I have been doing some research on Taoist principles for a new book and I have found some amazing, powerfully enlightening information.
Taoism perceives that the originators of civilization itself are people of higher knowledge attained through extradimensional awareness … all successful original cultures are initiated and guided by people in contact with the Tao or Universal law. Thomas Cleary
It is Cleary’s contention that from this Taoist vision, “Taoism is not, as usually thought, a product of Chinese civilization. Rather it is the other way about – Chinese civilization was originally the product of Taoism in the sense that like all successful original cultures it was initiated and guided by people in contact with the Tao or universal law.“(The Book of Balance and Harmony, Cleary, 1989) What a powerful concept and a perfect focus for renewal and transformation.
Thomas Cleary in his book of the translation of The Book of Balance and Harmony (1989) identifies that the Taoist movement called the Complete Reality movement was created to distinguish a practical understanding of Taoism as it had been lost over time. Cleary writes that ” ironically, one of the most comprehensive descriptions of Taoism … can be found in a Buddhist text, the Avatamsaka-sutra or Flower Ornament Scripture,” which he said is “held to contain the totality of all religion:”
The various methods and techniques of the enlightened adept to worldly conditions in order to liberate people. The enlightened provoke deep faith by being in the world yet unaffected by it, just as the lotus grows in water yet water does not adhere to the lotus.
With extraordinary thoughts and profound talent, as cultural leaders, like magicians the enlightened manifest all the various arts and crafts of the world, like song and dance, and conversation admired by the people.
Some become grandees, city elders; some become merchants, caravan leaders. Some become physicians and scientists, some become kings and officials….. All-sided goodness abides by reality, not in a country. Cleary, The Flower Ornament Scripture
What I love about this is how it gives a prescription for how to live in these times.
It is about how to trust your inner knowing, your internal guidance sensory system and connect to a higher wisdom and light so that you can identify and act from a universal law or truth rather than propaganda or third dimensional pulls toward power over others to feel successful.
The ebb and flow of nature and the return to balance is the way. Living in that way, guiding your actions to be in connection to that is the highest form of instinctive medicine, balance, and harmony.
Focus on what is and the light allows that to be what is produced or created, rather than a disconnection from self, an embracement of self in harmony.
One way to find your way back to balance is to pay attention to where you feel discomfort and that can give you a clue to where you are out of balance.
You may also feel, hear as another speaks or the world shifts to attend to a lack of congruence or harmony. This is the best way to avoid following propaganda rather than the truth.
Trusting yourself, your internal sensory guidance system includes intuition and connection to extradimensional experience through mediation, visualization, and dreamwork.
Let love and your heart center be your primary, strongest guide. Through this pathway you may find renewal and transformation in this new time of higher light and higher consciousness.in love and light bg
If you want to find the secrets of the universe think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration – Nikola Tesla
Hello friends
The miracle of healing is at your fingertips. It is simply a matter of seeing, listening and responding to your senses, energy, frequency and vibration.
I see immediate and complete transformation in my practice, relationships, and life every day!
The corresponding elements that allow for this are a matter of knowing, belief, and sight. It is through this knowing belief and seeing that the miracle presents itself. It is greater than a course in miracles. It is an instantaneous truth seen through your eyes when you are completely connected to your sensory guidance system and the healing knowledge of sight and action.
Your sight must be aligned with the frequency, energy, and vibration of health, light, and spiritual knowing. From this wavelength and universe all things are possible.
This allows for the immediate perception of a miracle.
Three steps will help you to see the miracle.
First, use your inner sightconnected to your inner knowing. So that you are open to how the fabric of your life can shift to create, offer the miracle – this results in seeing the miracle.
Second, accept that choice is the ultimate foundation for each soul on the planet. And you do not have the power to change another person’s choice for his or her life.
Third, see the miracle in each event…even when your first reaction is to say that no miracle exists. Pay attention to the energy of the event and within you the intensity of your reaction. Vibration and frequency are also useful in assisting you to discern the message therein… once you have aligned yourself with the miracle you can bring forth a healing either in spirit, cognition/thinking or the body/physically.
The universe is always offering a gift to move you toward your soul’s path.How – that is true is the tricky part. Seeing the miracle requires integrating spirit, mind, and body knowings as well as energy, frequency, and vibration. Use paradigm shifting through compassionate sight and inversions to see the balance in the universe. Use a long, broad view to understand what the universe is presenting as a miracle.
