Answering Questions

Every few months I get questions from students doing projects for school. Here is the chat towards the questions I answered for one school project yesterday.

Thank you so much for responding.

Reaching out to share is to become more, it's how we open up our own potential to explore life fully.

Where do you live?

Here
Now
in my heart
within a smile
in the moment

Is it difficult to practice Taoism where you are from ?

Never and always. It depends on which perception you desire to experience in any one moment.

For many people this is the most difficult of all the practices

For a few, who are willing to be oneself without question, Taoism is the simplest of all practices as it just follows the whim of your smile, timed to the breath of your life...

Just a personal choice to how you decide to practice it.

Do you go to a temple?

What is a temple? A place to follow the spiritual truths of life: that is my life, we each our own temple and we live within fullness to that.

My home is a temple also, how we live is to be shared and in that sharing we teach each other how to fully express spirit.

How long have you been practicing Taoism?

As long as I have been conscious over 38 years now. I remember the lightening moment I turned conscious like a fireball in the sky, under the green maple trees as I walked home from first grade. The first breath taken in with the realization I am the breath and it connected to the trees, the earth and then beyond. I have never stopped jumping in my tennis shoes or leaping with Taoist ways ever since.

While labels for practices might come and go, the truth of our nature is the same no matter how people try to finely limit it to terms.

Why do you claim this particular faith?

Ha! How can a person claim anything? That implies surety does it not. How can a person claim surety of the undefined: other than to let fully go into that freedom of release? The Tao is undefined, what other practice can offer such absolute release?

To be fair, all faiths work towards the same truth. However, they simply use different words. Pick the faith whose words match to your heart in the moment. For myself Taoism has always been enough to do so.

Tomorrow may be different, it doesn't matter, it all resolves to the Tao.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions you face about your beliefs?

People forcing their truth upon another. People forcing expectations: false truths upon their own life. People living to past lies and then harming others since they try to hurt themselves to let go.

That to be a Taoist is to be selfish when it's only about kindness and being selfless.

What criticisms (if any) have you encountered about your beliefs

That you can justify anything in Taoism. Ironically justification is something you do not practice in Taoism and I teach others how to release justifications in order to release themselves into personal truth.

How did you respond to these criticisms?

It's a wotever...

It's not worth spending time trying to convince others of truths not in their own heart yet. The Tao requires no champions.

Taoism has a loose weave of Teachers/Masters who guide others but never to respond to criticism. The Tao resolves itself on its own. As teachers we merely guide a few others in kindness and move on in that kindness.

What does Taoism mean to you?

Laughter and :)

Feel free to add any input you might have or ask me any questions as well.

Peace in your exploration. Trust to yourself and heart. I wish you well in discovering your own path.

I teach many students but we must each must let the heart lead the way. The sooner you can find acceptance, to accept yourself as is, the less hassle you will have later in life to letting go of much of the bull shit we place on ourselves. I wish you peace in that journey of acceptance.

many Many Many paths and practices exist to help in that journey. Don't get lost in the practices or outside tools as the means to being your acceptance. Most of the time I spend in teaching is to help people release layers back into simple acceptance. Acceptance of self: simply is. The rest is window dressing on how we decide to enjoy the show. It really doesn't have to be hard, people just make it hard. It all comes down to a personal choice really.

Promise to take time to enjoy the show and I will be happy to share over time laughter and smiles as we all help each other travel in life.

peace

In times of trouble

As the world shifts now, people will begin to panic. Today's stock market crisis/panic was nothing other than large scale power games being played over the control of larger empires.

Crisis means: being forced into a situation where the rules are being broken to force change

Panic means: giving away your power to another at a fraction of the cost... leaving you little personal resources to move ahead upon.

One reason I haven't been around as much the past two weeks is due to focusing locally, centering myself in terms of here and now. The larger scale stock market doesn't affect me, since I don't let it determine my actions or how I express my power. I act locally and always truly from my center instead.

The current true problem is too many people are centering themselves on the news, on money, on what is being projected right now by government and media... And it's all designed to keep you off balanced, to feel at edge , so people don't act to their own interests, or from their own heart.

