Correlations, a psychological technique, disassembles your mind’s dialectic process allowing your mind to reassemble itself with ‘mysterious sameness’ as its foundation. It gradually neutralizes bias—all bias—which makes it an arduous process; deep down we want our biases to be reenforced, not neutralized. Test it out and see for yourself. For a different approach, go to Couplets and the Co-generating Principle.
Using Yin and Yang to Pop Preconceptions
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Introduction
In the ‘beginning’ we humans, like all animals, simply pursued what felt good and avoided what didn’t—the biology of basic survival. As our brain evolved, however, we developed conceptual counterparts to this sensory experience. For instance, we translate the textures of Nature we perceive into words like, “rough & smooth, pungent & mild, bitter & sweet, loud & soft, bright & dim”, etc. As such, words are efficient generalizations of Nature, allowing us to categorize and organize information—all of which help us harness Nature. On the other hand, our connection with Nature loses intimacy and spontaneity as experiences become words and ideas. This boosts our awareness of a ’separate self’ as we go about judging reality…”good & bad, beautiful & ugly, superior & inferior, intelligent & stupid”, etc.—all of which sets us apart from the simple unity of Nature. Words, and the preconceptions they form, are a mixed blessing.
Each of us acquires our collection of words as we grow from infancy to adulthood. Our words rapidly become preconceptions inasmuch as we rarely reconsider them, or their effect on our life. These preconceptions become the threads with which we weave our thoughts, yet we never look back to question their integrity. The following outlines some of the adverse consequences of this neglect—and a possible remedy.
First, preconceptions ‘civilize’ our primordial nature. The ideas and beliefs we hold on to suppress spontaneous curiosity and the sense of awe. We’re so preoccupied with thinking how life should be, that we fail to watch and appreciate life as it is. This leaves us feeling disconnected from Nature, which of course provokes more idealistic thinking—deepening our feelings of ‘Eden lost’. Ironically, we then try to return ‘home’ via whatever preconceived beliefs and ideals we hold dear.
Second, preconceptions throw us off balance. Naked experience clothed in preconceptions evoke past memories and expectations, and with that another round of thinking begins—often coloring subsequent experience. This often affects our desires and cares excessively, and we suffer. The resulting emotions then prompt future expectations—a vicious circle making contentment short-lived at best.
Finally, preconceptions mislead us. Our judgment is never impartial, for we can’t untangle our preconceptions from our emotions and senses. This innate ‘genetic bias’ impedes all attempts to understand life—regardless of our presumptive beliefs to the contrary. Oblivious to our own ignorance, we jump to conclusions and go to extremes as we cope with life seeking contentment.
Fortunately, just accepting that thought has such ‘blind spots’ will shake your faith in preconceptions, sometimes avoiding these consequences. This occurs to a degree as the years go by and you mature. Taking this deeper, however, requires deliberate learning—or rather ‘unlearning’. Scripture works for many, with the Tao Te Ching being particularly effective at challenging your preconceptions. You can also ‘try your mind at’ the correlation technique below. Both the Tao Te Ching and this correlation technique compel you to reconsider your preconceptions (depending on your curiosity and interest, of course). With perseverance, preconceptions slowly give way to cautious contemplation and lingering contentment.
Correlations
Let me emphasize at the outset that the only way to understand the following technique is to do it. We’ll begin by placing basic nouns, adjectives and verbs with their respective antonyms into opposing categories: Active (Yang) and Passive (Yin). For example:
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| The Colors |
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| Notice how all words correlated as “Active” are highlighted with red, while “Passive” words are done in blue. |
First, carefully read each column above vertically. Can you feel how the Active words correlate, i.e., how they share similar, if subtle, qualities? How about the Passive words? Note. It is important to remember that this method works through contemplating the words that correlate for you! Therefore, always set aside any pairs which don’t seem to do so. We will get to them later.
Now, do it yourself! Again, the only way to know this approach is through doing it. So, with pen and paper in hand, correlate the following word pairs on a blank piece of paper: works/rests, peace/war, success/failure, agrees/argues, push/pull, anonymous/famous, brightens/dims, soft/hard, ancient/modern, part/whole, heaven/hell, delights/bores, white/black, go/stay, heavy/light, reality/illusion, male/female, dirty/clean, waste/conserve, conceal/expose, body/spirit.
