One \nof the primary ideas behind philosophical Taoism is that human suffering\n is caused by the layers of meaning, thinking, emotions, wants and \ndesire that we add to the lived experience. What we should be doing \ninstead is align ourselves with the true nature of the universe, which \nis the Tao; ever-changing, generous and non-judgemental, it is beyond \nwords and can only be LIVED, not understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well\n guess what, the last year was a kick in the pants, and the new coming \nyear will be equally as rough. How do I know? Because every year is \nrough, it’s just that we don’t usually pay attention to the evidence \naccumulating around us, usually because someone else is paying the price\n of our mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\n would like to challenge you to do two things. You can do just one of \nthem, your choice. Just spend a few minutes just thinking about it at \nleast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First<\/strong>,\n and hardest, drop your allegiances. All of them. Re-examine the reasons\n why you do certain things, why do you have certain habits, why do you \nhave certain beliefs. Some habits can be picked back up because they \nactually serve you, or simply because they are fun and bring joy to your\n life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others should be questioned. Are they helping or masking another problem? Do you believe something simply because it is convenient, or someone told you to? Is it actually true? These days, the political climate is toxic and our politicians unhelpful. To mis-quote Mark Twain, “it’s hard to tell if they are smart and taking us for a ride, or imbeciles full of convictions.<\/strong>” Don’ t let them take you for a ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondly<\/strong>,\n regain your footing on firmer ground. We’re getting knocked about by \nevents and politics, so it is crucial that you create for yourself a \nfirm emotional and physical base. To do this, you will need to \nrediscover your “ground of being”, that which makes you you. Taoist \nhave a quick answer: the Tao, the weave and weft of the enlivening force\n of life itself. Not the easiest of answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s\n a few hints: you are a social ape, which means that in order to be \nhealthy, you require nutritious food, clean water, a body that moves, \nsex, and a group of people that you can call family, whether related by\n blood or not. If you have all of that, you are living in accordance \nwith the inherent essence of your species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\n are also a spiritual animal, in need of spiritual nourishment. There \nare no sacred texts in Taoism. Important texts, yes, but no divine \nrevelations. Partly this is because Nature itself is the sacred text. \nAll you need to know is written in the clouds and told by the trees. I\n once climbed a tree and stared at clouds for an hour or so. It was in a\n residential neighborhood somewhere in Los Angeles. The tree had been \nplanted for shade, and mostly used as a urinal for passing dogs. But it\n was a tree, and the branches were low and thick, an easy climb and a \ncomfortable resting place. The clouds were moving lazily above the tree\n top. The tree WAS, it had no urgent purpose to accomplish, except for \nbeing alive. The clouds moved in a fantastically enormous sky, as large\n as a planet, as deep as the Universe itself. And I was part of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So\n find yourself a tree. You can climb it, or just sit under it. Commune \nwith it, say hello, and spend some time looking up at the clouds. That \nis the ground of being. Start from there, and add what you need; a nice\n cup of tea, chatting with a friend. Resist the call of the idiot box \nand the more toxic corners of social media. Add only what serves and \nnourishes you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the primary ideas behind philosophical Taoism is that human suffering is caused by the layers of meaning, thinking, emotions, wants and desire that we add to the lived experience. What we should be doing instead is align ourselves with the true nature of the universe, which is the Tao; ever-changing, generous and non-judgemental, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[70,69,65,71,13,31,30,41,32,14],"class_list":["post-780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-musings","tag-ground-of-being","tag-mark-twain","tag-meditation","tag-spiritualism","tag-taichi","tag-taichichuan","tag-taiji","tag-taijiquan","tag-tao","tag-taoism"],"yoast_head":"\n
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