Be sure of your own heart, make sure you are strong in surety of self right now, otherwise you will act in panic at the drumbeat of others...

This is the nature of panic, forced crisis !

Panic and crisis are poor ways to effect transformation.

It's better to take the time to focus in on your heart and awareness and then move outwards to your true life, not something projected to you by others... rather than give crisis power in panic. Panic means you don't live to your own change, but rather let outside forces dictate your life.

Stay true to your heart and work outwards from there a moment at a time.

Peace

Hey

Fill in the blanks



what post would you want to be here?

What is it you seek in this moment? If coming here, what is the answer one seeks. I come here just to release, let go of thoughts in my mind... and in that release become more. Not becuase I will ever give an ultimate answer for such silliness but rather just becuase we are all interconnecting right now in a frenzy unseen before in human history, sorting, reaching and coming to ...

:)

and myself

just basking in the empty space

Hey I am gone again!


Peace

Projects with a Taoist twist

Project management with a Taoist's view point

Yin Yang

• Typically when you are working hard and if management then tells you that you are doing a good job, you need to be careful becuase it means in a few weeks or a month things will flip and go very badly. It's Yin and Yang of balance. If you are doing well, it also typically means you are pushing things along too fast, so the universe will happily slow things down with a few bad twists of fate.
  
  

Pacing Oneself

• Only work at 75% effort. Any more means your superiors will expect more and more from you until you break. I have seen many excellent workers broken, in nervous breakdown or burnt out beyond recovery becuase of this fact. We are taught in college and school to excel, to get A's and be the best... This doesn't translate to the work environment where you are just being worked as a component. If you work yourself at 100% then the machines of business happily let you burn out and then replace you with another person.
  
  

Problems

• You have to let problems naturally appear which as a team people can solve... otherwise the team doesn't develop.
  

Striving for perfection

• Your perfection is based on your perception. Everyone has a different viewpoint. If you work hard to make something perfect then you missed taking into account other points of view. At which point other people will become critical and tear your work apart to add their own feedback. Allow room for others to add their own measure to the work you do.

• Be responsive: when someone does have good feedback or sends you a problem . Respond back promptly, acknowledge the problem. If it's easy to fix right away do so, if not, add it to the list and inform others so it can then resolve out over time from the team. Pro-active communication is important.
  

Projects and work are like long distance running, you have to pace yourself now... so you don't stumble later, this is very important for any long term project.

Dealing with Managment and Fear

• Don't worry about what they think on a daily basis. Check in once every few weeks as reality checks. However be firm in your own self confidence. All projects are emotional beasts: emote .. To project outwards... that is: what you project outwards is what you management will see... If you have any self doubt, that fear will project outwards and then back to you from your management to trip you up.
  
  It's important to know fear is a delusion, that you project it out to give it power. No fear is real. What is real, are actions that later happen. So move forward with your own actions, not based in fear, but based in making positive results occur. Unfortunately the current culture is approaching fear wrongly. As a result, many people in the United States live reduced by projected fears becoming real.
  
  
  

  Project out confidence and in doing so you will find it easier to manage your management.

Perhaps one day I will write the Tao of Project Management... NOT! :)

Peace

measures

It has been busy... but what should I say right now?

Being eternally young, ever learning and growing. I won't paint a picture of mature solutions, maturity is merely a false boundary blind to hide behind. A boundary built since to always follow ahead in the Taoist path, is always striving ahead into the unknown and unknowable. This is a path few are willing to let go into. So instead most people quit at being mature to leave the unknown alone and without wonder.

I teach the warriors path, not becuase a Taoist fights: but becuase a Taoist accepts no fear into the heart. Because each step taken is one into the unknown rather than risking comfort of past decay.

I am filled with happiness watching my students live so bravely! Following their hearts rather than give in to fear or to lead lives that aren't theirs.

At the moment, my life also is at a new start, it's not easy, rebuilding everything: yet we all rebuild our lives every day. This means I must myself always remain a student in my own path, ever reaching and ever tumbling like star dust, in my own cometary travels.

People seek those who climb the highest heights,

Yet - just living - as is...

as the heart proclaims!

This is the greatest achievement anyone can paint.

