Al
I have been chewing on a thought for some time now, and it is:
You cannot choose the family you are born into, but you can choose the family that you create.
The DNA connecting you is not enough to heal an unhealthy and broken relationship. The only responsibility that you have to any individual with whom you have a relationship, is to ensure you do what is needed to take care of you, thus keeping not only the relationship, but you healthy as well. They have this responsibility as well. Nothing more. Nothing less. Read more…
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Al
Symbol of Tao
Today I embark on a journey of understanding via reading the Tao Te Ching (as interpreted by Ron Hogan).
The name of this blog is It Just Works. The “It” is broad, and that is for a reason. “It”, to me, is the Universe, the universal laws that are at work in our lives every moment — whether we want to believe it or not – also, the entity, being, or deity that we humans often call God. Last but not least, I use “it” to refer to the practice of the principles and truths that exist and are revealed as we seek to become more connected with the Universal Consciousness and/or the Universal Creator, or MIND – as Ernest Holmes calls “It”.
I exhort you, the readers of this blog, to “Try it….” every time I write a post. I don’t know about you, but I find encouragement to do these things when I know that the person writing has, or is, doing the things that they are writing about. I can assure you that I am and that I do, but I wanted to invite you along on this one. If any of you deiced to join me in reading the Tao Te Ching and applying the principles to your life, most assuredly know that your comments are, and contact is, very welcome.
So with that out of the way, I plan to write my thoughts and interpretations of the verses of the Tao Te Ching as I read each passage or verse. In the process, I hope that I can bring my self closer to being. So this journey that I embark upon is to help me get to a point where life, and the businesses of living, is something that I do, not something that I try to do.
Tao Te Ching: Part 1 Tao – The Way
1. If you can talk about it,
it ain’t Tao.
If it has a name,
it’s just another thing.
Tao doesn’t have a name.
Names are for ordinary things.
Stop wanting stuff;
it keeps you from seeing what’s real.
When you want stuff,
all you see are things.
Those two sentences
mean the same thing.
Figure them out,
and you’ve got it made.
(Hogan, Ron (2004). Tao Te Ching.)
“If you can talk about it, it ain’t Tao.” I cannot begin to tell you how freeing that statement is to me. I have struggled here and in real life to try to put words to some of my experiences with practicing the basic truths of spirituality. Oftentimes, I feel like I am talking/writing in circles and that my words become ethereal, and I am unable to place concrete concepts on what I am sharing. The the freedom I experienced when reading that sentence was if I could fully explain and define the spiritual truths and concepts that I am learning – with the limited words that I have to use — then would it really be such a big deal? So, to me this is where faith and acceptance of what is comes into play.
“Names are for ordinary things.” At first read of the line, I asked myself, “am I ordinary?” I always refer to myself as just a regular guy, and an everyday down to earth person. I pondered on the “ordinary” because I have a name. I was given one shortly after birth by my parents and then I changed/modified that name and gave myself a new one. But in the fact that I have a name and that I refer to myself as ordinary, I am not ordinary. The name is just a monicker used for the purpose of identification. Who I am, is much more than my given name. It is my reasoning then, that I can make myself, others, and other things around me, ordinary not just by naming them, but also applying a label. But the “tao” of who I am – or who you are – though, cannot be named. It is too expansive to begin to place a label on it. I desire to gain a deeper understanding but I accept that there will be things that I may never fully grasp consciously. I just take those things as they come, as they are.
Same as for “God” or the “Universal Creator”. To “name” It, is to make It ordinary. I don’t wish to make It ordinary. I wish to be extraordinary just as It is. To be.
“Stop wanting stuff; it keeps you from seeing what’s real. When you want stuff, all you see are things.” How do you do that? It seems like there is always something to “want”. I want lots of money to feel as though I am fully able to care and provide for my family. I want to be a positive influence in this world. I want to loose weight so I can feel good about myself. I want to live in a place that is much different from the place in which I currently live.
I have wants. But if I put those wants aside, and I definitely struggle with that, I will be able to see what is real (or what is); I will be able to see beyond what is in front of me. So, this is my challenge. To stop wanting stuff. To stop wanting tons of readers and followers for my blog. To stop wanting those cute sneakers that I saw in that catalogue. To stop wanting.
So, because I needed to get a little more clarification, I looked up the word “want” and I found that definition 3b of want from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary to be closest to what is being discussed here. It states that want is “to suffer from the lack of.”
As I focus on my wants, I then shine light on what I lack too. Thus, I run the risk of sending mixed messages to the Universe as to what I desire to make manifest. I don’t think that it is wrong, or improper, to have dreams, goals, and desires or to visualize. These things are helpful as they keep me from becoming stagnate. But what I am finding is if I create dreams and goals, and develop desires based on my perceived lack, then I will still lack.
I reason then, that being content with what is, what I have and where I am, is the place in which I “want” to be. To become content, then is to be grateful for everything, big and small, in my life. It stands to reason too, that my wants come from my perceived lack and that perceived lack comes out of limited, or limiting beliefs that I have of the Universe.
I have an idea. What if every time I said or thought “I want…” I asked myself why I wanted. What would happen? I am not talking about physiological wants/needs, like going to the bathroom or being physically hungry or tired. But the everyday “I wants”. I want that shirt. I want those shoes. I want that book. I know I just ate, but I want that ice cream. Those wants. I want more money. I want be popular, etc. Why do I want that/those things? This maybe a want that is based on a perceived lack. A want based on something that may not be true, thus not needed. These wants keep me from seeing that I already have what I think I want, or that I really don’t need what I think I want.
That is all I have for now. I’m gonna think on this passage some more. Also, I am going to endeavor to question my wants as they come. So until my next post, once again, I exhort you to “Try it…you’ll see!”
-Al
want. (2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
Retrieved August 3, 2009, from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/want
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So I’ve been, for sometime now, endeavoring to ensure that my life was life and open floor plan in a house. It is my desire to be as feng shui as possible. Meaning, I want to be fluid and free flowing in all aspects of my life. It is my desire to break free of compartmentalization.
I don’t believe that life, or spirituality, has to be so serious all of the time. We talk about being content and joyful. We say that we create happiness in our lives, but when getting down to the task, we get our game faces on and begin to work. I don’t mean the, “You work it!”, kind of work. I mean the crack-the-whip,-there-ain’t-no-time-for-playin’ type of work. Why are we so serious about being happy and having some fun?
So, on a whim (or maybe not), I decided to search the term “fun spirituality” and one of the links that I found was this blog post. Check it out. I really think that this could be a lot of fun to do for those of us who are having a heck of a time meshing fun and spirituality together. It is possible for our whole lives to be “one.”
Really. What’s the point of all this creating with your thoughts and visualizing and what not if we don’t have some fun along the way? I mean, really. So I encourage you to infuse some fun into your spiritual quest and just live. Nothing like now to have a good time. Stop waiting for that special moment or when you retire. You’ll miss the time when it comes and you never know, that time could be this very moment! Try it…you’ll see!
-Al
Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge, others just gurgle. –Unknown
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