We talked a lot about having a life practice today. With #36 being my number and then Julie and Melissa came up to talk abou t#12 and #9 respectively.
#9 "The Danger of Extremes"
Having to prove yourself
Will allow challenges to best you.
Focus your attention on money
And lose sight of what is valuable.
Keep in mind outside influence
And you will be its prisoner.
Do what you do and move on,
It isn't yours anyway.
#12 "The Senses"
Colors blind the eyes of men.
Sounds deafen the ears of men.
Flavors dull the tongues of men.
Thoughts will lead a mind to turmoil.
Desires and greed will lead a life to turmoil.
Therefore, the Master satisfies her inner vision
Allowing external cravings to come and go.
#36 "Going about your Business"
If you want to take a deep breathe
You must first empty your lungs.
If you want to make something weak
Then observe it first as powerful.
If you want something destroyed,
Then see it first glorified.
Identify your rigid desires,
Meet them with flexibility.
The soft overcomes the hard,
The slow overtakes the fast.
Just quietly go about your business,
The results will speak for themselves.

Today I chose #71 but didn't get too far into it when Mary Way joined me to tell me she was Okay wiht #56. Melissa joined me for #74 and Jay K for #33.
#33 "You are Not Manifestation"
Study others and gain some knowledge.
Study yourself and gain deep wisdom.
Controlling others takes strength.
But controlling your ego and desires
Takes power and perseverance.
Knowing that you have enough gives you wealth,
Grasping for money and love forces you to conform.
Embrace who you are and stay centered in that
And although you will die you will not perish.
#56 "Learn to be Silent"
Those who know, aren't drawn to speak
Those who don't know, are compelled to.
Can you close your senses and your mouth?
Can you be guided by the empty void?
From there, meditate in silence,
Blunt your sarcasm and wit,
Simplify your struggles,
Shade your brilliance.
Be at one with the dust,
This is primal existence.
Be like the Master:
She is uninspired to acquire fame
Yet honors are bestowed upon her.
She is possessed by no one and possesses no one
Yet is always loved by many.
She is Immune to both attraction and repulsion,
Receptive to both profit and loss.
She is noble and is held in high esteem by all beings.
#71 "To Know We Don't Know"
To be aware that one does not know is healthy for all things.
Avoiding awareness of this is a current plague.
By acknowledging you have been infected
You can become aware and move toward healing.
The Master has cured herself
She is aware that she does not know.
She is healthy in all aspects.
#74 "Don't Cut Yourself"
People are not naturally afraid to die
It is what we are born to do.
Fear of death is important if you want to rule over the people
However, you must artificially instill this fear into their hearts.
To accomplish this you kill as an example to control the masses.
Since the beginning of time there has been one executioner,
Trying to take its place will lead to nothing good.
As a novice with a master carpenter's tools
You're going to cut yourself.

Today I covered #1 and #2 with Julie and Melissa joined for #30.
#1 "Expressing Tao"
Words are particular,
They cannot express Tao.
To have a name is to be limited to manifestation
That which is nameless is the source of manifestation.
Self-referential, those who name, name themselves.
Want to experience the depth of the mystery? Stop identifying.
Want to experience the shallowness of the manifestation? Differentiate.
Either way no one can tell,
The difference is in your experience.
#2 "Identifying the Manifestation"
Opposites exist amongst the particular.
Identifying the beautiful creates the ugly.
Identifying good creates evil.
Identifying the particular separates all manifestations:
Reality and fantasy are opposing thoughts.
Difficult and easy are opposing degrees.
Long and short are opposing perceptions of time or space.
Because of this the Master doesn't rely on words.
She teaches by being without explanation,
In this way she is the most helpful.
She inspires all things to be without rejecting them.
She gives them life but refuses to possess them.
Her actions spring forth from perfection,
They are not hers to own
Thus they will never be forgotten.
#30 "Tao Does Not Dominate"
Governing, in any capacity, when led by Tao
Doesn't use force to gain power.
Every force applied will suffer equal counterforce.
So violence, however it is intended,
Will always rebound upon itself.
Where armies march briers grow
And in their wake follows hunger and villainy.
Skillful in what she does
The Master achieves her goal and stops;
Neither forcing nor manipulating further.
She knows that dominating
Goes counter to Tao
And whoever opposes Tao
Will certainly die early.

Today I started us off with #61 and Lo joined for rndom #13. Melissa joined me and we dove deeper into #61 together.
#13 "Finding Equality at the Extremes"
To succeed and to fail are equally undesirable.
Creation and destruction are equally present within us.
What do I mean by "To succeed and to fail are equally undesirable?"
The more success you have the more you protect it by hiding failure.
The more you associate with failure the more you embody it.
When neither success nor failure is identified as the destination
Being becomes the objective.
What do I mean by "Creation and destruction are equally present within us?"
Having a body and a mind, with which I identify, gets me involved in the manifestation.
The manifestation convinces me of my actions
And so naming them I both create and destroy
Neither of which are unique.
To see yourself with indifference
You will have faith in all things.
To see the world with indifference
You will be able to care for it all.
#61 "Being Great"
Being great requires the ability to be humble
So as to receive that which is attracted with tranquility.
Attraction is the most primal of expressions
To receive that which is attracted is to know oneself.
All great beings realize when they error, having realized it
They admit it and correct it to the best of their ability.
The greatest beings seek out those who can help identify their faults,
They consider their enemy a part of themselves that requires attention.
To be centered in Tao is to nourish all related things,
To not interfere or meddle in the errors of others.