The mountain is our life

as all poets paint from their words.

Discover poetry in motion, if willingly accepting it, in such words proclaiming action and movement into your unknown heights!

Peace


I am honored by each of my students, you all explore truly. Fools might limit success to holding comfort and trinkets: yet the sage releases enlightenment measuring heart.

:)

Just :)

me

peace

Hitting Bottom

I was just talking to someone about Hitting bottom earlier today. Here is a very quick/simplified overview.

Hitting bottom typically occurs in 3 steps. For many often taking a 2 to 4 year time frame to truly hit bottom. People have more to release than they think. Others can linger an entire lifetime in the process, if they refuse to let go of various issues.

The basic steps

Step1) Since you don't fit in anymore. The smack down from the outside world... the most painful part since the world strips away most of what you have.

This is letting go of the past.

Some people never let go of the past, defining themselves purely to past.

Step 2) You finally figure out whats happened (so you think). You release in a series of steps to simply your life, each letting go. However, many people misjudge when they hit bottom since three stages usually exist to this step...

• Letting go of your personal issues.
• Letting go of expectations of who you are.
• Letting go of the future:
  stopping to think that the future defines you by you defining the future. (confused yet?)
  

Many people cling to their issues to give themselves form.
They cling to defining themselves now by thinking they know how their future looks. Often by mimicking others who seem to have it right. You can never truly define yourself by another person's example of how you might be.

Step 3) You let go of letting go.

This is releasing into the moment. Moving with your life rather than against it.

Step 3 is the hardest to do. It's the point you can laugh at yourself honestly, you smile at your mistakes... this is the starting point of letting go of ego to move deeper in Taoist practices.

This bottoming is the starting point for acceptance of who you are.

Learn to let your form / shape freely flow with life. Don't project out false images of your nature to be.


Hitting Bottom, Yourself and Community

Society and family teach us how to move towards their image of what we should be. It then takes time to relearn how to be ourselves, from our own center.

This is part of the balance between learning to live within community / and living to your own needs.

The process of bottoming out is often a reflection of the balance between community / your own self image being out of sync.


Power and money

We base so much of our self worth on our projected power or how much money is made (money being a form of power)

The trouble is 99% of people truly only have a very small buffer of savings or cash flow. This means being on a thin edge away from a mistake or crisis like the current stock market meltdown away from the process of falling down.

At most, the average person is only a few paychecks away from losing their self worth, from events out of their control, becuase they place control of their life outside of their own self worth.

That's why Step One can be so long and hard of a process. It takes a while to resettle in to a new framework of reference to value one self.

In Taoism we teach the truth about acceptance and how you don't base you worth upon outside measures such as wealth or social pressures. But for many people when they lose their outside measuring stick, it takes years to re-learn a new system of faith to help oneself grow again.

As a teacher this is one of the many ways I help people re-sync not in terms of outside measures, but within the power of being yourself.

peace

Community: part 2

I have been thinking about community for a long time now: The reason being, I would like to establish a series of interconnected communities which live within Taoist harmony.

Watching others, I have come to the conclusion: the answer isn't to go off the grid, or start fresh.

I believe anyone should be able to "add" themselves in, with fresh energy, to already existing communities. Community itself, is about living to change, being refreshed over time by new people coming and going. Keeping an community healthy and strong. Blending the best of old and new to keep already established communities growing and thriving.

In addition several of my friends are also working in like minded manners to help build up Taoist communities in other locations, so we can then interconnect across the world, rather than remain in isolated villages. Isolating individuals from community action has been one of the major problems in the culture of the United States today.

This dream isn't a dream, it's a way to live here and now, present and sharing with others ... fully and openly as "community". Not defined by books or words, but defined by our actions every day, in living holistically and realistically in the modern world, with simplified grace. Not based upon disposable ideals, but within creative sustainable lifestyles.

Am I being a dreamer? Nope, becuase I am living this way now, and our family is expanding now, step by step in how we live now.

Others can dream, draw up plans and wish for something better. We are just going to start living something better now! This is the true secret to improving community. To be active and proactive to sharing and working together, not towards some outside vision, but working towards the heart of now, in actions that matter to you now.

peace

Community: Part 1

We are one, yet we are separate:

Community and Taoism...

