Tao Te Ching (#1)

Streaming thoughts while contemplating Lao Tzu

This is not to be read. It is to be felt. Read with your heart. Let your mind go for the moment. Start anywhere. Stop when you wish. There are no paragraphs. Only consciousness streaming.

Reflections on Tao Te Ching, Chapters 1-17

That which I am, twia, is consciousness expressing the thought of separation which cannot be realized. Our existence is an illusion, a dream much like a child dreaming of unicorns. As the dreamer, I cannot know twia fully until I awaken. Then I will be fully in twia. Until then, I can only assume knowledge. In the dream, I am aware without knowing. What I experience now, in separation, is not real. My knowledge is not real. I am aware that I am dreaming. I am aware of twia. The thoughts and words are separations. They cannot describe the eternal. The eternal lies in the emptiness that is nowhere. Twia is the dreaming, like dancing is the dance. From possibility comes manifesting. Dancing comes from the idea of dance. Existence comes from the idea of separation. The idea forms in consciousness. This is the eternal field of infinite possibility. Consciousness is the whole of the all. Existence is the manifestation of possibility. What is possible is not always real. Unicorns are possible in thought but are not real. They are a fantasy of imagination. Separation is possible in thought, within consciousness, but it is not real. It is transitory existence. The child is the dreamer of unicorns. I am the dreamer of existence. This is the mystery that cannot be known by the me of the body. Its contemplation puts us on the way of the path. To walk the way of the path is to remember twia. The illusion holds existence. What exists is not real. Reality is eternal. Existence and reality coincide. In separation, there cannot be one without the other. They define each other. Reality has no other. Reality has no comparison. Separation requires duality. There is no separation without oneness. Reality has no oneness. To know is to do nothing. Sit in the still silence. Lie placidly beside still waters. Quiet your mind in the silence of the room within. Allow twia to shine. Then light reveals itself in darkness. Fear is overcome without effort when you do nothing. Then it is not fed and dies. Do not display what is not you. Use talents, dreams, things simply and efficiently. Temper desire. Reduce ambitions in favor of the moment. Hold the moment close. Do not give way to the charms of the world. Rest in the silence. Hold peace of heart. What is of the world is lost. Use what comes to you without attachment. Act, then let go. Allow twia to prevail. Live actively doing nothing. The room within is empty. Enter to return to your fulfillment. You do not lack. Never have. There is no end to your abundance. Be at ease. The lies of the world do not reach you here. Without lack there is no fear. This is the way of the path, to remember twia. I AM that which I am: whole, complete, perfect, eternal. There is no other. Hold fast to the emptiness. This is your place of rest. Peace comes to all who dwell here. Know that you live within, unafraid.  Follow the inner path. It is the way to peace. The world wants your bones turned to dust. Worldly wisdom will not shake the dust from your feet. To tread the way of the world is to lose your way. The way is through the room within. Enter now. Be simple. Be still. Be silent. This is the way of the path. Love is not given to me. It is that which I am. There is no outside presence. I AM that which I am: whole, complete, perfect, eternal. There is but one. To look elsewhere is futile. Stay true to twia. This is your true nature. Abide in the room within. Hold your own council of silence and wisdom. The room within does not die with the body. It is the eternal. It has no lack. Fear cannot penetrate its doorway. Step within. Feel your own presence in its still silence.  The way of the path is eternal. It knows no end. It never began. This is the path that is twia. To remember twia is to remember the eternal. The eternal has no comparison. The first shall be last. The last shall be first. Giving and receiving are the same. There is no separation or oneness. There is only the I AM. This is consciousness. Live in the moment without expectation. Live from within the heart. Tap your true nature. Go with your nature, not against it. Herein lies loving kindness. You are the compassion you seek. Love yourself first and the whole world will benefit. You are not evil. Evilness is the lie of separation. Evil is fear untainted by compassion. Bring compassion to the world and fear dissolves. Fear is not real. Twia is real. There is no power outside twia. Stay close to twia. Know your truth. Value the depth of your being and the silent stillness within. Herein lies your true nature. Consciousness takes many forms. The whole of the all is consciousness. There is nothing that is not consciousness. It is reality. It is illusion. It is the dance. It is airy. It is emptiness. It is possibility. It is none of these. Do not force its nature. Manifest its energy as your own, for truly it is. Twia knows the way. Do not push the river back up the valley. It will overcome you. Instead, become the flow. That is your story. You are the flow of the river. You are consciousness-expressing. Be your nature. Stop pushing against it. This is peace of heart. The task at hand has a limit. Stop before you overdo it. Know when to end your endeavor. Doing more is not better. Keep it simple. Do the minimum. Even better, do nothing. Let go of how things should be. They will be what they are. There is nothing for you to do but observe, interact, let go. This is the way of the path. The body is a bundle of subatomic particles, the dust of the universe. It comes from dust and becomes dust at the end. At the end of the universe there only will be subatomic particles. No forms. Where does spirit lie? Where is the eternal? It lies within. Bring your focus, your awareness, to the room within. Herein lies twia. Twia is whole, complete, perfect, eternal. The universe is not. Twia knows. To touch twia, do nothing. Act without attachments to any outcomes. Do not deny the power that is twia. Relax into its embrace. It will carry you safely. Let body and spirit live in harmony by walking the way of the path. The world pulls at the me of the body as its perceived salvation from suffering, when in fact the world is the suffering. It is only when we remember twia that suffering ends. Return to twia in the still silence of the inner room. There awaits the eternal. It is in the eternal that wisdom is regained. Wisdom is your power. This is the te of the Tao Te Ching. Do not deny yourself te by clinging to the me of the body. This is not the