Taoist Parallels

[Daeluin]

Got some peanut butter today, the natural kind where the oil separates and rises to the top. The longer it sits, the more complete the separation. Well now, this peanut butter had apparently sat for a very long time: it was hard and unyielding below, clear as day above. When I stuck the butter knife in, to stir, I had to use force. And stirring? Forget it. Can't stir a rock. So I stabbed and stabbed, from the north, south, east, west, across at angles this way and that. A few solid, calm minutes of this. See I've done this before. If you're too violent with it, the oil splashes out, and results in that oil not mixing with the butter, and you get harder butter. Gotta use care so they merge together in a nice and smooth, creamy butter. Eventually I was able to spin the knife vertically, and, after ten patient minutes or so I was finally able to stir like normal and voilà: creamy whipped delicious nuttiness.

 

As I was going, I thought: "gee, this might be sorta like xing and ming, or fire and water, those things that like to separate and take delicate care to merge back into beautiful harmony."

 

And I wondered - what taoist parallels can you come up with?

[Marblehead]

Well, of course, if you leave muddy water alone it will separate and clarify on its own. Your peanut oil was clarified.

 

Leave a muddied mind alone and it too will clarify.

 

It has been a very long time since I have had "real" peanut butter. I am sure you are going to enjoy yours.

[Daeluin]

Nice one! That's like placing sincerity and integrity in stillness, helping to settle the ambitions and desires, yielding tranquillity and wisdom. Also known as using Earth to settle Water.

[Daeluin]

Came across three white crosses on the side of the road today. Likely evidence of an auto mobile collision. Pondered on what had happened... were all three from one car? If there were casualties from both cars, would the crosses be placed together? Maybe, but perhaps unlikely. Related to a drunk driving incident? Funny, how drunk drivers are so relaxed they often don't suffer the same degree of harm. Funny, how I don't often see crosses on both sides of the road.

 

See, when highly inebriated, the body is so relaxed it simply adapts to the environment, even in a high speed collision. When we are not relaxed we tend to tense up in reaction to sudden changes, causing resistance to adaptation, and more severe injury results.

 

When I was younger a friend used to be very tense whenever driving with me. I would get this a lot from my friends. I always considered myself a very good driver, but I also liked heel-toe shifting around corners, so as to increase traction in the midst of the corner by speeding up, while matching the revs of the engine to make it a smooth transition. Never quite figured out why people would be jumpy as I crossed crowded intersections or merged into a new lane.... I was always hyper aware of my momentum as compared to others, always cautious to merge in harmony. In the end I suppose it was all too fast for people to process, and people tense up when they can't follow what is happening.

 

In any event, one day my friend was noticeably more relaxed in the passenger seat. In response to my query, she explained that no, she didn't think I had become a better driver, but had learned that if we did get into an accident, being relaxed was what would save her, and being tense would increase her chances of more severe injury.

 

-----

 

In the wuxing, metal is responsible for discernment. We observe and sense, taking it all in and hoping to return it back to one-ness. But it is all so much! With so many moving parts, it is difficult to simply accept all as is. So instead we pick and choose, taking some and leaving some. These judgments create division within and without, increasing our tension and preventing relaxation. When metal acknowledges direction from fire (social harmony), it softens, and becomes fluid-like, water-like.

 

So hey, the more we are able to accept things as they are, the better chances of our being more relaxed and able to adapt to our environment.

 

Edit: Don't drink and drive.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Daeluin

[dust]

Yes. Historically I've had many issues with accepting things the way they are. Certainly I pick and choose. In some situations I feel the need to force change. It's been a problem, I guess, in some cases.

 

 

All at once Master Yu fell ill. Master Ssu went to ask how he was. "Amazing" said Master Yu. "The Creator is making me all crookedy like this! My back sticks up like a hunchback and my vital organs are on top of me. My chin is hidden in my navel, my shoulders are up above my head, and my pigtail points at the sky. It must be some dislocation of the yin and yang!"

