Tools of Taoist Thought: Correlations

Correlations and couplets use our native language to understand more deeply the co-generating Active (Yang) and PASSIVE (YIN) dynamics of Nature. Understanding this process can help you see what the Tao Te Ching is pointing to from another angle. This takes some of the mystery out of life, and yet adds more mystery as well. I view the Correlations in particular as a psychological technique that disassembles your mind’s dialectic process, allowing your mind to reassemble itself with what chapter 56 calls ‘profound sameness’ as its base. That is why I expect you’ll find the Couplets the easiest place to begin. Each Couplet first focuses on one of life’s polar extremes; extremes that easily can become too much of a ‘good thing’ at times. Next, that Couplet offers a balancing axiom that shows how to moderate those particular extremes. First though is a short introduction… and if you wish, print out this Tools of Taoist Thought: Correlations (and Couplets) essay to ponder off line.

Our path to language

In the beginning, our ancestors, like all animals, simply pursued what felt good and avoided what didn’t – the biology of basic survival. As our brain evolved, we developed conceptual counterparts to this sensory experience. For instance, we translate the textures of Nature we perceive into contrasting words such as “rough vs. smooth, pungent vs. mild, bitter vs. sweet, loud vs. soft, bright vs. dim”, etc. As such, words are efficient generalizations of Nature, allowing us to categorize and organize information. All of this helps us exploit Nature and survive par excellence. One adverse consequence of this lies in how our connection with Nature loses intimacy and spontaneity — experience becomes words and ideas. This augments the awareness of a ‘separate self’ as we go through life judging reality… “love vs. hate, good vs. bad, beautiful vs. ugly, superior vs. inferior, intelligent vs. stupid”, etc. All of this sets us apart from the constant unity of Nature. Consider these few excerpts from the Tao Te Ching:

The way possible to think, runs counter to the constant way. (#1)
Knowing the constant allows, allowing therefore impartial, (#16)
The way constant is without name. (#32)

Interestingly, both Taoist and monotheist core views (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) roughly agree on the problematic aspects of language and its counterpart… knowledge. The Book of Genesis 2:17 says, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die“. Chapter 71 says, Realizing I don’t know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease; and again in chapter 2 with, All under heaven realizing beauty as beauty, wickedness already. All realizing goodness as goodness, no goodness already. East and West do meet up where it counts!

Eden Lost

Each of us acquires our collection of words as we grow through infancy into adulthood. Our words rapidly become preconceptions in as much as we rarely reconsider them, or their effect on our life. Our 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 overly-civilize our primordial nature. The ideas and beliefs we hold suppress spontaneous curiosity and the sense of awe. We easily become preoccupied with thinking how life should be, and this hinders noticing life as it is. This leaves us feeling disconnected from Nature, which provokes more idealized thinking, and so on. We end up feeling more disconnected — ‘Eden lost’. Ironically, we then try to return ‘home’ via whatever set of learned beliefs and ideals we hold dear.

Second, preconceptions throw us off balance. Naked experience clothed in preconceptions evokes past memories and expectations, and with that, another round of thinking begins, often coloring subsequent experiences. This often influences our desires and cares negatively. The ensuing emotions then prompt future expectations. This vicious circle makes contentment even shorter-lived.

Finally, preconceptions mislead us. Our judgment is never impartial, for we can’t untangle our preconceptions from our emotions — our likes and dislikes. 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 ‘blind spots’ shakes our faith in preconceptions and helps avoid these consequences. This works better as the years go by and we 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 preconceptions. You can also try your mind at the Couplets and Correlations tools below. Both these and the Tao Te Ching compel you to reconsider your preconceptions, depending on your curiosity and interest of course.

Couplets and the Co-generating Principle

The ancient Chinese symbol (below) illustrates the dynamics of Yin and Yang. White corresponds to Active (Yang), and black to PASSIVE (Yin). It says visually what each couplet say verbally. The benefit of the Couplet lies in how each one substitutes Yin and Yang for two unique words and their antonyms. These four words make a distinctive statement about the natural process depicted in the symbol, yet are chock full of specific meaning imparted to the couplet by the four words comprising it.

The first step in creating a Couplet is choosing four words from the Correlations table. Below is a simple Correlations table. We make this by placing basic nouns, adjectives, and verbs with their respective antonyms into opposing categories:  Active (Yang) and PASSIVE (Yin).

	Active  (yang)	Active (yang)	PASSIVE (yin)	PASSIVE (yin)
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	activity	works	PASSIVITY	RESTS
	bold	advances	MEEK	RECEDES
	day	warms	NIGHT	COOLS

Now we’ll make our first Couplet by taking a word from each column above and using it to make a statement that usually describes the natural process symbolized by the familiar ‘Yin Yang’ symbol (i.e., the “great pole” pictogram, 太极图, tàijítú).