A fourth step helps to align with the miracle and integrate the lesson.
Embrace even those events that are painful and look for the healing lesson within – you will know when you have found that lesson when you find yourself, smiling, looking lovingly on another or a new perception of the event, and feeling a release of anger and fear.
Miracles are the norm in your life…. as you train your internal dialogue and sight to attend to your sensory guidance system you will experience them in every step of your life. The natural outcome to this state is love, peace, upleveling consciousness, collaboration, acceptance, and success in all of your endeavors.
This is a quantum shift in experience and knowing; a quantum shift in energy, frequency and vibration. Once you allow yourself to see differently you will act and be different, immediately, in a quantum and whole way. Paradigm recognition, shifting,integration and creation in the moment. in love and light, bg
Hello! One of the challenging aspects of parenting is to stay abreast of the newest, hip new thing. It allows you to use the information to connect, educate, and understand your child’s set of issues for development.
This becomes more difficult as you age because either you think the hip new thing is stupid or you don’t actually know what it is.
So my first tip is to look for it; you can find it in the popular dress, music, books, television and movies. What is a bit tricky is that it may not be obvious, it may be slightly hidden – words and phrases may not mean what you think so you have to investigate and use your listening and intuitive skills. This is especially important when the lyrics of your child’s favorite song doesn’t make sense to you – you can ban him from listening to it – but it’s more useful and effective to get a handle on what is out there so you can discuss it with your child and at least get your “spin” on the whole thing into his brain and heart so he can make better, informed decisions.
The second tip is that due to the serious marketing population of our children, at least in the United States, there is a whole level of what is “cool” that is just propaganda and it is infused with information that is written by people way older than your child, so make an effort to look underneath the generally acceptable story to what may be a skew of energy.
You have to figure out how to manage the effect of propaganda on your child. And this issue of what is popular in their environment is key.
The best way to manage propaganda is to go to its source and to have a way of giving a fuller, broader and more in-depth, bigger picture – this teaches mindfulness and can help your child in learning how to develop his critical thinking skills. Through this development he can find a way to see through propaganda and make decisions that best serve his real needs throughout the course of his life.
Since it is part of child development for children, teenagers and young adults to be attracted to what is popular and hip in order to fit in and find their place in the world, then depending on your child’s age he is also going to be working though different periods of fusion and independence with and from you, his parent. It is through this process of fusion and opposition that your child discovers his unique perspective and position in the world. That perspective is going to be his unique experience of biography, experience, and temperament. Of course a typical goal of a parent is to guide his child toward a perspective that closely aligns with his own perspective.
The key to having a voice that is heard by your child is to maintain an honest, open communication pathway. This includes discussion and presentation of how and why you see the world as you do, what other opinions are “out there” and what you would like to pass on to your child. You want to do this with an openness to how you and your child may be different in – biography, experience, and temperament. When you are out of sync in one of these areas you can share your perspective but may find a dissonance in how your child views the world. In order to maintain that open communication pathway you need to be open to the possibility that your child may at least, go through periods of disagreement and opposition to your perspective and at most, choose to live quite differently from you, and impart a perspective that this is his choice.
This issue is central to why it is important to teach critical thinking skills early your child’s development.
Hippies was a negative term applied to youth in the sixties generation. Although it has mixed connotations both positive and negative, at the time, it distanced the youth from their parents.. Hipsters was a term in the forties for young people connected to the then new musical movement of jazz – it was a fonder term. It was later revived, in the late nineties and early 2000s, a later, more positive term, to refer to a group that aligns with retro clothing, independent music, and innovative style. And hypnotic distortion is the way in which pop culture can lull the youth into propaganda that distorts their true options and sets up an intangible thread of control over youth for marketing and materialistic reasons – regardless of the overlay of hipness.
Discover what is hip. Find a way to connect to it and to your child. Distill information that assists you and your child in determining whether propaganda is at the base of the hip, cool, thing. Stay connected to your inner guidance and teach ways for your child to remain connected to his true source. Then he can wear the cool clothes, dance the hip dance, and sing the latest songs while remaining connected to what truly matters within.
