“To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.”

-Confucius (551-479 BC)

In all things there is causality.  Your health, for instance – physical, mental and spiritual – is the net result of a lengthy matrix of causal agents at any given point in time.  Every physical trainer, health care professional or spiritual counselor is well aware of this chain of cause, and the challenge of their work lies in assessing the nature of that matrix and designing the appropriate intervention to restore balance where there is illness or deficiency.

The problem is almost always evident and measurable at the surface.  We call this the “symptom.”  A headache.  Multiple personalities.  A lack of energy.  Symptoms. 

A symptom or collection of symptoms in the presence of a certain cause or collection of causes is called a “disease.”  In most cases, the idea is that to repair the person one must treat the disease.  But is the disease really the problem?  Or is it the symptoms?  Or perhaps, something deeper?

Remember, in all things there is causality.  The scientific mind asks, “what is the cause of this symptom?”  Symptoms often  manifest as the result of an imbalance somewhere in the body system.  Diagnostic and assessment tools are available to determine the nature of the imbalance, such as blood, saliva and urine analysis, EEG, EKG, x-ray machines, and so on.  The question then becomes, what is causing that specific imbalance?

Medical, physical and spiritual health is restored as relative balance is restored.  Like riding a bicycle or walking, balance is relative.  One state may be more balanced than the next, but the point is that a measure of balance is established and utlilized. 

Just a thought…rare is the individual who appreciates each relative state of balance.  In fact, most tend to emphasize the awkwardness, disorientation and lack of ease common to periods of imbalance more than the symmetry, vision and stability typically felt in times of balance.     

At any rate, here are several keys to effectively analyzing causality in  your world:           

1.  Things are not always as they appear.  The person who judges solely by appearances has no doubt been stung more than once by incorrect or premature judgments.  Just as a police officer or an EMT takes a moment to assess a situation – as much time as is safely available – before rushing in, so can you.  Ask questions, listen to the answers.  Don’t just look to confirm your suspicions, rather, be open to whatever answer may come and go from there.  Never put pride ahead of reason.

2.  Cause is often difficult to discern.  Once you’ve made it past the tendency to not jump to conclusions, you’ll find that you now have the time to do the real investigative work.  What tools are available to you?  Your senses, for starters, your intuition, medical devices and testing protocols currently in production.  Many of the great discoveries in the medical field occurred because the right tool  was not available and the doctor or researcher had to invent a new device to measure what he or she needed to measure!   Don’t be limited by the present “knowns.”  Dare to use your imagination or creativity, especially where others fail to use theirs.

3.  Cause is often “invisible.”  The Eastern medical model, as an example, holds that all illness or imbalances begin energetically and then manifest physically.  Does the relative “invisibility” of the cause – an energetic deficiency or surplus – mean that it doesn’t exist?  Not really.  Do you see the wind that you feel on your face?  The “invisibility” of the cause is typically due to a lack of testing equipment to measure it, not to its invisibility or mysterious nature.  Remember that molecules and atoms were once invisible to us, not long ago! 

4.  Every cause has potentially enormous leverage on the nature of the world.  The “butterfly effect” a metaphor used to describe the fact that small differences in an initial conditions of a system may produce large variations in the long-term condition of the system.  Another way to understand it is found in the question that meteorologist Philip Merilees asked: “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”  Small causes can have large effects.  As such, don’t just look for the “major turning point.”  Look for the little, subtle, often energetic things that may be contributing to the imbalance.

Understand the realm of cause and you well better understand the world around you.

Have a great day!