Contemplate this first Couplet:

Activity evolves forth into PASSIVITY as it works, yet PASSIVITY revolves back to activity as it RESTS; hence, work within the PASSIVITY, yet REST within the activity.

The white-left side:     Activity evolves forth into PASSIVITY as it works, yet…
The black-right side:   PASSIVITY revolves back to activity as it RESTS; hence…
The lower-white dot:  work within the PASSIVITY, yet…
The upper-black dot:  REST within the activity.

Here now are two more Couplets formed from the other Correlations above. Mull them over to get the feel of this dynamic.

Bold evolves forth into MEEK as it advances, yet MEEK revolves back to bold as it RECEDES; hence, bold within the MEEK, yet RECEDE within the bold.

Day evolves forth into NIGHT as it warms, yet NIGHT revolves back to day as it COOLS; hence, warm within the NIGHT, yet COOL within the day.

Note how each couplet begins with an Active term. The first half can be a little obscure, especially if you’re not used to viewing reality as a circular phenomenon. Is the second half, beginning with “hence”, more easily understood? Let’s see.

Take the first couplet we did. How do you work within the PASSIVITY, yet REST within the activity? First, obviously ‘activity’ plays a larger role in life than ‘PASSIVITY’ (e.g., the heart and lungs are active until we die). Nevertheless, we occasionally fall into periods of PASSIVITY (laziness, depression, fatigue, failure. illness, sleep). Work with PASSIVITY suggests that in those times we will feel better if we ‘hold ourselves up’ a little so that our life doesn’t ‘fall apart’. REST within the activity suggests that we will feel better in all life’s activities if we bring a RESTFUL attitude to activity, or as the Tao Te Ching #56 puts it, Subdue its sharpness, untie its tangles, Soften its brightness, be the same as dust, This is called profound sameness.

Buddha’s Path: Right Comprehension; Right Resolution; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Living; Right Effort; Right Thought; Right State of Peaceful Mind parallels this approach. While this balancing process is easy to ponder, following its wisdom is another matter… or is it? Actually, simply realizing (Right Comprehension) the ‘flow’, the extremes, and potential balance is enough. As realization ‘sinks in’, returning to balance happens naturally. There is no need to work at it, or worry about it. Just watch and ponder. As chapter 16 says…

Devote effort to emptiness, sincerely watch stillness.
Everything  ‘out there’  rises up together, and I watch again.
Everything ‘out there’, one and all, return again to their root cause.
Returning to the root cause is called stillness;
this means answering to one’s destiny.
Answering to one’s destiny is called the constant;
knowing the constant is called honest

Obviously, it’s not as easy as it sounds; Nature makes all living things ‘pay’ for balance. Couplets just let you know the price Nature’s asking. To find some couplets that interest you go to the Basic Couplet List given on Couplets and the Co-generating Principle. Ponder them awhile. If you wish to create your own couplets, refer to the Correlations tables that follow for a listing of Active and PASSIVE words.

Correlations:  Using Yin and Yang to Pop Preconceptions

We’ll begin by placing basic nouns, adjectives, and verbs with their respective antonyms into opposing categories:  Active (Yang) and PASSIVE (Yin). For example:

Active	PASSIVE	Active	PASSIVE	Active	PASSIVE
anxious	PATIENT	strong	WEAK	arrogant	HUMBLE
pain	PLEASURE	acquired	INNATE	juvenile	MATURE
desires	SATIATES	wins	LOSES	speaks	LISTENS
shallow	DEEP	urbane	RUSTIC	obvious	MYSTERIOUS
noise	SILENCE	analysis	SYNTHESIS	difference	SAMENESS
rises	SETTLES	clarifies	MUDDLES	leads	FOLLOWS

First, carefully read each column 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 that don’t seem to do so. We will get to them later.

Next, it is time for DIY — do it yourself! Let me emphasize at the outset that the only way to understand this technique will be by actually doing it, and not just reading about it. Therefore, with pen and paper in hand, correlate the following word pairs. Assign one word of the pair as  Active and the other word PASSIVE : 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.

Let’s ponder a few of these. Does work have more of an Active or PASSIVE quality? That was 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? That is more subtle, but overall, which is more likely?

This sounds a little convoluted when put into words and read. In practice though, you simply let your mind scan and ponder opposites and let each word fall into its place. Most come quickly, some gradually, while others may take years to settle… no matter!

