New Year's Resolutions

1. Simplify, live more frugally.

2. Be humble.

3. Show compassion.

So this is Christmas

How should this Taoish Taoist celebrate what has really become a secular holiday focused more on consumerism? Another Taoist might think I should not celebrate it at all. That would be their choice.

I will celebrate Christmas with my family, the same way that most middle-class American families will. The same way we've celebrated it since I was a little boy.

We will gather in the living room around our artificial tree decorated with a hodgepodge of ornaments that we have collected over the last 35+ years. There will be grand-kids and too many presents and lots of picture-taking. Later there will be a spiral cut ham and wine and laughter, lots of laughter.

But probably no mention of Christ because none of us have gone to church in a long time. And we really don't miss it.

Happy Holidays!

Nothing Exists

“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.” - Democritus (Greek philosopher, 460-370 BCE)

Matter and energy are really forms of the same thing. (See E=mc².)

The people in my reality are made of atoms, pure energy.
The people in my dreams are made of thoughts, synapses firing, pure energy.

Are they really different?

Nothing exists except Tao.

You Can Believe Your Ego-- Yes, you can!

You can believe your ego and think that you can impact the world, railing against those who oppose you, hoping that your prayers will be answered, battling what you think is evil or wrong, lashing out in anger and frustration, struggling ever upward, making the world a better place, and you might succeed. You might. It could happen. People have done it.

Or you can be at peace with Tao, enjoying your family and friends and the perfect universe that you've been given, avoiding friction and drama, getting done what needs to be done, bending in the wind, keeping your nose out of other people's business, enlightened, understanding that we all are one with Tao down here in the low calm places.

Your choice.

Floating Taoists?

My friend, Doug, recently asked, "So that feather at the beginning of Forrest Gump is a perfect analogy of how life should be according to the Taoist? Just floating where I need to be? Hey! That's what the whole movie is about! No plan for today other than enjoy and be happy? Really?"

I always feel like I should start my response with a Philosophical Taoist disclaimer, "It's all based on how YOU interpret the Tao Te Ching". There are no rules. For me it's about enjoying life. Seeking balance.

We all know that you have to eat and clothe yourself, so you have to do something that will provide for that. You can farm, you can work for someone else, you can create or do stuff that other people will pay you for. That's the day to day stuff that has to happen or you starve or freeze to death.

Verse 11 of the TTC says that 30 spokes make up the wheel but it's the hole in the middle that makes the wheel useful... clay can be molded into a pot, but it's the size of the empty space inside (and what you fill it with) that determines it's value.

Ya gotta work, but it's what you fill the space in between with that determines the value of your life.

You Might Be A Taoist website

Just for fun I've started a new webpage called YouMightBeATaoist.com hoping that it might, in a less serious way, help others discover that they're actually Taoists.

Bird in a Tree vs. Bird in a Cage

Which is better:
A bird in a tree or a bird in a cage?
A fish in a river or a fish in a bowl?
A flower in the field or a flower in a pot?
A person living close to nature, in harmony with all those around them or a person living in a state where there are government and religious leaders controlling their lives?

One could argue that the fish, bird, flower, and person will all live better lives because they are protected and taken care of.

Are you sure?

Water Flows Inwards?

Lao Tzu talks about water flowing downwards.

Today I realized that water doesn't flow downwards, it flows towards the strongest source of gravity. If it flowed downwards, the bottom half of the earth would be covered with water and the North Pole would be completely dry.

Sometimes I just think of silly stuff and then post it.

Sorry. Please go back about your life.

A Facebook Conversation

A Facebook status conversation... this started when FB Friend posted this:

"God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them. Press Like if you agree! =)"
This is all over my facebook wall - I wonder if this is true - why pray at all? Why not just let him read our minds?

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Taoish Guy: Are you sure you want to open THAT door? :)

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There were a few posts, then this:

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FB Friend: Taoish, did you have your hand up? We're very interested in your take on this...

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Taoish Guy: Nuh-uh... I'm just sitting very quietly over here behaving myself. ("Continues tossing grenade from hand to hand.")

