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whatever works for you, to each his own, and i really mean that-thats been my motto thru life, i think, do your own thing, make your own kind of music, thats how ive managd to have friends who were arayan nation and others who who black muslims, some who were athiests or pagans and some who were fundamentalist christians, how i once went from doing coke with a mother and son in the morning to having cookies and milk with a retired couple whose yard i tended, in the same day, and enjoyed both-npt bragging , in fact this maybe prove sim scizophrenic, or just maybe able to adapt to different situations...not that im saying aa is a fringe group or anything...but i believe as humphry bogart said, 'the whole world is about 3 drinks behind'
but in my inner mind and soul we're all alone, i know this-thinking this t'other day as i drove, thinking to myself an old private joke and chuckling-how much of my life ive spent alone, in body and / or spirit wth my own thougts and how this must be true for everyone though so many deny it...we're born alone, die alone, and in between try to get a few minutes of somebodys time just to prove we lived at all...
lynn, any mircle you find in life, grab it...and quick before someone takes it away...love ya, buddy
but in my inner mind and soul we're all alone, i know this-thinking this t'other day as i drove, thinking to myself an old private joke and chuckling-how much of my life ive spent alone, in body and / or spirit wth my own thougts and how this must be true for everyone though so many deny it...we're born alone, die alone, and in between try to get a few minutes of somebodys time just to prove we lived at all...
lynn, any mircle you find in life, grab it...and quick before someone takes it away...love ya, buddy
Comments
I am glad to begin reading posts and posting here.
I love the Tao Te Ching. I read it regularly, meditate upon it and quote it to myself often. Oh, and I also follow it's message.
I have had bad luck finding Taoists in my state of Wisconsin. I am sure there are some, but where? Though there are Buddhists in the area. But I am not looking for Budhists nor Buddhism. I know of some in Sheboygan, but that is a bit far away from me. I may still meet with them sometime.
In the meantime I will continue my search for discussion and mutual support on the path I walk.
I have included a brief discription of myself in my profile.
Peace,
Tom
You said in your profile, ?I find the establishment of such a group to be a difficult task for numerous reasons?. Ha! Yes indeed, although for me it was not as difficult to establish as it was to keep it ?thriving?. True,... I'm not a charismatic people magnet. Nevertheless, I?ve come to realize that very very few people have any true ?curiosity? or interest in what the Taoist worldview implies. Thus, I now really appreciate the reality spoken to in Chapter 70, [chref=70]My words are very easy to understand and very easy to put into practice, yet no one in the world can understand them or put them into practice.[/chref] (Of course, I?m not referring to myself when this chapter say ?My? and ?me?.)
Why so few? I suspect because the Taoist worldview is often at odds with human instinct. The perspective that instinct (emotion) induces in us is often not in accord with reality, but rather simply nature?s [chref=65]hoodwink[/chref] on us. Instinct drives us (and all animals) to approach life in a way that ?stirs? the evolutionary pot, not to perceive ?things? as they truly are. I see the Tao Te Ching as a concise attempt to point to ?things? more as they truly may be, e.g., ?the meek shall inherit the earth?, or [chref=61]The female always gets the better of the male by stillness.[/chref]
So, here we are as a group on this site making do. Me in California, you in Wisconsin, Joe in Iowa, Ron in New York, Mike in Massachusetts, Little Dragon in England, and most recently Brianimal in England (I love the name)... and so on from all over the place. We should have a convention someday! Anyway, welcome again!
PS: One thing we never do in our Taoist meetings locally is pay much attention to social 'light stuff' (tea anyone?), like other religious groups may. Our meetings are really simple: just a time to be quiet, and a time to reflect and comment on the Tao Te Ching. Another factor here may also be that people in this country who are content with such simplicity and depth are already following such a path via Christianity, or another of the more established religions.
I will do my best to be welcome contributor to this forum.
You said, "I?ve come to realize that very very few people have any true ?curiosity? or interest in what the Taoist worldview implies". I have witnessed this and read the passage you quote from TTC70. But I haven't wanted to believe this. Now, when you say it, it sounds more clear and it "is as is should be", I suppose. sigh...
Any suggestions you would have on how to begin a local group would be appreciated.
So, our 'group' is really our family. We maintain a 'Taoist watering hole' (this site and the monthly meeting) for folks on their way through life to stop by and take a sip. Many spit it out, I'm sure, but a few like the taste.
It's fairly obvious that religions are most effectively and commonly passed on from parent to child, e.g., Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, and so on. This is all the more so with Taoism because its world view is so 'unworldly'. If anything, Taoism is antithetical to humanity's innate tribal and elitist leanings. It is, by its nature, profoundly ecumenical, which is not what most people seek. We are instinctively drawn to belong to a 'superior side'. We seek an advantage. Taoism pokes its finger in the eye of such [chref=37]desire[/chref].
Our history: Well,... we began by putting a sign on the front of our house in 1982. Our street has passers by on their way to down town so it could be seen by more than if we lived in a cul-de-sac. We put ads in the Sunday newpaper's religious section about our Taoist meeting on several occasions. Not one soul responded though.
A number of the folks who have come to the Sunday meeting were more into the 'hocus pocus' Eastern mystic side of things. The view, [chref=55]To try to add to one's vitality is called ill-omened; For the mind to egg on the breath is called violent[/chref], was the last thing they wished to see.
I just posted something concerning how our brain changes as we age. This suggests that connecting to older generations might be more fruitful. Of course, older folks are not seeking as much as youth are - they found what speaks to them and are content, e.g., [chref=33]He who knows contentment is rich[/chref].
So, I remain puzzled. I suspect that as the population ages and the traditional fabric of society falls apart, more folks will end up in this 'faith of last resort'. Anyway, if you discover anything let us know...
A great and courageous idea and amazing that you got no response. Lao Tsu continues to prove himself.
Not what I am looking for either. I am comfortable with some ideas of divination, Feng Shui and the I Ching. But I am a skeptic in many ways. I believe that some ideas wander far from the path.
Taoism is a "faith of last resort" as you put it. At least it is this way for me.
welcome-great start on here-keep it up.