Active noun and verbs vs. their PASSIVE antonyms

From here on we will pair Active (nouns & adjectives) with Active (verbs), followed by their antonyms, PASSIVE (nouns & adjectives) with PASSIVE (verbs). For example:

	Active	Active	PASSIVE	PASSIVE
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	conspicuous	wakes	SUBTLE	SLEEPS
	bold	advances	MEEK	RECEDES
	day	warms	NIGHT	COOLS

It is best to read the columns vertically first, i.e., conspicuous, bold, day vs. SUBTLE, MEEK, NIGHT, then wakes, advances, warms, vs. SLEEPS, RECEDES, COOLS. Do the words in each column show a relationship; do they correlate?

This arrangement permits the pairs to make a contrasting statement when you read them horizontally, i.e., conspicuous wakes, SUBTLE SLEEPS; bold advances, MEEK RECEDES; day warms, NIGHT COOLS. Do these pairs show a relationship; do they correlate? Follow this same vertical and horizontal reading procedure for this next set.

	Active	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	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, play around a little with these two sets of three rows above. First, rotate the noun & adj. – verb matches. For example, child stirs; child ignores; child excites. Alternatively, complex stirs; complex ignores; complex excites. Some of the pairs make more intuitive sense than other ones. However, they will feel more on the ‘same page’ if you compare them with their antonym pairs. For example, the antonym pairs for child and complex are: PARENT STILLS; PARENT NOTICES; PARENT CALMS and SIMPLE STILLS; SIMPLE NOTICES; SIMPLE CALMS.

While some of these pairs don’t make much sense at first glance, you may feel they share something deeper. This is called profound sameness, as chapter 56 puts it. For a hint to what that means, consider these synonyms: profound ≈ weighty ≈ insightful ≈ reflective ≈ deep.

Next, string all the verbs after only one of the words in the noun & adj. column. For example, child stirs, ignores, excites, takes, separates, and fills. Now the antonyms, PARENT STILLS, NOTICES, CALMS, GIVES, UNITES, and EMPTIES. Alternatively, string all the verbs up after complex… complex stirs, ignores, excites, takes, separates, and fills. Now the antonyms, SIMPLE STILLS, NOTICES, CALMS, GIVES, UNITES, and EMPTIES. Not every verb matches up equally well, but you should eventually feel most do share a degree of subtle agreement. It is intuitive!

Note: While these statements sound very BLACK and white, you must realize these statements represent possibility, not certainty! Obviously, child doesn’t always ignore; PARENT doesn’t always NOTICE. Frequently, it is just the opposite; there are always ‘exceptions to the rule’. You need to look between the lines for the trends. The statements correlate if child stirs, ignores, excites, takes, separates over 51% of the time, and PARENT STILLS, NOTICES, CALMS, GIVES, UNITES over 51% of the time.

Now we’ll string all the words in the noun & adj. column with only one of the verbs. For example, abrupt stirs; day stirs; complex stirs. Next, do the same with the associated antonyms. For example, GRADUAL STILLS; NIGHT STILLS; SIMPLE STILLS.

Next, we’ll string nouns and verbs together. For example, small child stirs, ignores, and takes. Now, do the antonyms: LARGE PARENT STILLS, NOTICES, and GIVES. Note, these two statements are not intended to be a definitive description of either children or parents. Think of them as describing an abstract archetype. As the saying goes, ‘there is a grain of truth in every myth’.

When you have played around enough with this set of correlations, pull correlations from the two other previous sets. Now you have five sets of three rows to work with all together… juggle!

Going full circle

The next major procedure involves reading the rows in a somewhat circular manner. For example, [ small stirs LARGE, LARGE STILLS small ] ; [ day warms NIGHT, NIGHT COOLS day ] ; [ conspicuous wakes SUBTLE, SUBTLE SLEEPS conspicuous ] and so on. Now, apply this circular reading to other rows in all previous sets.

It can help to add prepositions occasionally. For example, child takes (from) PARENT;  bold advances (toward) MEEK.

Finally, use all the procedures covered so far for the following:

	Active	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	young	works	OLD	RESTS
	life	Evolves	DEATH	REVOLVES
	need	Hurries	CONTENTMENT	DAWDLES
	struggle	competes	SURRENDER	COOPERATES
	unique	abhors	COMMON	LOVES
	answer	forgets	QUESTION	REMEMBERS

Review and reflect

Try switching words around to produce different combinations. 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.

Now try the circular reading on these last three examples, e.g., anxious child ignores PATIENT PARENT, and so on. 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.

