Embodied Sciences of the Ancients: The Self as Laboratory

There must be some primal force,But it is impossible to find,I believe it exists, but I cannot see it.I see its results; I can even feel it,But it has no form.

—Zhuangzi

The contemporary quest to understand the essential nature of mind and consciousness matches a pervasive fascination with discovering the most fundamental energy that infuses all. This quest is not new, but the same impulse also influenced methodical observers in ancient times. The ancient scientists of consciousness and energetics and contemporary physicists differ little in their passion to grasp the fundamental components of the world, universe, cosmos. Their findings are not very different. The immense gap between ancient and contemporary explorers is evident primarily in the enormous diversity of their methods of investigation and the huge difference in the nature of their laboratories.

Sincere, ancient inquirers into the nature of beings and things did not have the capacity to build a cyclotron and split the atom, deploy an atomic bomb, or capture and analyze photons to investigate the dual, wave/particle nature of light. Yet they developed eloquent models of the universe. Arising naturally from their unique approach their working understanding of mind and energy was deeply profound. This understanding created practical tools and applications for medicine, healing, and positive self and social engineering, as well as a way of thinking and being that allowed individuals to arrange and manage their personal lives. As science anywhere means the observation, investigation, identification, and description of natural phenomena to determine essential nature and fundamental principles, it is obvious that the ancients were scientists in their own right.

Chinese Breakthroughs

Among the many diverse ancient societies, the Chinese contributed a whole array of powerful innovations that had radical implications for both consciousness and technology. These emerged from an ancient system of organizing principles—Daoist science and its unique methods of exploration. Originally, what we now know as Daoist monasteries, were called "observatories" (guan 觀). A natural area such as a park or even an auspicious location in the wilderness is similarly described as an observatory. Daoist observatories were communities of devoted investigators of nature. Most modern scientists only observe outside themselves to explore the macrocosm and the microcosm. The profoundly innovative method in the Daoist observatory communities was the inclusion of inner observation to understand the macrocosm and the microcosm. In well-developed contemporary science this is referred to as "interoception," the act of being focused internally in both body and mind.

The parallel observation of both the inner and outer worlds characteristic of Daoist observatories created an irrevocable link between humans and nature—a direct experience of the seasons and the cosmos. This remained a key dynamic in Chinese society until Western culture began to have its deconstructive effect in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Now, unfortunately, China is worse than the West at persecuting those who pursue inner exploration.

Through this inner science of Daoists, the findings that arose were astoundingly parallel to modern quantum physics. For example, Einstein's cosmological constant is close to the pervasive universal resource of the Chinese—the vital energy known as qi. The medical framework that arose from the Daoists' inner observations, such as particular wellness and healing arts, has remained constant and now exerts an increasingly significant effect on Western healthcare and even science. Inner cultivation methods from these ancient scientists are important for medicine, disease prevention, mental health, and spiritual cultivation throughout the contemporary world.

An amazing list of practical innovations arose from the ancient Chinese approach to science. The plow was developed in China in 600 BCE, over 2000 years before it appeared to trigger the agricultural revolution in Europe. The decimal system and the place for zero in mathematics were in use in China 2300 and 1400 years, respectively, before their adoption in Europe. The recognition of sunspots, the theory of deficiency diseases, the mechanism of the circulation of blood and the seismographic capacity to measure earthquake location and intensity were all in use in China between 1400 and 2000 years before their adoption in the West...