Today all my teachers go back to school and Mellissa joined for #14 then Marianne came up for #67. after they joined me Dayo came up and used Google to select #17.
#14 "Hidden in Plain Sight"
Look and there is nothing to see.
Listen and there is nothing to hear.
Reach and there is nothing to grasp.
These three nothings, come together,
They combine and are one.
This is a mystery and cannot be named.
It is present within all manifestation
And is forever retuning to nothing.
So subtle it cannot be identified,
So conspicuous it is never hidden.
Consider a time before history
To show you how to yield.
You cannot know (if you're doing) it
You cannot prove (that you're doing) it,
But still you can be (doing) it.
You are using it now, but for what?
#17 "Of Masters and Leaders"
In the time of the great Masters there were no leaders.
Then, those whom the people loved, led the way.
After having created the position
The people feared their leaders,
Then they despised them.
Having created leaders, their faith in Tao was diminished.
Having become a leader, his trust in the people was diminished.
When there are great Masters there are no leaders
She works day and night and says nothing about it,
When the work is done the people say
"Amazing! We did it all by ourselves!"
#67 "The Three Lessons"
Caught in manifestation some people say Tao is stupid.
Others say it is a beautiful idea, but it cannot be achieved.
They cannot see it is neither an idea nor something to be achieved,
Lost in a world of endless solutions they cannot recognize truth.
Tao asks us to live with only 3 things
Compassion, moderation, and humility
With compassion you will be able to care for all things
Without having to ask if they deserve it.
With moderation you will be able to be generous,
Without them needing to prove they are worthy of it.
With humility you know you are going to die like all things,
Thus you treat all things with dignity and respect.
Abandoning these will only lead to trouble.

I started us off with #64 and Peter joined me for a very relatable #75 afterwhich Johnny came up and asked for a random numer and we read of #81 together.
#64 "It's so Easy"
It is easy to stop something before it is set into motion.
It is easy to plan something before beginning it.
It is easy to break something before it has grown strong.
It is easy to hide something before it has grown big.
Preventing problems has never been the problem.
Tiny sprouts do this and grow to unimaginable heights,
Every journey has started with the first easy step.
Avoiding the easy is what has created all difficult problems.
Rushing past the easy things will end up costing you,
Grasping onto the destination you lose sight of where you are.
Forcing things to be what you want, when you want,
Will only turn those things against you.
Therefore, the Master monitors her desire for an outcome.
She remains as calm at the beginning as at the end
So she can see what is in front of her.
She embraces the mundane and doesn't prize rarities.
Doing this the Master reminds those around her
Of who they have always been, and they are inspired.
Caring about nothing but Tao she cares for all things.
#75 "There Needs to be a Purpose"
People are starved for purpose because everything they do is taxed.
That being so, why would they venture to do anything?
By being intrusive governments corral their people
Forcing them to "Make a Living," instead of simply living.
People have no purpose when their purpose is appointed.
Without purpose, why would they want to live?
All of this is intrusive meddling
It robs people of their lives and
Lines the pockets of those in authority.
#81 "Blossoming Leader"
True words may not sound comforting
Yet comfort those they are meant for,
However, comforting words are never true.
Connected to source there is no desire to prove
Desire to prove only exposes separation from source.
The Master's possessions are not part of the manifestation.
Giving away her possessions she only receives more.
Tao blesses everyone in this way.
When this blessing can be received,
Domination and power will yield
While all people will blossom as leaders.

I was excited to share #16 for New Years eve but didn't get to far into it when Lo joined me for #76 and then Jay K for #42 and Melissa for #79. Happy New Year everyone.
#16 "Stillness and Integration"
Being empty of mind is of the utmost importance
And it is to be guarded with fervor.
We have all seen states of action arise,
And always beyond it returns stillness.
When any state of action is complete
It naturally returns to stillness.
This allows integration of what arose from action
Which is the natural cycle of maturation.
If stillness and integration cannot be achieved
Constant action will lead to anxiety and wild movements.
Yielding to stillness makes one impartial,
And all particular things fall away,
Then when it is time to die
One can be impartial to that as well.
#42 "Holding both Male and Female"
Tao gives birth to Universes.
Universes give birth to Planets.
Planets give birth to beings.
Beings give birth to everything else.
Tao is the great Mother
All else holds both Male and Female.
By all things embracing both
Harmony is achieved.
To feel alone is avoided by men
Yet that is where no identity resides.
The Master holds no identity
She embraces her aloneness,
Realizing when she is at one with herself
She is at one with all things.
#76 "Life is Flexible"
It is true for all things, that while aligned with life
There is yielding, flexibility, and grace.
It is also the case that aligned with death
All things are stiff, brittle, and inflexible.
In all things we can witness plainly
Rigidity, of any kind, is a companion of death,
Softness, of any kind, is a companion of life.
Be soft and yielding, it overcomes rigidity.
#79 "Conflict Resolution"
Every conflict creates an "Other"
Even after a resolution, animosity remains.
Is that good enough for you?
Therefore, the Master always does her part
Keeping the peace, not placing blame,
Correcting her own actions,
Without requiring the same from others.
Tao doesn't care who's right
If you do, you'll find it difficult.