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. In addition, doesn’t that which applies to PARENT and GIVES also 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 to their active or passive essences momentarily, returns your mind to the primordial dawn of conceptual thought. Now, your mind’s on the brink of “MYSTERIOUS SAMENESS”. As mentioned earlier, This is called profound sameness — profound ≈ mysterious ≈ heavy ≈ deep ≈ dark. Imagine mysterious sameness as something that is outside the realm of belief. As chapter 1 puts it, The way possible to think, runs counter to the constant way. You are taking your mind to the event horizon of your belief’s black hole, so to speak. 😉

Reading correlations can produce obscure results, as you probably have noticed by now. If in all of 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, albeit, ‘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	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	part	scatters	WHOLE	GATHERS
	contrast	divides	PARALLEL	UNITES
	illusion	promises	REALITY	DELIVERS
	arrogant	ignores	HUMBLE	NOTICES
	folly	argues	WISDOM	AGREES
	definite	floats	AMBIGUOUS	SINKS

Now, mentally merge pervious correlations into the set above as you read its columns vertically. Proceed with the horizontal, and then the circular readings. Play around. Pull from previous correlations. For example, 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	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	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? For example, line discord up with stirs and then divides.

When a word has a true antonym, use it. Many words don’t have true antonyms. For example, there is no antonym for music. However, words often have a word whose qualities contrast enough to allow us to correlate, such as music vs. sound above, or audience vs. performer, eye vs. belly, fire vs. water, fruit vs. flower, chicken vs. egg, sex vs. love.

Speaking of chickens and eggs:

	Active	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	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 problems and questions more deeply. Even better, correlations easily thwart your chances of finding a quick answer or solution. That’s not appealing if you need the psychological security that quick and easy answers offer.

Nevertheless, maybe we have been looking at our questions and problems too narrowly for the past 50,000+ years, and grabbing too quickly at ‘obvious solutions’. Correlations can help you return to the PRIMARY QUESTION, out of which our journey to answers began. For example, let us return to our previous chicken and egg correlations as they might apply to the 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 as you approach the event horizon of the unknown!

When categorizing words, it is important initially to stick to words that have true antonyms. However, when you are pondering the correlations, you can substitute words within the category. For example, after you have correlated LOVE – hate, ACCEPTANCE – rejection, GRADUAL – abrupt, you can link corresponding words ACCEPTANCE, LOVE, GRADUAL in your mind while you contemplate. Furthermore, correlations give each word a whole list of ‘semi’ antonyms that further broaden each word’s meaning. For example, while LOVE vs. hate are true antonyms, LOVE vs. careless, LOVE vs. need, LOVE vs. sex, or LOVE vs. strife also contrast enough to regard them as pseudo or ‘almost’ antonyms — this even applies to LOVE vs. love, if you know what I mean.

Ultimately, this process nibbles away at innate genetically 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 deepens your sense of serenity. Naturally, there is a cost; correlations whittle away cherished biases.

Interested? Again, you can only know this approach through doing and pondering correlations. It does take mental effort to focus. 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. You’re looking behind the foreground of specific thoughts to sense the BACKGROUND OF GENERAL CONSCIOUSNESS.

Do It Yourself Word List:

Are you ready to go to the next level in learning this technique? OK, but first you should agree with most of the Active – PASSIVE classifications of the words covered so far. If you have wide disagreement, struggle to resolve this before proceeding. Carefully considering the following paragraph may help.

The critical part of this process is the anchoring of words to each other vertically under the Active/ PASSIVE categories. Which category you place a particular word is less important because all the other words in that word’s column define that word. Thus, if you wanted to re-categorize dirty as Active instead of PASSIVE, then dirty becomes synonymous with unique, success, transitory, shallow, illusion, famous, answer, angular, abrupt… and so on. You must now maintain that connotation for dirty.

Thus, dirty brightens, awakens, divides, exposes, floats, promises, pushes, separates, and wins. That means that CLEAN DULLS, SLEEPS, UNITES, CONCEALS, SINKS… and so on. Such anchoring of basic words helps you avoid subconscious duplicity that only complicates mental life by facilitating self-protective and egocentric rationalization. If you must re-categorize any word pair, do so carefully; the Correlation Sets have been under consideration for a long while.

With pencil in hand, consider each word/antonym pair from the un-correlated list below. Correlate each pair using the previous correlations and procedures (vertical, horizontal, circular reading, etc.) for guidance. Simply circle which word you think is PASSIVE. Whenever you get stuck, set the word aside, let your sub-conscious ponder it, and continue on. Return in a few days to see if you’re still as stuck.  Here is a link to this DYI list to print out… http://www.centertao.org/essays/correlations/do-it-yourself/

You will use the words we have already correlated — the Correlations Starter List — as a base to help you discern the classification of subsequent words (see Correlations Set #1 at the end of this Correlations essay). When you finish, compare your results with the “completed” word sheet — Correlation Set #2 — located after the Correlations Set #1.