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Taoish Guy: Some of us have no need to pray. We realize that we're already in constant contact with our source. And, on top of that, the life we have been given is perfect. Your mileage may vary. Namaste :)

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FB Friend: how did you open that constant contact?

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Taoish Guy: ‎:) ("pulls pin") By replacing Abrahamic religion with Taoist philosophy.

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FB Friend: hmmm - that's not real step-by-step now is it. Or is it a "watch that first step cause it's a doozy" kind of step...

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Other FB Friend: I am really enjoying this thread...

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Taoish Guy: Step-by-step? "The path that can be described (to you by others) is not your True Path." - Lao Tzu

It's sort of like me asking you how you take those really cool pictures that you take. "1. Buy a really good camera." You can tell me how to focus, you can tell me how to light, you can tell me where to stand... but I bet your picture still looks way different than mine.

Included in my steps were a disenchantment with the way that Christian/Muslims/Jews are taught to treat each other and the world, a better understanding of more ancient religions, a better understanding of quantum physics(!), reading books by Alan Watts, Joseph Campbell, Richard Dawkins, and 8-10 different translations of the Tao Te Ching, understanding that Taoist religion (Buddhism, Confucianism) and Taoist philosophy are two different things. And a million other things...

Step-by-step starts to look like one of those wild dance numbers from one of those crazy experimental dance groups!

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FB Friend: but if you can package it in a handy 7 step program, you got yourself a religion - and quite possibly a source of residual income... lol - I'm bad!

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FB Friend: So back on topic - I'm interested in this "constant contact with our source". Do you feel it directs you? Or gives you peace to accept that what comes to you is right for you?

I've felt flashes of it as I've considered Taoism, and wonder... how you would describe it?

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Taoish Guy: ---Disclaimer: Philosophical Taoism is a framework, not the structure itself. There are no membership requirements nor a formal community. There are no creeds. There are no set principles. (As George Carlin might say, "We have no special building where we gather once a week to compare clothing.") About all that any person who considers themselves a Taoist might agree on is the use of certain metaphors and imagery. How those metaphors and imagery are interpreted is up to each individual.---

Having said that, through reading Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu and others, I have come to understand that we are never separate from our source, even in death, and neither are rocks or trees or birds or the kitchen table. It's the glue that holds the molecules together. It directs my heart to beat and my lungs to inflate, just like it directs the sun to shine, the wind to blow, and the earth to turn. It offers no moral guidance, because none is necessary.

The peace of acceptance ("Life is perfect.") comes from knowing that (if you believe in God) that God in his/her perfection would have never created a life for you that was not perfect for you.

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FB Friend: well said - that helps me understand

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Taoish Guy: And that's why I don't pray.

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FB Friend: does "the source" know your thoughts?

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Taoish Guy: It is my thoughts. We are all part of it.

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Taoish Guy: Abrahamic religions teach that we are separate from the source calling it "God". Taoist, Native American, and others don't see the same separation.

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FB Friend: oh there's a lot behind this door

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Taoish Guy: We have much to learn, grasshopper! :)

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FB Friend: Because in most religions there's a God that answers prayer, but that kind of goes away when my thoughts become part of some higher collective "good"...

It has interesting ramifications for what we do with our thoughts - literally when we hate... or envy or lust or other "low energy" thought patterns we are hurting the source? Bringing down the collective good? or is it stronger and bigger than that?

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Another FB Friend: I can't even keep up with you guys. Wow.

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Taoish Guy: ‎(What fun!) Behold the infinite universe! I will now bring down the collective good by thinking mean thoughts. :) What? It doesn't care? Nope. The source is not concerned with our thoughts.

The Silliness of The IndigNation

I continue to be amused by the voluntary delusions of The IndigNation.

These misanthropic inflammatory gasbags rant about hidden Muslim agendas and left-wing conspiracies and the righteousness of Christian values and on and on and on.

They are so sure that they know what's right and stand on their soapboxes screaming at the top of their lungs at anyone who would disagree with them.

