The macrobiotic approach to destiny blends the Stoics, Chinese san cai, modern neural science and psychology into a philosophy of life.
The idea is to explore our own mental conditioning and to what extent we are living out of the conditioning we are moulded by through our childhood and developing years. To what extent are we defined by this conditioning?
More importantly, to what extent does our connection to nature influence our life? If all the research is accurate, it is likely that all the natural influences on our lives from the weather, climate, family, friends, colleagues, type of work, place we live, food we eat and activities hugely influence our health, emotions, thinking and therefore choices and decisions.
Benefits of the Macrobiotic Approach to Destiny
By being open to the possibility that our lives may be defined and moulded by nature, we add a new dimension to our consciousness. The advantages of this macrobiotic approach to destiny are that we are
- More conscious of the influences upon us.
- More connected to nature.
- More accepting of ourselves and other people.
- Greater consciousness of all the influences upon us.
- Better at understanding of how we make choices.
- Potentially a more accepting and less stressful approach to life.
- Feeling that nature with all her power is supporting us through life.
Chinese San Cai
In san cai, we use the three lines of the trigram to explore the influences from above, in us and below.
The top line represents the influences of the sun, stars, moon, weather and climate, and explores how these influence our behaviour, emotions, moods and thinking.
The middle line represents humanity. This includes ourselves, our habits and DNA, along with the influence of our parents, family, friends and society as a whole.
The lower line represents influences from below. This would include where we live (by the sea, in a city, in a forest, in the mountains…), what we eat, and where we spend time (in a building, on farmland, on the water, travelling, with a view…).
Stoics
The Stoics believed that humans are part of nature and so connected that we live with nature. Nature therefore influences our moods, thinking, emotions and ultimately decisions. More than that, the Stoics felt that human creativity came from nature. The immense power of the universe could act through humans and all other forms of nature.
In this respect humans do not make their own choices but are continually guided by nature and acting out of nature.
The Stoics, sometimes referred to as the originators of positive thinking, represent a Greek school of philosophy that was created in 300bc and later became popular through the Roman philosopher and statesman, Seneca who lived from 4bc to 65ad.
Philosophy and Neural Science
Philosophers have posed the question as to whether if we went back one year in our lives, had no memory of the last year, and then experienced the same events and choices again, would we make different decisions? Would our conditioning mean that we would simply make the same choices again and again?
Research by Benjamin Libet, published in 1983, suggests that our unconscious mind makes some decisions before our conscious mind, and that our conscious mind may then simply justify or rationalise a decision that has already been made.
Sometimes humans feel that a complicated set of events leading to a profound outcome is beyond their control and simply destiny. This make happen when two people fall in love and commit to sharing their lives forever, getting a dream job, unexpected success…
Macrobiotic Approach to Destiny Paper
Filipa Silva wrote a paper examining the macrobiotic approach to destiny and presented it at the Macrobiotic International Meeting in Valencia 2019. It was published in Macrobiotics Today in 2020.
To read the full paper click here Macrobiotic Approach to Destiny paper.