word     &	antonym	word     &	antonym	word      &	antonym
agitate	sedates	hell	paradise	proceed	pauses
anger	fear	hesitates	acts	rejects	accepts
artificial	natural	hosts	visits	remembers	forgets
beauty	ugliness	human	animal	replies	asks
biases	balances	hunts	eludes	repulsion	attraction
black	white	I	that	restrains	abandons
bliss	anguish	ignorance	awareness	satiates	craves
blurs	defines	indulges	tempers	seclusion	fellowship
certainty	doubt	inferior	superior	shame	pride
civilized	primitive	innocence	guilt	sincerity	hypocrisy
clarifies	confounds	intensifies	mitigates	skepticism	religion
clouds	clears	joy	sorrow	slows	quickens
compels	coaxes	kindles	quells	soils	washes
complies	resists	knows	misunderstand	solidifies	liquifies
confronts	evades	liberal	strict	speaks	listens
constraint	spontaneity	local	universal	specific	general
contends	yields	loss	gain	spiritual	worldly
counterfeit	authentic	loves	hates	stabilizes	wobbles
cynicism	faith	master	slave	stagnates	grows
decides	deliberates	moderate	radical	teacher	student
detaches	adheres	moves	stops	tightens	loosens
deters	invites	naive	sophisticated	tip	base
diverges	converges	neutral	impassioned	transitory	perpetual
elite	riffraff	numbs	sharpens	truth	fiction
enough	need	objective	subjective	vanishes	appears
expert	novice	obscures	illuminates	vertical	horizontal
extreme	conservative	order	chaos	watches	shows
flows	ebbs	pains	pleases	widens	narrows
future	present	past	present	wishes	has
gobbles	tastes	plant	animal	worries	soothes

Do you understand this process well enough to explore your worldview more effectively? Try it out. Select some word pairs from the Correlation Sets that pertain to a question, problem, or idea. It can be personal, political, scientific, religious… anything that you are curious or troubled about, and on which you would like deeper insight. Also, use these Correlation Sets for guidance in classifying any words you wish to correlate and, of course, to broaden perspective in general.

Initially, if you are trying to correlate new words, use only those that have true antonyms… use a thesaurus! If the word you are considering does not have an antonym, find a word/antonym pair that is close in meaning. Studying the Correlation Set lists vertically can point you in the right direction. For a list of 1600 correlated commonly used words go to: http://centertao.org/correlationsallwords, or for the colorful version see http://www.centertao.org/essays/correlations/master-list/

Putting Correlations to Work:

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.

The discoveries you make will often be hard to put into words. It is possible to discern things via the correlations which normal linear thought cannot grasp. Why? Correlations by themselves never reveal much of anything. The discoveries here originate from within you. Correlations are like a mirror through which you see yourself. They can serve as a path to self-understanding, not the understanding itself. Self-understanding helps you understand others, and the world around you, not the other way around. Consequently, turning much of what you find into coherent linear ideas to share with others can be challenging, if not impossible.

On the other hand, there are many ideas that can be represented in a straightforward way, i.e., day warms NIGHT… NIGHT COOLS day. Correlations can convey perceptions elegantly and simply, especially if you sense in them a process that may be universally applicable. Contemplate the following set of correlations to see what ideas they could express. Remember to play around. Match pairs with different pairs, string them together, and so forth as shown earlier. I will give some possibilities.

	Active	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	energy	divides	TIME	UNITES
	straight	moves	CIRCULAR	STAYS
	far	effects	NEAR	CAUSES
	matter	works	SPACE	RESTS
	there	excites	HERE	CALMS
	illusion	fills	REALITY	EMPTIES

 ♦ “The grass is always greener”, parallels these correlation statements: … illusion fills REALITY,… REALITY EMPTIES illusion, or far excites NEAR,… NEAR CALMS (or BORES) far.

♦ Time, as measured by clocks, is really energy interacting in the PRESENT. Energy divides TIME… We confuse this ‘clock’ time with REAL TIME. Einstein’s relativity theory attempts to correct this misconception. TIME UNITES energy… This might say something about the speed of light in SPACE.

♦ Reading from the correlations above gives: CIRCULAR SPACE TIME > STAYS, UNITES, & CAUSES, straight matter energy… and so on. This reading offers a possible pre – ‘Big Bang’ scenario; the ‘Big Bang’ REVOLVED out of CIRCULAR SPACE TIME REALITY.

Correlations can portray natural principles in a very simple way. The neat thing here is that you can apply these same principles to any consideration. This helps gather your disparate views into a more universal perspective. The correlations appear to depict a universal process that occurs in all things, at all levels, from the cosmic to the microscopic. As you become more aware of this, you will feel more at home in the universe. Take for example: beginning of creation vs. ending of creation, living vs. dying, success vs. failure, waking vs. sleeping, wanting vs. having. The following correlation table helps tie them together.