 

Yet he seemed calm at heart and unconcerned. Dragging himself haltingly to the well, he looked at his reflection and said, "My, my! So the Creator is making me all crookedy like this!"

 

"Do you resent it?" asked Master Ssu.

 

"Why no, what would I resent? If the process continues, perhaps in time he'll transform my left arm into a rooster. In that case I'll keep watch on the night. Or perhaps in time he'll transform my right arm into a crossbow pellet and I'll shoot down an owl for roasting. Or perhaps in time he'll transform my buttocks into cartwheels. Then, with my spirit for a horse, I'll climb up and go for a ride. What need will I ever have for a carriage again?

 

"I received life because the time had come; I will lose it because the order of things passes on. Be content with this time and dwell in this order and then neither sorrow nor joy can touch you. In ancient times this was called the `freeing of the bound.' There are those who cannot free themselves, because they are bound by things. But nothing can ever win against Heaven - that's the way it's always been. What would I have to resent?"

 

- from Zhuangzi ch.6 tr. Watson

 

 

Is it always the way to go, though? Should we try to accept everything as Master Yu did, no matter how painful or alien or "unnatural"? Are we all even capable of being so jovial in the face of hardship?

 

Even without going into unlikely situations like the one above, or cases of torture and slavery etc, are there not some (perhaps seemingly mundane) situations in our lives that we shouldn't accept, if we want to be freer in the long term? Or things that we can't truly accept deep down, but might end up pretending that we are?

[blue eyed snake]

well, when it is bodily things, sickness, you're far better of when you don't let yourself get down. And I'm finding that hard enough right now... I mean, when you start worrying about your health, or feeling you're a victim of fate or something. Your mindset will make you feel even worse.

 

We are definitely not capable of the way master yu handles his sickness, but I can see that he feels better than I would, and that is commendable.

 

I agree with you that there are things in our lives that we shouldn't accept because they are unacceptable, It seems to me that we could try to change things but at the same time we shouldn't feel to much connected to the result we get.

[woodcarver]

You can't force things.

[dust]

Why not?

[Marblehead]

You can't force things.

Why not?

Because things will resist.

 

Therefore you must be stronger than what it is you are trying to force.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Marblehead

[woodcarver]

Eventually the oil will separate again

[Marblehead]

Eventually the oil will separate again

Yes, if it their nature to separate then eventually they will separate.

 

But then, if they have no real nature of their own, ...

[Daeluin]

Eventually the oil will separate again

 

As will the Xing and Ming, unless one uses attention and care to keep them undivided.

[Taomeow]

Edited February 7, 2015 by Taomeow

[dust]

I suppose it depends on perspective.

 

I'd argue that we force things all the time, and often quite successfully.

 

However, our use of brute force is often harmful, and in the short term we often don't know what the outcome will be.

 

And yes, eventually everything will indeed separate back.

 

Then again, if I eat all the peanut butter before it separates again...

[Marblehead]

But then too, all things will return to their source, which is oneness.

[Jace]

My take would be that from all things comes that which are equal and opposite. And that the equal and opposite make up all things.

[Daeluin]

Perhaps force merely evolves creation.
Stillness strengthens and patience unifies.

Strength only becomes force through expression.

For strength to avoid expression,

how can it be allowed to resist?

 

When creation evolves, layers are added.

When the created return, simplification.

[Marblehead]

The universe uses forceful energy all the time. It is required for new solar systems and planets to be created.

 

(Basically, I'm kinda' agreeing with you Daeluin.)

[Daeluin]

Yeah, that's what came to mind as I wrote. So many types of force, great and small, obvious and subtle.

[blue eyed snake]

You can't force things.

 

right, forcing things is like pulling a dead horse, takes a lot of energy and brings neither you nor the horse anywhere.

( or, as my aunt used to say: don't push the river)

 

but you can give a nudge...

 

the seesaw

 

I was sitting on a bench in the little playground close to my house. That's a nice sunny spot with almost no wind. Two small kids and two young moms came shortly afterwards. the women went to sit on the other bench. The children walked around, a little undecided, playing in the sand? too cold, the slide..in the end they settled for the seesaw.

