Traditional Chinese medicine is the by-product of a spiritual practice; Western medicine is the result of the practical, rational mind. Through meditation, ancient masters were able to see the world differently than we can today. They were able to penetrate the material world and observe quantum connections that we are just beginning to understand.

These ancient masters also understood that true healing is a multidimensional process that requires an individual’s body, mind, spirit, and emotions to be balanced and in harmony. In turn, the individual must also be in harmony with nature and the Universe. They knew that the vital role spirit plays in healing leads to a tremendous transformation.

Please visit us frequently as we post new thought-provoking questions and answers from a spiritual master's perspective on the essential role of spirituality and healing.

All spiritual paths talk about changing ourselves. How can we do this?

Change is very easy to accomplish in the material world, but with living beings, change is very difficult. Qigong masters or spiritual teachers help their students to identify their own spiritual power, which can lead to opening the heart. The heart doesn't have to be totally open for change to happen—it's a question of degree. A fully open heart brings deep and permanent change, but even a small degree of openness can cause a miracle. If the heart opens a little, you have a little enlightenment; if the heart opens wide, you have big enlightenment. Very often, this kind of transformation happens when we put it aside, forget about it, and attend to our daily life. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, something happens, something changes in us. This sounds easy, yes? The problem is that our nature is very tricky. True change involves the willingness to see and accept our deepest self.

What is it about our nature that makes change so difficult?

We each have a dark corner in our hearts. It's part of our nature; we were either born with this or it has developed through our life experiences. It may even be left over from past lives. This dark corner serves the purpose of defending and protecting ourselves.

In Taoist philosophy, it is called the ego; in Western psychology, it is called our defense mechanism. It's our secret weapon and is very deeply embedded in our personalities. We might not even be conscious of it, but we use it when we feel threatened. It's our power, but it's our enemy also. This is the real enemy—the enemy inside us.

We have to change this deep core issue—this deep. innate tendency—or else it becomes "natural" for us. Remember, when what is "unnatural" becomes "natural," it is very difficult to change. What is "unnatural?" Something that goes against our deepest nature; something that is against the Natural Law. We try to hide this dark corner from everyone; we invest huge amounts of energy protecting this part of who we are, because we see it as our secret weapon. When something goes wrong or people accuse us of something, we pull out our weapon and defend and justify ourselves and attack the other person.

The interesting thing is that we think that no one can see our secret weapon, but sooner or later everyone sees it. We try to hide it, but the Chinese have a saying: "It is like using chopsticks to cover your nose." If we really want to make progress on our spiritual journey, we have to change this aspect of ourselves. This secret weapon is very well suited to our individual personality. That's why we think it is so easy to hide.

What does it mean that if something unnatural becomes natural it will be hard to change?

This dark side of our nature will become more and more integrated into every aspect of our life unless we see ourselves and change. That is why it is important to go deep in your meditation; go deep in your life. When there is a problem, don't look at others and blame them. Look at yourself! That is where the real problem is—inside you. This is the real enemy, the core issue—when we work against our own nature.

When you do something unnatural, it actually serves a purpose, but only for you and your limited understanding and views. Eventually this behavior becomes part of your consciousness. Once this happens, it will be very difficult to change. For example, golf is an unnatural sport. It requires an unnatural posture and unnatural use of the muscular structure. That's why it's so difficult for most people to become good at it. If you play this sport long enough though, it becomes part of you and does not feel unnatural anymore. The ancient Chinese said that a good master doesn't like to take someone else's students. If their foundation has already been implanted in their consciousness, the new master's first task is deleting this foundation before learning can take place. This is very hard because not many people can let go of what is already embedded in their consciousness.

It is easier if you change small things first. You have to force yourself in the beginning to change these things. It may be difficult because it will feel "unnatural" to you. That's okay; do what feels unnatural so that eventually it becomes natural. Do something you wouldn't ordinarily do. Build up discipline. Then you can push through the unnatural and make it natural for you. Force yourself to become disciplined. You can wait until things become so uncomfortable that they force you to change, or you can be proactive and do something as soon as you see it. Everyone has a different way. Some people wait to see the whole picture before they change. Others take the risk without seeing, and do something different as soon as they see a little piece of the picture. It doesn't matter which path you take. Just change!

