Principle, purpose, design and control – the four “phases”of truth – are the building blocks of the physical world. Everything in nature, our bodies, minds and hearts included, was crafted in accordance with these fundamental elements. Nature, be it at the hand of Providence or natural selection, is the tangible, physical expression of truth.

The truth in expression invariably provides the most elegant solution for the extension of control into a specific level of function. As such, that which is built according to the truth is always beautiful, efficient and as simple as possible. Why are the intricacies of the natural world and more specifically the human body so fascinating to man? For the simple reason that they are built according to the principles of truth. The truth is spellbinding because our existence is made possible by virtue of the certainty and ubiquity of its laws.

Health, whether physical, mental or emotional, is the state wherein a particular design, be it a cell, tissue, organ or system, extends control optimally, allowing for ongoing harmonious development. Disturbances in the regularity of life, that is in the expression of control by virtue of design, are what we call sickness or disease.

Such disturbances come in two forms: excesses or “hyper” conditions or deficiencies or “hypo” conditions. In either case, the flow of our life force, or that which animates the matrix of truth of which we are composed, is diminished or restricted. When this occurs, the body and mind (or perhaps the vital energy which animates both) employ a variety of responses more varied and certainly more intelligently crafted than a medieval knight’s arsenal.

These corrective or rebalancing strategies are what we call “symptoms.” The symptoms displayed represent the body and mind’s best attempt at protecting or healing itself when under the influence of stressors, both physical and energetic or emotional. Symptoms, as most systems of medicine recognize, are not the problem; instead, they are evidence that the body or mind are working hard to restore health.

Common symptoms, like fever, inflammation, diarrhea, coughing and even symptoms like high blood pressure and headaches are an encouraging sign, pointing the afflicted individual and the intelligent physician in the direction of the remedy.

How the symptoms and the underlying disease are approached is partly what defines one system of medicine from another. The timing and nature of the interventions made is another factor. The various systems now in use were developed in distinctive geographic regions around the world, providing yet another distinguishing factor. More on that tomorrow!