Tao - a life enhancing way...

"If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing you will try to hold on to."

The Tao Te Ching

The Tao Te Ching is an ancient Chinese book of philosophy that has much to teach us about the way of life enhancing. 'Tao Te Ching' can be roughly translated as 'the way and its power' or 'the way of life'.

The Tao Te Ching begins with the following passage:

The Way that can be told of is not the true or unvarying way;
The names that can be named are not the true or unvarying names.
It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind.

In another translation, this passage also reads:

The Way that can be experienced is not true;
The world that can be constructed is not real.
The Way manifests all that happens and may happen;
The world represents all that exists and may exist.

To experience without abstraction is to sense the world;
To experience with abstraction is to know the world.
These two experiences are indistinguishable;
Their construction differs but their effect is the same.

Beyond the gate of experience flows the Way,
Which is ever greater and more subtle than the world.

The map is not the territory

What these deep and intriguing teachings are attempting to express, in ways that words truly cannot express because of the nature of words and symbols, is what NLP represents in the powerful saying:

"The map is not the territory"

This thinking tool, originally coined by Alfred Korzybski, the father of the philosophy of General Semantics, highlights the understanding that 'no map can ever fully represent the territory that it maps'. A map will ALWAYS be a deleted, distorted and generalised/abstracted version of the territory. And all words, thoughts and symbols are maps of the world. We never 'truly' know the world, we only ever experience a deleted, distorted and generalised version of the world -- 'The way that can be named is not the true way'.

In other words... the tools you use to make sense of the world and to represent (re- present) the world and communicate your understanding of the world, to yourself (your multi-mind) and to others, will ALWAYS be lies. They are NOT TRUE and can never be true. They may be relatively veridical and may closely represent certain aspects of the world, within defined boundaries and contexts, BUT the map can never be the territory. The menu can never by the meal. Words are NOT the things they stand for.

Robert Anton Wilson, in his brilliant and life changing book 'Prometheus Rising' put it well when he described our human mapping and modeling processes as 'Reality Tunneling'. According to Bob, we each live not in the real world, but in our very own deleted, generalised and distorted 'reality tunnel'. And the world that can be constructed (by our unconscious modeling and reality tunneling processes) is not real. The names that can be named are not unvarying names. As the Buddhist's say, nothing is permanent, nothing exists in and of itself, all is process, constantly changing and varying. And the deep understanding from all these various wisdom traditions and modern neuro and behavioural technologies, is that our model of the world -- our reality tunnel -- is NOT the true world.

What can you do with this?

So what does this mean? What can you do with this to enhance your life?

Well, for a start, it in part means that your beliefs, ideas and thoughts are not totally true, fixed, absolute or real. These insights indicate that it is massively unsane to be rigid in your beliefs and values. NO belief is 'the' TRUE belief. All beliefs are 'names' and no name is the true or unvarying name or way.

These philosophical insights suggest that you are best served in your life when you are more flexible, open and pliant in your attitudes and approaches. Let go of absolutist and unyielding ideas. Let go of dogmatism and the need to be right. Allow yourself to be comfortable with uncertainty and fuzzy boundaries. Nothing is absolutely certain. Possibility and probability are key. Don't take yourself so seriously. Don't take life too seriously -- take life more light-heartedly, with humour, forgiving, joy, balance and flexibility. Relax your model of the world. Relax your attitudes. Map the way of your life with flow, peace and calm abiding joy. It's an incredibly life enhancing way.

More from the taoist way

And for your enjoyment, here are some more key ideas from Tao'ist philosophy as expressed in the "Tao Te Ching", that have generative import for living life enhancingly:

• Force begets force.
• Living simply, is life enhancing.
• Material wealth does not enrich the spirit.
• Self-absorption and self-importance are vain and self-destructive.
• The harder one tries, the more resistance one creates for oneself.
• The more one acts in harmony with the universe (the Mother of the myriad things), the more one will achieve, with less effort.
• The truly wise make little of their own wisdom for the more they know, the more they realize how little they know.
• When we lose the fundamentals, we supplant them with increasingly inferior values which we pretend are the true values.
• Glorification of wealth, power and beauty beget crime, envy and shame.
• The qualities of flexibility and suppleness, especially as exemplified by water, are superior to rigidity and strength.
• Everything is in its own time and place.
• Duality of nature complements each other instead of competing with each other — the two faces of the same coin — one cannot exist without the other.
• The differences of opposite polarities help us to understand and appreciate the universe.
• Humility is the highest virtue.
• Knowing oneself is a key virtue.
• Envy is a calamity; overindulgence is a plight.
• The more you go in search of an answer, the less you will understand.
• Know when it's time to stop. If you don't know then stop when you are done.

wishing you a balanced, flexible and life enhancing way of life'ing,
Grant


And from one of the authors I most cherish and revere, here's a translation of the Tao Te Ching that is wonderfully life enhancing to read:

Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way

“Ursula K. Le Guin’s translation of the Tao Te Ching is a personal and poetic meditation. Through her own careful study of these ancient teachings, she brings the Way into contemporary life. Each day, I open this book at random and receive a contemplative gift. These words are akin to water in the desert.”

Being vs Doing

We took the day off the other day, jumped in the sports car, and drove to a friend's Winery (Brandy Creek Winery and Restaurant) for a long, languorous and delightful afternoon of delicious food, great wine and wonderful philosophical conversation and company.