	Active	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	beginning (universe)	warms	ENDING (universe)	COOLS
	transitory	peaks	CONSTANT	BOTTOMS
	mass/energy	effects	SPACE/TIME	CAUSES
	child	grows	ADULT	SHRINKS
	waking	excites	SLEEPING	CALMS
	wanting	promises	HAVING	DELIVERS
	struggle	assumes	SURRENDER	KNOWS
	success	leads	FAILURE	FOLLOWS
	living	competes	DYING	COOPERATES

Death

Our instinctive dread of DEATH takes its form in many mundane ways. For example, we abhor FAILURE, LOSS, SURRENDER, MONOTONY, and even just WAITING. Correlations can help you see DEATH, and its ‘forms’ (see PASSIVE’s listed below) in a broader perspective.

Our problem with DEATH, and its correlates, arises from life’s survival instinct. The more we cling to life, the more the other side, DEATH, haunts us; we can’t escape the circular relationship of the active and PASSIVE sides. Thus the more important you regard life, the more separate and anxious you will inevitably feel. Once you realize this, you may begin to see past the survival instinct and GRADUALLY RECONNECT with DEATH and its ‘forms’. Ironically, this makes it easier to welcome and savor the PRESENT moments of life. Perhaps this is because you inevitably find yourself battling less with REALITY.

I will simplify the following set by limiting it to two columns, sorted on the Active words. As you read these correlations vertically, let the words in each column blend in your mind until you feel the essence of all those words. Next, try turning some of these pairs into contrasting statements to read horizontally. To make a statement, you’ll use any of the verbs listed so far. I’ll start this out using the first three pairs: Angular wakes, CIRCULAR SLEEPS; anxious advances, PATIENT RECEDES; commotion warms, TRANQUILITY COOLS.

Active	PASSIVE	Active	PASSIVE	Active	PASSIVE
angular	CIRCULAR	future	PRESENT/PAST	recent	ANCIENT
anxious	PATIENT	gain	LOSS	sound	SILENCE
commotion	TRANQUILITY	illusion	REALITY	straight	BENT
complex	SIMPLE	individual	COLLECTIVE	struggle	SURRENDER
diversity	MONOTONY	separate	CONNECTED	success	FAILURE
excitement	BOREDOM	life	DEATH	there	HERE
far	NEAR	busy	LAZY	transitory	CONSTANT
fast	SLOW	motion	STILLNESS	war	PEACE
fleeting	ETERNAL	need	CONTENT	work	REST

Okay, time to nag just once more…

Have you tried it out? As Buddha said, “verify through experience”. You only verify this through your experience of doing it with pen and paper… and deep pondering of course. First correlate the ‘do it yourself’ words listed previously. Simply jot these words down according to how you feel they should correlate. Play around. Have you noticed how often I’ve suggested, “Play around”? Playing around is how children learn the most essential aspects of life — walking and talking. In the same way, playing around with correlations is the only way you’ll learn it. This is a subtle process, so if all this feels too obscure now, put it aside, and try it again next year… or in a decade or two. I’m serious!

Time

TIME correlates with DEATH, , at least ‘Taoist’ time does. Part of the human problem is our disconnect from TIME. We feel separate from the PRESENT – the ETERNAL now (see correlations below). The unique human ability to create and sustain a perception of past and future competes for our attention. To the extent we are estranged from the PRESENT, we feel more isolated and insecure than we might otherwise feel.

Religion is a human endeavor whose noblest purpose is to re-CONNECT us to the ETERNAL WHOLE. Interestingly, when religion does not work, we turn to drugs, alcohol, sports, possessions, work, people, and/or ideals and doctrines all the more fervently, in the hope to feel more CONNECTED. Yet all we end up with are fleeting moments of pseudo CONNECTION.

Note: The more definite and analytical you need to explain your perceptions with this method, the more complex and illusionary they become. You will move further away from a complementary viewpoint and any sense of MYSTERIOUS SAMENESS. Be on the lookout for an INTUITIVE, FUZZY, and SHADOWY, KNOWING. When you sense it, savor it without nailing it down as the answer!

	Active	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	past	effects	PRESENT	CAUSES
	future	evolves	PRESENT/PAST	REVOLVES
	fleeting	ends	ETERNAL	ENDURES
	complex	intensifies	SIMPLE	DIMINISHES
	isolated	leads	CONNECTED	FOLLOWS
	part	divides	WHOLE	UNITES
	boy	ignores	MOTHER	ACKNOWLEDGES
	individual	floats	COLLECTIVE	SINKS
	life	takes	DEATH	GIVES

Life, Death, and ‘Enlightenment’

The development of this method began upon hearing the news of my younger brother’s death 50+ years ago. Until then, I had never known death personally. It plunged me into a deep quandary. Months later, while riding home from work on the bus one day, I suddenly realized that life and death, while apparently separate and opposite were, in reality, MYSTERIOUSLY CONNECTED and COMPLEMENTARY. This realization is similar to chapter 2’s, Hence existence and nothing give birth to one another.