Maintain a clear voice and assist your child in finding his voice. Sometimes this leads to your child setting his own trends and finding his way, hip, while not hypnotic or distorted. All you need is love – that begins with self-love. Offered in love and light, Beth
Hello! Welcome and thanks for your interest and support!
Leadership and will are strongly connected. How the will within is communicated and utilized is different with different leadership styles.
Will without heart can lead to a hollow and disconnected success, and it is also the way to dictatorship.
This can look like a person who drags others forward toward a goal regardless of the consequences. Propaganda, divisive rhetoric, and shoulds and should nots are some of the mechanisms involved in this style of leadership.
Heart without will results in partially developed ideas that swirl around a person but cannot be fully manifested, and this can look like anarchy.
This leadership style has a tendency to be reactive and emotional without a deeper understanding of the complicated factors encompassing the need and end result required. Will is the element that simultaneously presses-on, pushes-through to create the change as well as sees the bigger picture that incorporates the whole of the problem. So heart without that will component results in a lot of emotional smoke without a real transformation – think of the picture of the Peanuts character Linus surrounded by the grey cloud; – all that this leader can see is what is inside his head; he is unable to transform his concerns or ideas into something that can create change, or move a community beyond the vague sense of discontent.
Will and heart together are the best aspects of a powerful, intentional, and transformative leader. These together allow for individual needs and community needs both being attended to in equal measure, and this can look collaborative and consensus in nature, not a dictatorship or anarchist.
The quality of everything we do: our physical actions, our verbal actions, and even our mental actions, depends on our motivation. That’s why it’s important for us to examine our motivation in our day to day life. If we cultivate respect for others and our motivation is sincere, if we develop a genuine concern for others’ well-being, then all our actions will be positive. Dalai Lama
So what matters in this heart and will connection in leadership is attention (present-mindful-focus), and intention (compassionate, loving win-win motivation); caring for others even those with whom you disagree and a focus on mindful, present moment dialogue and action together toward the enhancement of all.
Leadership via collaboration is something more than facilitation of other’s needs. It is not just a separate role of listening and then divining what the group desires – it includes an inner strength of will, and an inner set of principles that are at the heart and will of the need and the solution. It is a spiraling process of involution and evolution allowing for the various aspects of the problem and solution to be identified and incorporated.
Leadership is one of the most human of actions. It incorporates a person’s ability to be altruistic while simultaneously incorporating individual needs.
Hermann Hesse wrote many novels in which he studied the human condition. In Siddhartha, and Magister Ludi which was published posthumously (also published under The Glass Bead Game) he described the individual search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. He also looked at the issues of individual needs versus needs of the group. His work has a lasting quality of important information for anyone seeking to develop an internal strength of will informed by a powerful heart-based internal guidance system. Understanding how and in what ways individual and group rights and responsibilities interplay is a foundational aspect for effective leadership.
M. Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, jr are representative of this kind of leadership as were the non-religious-biased actions of Jesus and Buddha. These men described a way of thinking and being as well as taking personal actions that were will and heart integrated to assist in the evolution of the spiritual consciousness of the environments in which they lived. These are not the only leaders who have integrated will and heart to create change however these are leaders that are well-known to this generation. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma (Myanmar) has been practicing this type of leadership to help transform her country throughout the last thirty years.
This idea of change is not owned by any political party, country, or religion it is a way of thinking and being that is directly guided by an integrated inner strength of will strongly influenced by a heart-based internal guidance system. For this system of leadership to be effective and for the profound good of all it cannot be biased by any ideology that is not connected to a genuine caring, compassionate, mindful, lovingkindness toward others, self and community.
You can create the change your group or community needs by integrating your heart and will so that you act from an inner strength of will informed by your heart-based internal guidance system.
You can develop your powerful leadership skills by simply focusing on listening and hearing in an open, evaluative, interested way, guided by your inner strength of will and heart-based internal guidance system, with the goal that best serves the community and the individual together.
For this to be successful and effective you have to:
This information is the focus of the essays throughout this month through May 20,2012.
Be the change you wish to see in the world – Gandhi). Be a leader. Start today by re-focusing your attention and intention to create what you recognize you, and your community, need for health and success.
