Seven

"The teachings of the Integral Way will go on as long as
there is a Tao and someone who wishes to embody
it;
What is painted in these scrolls today will appear in
different forms in many generations to come.

These things, however, will never change:
Those who wish to attain oneness must practice
undiscriminating virtue.
They must dissolve all ideas of duality: good and bad,
beautiful and ugly, high and low.
They will be obliged to abandon any mental bias born
of cultural or religious belief.
Indeed, they should hold their minds free of any
thought which interferes with their understanding
of the universe as a harmonious oneness.

The beginning of these practices is the beginning of
liberation."

At the beginning of this year I began to wonder if this is the time I will know true freedom. What I'm discovering is that I no longer have such a daunting sense of striving and struggle. Perhaps this is because I began my freedom journey long ago and I'm finally seeing some of the lessons of my travels, or the fruits of my own growth, or both. I want to share them and I hope they will be acceptable to others, always.

Six

"The Tao gives rise to all forms, yet it has no forms of its
own.
If you attempt to fix a picture of it in your mind, you
will lose it.
This is like pinning a butterfly: The husk is captured,
but the flying is lost.

Why not be content with simply experiencing it?"

When I quit teaching, I felt I committed to letting things unfold. As when I went abroad, this has been an exercise in trust. Being seriously committed to my spiritual disciplines and creative actions has allayed my doubts and fears like never before. Though materially I may be losing, I believe I am winning a spiritual victory. 

Five

"Do you imagine the universe is agitated?
Go into the desert at night and look out at the stars.
This practice should answer the question.

The superior person settles her mind as the universe
settles the stars in the sky.
By connecting her mind with the subtle origin, she
calms it.
Once calmed, it naturally expands, and ultimately her
mind becomes as vast and immeasurable as the
night sky."

I so seldom allow myself peace. I want it--crave it, even--but I often feel so far from it that to get there hardly seems worth the effort. I struggle with the notion that I'm not worth the effort. This is my daily moment to struggle against that. Someday, I'll change it for good. 

Four

"Every departure from the Tao contaminates one's
spirit.
Anger is a departure, resistance a departure, self-
absorption a departure.
Over many lifetimes the burden of contaminations can
become great.
There is only one way to cleanse oneself of these
contaminations, and that is to practice virtue.

What is meant by this?
To practice virtue is to selflessly offer assistance to
others, giving without limitation one's time,
abilities, and possessions in service, whenever and
wherever needed, without prejudice concerning the
identity of those in need.

If your willingness to give blessings is limited, so also
is your ability to receive them.
This is the subtle operation of the Tao."

How often are we permitted to depart and then come back again? I fall so short so often. While my willingness to give may never cease, my resources, both outer and inner, seem to ebb even as they flow.

Who knew this ancient wisdom would speak so rightly to my heart? It fuels my quest for balance as I go. 

Three

"Those who wish to embody the Tao should embrace all
things.
To embrace all things means first that one holds no
anger or resistance toward any idea or thing, living
or dead, formed or formless.
Acceptance is the very essence of the Tao.

To embrace all things means also that one rids oneself
of any concept of separation: male and female, self
and other, life and death.
Division is contrary to the nature of the Tao.

Forgoing antagonism and separation, one enters into
the harmonious oneness of all things."

Last year in a sales training, I did a collaging exercise as part of an icebreaker: cutting things out of magazines to represent different aspects of my life and who I am. The most important one I found was the phrase, "The process is the passion." At that point, I wasn't even sure why I was cutting it, but with everything that has transpired since, I'm beginning to understand. It's something of what I feel sent me apart from the dominant culture, most of the time. In life, people love to talk about purpose, and in the past I have become trapped in grandiose ways of thinking about my destiny.

While I do believe that I have one, and that it needs to be fulfilled, I've realized that in the day-to-day it must be superseded by the myriad small steps of living: the process of existence. In fact, if I were to write a book, I might answer this one and call it The Process Driven Life. 

Scientists out there might say, "Well, duh, all life has processes!" But I say that's exactly it. By observing these, I can know peace--the way I once took tremendous pleasure in watching a bartender wash glasses one by one from where I sat, sipping my wine.  At the time, this thrilled me as a poem would. Now I know that if I mind the process, the purpose takes care of itself. 

Two

Two

"Men and women who wish to be aware of the whole
truth should adopt the practices of the Integral
Way.
These time-honored disciplines calm the mind and
bring one into harmony with all things.

The first practice is the practice of undiscriminating
virtue: take care of those who are deserving; also,
and equally, take care of those who are not.

When you extend your virtue in all directions without
discriminating, your feet are firmly planted on the
path that returns to Tao."

Take care of all, be kind to all, learn from all--this is everything I have ever tried to do. But there is always more. I can still grow. For that, I am so grateful, and in that, so blessed!

One

"I teach the Integral way of uniting with the great and
mysterious Tao.
My teachings are simple; if you try to make a religion
or science of them, they will elude you.
Profound yet plain, they contain the entire truth of
the universe.

Those who wish to know the whole truth take joy in
doing the work and service that comes to them.
Having completed it, they take joy in cleansing and
feeding themselves.
Having cared for others and for themselves, they then
turn to the master for instruction.

This simple path leads to peace, virtue, and
abundance."

I am slowly learning that all my work and skills have value. Everything I have been given leads me closer to the One who gave it all.