Taoism as a practice teaches how to lessen ego, to release it.

One problem of ego is when it becomes consumption of using others to define yourself. Preachers, politicians and other people who live on the soapbox often fall into this trap. So ego can diminish community when someone is pushing an ego based agenda.

Taoism teaches to release into wholeness... Wholeness .... is Empty space and Form balancing out the shape of life . Ego by definition leads away from wholeness, since it's unable to let go, to release into the empty spaces of life.

Wholeness... I am curious what this means to others, how would you define wholeness?

We often use community, family, friends as the means to define our wholeness.

The Yin / Yang model of looking at the the world, teaches to combine self/community to get a complete picture of one's wholeness.

More tomorrow.

Peace

Counseling and Taoism

In my Taoist Counseling work, I have been helping others transform surely and step by step into their life.

So many paths exist for each person to find their way. Many people are not ready and tune out as a result, many people do just fine on their own, and some are on a cusp, just needing a helpful hand to balance on that cusp... for a chance to look around and truly become more.

The point is , as we grow older, we often trap ourselves in thinking as an adult, that we must always find our own way as an adult.

Our society doesn't help people change, it typically either forces people with peer pressure, medication and pre package entertainment to become happy little zombies or it kicks them out: as one friend of mine said to being disposable, pushing them to the edge and outside of society.

The point is: it's a trap to always think of ourselves as always being fully grown. If our nature is to change, and we change every day.

To truly be Taoist is to accept the fact we live in a state of eternal childhood, which we explore and play about in every day.

A Taoist learns the secret of how to be a child and adult at the same time, throwing away the labels "child" , "adult" etc, to instead define themselves in their search, actions and life... not to labels or expectations.

To be an adult, is a definition trap that society uses to keep people in line and in a lie of how the society views your role should be. BY defining you, you stop playing, you stop trying to change into your nature and instead... be a dutiful... "________" insert definition here type of person.

To those feeling like they have been 'disposed of" or are having problems with what is expected of you, it's time to drop that role and just play again... Think about that for a second, if society has pushed you out, then why hang on to a role model which no longer fits to your life?

The Taoist answer is to discover who you are in the heart, to play and always becoming more in that exploration. To those who are strong enough to do this, they become future leaders. Because anyone who is strong enough to be themselves fully, by default becomes a role model to others in how to live life truly.

If you feel you are on the cusp of change, then take the chance to look about, since if you do, you will be surprised at how many options will open up and what potential exists when upon the cusp of any change!

Peace

Staircase of Acceptance

Becoming a Master: doesn't resolve every ill.

Even the Dali Lama has his hard days to work through and move against.

Acceptance doesn't remove problems, if it did, we wouldn't be human.

Acceptance makes it possible to enjoy life each day fully and find many answers to every situation. Permitting us to choose and pick our path... rather than be forced to walk to a single set of issues.

Acceptance makes it possible to work past each challenge and then in kindness help others past theirs when they willingly accept a shared hand.

Knowing this: don't strive for perfection too fast in life...

Give yourself time to dally and enjoy each problem as it happens, otherwise you miss the view as you climb the tree known as life.

Acceptance is not passive, its embracing and moving into your life... The life you choose to full fill!


peace

Snippets

Just thinking, releasing on my breath today, balancing out inner and outer truth ...

The thought is:

As long as you have a breath

there is still more to learn on how to release...

The path continues boundlessly upon the breath

Hard week, but it too, shall move along in the breath.

---

I absolutely love these lyrics from the song "Had a Dream" from Bird York:

Where logic ends faith begins....


If we risked everything for love,
How could anything go wrong?
Nobody said it would be easy
Nobody said it would be fair

Just let innocence be our cure

Very Taoist indeed.

peace

Just Yammering today

Home

Outside:
Wind, doves, mongoose and grass...
Mixing, rustling to co-mingled cooing sounds
Inside:
Children, books, chores and scattered food on the table...
Mixing as an emotional jambalaya breakfast
Feeling lost, found, clarity and now pondering time

The future...
Merely a pregnant pause.