Ponder work and rest for example. Does work have more of an Active or Passive quality? That is probably easy. How about war and peace? War correlates better with work than rest, so whatever category work correlates to, war belongs there too. Fame associates more with success than failure, so it would fit in the same category as success. And what is more likely to bring success, work or rest? This may sound a little convoluted when put into words and read. In practice, though, you simply let your mind scan and ponder opposites, and they will fall into place. Most come quickly, some gradually, while others may take years to settle,…no matter. Okay so far?… No?… You’re not using pen and paper, right?… Nag nag nag… 
From here on we will pair Active nouns with Active verbs, and Passive nouns with Passive verbs. This arrangement permits the pairs to make a statement when they are read horizontally. For example:
| Active (nouns & adj.) | Active (verbs) | Passive (antonyms) | Passive (antonyms) |
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| conspicuous | wakes | subtle | sleeps |
| bold | advances | meek | recedes |
| day | warms | night | cools |
Remember, read the columns vertically first, i.e., conspicuous, bold, day… subtle, meek, night… and so on. Do the words correlate? Next, read each row horizontally, i.e., conspicuous wakes, subtle sleeps; bold advances, meek recedes; day warms, night cools. Follow this same vertical and horizontal reading procedure for this next set.
| Active (nouns & adj.) | Active (verbs) | Passive (antonyms) | Passive (antonyms) |
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| small | stirs | large | stills |
| hysterical | ignores | tranquil | notices |
| child | takes | parent | gives |
| abrupt | separates | gradual | connects |
| complex | excites | simple | calms |
| something | fills | nothing | empties |
Now read the rows above circularly, i.e., small stirs large, large stills small; day warms night, night cools day; conspicuous wakes subtle, subtle sleeps conspicuous and so on.
Play around. String nouns and verbs together, i.e., small anxious child wakes, desires and speaks, Rotate the noun—verb matches, i.e., child stirs…, child ignores…, child excites…, (or) abrupt stirs…, day stirs…, complex stirs…, etc. Add prepositions occasionally, i.e., child takes (from) parent…, noise rises (out of) silence…, bold advances (toward) meek…, etc. Finally, use all the procedures covered so far for the following:
| Active (nouns & adj.) | Active (verbs) | Passive (antonyms) | Passive (antonyms) |
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| young | works | old | rests |
| life | evolves | death | revolves |
| need | hurries | contentment | dawdles |
| struggle | competes | surrender | cooperates |
| unique | abhors | common | loves |
| answer | forgets | question | remembers |
Now review and reflect. For example: anxious child ignores & forgets,…patient parent notices & remembers, (or) complex analysis works & separates,…simple synthesis rests & connects (or) obvious life clarifies & evolves,…mysterious death muddles & revolves. Don’t forget to give these last three examples a circular reading as well! Note: Each word within a column helps define its column mates and vice versa. Consider gives for example. If the giving is bold, conspicuous and arises out of need, i.e., ulterior motives, such as wanting to be liked, it has more in common with taking, gives, as correlated here, is meek, subtle and settled with in contentment.
| Correlating…Ever Tried It? |
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| I mean actually writing down the words! As Buddha said, test ‘it’ out and see. Here, you can’t see ‘it’ unless you physically do it with pen and paper. So, print out the pages and correlate the ‘do it yourself’ words on page one first. Simply jot these words down according to how you feel they should correlate. Then do the same with any other words that come to mind. Play around. This is a subtle process, so sink into your deepest Taoist sensibility as you test it out. If all this is too obscure, put it aside for now and try it again next year. |
Likewise, if a child notices, remembers, cooperates, and gives, then that child has more in common with parent. Conversely, if a parent ignores, forgets, competes, and takes, then he has more in common with child, Whether or not one has a child does not make one a parent, as defined here. Also, doesn’t that which applies to parent and gives, apply to love?
Once again, word meaning depends on concurrent qualities. All the words sharing a vertical column, i.e., anxious, pain, complex, need, etc., and patient, pleasure, simple, enough, etc., define each other! The correlations, read vertically and perceived as a whole help establish the ‘Yin-ness’ or ‘Yang-ness’ of any particular word. In effect, you are consolidating the meaning of the contrasting words with which you think about life. Returning them to their active or passive essence momentarily returns your mind to the primordial dawn of conceptual thought. From here it is just a short leap back into “mysterious sameness“. Mysterious what-ness? Just think of this as that which lies ‘beneath’ belief. Taoist-wise, that’s cool!… 
Reading correlations can produce obscure results, as you probably notice by now. If, in all this, you are somewhere between understanding and bewilderment, you are doing it right. Muddled insight is actually preferable to clarity, i.e.,preconceptions impart clarity, In fact, using the correlation process on what troubles or puzzles you deeply not only helps you learn this process, but can also help you resolve those issues—’mysteriously’. Important: don’t consider any statements made by this process as truth. Nevertheless, if not taken too literally, such statements can offer food for thought—even insight—depending on how patient, curious and open minded you are.
| Active (nouns & adj.) | Active (verbs) | Passive (antonyms) | Passive (antonyms) |
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| part | scatters | whole | gathers |
| contrast | divides | parallel | unites |
| illusion | promises | reality | delivers |
| arrogant | ignores | humble | notices |
| folly | argues | wisdom | agrees |
| definite | floats | ambiguous | sinks |
Moving along now, mentally merge pervious correlations into the set above as you read its columns vertically. Now proceed with the horizontal and then the circular readings. Play around. Pull from previous correlations, i.e., arrogant answer excites & promises., ..humble question calms & delivers.
