Here's Your Sign

 

 

With the greatest leader above them, people barely know one exists.

Next comes one whom they love and praise.

Next comes one whom they fear.

Next comes one whom they despise and defy.

When the leader trusts no one, no one trusts them. 

The Great Leader speaks little, never speaks carelessly, works without self interest and leaves no trace. When all is fnished, the people say, We did it ourselves.

When the greatness of the Tao is present, action arises from one's own heart; when the greatness of the Tao is absent, action comes from the Rules of Kindness and Justice. If you need rules to be kind and just -- if you act virtuous -- this is a sure sign that Virtue is absent. Thus, we see the Great Hypocrisy.

When kinship falls into discord, piety and rites of devotion arise; when the country falls into chaos, official loyalists will appear, and Patriotism is born.

Give up sainthood; renounce Wisdom, and it will be a hundred times better for everyone.

Throw away Morality and Justice, and people will do the right thing; throw away Industry and Profit, and there will be no thieves. 

 

🙔

Guard the Senses

 

"Keep your mouth shut; guard the senses; and life is ever full.

Open your mouth; always be busy; and life is beyond hope."

Lao Tzu

No wonder the world seems drained of hope lately!

What is the prescription? 

 

Lots of feelings of unrest, unwellness are coming over the airwaves, from all over the world.  Grasshopper, how can you even think of worrying for this, too, on top of your own unsolved worries? Did you tape a note on your back? Is your psyche being a bully, intruding with demands like 'woulda, coulda, shouldas' and 'why isn't its' ? And why do you let the bully just give you more and more bags to hold, and you just take them?  No questions, no complaints? Are you aware of how much garbage is waiting and available to be poured out into anyone? And you keep standing in line...

Grasshopper, take away the funnel.

Is there any part of your loneliness that is for your own company? Like when you could sit alone with your thoughts, and take some time to apprehend and process and determine yourself? There seems little about our American life that is self-determined. Many towns have grocery stores with zero options for toothpaste without fluoride. Before you say, "order it online," think of the myriad assumptions that entails, from having internet access, equipment, a bank account for a debit card, an address for a bank account, a job for an address, the stomach and ableness for the job... that is just one example.

Grasshopper, move away from the chute.

We use meditation and the Eightfold Path to cleanse our insides, and renew our minds. There is a spirit, a soul under there who is weary. Begging that you listen, as the voice gets weaker. Tugging at your sleeve with a ragged, gaunt hand. Waiting to be freed from the pile of Everything that has been dumped on it since the time you came into the world (or even longer - see: Your Karma). 

Grasshopper, what is your true nature?

Because it is eternal. It is not this body, that will soon die. The trees which observe the seasons teach us how and when to grow, how to reap and sow, then gently flutter below. The tree is not dead! But just as there is a time to inhale and a time to exhale, there is a time for the tree to be full, and a time to be bare. The WHY is the part we are supposed to fill in ourselves. Where in the laundry list of what we are expected to do as adults here is THAT supposed to go? Where are we fitting it in?  

We were fashioned to sit quietly and find the truth within.  What if the truth is, that I should find a different job? Or not even have a job for a while? What if the truth upsets our cart such that it becomes imperative th change our living situation? As our souls begin to realize and communicate with that which is eternal, we realize our true nature, and it is NOT to be bullied by economics. We didn't lay roads so THEY could tell us how to drive; that is up to us, collectively and individually. Why would we let anyone rent the best years of our lives for cheap? 

Hooray for the newest generation -- we told them their feelings mattered, so they live closer to them and can act concordantly, not emotionally dissonant, as most of us were taught. First we learned to ignore our own pains; then the pain of others; how is it any surprise the world wants us to ignore the global pains of all living creatures? But we are sure quick to know just about every piece of bad news, as it is happening! This is not necessary. This is not even desireable. It certainly is not the way to get to know yourself or happiness.

You are a precious, uninterrupted divine spark, wondering why you can't seem to get things done in your own life, while powering a civilization. You have plenty of time... for the machine. You have plenty of flexibility... for the machine. You have unlimited patience every time it needs to get something better, or do something right. Because what would it look like if you didn't.

Give yourself the gift of yourself! 

"Block all the passages;

close your mouth;

cordon off your senses;

dull your sharpness;

untie your knots;

soften your glare;

settle your dust.

This is called Primal Union."

Tao te Ching