The epiphany was so profound that I thought I had experienced Satori (悟). Of Satori, D.T. Suzuki (a professor of Buddhist philosophy) says: “This acquiring of a new point of view in our dealings with life and the world is popularly called by Japanese Zen students ‘satori’ (wu in Chinese). It is really another name for Enlightenment.”

To be sure, I’d acquired a “new point of view”, yet I was still experiencing all the emotional vicissitudes of life as before. I did seem to become more skeptical of everything. However, I suspect I was already a dormant skeptic. When my brother died, the latent skeptic within me awoke. I just couldn’t buy any of society’s views on the nature of life and death.

I was certain I experienced ‘Enlightenment’, I was just skeptical as to what Enlightenment truly was. I couldn’t buy the cultural myths and spiritual propaganda surrounding the word. Decades passed while the experience itself remained a puzzle and indescribable beyond a trite, “Life and death are the same”.

Then, in the early 80’s, I dreamed up (literally) this Correlations process as a possible way to say something useful about the epiphany I’d had. This process also finally settled my skepticism on the idea of Enlightenment. The ‘problem’ with anything that is especially pregnant with meaning as Enlightenment is, is that it essentially misses the point. We just can’t help making mountains out of molehills, can we? The Correlations can ‘prove it’, but chapter 1 of the Tao Te Ching sums the situation up perfectly.

The way possible to think, runs counter to the constant way.
The name possible to express runs counter to the constant name.

This is why I call myself a ‘taoist’ with a small ‘t’. Again, the name possible to express runs counter to the constant name. One thing has become obvious to me above nearly everything else: Our species is extremely insecure due to our sense of the ‘unknown’ — the void. That I imagine, is a result of dialectic cognition — thought. Thought disconnects us from the spontaneous present, and so we’re always looking for a way to return. Having no solid clue as to what we are looking for, we make up stories to anchor consciousness… to believe… to pursue

Ironically, Satori or Enlightenment is often used interchangeably with kenshō. Kenshō refers to the perception of the Buddha-Nature or emptiness. As I see it from a symptom’s point of view, we all experience this emptiness, unknown, void, all the time. This freaks us out and drives us to make up stories on which to cleave. As Buddha so aptly put it, “The illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things”. The illusion of self is the smoke screen that shields us from full-blown emptiness. A double irony to me is how the story of Enlightenment serves to shield us even further from the void… Straight and honest words seem inside out. Isn’t consciousness a kick? I suppose you probably already see the mythical underbelly of the West; my purpose here is to point out the mythical underbelly of the East. Obviously, my skeptical view will not sit well with many; I belong to neither East nor West.

Correlations do convey the process of realization that so settled my mind back then. I offer it in the chance that it may serve others, even though I know it isn’t the easiest thing to wrap your head around! Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I also imagine that group participation might help grasp this process better. Alas, I don’t expect you could find enough interested people in one locality to make group exploration possible… maybe someday.

By the way, I view true ‘Enlightenment’ as a life long process of realization, not unlike the initial process we all face when first learning to walk and talk. We stumble, fall, realize, and adjust repeatedly throughout life. As the years pass, humility increases and certainty of knowing decreases. We slowly cure ourselves of the disease, at least to some extent, as we accept that realizing I don’t’ know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease. Yet, even more fundamentally, we are essentially no different from other animals, and even plants I suppose — biology hoodwinks us all! See also, Peeking in on Nature’s Hoodwink.

Correlations Starter List

Note: Go to http://www.centertao.org/essays/correlations/starter-list/ and print out this Correlations Set #1 list to make comparisons easier.

This list includes all the correlations introduced on the first few pages, plus a few more. Here, they are sorted on the Active nouns and verbs. Such an arbitrary  arrangement can produce some cryptic horizontal and circular readings, which can lead you to unexpected insight. Add prepositions occasionally, i.e., with, to, from, on, by, for, and so on.

Remember, each word within a column helps define its column mates and vice versa. Here, no word stands alone. Meaning depends on concurrent qualities. You are using all the words sharing a vertical column to define each other, albeit, often elusively.

