FOLLOWING THE TAO

When I first started studying the Tao (the Way), I was struck by the simplicity of achieving harmony. It takes a simple mind to be happy, and for most of us, it is not all that easy to learn to think as simple as, say, Winnie the Pooh, and find our inner child again. And yet, isn't it the child's mind that sees harmony and beauty in everything around us? Hail those who are able to keep the child inside alive, for they are the truly blessed :) To quote my friend and wise teacher, LadyToad: Taoism can be a philosophy or a religion. The Taoist follows the principles of the tao. The world is in perfect harmony and what happens to us is neither really "good" or "bad," but just life flowing along. Nature and all life changes. When we adopt a Taoist attitude, life doesn't knock us down or frustrate us. We are able to maintain serenity because we are understanding the essential nature of the thing. Taoism was founded in the 6th century BC by Lao-tzu as a mystical Chinese philosophy; it teaches nonassertive action and simplicity. There. That's not too hard to understand, isn't it? The main achievement is simplicity. You know, don't worry, be happy? Again, Pooh says it much better then I ever could: Pooh went to visit rabbit to wish him a happy Thursday. Why', what's going to happen on Thursday? asked Rabit, and when Pooh explained, and Rabbit, whose life was made up of important things, said, "Oh, i thougth you'd really come about something". And so Pooh and Piglet left again. After a while, Pooh said thoughtfully: 'Rabbit is clever 'Yes', said Piglet, 'Rabbit's clever' 'And he has Brain' 'Yes', said Piglet, 'Rabbit has Brain' There was a long silence. 'I suppose', said Pooh, 'that that's why he never understands anything." See? Simplicity. Enjoyment. Live life :) If you seek happiness, harmony, and balance in your life, the first step is to let the unconcious know about your desires. The unconcious cannot read, you cannot tell it to get well. The only way to reach your inner self and make those changes, is by example: to physically change your world, and your way of life. The unconcious learns by repetition. By viewing alone. If you make the changes, you will let it know you mean business, and in a very short time you will find your inner harmony and well-being adjust to the happiness and harmony you have created around you. Below you will find the first simple steps how to achieve harmony and adjust your Chi, your life's energy. It may sound harder than it is, but remember, the longest journey starts with a small step, and noone expects you to succeed all at once. These chances are gradually becoming a way of your life, but take it from me, it is addicting! I was a serious clutter freak for over three decades. If I can achieve peace and harmony, ANYbody can: Apart from the changes below, please remember the eastern philosophy of life: You need to LIVE all the details of it in order to really appreciate it. Learn how to see with open eyes, mind, and soul. Hug a tree, smile at the moon, talk to a bird, feel the rain on your lips, the wind in your hair. Let the sun caress your face, and know you are part of the All. Never forget you have a choice. Each morning, you can choose to make the best out of every single moment, and instead of looking at what might appear negative, accept it as a lesson to be learned; search for the reason it happend, and what it is trying to tell you, and you will find enlightenment. By believing it was nessesary for your development, it becomes a valuable part of your life, and as such, looses its shadows. Be aware, that YOU are one of the little clouds on the sky, and always will be. Remember, the choice is always yours. The choice to live each day to the fullest. For according to Pooh, the best day of your life is TODAY. Sorcy SummerWind 'Say Pooh, why aren't you busy?' I said 'Because it's a nice day' said Pooh 'Yes, but-' 'Why ruin it?' he said 'But you could be doing something important' I said 'I am' said Pooh 'Oh? Doing What?' 'Listening' he said 'Listening to what?' 'To the birds. And that squirrel over there' 'What are they saying?' I asked 'That it's a nice day' said Pooh 'But you know that already' I said 'Yes, but it's always good to hear somebody else thinks so, too' he replied. From the Tao of Pooh

From: Kellie - thanks for the reprint permission dear(layla_dymond@yahoo.com) TODAY Today I woke up early, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have. Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free. Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste. Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive. Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born. Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses. Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships. Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do. Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge. Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because the gods have provided shelter for my mind, body and soul. Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am,the sculptor who gets to do the shaping. What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have! Have a Great Day... Unless you have other plans?

LITTLE CLOUD

When we look at a cloud, we look at it and call it a cloud, but we know it is composed of other things. Today it is a cloud, but yesterday it was part of the ocean and tomorrow it will be rain, we know this and don't struggle with it. We don't hold one stage as being more important than the other, the ocean is beautiful, clouds are beautiful, rain is beautiful. When the cloud becomes rain we don't say that the cloud has died and lament its passing, but it has died if we want to say that the cloud no longer exists in its previous form. But we feel comforted because we know that rain is essential to life on earth and embrace the change, the cloud in its new form. It is only ego that holds that we are more important than the cloud and makes us cling so dearly to our present form. From all I have observed in nature and from within my soul, I cannot believe that anything that exists after death can be anything but wonderful. © 1999 Mike.Bosson@ms.rc.gc.ca