Today I started with Mark Greg and he chose #81 as we talked about his Son and getting a new partner. Melissa joined me for #14 and Linda E joined for #25, which was very absorbing.
#14 "Hidden in Plain Sight"
Look and there is nothing to see.
Listen and there is nothing to hear.
Reach and there is nothing to grasp.
These three nothings, come together,
They combine and are one.
This is a mystery and cannot be named.
It is present within all manifestation
And is forever retuning to nothing.
So subtle it cannot be identified,
So conspicuous it is never hidden.
Consider a time before history
To show you how to yield.
You cannot know (if you're doing) it
You cannot prove (that you're doing) it,
But still you can be (doing) it.
You are using it now, but for what?
#25 "I Call it Tao"
Before the manifestation of heaven there is void
It is still and has no form.
Inexhaustible it reaches everywhere
It is at the core of everything.
Since names became important
It has been called Tao.
It flows among manifestation without resistance
Inside, outside, conscience and subconscious.
Tao is great.
Universes are great.
Planets are great.
Beings are great.
These four are all great and follow the law of their principle;
All beings follow their planet,
Planets follow their universe,
Universes follow Tao,
Tao follows only its nature.
#81 "Blossoming Leader"
True words may not sound comforting
Yet comfort those they are meant for,
However, comforting words are never true.
Connected to source there is no desire to prove
Desire to prove only exposes separation from source.
The Master's possessions are not part of the manifestation.
Giving away her possessions she only receives more.
Tao blesses everyone in this way.
When this blessing can be received,
Domination and power will yield
While all people will blossom as leaders.

I started us off the Chrismas with #1 and was joind by Jay K for that and then #17. Johnny joined and chose #44 and we talked a bit about Rauhnachte for a bit and 12 days of the Rough Nights.
#1 "Expressing Tao"
Words are particular,
They cannot express Tao.
To have a name is to be limited to manifestation
That which is nameless is the source of manifestation.
Self-referential, those who name, name themselves.
Want to experience the depth of the mystery? Stop identifying.
Want to experience the shallowness of the manifestation? Differentiate.
Either way no one can tell,
The difference is in your experience.
#17 "Of Masters and Leaders"
In the time of the great Masters there were no leaders.
Then, those whom the people loved, led the way.
After having created the position
The people feared their leaders,
Then they despised them.
Having created leaders, their faith in Tao was diminished.
Having become a leader, his trust in the people was diminished.
When there are great Masters there are no leaders
She works day and night and says nothing about it,
When the work is done the people say
"Amazing! We did it all by ourselves!"
#44 "The Influence of Excess"
Fame or integrity; which of these do you focus on seeing and obtaining?
Possessions or fulfillment; in which do you spend your time investing?
Success or failure; of which has offered you the most growth?
Under the influence you spend yourself
Accumulating only loss and regret.
Fulfill your needs and be content,
When you know excess is excessive
You'll be open to receiving harmony.

A very Merry Christmas eve morning started with Melissa and her hot Chocolate and #17. Marianne joine me for #27 and V A joined for #81 and a chat about her father and wht she learned from him.
#17 "Of Masters and Leaders"
In the time of the great Masters there were no leaders.
Then, those whom the people loved, led the way.
After having created the position
The people feared their leaders,
Then they despised them.
Having created leaders, their faith in Tao was diminished.
Having become a leader, his trust in the people was diminished.
When there are great Masters there are no leaders
She works day and night and says nothing about it,
When the work is done the people say
"Amazing! We did it all by ourselves!"
#27 "The Mystery of the Process"
Although a good traveler may have plans
They are not rigid, nor is the outcome.
Although a good artist creates,
The creations are arrived at through intuition.
Although a good scientist observes
It is done for the first time every time.
By embodying these strategies
The Master accepts everyone
And makes use of every situation,
Nothing is wasted and
Every moment is imbued with light.
What is the good if not a vision for the bad?
What is the bad if not a lesson for the good?
Accept this completely,
Or you will suffer in all you do.
It is the great secret.
#81 "Blossoming Leader"
True words may not sound comforting
Yet comfort those they are meant for,
However, comforting words are never true.
Connected to source there is no desire to prove
Desire to prove only exposes separation from source.
The Master's possessions are not part of the manifestation.
Giving away her possessions she only receives more.
Tao blesses everyone in this way.
When this blessing can be received,
Domination and power will yield
While all people will blossom as leaders.