Into the Mystery

Since its introduction in the West in the early 20th century, Yoga has at times been regarded with deep suspicion by practitioners of mainstream Western religions. Although Yogic practices have since gained widespread acceptance in health and wellness communities, confusion about what Yoga actually is, and is intended to accomplish, still abounds. In this episode we try to unpack the perceptions around Yoga as a religion, as well as why the very idea seems to make some people so fearful.

Gandhi famously said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Jesus exemplified this with His life and death. 

Both understood that we can’t expect to impose any kind of meaningful change from without — via systems, movements, or especially violence — because that amounts to simply “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” Real change can only come from the inside out, one individual at a time. We can only live our lives in such a way that we confront our own demons, question our own motives, and clarify our understanding such that we may embody the Truth and serve as an example to others.

It’s hard work, and not for the faint of heart. In this powerful episode, we explore what that means.

As Awakening unfolds, we inevitably find ourselves facing the difficult “dark night of the Soul” — not just once, but multiple times. Layer after layer of ego dissolves, bringing us face to face with the issues we built it to protect us from in the first place, such as our fears of emptiness, meaninglessness, and oblivion. But we may find that if we can hold fast to Truth, on the other side of the dark night lies the most radiant gift.

We all have intimations that the world is not what it could be. When we take up spiritual practice we are facing the forces that keep us ignorant, asleep, and unaware. In this episode we explore the nature of the “fallen world” and our relationship to it.

What is mastery for one who wants to live in alignment with the Tao? Unlike more mysterious spiritual texts, the Tao Te Ching gives us some practical instructions on how we can live as its embodiment. This advice often sounds counterintuitive, but we break it down and offer real life examples. To quote Lao Tzu … “When the ancient Masters said, ‘If you want to be given everything, give everything up,’ they weren’t using empty phrases. Only in being lived by the Tao can you be truly yourself.”

In the second half of episode 22, we continue our discussion of the Tao Te Ching verses 18-19. In this segment we consider topics such as justice, morality, and the fallibility of human systems -- especially when weighed against the parts of ourselves that are in touch with the Logos and the wisdom of the Tao.

On its face, the wisdom of the Tao often seems to contradict the “common sense” of consensus reality. But as always, we must look deeper. Verses 18 and 19 complement each other in that they point us toward the Logos, an inner understanding of Truth that can guide us more successfully than the definitions of “justice” and “morality” often established by our human systems. In this 2-part episode we consider topics such as patriotism, greed, loyalty to groups, and other dynamics relevant to this moment in history. Oh ... and we get a little silly, too.

In this episode, our third in the Tao Te Ching series, we explore verse 39. This beautiful verse describes the wisdom of allowing oneself to be shaped by the Tao and thus live in alignment with it. What does this mean for modern humans? Among other things, it means tempering our technology with awareness, such that it doesn’t create problems worse than those it purports to solve. 

Flowing with the Tao also means coming to an orientation toward our life circumstances that generates wonder and appreciation rather than envy and cynicism. When we do, the Tao “notices” and supports us even more. “In harmony with the Tao ... all creatures flourish.”

Verse 33 of the Tao Te Ching offers potent clues about self-mastery and how staying centered in our Divine Self helps us to transcend every challenge — up to and including the death transition. Problem? Societal conditioning, often packaged as “common wisdom,” points us toward fulfillment in egoic pursuits that run exactly counter to the Tao Te Ching’s counsel. In this episode, we talk about how to navigate this “School of Earth” in ways that produce ever deepening wisdom, and joy.

For spiritually awakened human Beings, figuring out how to balance our growing awareness with the challenges of the material world can be a tricky undertaking. The Tao is often translated to mean “The Way,” and unlike more rarefied spiritual texts, it offers us a deeply practical “users’ manual” on how to live successfully in alignment with Divine Truth. We begin our Tao Te Ching series with this episode exploring the wisdom of verse 8 and how we “householder yogis” can apply it to modern life.