Our minds create nonstop. That is their job. The trick is, rather than attaching to our opinions or the stories our brains spin for our amusement, we instead, pay attention and acknowledge we are more than our thoughts. For the most part, to observe and adjust our perception is a full-time occupation. However, mindful awareness holds us in the moment, on task and hence, in the now. Bil Keane, creator of the cartoon, The Family Circle, depicts this esoteric idea into a simple quote, “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” By using the Tao Te Ching and applying its themes, we have yet another tool or means for seeking self-fulfillment and quieting our minds.

My favorite lines appear in verse number 51:

“Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao. It springs into existence, unconscious, perfect, free, takes on a physical body, lets circumstances complete it. That is why every being spontaneously honors the Tao.

The Tao gives birth to all beings, nourishes them, maintains them, cares for them, comforts them, protects them, takes them back to itself, creating without possessing, acting without expecting, guiding without interfering. That is why love of the Tao is in the very nature of things.”

I immerse myself in the flow of the Tao.

THINK ACTION: Check the references at the back of this book. Find one or two copies and different translations of the Tao Te Ching this week at the library.  Skim or browse through them. Pick one or two verses to contemplate and write in your journal why the stanza or passage spoke to you. The duet of phrases in the chapters show the duality of nature, the yin and the yang, the pull and the push. Where do you notice the paradoxes in your career, in yourself, in your relationships? In your view, do you resist or flow with life? Would you consider referring to the Tao Te Ching as a meditative exercise or ritual? I once wrote the numbers 1-81 onto tiny squares of paper and filled a box. Each day, I retrieved a number and read that verse. It was a fresh way to re-examine the passages. I suggest you turn this custom into writing prompts or for discussions in a spiritual study or reading group. You may similarly identify your favorite lines, transcribe them and place them on a corkboard or reproduce them in fancy calligraphy and frame them. What a wonderful gift for a like-minded friend or yourself.

The Tao is moreover a path to meditation. We read in chapter 16, “Abide in stillness.” and in verse 56, “Go within and retreat from the world. Blunt your sharpness, separate your entanglements, soften your light.”  After much practice, you realize you are no longer lost in your own reverie fantasizing, but in a place with no thought. As soon as you recognize this unfortunately, you snap back into your mind and lose that space and its accompanying peace. My mentors taught me to ask the questions, “Who or what is listening to these thoughts?”  “What is in me that listens?” “Is it me? “Who is this “me”? Because of their guidance, each time I have delved deeper and further, I have understood the rich philosophy of the Tao (or Daoism) better.

In the Tao Te Ching, circling back to our reservoir is serenity. We may carry this out with meditation. Again, we find in verse 16, “Though all beings exist in profusion, they all end up returning to their source. Returning to their source is called tranquility.” Furthermore, the Tao considers contemplation, introspection and self-reflection as not a ‘doing’, but a ‘being’ practice. Byron Katie (married to Stephen Mitchell, one of many translators and scholars of the Tao) states how difficult the experience is. She adds, not thinking is “like trying to hold back the ocean.” Yet, once you submerge into a profound sense of self and peace, you enjoy it. There are contemporary, medical studies that praise meditation’s potential to enhance your physical and mental life.

The Tao suggests we train, focus, behave and mold our conceptions into “right” thinking. The Tao’s aim is moral and proper without condemnation. It proclaims these ideas using dualities. Stephen Mitchell explains the paradoxes in the Tao by writing, “…the more truly solitary we are, the more compassionate we can be; the more we let go of what we love, the more present our love becomes; the clearer our insight into what is beyond good and evil, the more we can embody the good. Until finally she (the Taoist) is able to say, in all humility, ‘I am the Tao, the Truth, the Life’.” To study the Tao, is to embody self-improvement.

Continuing with the TAO entry-

The Tao advises against labeling something “good” or “bad” because everything is a lesson or solely, is. Indeed, I have learned valuable lessons from the harshest of times. For example, every “bad” relationship has matured me into an individual who at last sets healthy boundaries. Then again, the best moments of our lives taste bittersweet over time, because they are over, except in memory. For instance, my children’s younger years or family gatherings wherein relatives have since died. It is as pure and simple as noticing the truths in front of us, without judging.

The Taoist does not resist or avoid the natural course of life. When we find ourselves troubled, distracted or stressed, we lose the fluidity of the Tao. This results from losing sight of our true selves. With this in mind, Byron Katie, a teacher of self-inquiry, author of The Work, writes, “Pleasure is an attempt to fill yourself up, JOY is what you are.” In fact, when we forget who and what we are, we suffer. When we remember who and what we are, we radiate sweetness, tranquility and silent power. We are Love and joy! So, when at ease, we exist in harmony, no one to argue with, no demands or commands. In essence, acceptance is the key.

One of the Tao verses asks, “Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?” How often do we invite emotions to dissipate, allowing solutions to arise organically? I know as a mom, a fixer, a helper and a volunteer, I want to jump in and make it better. It is a huge lesson to let go, to see what develops before saving the day, for everyone else, every time. A point repeatedly overlooked is we cripple and take away growth opportunities from others each occasion we save and rescue them.

From my book – March 27 excerpt:

March 27 – The Tao Te Ching

“The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.” – First lines of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Do you find yourself harried or in a state of anxiety? Our minds tend to be anywhere but here. If you are in the past, you are regretting or stuck. If your mind races towards the future, you are worried and anxious. In contrast, staying in the present, in the right now and practicing awareness, makes us sensitive to the wonders of life and its ebbs and flows. In other words, in every moment, lies a gift, because consciousness is ever fresh, unique and original.

The Tao Te Ching (generally translated as the Way of Integrity, God, Universal Wisdom, or Virtue), dates back to the 4th century BC. It is an Eastern philosophical text divided into 81 chapters or verses. Composed by Lao Tzu, a master on the art of living, the Tao Te Ching is a manual for living. Taoism or Daoism influenced Confucianism, as well as Chinese Buddhism, and is still a grounding and applicable lifestyle.

The word Tao, translates as the Way. This Way is the space that welcomes everything into existence, in equal measure. Not only is quiet, calm serenity embraced, but also movement, change and impermanence. The Way is one with creation, and creation is the Way. The author answers age old questions on the meaning and handling of life, by extolling to “go with the flow”, in poetic prose. As we meditate and live by the axioms of the book, we learn eternal truths that take us inward into the wisdom of the ages. “Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment.” states the Tao Te Ching. After all, as we plunge into our silence during meditation, we exhume layer after infinite layer of understanding ourselves.

“Sometimes the forgiveness process fosters deeper unity and connection between people. Sometimes it points to an exit sign.” – anon

This quote and wise admonition is well taken. Perhaps not just with ordinary people relationships but also with the old guard. I believe we are entering troubled times because the old must break and fall apart before we can have a new world order. If we fortify ourselves with Love and create a barrier of Love, we will have done our best to rebuild the mess that’s left. Creating a shield of Love, sending out Love and surrounding ourselves in Love like a cloak of armor, we will overcome. The truth will set us free, but at first it will piss us off and look unlikely. We must remember to stand our ground in Love.