‎"If right was truly right it would be so clear cut that there would be no debate." - Chuang Tzu

Chen Jen on Laozi - Chapter 1

From the Rambling Taoist blog:

This is not about Tao. It is about you. What else asks after Tao? Where else could Tao be found?

The Ultimate cannot be conceived and thus has no name. To name It is to miss a way.

This gate yawns wide within you. You need look no farther. Surrender utterly into Mystery. Cast off every line. Drift in Flow. This is Tao.

There is only Tao. Being human, we see its manifestations. This too is manifesting. All that you are, all that you do, is Tao manifest. Your every thought, your every joy, sorrow, fear, trust, pride and shame, is Tao manifest. All that is you is Tao. You need seek no farther. This gate yawns wide within you.

Free from every desire, you are free to express them all. Free from every manifestation, you are free to wander joyfully among them all.

What is not Mystery? Tao and its expressions, all is Mystery. Mystery within Mystery, darkness within darkness, black on black—this is harmony. The way to the Unknown is Unknowing. This gate yawns wide within you. You need look no farther.

Continually Amused

I'm continually amused. And fascinated. And more convinced than ever.

I'm endlessly amused by the actions of those who are out to save the world.

I'm fascinated by their need to convince others their way is the only way.

I'm more convinced than ever that I'm on the right path for me.

False Patriots

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Samuel Johnson April 17, 1775.

This does not mean that patriots are scoundrels, but that scoundrels will falsely drape themselves in the flag of patriotism to perpetrate their dastardly acts.

Beware of false patriots.

Spiritual Realization

Your true path to spiritual realization is never what you are told it will be and rarely what you think it will be.

I try not to be distracted from my path by the tales of others who seem to be succeeding in finding their path. Who knows if they really are?

Besides, I'm having way too much fun on my path!

Shortcuts

"Nature is the master of shortcuts." - Lennart Green

Your Path continues

The farther you walk on your true path, the farther you may find yourself from the paths of others. That is a good thing.

How to join our club

Taoism is not an organized institution that one can be a member of. Either you understand or you don't, and that is that.

"People often ask how you become a Taoist, what books do you read, what temples do you attend? You don't become a Taoist, you just realize that Taoist is a name for what you already are." --Lao Fzu

First Follower

"The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader." - Derek Sivers

This is a quote from Derek Sivers 3 min talk on TED.com How To Start A Movement which, coincidentally, is about what it takes to start a movement.

Chipping Away

Achieving simplicity in your life is sort of like carving a toothpick out of a block of granite, you just have to chip away all those parts that don't belong.

Life Begins Anew

Life begins anew each day with dawn. That is blessing enough. That is happiness enough. - Lao Fzu

The Only Thing That's Truly Yours

"We’re the same. We share the same history, the same heritage, the same lives. We’re tied together beyond any untying. Man or woman, it makes no difference, we’re human. We couldn’t escape from each other even if we wanted to. That’s how you do it... by remembering who and what you are: a bit of flesh and blood afloat in a universe without end. And the only thing that’s truly yours is the rest of humanity. That’s where our duty lies! - James T. Kirk “Who Mourns for Adonis?”

Your Path

The true path to enlightenment can only be found within you. Any human being who claims to know your path is lying... especially if they're asking for donations.

All churches exist to convert your two most valuable assets to theirs: time and money.

Hooray Mormons?

Through a Taoist blog I stumbled onto an Atheist blog posting that detailed the experience of a knowledgeable, well-spoken Atheist welcoming a couple of (equally polite) Mormon missionaries into his home for a chat.

Sometimes in reading on-line "discussions" between atheists and theists, I find they degenerate rapidly into "You're the most stupidest - No, you're the most stupidest" tirades. This was a refreshing change!

Adoration of Gods

Adoration of god(s) can be beautiful, comforting, ecstatic, fulfilling and joyous for those that seek it. Worship can also be a well-baited trap demanding your obedience and sacrifice.

Don't Sweat It

If you're generally happy with the religious faith that you have, it's probably very important for you that you continue in it, and not sweat the details.