Perceiver Posted August 27, 2014 Greetings my friends Some of you may know me from the many anxious questions I've posed in here, but today I'd like to do something different . Today I'd like to share some knowledge I've gained, and encourage you to do the same. Hopefully it will create a long thread of compact wisdom for others to enjoy. As I've read the forum the past months I've been impressed with the amount of wisdom that can be found in here. I've been a member of other forums in the past: Martial arts, personal development, illnesses, and never have I read a forum where there seems to be so much wisdom as the one we've got here. And not only is there wisdom, I also get a "feel-good" vibe when reading the forum. I can't really explain it, but it seems to me that the people in here are relaxed, confident people who genuinely like life and other people. And such people are in my experience the most interesting and pleasant ones to be around. So I'm partly interested in tapping into your wisdom, and I'm partly interested in giving back some of my own. Consider it a kind of positive payback for all the help I've received in here . So here's my question: What's the most valuable thing that taoism or qigong learned you?I'll start with an example of my own. And I'll admit that it can be hard to give one. Partly because I learned so many things from qigong. Partly because my qigong path this past year has coincided with a period of incredible personal learning - and I don't know whether that was in the books to begin with or if qigong has produced it. Perhaps it could be a bit of both. But there is one learning point which stands out for me, and that's something I learned directly after doing Michael Winn's Pan-Gu exercise for a week: I learned that I can always communicate my emotions to other people, and that they of course will accept them, because they are my emotions. It just hit me how obvious it was. For instance in the past when I felt bullied or irritated I would bully people back. But sometimes that only produces more conflict and suffering. It's rarely as effective as we would like it to be. After doing the Pan-Gu I instantly knew that in such a situation a more effective technique would be to be honest about my feelings and say "would you please stop it, it's hurting me". Noone in their right mind would be able to continue their obnoxious behavior after a person has voiced their pain in this way. I wish I had known that decades ago. Or maybe I did know it, I just wasn't ready to accept it. The end result? A yours truly who is a lot happier because life just got a lot easier: Because whatever I want or feel, I can always communicate and it'll be received in a positive way. The only exception being of course a situation where a person just rubs you the wrong way without doing anything officially wrong. In such a situation it is better to just keep shut and play ball .Looking forward to hearing your input! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bearded Dragon Posted August 27, 2014 The best thing I've learnt is that I was already doing it before I knew what it was. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted August 27, 2014 Cheerful indifference and humility 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreytoWhite Posted August 27, 2014 The best thing I learned was empathy. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aasin Posted August 27, 2014 Tai Chi helps me after a hectic day running to and fro. So if anything, I'd say Taoism has brought some much needed tranquility into my life. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daeluin Posted August 27, 2014 Studying the flow of life through the lens of taoist perspective, has shown me the importance of dissolving polarity. The "Best" is simply one side of a polarity including the "Worst", and to look at anything as one side of a polarity is to leave the center of the whole and invite division, separation. When the whole is divided, parts need names. The tao is the root of the whole, between all division. The ways to find the whole are many and describe the operation of harmonizing polarity between various parts using various techniques, approaching from various angles. What helps me the most is to maintain sincerity and aim at the whole, then study the ebb and flow, wax and wane of all the cycles of polarity in the changing circumstances in my life. The more I simplify my life, the simpler to discern the warp and weft, and the easier it becomes to maintain equanimity even when in extreme circumstances, though awareness of the balancing factor. Feeling the ice of winter in the midst of summer; willing emptiness and lowness even after the most powerful cultivation sessions; holding awareness of highest refinement even when completely unrefined; maintaining soberness when surrounded by drunken delirium; remaining desire-less when surrounded by expression of unrestrained desire; exhibiting spontaneity when surrounded by over strong righteousness and sobriety, ever balancing yin and yang, ever harmonizing the wuxing, ever completing the circle, one may naturally stumble upon the tao in their own way. The I Ching remains an unparalleled teacher in navigating balance within infinite layers of change. And finally... to truly affect the above requires surrendering of control to allow the deeper polarities to merge and allow the more natural operations to emerge. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Posted August 27, 2014 I learned that I don't really need to learn so much as unforget. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted August 27, 2014 Learning 5 element theory. Using it to accept and predict how things change and the best way to influence events. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Enishi Posted August 27, 2014 Taking things less personally, along with not paying so much attention to my mind's endless need to analyze and categorize. 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted August 27, 2014 Taking things less personally, along with not paying so much attention to my mind's endless need to analyze and categorize. jeepers. My wife just came in to show me how I had hung my cargo shorts wrong after washing them. She stormed off, I looked down, and there was this post. HAHAHAHA! 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted August 27, 2014 I'm still working on this one but perhaps knowing when to keep my mouth shut. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GrandmasterP Posted August 27, 2014 (edited) I learnt that... "The Reason that can be reasoned is not the eternal Reason. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name." Seemed pretty sensible and also more or less unique. Most other paths claim to have 'answers'. Taoism doesn't. Edited August 27, 2014 by GrandmasterP 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nestentrie Posted August 28, 2014 Concentration and Insight... if I can manage to maintain it. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silent Answers Posted August 28, 2014 Finding out who I am, then forgetting........only to let that part back into my life, on the condition that he sits in the back seat and behaves himself. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Perceiver Posted August 28, 2014 There are some good insights in this thread. Many of them quite simple, yet powerful. It seems to me the best pearls of wisdom are often surprisingly simple. If not always so. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted August 28, 2014 There are some good insights in this thread. Many of them quite simple, yet powerful. It seems to me the best pearls of wisdom are often surprisingly simple. If not always so. Because they're the end result of long, complex processes. Diamonds are pretty simple, too. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted August 28, 2014 The best thing I've learned from taoism: I don't have to invent that bicycle after all. I can just ride it. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh Posted August 28, 2014 (edited) That , the fire in my attitude is far more enthralling to me than it is to anyone else. Oh! and that no sentence ever uttered is beyond misconstrual Edited August 28, 2014 by Stosh 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dust Posted August 30, 2014 Cheerful indifference and humility Indifference to...anything? Years ago, I started to come to terms with the fact that I can't change the world. Now, I'm starting to accept the idea that the world is always changing, and that I actually can change the world, if I try hard enough -- but that though it would be different, it wouldn't make a difference. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted August 30, 2014 Bagua . Hehehe. I had no question about that. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rara Posted August 30, 2014 What a great invite, Perceiver! A big lesson is that there is only me. When I was and irate, and angry man, I would blame everything and everyone around me. Nowadays, after 4 hard years, I can take a deep breath and say "ok, something's up with the approach I'm taking". 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aasin Posted August 30, 2014 Years ago, I started to come to terms with the fact that I can't change the world. Now, I'm starting to accept the idea that the world is always changing, and that I actually can change the world, if I try hard enough -- but that though it would be different, it wouldn't make a difference. Think global act local. So many people think they need to make a change in some grandiose way but Rome wasn't built in a day. It took years and tons of individuals contributing their small part into a much larger scheme. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3bob Posted August 30, 2014 Powerful spiritual short-hand without ado. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
