Daeluin

To me, ziran is following the heart of a momentum. In any given moment, our past momentum will determine which new direction resonates most with us, and we spontaneously follow this direction to stay in the current of this ziran. As we always follow our momentum, we are always applying ziran from some perspective. When we find greater stillness and emptiness and bring wuwei into our actions, we begin to touch upon the mysterious heart of things. When we apply ziran from here, our momentum is based on remaining connected to this center.

To me, de is the expression of dao. It may be expressed in any way. When we are both whole and turned inward, our de changes. The closer we get to this, the more virtuous our expressions appear.

The water in the river is not just where the current flows the strongest.

Water is highly sensitive to momentum... the water needs to flow, and the pattern of the flowing comes from the shape of earth, the intention. Using the intention to form stable flowing for patterns is what can provide the foundation of momentum for slipping into wuwei. IMO.

Thank you for this. In my journey of learning Chinese Astrology, I came across the concept of wisdom, and intelligence, as associated with Water. Previously I had assumed that the illumination and clarity of stable Fire would hold this association. Now I recognize how water helps to shape and guide fire, and that in stillness the true illumination and clarity of fire holds no expression. Rather the wisdom is held hidden within water, for this energetic phase of water is potential energy. And sometimes it leaks out and becomes expressed through fire when fire is not as clear as it could be. Many expressions of wisdom through fire can be much clearer than others in the context of our present knowledge filled world, and yet those who seem to know the most speak little. And the more I learn, the more I learn that in my knowing I must unknow, I must empty so that the clarity may be clear and the truth may remain at the heart. In this I feel my discovery of wisdom grow.

Anything can be justified from some perspective. If we think nothing matters in the end then sure we can do whatever the fuck we want, and none of it is wrong. Who cares if we screw over the planet... they say all life has been wiped out here before and eventually it returned, and will do so again even after nuclear bombs wipe out everything. Etc, etc, etc. And yet.... we seem to think highly of, and greatly value the present state of diversity and balance on this planet. So rather than think of the grand scheme of things and using our intelligence to justify things (even though the more we cultivate, the more we realize how little we actually know), we have the option of simply flowing with what is right in front of us and making our small choices to move toward balance in the present moment. We have a great gift in being able to self-refine.

The term natural seems to cause a lot of confusion. It is often said that one may learn much about the dao by studying nature - not human nature, but nature. Why is this? What is the difference between human nature and the rest of nature and why isn't human nature also natural? I think the answer can be found pretty simply. In "nature" there are often-times species that seek dominating roles. And yet many times an interesting balance is struck between them all, and an ecosystem is born. Ecosystems tend to be incredibly complex, with many species participating, and there are noticeable imbalances created when any of these species vanish from the system. Thus the balance that is attained is ever changing and very delicate. Anyone who plays with a balance beam or balance board quickly realizes that balance hovers on a very delicate and fine edge. Where other species attempt at growing into domination and have their growth checked, guided, and refined by other elements within the system, the human species has discovered how to overcome most obstacles presented by the local environment. Many of our actions lead away from nurturing systems of balance, and even though we tend to not recognize this from a desire to nurture and support the ecosystems surrounding us, we do tend to recognize the ill effects of some of our actions over time. Over time we've come to respect the necessity of keeping each other in balance via laws and governments, and our growth in population means we can't all expel waste into the rivers and oceans and still have fresh drinking water, we come to recognize can't cut down all the trees or we risk landslides or desertification, can't grow thousands of acres of the same species without inviting that which will wipe out that species, etc, etc, etc. So we recognize that our interferences are not sustainable even for supporting our own selfish goals, and we take measures to fix them. It doesn't take much to recognize that what has become known as "human nature" is largely fed by greed and is not presently healthy or sustainable. Perhaps as we continue to recognize the errors in our ways and work to adjust them, we will come to value the approach of ecosystems: when we all support each other and seek ever more refined balances, we increase the quality of that balance and enable ever increasing diversity within. The stronger the diversity, the longer the balance can be maintained after extreme events reshape things. From this perspective it is easier to understand naturalness as that which supports balance. In the grand scheme of things everything balances out, and thus Laozi remains smiling even at the suffering of others. And yet, if one can see the path of balance - see how close it is to us - why walk in the direction of imbalance? It is up to each of us to decide how to find balance in our lives. There are many layers to balance - best to follow the ones that are clearly presented to us in the present moment. The journey of 1,000 miles is walked step by step.

