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Tao shines pure love to all that you’re connected to. Allow it to work its magic in your life.
Be diligent.
The Tao truth is unprovable in physical terms.
Just as modern scientists must accept the fact that quantum particles originate in waves of formless energy or spirit, without their ever seeing that infinite all-creating field, so too can you let go of your need to see and touch the Tao before you can believe it.
This verse reinforces the idea that blending these seemingly opposing forces is the way to achieve harmony.
Parents, possessions, and self-worth are only necessary to the existence of your mortal self.
He teaches that you gain awareness of your Tao nature through the loss of emphasis on the physical conditions of your life. In
You will die as you live
You must be willing to give up your attachment to all forms of violence in your life if you want to melt into harmony.
Remember that violence violates the harmony of life and death.
seek kind and forgiving thoughts in place of revenge and hatred.
Examine your attachments with the idea that you gain by losing and lose by gaining.
In other words, you lose harmony while seeking to gain.
help us become Tao-inspired sages through oneness with the environment.
by Alan Watts, Tao: The Watercourse Way. To live softly is to live the watercourse way.
Your softness will override the hardness of others.
Introduce a soft, nonaction style to your life.
By letting go of your inner drive to push ahead, you’ll see that you ironically do better than when you tried so hard.
In your work, become more tolerant in your drive to achieve by softening your attitude and behavior.
You’ll see that customers and larger opportunities are...
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God’s one and only voice is silence.
essential mission of your life is to go back to (or get to know) your originating Source before physical death.
it’s your attachment to them that gets in the way. So shift the importance you’ve placed on success or belongings, which has obscured your connectedness to the Tao. Begin to note the senselessness of demanding more, exhausting yourself in pursuit of what keeps you trapped in a vicious cycle of “striving and never arriving” or trying to find fulfillment. This verse implores you to know when to stop.
When you give of yourself, asking nothing in return and withdrawing your need for recognition, you’ll experience more contentment.
If the chase is wearing out your health, stop! If the chase is wreaking havoc on your relationships, stop! If the chase is exhausting you, stop! If the chase is keeping you from enjoying your life, stop! When
Make your relationship to the Tao your top priority.
Your primary relationship needs to be with yourself,
Affirm: The number one priority in my life is my relationship with my Source of being.
By practicing cessation, you’ll move into prioritizing what’s important in your life in that moment.
But when you know the time to stop, you say good-bye to the troubles that accrue for those who sacrifice arriving for a lifetime of striving.
Lao-tzu is asking you to stop seeing through your ego-dominated culture, and to instead begin noticing the still and tranquil invisible space within everything.
When you go beyond superficialities, you become aware that what used to look imperfect, empty, awkward, or even stupid now appears perfect, full, eloquent, and intelligent.
What seems to be imperfect has perfection, and what seems empty and false has a profound spiritual truth supporting it.”
When you refrain from engaging in judgments based solely on looks, you paradoxically become an instrument for change.
See imperfections as perfect, even if your ego-mind
mind cannot comprehend this.
Every object, every creature, every man, woman and child has a soul and it is the destiny of all, to see as God sees, to know as God knows, to feel as God feels, to Be
as God Is.
Recognize yourself first and foremost as a creation of God, which is your perfection. It has nothing to do with how you look or any so-called mistakes or failures you may have attracted to yourself, even though these superficialities will continue throughout your entire lifetime in this body.
The Source of your material self, the eternal Tao, is flawless, straight, full, and an expression of truth.
When you surround it with love, the superficial appearance and feeling of being unloved will become tranquil.
There is no greater loss than losing the Tao,
Contentment alone is enough. Indeed, the bliss of eternity can be found in your contentment.
You’ll find that the experience of inner peace becomes your true gauge of accomplishment.
When you truly understand what it means to live peacefully, satisfaction will begin to replace your desire for more. Your world will begin to become tranquil as you change your own life and then touch the lives of your immediate family, your neighbors, your coworkers, and ultimately your nation and the entire planet. Begin by simply thinking of the opening line of the famous Prayer of Saint Francis when you notice that you’re demanding more of anything.
Practice gratitude and contentment every day.
“Thank You for an opportunity to live in a state of contentment.”
Be one with your nature.
In a world that seems to produce more and more violence, become a person who chooses to be an instrument of peace. Let your nature be the “horses” that are bred to till the fields, feed the hungry, and offer comfort to the lame or less fortunate. Live as if you and the Tao are one, which of course you are when you’re in your natural state.
When enough of us are able to do this, we’ll reach a critical mass, and eventually the Great Way will surpass the demands of the ego. I truly believe, to use a base...
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