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make every effort to remember to respond from your inner nature, which is the Tao.
Send back a loving, kind response, and then retreat to a silent and peaceful knowing that you’ve begun the process of immunizing yourself from harm.
The one wins by stooping; the other, by remaining low.
That female energy, or yin, is the true receptor of all; by remaining quiet and still, it ultimately overcomes male (yang) efforts to subjugate and conquer.
Instead, see the value of living as if you can win trust and friendship through a yin approach of feminine receptivity and stillness.
By staying calm and under the radar, others will ultimately flow to you, joining with you in creating friendship and trust.
Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Saint Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and others of the highest spiritual persuasion serve as wonderful role models for us.
Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness.
Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.
Help him to meditate on the principle; offer instead to teach him about the Tao.
Why did the ancients make so much of the principle? Is it not because it is the Source of all good, and the remedy for all evil? It is the most noble thing in the world.
It reminds me to be willing to change the way I view myself and my role here as one of the 10,000 things.
Where you perceive negativity, alter your view to see pure love and kindness that’s mistakenly being directed to seek a sacred place in the material world.
Practice seeing the door of the treasure-house opening to you.
Visualize a house that’s opening its front door to you and welcoming you to bask in the sacred warmth of its interior, and imagine leaving all angst and fear behind as you walk in. Make this home of the Tao a private retreat that you’re free to enter with this meditative visualizing technique. It is divinity itself, and it can be your sanctuary at any time.
Practice forgiving, and avoiding judgment, when you see reprehensible or evil-minded ways.
See the unfolding of the Tao in them, and picture them as innocent children who are overstimulated by ego’s temporary stronghold.
Practice elevating yourself with your Tao deeds and doling out kindness to others as well as yourself.
Possibly send out an expression of love where you might have chosen anger.
All we ever get is right now—that’s it. So we must avoid the inclination to magnify tiny events or worry about a future that may never arrive.
which says that difficulties are not experienced when they’re confronted.
This, then, is the wisdom of this verse: There’s no such thing as difficulty when you live in the present moment, doing only what you can right now.
Can you shift to thinking of every undertaking as not only manageable, but ...
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After all, how do you pursue a difficult course of study that will take several years to complete? By not projecting yourself into the future...
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Moment by ...
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Look for the simplicity in what you call complicated by seeing that in this moment, it’s not hard.
“To believe that you need what you don’t have is insane.” I’d add, “Believing that you can’t be content and happy now because your future appears to you to be difficult is another form of insanity.”
Be in the now.
People usually fail when they are on the verge of success.
So give as much care at the end as at the beginning, then there will be no failure.
The sage does not treasure what is difficult to attain. He does not collect precious things; he learns not to hold on to ideas. He helps the 10,000 things find their own natur...
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“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” is the most famous line of the entire Tao Te Ching.
“The sage does not treasure what is difficult” because he breaks it down into easily managed steps.
Yet this is not the way of the Tao; this is not how a sage conducts his life.
it.While this is Tao-centered thinking, it’s not all that Lao-tzu wants to convey in this 64th verse.
So here you’re the acute observer who’s totally in tune with nature.
At this stage you prevent difficulties rather than solve them.
Forget about the end result: When you arrive where you thought you wanted to be, you’ll just begin a new journey. So enjoy each step along the way and keep in mind that every goal is possible from here. Just do one thing, one day at a time.
taking care to be nutritiously sound as a way of life—such as by taking supplements that remove toxins from your body, cleansing your colon, eating more fruits and vegetables and fewer animal products, exercising, and meditating—you’re out in front of big problems.
You’re foreseeing what you need to do while you’re capable of scattering the small, managing your health in harmony with the Tao long before there’s disorder. Find other areas of your life to practice being a master anticipator!
“When they know they do not know, people can find their own way.”
Do the same to the best of your ability by not forcing yourself and your ideas on anyone (with sensible precautions for those too young or too immature to take on adult responsibilities).
The simple truth is that neither we nor anyone else really know what’s ideal for ourselves or others.
There’s a silent destiny always at work; there are fortunes as well as misfortunes in every life, independ...
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Therefore, those desiring a position above others must speak humbly. Those desiring to lead must follow.
When you emulate that element, you’ll begin to see that judgment and exclusion have no place in the Tao.
Be humble. Never put yourself above others or see yourself as superior to anyone. The highest power is a yielding valley. Become a servant, not a dominator.
Never assume that you know what’s best.
No one should feel the heaviness of your directions or be hurt by your instructions.
Remain a servant.
