Physical Philosophy

Physical Philosophy is a practical program that combines Eastern and Western approaches to wellness. Its goal is to help people become One With Nature, a Buddhist term for the natural restoration of true health. OWN is practiced in conjunction with the Chinese martial art of Tai Chi rewarding the practitioner with inner happiness, self-control, self-realization, and self-healing.

The connections between mind and body and between thought and chi are dualities depicted by the yin-yang symbol. Although the two sides of the symbol share a common shape, they appear as opposites of each other. Yet together they form a whole and do not name sense on their own. With their unity they gain special significance. Yin and yang are two ways of looking at a whole.

When reflecting on duality we are reminded by Lao Tzu's description of duality of the tao: "Tao is the way, but it is not an ordinary way." Consider going to the store. The path is the road you take and the store is your destination. Considered in the ordinary way, path and destination are different. But tao is not an ordinary way; it is both path and destination. On these pages we are concerned with reaching the destination we call Own With Nature. To achieve this state, we involve ourselves in the process of being One With Nature, or if you prefer, becoming One With Nature.

To see how this yin-yang principle works, starting with thinking follow the circle around clockwise to show the process of thinking and moving. The right side of the diagram show how intention guides movement, and the left side shows how attention monitors effects of the movements.

In terms of the yin-yang symbol we have just been discussing we have the following diagram.

The 64 moves of Tai Chi are not just a training set that allows you to gain control of your mind, body, chi, and thought naturally, but they are also exercises that promote good health. As a natural response to the flow of the inner breath and the feeling of inner happiness, stress is released. The release of stress also brings happiness and healing to every part of the body naturally.

One with Nature for Humanity

It seems that everyone is under stress and indeed many are in distress. But how can we save ourselves and make the world a better place?

The world is, of course, a complex system, something like a person magnified many millions of times. To create a better world, the human community must find a way to be One With Nature just as individuals must. The world community needs to find a way to achieve global healing, global happiness, global control, and global realization. Because of the natural thought-chi connection between people, we can interact by using thought and chi.

We need to help each other become One With Nature. And if all humanity could become One With Nature, we will help relieve and avoid much pain and suffering. Much can be achieved with nature's help. It may seem naive to think that the techniques so simple as those discussed in this book combined with our own natural abilities can achieve events of global merit. But we are just one thought away from making the world a better place to live in. As Buddha said, "With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with pure mind and happiness will follow you as your shadow, unshakable."

OWN Home

What is OWN?

Tai Chi for Health

Tai Chi: The Movie.

Healing Art of Tai Chi

The Teachers.