Perfectly Correct Nonsense

"No, no, no!" I said hurriedly. "There's nothing seriously wrong with your home's feng shui."

"Then Gula...?"

"She's just too clever. As she put it herself, she's a genius little fairy." Remembering her playful expression when she said that, I couldn't help smiling.

"Clever? Is that bad?" Mrs. Chen didn't understand.

President Chen explained, "Gula really is very clever. She's been a mischievous little thing since she was young. It's only over the past few years that she's gradually become a little withdrawn. But her grades are still quite good. She can remember practically anything after seeing it once."

"Yes, Gula has a very agile mind, and she thinks a lot. Thoughts are invisible, so they belong to yin. When there's too much yin, there's less yang," I explained carefully. "The interplay of yin and yang is what we call the Dao. Everything needs a balance of yin and yang. She also likes shutting herself in her room with the curtains drawn, which reduces her yang even further. It's become a vicious cycle."

"Then what do we need to do?" Mrs. Chen asked. Perhaps remembering what I had just told Gula, she added, "Will opening the curtains more often be enough? What else can we do? For example, could we get some protective charms that increase yang energy, or feng shui objects? As long as it works, we're willing to do anything."

Parents would gladly give their children everything they had, offering them the very best in the world.

"It's not that serious," I said with a smile. "You don't need to buy anything. She isn't possessed. She wants to get better herself, so a little nudge is all she needs."

President Chen and his wife looked utterly bewildered.

I explained patiently, "Have you two heard of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon?"

"Yes. It's a very impressive ancient book, but we haven't read it."

"Yes. There's a line in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: 'If a patient refuses treatment, the illness cannot be cured, and treating it will accomplish nothing.'

"What it means is that the patient has to want to get better-in other words, they need the will to live-before the illness can be treated.

"Western medicine also considers a patient's will to live when dealing with serious illnesses.

"Gula really wants to get better. That desire is enough.

"Her only problem is that she thinks too much.

"The opposite of thinking too much isn't 'don't think so much.' That's perfectly correct nonsense, because it's simply impossible to do.

"The opposite of thinking too much is using your brain as little as possible."

Looking at the couple's expressions, I knew it wouldn't be easy to make them understand.

"'Use your brain less' and 'don't think so much' sound similar. They aim for the same result, but the difference lies in where you direct your effort.

"This is the idea in the Heavenly Dao that yang exists within yin, and yin within yang.

"With 'don't think so much,' you direct your effort at yourself, trying to control yourself so you stop thinking. But in reality, you can't control it at all.

"Because that control comes from using your brain.

"Trying to use your brain to stop yourself from using your brain is absurd.

"With 'use your brain as little as possible,' you direct your effort elsewhere.

"Outside the brain, the only thing that can stand alongside it is the heart.

"We often speak of the heart and brain, and also of the heart and spirit. When your heart and spirit are at peace, you don't need to use your brain as much.

"The heart and spirit operate on a much higher level than the brain.

"The people who use their heart and spirit best are little babies.

"A newborn learns to speak within a year, and to that baby, it's an entirely new foreign language. Babies also learn to walk, eat, dress themselves, and so on.

"Without any foundation in logical thinking, learning that same amount of material in a year would be very difficult for an adult.

"Especially since, throughout that entire learning process, babies are happy and curious, actively absorbing things rather than passively enduring pressure and relying on willpower to force themselves to work hard.

"So one crucial measure of a person's mental health is this: a positive emotional outlook and a love of learning."

"Exactly!" President Chen clapped his hands in admiration. "It never occurred to me to wonder how newborn babies manage to learn so much so happily. Hearing your explanation, sir, I feel as though my whole way of thinking has opened up. You really are a man of great talent!"

"No, I'm just a messenger, passing on the wisdom of our ancestors. I may not even have explained it clearly enough, but I'm doing my best," I said with a smile.

President Chen said, "Singaporeans are called banana people. Our skin is yellow on the outside, but we're white on the inside. Our way of thinking is closer to that of Westerners, so we don't really understand China's idea of yang existing within yin. But that doesn't change the fact that one conversation with you is worth ten years of study."

"Your Chinese is excellent, President Chen," I said with genuine admiration.

Not only did he express himself fluently, he could use idioms too. That was no easy feat for a Singaporean.

"Gula gets her brains from me," President Chen joked.