Looking out over the absolutely stunning view, and with a glass of heavenly red in my hand, I asked my friend Rick Stockdale, one of the co-owners of the estate, what he thought was the most life enhancing thing a person could do. His response, and one that runs as a thread throughout the many blog entries I've shared with you, is that creating 'Quality Time' in your life is one of the most important skills and activities that you can do to enhance your life.

As Rick points out, too often people focus on achievement and on rushing from one goal to the next -- and in doing so, they don't remember to sit back and savour and enjoy the journey. Isn't it the case that we sometimes put too much value on quantity at the cost of quality? And too much focus on doing versus simply 'being' -- making quality time to enjoy the simple pleasures of being alive on this wonderful planet?

Transcendental change versus Generative Change

The challenge is that modern society has grabbed onto the Generative Model of Change. This is the model that says that no matter how good life is, we can always make it better. It's about more passion, fun and achievement NOW!!! This is a model that fields like NLP have been promulgating and installing for over 30 years and it has crept insidiously into many areas of management, training, education and marketing.

It's very seductive and it does support success. However... if you follow it slavishly, you'll end up on the treadmill of a 'more the more pattern'... the more you follow the model, the more success you enjoy and achieve, the more reinforced you are to continue making bigger and bigger dreams, goals and outcomes and the more you focus on achieving more. And along the way, if you aren't careful... you get lost in the constant drive for more.

In Positive Psychology this is described as the 'hedonic treadmill' and is an enemy to human happiness. So whilst the achievement of goals and outcomes makes you feel good fleetingly, the constant pressure and drive for success, stresses you unconsciously and wears you down, ultimately eroding your true happiness.

The Generative Model can be contrasted with what I call the 'Transcendental Model of Change'. In this model, we focus on meaning and purpose; on why you think and feel you are on this planet, with this particular life, and are here to experience and learn. It's about transcending the constant need for '$uccess' and 'Achievement'. Indeed, it's more about the 'how' and the 'quality of being' in which you are doing whatever achieving and success'ing that you are doing in your life.

Focus on Qualities

With transcendental change -- with a focus on being versus doing -- it's OK to have times where you don't actually need to do any changing. If the 'how' of your life is aligned with your purpose and with the deeper meaning of life, then you can happily stay exactly where you are. Of course in the massively changing world we live in, it's impossible to stay 'exactly' the same. However, at the level of process, of 'how', of qualities and process values, you can 'change to stay the same'. In other words, you can stop constantly striving for more and more, and make quality time in your life'ing to just be connected, centered, happy and flowing.

Naturally there are many skills and competencies involved in what I've just said. And over the coming weeks and months I'll be blogging on these and sharing them subtly and overtly with you in this blog. So keep reading, and you should find your mind and attention seeing the world in new and life enhancing ways.

And along the way, as of today, begin to notice more and more the opportunities for making 'Quality Time' an important process value in your life. Create the time and space to think about and focus on what sort of Qualities you want in your life each and every day and then put them gently and surely into practice. Take time out from the hectic race for more and more, get off the hedonic treadmill, and just enjoy 'being'. Learn and make time to meditate. Make time to pamper your self. Get out for a walk in the forest. Connect with nature. Enjoy quality time and conversing with people you love and care about. Connect with your self.

At the end of your life, looking back, it won't be how many material items you accrued, or how big your house was, or how many cars you owned, that makes your life worthwhile. It will be the quality of your relationships, the quality of your experiences and the quality of the person you are that really counts.

Bliss Pointing

Life enhancing is about quality and quantity. Not one at the expense of the other. There's a bliss point and a balance. So take time to reflect and examine how you are lifeing. And what better way to do that, than over some wonderful philosophical conversation and a delightful meal for the senses such as can be found at Brandy Creek.


wishing you life enhancing being and doing
Grant


and here's some interesting and thought provoking reading that you might choose to add some value to your life:

A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough

"More people than ever are tyrannized by modern life and the incessant compulsion to do, go, and achieve. Is the price we pay for these goals worth it? In this luminous book, nationally renowned author and therapist Wayne Muller shows us how to pay attention, notice, and appreciate what really matters. Quite frankly, this book can preserve your sanity and save your life."

From Being to Doing. The Origins of the Biology of Cognition

"At the beginning of the last century, physicists revolutionised the scientific view of the world. Today biologists are radically transforming our understanding of the processes of life and cognition. Probing the mysteries of the mind, they have been able to prove that, in the act of knowing, the observer and the observed, subject and object, are inextricably enmeshed. The world we live in is not independent from us; we literally bring it forth ourselves. One of the protagonists of this new kind of thinking is the internationally renowned neurobiologist and systems theorist Humberto R. Maturana who was interviewed for several weeks by Bernhard Poerksen, journalist, and communication scientist. In this book, they explore the limits of our cognitive powers, discuss the truth in perception, the biology of love, and give, all in all, an introduction to systemic thinking that is down to earth, imaginative, and rich in anecdote."

Walden - Henry David Thoreau

"A truly classic treatise on being and doing. First published in 1854, Henry David Thoreau's groundbreaking book has influenced generations of readers and continues to inspire and inform anyone with an open mind. Thoreau lived at Walden Pond from July 1845 to September 1847, chronicling his experiences there. It was an experiment in living a life unhindered by social trappings and tradition, defining what it truly means to be human."