Today's Questions

I got a series of Questions in an email

So here a few of the questions with answers colored in

• Here in Sweden I can’t find any Taoist temples...

A temple is a place of spirit. Live your life fully, with grace. In this, every place can be easily transformed into a temple.

We call some places temple: becuase temple is the word we use to describe where people naturally release without effort... But in reality, this can be true everywhere if you are open to being connected to a larger world.

• What does an ordinary day look for you?

The sun rises, the sun sets, I live in between

Day to night.

Dreaming in between:

Poking about in between:

so I guess my life is...

In Between...

It seems like "In Between" should represent something mystical, something almost untouchable... but in reality it just is my life from moment to moment. Fully present in each moment and then In Between moments: Just free and being me.

• Are you meditating a lot?

Yes and No

Many times I practice a light form of meditation in between chores and during chores. I try to meditate in the morning most days. Julie and I would prefer to do so more often than we do lately... But the days and night have been extra full of late. So it means not as much as we would like right now.

Many schools of thought exist for meditation. For my practice, mediation is all about awareness. So every moment is an opportunity to expand your awareness: not necessarily to act upon, but to just be present within and explore.

At times we dive into it with deep awareness, at other times light awareness... Patiently you can assemble it all up into a more comprehensive awareness which can take you to some pretty wonderful states of being. No rush in any of this. It all connects up to the same places, it's just a matter on path and style.

• Do you try to keep life as simple and easy as possible? Avoiding stress as match as you can?

Simple is a relative term... We live simply in America, but it would be complicated compared to other parts of the world.

How I work would be consider complicated to most Americans since I teach Taoism, counsel others, run retreats, work for a non profit and am a father. Likewise Julie works as a herbalist, teaches dance, helps run retreats, works at the same non profit and is a mother. Our day starts at 6 am and is not unusual to work till 10 pm.

But it's all in kindness and it does all come together. We never know how it will all assemble from month to month. Patiently we live it , trust to ourselves and kindness. It completes a circuit such that it all does come together.

Lately it has been more "Full" as we are also busily fixing the house and temple up. Of course we also live in a rain forest, so always something to fix or take care of... It keeps us busy.

While we have our harder days, we are human and always do our best to have our good days too. Life is to enjoy: not to work away. We work to live and as such our work always compliments the life we lead so the two are in harmony. That says something in America , and it's something I help teach others how accomplish. To find balance between Personal practices and lifestyle. And here is that pesky "In Between" Again ;)

• Are you surrounded by people all the time or do you seek silence for your family some times?

I have students and those who I help from 12 countries now. People call when they need help and I have regular sessions to teach. So pretty much every day we are talking to someone or helping out some how, somewhere.

Likewise since we hold retreats, we have friends and students who arrange to spend concentrated time physically with us to learn in person... But it's paced and we make sure we have quite a bit of our own quiet time to minimize our stress from the long hours we work to. People have to arrange to come over since we manage our time to keep everything flowing smoothly.

Namaste