The past
Dante's hell.
over-done.

Leaving me presently
searching for place.

Ahead are mountains and valleys to cross.
Release, movement , exploration.
To define home is to have a past.
what past do I hold on to?
None, none and none.

Left and right
double checking
no traffic, moving again
the best exit being:
-anti-climatic-

peace

In the park

At the childrens park I over heard this yesterday

Boy 1
I can run faster than a car
I mean faster than a speeding bullet!!!

Boy 2
REALLLLY?

Boy 1
Wellll sometimes.

It made me smile :)

Taoist Family and Transitions

After so long being in transition it feels good to begin reaching back out to say hi to the community.

To those I used to wander by and say hi to electronically I should be back in the loop again soon.

One thing I love within the Taoist community, we understand the nature of being a hermit and also being in a community and how it weaves together as life wanders.

That you can take off for years and then literally pick up and grow from where you were again later. since time really doesn't exist to friendship:

True friendship is timeless

:)

Peace

Helping Partners work Through Midlife

I get quite a few emails from partners of those experiencing Mid-Life Crisis.

I have started an article written and dedicated to help those working with others in change and crisis.

Peace

Aspects of Spirtual Healing

Doubts do I have any doubt... none at all.

How can I, when I don't live in time. That is to be whole.

Yesterday at the beach, I had an overwhelming vision. I had been there before in spirit, in life, in dream, all interconnected at once.

When you follow the Taoist path, you discover how to be at one with everything... That includes being at one with oneself!

This is one key to understanding spiritual healing it turns out.

The rub is that many people have no problems being at one with the larger universe,

Instead: they have issues at being one with themselves!

Why would this be the case?

Quite simply it's becuase we are conscious. To be conscious is a trick of the light, the appearance of time and moving through life in time as each of us being unique.

If you were to remember everything, to be whole at once, then all aspects of consciousness as the ego, as "I" go away.

Being whole is egoless.

People fear losing that special uniqueness that makes them unique. As a result many lost souls, keep themselves lost, since they don't want answers yet. People who are like this will seek larger wholeness but avoid personal completeness since they are still heavily into the game of being who they are.

This is all very important to know, since when you are a spiritual healer, you also learn,

• when a person just needs to be lost in being themselves
• when a person needs to forget
• when they are ready to be whole again.

Just seeking larger answers is never enough to complete any spiritual practice, you also have to be willing to let go that uniqueness of everything you were as ego.

peace

Windows for the Soul

Today's question to answer:

I can say all of the many beautiful things that I know I am,
I can say them in my mind...

... But not feel them in my heart.

How to do that?

You open up a window in your soul: and that window is your smile,

At the start you see through the window, with your mind what is on other side. In time, you discover it's open and a breeze blows in to bring it all together.

Patience and it grows.

It grows and help it in this fashion to grow:

Feel it right now: not as everything you want but instead imagine a small seed in your heart. That seed is all the beautiful things you can say, but need to grow into full being still.

Then in time, without effort but with patience and awareness towards the seed, you will discover every moment it grows.

Peace

Mosquitoes

OK That's it!

I am tired of the mosquitoes. Time to change my practice to create an anti mosquitoes chi field.

I could look at this in several ways

Perhaps I should take the Iron Palm approach... toughen my skin, so the little beasts just break their beaks upon my iron skin...

Or perhaps I can learn to concentrate my chi into little chi lasers to create AA chi defense.

---

On a more serious note, I am going to actively expand and morph my chi field to keep the little beasts away. It will give me something to practice my Chi exercises a bit upon.

The last few nights I did my first trail run, It seemed to work. I will have to continue this to see where I can take it to.

What use is it to be master if you cannot play? Always play, you will be amazed where it can take you in your life and journey.

Life is not rooted in comfort,

It's rooted in change and always growing into your nature.

peace

Dictatorship American Style

The truth of what we are becoming is reported to us every day

Freedom

In the end it is a choice for each of us. And just sitting comfortable: means to vote for dictatorship in the upcoming elections.

Peace

Anger Part II: resolving it.

This is an interesting topic.

In much of what I teach, are the seeds of how to resolve anger in one's life.

