This blog is created and presented by me, Paul, a mountain loving, veggie eating, bass thumping, karate kicking, insight cultivating writer based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
I co-own On Pointe Studio, a classical ballet school founded by my wife Pang, I train Wado Ryu Karate at Japan Karate Institute Wado Kai, Chiang Mai, I practice mahasati meditation, and I earned my MA in South Asian Studies from the University of Washington, focusing on the religions and languages of ancient India.
Holisitc integration of body, mind and spirit – this is the primary inspiration behind my concept of triple harmony. But there’s much more than that. It’s like the song says: 3 is a magic number. So many things in life seem to come in 3s.
birth, life, death
sun, moon, earth
mother, father, child
land, sea, sky
individual, society, environment
thoughts, words, deeds
and then, if you’re so inclined:
buddha, dharma, sangha
creator, preserver, destroyer
father, son, holy spirit
The list could go on and on. But the key is that life is joyful, meaningful, healthy and productive when each unit in a triad exists in a state of balance and harmony with the others.
Think about it this way. You can balance on one leg. Certainly we all stand on two. It’s easy, natural. But that’s when we’re in clear weather on solid ground. What happens when the winds rise, or when we’re on the deck of a storm-tossed ship? A third point of support becomes necessary. We need to become a tripod to keep our stability. This is balance in a passive/reactive sense.
Here’s another angle. A basic lesson from martial arts is that if we want to apply our energy effectively, we must at least start from a point of balance. Any beginner can easily see that a punch, kick or block thrown without balance will likely put you in a vulnerable position. So we must root in a balanced stance in order to execute a technique with power and effectiveness. This is balance in the active/proactive sense.
These images come from the physical realm, but the principles apply on a wider scale. We are not just physical beings. All of us have physical, mental and spiritual components. In order to maintain our poise in a changing world, in order to have a foundation from which we can act creatively and constructively, we need to have a dynamic balance of all three elements. This is triple harmony.
The entries on this blog fall into 3 categories:
Think – I offer ideas, metaphors and inspiring quotes, taking an intellectual approach towards what it means to live, grow, and be human. This includes strains from lots of religious & philosophical traditions past & present, including heavy influence from Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism.
Act – I discuss active cultivation of physical health, including exercise, nutrition, massage, green living and in particular disciplines like martial arts, qi gong and yoga.
Create – I share music, art, poetry, my own and that of others. Fundamentally, we are all creative beings, and it’s this creative side that helps us connect with the deeper strains of meaning that run through all life.
Please visit regularly, I’ll be posting once every week or two. And thanks for any constructive comments.
Harmonize Thyself!
