to a dwarf.
If I possess one great talent, it is the ability to see how people think about things and to see things from their perspective. What I will attempt to do in these web pages is to show you how things look from my perspective. The view that I will present is not one that most people are used to seeing. I will attempt to show an overall view of how everything fits together - we will look at the 'forest' of reality rather than at the 'trees'.
Thousands of years ago in China an unknown Philosopher probably understood what was going on. Unfortunately, as I pointed out in the previous section, his words on the subject were not written down - his or her thoughts were passed on orally from generation to generation.
If you have ever played the school room game of 'Rumor' - where the teacher whispers something to one student, who then whispers to the next until the last student in the class says out loud what is whispered to him - you know that passing on information orally results in a garbled mess after a few steps.
Over the centuries the thoughts of that original Chinese thinker have been utterly lost. What remains is an almost incoherent mysticism that is largely responsible for the eastern world's reputation for inscrutability.
It is my belief that the mistake that Western thinkers have made for thousands of years is to assume that the Universe is a linear, logical place; where "If this - then that" progressions are all that occur. However, if this were a completely logical universe then illogical people would die instantly; since they would be incompatible with the nature of the universe.
It takes very little observation to see that illogical people not only do not die instantly; they are often more successful than logical people. From this we are forced to conclude that at least some part of the universe allows the illogical to exist.
Modern mathematics hints that there is an illogical element at the very heart of things. Mathematics is a fantasy invention of the human mind - which is free to set up what ever rules it wishes. Most of mathematics is very consistent - but all is not smooth sailing. There are certain problems which mathematicians handle by sweeping them under the intellectual rug. Division by zero is one of those problems. Division by zero is held to be an illegal operation because it was discovered several hundred years ago that allowing it into math meant that contradictions could be shown to exist.
In the 'fantasy' world of mathematics we can see an element of the imperfection which is so common in the real world. But in the real world there are some things which have an element of perfection. An example of such perfection is a super-conductor; which conducts an electric current without loss. We see then an imaginary 'world' full of perfection which has some flaws, and a real 'world' full of imperfection which has some flawless elements to it.
It is the foundation of Techno-Taoist philosophy that there is a unifying thread running throughout everything in the universe; that things tend to contain an element of their opposites. This thread is most easily seen at the most fundamental levels in the field of physics . Some examples may clarify what I mean.
Consider the most fundamental relationship in the Universe: Closer together, farther apart. To the western mind these are simple black and white concepts totally opposite and having nothing to do with each other. But, a little closer examination reveals this to be a superficial treatment of the subject.
Think about two balls moving toward each other: they grow closer and closer until they collide and bounce off each other. We find then that at the very heart of getting closer together there is an element of farther apart.
Conversely if I wish to throw a ball away from me I have to place a force on the ball. This force compresses the ball, causing its atoms to grow closer to each other. If we take a "forest" view of this rather than a "trees" view we begin to see that Closer contains an element of Farther apart, and vice versa.
Consider also the discovery in quantum mechanics that elementary particles have certain wave like properties to them, and that waves,under certain circumstances can behave like particles. We see then particles containing an element of wave like behavior, waves with an element of particulate behavior.
Nor is this pattern only visible on the lowest most basic level of reality. Consider for a second the human body. The male body is strong and relatively insensitive, except for the male genitalia in which there is sensitivity - while the female body is sensitive except in the female genitalia where there is strength. We see here strength with an element of sensitivity, sensitivity with an element of strength.
There are two ways that a neuron may be used: as an input device - a sensor which has some output, or as a control device which regulates the behavior of other neurons or muscles, and which has some inputs. We see again the basic pattern of reality being repeated; an input with some output - an output device with some input.
This pattern is repeated again at the highest level; if we think about the nature of the male and female brain. The male brain is wired mostly as output devices and controllers except ,typically, in the emotional region - where men tend to be sensitive. The female brain is wired mostly as sensors - except ,typically, in the emotional region where the wiring follows the male pattern of mostly controllers and output devices.
The subconscious mind is largely responsible for the regulation of the body. In the male, the subconscious mind can be relatively sensitive and weak; since the male body is the simpler of the two genders, and requires less control than the female body.
This has several ramifications: one of them is that the male body tends to stay in basic biochemical balance better the female body - since the male subconscious is more sensitive to minor variances. It also explains why women tend to live longer: the relatively strong female subconscious mind is better able to control the body during periods of illness - since it has more power to control the female body than the male subconscious has to control the male body.
It also explains why women tend to suffer from minor ailments such as PMS - since the strong female subconscious mind is not so able to maintain a delicate biochemical balance in the body as is the male subconscious.
Of course the female subconscious has a far more difficult task to accomplish than the male mind; a female mind has to be able to perform the monstrously difficult job of constructing a baby - given only a blue print of what the baby is supposed to be like.
In the male brain we see a strong conscious mind with a sensitive subconscious - in the female mind we find a sensitive conscious, with a strong subconscious. The difference in wiring of the two brains goes a long way toward explaining the different ways that men and women see the world.
Imagine for a second a ball floating between a man and a women. The male side is painted white with a black dot, the female side black with a white dot. If the man says something about the white ball - the woman thinks she understands what he means. Conversely if the woman says something about the black ball the man thinks he understands what she means. Each of them is describing reality accurately based upon their observations - but because they are seeing very different things - the words they use mean different things to each of them.
The ancient Chinese had a symbol which illustrates this fundamental relationship in the universe: that opposites tend to contain an element of each other. This symbol is called the T'ai Chi by the Chinese, and a Yin and Yang symbol by westerners.