I've have some friends who stopped taking showers, washing their hair, etc, etc. Eating a simple vegan lifestyle, they didn't have many of the smells we try to cover up with deodorant and perfume. Consuming animal products and processed foods alters the human scent in profound ways, and once one is cleansed of that... well taking a walk in the woods is a different experience. Animals have a very keen sense of smell, and they are able to detect us by smell very well. Same is true for energy.... we've probably all read of how animals can become very attracted to humans at higher levels of cultivation. Another side-effect of our interferences. Anyway... my friend would roll around in the sand by a beach every now and then, and found that her skin/pores fundamentally changed as the body adjusted to a different paradigm of cleanliness. Can also develop the tongue and mouth muscles to very effectively clean the mouth. After doing this for a while one realizes how weak one's tongue used to be, and how effective shooting saliva between teeth can be at cleaning them, etc. At higher levels of cultivation different substances become secreted from the salivary glands as well, like opiorphin. Too, walking without shoes one forms a deeper bond with the earth and becomes more energetically supported. Takes time to cultivate, and without the energetic connection this can be very hard on one's feet. Yet for some native american tribes running was the main means of transportation, and they were able to run very far. Yes being healthy and clean is natural, but the "civilized human standard" is not the only way, or even the best. Sure I do my best to fit into society, having come to recognize when I stand out in some way. I own very few clothes and shop at thrift stores, where many very well made items can be found for very little, and I wear them until they wear out. In recognizing how I depend on the ways of modern society that are unsustainable, I am slowly trying to work towards supporting sustainable alternatives, and live in a city that is very supportive of this. In another city I lived in having a beard attracted attention from law enforcement, while here it is very common. In the daoist classics the "true human" is described as looking disheveled and unkempt, wearing a patchwork shirt. There are many ways of not damaging the body, and many ways to be out of the box while appearing to be within it. This is all part of Zhuangzi's walking two roads, Laozi's flowing like water, and so on. After all we are quite contained by the gravities of the solar system, but to really unite with all we must be able to connect to what is beyond that paradigm as well, even as we remain within it.

Knowing one's self and having healed one's self, radiating trust and love unconditionally from one's heart in all directions.... as one travels one encounters imbalances that tug them this way or that way. All one needs do is maintain their center. As one adjusts to maintain their center, there is an outward effect in all directions, an unconditional healing in all directions. Healing one's self first, one comes to heal others naturally without any outward intention. When focused on healing another in a specific way, one can become trapped by many limitations. Why should one be limited to healing only one being at a time? How can one avoid becoming entrapped by one's knowledge of what to heal first and how to best heal it? Sometimes people are good at seeking out their own healing, even though this enables them to maintain a lifestyle of harming others... how can we know when healing a tree will have more "benefit" than healing the human doing qigong next to the tree? When we set aside our biases, known and unknown, and allow ourselves to be guided by the celestial mechanism, we are free from these limitations. At first perhaps we are more specific with our actions, but as we become more centered and connected to the heart of all things, we may find we are lead naturally to what is synchronistic and harmonious without even trying. Setting our intention on the heart of things, we will be lead toward the course that best supports the heart of all things. This course is unique for all things. Uniting with the heart and center of one's own being, one unites with the heart and center of all.

People usually want others to recognize them for who they really are inside... not how they appear. When we come to identify strongly with something, we can usually find some way to let others know about this on our surface. And yet even this only attracts those interested in that, but not really who we are. The old adage is that we get what we ask for. This can be a blessing or a curse, depending on whether or not we really know what we're asking for. Sometimes going to a meetup group about hiking is a great way to find others who like hiking.... even though you might not find the type of person who likes going hiking in smaller groups. Sometimes dressing pretty can attract those who like those who dress pretty, but hard to say if that person will like you when you don't look pretty. Interesting to surrender desire and adornment all-together. For what you get without asking for anything is often very revealing and poignant.