This information is shared with so much love for you all. Beth
Hello and Welcome! Mindfulness helps to discern how things are similar, relate, and where things agree. Currently there is a high degree of conflict in the world environment. Much of the discussion in politics and in the media is focused on how many ways to disconnect from each other – pitting groups against each other. Mindfulness is the best response to conflict because it shifts your perspective
Focus on disconnection reinforces separation and dissonance, and this leads to hostility. It is the wedge that allows for groups to dehumanize other groups due to their differences resulting in opportunities for increased strife and conflict. This behavior is the basis of bullying and victimization under the guise of power issues in children and adolescence; it is modeled in the way in which our political “leaders” and our various leadership communities relate to one another.
This is not the way for humans to increase their understanding of how we are all one; if your goal is harmony and collaboration, inclusion and acceptance, the way through to that is by seeking understanding, seeking common connections, and seeing the other as yourself. Our best political examples of change through non-violence and non-in-group out-group behavior are M. Gandhi and M. L. King.
In listening to politicians you can get a sense of righteousness and superiority. These lead to increased separation and a lack of unification. In order for us to treat each other as one we each must work within ourselves to eradicate this tendency for in-group out-group behavior.
This is the way through to an evolution of consciousness. It isn’t going to happen through force or superiority or though legislation of fairness. Unification happens when we see we are one and act from that inner knowing. Thus the concept of being the change we wish to see in the world. Creating differences begets differences and competition, looking for similarities begets collaboration.
What I have found is that many spiritual traditions stand on interestingly similar pillars. Using the connections or similarities as passageways or doorways can assist you to increase your understanding of groups that at first appear very different from you.
There is a thread of similarity present that is visible to those who are ready to see it.
You can see a figure-ground image once someone shows you the boundaries and perspectives of each picture like the two profile faces that face each other which create the interior picture of a vase.
I did a search in google for the three pillars of several world religions and this is what I got.
In viewing these general foundational concepts you can see the similarities among some of the world’s religions.
The three pillars of Judaism:
The Ethics of the Fathers, chapter one in the second Mishna, Simeon the righteous says that the world rests on three things: On Torah, on avodah (“service”, worship), and g’meelut chasadim–acts of loving kindness. Torah is the Jewish bible, Avodah is the concept of service and or worship, and g’meelut chasadim – represents acts of lovingkindness.
The Torah sets up what is moral – of note are the ten commandments handed down from God to Moses – so this is the basis of acting in a moral way; Avodah has to do with studying the Torah and then also practicing, acting within these moral ways – studying here includes the concept of thinking about, meditation on, and prayer for insightful understanding of the Torah; and acts of lovingkindness has to do with compassion, mindfulness and the silver rule – do not do unto others what you would not have done onto you .
Now view the concept of the Three Jewels of Buddhism:
The core of Buddhism is made up of the three pillars of the Buddha, the Dharma (his teachings) and the Sangha (monks and nuns). Simply explained, one could say that without the historical Buddha Shakyamuni there would have been no Buddhist Dharma, nor Sangha. Without his teachings, the Buddha would not have made much of a difference, and also the spiritual community would not have existed. Without the Sangha, the tradition would never have been transmitted through the ages. The Buddha would have been ‘just’ a historical figure and his teachings would have been ‘just’ books. general_symbols_buddhism.html#3j
The Buddha’s teachings are composed of three segments, Sila (morality),
Samadhi (mental concentration) and Panna (intuitive wisdom). Sila is the
foundation for Samadhi and Panna to build upon. Without the foundation of
morality the world would be in chaos and misery. The second pillar is Samadhi,
a mental state with no diffusion or dispersion. Panna is the third and final pillar of
the Buddha’s teachings. Understanding physical and mental phenomenon
correctly in its true nature is wisdom. The Buddhist’s goal is to attain intuitive
wisdom, also called awakened mind or enlightenment. ( Sattipatthana article, page 2)
The five precepts for the lay Buddhist are: refraining from killing,
stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and taking intoxicants. The Buddha does not
lay down these precepts as strict commandments, but as a framework to follow
for the welfare of oneself and others. Immorality will bring a chaotic, miserable
and disharmonious life. The choice is yours. Sila protects from all gross speech
and deeds that can takes one to the four woeful states (states of intense and
continuous misery). ( Sattipatthana article, page 2)
a decent person would not normally even think of hurting or harming another person, but under anger,
rage and wicked greed they can act out of character. People who observe Sila
need to be aware of whenever anger and wicked greed take control over you. At
that moment put yourself in the other person’s shoes. If you were that person
would you want to be hurt or harmed? The obvious answer is “no”. In the same
manner the other person would not like to be hurt or harmed. Such simple
reflection will stop you from doing hurtful and harmful deeds. You are embracing
others as if they are yourself, thereby becoming one with others.(Sattipatthana article, page2)
Samadhi (mental concentration, practice mindful meditation) Why do we meditate? We meditate to contribute happiness and peace to the world, but not to be admired, respected or to appear holy. When one first meditates collectiveness and concentration of mind is achieved, then clarity arises and purity and happiness follow. Purity of mind is the cause and happiness is the effect. With increased degree in purity of mind peace (calm, serene and quiet experience) arises. (Sattipatthana article, page 5)
Panna (intuitive wisdom) Intuitive wisdom can only be achieved through the practice of Insight (Vippassana) meditation. It is about knowing experientially that all physical and mental phenomenons are nothing but transient, dissatisfactory and insubstantial. (Sattipatthana article, page 6)
These two religions are talking about very similar concepts of morality or correct action for healthful interactions, practicing living in this way delineated by the specific text identified, and putting yourself in the position of the other to increase your understanding of him.
