Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 41 - Practicing the Way

      I am building my center strong
     Through the ravages of circumstance.

Unity World Day of Prayer - Sept. 8, 2016

     Together we affirm: As I discover the power within, I unleash my divine potential.
To submit a prayer request:  http://www.unity.org/wdop

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 40 - The Return

     All things eventually return to their source.  Created out of the great Substance of Spirit, we are reclaimed as we complete our life.

     This is an inspiring and empowering concept.  Out of the great love which surrounds and infills us, we return once more to nonbeing.  While we are here, living and breathing on Earth, Spirit works with us and for us, as we allow.

     "Yielding is the way of the Tao"

     When we are pliant, open and without ego, the Tao is our strength and power.  A closed mind, a rigid stance and a preconceived bias are all barriers to letting the flow of love, strength and life sustain us through challenges, setbacks and sorrows.

     Every moment we live and breathe is an opportunity to return to the Spirit of love which created us.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 39 - Oneness

     The gifts of attaining a consciousness of oneness with the great Spirit of creation go far beyond mental clarity, radiant health and prosperity.  Knowing in our hearts that we are one with that which created us gives us a foundation for living on a higher plane.

Wandering Off the Path - A Request

     It's been nearly a month since I last posted. The Olympics kept me glued to the TV and my inspiration came from all the courageous athletes competing for honor, really, for themselves and their nation.

     Events like this bring us together and leads me to believe in some way we can still be ourselves, reflecting where we live and where we come from and create harmony despite our differences.

     That said, I have a request to ask of you.  I came across a contest where the winners would receive art materials, quite a bit, in fact.  I decided on a whim to enter thinking I would give much of what I won to shelters for homeless families, children's hospitals and other such places where the opportunities to create art could be a solace and a healing.

     Here is my submission.  It was created several years ago and is made mainly of recycled papers, colored pencils and mediums of various types.

                                                     Mandolin Man

                                                 Here is the link to vote.
                                                 http://bit.ly/2aZOgYv

     Thank you. 

     Judith Sandala

       

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 38 Living from the Highest and Best Without Contrivance or Agenda

     Everyday in my walks in nature I appreciate the beauty of this earth.  Its beauty just is and it calls to mind how Goodness created all this and how Goodness will prevail.

Further Thoughts along the Journey - Verse 37

     The Tao does nothing but leaves nothing undone.

Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 36 - Repost - Endure

     Ebb and flow.  The tide at its zenith retreats and grows shallow.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 35 - If Your Eye be Single

     If you think about it, this planet Earth is a Garden of Eden.  Every conceivable variety of fruit, flower and plant exists.  Healing and savory herbs, whatever your pleasure, Nature has provided.

     Aside from the natural world, inventions of every kind have been created to ease, delight and make our lives efficient and easier.  It is easy to get caught up in what the world of the 10,000 things dangles in front of us.  But do they, after all, bring lasting peace and lasting joy?

     I have often quoted from the Bible, both Old and New Testaments which aline with the ancient wisdom of the Tao, but other formal religions and beliefs also share concepts as well.  This truth of "your eye being single, then your whole body is full of light", is brought to mind when I read this 35th verse of the Tao Te Ching.

     When we focus on this life giving Presence, all fleeting pleasures of the world pale in comparison to the abiding peace and love found in "keeping our eye single."

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 34 - Flow

     How easy it is to give out of our joy and abundance.   We share with those around us all the blessings we have been given asking nothing in return.  Life gives to us more than measure for measure. In Its opulence It gives to us, "pressed down, shaken together and running over".

     We are the temporary stewards of the riches of Life, entrusted to us to be be used and shared as we recognize we are one and what we give we give to ourselves. The joys we feel are reflected back to us and both of us are blessed.

     Transforming my mind, day by day, thought by thought, I come into the lavish flow of Life, not seeking, but allowing the wisdom within to guide me.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 33 - Relinquishing Control

  One of the greatest lessons I have learned in this life is you can't control everything; you can only control what goes on in your own head.  By controlling I don't mean stifling thoughts, chastising yourself for errors in judgment or feelings of dismay, anger or any inharmonious emotion.  Letting feelings of this kind have their lifespan of appearing and subsiding allow their natural demise and the return to peace and equilibrium will follow.   

 Let me touch with my heart and mind that calm
 River of Love that flows always and can never be
 diminished.

 Let me breathe in Its air of clarity and                          wisdom which surrounds and infills me to                    guide me to Its peace.

 Let me come home to Its sanctuary of love
 that awaits me through the barriers I erect
 and can open with faith in Its power to redeem.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 32 - Trusting in the Flow of the Tao

     Often we hear the phrase, "Go with the Flow" or "Let go, let God."  When I first became aware of such concepts, I instinctively knew I had to pay attention.  I was in a place where all effort was seemingly consumed with worry and frustration.  I know I needed relief, an easing of the pressure, but how exactly does one let go and let God and let the flow take place?

     I imagine it is different for everyone but here is what I do to get myself back into that harmonious place where I feel the flow of the beneficent Universe.

     I breathe.  Keeping focus on my breath directs my attention to the flow of air as it fills my lungs and as it leaves my body.  "Breathing in peace, breathing out love.

