Tao Verse 1

Top 12 of the Tao Te Ching
- The Path of Well Being-

The Tao Te Ching (pronounced Dow de ching) was written around 6th century BC by the Taoist sage Lao Tzu, "Old Master", a record-keeper at the Zhou Dynasty court, by whose name the text is known in China. The text's true authorship and date of composition or compilation has not ever been verified. According to legend, Lao Tzu wrote the Tao as an old man, and then walked off into the hills, never to be seen again.

Tao means "way", "road", "path", or "route," but was extended to mean "path ahead", "way forward", "method", "principle", "doctrine", or simply "the Way". Te means "virtue" in the sense of "personal character", "inner strength", or "integrity". Ching originally meant "norm", "rule", "plan".

In 2007, Dr. Wayne Dyer brought the Tao into public forefront with his PBS special, interpreting the Tao as a practical standard of living. Our 2008 article series explores our “Top 12” picks of Tao passages. Dr. Jill Henry will guide you to find your own insights and practical applications for daily living. First read the verse in the photo and let it's meaning flow to you. Then read Jill's brief discussion for further insight and activities.

Remember a time when you looked at a sunset, or stood by the ocean, and became “lost” in the experience. No words, just a feeling of being a part of All. That’s the Tao that cannot be named. That is the experience of Oneness. That is the eternal Tao, the beginning and the end of All that Is.

Out from that experience of Oneness, we begin to name things; we “create” our world. We name “ten thousand things”. In naming, we separate. We say that “this” is “this” and “that” is “that”. We “judge”, and out of that judgment springs desire. We see the manifestations of our desires in our world.

We can always return to the Source, the Tao, simply by being desireless. By being content with what is, be not labeling our lives as good or bad, the Tao begins to return to our consciousness.

To “play” with these ideas further, reflect on the following questions:

1. What do you desire now?

2. What do you see in your life that is there because of your past desires? (both good and bad)

3. What would it feel like for you to give up all desire? Just for a moment, to be totally content with all just as it is?

Sometime during this month, do the following:

4. Walk in nature and see a tree without labeling it. Really experience it without judgment.

5. Allow yourself to relax in the mystery of life. Experience being comfortable, just for a moment, without knowing, without desiring. Just being.

May we all walk together in 2008 in the Tao.

Dr. Jill Henry is the author of Energy SourceBook – The Fundamentals of Personal Energy (Llewellyn, 2004) and webmaster for www.mountainvalleycenter.com. She is founder, with her husband Charlie, of Mountain Valley Center metastore and the Otto Labyrinth Park in Otto, NC. Jill is an Associate Polarity Practitioner, an Independent Distributor of the RichWay Amethyst Biomat, and developer and presenter of CEU workshops for nurses, physical therapists and massage therapists http://www.mountainvalleycenter.com/flow.htm