The three pillars of Christianity: miracles, prophecy, and moral precepts – golden rule, love and kind treatment of enemies. These precepts share in common with Judaism and Buddhism similar concepts of morality, service, and acts of lovingkindness – the golden rule being do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The moral precepts are based in the ten commandments as well as love the other as thy self.
The five pillars of Islam: profession of faith, ritual prayer, alms giving, fasting during Ramadan, pilgrimage to mecca – in researching these there is a connection to the moral precepts of the ten commandments as well as the importance of living a life that is undefiled as you see in the five precepts of Buddhism.
The pillars of Hinduism include the 4 pillars of righteous living, a code of ethics, ten virtues and the Vedas and scriptures.
These 4 pillars form the foundation of values that can be considered as “commandments”, if you will, for the Hindu way of righteous living: austerity, purity, compassion, truthfulness. ( sanatana Dharma aka Hinduism article page 4)
Ten virtues should be practiced by all men. The first five can be considered as
principles of self-restraint (yama): non-violence (ahimsā), truthfulness
(satya), celibacy in thought, word and deed (brahmacharya), non-stealing
(asteya), and non-covetousness (aparigṛaha). The other five virtues are religious observances (niyama): internal and external purity (shaucha), contentment (santosha), austerity (tapas), study of scriptures (svādhyāya)and surrender to the Lord (Īshvara-praṇidhāna). ( sanatana Dharma aka Hinduism article page 4)
1. Hindus believe in the existence of a supreme all-pervasive Being, who is
both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
2. Hindus accept the Vedas as the absolute scriptural authority.
3. Hindus believe in a code of ethics based on 4 pillars of righteous living as
defined in Shrīmad Bhāgavatam: austerity (tapaḥ), purity (shaucham),
compassion (dayā), and truthfulness (satyam).
4. Hindus believe in a prescribed method of living, with regard to its
objectives, stages and milestones of life.
5. Hindus believe in specific tenets such as the law of cause and effect
(karma), the theory of reincarnation (punarjanma), and the incarnation of the
supreme Lord into the world (avatāra).
6. Hindus have prescribed methods of offering worship to the Lord. ( sanatana Dharma aka Hinduism article page 2)
These concepts are similar to those seen in the other religions described here.
Concepts of caring, living through a path of harmony with spirit and nature as well as information about morality and moral behavior to not treat others as you would not want to be treated and see in the other your divine self – these are all represented in each of these religions some of the hows to do it are different, but not by too much.
Allowing yourself to see in the other how similar he is to you creates an opportunity to uplevel your consciousness; to act in a way that is compassionate and balanced. This will create opportunities for our world to uplevel as a whole to a higher degree of vibration.
Love is the way.
Mindfulness, intuitive meditation, detached observation and virtuous action allow for love to be your guide in all your endeavors.
Namaste.
Beth
Important NOTE: This article was first published online by beth gineris on March 22, 2012, at OM magazine, community.omtimes.com under the title, Using Mindfulness offers Threads of Agreement to Build a Tapestry of Spiritual Harmony and Collaboration.
InstinctiveHealthParenting4U 