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It’s the Source you’re encouraged to always carry with you and to consult when you feel the need for assistance or direction.
Trust the inner light to guide you, for it is your heritage.
Your inner light is more trustworthy than any guidebook,
When you develop a trust in the Tao, you’ll change the way you look at life.
Trust in yourself.
Allow yourself to trust in the energy of the Tao to guide you, rather than relying upon fixed plans arranged by someone else.
Don’t judge yourself or others.
This isn’t advice to lower your opinion of yourself, but rather to see yourself as so strongly connected to your Source of being that you know and trust that you’re a piece of it.
Replace all negativity with love.
You’re not in charge—you never have been, and you never will be.
So you’re advised to let go of any ideas you have about controlling anything or anyone, including yourself. It’s a difficult lesson for most of us to learn. As Lao-tzu puts it in the beginning of this verse, “I do not believe it can be done.”
you may need to change the way you look at your life and all that has transpired in it, as well as your vision of the future. Whether you agree or disagree, whether you like it or not, all of it is outside
The Tao doesn’t act as boss, forcing itself on you or anyone. It simply allows all of creation to reveal itself with perfect timing . . . and all that is revealed is sacred because it’s a piece of the ego-free Tao.
There’s a time for everything, including what you’re experiencing today.
Begin recognizing that every moment of your life is in accordance with the Divine Tao.
Give up needing to control.
Practice recognizing that there’s a time for everything.
when you remember that this is a part of the perfect blossoming of natural law; and there will soon be a time for comfort, peace, and love.
Try something like, Yes, there seems to be a time for such things, and I choose not to remain in extremes of resentment and anger. But there is also my desire to do something about these circumstances—that feeling is also a part of the natural law unfolding. I choose to act on my inner desire to rectify these conditions. By remaining internally peaceful and avoiding the extremes, I will impact the world in the same loving way that the Tao eternally manifests from love and kindness.
Let the soil rest from so much digging And wait until it’s dry before you water it.
The things we love we have to learn to leave alone.
Whatever strains with force will soon decay. It is not attuned to the Way. Not being attuned to the Way, its end comes all too soon.
Now when you create war in your personal life, it produces a dearth of love, kindness, and joy, which leaves you and everyone around you stripped of Divine Motherhood.
Force includes any use of physical or mental abuse in which the weapons of hatred and intolerance are applied.
This means that you’ll ultimately lose—especially when you consider that Martin Luther King, Jr., once observed that the only way to convert an enemy to a friend is through love.
That’s because the Great Way of Tao is that of cooperation, not competition.
The all-creating Source is always providing, asking nothing in return, and coming from a place of sharing its inherent love.
So whenever you’re in a mode that propels you in the direction of using force, you’ve lost sight of your connection to the Tao. Moreover, any collection of people
Your choice concerning your commitment to practicing the Tao includes refusing to participate in any manner, be it mental or physical, in anything that violates your understanding of the advice offered in this powerful passage of the Tao Te Ching.
Eliminate verbal and/or physical force in all situations.
Examine the relationships in which you experience conflict. Make a concerted decision to use less harsh language and to completely veer away from becoming physical in the resolution of any altercation. Practice stopping thoughts of violence by shifting right in the moment to a stance of listening. Bite your tongue! Stifle yourself! Hold back any response at all for the time being.
These are great reminders to you to become attuned to the Way. Remember, any act of force will definitely produce a counterforce, so if you insist on escalating devastat...
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Refuse to participate in violent actions in any way.
Remember that every use of force, even the smallest, creates a counterforce.
You might quiet the whole world for a second if you pray. And if you love, if you really love, our guns will wilt.
The Tao is a creative force; weapons are about destruction.
These include violent words, gestures, and threats that aren’t a part of humankind’s higher nature. If you change the way you look at your world, you must include noticing your language and your demeanor.
Weapons designed to kill are inconsistent with the very essence of the Tao.
Thus, you must make every effort to be peaceful and harmonious with its life-giving energy.
Begin to see the use of physical or verbal
weapons as unwanted responses.
Discontinue celebrating death or violence in any form.
Teach your kids, and any children you can, to sanctify life.
teach yourself and others that every victory accomplished with weapons is a funeral that should be mourned.
Say a private prayer today for every person you read or hear about who’s a victim of killing by a weapon, no matter how distant.
Just as all water flows back to become the ocean, all creation flows back to become the Tao.
Lao-tzu opens this verse with a reminder that no one—not you, me, or even the most powerful king or dictator—can rein in or master this force known as the Tao.
The more you push against it, the more resistance you create.
If events seem to be taking you in a new direction in your work, for instance, or signs point to changing your job or location, pay attention! Don’t get
Recognize the Tao energy coursing through your life and quit fighting your calling.
