🌿 Folk Prescriptions

In Eastern cultures, humans are widely believed to think with the “heart”; Westerners have long known that humans think with the “brain.” Easterners excel in meditation and insight; Westerners master logical reasoning. Hence, Eastern technological advancement has historically lagged behind the West.
Yet, Westerners’ logical thinking imposes excessive strain on the left brain, paradoxically reducing happiness despite scientific progress. Easterners’ intuitive thinking keeps the right brain in a state of pleasure, but the left brain’s memory remains poorly organized—resulting in happy Easterners being defeated by Western guns and cannons.
Western thinking is effective but exhausting; Eastern thinking is soothing yet conservative. Today, with cultural exchange between East and West, these modes are merging. The current challenge is to develop a mindset that both preserves health and advances science.
Ancient people achieved much in cultivating and training qi, but never proposed “cultivating intention” or “training intention,” fearing that thinking would “exhaust the heart and spirit,” harming health.
Now, we must break free from these ancient cultural constraints. We now know that, properly managed, intellectual progress and happiness can develop together.
(1) Clearing Mental Pathways
Why do people call unresolved problems “heart knots”? This term is remarkably accurate. When the mind hits a roadblock, forcing continued thought triggers the secretion of norepinephrine—a toxic hormone—causing blood vessel constriction and blocking multiple acupoints at the back of the head. At this point, the qi and blood channels become knotted, preventing smooth flow. The brain receives inadequate nourishment.
The *I Ching* says: “Yi has no thought, no action, stillness without movement, feeling arises and connection follows.” Meaning: smooth qi flow facilitates clear thinking; clear thinking also promotes smooth qi flow.
The brain weighs only 2% of body weight but consumes 20% of total oxygen and receives 15% of cardiac output. Brain tissue cannot store energy or perform anaerobic glycolysis, making it highly dependent on oxygen and blood supply. Brain cells die within 4 minutes of ischemia or hypoxia. Thus, we conclude: the invisible mental pathway corresponds to the tangible qi and blood pathway. Blocked thinking leads to blocked qi and blood. When qi and blood are blocked, thinking becomes difficult. To maintain optimal mental clarity, one must keep qi and blood flowing smoothly.
Many mental workers fail to recognize this. Even when blood and qi are stagnant and the head feels heavy, they persist in overtime work—only to find themselves unable to solve problems despite intense effort.
If, after a full day, a problem remains unsolved and you cannot clear your qi and blood, stop thinking. At this stage, no amount of mental strain helps. If you temporarily set it aside and return the next morning, the answer might suddenly appear. Morning is when qi and blood flow most freely and the mind is clearest.
Sufficient sleep, moderate exercise, proper massage, and timely meditation—all help clear qi and blood pathways. Once these are clear, mental pathways naturally follow.
(2) Mental Warm-up
Before intense physical exercise, proper warm-up is essential to prevent injury. The same applies to the mind. Without mental warm-up, jumping directly into complex thinking often leads to fatigue and headaches.
Why do athletes often seem “simple-minded, strong-bodied”? Because during intense exercise, blood concentrates in the limbs. Afterward, it takes time to redistribute evenly throughout the body before returning to a thinking state. Athletes spend most of their time training, leaving little time for mental nourishment. If you plan to exercise before intense mental labor, keep the workout moderate. After exercising, relax promptly and regulate breathing to calm the body and gradually activate the brain, enabling quick entry into learning and thinking mode.
Even without physical activity, mental warm-up is necessary. Start with easy tasks, then progress to harder ones—begin with concrete thinking, then abstract thinking. Begin with the simplest, easiest ideas to engage the brain. Once excited, tackle difficult problems—thinking becomes smooth and effortless, avoiding mental tension.
Modern society increasingly emphasizes early mental warm-up for children—such as picture-based word recognition and situational dialogues. But adults often neglect this, rushing out of bed and immediately diving into stressful thinking at work.
If the brain enters complex abstract thinking without warm-up, it often leads to headaches, increased susceptibility to colds, and weakened immunity.
Some people performed well academically but struggle professionally. Why? Academic life involves excessive abstract thinking without sufficient concrete mental preparation. The brain faces overwhelming pressure beyond its capacity, ending their peak thinking period earlier than others.