Firstly: Don't remove all aspects of anger out of one's life. Anger does serve a purpose, and more importantly at times you need some anger when dealing with other people. Since at times you need to reflect anger with anger.

However, having said that, I do believe 90 to 95% of anger is wasteful .

Secondly: Many the techniques I teach are also tools that can be used to remove anger. So without the background tools/practices, I cannot just simply "teach" 100 sure fire ways to remove anger. Anger is rooted within internal conflict and the practices of Taoism can be used to excise that conflict out from inside one's nature.

Some Basic Techniques:

When feeling anger.

Step one:

1. Take a breath, and just feel it.
2. Look at it, don't try to answer it, just look at it.
3. Accept it, then release it as a long exhale.
4. Imagine it going into the earth as compost.
5. then with your arms sweep it away:
   literally use your arm like a sword to cut through the feelings of anger
   to say I see the anger: and it is as it was.
   

We maintain a lot of energy to hold onto the past: the past is just reflection of what we think happened. In the now... it's gone and only a memory... and memories are no longer truth, but rather guide lines only. It is as it was. Release it since most anger is actually a lie which people use to project and keep the past alive in the now. But doing so is actually a form of delusion and a lie. 80 to 90% of anger is based upon lies! Why give up your own power to such lies? A Taoist as a result just releases anger without fuss. Lets go of it since it is a lie and has no power at all, except the power we give it to make it real.

Letting go of most anger is as simple as releasing a breath!

Simply release the past.

For a Taoist step one resolves 75% of anger issues. However, when the anger is based in personal truth that must be addressed then we need to do something more.

Step Two:

After looking at the anger: then look closely.

• If it's a problem you can resolve now, then do so... No lingering excuses or apologies. Be decisive, apologize once and only once if needed, make your amends and just move on quickly and simply.
  
  
• If it's something you feel guilt over: then forgive yourself! Be giving to others in repentance for three to five times to put forth kindness in balance of the negative actions. But only a few times. Your life is never an apology, rather in kindness our actions are about now, not filling in the past. As I said before: the past is just that: past gone!
  
  
• If it cannot be resolve right away: then let it go.
  
  Instead resolve other smaller problems and be happy with that. Chip away at the anger in small resolutions/actions that over time will undercut the larger anger issue naturally.

You will be surprise how fast these techniques can help you resolve anger.

However, you have to be willing to release.

If you have to hold to "the past", "expectations", "lies", "issues"

Then it will be a long road in the release and often the anger will follow destructive means to create the release needed to occur.

If I come across a person who takes this longer road, you let them travel and go your own way. Every person makes their own path. Respect other people's choices even the bad ones, since they are working on issues.

Often times Anger is Karmic in nature, you have to let a person work out Karma naturally and in person, otherwise you just prolong the negative Karma.

Anger is a Karmic emotion, when you lash out in pain, you inflict negative karma upon yourself and others around you. Pain inflicted thru anger takes time and active consideration of the people involve to release. As a result be respectful of those working with anger issues, Karma is a powerful beast and the only way to tame it is: with respect, time and acceptance.

I hope this helps

Peace

Anger

I have this question from a friend today:

Very angry. Don’t know what I am supposed to do with anger. Can’t not feel it and I know it doesn’t serve a purpose but where to put it?

Anger serves a purpose to release deeper issues, problems and internal conflict.

It's the pressure release valve of the spirit. Since it's better to release in anger than to turn it all inside to destroy oneself.

However, anger is not very efficient and it's the last step/tool in your automatic release options. If you are person that suppresses anger, then the next step is self destructive, as the negative energy redirects directly into your body. Anger is a path of destruction. Anger's purpose is to destroy problems.

Having said that, the true key is awareness of one's inner self. Understand the root of the anger is about releasing problems. It's often better to release problems in other more efficient and less damaging manners.

The key to dealing with anger, is understanding it's an automatic pressure valve and to develop positive habits to release internal conflict before it becomes anger.

I had a teacher who taught me all about anger. My father, was a wonderful soul, yet his one weakness was anger. He let anger control and destroy him.

He showed me time and time again, to release in anger: would always result in negative feedback from the rest of the world: which in turn would cause him more harm.