Correlation Set #1:

	Active	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	abrupt	advances	GRADUAL	RECEDES
	analysis	argues	SYNTHESIS	AGREES
	angular	awakens	CIRCULAR	SLEEPS
	answer	begins	QUESTION	ENDS
	anxious	brightens	PATIENT	DULLS
	arrogant	changes	HUMBLE	REMAINS
	bold	cleans	MEEK	DIRTIES
	chicken	competes	EGG	COOPERATES
	child	detaches	PARENT	MERGES
	commotion	divides	TRANQUILITY	UNITES
	complex	effects	SIMPLE	CAUSES
	conspicuous	emerges	SUBTLE	RETURNS
	day	ends	NIGHT	CONTINUES
	definite	evolves	AMBIGUOUS	REVOLVES
	different	excites	SAME	CALMS
	discord	expands	HARMONY	CONTRACTS
	famous	exposes	ANONYMOUS	CONCEALS
	first	fills	LAST	EMPTIES
	folly	floats	WISDOM	SINKS
	future	goes	PAST	STAYS
	illusion	hardens	REALITY	SOFTENS
	life	hurries	DEATH	DAWDLES
	male	ignores	FEMALE	NOTICES
	modern	increases	ARCHAIC	DECREASES
	music	leads	SOUND	FOLLOWS
	need	progresses	CONTENTMENT	REVERTS
	noise	promises	QUIET	DELIVERS
	obvious	pushes	MYSTERIOUS	PULLS
	pain	rises	PLEASURE	SETTLES
	part	roughens	WHOLE	SMOOTHS
	recent	scatters	ANCIENT	GATHERS
	secondary	separates	PRIMARY	CONNECTS
	shallow	shifts	DEEP	MAINTAINS
	small	stimulates	LARGE	INHIBITS
	something	stirs	NOTHING	STILLS
	sound	straightens	SILENCE	CURVES
	strong	takes	WEAK	GIVES
	struggle	tells	SURRENDER	LISTENS
	success	warms	FAILURE	COOLS
	unique	wastes	COMMON	CONSERVES
	war	wins	PEACE	LOSES
	young	works	OLD	RESTS

Correlated  “Do It Yourself Word List”

Note: You can go to  and print out this list too. No peeking until you have struggled for a while to correlate the words in the “Do It Yourself Word List” word challenge. http://www.centertao.org/essays/correlations/do-it-yourself/filled-out/

Correlation Set #2: 

	Active	Active	Passive	Passive
	(nouns & adj.)	(verbs)	(antonyms)	(antonyms)
	anger	abandons	FEAR	RESTRAINS
	anguish	acts	BLISS	HESITATES
	animal	agitates	PLANT	SEDATES
	artificial	appears	NATURAL	VANISHES
	certainty	biases	DOUBT	BALANCES
	chaos	clarifies	ORDER	CONFOUNDS
	civilized	clears	PRIMITIVE	CLOUDS
	counterfeit	compels	AUTHENTIC	COAXES
	cynicism	confronts	FAITH	EVADES
	elite	contends	RIFFRAFF	YIELDS
	expert	craves	NOVICE	SATIATES
	extreme	decides	CONSERVATIVE	DELIBERATES
	fiction	defines	TRUTH	BLURS
	future	detaches	PRESENT	ADHERES
	gain	deters	LOSS	INVITES
	hell	diverges	PARADISE	CONVERGES
	human	flows	ANIMAL	EBBS
	hypocrisy	forgets	SINCERITY	REMEMBERS
	I	gobbles	THAT	TASTES
	ignorance	grows	AWARENESS	STAGNATES
	impassioned	hates	NEUTRAL	LOVES
	innocence	hunts	GUILT	ELUDES
	liberal	illuminates	STRICT	OBSCURES
	local	indulges	UNIVERSAL	TEMPERS
	master	intensifies	SLAVE	MITIGATES
	need	kindles	ENOUGH	QUELLS
	objective	misunderstands	SUBJECTIVE	KNOWS
	present	moves	PAST	STOPS
	pride	narrows	SHAME	WIDENS
	radical	pains	MODERATE	PLEASES
	repulsion	proceeds	ATTRACTION	PAUSES
	seclusion	quickens	FELLOWSHIP	SLOWS
	skepticism	rejects	RELIGION	ACCEPTS
	sophisticated	replies	NAIVE	ASKS
	sorrow	resists	JOY	COMPLIES
	specific	sharpens	GENERAL	NUMBS
	spontaneity	shows	CONSTRAINT	WATCHES
	superior	liquifies	INFERIOR	SOLIDIFIES
	teacher	speaks	STUDENT	LISTENS
	tip	tightens	BASE	LOOSENS
	transitory	visits	PERPETUAL	HOSTS
	ugliness	washes	BEAUTY	SOILS
	vertical	wishes	HORIZONTAL	HAS
	white	wobbles	BLACK	STABILIZES
	worldly	worries	SPIRITUAL	SOOTHES

For a different approach, go to Couplets and the Co-generating Principle.

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