way. Follow the way of the path. Remember twia. Look upon the world with wisdom. Then you will know te. Then you will love without fear. Then you will know oneness instead of separation. Sit silently in the center. Here you find purpose and comfort. Empty yourself. Clear out the clutter. You are the room within, an empty vessel. Here there are no memories or expectations to burden you. Truth flows freely. When you are empty of the world, twia expands. Release yourself to twia. Twia knows what the world cannot know. Walk the way of the path. The empty vessel receives the seed. The seed is nourished and grows. What is born is the manifestation of existence. Twia is the energy of manifestation. Twia is consciousness expressing the thought of separation that is born in emptiness and revealed as existence. Taoists say emptiness is the origin of being. The universe itself was born in emptiness. It blew out of nowhere into existence. Its smallest particles pop in and out of existence between this world and emptiness. Emptiness is the womb of creation. Become the vessel. Empty your mind of the past. Rid yourself of expectations. Stay open to the I AM. Twia is your true nature. The room within is empty. The room within is full. The room within is twia. You are the room within. There are no walls, no limits. What you know of this room expands as you come to know twia. The more you empty this space of the world, the greater is your experience of it. This is the eternal. It has no end. Let go of the world. The me of the body has no ears that hear or eyes that see. You chase desires and when you catch them, they are not what they seemed. The way of the world is all glitter. It has no value, no meaning, but what you give it. You are insane to live in the world without walking the way of the path. Remember twia. Seek the room within. Therein lies your fulfillment. Twia has ears that hear and eyes that see. Twia is your guide in navigating the world. The room within is empty. It is filled with the eternal. Its silence embraces you, comforts you, releases joy, brings peace. Hold this peace in heart. Twia cannot be distracted by the way of the world. Twia knows the dreaming that is the illusion of existence. The me of the body is disturbed by worldly ways. In them, it never finds fulfillment in its race to escape the oblivion of its death. Remove the world from your sight. Look upon it with the vision and wisdom that is twia. This is the way of the path.  The whole of the all is one organic entity. It is oneness. What appears as connectedness, relationship, or unity is consciousness: whole, complete, perfect, eternal. Separations connect, have relationships, unify. Consciousness, in truth, cannot. Consciousness has no separation except in the dream we are living. In the dream we perceive lack. We fear loss. The perceived gains we seem to make might go away. Of this we are afraid. So what? Misfortunes occur. This is when peace of heart is most difficult. But it is only misfortune when we are attached to desires and expectations. Release the world to the moment and peace of heart arises. It is our true nature. Open yourself to the whole of the all and you will know oneness and the peace that you are. Absorb the room within into your awareness. It is your very being. Live within every moment of every day. This is the home you never left. Living within changes the world without. Make twia ordinary in life. Let the me of the body dissolve. Become the beauty that you are. See beauty in all. Twia has eyes that see. What is seen cannot be described. Twia has ears that hear. What is heard is unvoiced. There is no cry in the darkness that can awaken you. The me of the body is dull. It cannot find its way alone. Step away from the body. To walk the way of the world is to be fragmented and alone. Find the room within to remember that you are whole, complete, perfect, eternal. To walk the way of the path, do nothing. You do not have eyes that see the way. Twia does. Twia knows. Remember your true nature and you will be shown the way home. Twia lights the path and opens your eyes to see the way. Do not say anything. It cannot be said. Jesus reminds us to tell no one. Twia is always present. There is no separation. The life you lead in separation is false. It is an illusion occupied in your world by the me of the body. The illusion is a dream. The thought of separation in consciousness cannot be made real. Twia holds to reality in the dream. Twia knows the way. To remember twia is the way of the path to awakening. Open to twia. Become simple in your ways. Be still and silent. Allow your fears to settle like dust on the floor to be swept away. In the clear light of the room within, twia appears. It always has been there awaiting your return. Consciousness embodies the whole of the all. It is without separation or oneness. It is the eternal field of infinite possibilities. It is whole, complete, perfect. It cannot be compared. There is no other. To see it is to see nothing. It is emptiness that is nowhere. It cannot be described. These words are empty of meaning. The me of the body cannot know. It is illusion. Twia knows. It is reality. Empty yourself of words. Hold to the silence of the room within. Return to twia. Hold peace of heart. Be renewed in that which you are, your true nature. This is the light of love that sets aglow the path of your return. Live without fear in unity with the whole of the all. You are embodied in consciousness. Now you know the world as oneness. The room within radiates the harmony that is peace of heart. Peace of heart brings renewal. Awake to reality. Be the one that you are. You are consciousness-expressing. Revel in this truth. Be open and receptive in the still silence of the room within. Receive the truth that is twia. Awake from the dream within the dream. Here is the peace of knowing as twia knows. Now the world is gone. The separation becomes oneness. You are the whole of the all. There is no other. Wander about the world free and easy in the purity that is love. Existence is a kaleidoscope of perceptions. To focus on fragments, as beautiful as they may seem to be, is to lose sight of the room within. Act from within, then leave the outcome be. The me of the body does not know which way to turn. It is confused by its fears, desires, and expectations. Let your actions come from twia. The room within holds all possibility for peace in the world; a world of love, not fear. The me of the body is fragmented. It runs from here to there looking for what it thinks it lacks. Twia knows wholeness. Twia is complete and perfect. It brings surety to your actions. The best actions are not seen. Live to love without fear. Empty yourself to twia. Hold peace of heart. Open your mind to knowing. Twia knows.