Interesting.... I have trouble not relating this idea of nurturing the external Yang and such ideas to practices of the long-standing patriarchal age we seem to be coming out of.

I'm reminded of hexagram 22, which can be seen as the dynamic of grace.... or the dynamic of adornment. Illumination beneath the mountain - who can see it? No one, if it is hidden.... and yet... in those who choose the simple life, have little to speak for except their health.... and yet these people often radiate a happiness, a peace, a grace that can be felt even when not acknowledged. Perhaps the Quakers demonstrate this well. And when the mountain does not hide the fire.... the fire is not contained, not still and stable, not clearly illuminating.... it comes out from within, eager to show itself, to demonstrate its worth though embellishing, exaggerating, adorning the surface at the expense of the internal. Tom Brown Jr. has a book titled Grandfather, and I recall a dream beneath a tree where he followed his spirit guide on a journey up an old stream bed, with forest on either side. The forest on the right was twisted and stagnant, with trees and bushes growing against each other and struggling for light and water. The forest on the left felt peaceful and harmonious. The forest on the left had been inhabited long ago by the tribe of the spirit guide, and had been cultivated very delicately. When they needed to cut a branch for an arrow or bow, they would not take the most suitable branch for that purpose, but would take the branch that might end up struggling with others, that might be the weakest; they would take that which when removed would have the most harmonious result on the forest over time. When we understand how our actions manifest over time, we can choose to avoid actions that do not serve where we want to end up. If we want to be healthy and live a long, happy life, we might come to understand that a simple life without embellishment and unnecessary desires may actually have the best result, while many other choices merely spend the internal to indulge some desire that will only serve us temporarily. Of course everything is relative. We must all choose on our own.

I've been sensitive most of my life.... empathetic and overly aware of others. Sounds great for being of compassionate service to others, and yet.... I was so distracted by others that I never developed an awareness of my own center, my own boundaries, and found that instead of nurturing others I ended up using my sensitivity through reactivity and defensiveness. Alone I would still feel what had been absorbed when around others and I would look to escape it.... and so without forgetting myself, left alone my ego sought to run away. When I began to work on inner cultivation, too I worked on dissolving and forgetting myself. Led by humility and not by ego, I was able to help myself. Feeling whole, centered, and replenished I was able to be around others, and have enough buffer to be sensitive and accepting, which lead to ease and joy from nurturing others.

To that which connects all things.

As we are all one, this extends to the damaging of the collective body. How does one define interference? Flowing with ziran it is possible to follow a path that is mutually beneficial and harmonious to all things. Doing anything else is interference. Interference can be taken in the direction of most obvious balance, yet for balance to be complete one must surrender control. Is your body yours? Or does the ego claim it as its own?

Learn to eat time.

Act without acting Give without giving Taste without tasting Tao alone becomes all things great and all things small It is the One in many It is the many in One Let Tao become all your actions then your wants will become your treasure your injury will become your blessing Take on difficulties while they are still easy Do great things while they are still small Step by step the world’s burden is lifted Piece by piece the world’s treasure is amassed So the Sage stays with his daily task and accomplishes the greatest thing Beware of those who promise a quick and easy way for much ease brings many difficulties Follow your path to the end Accept difficulty as an opportunity This is the sure way to end up with no difficulties at all daodejing 63 Jonathan Star When we focus on what is invisible, everything else emerges. When we embrace what is right in front of us, we take tiny steps, yet are ever moving forward to surmount giant obstacles. Thus goals are accomplished without ever seeing them as goals, and thus fullness comes without ever looking for it.

