Stillness

Think about how chaotic life can be. When we are born, we mark the moment with the baby's first cry - a howl with powerful emotions convulsing the whole body, a loud protest against the forced entry into this world.

It doesn't necessarily get easier after that. As kids, we compete with, or even fight against, other kids. When we grow up, things look a bit different but the strife remains the same. We jump into the rat race, trying to move ahead, get through the day, and make ends meet. There's so much happening, so many things moving all at once, it is as if we are caught in a storm.

Where is the Tao then, if life is a storm? The Tao is the innermost core of existence; it resides at the center of everything. In a world of constant change, the Tao is the eternal, unchanging principle. In a storm where we are lashed by winds and drenched by rain, the Tao is the eye of the storm.

The human being is a microcosm of the world, so sometimes we can find ourselves going through an emotional storm within. Those who do not know the Tao may find themselves at the mercy of this inner turmoil as it threatens to rage out of control. Those who understand the Tao will center themselves... and move into the eye of the storm at the innermost core of the soul.

We find peace, quiet, and calmness in the eye. It seems completely unlike the chaos of the storm, and yet without it the chaos cannot exist. It is a sort of stillness, but not the stillness of stagnation. Along with its peaceful tranquility, we can sense a palpable power, barely contained. After all, it is the central nexus that drives and orchestrates the myriad actions and movements that circulate endlessly around it. The eye is the silent source of infinite energy.

It is, in short, the Tao.

www.Taoism.net

A Powerful Way to Cultivate

People may not be aware that in an authentic tradition of the Tao, there is a strong recommendation to cultivate the Tao as a couple. Tao cultivation isn't just for a man or a woman. It is for both - preferably as a unit.

A wonderful thing happens when the male and female energies cultivate together. The natural interplay of the two will form a dynamic, synergistic effect that is far greater than the sum of its parts. This synergy can be directed to propel both along the path, to support and inspire one another. Both will be able to progress rapidly in refining spirituality, understanding the self, and developing wisdom.

If there is someone in your life who can be your travel companion in this manner, then you already have this precious gift - truly something to cherish, something to rejoice.

Little Sage

My friend Devin came to the weekly gathering a few weeks ago, and brought along his seven-year-old daughter Shea, who as always was delightful and incredibly well-behaved. We had lunch together and chatted about the Tao being no more or less than a label, like God. Shea asked: "What is the difference between Tao and God?"

I said the Tao was not regarded as a personified entity; her dad explained that it was more like an energy. I nodded and added: "Think of it as the energy behind everything."

"That's how I think of God," Shea offered confidently. "God is energy, not a person who punishes."

I told her, very truthfully, that I wished I had her brains when I was her age. :)

What is Emptiness?

There is an important concept of emptiness, non-existence and non-being in the Tao, known as wu. There's no exact equivalent in the English language for wu, because it is more than just a state of nothingness. Wu is also full of possibilities just waiting for manifestation. Think of it as an emptiness bursting at the seams with powerful potential.

When we apply this to life, we find that for a Tao cultivator, being quiet means far more than a passive silence. It is a state of dynamic tranquility, full of potentialities for swift and effective action. When the cultivator completely clears his mind of cluttering thoughts, what remains isn't an empty void. Rather, it becomes a focal point of personal creation - seemingly containing nothing, and yet filled with invisible seeds of destiny. When harnessed in accordance with Tao teachings, this becomes the birthplace of powerful life transformations.

Making a Personal Connection

One of the most rewarding things for me is making new friends who have discovered the Tao. A reader of Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained in Arkansas has contacted me to express an interest in joining our weekly Tao discussions through the Internet. We are currently using Yahoo Messenger (until a better solution comes along), so he installed the software on his laptop, and this morning we conducted a test.

Upon connection, he got a request from his firewall software to confirm that this two-way voice communication is not a hacking attempt. Once he gave his approval, we were able to hear one another. I had to move my microphone a bit further away in order to cut out static and improved clarity. After that, we could talk freely as if we were using a telephone. We then tested the mute function, which also worked well. Although my friend had no previous experience with Yahoo Messenger, he was able to get everything working perfectly the first time.

Our next step will be to test voice conferencing over three locations. If this works reliably, we will have much to be grateful for. This is an interesting juxtaposition: leveraging the latest technology to empower the discussion of the world's oldest spiritual philosophy - the Tao.