     I take a walk or if the weather is inclement, I exercise and dance to music.  The sounds and sights of nature remind me of the great care our Source takes with each of Its creations.  I remind myself, I too am one.

     I read inspiring works, words that uplift and give hope and comfort.

    I give thanks.  I enumerate all I am grateful for from the smallest to the largest - the gift of life and the opportunity to grow in wisdom and compassion.

     I show appreciation by giving a smile to a neighbor or friend, a complement, a shared joy, a word of comfort, a sympathetic ear.

     Letting go, letting the flow of Goodness which is ever present brings me to a new place, a place where new possibilities are present, energized by a heart full of hope.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 31 - Study War No More

     There are all kinds of war.  As a civilization we wage war on hunger, disease, drugs to name a few.  As earnest as our efforts are, these conditions persist.  Why?  I believe because they are out of step with the Tao, Which knows of no war on anything and has no knowledge of hunger or disease or anything untoward.  The Tao flows with love - gently, surely, naturally using no force and giving, giving, giving.

     Our beliefs create our individual worlds.  We can live a life of peace and beauty or we can see enemies everywhere in every voiced opinion or behavior that differs from our own.  We do not have to take up arms to be at war.  War rages within each heart that is closed to the flow of love and the resulting peace.

     A strong nation comes not from the number of weapons it possesses but from the empowerment of its citizens who live in peace because they believe that love is the strongest power of all.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 30

     What is left to a heart after it battles and contends?  What is left to say when words wound and pierce another's heart?  And what lasting joy can come from a victory where another's peace is broken?

     We are a mirror to each other.  We come from the same loving Source.  When we wound and when we lay waste to another by our words or actions, we wound ourselves and taste the ashes of hollow victory.

     The Way of the Tao is peace.  The only enemy is within ourselves when we harbor hatred and discord.

     Day by day I seek to understand the source of resentments and disquiet within myself.  The need to right petty injustices subsides as I grow in understanding.  There is strength in peace not in domination.  Mastery comes slowly.  Each day a lesson to be learned, gifts of the Tao-based life.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 29 - Let It Be

     I plant by the waxing moon.  It is awesome that this phase of the moon encourages growth.  It brings home to me the realization that there is a right time for everything.  Living in harmony with natural laws is honoring the sacredness of Creation, respecting the work of Heaven.

     Why do we seek to control?  Is it a mistrust that what is transpiring before us is not in balance or harmony with our beliefs?  Is it a faithlessness in the Way of Heaven or a conviction that we can right wrongs, control what we perceive is out of step?  Abiding in an internal peace contributes more to the peace of the world right where we are.

     As a plant has a time of growth - flowering, fruitage and demise, the events of our lives and all that concerns us has a time of flourishing and then passing away. The ebb and flow is beautiful and ultimately compassionate as we embrace the Divine perfection of Creation.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey Verse 28 - The Mirror of Heaven

     Heaven is in us.  It is our heritage from before the world began.  The world of the 10.000 things shaped and influenced our thoughts, beliefs, emotions and actions.

     It takes a re-education to return to our Source - that gentle and powerful Way that knows our hearts and loves us as we are.

     That is the education I have endeavored to re-establish in myself - recognizing and accepting myself as I am, yet trusting that the Way of Heaven is my path: learning virtues that bring no glory, yet give me peace; finding strength in Nature and quietude; finding joy in little moments of beauty and discovery; honoring God in me and in each person and giving with love and compassion.

     We are the mirror of Heaven and where we stand is holy ground.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 27 - The Gift

     There is a place for everything.  There is a way for everything: a quiet way, a loving way.  To glide easily through life, to learn and give and accept is to follow and trust in the Tao, the creative path.

     It seems simple, but it is not.  If we hold fast to our own ideas, opinions and convictions, we find the road is a bumpy one.  Other's ideas and opinions rub us the wrong way, try as we might to be impartial and open to all on all levels.

     The path of the sage leads us through the world knowing that all is fluid, creative and beneficent if we can be open to that nonjudgmental state of mind.

     That is the way to peace Jesus spoke about, the peace that passeth understanding.  I pray on this Easter morning that I can be open to receive this gift that was given with love and at great cost.   

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 26

Spin as you will.
The center holds
a stillness and peace
beyond chaos and clamor.

Return to the sanctuary at
the core of your being
for all that is sane
resides within.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey- Verse 25 - We Come From Greatness

     The Tao, the essence of natural law, the nurturing Mother creates perfection.  Evidence of this can be seen in the movement of the galaxy, a blade of grass and the sparkle in a child's eye.

     When we align with the fact that we come from greatness we align ourselves with every noble inclination of our hearts and with that pervading mindset what follows us and is drawn to us are beauty and greatness of soul.

     There is no benefit to the world we live in if we belittle or critisze ourselves.  Created with the same perfection that endowed a rose with sweetness and the butterfly a painterly wing, thinking of ourselves and others as part of the greatness of creation lifts the entire race "up where we belong."

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 24 - We Are All One

       Yes, we are all one.  That is a hard reality to know and accept as a truth of life when all about us are divisions and opposition.

