“all bozos on this bus”- David Chadwick’s byline.
I made comments on Gudo Nishijima’s blog because I believe like him that there can be a fusion of Western and Eastern sciences. I got a very cordial response, even a request that I help Brad, and then what I felt was disinterest. Gudo didn’t respond to the ideas I put forward, except to say that he didn’t follow links to other sites. Can’t blame him, I wish him well.
Gudo talks about balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic nervous systems, yet I have yet to find any elaboration of his meaning beyond a vague description of the two systems. I myself am convinced that the sense of place in consciousness as consciousness occurs serves the two autonomic respirations, the pulmonary and the primary (cranial-sacral osteopathy refers to the changes in fluid volume of the dural fluid as the primary respiration). This is actually very similar to Gudo’s sympathetic and parasympathetic, in that the one is centered around the sacrum, lower abdomen, and skull, and the other around the chest. The balance for me is really just the place of mind when consciousness occurs spontaneously, and when the place consciousness occurs is conditioned by ignorance, attachment, or aversion, a witness of how the place of consciousness is conditioned serves to free the occurrence of consciousness.
As far as the physics, the sense of place leads the balance of the body, and generates reciprocal innervation in the fascia and ligaments that stretch when we sit or stand, or even just breathe. The sense of place is sufficient to the appropriate action of posture.
As far as the spiritual, there is a phenomena connected with the movement of breath that enables the contact of sense to extend beyond our physical limitations, seemingly.
I think it’s possible to write the meditation manual that Dogen set out to write when he came back from China; he stole most of it (see Bielefeldt’s “Dogen ‘s Meditation Manuals”), and he didn’t have enough science. Neither do we, but thanks to John Upledger we are close!