Science, Synchronicity, and Qi: Understanding a Holistic Reality

By Elizabeth Moran and Master Val Biktashev

[Note: The content of this article is comprised largely of excerpts from The Complete Idiot's Guide to the I Ching (Alpha Books, 2001) and the second edition of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui (Alpha Books, 2002).]

Western Intellectual Heritage and the Holy Grail

Since ancient times, philosophers and scientists have searched for the Holy Grail of Knowledge: the origin, structure, and order of the universe. With each new discovery, myths were dispelled and replaced by new “truths,” which often carried over into successive centuries, becoming firmly rooted in our collective consciousness. Over the past 2,500 years, there has been an impressive roster of individuals whose scientific discoveries or philosophical ideas changed the way we view the world. Here is a brief overview of those who have helped to form our rational, separatist mindset:

•  The Greek Age : We can credit Pythagoras (560-500 b.c.e .) and Aristotle (384-322 b.c.e .) with instituting scientific methods based on logic and reason. These methods of deductive and inductive reasoning still play a role today in scientific thinking.

•  The Newtonian Age : English physicist Sir Isaac Newton's (1642-1727) universe was black and white. Now called “classical” or “mechanical” physics, Newton's belief was that simple and permanent mechanical laws governed the universe. He maintained that we are separate from nature and thus are able to observe the world objectively.

•  The Enlightenment Age : Coined by German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), the term “enlightenment” took God out of the scientific equation, viewing natural phenomena entirely as a mechanical scheme. According to Kant, the universe cannot be fully understood using sensory perception. Because of these limitations, a rational system like mathematics must be used.

•  The Darwinian Age : Postulated in his book, On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859), Darwin's (1809-1882) groundbreaking and controversial theory of evolution and natural selection caused much discord between the scientific and religious factions.

The above examples demonstrate how we have learned to rationalize, separate, and isolate information as a means of understanding the totality of the universe and its inhabitants. As a result, we have effectively disengaged, separating science, religion, mind, and body into distinct and fortified camps—a mindset that would be shattered with twentieth-century science.

United We Stand: Modern Holistic Theories

Yet, the discoveries made by twentieth-century physicists have rocked the scientific world, crushing long-held traditional views spearheaded by Newtonian mechanics. A unified world picture is emerging that no longer reduces nature (and human nature) to a series of isolated parts. Modern scientists now view the cosmos as a web of interconnected and interrelated events. The new scientific paradigm--the whole is the sum of its parts--is replacing the common ideology--the parts are the means to the whole.

In classical feng shui, the totality is what is stressed--a rich totality comprising of a harmonious unity of parts. This is opposed to a collection of distinct and singular parts (the eight life aspirations/stations) joining together to form a loose federation. So, as scientists continue to search for “pure truth,” feng shui helps to provide an alternate path, if you will, new frames of reference to our collective consciousness.

Two influential and revolutionary scientific theories surfaced during the twentieth century that played a leading role in changing how scientists understand the world. On a larger scale, the discoveries enabled us to see the Big Picture, a holistic reality.

•  Theories of relativity : Postulated by German physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), his theories state that mass is nothing more than a different manifestation of energy. It means that the book you're now reading and the chair you are sitting in are forms of energy at rest.

•  Quantum physics : Formulated in the 1920s by Neils Bohr (1922-), Max Planck (1858-1947), and Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), among others, quantum physics is the study of subatomic particles such as electrons and atoms. In a nutshell, quantum theory reveals the unity of all things. It shows that we cannot use isolation as a method to gain knowledge of the whole.

If these theories seem like old hat to you, ideas that have lost their power and passion, consider the following theories postulated by three innovative and progressive Western scientists:

•  David Bohm (1917-1992): Bohm believed the universe can be likened to a hologram in which each part of the image contains the entire picture. He believed the universe is “an undivided and unbroken whole” and that there exists a hidden primary reality (the quantum potential) that provides information to the totality of humankind and its environment.

•  Rupert Sheldrake (modern-day biologist): Sheldrake claims that the development and evolution of an organism and human consciousness is guided by a holistic force that he calls the morphic field. Specifically, the morphic field is a phenomenon of nature whereby if a form or thought occurs in nature, it is likely to repeat again in another species; and if a thought occurs, it is likely to be thought again by another person. In nature, the spiral shape of conch shells, hurricanes and galaxies are examples. In human nature, the independent and almost simultaneous “discovery” of calculus in 1675 by English mathematician and philosopher Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716) is an example of humankind tapping into the morphic field.

