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Tao Te Ching Verse 6

The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain.

Photo by Mario Álvarez on Unsplash

What The Spirit of the Valley means to me

Ok.  Let’s start with a quick definition of a Valley. Merriam-Webster says that a valley is an elongate depression of the earth's surface usually between ranges of hills or mountains

Let’s think about this for a moment.  A valley is the space between two high places.  Looked at in comparison to mountains, there is literally nothing in between them.  But the valley is the natural place into which everything flows from above.  Gravity does this work, and what we are left with is usually some water that is flowing, nutrients and other gifts from nature coming down from the mountains, and a whole ecosystem of animals that come to drink and eat.  The valley is nothing - the space between mountains, and yet it supports more life and creation than they do.  And it’s no coincidence that Lao Tzu references the Mystic Female in this verse.  Essentially, we are talking about the creative, life giving female energy of the Tao, or the Yin, as opposed to the Yang, and male energy.  This is one of the ways the Tao works, and that’s what the first part of this verse is saying to me. 

So how does this apply to me right now?  I think about this from two points of view.  

The first is from a big view - the Tao.  This means that if I can live in harmony with the Tao, I can allow it to provide for me, and there is nothing that I need to do - and there is nothing the Tao needs to do to make that work.  That’s the nature of it!  

The second point of view is from within myself.  The more that I can remain like a valley - in the low places, a repository for gifts, flowing energy (just like a stream, btw) , the more I’ll be able to receive the Tao’s abundance.  Remember when we talked about that in the last episode?  And remember in the first episode how we observed that the verses in the Tao Te Ching kind of meld together?  This is one of those cool examples.    And how do I work at being like a valley?  Lao Tzu tells us that in follow-on verses - there is one that comes to mind right now - verse 8.  For me at this point, I like to just practice becoming aware and observe how this principle is operating in my environment.  And I do this by being as still as I can, doing my best at refraining from inserting emotional commentary into the events that occur around me, and accepting what is, which is just another way of saying observing things without judgement.  Don’t worry if that seems like a tall order, or even an impossibility for that matter.  The Tao gives us plenty of time and space to consider acceptance.  Just know for now that it is one of the ways we can easily walk through that Door of the Mystic Female.