You Are Never Alone

She was an experienced world traveler, and enjoyed many contacts in high society. Most recently she had traveled to Spain and met with the economic experts of the Spanish president. Perhaps it was something she had eaten, perhaps it was a bug, but somehow through the meeting she felt like the energy was leaving her system. She kept her questions brief and on the way out asked if she could use the rest-room. Walking towards it she fainted and when she woke up she was in a state of the art hospital.  An friendly nurse took all her vital signs and when, somewhat embarrassed, she wanted to leave in a hurry, the nurse said to her, "Just relax, we are so happy that we can help. We are the medical sport staff of the president, but the president never gets sick."

At some point of our life we all have to face the fact that we are not immortal. In adverse circumstances we can be  as fragile as a rose. So we all have to deal with disease, aging and death. When this insight hits, we will naturally feel powerless, insecure and vulnerable. Worse, when we have to deal with these situations we feel alone,  while the rest of the world seems to be having fun.  We all need to experience these emotions alone and then see whether we can consequently gain our strength from within to deal with it.  However rich we are, however powerful, however enlightened or wise, we all have to face sickness, decay and death.  Yet in all that negative stuff we probably discover unexpected kindness as well, just as our seasoned traveler discovered on her trip to Spain. Every period of struggle will probably also bring a deeper understanding of what others go through and help will show up from unexpected places. A Tao traveler knows that in fortune as well as failure, pleasure as well as pain, we are connected. We also know that every experience is something to be open to.

Whether we are all one as they say is something you will have to find out for yourself. In a sense that is what Taoism is all about, looking for the connections amongst your so-called enemies as well as your friends, in sickness as in health. Venture out of your comfort zone and see what you find. With every  experience, you broaden your heart and expand your focus, and you probably find something you want to share with this world. It is said that Steve Jobs last words before life left him were "Of Wow, oh wow, oh wow ...". Perhaps he was hallucinating, perhaps he saw divinity even in his last breath. One day we will know ourselves, but until then let's enjoy our experiences and connectedness.

Maybe you can send this note to a friend ...

By Christian and Su Zhen

The Voice

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be.
(Luke 12:34)

A colleague showed me the other day a photo in a local newspaper that displayed someone who made it into the Guinness Book of Records with the biggest biceps in the world. When I looked at the arms I didn't really know what to think. I find body building attractive myself, but he looked a little like Popeye on steroids. They also had an interview with his wife who said, 'Well, it took me some time getting used to this size, but I now consider it normal and when I look at the arms of all other men I think to myself, are they sick or something?'

A spiritual path starts when you realize that there is a voice in your head which has little to do with you. The voice telling you that you are not loved, or that you will never make it. Or the voice that tells you that you need to be CEO, or that you need to have the biggest arms in the world. The good news is that once you have experienced only for a single moment that you are not this voice, you have reached the beginning of the end of an ancient journey. Reading others who tell you about your supposedly evil ego doesn't do it; you have to experiment this disconnect for yourself, at least once. But then you will learn to disengage more and more, and as you do, you experience joy, happiness and peace along the way.

You may ask how does one reach this magical moment of disconnecting with the voice in your head? Observe your feelings and see how they are sometimes at odds with what is going on in your head. Realizes how this voice is driving you into a wall over and over again. Experience the inconsistencies in your life - the disconnects of what you want from what the world reflects back to you. A spiritual path is very simple really: figure out who you truly are and what you truly want independent of what the voice babbles.

One thing is important though, never let anyone tell you what you supposedly have to do in the name of spirituality. Our spiritual community is very confused on this point. Who knows, perhaps the man with the biggest arms in the world follows his destiny to show others what we can accomplish with our bodies. Perhaps Steve Jobs followed his spiritual mission to start Apple to let the world experience the wonders of technology. Only you know what is your destiny and what the ramblings of 'the voice' are. Separating the two is really not that hard: 'the voice' tells you where your treasure is supposedly  hiding while your heart knows where your treasure is. All you really have to do is to listen to your heart; that's all.