The lesson was very clear:

The world always reflects your actions.
If you lash out in anger,
Then the world lashes back at you with that same anger
causing pain/grief that still has to get resolved.

Once you have anger, there is no true "release" except resolution.

Lashing out in anger is an inefficient attempt
to resolve or make a problem go away.

The key: Resolution.

To lash out in anger is to still lash out at yourself, creating problems to still require healing.

So if you have anger

1. Don't hold it in.
2. Don't release it as pain.
   
3. Release it as acceptance.

Now acceptance has many levels, since as you practice acceptance, you can release the anger long before it even boils up to become anger.

When you feel anger, it's the last chance you have to find release.

Long before anger: look towards your feelings, find the internal conflict (or external) and work towards acceptance instead.

Now the trick becomes practicing acceptance. Learning, the way, which permits peace is the true warrior's path. The sword is always the last option.

My answer to how to find acceptance, is learning Taoism.

Since in practice teaching acceptance is the core to Taoist practice. Its called heart, and living in kindness to oneself and in harmony to those around you.

No easy quick answers , rather it's the path of life itself.

So discover how to smile, and that will open doors on how to resolve your anger.

Tomorrow a little more about working in releasing anger.

peace

Home and retreats

We just moved into our new home, a house split into 4 units in the jungle. A wonderful little community of three other families and us in the middle of lush tropical forest.

Walking distance to water falls and fresh water swimming holes

Its so dreamy perfect... except the killer mosquitoes that love to drink deeply of you to remind us... that paradise is of the imagination and life is what we make it to be... while literally being nibbled away back into the larger universe.

Now that we are home and settled: Julie and I are re-setting up shop, and actively scheduling retreats and dance classes again. Julie is teaching already in 2 towns and now looking to open classes in Hilo. I am actively setting up retreats again.

Even more exciting while traveling about this last year, I was able to connect up with various other masters and experts in other fields, so in the future I will also begin to offering fusion style retreats mixing and matching other fields into the retreat.

Two examples:

Taoism and Social/Personal legal resolution:
To work with my friend Rhonda who is an expert lawyer. Working together towards approaching legal problems in a spiritually kind but balanced manner. This helps guide a person move gracefully spiritually and legally in the same instance. Various people I encountered are entangled in severe legal battles or concerns and so this fusion of a retreat was created to specifically help people find peace in such a way to also address complicated social / legal aspects of their life.

Qi-Gong, Yoga and Physical Therapy Blend
Our friend Jeff an expert yoga teacher and PT therapist who can take a person deeper into particularly difficult physical body healing while mixing in the Taoist healing methods I use to create a more powerful healing experience. While I do teach and mix Qi Gong and Yoga currently at my retreats, occasionally some people have deeper physical needs which require extra attention. I have known Jeff for years and his healing ability is amazing. In this manner we both can help more proactively guide a person blend their physical and spiritual practice in more harmonious manner.

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Julie and I already offered a fusion style of retreat experience and its very exciting to be able to include other fantastic resources to fine tune the experience to each person even more now. Over time we will share guidance also from Native American traditions.

No single road exists for finding guidance and healing. The practice I have developed over many years while centrally Taoist, always brought in and respected elements from other traditions to help make the path of life easier.

A key to many complicated situations is to understand at times our problems are the result of several issues at once. At times offering a fusion of teachings, can then address these more complex issues in a more mindful, balanced and simple manner

Peace

Magic and Taoism: Part 2

Taoists are often considered to be magicians.

Magic is perception,

Taoism very actively teaches

1. How to be fully aware.
2. Not to be tied down to a single perception
3. To release into potential and possibility

Taoism is a very magical teaching.

The other day in the middle of walking through a multitude of rainbows I was thinking about this.
especially as the rainbow swept up and around me to spin about. Like a scene out of a movie but instead in real life, in my own life.

Why even compare magical moment to such things "a scene of a movie" when the movie pales to comparison to the truth.

Don't limit yourself to what others teach as being magical . Avoid trying to define true magic to what is seen "projected".

True magic is in the experience of living and not projections which take all our energy to put forth.

More later...