Protect Your Noggin

"The Tao does not coerce." --Lao Tzu.  In this reflection, Stacie uses this chapter to help answer a question about rearing children through the way of non-domination.

If you want to exhale, first take a deep breath. If you want to relax, first tense your muscles. If you want to clear your mind first notice your frantic thoughts. If you want to receive, first give. This is how to perceive  the light that’s hidden amid the shadows. 

We discuss the nature of a true family and the importance of maintaining boundaries, especially in religious contexts in which we believe we have good intentions but are inappropriately trying to fix others. At min 41 we interview Rev. Casey Tinnin, one of Jeff’s favorite students over the years, and someone we think of as family. He shares his story of growing up in conservative Lutheranism and ultimately coming out as gay as a Bible college student.

CW: We briefly discuss suicidal ideation.

Hold fast to the Big Picture and all will be drawn to you. They will not harm you and will join with you in peace upon peace. There will be joyful music and vibrant street food, wayfarers will want to stop and join in the fun. The Tao that is mere talk is bland. Look for it: it is invisible. Listen for it: it is inaudible. Yet, if you embody it, you’ll discover that it’s inexhaustible.

In a world that is clawing for “winner” status and climbing over the “losers” without compassion, Lao Tzu teaches about three treasures he holds dear: compassion, minimalism, and the way of non-domination. Here, there is a sort of anarchy (listen to hear the precise definition of this term in both Taoist and Christian context), and definitely a rejection of the idea cruel power and domination as the key to life and good government.

For this, we draw from Tao Te Ching chapters 42, 69, 67, 30, 31.

The winding shape of a river is a natural occurrence caused by a natural flow. Observing its course, we see that it never attempts to smash straight through a rock or hill, but rather dances around obstacles and goes on its way. Nonetheless, only fools underestimate its power, which can undermine the mightiest of fortresses.

Discover what makes others tick and you'll be people smart. Understand your true self and you'll be enlightened. To confront others is gutsy. To confront your true self is heroic.

Lao Tzu speaks of a profound and perhaps dreadful power that one could wield through deciphering the power in, with and under a single atom. Perhaps he even knew that one day humans could channel this power in the form of nuclear fission and weapons capable of leveling entire cities.

Drawing from chapters 63 and 64, we discuss the ways in which acting by non-action (wu wei, or what we call surfing the Tao) actually leads to concrete action in the world. This is where the famous line: "a thousand mile trek begins with a single step" becomes especially relevant to life's overwhelming projects.

Lao Tzu says that we ought not only use weapons as a last resort, he teaches that it is unhealthy to fetishize weapons, glorify violence, or take delight in the death of an enemy. This is eminently sound.