Taoism is all about going with the flow of life and enjoying the journey. It is about contentment [loving things as they are] and freedom to be as you are. No changes required. Taoism is based on the concept of wei wu wei, which means action without action. Just as we breathe without actively trying or as – Read More –
When we are younger, we are encouraged to decide what we want to be when we grow up. As a child, we may have wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, firefighter or rock star…without really knowing why.
This dream becomes a seed that is either watered or neglected. In the most fortunate situation, a child’s parents and teachers will help to cultivate this dream and find opportunities [camps, museums, etc.] to expose him/her to this field. When neglected, a child is [untruthfully] told why their dream is impossible.
Depending on how these factors effect a child, dreams are pursued, changed or deferred. We may discover that what we once dreamed about as a child was not what we really wanted. Or we may harbor regret for not pursuing what we once loved. I am here to tell you that it is never too late to become what you once dreamed.
There are no limits except those we place on ourselves.
As children of the Creator, we have the power to create our own Heaven or Hell on Earth. The following Zen parable illustrates: A criminal, well known for his savagery, came to the young monk and demanded that he teach him about Heaven and Hell. The young monk replied, “I will teach you nothing. You – Read More –
We all have a seed of anger in the depth of our consciousness. Even the Buddha said that a monk has the right to be angry, but not for more than one night. The goal is not to suppress our anger, but to take care of it…to heal it…through mindfulness.
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment, he needs help.
If we think of anger as a seed, it is watered through what we consume with our mouth, eyes, ears, and consciousness. What we eat, see on TV, or hear in conversation can be toxic. It may contain anger or frustration, which you may ingest and express later on. If you drink alcohol mindfully, you can understand that it creates suffering. The intake of alcohol causes disease to the body and mind, and results in deaths on the road. Even the habit energy that is formed by seeing a parent constantly react with anger can be transmitted. We have to live in such a way that we stop consuming the things that poison us and intoxicate us.
Most of the time, anger is born from a wrong perception. You may have misunderstood what you heard or saw. You may have the wrong idea of what had been said or done. You believe that your misery has been created by another person. But, in fact, when faced with the same situation, another person may not have gotten angry at all. Through your anger, you have created the hell inside you.
When anger is present in us, we should refrain from reacting, namely from speaking or doing anything. We are first responsible for calming our own anger. If you chose to respond to a person that is making you suffer, he will try to find relief by making you suffer more. The result is an escalation of suffering on both sides. Only compassion can stop this vicious cycle.
How to heal anger and find peace:
Stated most simply, Qi Gong (CHEE-gong) is breath. It is the art and science of combining breathing, body posture, and a meditative mindset for healing. I am very fortunate to have Dr. Baolin Wu, a Taoist master and monk from the White Cloud Monastary in Beijing, as a teacher. Dr. Wu is a Qi Gong master and utilizes the practice of Qi Gong to replace the body’s Qi with healthy and vital Qi energy from nature.
The most fundamental Qi Gong practice is proper breathing. Without breathing, there is no life. Proper breathing will allow you to prolong your life and combined with Qi Gong practice, you will be able to heal yourself. I will share a lesson from Dr. Wu: