Just Do It

Walking the Tao is not really a religion in the way that someone can tell you what is good for you and what is not. But then, it is very much a religion when you go by the true meaning of the word "religion" which means to bind in Latin. When you follow Her signals you are literally glued to the path. But it is you who has to do the steering to get into the vicinity of the holy Now; from there on She will take over. We hope that our notes can help you with that first step.

You can not really know what the Tao is, very much like you do not know what a summer breeze is until you have actually experienced it for yourself. We have tried to describe the Tao in detail to you in many previous notes but this is based on our experiences. Many ways lead to Rome as they say and you will likely travel your idiosyncratic path. You probably already had a glimpse, or you are about to get a glimpse of Her. But this first encounter is unfortunately just transient. It will be up to you to make this connection a permanent one and there is only one authority in the world that has the ability to accomplish that feat and that is you.

Everything you do can be an experiment; everything you experience is a chance to connect with the holy Now or an opportunity to remove psychological blocs in yourself. To connect with theTao means to surrender to life. Trust, love, joy, peace and a magnificent feeling of connectedness are your companions when you travel the Tao and they can be your yardstick. But as you will find out for yourself, they are present for only as long as you are ready to receive them. A spiritual path is a journey to make this connection with the Tao a permanent one and more importantly, it is your journey; no one else can help you with that.

Su Zhen and Christian discovered the Tao from different starting points. Su Zhen discovered the ancient Voice inside herself with the help of meditation and mindful living exercises while Christian discovered the Tao in external signs, in relationships, in synchronicities and in seeing meaningful connections wherever he looked. Take it easy, do not over-think it, as a matter of fact, do not think at all, just do it. Go towards Her and discover how you can always discover a soul sibling in all your daily interactions. Take a few steps away from Her and see how the babbling in your head will get stronger and stronger. Just experiment! If you are really driven to experience this divine connection you cannot really make a mistake. Everything you do will make Her path clear to you one way or another.

Slowly, you will find yourself connecting with a Force which is all knowing, loving and guiding. The more encounters you have with Her, the more confidence you will have to walk the Way. This Force is growing you the wings to fly. You only need to have tasted Her once and a life-long synchronization process will occur.

Everything will make sense along the Way. The good stuff as well as the bad stuff; everything will be spiritually meaningful to you. Dismantling walls has some dust, dirt and noise attached to it so please bear the demolition process patiently. This destructive force is just there to break down the walls that inhibit you from experiencing freedom, healing, joy, peace and love. The things She tries to take away from you are harmful for you so please don't stand in Her path. Don't be scared and trust the Tao always knows best and always does everything for you with love and care. With this trust, even you are undergoing some difficult transitions, you will still experience peace doing it. Our last advice, stop reading and thinking about the Tao. Delve into life and experience Her yourself. Just do it!

By Christian and Sue Zhen

The Path of the Golden Middle

You are a powerful creator my friend. Whoever you think you are, you are. If you are the scientist type and you believe in a random universe you will find it. If you are the more creative type and you believe in a magic kingdom, you will find that too. So the open-minded scientist should pause here; be willing to experiment in the metaphysical sphere. Step out of your dry environment just as a conjecture and I am sure you will be sent on a journey that will provide a lifetime of new insights. All the while you will be guided by signs that you can study and examine just as every good scientist would in the real world. Just don't try to prove anything to your colleagues or otherwise your evidence will melt under the magnifying glass.

There are many magicians in the New Age crowd; spiritual seekers who have stumbled on a power base and who spend a lifetime refining it. Sure, if it is your mission to be a magician go ahead, but in the end you are constraining yourself just as much as the scientist is who believes in the random universe. Your belief set defines the world you will experience.

There is only one path that leads to liberation and that is that of the golden middle, the Tao. You reject the random universe idea just because you know the force - the Tao - that guides you. Nothing is random where the Tao travels. But you should follow this path to the end and shouldn't stop at the places where fascinating metaphysical exercises are performed. You have only one mission - one belief set - and that is: 'Lift this heavy looking curtain once and for all, I need to see what really lies beyond!'

On Fate

In the investment business you see really talented people not making it. What I find so amazing is that few really want to face this fact. All kind of excuses are identified why these particular investors were stubborn, made mistakes or whatever else it is that people come up with. Tell them that perhaps it was fate and they will likely roll their eyes. It is hard for the 'I' to accept defeat, so we come up with all kind of explanations of why defeat is not an option for us personally. 

You know the expression 'Hollywood ending' for the simple reason that in the US the hero is not supposed to die. In the Greek tragedy the heroes did die, but the Greek found solace in the fact that the tales of the hero would live on in the minds of future generations. So even in this perspective there is ego involvement.

The path of the Tao is a different one. Empires rise and they crumble and the Tao traveler is a happy by-stander in all cases. Sure, your ego has involvement, but you have always the option to step out of it. Find the spiritual meaning in all the events and see for yourself whether they manage to make you whole and bring you to the core of your being. The journey of the Tao is not really a philosophy, nor is it a religion, it is an experiment. Try and see for yourself whether it is true.

The Spiritual Experiment

The ego's logic is as impeccable as that of the Holy Spirit because your mind has all the means at it's disposal to side with Heaven or earth, as it elects.

A Course in Miracle

The Course in Miracle came about because their authors decided one fine day that there must be a different way of interacting with each other at work. It was then when Helen Schucman heard a voice who claimed he was Jesus. There are really only two ways to make this step towards the metaphysical side. Either you are so fed up with real life that you think you have nothing to lose anymore. Or you are so curious that you want to explore the metaphysical just based on the hunch that it might exist. 

It turns out there are two ways of living your life. The ego version we all know about. But if you live your life in opposition with what your ego demands, you can see for yourself whether this world exist. It is a bit scary at first to run this experiment, but when the dust settles you are only left with sunshine and peace. Try for yourself!

The Divine Experiment

Every day you live is an experiment and has been so since childhood. We are taught how to behave by our parents, our teachers, our friends and colleagues, and we have our own nature and our own drives. We stretch the set boundaries from time to time and just see what happens. Slowly but surely we develop our own comfort zone and just live merrily within our  little personality niche- and if we suddenly get hit by a bus, well, then we have to adjust again.

The divine experiment is to question your personal drives, perhaps even questioning the cultural status quo. Surely, you cannot negate who you are, but you can run little experiments such as "let me drop my psychological shield just as the camera zooms into me", or "let me skip the morning coffee just as my important presentation comes up", or "let me shut up just as I feel the desire to jump into a conversation". There are people who say that if you listen to life and ignore the voice that pops up first in your head, magical things happen. Well, you can certainly experiment with that concept.

Unfortunately, if the sword of your opponent strikes you just after you lowered your shield, doesn't prove that the Tao masters are wrong, it may just indicate that your experiment was a little premature or that you simply overlooked something. Many of us are so frustrated that it takes years to wander along our path, when in fact life may just protect us from ourselves. Start small in your experiments would be my advise; your opportunity to shine will be there before you know it, and enjoy the divine experiment!