Basic Steps in Feng Shui

If you’re excited about what Feng Shui might be able to do in your life, here’s a "Getting Started Plan" for you * Thoroughly clean and de-clutter every part of your environment. Yes, everything. Unfortunately, there are no hiding places in Feng Shui. That means you don’t get any junk drawers, let alone any junk rooms. Decluttering is important - maybe even potent enough to overcome your resistence. * Take care of any maintenance issues. Leaky roof, stuck or hard-to-open doors, anything broken or not working, and especially any leaking faucets or toilets, since water represents wealth and cash flow. * Take care of the yard work. Make sure the landscaping is attractive, inviting, and well-kept. Remove any dead or dying plants immediately. You don’t want any 'dead' energy anywhere in your vibrant living space. Don’t let any plant material overgrow the walkways or obscure the front door. * Make the front door indescribably inviting. Think of it as a beautiful still-life painting. Add color, harmony, contrast. Make sure all five elements are represented. Chi enters through the front door, and you want to entice all the chi that you can. Anything that catches the eye because of its beauty attracts beneficial chi. Red doors are fabulous for attracting chi, if that works with the decor of your house. Black is good, too. * Make sure your foyer or front entry is inviting. It should also create a welcome transition from the hectic pace of the outside world to your own little island of tranquility. * Remove or replace everything that you don’t absolutely love. Also remove those things you don't use, in the case of more functional items like kitchen utensils or garden tools. This is an evolutionary process, rather than something you can do overnight. You have lots of things in your house and office that may not qualify as "clutter," but neither do they make your heart sing, feed your soul or nourish you on a daily basis. The goal of Feng Shui is to create a thoroughly nurturing environment for you and your family. It can never adequately do that if you’re surrounded by things with bad memories attached, or that are shabby, tacky or ugly, or that don’t vitalize you. In Feng Shui we learn that the things in our environment either nurture us or deplete our energy. There is no middle ground. * Fix your Feng Shui problems. Perhaps you learn that you have missing areas of the bagua, which is the template of life activity that is used to map the spaces you occupy. Fix those and any other problems that act as obstacles to a successful life. Most American homes are riddled with Feng Shui problems, but for each there are usually multiple possible solutions. * Add enhancements. Once any serious problems in specific areas have have been addressed, you can add enhancements to those areas. * Keep at it. Feng Shui will change your life, a little or a lot. It may not bring you what you want in the exact form you may expect, but rather what is in your best interests. As you free up and generate more beneficial chi, you will grow in all areas of your life, which in turn necessitates further changes in your environment. It’s helpful to remember, as you get excited about Feng Shui and want to do everything at once, that 'there is no final destination; it’s all journey'. And Feng Shui will be there to empower your journey every step of the way as you grow, change and prosper -- from the very moment you start using it, until your journey has ended.

Furniture Placement With Feng Shui

Feng Shui is often described as the Chinese art of placement, but are there rules for furniture placement? Yes, good taste, comfort and convenience are always essential factors. It’s also important to never allow anything to block external or internal doorways -- this symbolizes blocked opportunities. Keep traffic lanes unblocked, too, to prevent a difficult or obstructed 'passage' through life. One rule that seems to make sense to most everyone -- because it’s such an innate human impulse -- is to position one's favorite chair in the "command position" of a room. This is the point farthest away from and facing the door to the room. You’ll often see people vie for this chair at meetings. And usually the head of the household intuitively selects this spot for his or her preferred seating in family, living, or dining rooms. People who move their desks so their chair is in the command position of their office - at home or at work - often report immediate improvements in their careers; from increased phone calls from customers to increased respect from peers, to favorable attention from management. Don’t, however, position your chair so that your back is to a window. That defeats the purpose entirely because it leaves your back unprotected. Your bed should also be in the command position. The very worst position for your bed is directly in front of the door with your feet facing the door. It’s called the 'coffin position' because the dead are usually removed feet first -- it is quite naturally considered very inauspicious. It’s also bad Feng Shui to have the head of the bed against a window -- one’s personal chi (energy) can seep out. In the kitchen, the stove should be positioned so that whoever is cooking does not have his or her back to the door to the kitchen. Since stoves are a little harder to reposition than other furniture, the Feng Shui cure for this stove position is to place a mirror behind the stove. This not only provides the cook with a view of whoever enters the kitchen, it also has the happy effect of symbolically doubling the number of burners, which represent prosperity in Feng Shui. The stove should not be positioned immediately next to the refrigerator or sink. Both the refrigerator and sink are Water element appliances, and the stove is a Fire element appliance. Water douses Fire, and this placement is considered inauspicious since the stove contributes so much to the family’s well-being. Furniture can be used to redirect the flow of chi. If you have a large enough living room or family room to create conversation areas, that can help direct the flow of chi in harmonious patterns through your house instead of allowing it to rush straight through from the entry without adequately circulating to nourish the space. Screens or dividers can be used as well. The principle is that you don’t want an arrow-straight path from the door to another door or window. Dining rooms can present special problems. They often feature two doors and a large window on a third wall. It’s very difficult for anyone to feel comfortable in such a room -- so they are often under-used -- since most seats are unprotected. Be kind to your guests next time you entertain and give them seats with a solid wall to their backs. Someone once noted that whenever she and her guests moved from the small, comfortable and intimate family room area to the larger, more beautifully decorated living room, the previously animated conversation came to a halt. While a few small decorative items contributed to the problem, the major reason was that the living room and dining room formed an L-shape and the space was too open. All sense of intimacy and protection evaporated because everyone’s attention got scattered and drawn elsewhere. A small floor screen creating a division between the dining and living rooms provided more privacy and a heightened sense of comfort for both rooms. Another consideration is to allow some open spaces in your rooms, rather than stuffing them with furniture. A favorite Chinese saying points out that a vase gets its utility from its open space, from the part of it that isn’t there. Leave a little breathing room, so the chi can circulate through all of each room. Positioning rectangular furniture at across corners helps prevent chi from gathering and stagnating in corners. Other furniture placement criteria may be needed for specific or individual situations. Once you start getting a sense of what a good flow of chi through your environment feels like, you’ll be able to -study- your rooms -- especially those that don’t feel quite right -- and figure out better furniture placement for better Feng Shui. Don’t be afraid to experiment. One thing is certain -- if you have a room you’re not using, you have bad Feng Shui in that room. © 1999 Patricia J. Santhuff