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Tao Te Ching Verse 11:  Being Useful

Tao Te Ching Verse 11: Being Useful

FromThe Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living


Tao Te Ching Verse 11: Being Useful

FromThe Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living

ratings:
Length:
25 minutes
Released:
Dec 7, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Tao Te Ching Verse 11:The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.Photo by Juliet Furst on UnsplashAllowing myself to become useful by receiving the flow of the TaoI’m quite sure you’ve experienced being in flow at some point in your life.  I know I have.  When I’m creating a piece of music.  When I’m writing.  When I’m meditating and can just be in the moment without thinking.  When I’m at a movie.  When I’m concentrating on work.  When I’m in the flow, time goes away - I don’t even notice it - and I feel like everything is just right.  I can be doing nothing or I can be doing something - it’s just when I’m in the zone and nothing exists for me except the thing or circumstance I’m experiencing in that moment.  I’m not even putting that much effort into it - it just...flows!The thing about flow is that I can’t really plan it - I can’t really demand that it happens.  I kind of have to wait for it, and even when it does happen, sometimes I realize it then and sometimes I realize it after.  So what is this elusive feeling, and how can I feel more of it?That was a question I asked myself for years before I came to know that flow happens when I am doing that which I am fashioned to do - without thinking about it, without being conscious of it - in that moment.  That moment when I have...purpose.For me, it turns out that while I can’t control how and when ‘flow’ shows up for me, what I can do is increase the likelihood that it will happen and the frequency with which it occurs.   I can do this by - you guessed it - emptying myself of wants and desires.  There are other conditions I can set - like practicing Oneness, Allowing perfection, like moving into harmony with the Tao - you get the idea.  For today,  emptying myself is one of those things I can do.When I become a vessel, I am acknowledging that I am just a some-thing into which a no-thing can flow.  In other words, by actively practicing humility, I am letting the Tao operate in my life as it sees fit, based on the intentions I’ve set like we talked about earlier.  There are lots of ways to practice humility.  Being grateful is one of the ways I can do that.  For me gratitude is merely the appreciation of that which is around me and in front of me.  I can also be of service to others.  When I am helping other people, I am setting aside my self and am concentrating on another person - which is kind of like a self-forgetting thing.  That sounds like humility, doesn’t it?  There are other ways to practice humility, but those two are my main go-tos.In any case, my main takeaway here is that it feels so good when I’m in flow, I want to experience it as much as I can.  I know that I can’t control it or demand it - I can just encourage it by practicing humility.  And in doing that, I am emptying myself as best I can so that the Tao can enter into that space.  In so doing (or not doing, actually) I move into my purpose and therefore find fulfillment and finally... become useful.
Released:
Dec 7, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (80)

Email the podcast: DailyTaoLife@gmail.com Welcome to the Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living. I’m your host, Dan Casas-Murray. This podcast is for the Tao Curious, those looking for a random bit of wisdom once in awhile, or for those who want to dive into this wonderful teaching.I’ve been studying the Tao Te Ching for just short of a year now, and have reconnected with a natural feeling of inner peace and contentment. I don’t hold a doctorate, nor am I qualified to teach anything about the Tao Te Ching - I’m just an ordinary person who has experienced the wonderful side effects of following the Tao. Since everyone’s experience with this wisdom is different, the only thing that I can hope for is that mine helps you to connect with the Tao in your own, unique, personal way. Feel free to listen to each episode a day at a time or any time you need a quick “Tao-shot.” You can listen while on your way to work or after that, when you’re winding down. It’s always a good time to observe the Tao.In each episode, we’ll do four things:1. We’ll read a verse of the Tao Te Ching2. Break it down into everyday language3. I’ll share my own thoughts and experience4. Apply the Verse with a couple of the many ways you can put the Tao into practice for yourself.That’s pretty much how I’ve been practicing the Tao every day - by listening to Lao Tzu, reflecting on his words of wisdom, listening to other comments, and trying to practice them in everyday life.