At this point I am fading out of my "job". I respond in the moment to that which I am asked to do, and I don't take things super seriously. I no longer carry the burden of responsibility for making sure everything gets done, having realized that the purpose our business works toward is not in line with what I am trying to cultivate. And yet I do not rush into a new job as I slowly allow this one to fade. Often I will see emails I did not respond to where a person asked for help yesterday, but fixed their own issue before I could come to help them. Thus I do nothing, yet everything resolves itself. I accept that I am just being, and not working hard to be my best, as I have no passion to learn more about what this line of work. I accept that what I do could be done better by others, and yet too I am not paid competitively, and it has been hard to find someone to replace me. I have been open about my plans to fade out, and open about the need to be replaced. Lately there have been people stepping in to help fill my role, and it is nice. We have been choosing simpler paths rather than more complicated ones to avoid the need for someone to manage things that are more involved. When I do not jump to resolve things, it provides an opportunity for our new assistants to learn more about problem solving for when I am not here. For the future, perhaps I will simply play music on the street for donations, or do yijing readings, or Chinese Astrology as I feel more confident in it. I have come to recognize that when my needs are few and my possessions few, I don't need a large paycheck to support what to me is a rich and clean lifestyle. When faced with the dilemma of where to live, I asked the dao... and someone ended up abandoning the framework for a tinyhouse on the property I was helping to cultivate. We put it up and I expanded it a little. It has enough space to move around, study, and meditate in. Because it is small, I was able to put in a very nice wood floor, and because there were many ongoing construction projects around me I was able to reuse what others were throwing away. My living needs are taken care of in the main house, where I pay a small fee to be a member of, mostly through work-trading to help complete the renovations one day a week. For transportation everything can be met through walking or biking, so I am selling my car. Thus the primary need for money is in the form of supporting the remaining attachments of my desire for pre-made food. This even helps simplify things like relationships, as many cannot fathom living a lifestyle that for me is incredibly rich and has the potential to be as simple as I allow it to be.

Hello Splash, and welcome! In Chinese Astrology there is an idea of achieving balance within something like a family role. You are created and nurtured, and you create and nurture. You control and guide, and are guided and controlled. This guiding is related to what is called the "Direct Officer", and functions similar to an Ambassador, or one's conscience. Having a strong and uncontested Direct Officer is considered to be very important and auspicious.

I'm uncertain, as I haven't read the entire book yet. What I've read has been very useful to me. I especially appreciate the illumination of Zhuangzi's exploration of the vessels, and of a Chinese medicinal perspective on neidan. I am not a Chinese medicinal practitioner, and haven't studied much, so it is difficult to say how this compares or what this might add to that perspective. In general I appreciate the fundamental principles of reality shared by those who speak of neidan. These principles can be seen everywhere. When we study theory.... things can become complicated. In cultivation it is best to let things be simple. So to make headway in study of theory I think one should aim at reaching the point where everything connects, becomes clear, and then becomes unnecessary. With simplicity and clarity in understanding comes simplicity and clarity in practice.

Hmmm, I guess I've read that babies do this naturally from birth. Which might indicate that we develop the trait of disconnecting the tongue from the roof of the mouth. It is said that the tongue will come to express and leak out the energy of the organs, so perhaps keeping the connection helps to contain the organ qi. I think this is also similar to the teeth, which when lightly connected complete a circuit of nerve endings, or something like that.

These things take time. It is good to simply develop the habit of connecting the tongue to the roof of of the mouth at all times, where-ever is most comfortable.

Where there's a will there's a way, but when dealing with the infinite, I think the best way to be certain is to allow celestial guidance.

In internal alchemy it is often emphasized that the sexual energy should not be confused with the primordial essence that replenishes the sexual energy. The same is true of the mind that thinks and the psychic mind, which are merely complex shapings of spiritual energy that are interpreted by our perception. All too often we come to desire and attach to what manifests, and this attachment interferes with a more natural operation that uses continuous manifestation as a path towards integration with all things. When we take control over the building of this path, guiding it where we want rather than where we are led, we begin to interfere with the integration of all things. And yet as our species evolves toward the spiritual, it is likely we will continue to build constructs and roads just as we have done with the material. If only we could realize the grand design we yearn to create is only attainable through following the road that we surrender to.

More on the theory side of things, I picked up An Exposition on the Eight Extraordinary Vessels this morning, which is a translation of Li Shi-Zhen's Qi jing ba mai kao, by Charles Chace and Miki Shima. In the beginning there is a section on the Microcosmic Orbit, with an excerpt from the text: Kan ☵ and Li ☲ are symbols that represent the yang that is hidden within yin, and the yin that is hidden within yang. Thus we can come to understand the importance of the waterwheel as a tool to extract and replenish the true that is hidden within the false. And on the yin qiao vessel (just an excerpt):