•  Andrew Newberg (1967-): Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg believes he can prove that a higher power exists by the way the brain functions during states of deep concentration, meditation, and prayer. In these states the “line” that separates the self from the world disappears, producing the effect of a mystical union with God (or the Sea of Consciousness, a Higher Power).

Indeed the notion of a holistic world order is quite profound and worthy of more study. Indeed, the Big Picture is now beginning to emerge. As modern scientists delve deeper into the celestial heavens and probe deeper into the infinitesimal, many are becoming aware of the unity and oneness of all things—a concept the Chinese have always embraced. In the meantime, if we can accept Bohm, Sheldrake, and Newberg's ideas, it means we are able to draw from an infinite well of potential and possibilities. This is the hallmark of feng shui--to harness nature's well to better our existence.

Qi: The Unifying Force Connecting Everyone and Everything

The Chinese call this holistic well, qi. While no word in the English language can accurately describe qi , in popular mythology, qi is synonymous with "energy," a natural or intellectual power that exerts activity. Energy, in all of its various forms (solar, natural, nutritional, for example), is just one aspect of qi we understand through sensory perception (the five senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch). Actually, qi underlies energy. Qi is an information field that gives energy its impetus to move and change. In fact, qi is the underlying, holistic, and vital force at the center of all things. If we describe qi as an energy flow, we deny its metaphysical qualities (since these are not recognizable to sensory reality). Intuition, fate, dreams, and hunches--surely, we agree these things are real, but can we prove their existence? A good way qi can be best characterized is as "life breath" or "cosmic breath."

The idea that there is a holistic and interactive force of nature is not just an exclusive Chinese concept. Western scientists also have a name for this connective force.

•  Isaac Newton (1642-1727) promoted the concept of a "subtle spirit," an electrical force governing humankind and the environment.

•  Dr. Harold Saxton Burr (1889-1973) postulated that electrical energy is "the unifying characteristic of the universe." Burr called the connective electric fields "life-fields.”

•  Dr. Bjorn Nordenstrom (1920-) postulates an intricate electrical network exists within the body that controls organ functions.

•  Dr. Robert O. Becker (1923-) believes that electrical currents are connected to the body's nervous system, the organ group that coordinates, receives, transmits, and stores information throughout the body.

Through various precise measurements and scientific experiments, many Western medical pioneers have come to believe that electromagnetic energy is the holistic and curative dynamic behind biological processes. Remember that the physical and quantifiable presence of electromagnetism (and anything else) describes only one aspect of qi. The notion of qi has other qualities incapable of being measured through sensory perception.

Numbers: The Language of the Universe

The question arises: “How can one measure qi, a force that cannot be fully measured?” One answer is numbers. The ancient Chinese understood that numbers provide the connective link between the macrocosm and human development (the microcosm). While the Chinese equated these integers to the language of the gods, modern science has proven that numbers provide the language of the universe.

Numbers speak to us and through us. In fact, we conform to mathematical laws of the universe. For example, take the Fibonacci sequence , a pattern of numbers discovered by thirteenth-century mathematician Leonardo de Pisa, also known as Fibonacci. Referring to the following diagram, the sequence begins with the number 1. Each number that follows is the sum of the previous two numbers: 0 + 1 = 1; 1 + 1 = 2; 1 + 2 = 3; 2 + 3 = 5, and so on to infinity.

1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144,233,… The Fibonacci Sequence

If you divide each number in the series by the one preceding it, the answer produces a ratio that stabilizes at 1.618034. For example, 2 [db] 1 = 2, 3 [db] 2 = 1.5, and the results continue to change until we get to 1597 [db] 987 = 1.618034, 4181 [db] 2584 = 1.618034, and so on to infinity. This figure is called the Golden Ratio .

While these "divine proportions" may not seem awe-inspiring on the surface, the Fibonacci numbers and ratios appear repeatedly in a remarkable range of fields. Consider the following examples to ponder and marvel at:

•  Natural phenomena . The head of a giant sunflower reveals two distinct spirals of seeds, 55 rows spiraling counterclockwise and 89 rows spiraling clockwise. The ratios of galaxies, ocean waves, seashells, flowers and leaves, and beehives, among other things, conform to this wondrous number series.

•  Human proportions . Our fingers conform to Fibonacci numbers. We have 2 hands, each of which has 5 fingers broken up into 3 parts by 2 knuckles.

