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That’s because I trust in the perfect goodness of the Tao to guide me, direct me, and take me where it will.
The return trip is inevitable—it can’t be stopped.
Give up the need to be in charge, which is just your ego working overtime.
Tao: The Watercourse Way:
Pay attention to the flow of your life.
Each day, practice letting go and seeing where you’re directed.
Take note of who shows up and when. Observe the “strange coincidences” that seem to collaborate with fate and in some way steer you
Look for a new, joyous feeling within you.
Your enthusiastic inner receptivity is your reminder that all is perfect, so trust that energy.
Tao-oriented life focuses on understanding yourself, rather than on the thinking and behaviors of others.
Power over others is replaced with an inner strength that empowers you to behave from a wisdom that is inherently the Tao.
For example, as you realize that you are responsible for your reactions in any given moment, others will cease to have any power or control over you.
you can see the situation as an invitation to explore yourself from a new attitude of self-mastery. Your inward exploration allows you to permit the flow of inner responses, examining them with tolerance directed toward yourself. By seeking your stream of thoughts and simply going with them, the conduct
By refusing to turn the controls of your existence over to anyone or any set of circumstances, you’re exercising personal strength instead of force.
You don’t need the approval of others or another possession in order to be happy—you must merely understand yourself as a Divine piece of the eternal Tao, always connected to that infinite essence.
Focus on understanding yourself instead of blaming others.
But you are willing to freely experience your emotions without calling them “wrong” or
It’s important to bypass blame and even your desire to understand the other person; instead, focus on understanding yourself.
Change the way you choose to perceive the power that others have over you and you will see a bright new world of unlimited potential for yourself.
Cultivate your desire for others to discover the Tao in their lives.
Ego believes that others are incapable of running their own lives and wants to control with force, so demonstrate your inner strength by abandoning such tactics.
Use the opportunity to practice allowing them to learn their own lessons without interference from you.
Remind yourself to remain quiet and send loving energy. Practice this kind of self-mastery even though it’s rare in today’s world. Yo...
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When your judgments dominate, the flow of the Tao slows. See how the world truly changes right before your eyes when you sincerely desire that others follow their own life paths, which ...
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I am responsible for what I see. I chose the feelings I experience . . .”
The sage imitates this conduct:
By not claiming greatness, the sage achieves greatness.
Yet great men or women are often thought of as having been instrumental in affecting the course of human events in a positive way, making the
Such a quality is the Tao, which is so all-encompassing that every plant, creature, and human originates and lives because of it, yet it doesn’t seek to dominate anyone or anything.
Rather, your new way of thinking will allow you to look for the unfolding of the Tao in everyone you see.
You’ll be able to look at the sky and see its grandness, which demands absolutely nothing in return.
Discontinue deciding what anyone else should or shouldn’t be doing.
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you . .
Listen rather than expound. Pay
you’ll begin to see the true unfolding of the Tao in yourself and other people. From that moment on, you’ll be free of frustration with those who don’t behave according to your ego-dominated expectations.
Then notice how your interactions with them differ when you’re not making judgments based on their age, sex, title, conduct, manner of dress, height, weight, skin color, religious affiliation, or
political beliefs.
The reason why they’ll discover these three jewels is because you exude such qualities. Your emphasis is on the Tao—it’s who you are and therefore what you have to give away.
Introduce transcendent thankfulness to your everyday life.
Make it a daily practice to give thanks for the presence of the eternal Tao that’s always with you.
Living with conscious appreciation of the Tao will attract more people and experiences, enriching your balance of mortal and eternal awareness.
Draw little or no attention to yourself, and don’t ask to be recognized. Instead, allow, allow, allow.
“You seem to be doing so well with your new business.” In the language of the Tao, stay soft and gentle and you will endure.
Try to visualize great leaders who are instead centered in the Tao—they bite their tongues and zip their lips rather than act in a hostile way, and they refuse to participate in activities that cause
As you alter the way you look at your own power and success, you’ll begin to replace strong desires with calm contentment.
When I step in and tell them “how,” I create resistance.
Cultivate your unique, natural self.
Remind yourself that you don’t have to do anything: You don’t have to be better than anyone else. You don’t have to win.
Give yourself permission to just be. Stop interfering with your unique natural being. Lighten the burden you carry to be productive, wealthy, and successful in the eyes of others; and replace it with an inner assertion that allows you to access the Tao. Affirm: I am centered in the Tao. I trust that I am able to straighten myself out, and so is the world. I retreat into silence, knowing that all is well.
Expect to see the essential nature of others by remaining silent.
