Yeah, I'm New Here

[Erdrickgr]

My name is Justin, I'm 30 years old, and I have two daughters, named Sahara and Athanasia. I recently split with my wife, though as far as divorces go, ours is rather peaceful. I was a Christian for about 9 years, at first a Protestant (Wesleyan Holiness), and later Eastern Orthodox. For various theological and historical reasons I eventually decided that I couldn't remain a Christian, so I became an agnostic, and then an atheist. Actually my religious history is much muddier than that, but that'll do as a summary.

 

I had come into contact with Taoism a few years ago, but at the time (and I forget why exactly) I felt that I couldn't accept certain parts of Taoist philosophy/spirituality. Recently I began to reexplore Taoism, and found that much of what it was about mirrored my own life philosophy. And the parts that didn't match up, well, I'll work on that. I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to stuff like having a soul, energies flowing through us, etc. And there are some rather strange ideas out there, or at least they seem strange to me. For instance, one website about eating like a Taoist spoke against eating potatoes and tomatoes, "which are thought to be deadly". Er... ok.

 

Anyway, I'm rather new to Taoism, and I'm here to learn what I can. And hopefully work through whatever issues I still have.

Edited August 8, 2009 by Erdrickgr

[Aetherous]

Welcome!

 

(This is long...just my opinion on these things, which may be of interest to you.)

 

There are all sorts of things that some Taoists have said to not eat. To the point where if you paid attention to all of it, you probably would die of starvation. There is actually a thing called "bigu", where practitioners eat nothing for long periods of time, and survive off of their own "energy".

 

However, just because one Taoist says something, that doesn't mean the rest agree with them. Or that it was always a part of Taoism (religions evolve, it's interesting to look up the origins of Taoism and keep that in mind). It'd be similar to one of the Christian popes declaring that broccoli is deadly and also sinful to eat or something. It was never a rule beforehand. So that's just what they think, and shouldn't be taken too seriously. There might be other parts of Christianity which are much more worthwhile...same with Taoism.

 

To the point: potatoes and tomatoes are great for us, in moderation. Some people just have odd beliefs. This is found all over the world.

 

About Taoist ideas of the soul...there are many strange concepts, such as our bodies being composed of many spirits. A main idea is that there are 5 spirits, which reside in our organs, and make up our soul. For instance, if we get angry, you could say that's one of the spirits "acting up".

 

This may seem like a belief, but I think of it now just as a way of looking at things. You don't have to view your organs/emotions as ghosts, or something strange. It's easiest to understand for us Westerners if we consider that emotions can be expressed or sometimes stored in the body. We don't think of emotions that arise as some sort of spiritual presence...they are just what they are, so it's best to think of them in the way that's natural for us. Anger is anger...not a "spirit".

 

And it's easy to understand that when the emotions are all balanced, calm and collected, that we are closest to our "true self". The person we were when we were a little kid. Anyone who meditates can recognize this. There it is, Taoist medicine and spirituality summed up.

 

Of course it is very complex when you get into it.

 

About "energies flowing through us"...these are just expressions of awareness. When you are aware of your foot, you could say that's a type of energy. Foot energy. It could be said that a goal of Taoism is to liberate the obstructions in the awareness of your body (let go of emotions), so that you can be fully at peace (be your true self).

 

A lot of discussion about "qi" (energy) is worthless. Some people think they gather qi by breathing hard into their bellies, or by imagining light coming into their bodies. There may be some effect, which can trick people into thinking something is happening, but it's not real energy work. The best method for gathering qi (or "jing" or "shen") is to "be your true self".

 

That's not to say qigong is worthless. Some is good. It is possible to get very pronounced sensations of awareness in the body.

 

Anyway, it's best not to come to any conclusions. These are just my thoughts right now. If you start saying, "this makes sense, this is what I believe", then you aren't practicing Taoism. Practicing Taoism is about being true to yourself on a very deep level. Living purely in the moment. We're already doing it...so nothing is needed (but of course, practices are needed to help realize this).

 

Anyway, hope this helps in understanding some of the strange concepts. A good book to read is the Hua Hu Ching.

[Erdrickgr]

Thanks for taking the time to post that, it was indeed of interest. Though some of what you say I'm going to have a hard time wrapping my head around, or putting into practice at least, such as this:

 

If you start saying, "this makes sense, this is what I believe", then you aren't practicing Taoism.

 

I'm always trying to make sense of things, trying to seek answers and solidify what it is that I believe (I'm a geek/egghead, I admit it). I'm gonna come back and reread what you wrote again after I think about it some more. Um... or maybe I shouldn't think about it, lol. Well anyway, I'll get the hang of it I suppose.

[Marblehead]

Hi Erdrickgr,

 

Welcome!

 

May you enjoy your time here.

 

Yes, I am sure you will find more answers here than you have questions. But that's good. That way you will have various choices.

 

Be well!

[Stigweard]