Mental warm-up depends on task content. For minor tasks, plan warm-up based on daily workload; for major projects, plan warm-up across one’s entire career. For a simple document, warm-up may take only ten minutes; for a large project, it could span over a month. Best practice: perform daily mental warm-up upon waking; conduct thorough warm-up before launching any major project.
(3) Language Tools as Mental Aids
Language is one of humanity’s earliest thinking tools and remains essential for sustaining civilized society. Without language, human communication and brain evolution would be impossible.
Writing is the advanced stage of language. Without writing, the human brain cannot retain much information. Many primitive tribes today have only spoken language, lacking writing—so their knowledge remains extremely limited.
Language and writing serve three main functions: memory, communication, and learning—each greatly aiding human thought. Unfortunately, these functions are underutilized.
Consider advertising copywriters: a fleeting idea may vanish instantly. If not recorded immediately, it may be lost forever. Yet many people refuse to write things down, forcing themselves to reconstruct ideas from scratch—wasting precious time.
Foreign languages are also language tools. Some learn foreign languages not to master tools, but for diplomas or better jobs—leading to poor results.
A Chinese company listed on NASDAQ in the U.S. distributed stock options to employees. Stock price rose from $15 to a peak of $44, then fell back to $15. At $44, most believed the peak had been reached and wanted to sell their options—even considering short-selling. However, differing foreign language skills led to varied outcomes.
One employee with poor foreign language skills asked his wife (fluent in English) to read foreign websites, then gave instructions to trade—successfully selling high and even profiting from short-selling. Another, confident in his own language ability, tried trading himself but couldn’t understand the rules for “short-selling options,” so he hesitated and only cashed out profits. A third, fluent in English but busy, didn’t activate his account or delegate it to someone trustworthy, letting options sit idle. When he finally tried to sell, he had to spend time registering and verifying, missing the optimal selling window. Thus, the employee with the weakest foreign language skills actually made the most timely and effective use of language tools—and earned the most profit.
In short, mastering a foreign language means gaining more opportunities. If you don’t master it, but can get help from someone who does, your opportunity remains intact.
(4) Self-Destructive Tendencies in Impatient People
The brain contains an invisible mental pathway—narrow and easily blocked. People who rush often multitask, leading to problems.
When running errands, traffic jams are common. There’s little choice but to wait patiently—if you don’t get out and walk. But some panic, sighing or cursing, blocking their mental pathway like a traffic jam. Their thinking becomes dysfunctional, unaware that panic is useless. Instead, calmly prepare for possible delays. When stuck, accept it—your mind can shift to adjusting today’s schedule.
When riding with friends, they may panic and jump up, but I stay calm. They wonder why I’m not stressed. I reply: My mental pathway flows smoothly. If I panic, it’ll clog like this road. Once blocked, qi and blood are forced downward, depriving the brain of nourishment—making clear judgment impossible. So, panicking is pointless.
Actually, the mental pathway is easily influenced by visual input. For instance, when searching online and pages load slowly, your mental pathway may short-circuit, blocking qi and blood, starving the brain of nutrients, and drastically reducing thinking efficiency.
Impatient people easily get angry, quarrel over trivial matters—essentially self-destructive. Some argue with everyone they meet, demanding others conform to their rigid mental models. Can others truly comply? Even if you’re right, you can’t expect instant understanding. The brain needs time to process. Speak too fast, and others may misunderstand. Most arguments arise from misunderstanding—because you’re too impatient. You interrupt before others finish speaking. Can you guarantee you won’t misinterpret?
Modern families often see couples arguing or even fighting. People wonder: Why do lifelong vows fail so easily? This reveals poor mental health preservation and lack of mutual understanding in modern families.
Traditionally, people sought partners with compatible temperaments. Today, people focus more on feelings or shared “values,” rarely considering temperament compatibility. After marriage, they discover irreconcilable differences.
Generally, two impatient people make terrible partners—constant arguments are inevitable. An impatient person shouldn’t pair with a slow one—impatience will drive the slow partner mad. Best pairing: an impatient person should match a reasonable, balanced personality—one who understands and tolerates their outbursts and helps calm them. Slow people shouldn’t pair with another slow person—balanced personalities are ideal. Such partners won’t complain about slowness but guide them to improve thinking speed effectively.