In every spiritual discipline, I hear mention of “the path.” How does one begin following a spiritual path and living a spiritual life?

Each life has its own meaning. Every one has his or her own path, his or her own journey. We each have to be responsible to figure out our particular mission. Instead of focusing on another person’s life, we should try to understand out what we need to learn from each situation. Instead of focusing on the particulars of a situation, we should try to see the big picture. Who we are, where we are, why we are in a situation, who crosses our path–these are all part of the big picture. When we get stuck in the details, we cannot change. The most important questions we should be asking in each situation are: What can I learn while I am here? How can I change? What is in my heart? What do I want to do? What am I able to do? What can I do? If you think deeply about these questions, you will see that little by little you will begin to think differently about life. You will be on a spiritual path.

You must also remember that your individual problem is just a microcosm of the world at large. The question is: What are you doing in this particular situation at this particular time, and what do you need to learn from it to fulfill your destiny? Individual destinies are woven together at particular times, in particular situations. We are all meant to be in a particular place, at a particular time, with specific people in order to learn something that you need for your life.

In facing any situation, or in facing myself in any situation, I sometimes don't know where to start. I need some framework to begin the inner work. Can you speak to this?

Begin by always asking the deeper questions. Any problem can summon us to action. First ask: What can I really do to change this situation? How can this situation help me grow? What can I do to initiate real change in myself? What does my heart want to do? Am I able to do it? Can I do it?

Asking these questions will bring you to a deeper level, whereby you begin to get a sense of the big picture. We need to lift ourselves out of the particulars to get more of a sense of the universal perspective. If you get stuck in acting on the small pieces of a problem and never get in touch with the bigger reason why it is in your life, you will never experience freedom. In order to figure out the big picture, it helps to step out of the small problems, and create some space between yourself and the way you see things. Then, take action, but remember: When you take action, you have to think it through and accept all the possible reactions. Then you accept the problem as a challenge to help you grow, and you let it go. Don't allow anything to block your flow. Don't allow yourself to get stuck. For example, you can get angry, but don't allow yourself to get stuck in your anger. You have to find a way to back up, create some distance, see the big picture, take action, and accept the reaction. The whole point is to flow: to do something different and experience freedom.

As a Westerner approaching an Eastern system of spirituality, I find some major differences. One is the way Westerners view the world, people, and events as "good" or "bad." I understand that in the Taoist system there is no "good" or "bad." Can you help me understand this?

If you want to challenge yourself in a big way, you have to let go of what you call all the "good" and "bad" experiences. Process them and let them go. You have to accept all of your positive and negative reactions to people, situations, and experiences; process them; and let them go, too. You have to see and accept the positive and negative sides of yourself. This involves a big-heartedness and humility. You accept yourself, you accept everything; take it all in and then let it go - all the while not losing sight of your place in the big picture, your mission, and your destiny. Sometimes you have to cut off your arm to save your life.

In this life, we have to make judgments of good and bad. In the beginning of the spiritual journey, it is natural to think this way. But for those who have been on the path for a while, there should be a change in how you see the world. This understanding of what is "good" and what is "bad" should change in certain stages.

The first level is to know what is "bad." The second is to know what is "good." At the third level, we try to do what we perceive as good and avoid doing what we see as bad. The fourth and highest level is to understand that good and bad are just two different sides of the whole--then we can accept everything. Good and bad are opposite sides of the same coin and contain the same quantity of energy. When a criminal converts and changes his ways, he has the potential to become as good as he was bad. We come to understand the truth of the Tao: that there is no "good" or "bad." These categories are based on our judgments; they are not real.

However, we have to accept the level that we are on. If we are on the level of still seeing "good" and "bad," then we should have the passion to do only good. On this level of judgment, we suffer because we are neither 100 percent good nor 100 percent bad.

A person 100 percent bad has to follow his destiny also. In so doing, this person causes many people to change. We have to trust what life presents, no matter what it looks like on the outside. The truth lies deep within, deeper than our judgments of good and bad. If you go deep, you will find this truth.