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mystery

ToV 24 – the idea of you isn’t YOU

The idea of the thing is not the thing. This is a throwback to chapter 1, and a more personal extrapolation of the same idea. This chapter is full of couplets like:

He who stands on tiptoe
doesn’t stand firm.

But the one I really like is:

He who defines himself
can’t know who he really is.

For me this is all about stop trying to be the thing you think you should be and just be whatever it is you are. Granted, who we are are ever-evolving beings and what we are now is not what we were, or what we may become; but that is all the more reasonRead More »ToV 24 – the idea of you isn’t YOU

ToV 3 – embrace bewilderment

The Master leads
by emptying people’s minds,
and filling their cores,
…
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.

This whole chapter is really juicy and lays out emptiness, not-doing, and being in accord with the Tao really well. I’ve just pulled a couple of the lines that most captivate me.

The idea of creating confusion in those who think that they know immediately calls to mind the closing line of advice from a Rumi poem (sorry, no direct quote as I’m far from my beloved book collection right now) the line ends in: “give up your cleverness and embrace bewilderment.”

That’s really what it’s all about. Taking power away from your thinking mind – Read More »ToV 3 – embrace bewilderment