It is a little puzzling how the same word can correlate to both Active and Passive categories. Take sound for example. Contrasted with music, sound is Passive, yet contrasted with silence, sound is Active. Discord also contrasts enough with music to correlate, but in this case music might now correlate to the Passive category. This is easier to contemplate in a correlation table, as follows:
| Active (nouns & adj.) | Active (verbs) | Passive (antonyms) | Passive (antonyms) |
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| sound | stirs | silence | stills |
| music | divides | sound | unites |
| discord | awakens | music | sleeps |
Did you read these vertically, horizontally and circularly? Did you rotate the ‘noun-verb’ matches?
When a word has a true antonym we use it. Many words, though, don’t have true antonyms. However, they often have a word whose qualities contrast enough to allow us to correlate, like music/sound above, or audience/performer, eye/belly, fire/water, fruit/flower, chicken/egg.
Speaking of chickens and eggs:
| Active (nouns & adj.) | Active (verbs) | Passive (antonyms) | Passive (antonyms) |
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| chicken | emerges | egg | returns |
| first | goes | last | waits |
| secondary | effects | primary | causes |
| anxious | begins | patient | ends |
| angular | ends | circular | continues |
| recent | changes | ancient | remains |
Correlations enable you to consider questions another way. Our usual approach in life is to search for solutions which answer the problems of the present. However, we often add a new problem for every one we solve, as history shows. Maybe we have been looking at our questions and problems too narrowly for the past 50,000 years or so. Another approach might be to return to the primary question, out of which our journey to answers began. For example, let us return to our chicken and egg correlations above as it might apply to that old question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”.
Reading those correlations can produce: first, anxious, angular, chicken emerges, changes, goes & effects last, patient, circular, egg. And of course,… last, patient, circular, egg returns, remains, waits & causes first, anxious, angular, chicken, Now, play around; match the words up in other ways. Does the correlation table offer any insight into the question? Don’t expect a clear cut answer!
It is important, initially anyway, to stick to words which have true antonyms when categorizing words. However, when you are pondering the correlations, you can substitute words within the category. So, for example, after you have correlated love/hate, acceptance/rejection, gradual/abrupt, you can link acceptance, love, gradual in your mind while you contemplate. Furthermore, correlations give each word a whole list of ’semi’ antonyms which further broaden each word’s meaning. For example, while love/hate are true antonyms, love/careless, love/need, love/sex, or love/strife may also contrast enough to regard them as near antonyms.
Ultimately this process nibbles away at innate genetic based biases and contradictions. The contradictory, albeit subconscious, use of language allows you to deceive yourself. If you do correlations carefully, you just can’t help but become more intellectually honest. This simplifies life which, in turn, deepens your sense of serenity.
Interested? Again, you can only know this approach through doing and pondering correlations. It does take mental effort, of a sort. Yet, you must also keep mental focus fuzzy. It is analogous to down playing what you see in front of you, to better sense what is behind you. Your looking behind the foreground of specific thoughts to sense the background of general consciousness.
Do It Yourself
Are you ready to go to the next level in learning this technique? OK, but first…you need to concur with most of the Active/Passive classifications of the words so far. If you don’t, try to resolve some of the discrepancies before proceeding. You will use the words we have already correlated (refer to and print out the pre-correlated word list) as a base to help you discern the classification of subsequent words. When you’re ready, go to the Do It Yourself Word List.
| 1600 Correlated Words |
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| Need help? Want perspective? Check out this extensive list, which correlates over 1600 basic words. |
Discoveries
Once you are familiar with using this technique, you can begin to apply it to some basic questions and perhaps get some insight into them. After you’ve completed the Do It Yourself exercise, check out these Discoveries with Correlations.
After Word
The development of this method began with my younger brother’s death four decades ago. Until then, I had never known death personally. It plunged me into a deep quandary. One day I realized that life and death, while apparently separate and opposite were, in reality, mysteriously connected and complementary. This paper attempts to convey the process of realization which so settled my mind. I offer it in the chance that it may serve others. Group participation may be necessary to truly grasp this process; our discussion board may be a good place to start.