     The Tao sage looks with contempt upon those who set themselves above others, boast or display arrogance.  To the Tao sage they are like tumors, useless and without merit.  They do not last, for standing on tip toes is not a posture that can be long maintained.

     Yet, my own thinking seeks to understand the arrogant, boastful and egotistical.  They are more to be pitied than held in contempt, more in need of compassion than disdain.  What person has a need to boast?  A person who is insecure within themselves, a person who has a need for other's approval or a person who needs to be seen better than everyone else because they think themselves too lowly.

     To the Tao we are all one, equally loved, equally cherished.  I can understand the mindset 2,500 years ago when the Tao Te Ching was conceived, but I believe mankind has evolved and we can all live as one: members of the human family.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 23 - "The Words of My Mouth and the Meditations of My Heart"

     The words of Nature are wind and rain so says the Tao Te Ching.  Their gusts and storms cannot be sustained and so Nature returns to calm and quietude.

     Our words reflect our thoughts and our thoughts reflect our soul's essence.  If our words are of harmony, peace is drawn to us; if they are of discord, conflict is our reality.  The impartial Tao gives us what we think about, dwell upon and feel

     Thus the Tao's wisdom mirrors the Universal Law: cause and effect...the Law of Attraction, if you will. and proves its veracity.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 22 - The Way of the Sage

     In this most profound testament to living the Tao-centered life, Lao-Tzu sets before us plainly and simply the way of the sage.

     Upon reading it for the first time, it is beautiful and perplexing, paradoxical. Deeper study has me comparing it to my own life, proving its veracity in remembered circumstances and responses.

     Its truths become known as I contemplate my life thus far and layer upon layer of superfluous activity and futile striving falls away and the true essence of the Tao shines through - a rock upon which to build a life.

    "Yield and remain whole
      Bend and remain straight
      Be low and become filled
      Be worn out and become renewed
      Have little and receive
      Have much and be confused
      Therefore the sages hold to the one as an example for the world
      Without flaunting themselves -- and so are seen clearly
      Without presuming themselves -- and so are distinguished
      Without praising themselves -- and so have merit
      Without boasting about themselves -- and so are lasting

      Because they do not contend, the world cannot contend with them
      What the ancients called "the one who yields and remains whole"
      Were they speaking empty words?
      Sincerity becoming whole, and remaining to oneself"

This 22nd verse quoted from Tao Te Ching, Translation and Annotation by Derek Lin.
     

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 21 - The Mystery

         "I think, therefore I am."  Descartes

"Henny Penny didn't know, thinking doesn't make it so." The folk tale, Chicken Little.

     Who was right, Descartes or Henny Penny?
     Both? Neither?

     Emerging from the Great Mystery, the Origin of our existence, we are Spirit clothed in flesh.  At our heart, in our essence, is the kernel of the Divine, endowing us with self awareness.  Like unto like, even in this most important manifestation.

     Remaining faithful to this Principle bestows on us all the attributes of the Tao.  The world spins; amidst wars, economic collapse, catastrophic natural disasters, the Tao remains: unchanged, loving, peaceful. 

     Let us keep that awareness at the core of who we are - the Mystery made manifest.

 

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 20 - To This Day

     How many times during the course of this day do we tarry behind into another moment long past or leap ahead into a future not-yet realized experience neglecting the here and now?

     The precious moments of the present, these fleeting bits of life will never come again, yet when taken together they are life itself.

     Worry and regret and even past joys detract from the wonder of this day.  Each brief moment holding the sustenance and power that fulfills even our smallest need.

     "Look to this day, for it is life. The very life of life.", writes the Sanskrit sage.

     The power of the Tao resides in the now.  With the faith that all is provided brings us to a state of completeness and fulfillment.  Free from striving, we are free to love, appreciate and rejoice in the wonder that life provides... moment by moment.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 19 - The Self-Referring Path

     When what we learn is based on what we read, when being moral is based on societal rules or religious dictates and when business is based on "getting a good deal" and "making a killing", we have moved from our true center of being.

   Living from the heart first appears to go against all the rules, expectations and acceptability of society.  So caught up in the all-encompassing outer fabric, we can forget for a time the loving guidance the Tao-centered path can bring.

     What is true?  What is good?  What is kind and generous?  Inwardly we know.  That spark of divinity within is never extinguished.  Having the courage and strength to follow our own true guidance honors our Creator and blesses our world.
    

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 18 - The Government of the Heart

     Love, compassion and kindness cannot be legislated and so we have laws.  When people cease to live from their hearts, from the qualities inherent in us, from DNA built into us from our beginnings, we are ruled by our government and religious leaders.

     When we live from our heart there is no need to have laws governing our actions.  We give love naturally, we give kindness freely and justice is always done because we know in our souls, we are all one.  We affect each other directly or like concentric ripples indirectly, but just as powerfully.

     It is not always easy to be kind when kindness is not shown us; our first impulse is to react with unkindness of our own.  It is the second impulse that makes us a person of the Tao when we remember who we are and what our purpose is.  We are children of the Most High and our purpose is to restore heaven on earth.