•  Art and architecture . Artists Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), Albert Fitch Bellows (1829-1883), and Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) have consciously incorporated the Golden Ratio into their works. Many scholars believe the Great Pyramid of Giza was built to an original height of 5,813 inches (5, 8, and 13 are Fibonacci numbers).

•  Music and poetry . The octave on a piano keyboard is comprised of 13 keys of 8 white keys and 5 black keys, which are situated in groups of 2 and 3. Poetic limericks are composed of 13 beats of 5 lines, which are grouped into and 3 beats.

The Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio represent just one example of number series made manifest in life. Other transcendental mathematic principles include Pi, the exponential e, and the esoteric practices of gematria and numerology. Understand that somehow numbers guide our development. Unquestionably, it is the fabric of nature connecting everyone and everything.

Simply stated, the Chinese correlated the nine numbers of the Luoshu (related to the After Heaven sequence of trigrams) with the five phases of qi (fire, earth, metal, water, and wood), among other things. While this is a gross under simplification of a complex process, understand that the five physical phases allowed these astute observers to measure how qi affected our well-being. Over time, the accumulation and analysis of acausal information linked number patterns with the probable occurrence of specific human events.

Synchronicity: The Study of Meaningful Coincidences

What does “acausal information” mean? It describes a phenomenon called synchronicity, a word coined by noted Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961). In a nutshell, synchronicity can be explained as a pattern of correlated coincidences that can take form as objects, thoughts, ideas, and events (or a combination) linked together in a common theme, meaning, and significance to the observer. As you've just learned, modern scientists like David Bohm and Rupert Sheldrake describe the connective force as the quantum potential and the morphic field respectively. For our purposes, the Chinese call this holistic field of information, qi.

In classical feng shui, the combination of numbers generated by a Flying Star (a method of classical feng shui) qi chart represents synchronistic probabilities. For example, the Chinese recognized that a 2 (earth) 1 (water) combination was often linked with spousal conflict, separation, or divorce. An 8 (earth) 9 (fire) combination spawned the likelihood of weddings and pregnancy. A 5 (earth) 1 (water) combination meant the probability of ear, kidney, or genital disorders. Get the idea?

If you're having a difficult time grasping this seeming esoteric concept, there are other more far-reaching numeric coincidences that strike a common chord, sending a chill up our collective spines. For example, take the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on New York City's World Trade Center and The Pentagon, the governmental complex for the Department of Defense, located just outside Washington D.C. Here, time and space (the two bulwarks of classical feng shui) merged to produce synchronicities involving the number 11:

• The attack occurred on 9/11: 9+1+1=11

• September 11 marks the 254 th day of the year: 2+5+4=11.

• From afar, the Twin Towers resembles a gigantic number 11.

• The first airplane that crashed into the North Toward was American Airlines flight 11.

• The words “New York City,” “The Pentagon.” And “Afghanistan” contains 11 letters each.

Are you amazed? We need not dwell on the symbolic meaning of the number 11 and the extraordinary facts linking it with the World Trade Center attack. You can formulate your own conclusion. Here, our point is to illustrate a recent, albeit catastrophic, example of numeric synchronicity.

A New World Vision for the Millennium

The implementation of world harmony begins with you. We hope we've demonstrated that separatist thinking has no place in the study of Chinese cosmology. In order to fully understand feng shui and its principles, we must look at the Big Picture, a holistic reality that connects everyone and everything.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Feng shui master Val Biktashev travels worldwide providing feng shui for individuals and businesses. Several articles have been written about his work in local, national, and internationally distributed newspapers and magazines. Also, Val is regularly featured on television, including being the feature subject on the CBS news magazine program , Sunday Morning . He is the co-author of the highly acclaimed book , The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui . Reviewed as "an American masterpiece that tops the lot" by Feng Shui For Modern Living Magazine , the book consistently ranks among the top ten feng shui books (out of 709 entries) on amazon. At the First Annual World Classical Feng Shui conference in Germany, Val was a feature speaker. He can be contacted at GlobalFengShui@aol.com or at 323-810-8180. He lives in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Moran has studied feng shui and Chinese astrology with a number of classical masters. She is a highly sought lecturer and teacher of feng shui. In 2002, Elizabeth was a feature speaker at the First Annual World Classical Feng Shui Conference in Cologne, Germany. She is co-author of the best-selling books, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui (Alpha Books, 2002) and The Complete Idiot's Guide to the I Ching (2001). You may contact her at GlobalFengShui@aol.com. Elizabeth lives in Los Angeles with her husband, feng shui master Val Biktashev.