The Five Laws of Relationships (5)

5. Law of Flow

Relationship information is transmitted across generations, and the life force must flow forward.

Life is all about flow. It flows through each individual, who both receives and transmits it. This exchange of life happens within group dynamics, like families, workplaces and communities. Moreover, because life passes from one generation to another, the information within relationships spans across generations. This information includes emotions, beliefs, behaviors, physical conditions, knowledge, inspiration, and even destiny. It's like a shared database of human experiences, deeply rooted in our collective unconscious, passed down from our ancestors. In essence, all aspects of life are transmitted through relationships, as described by psychologist Carl Jung's concept of the collective unconscious—an archive of shared human knowledge and our ancestors' powerful experiences.

Therefore, we must understand the laws of generational transmission, recognizing that all past generations influence us, and all unfinished matters of our generation affect the next. This awareness not only helps us respect the fate of our family's past, learning from it and gaining strength, but also compels us to take responsibility for our own lives. This ensures that the life force does not move against the current but continues to flow forward. Moreover, it helps us recognize the hidden complexities and unconscious entanglements within our families, transforming these into supportive forces and moving towards happiness and success. This is the power of the law of flow.

So what happens when we go against the law of flow? This means life force does not move forward but retreats backward. For example, when someone is unable to form their own family due to obligations to their original family, neglects their current family, or cannot pass life onto the next generation. Similarly, clinging to the past, neglecting current relationships, or experiencing sudden family upheavals, along with being frozen in certain life experiences or trauma, including the lingering effects of trauma that prevent one from fully embracing life, and so forth, can disrupt the flow of life. These are situations that go against the law of flow. These violations result in inheriting emotions from past generations, perpetuating imbalances to future generations, and repeating the same patterns generation after generation. Our lives begin to feel restricted, and the life force cannot fully flourish. Ultimately, when a family's life force dwindles without descendants, it comes to an end.

The law of flow emphasizes the need for life force to move forward, living fully in the present, and passing life down through generations in families. The information transmitted through family relationships is a form of love. Through the transmission of life, love crosses generations. Our veins carry the blood of our ancestors, and through generational transmission, their experiences and wisdom become our treasure trove of knowledge. With humility, we can extract wisdom from our ancestors and, combined with our own efforts and creativity, create infinite possibilities for ourselves and the next generation. This is the application of the law of flow.

These five laws of relationships are also laws of life. They extract the essence of past wisdom, transcend time and space, and are universally applicable. They persist through changing times because they represent truth, the practice of natural laws, and the innate desire of life. The core value of these laws lies in their practicality. If we can deeply understand and practice them, holding onto love with confidence, our love will flourish in relationships, and our wisdom will awaken within love.

Extracted from “Love and Reconciliation” by Chou Ting Wen

Further Reading: The Five Laws of Relationships (4)