I Don't Believe... But I Do.

I don't believe in Karma.
While I think it would be wonderful if people who did bad things got their just desserts (and vice versa for the good folks), I don't think it happens often enough for it to be real.

I don't believe in gods.
While it would be nice to think that there was an all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful god or gods (maybe with a kind face and a beard) watching over us, answering prayers, rewarding the good people and smiting evil, I don't think they exist. If a god is all powerful, more powerful than evil, why even allow bad things to happen to begin with. Why are there innocent children starving? Why are there pedophiles who continue to molest generations of children? Why is there war... or even arguing for that matter? Why do good people die young and evil ones live to ripe old ages?

I don't believe in holy books.
Books that have been declared to be holy by men who have declared themselves to be in contact with gods. Holy books that contradict themselves. Holy books that people quote and obey to their benefit and ignore the parts that they don't like.

I don't believe in prayers to gods.
I don't believe that anything is listening and reacting. I don't believe that how much faith you have in a god determines whether or not your prayers are answered. (I do believe that how much faith you have in yourself can affect the outcome of certain situations.)

...


I believe in Tao.

To me, one of the things that Tao is, is the truly all powerful force that created the universe and all its physical laws. A force that is found in everything... in every proton, neutron, and electron.

Separation is an illusion of ego.You are made of the same stuff as everything else. The same sun will shine on you, the same rain will fall on you whether you are "good" or "bad".

Tao doesn't care what you do or how you live your life. Tao doesn't judge if you sit on your butt or dedicate your life to saving the starving millions or molest innocent children. Humans judge.

Tao doesn't care what you choose to worship: gods, stars, trees, pasta, or even Tao. Worship of anything at all is ineffective. Tao doesn't care if you're a duck, a rock, or the richest, most powerful person in the world. Tao doesn't care about men's or god's laws. Tao's laws overrule and apply to everything equally. You cannot create a "law" that violates Tao's laws and expect it to work.

Everything has an opposite, a yin for the yang. Tao's laws keep them in balance, in harmony. Those trying to force them out of balance, for any reason, will eventually lose.

To try and describe Tao is to limit what Tao is.

Tao is all.

My vote

FWIW: As has been my tradition for almost 40 years, this fall I will not be voting for a Republican or a Democrat in any races where there is another choice. I will be voting against the incumbent in any race where Republican or Democrat is my only choice.

Rather than wasting my vote with the herd, I choose to stand out from the crowd and vote against continued bad government and career politicians.

I just received notification that my state senator finally opened an email I sent 14 months ago. Way to listen to the people!

Head = Hat-rack?

When I was a kid and did some dumb thing without thinking, my dad would say, "Use your head for something besides a hat-rack!"

It's said that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. In other words: by being sweet, nice, and agreeable you will attract more fans than if you're a jerk. The inference I see is that being a jerk about something (e.g. Westboro Baptist Church protests) would drive folks away, maybe to a choice that they had not considered before. Fundamentalist Christians basically drove me to find an alternative to Christian/Jewish/Muslim religions and that's how I ended up discovering I was a Taoist.

So here's today's question for those who want to use their hat-racks... if you wanted to promote Taoism would you be smarter to be nice about it, or would Taoism get more positive consideration if we pretended to hate those wimpy nature-loving Taoists and bashed Lao Tzu at every opportunity?

Life is Perfect (it continues)

About four years ago I had an epiphany: Life is perfect. (ت)

Works every time. Without fail. Cause and effect, action/reaction, yin and yang. It's not always easy, fun, pleasant, or what you want to happen but it is always perfect in its execution. Always.

Every time I detect the perfection I have to smile (that's why I smile so much). (ت)