I was observing the kids as i like too do, i'm the observing kind of person.

But the children didn't get their balance right, they didn't get that nice feeling that true seesawing can give you, I could see they were becoming fidgety. Just like their moms.

Then I stood up, walked to the biggest kid, went on my knee and told her to move forward a little bit. Big blue eyes were looking at me, but she did as I suggested and the seesawing went much better

 

The kids were happy and balanced, the moms could talk and have their much needed rest.

 

And I enjoyed the scenery, enjoyed the happy atmosphere of happy children, contented mums, mild sun.

 

----

 

I didn't mean to do this, I didn't have a plan. I just saw the problem with the seesaw and acted. Looking back, I see I used very little energy thereby giving 5 people a very nice hour in the sun. Now I wonder, is this something like the wuwei thing i read about?

Edited February 10, 2015 by blue eyed snake

[Daeluin]

Oh, that's wonderful! Often imbalance just needs a nudge in the right direction, but gosh it can be hard to identify what needs to move in which direction. This is why teachers can be so helpful, offering our would be forcefulness a path into efficiency with little nudges here and there. Certainly they aren't necessary... but really in the end we're all students and teachers. The more we are open to hearing feedback from others, the more we allow ourselves to be guided from the perspectives we cannot see. And in return we can help others see what they cannot. It doesn't take being a master, though it helps to be mindful of what someone has room to hear... often people will close off and become defensive if they have no room, which defeats the purpose of sharing feedback.

 

Back when I was a musician, my teacher had me record myself. Even though I felt I could hear myself just fine, when I listened to a recording all these little things I hadn't caught started jumping out at me. From that I began to realize how easy it is to become biased to our own perspective, thinking what we see is the whole picture.

 

Many people with intense personalities have trouble figuring out why people are so cautious around them, even as they react similarly when confronted with people who behave as they do. I find this very revealing.

 

Perhaps a parallel here is related to refinement. With qi gong, I noticed that after I had restored my full energetic foundation and was able to fully extend my energy from my core to my extremities.... well when I full expanded to my extremities I was able to turn the energy around and return inward... not retreating back, but as though creating a new path after turning around, coming back from the outside in. As I worked with this, I realized my energy had started refining itself in a whole new way.

 

So perhaps refinement happens most effectively from the outside-in.

 

It sure helps me to refine a post after I've already submitted it. Preview helps but just doesn't feel like I'm seeing what others are seeing.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Daeluin

[Marblehead]

the seesaw

Hey! You're a female! I just noticed. Your seesaw story caused me to look as I doubted a guy should have done that.

[blue eyed snake]

Hey! You're a female! I just noticed. Your seesaw story caused me to look as I doubted a guy should have done that.

 

ehh what made you think I was a guy?

and does it make a difference? until now I thought we understood each other quite well

[Marblehead]

ehh what made you think I was a guy?

and does it make a difference? until now I thought we understood each other quite well

No, it doesn't make any difference. No, I didn't think you were a guy.

 

For me, on any forum people are people. That is all. All are equal - sexually neutral. Hehehe.

 

But then,the name "Blue Eyed Snake", for me, would indicate a guy more than a gal.

 

Oh, we understand each other well. This doesn't effect anything. It was just a surprise for me. (And I do like surprises.)

[blue eyed snake]

No, it doesn't make any difference. No, I didn't think you were a guy.

 

For me, on any forum people are people. That is all. All are equal - sexually neutral. Hehehe.

 

But then,the name "Blue Eyed Snake", for me, would indicate a guy more than a gal.

 

Oh, we understand each other well. This doesn't effect anything. It was just a surprise for me. (And I do like surprises.)

 

ah, no offence taken, actually you're close on...My father wanted a boy and so my tomboyish character was allowed to run wild. I never became 'handy' with those little womanish things , never yearned for it either.

I saw a tree, i just had to climb it