Energy and the Tao

Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings
but contemplate their return.
Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common Source.
Returning to the Source is serenity.
(Tao Te Ching)

Our spiritual community loves reflecting on the Self.  Everyone in one way or another has experienced this divine connection, has received a glimpse of what life could be if only we could have an ongoing relationship with God. So we keep on reflecting how it would be if we were "there", but the problem is, it is the ego that does the thinking. The ego loves looking ahead or analyze the past. But somehow the present moment always gets lost in the process.

Thinking about the ego is not helpful. Analyzing the ego is the ego's favorite activity, it is nothing but a convoluted mental merry-go-around, but there is something you can do if you want to advance spiritually. You can be aware of the voice in your head. In the same way, you can reflect on the mood that you are in, be aware of the chemicals in your brain that get activated, the hormones that are rushing through your body, the beating of your heart, the breathing, etc. You can very much observe your interactions with others, your responses to events and people, as well as realizing how your environment reacts to you.  When you are mindful of everything that is going on, you have established a God connection already.

You can observe your energy state and observe it very much like the voice in your head.  Your energy state changes as you do different things, when you operate in different environments or talk to different people.  When you read spiritual books you will naturally have a different energy frequency than when you work. When you play with children you have a different energy than when you go on nature walks. When we are aware of everything that goes on within ourselves, the voice in our head, our agenda, our emotions, our energy state, as well as our environment, then we have established a God connection.
Unfortunately, this feat is hard to accomplish.  But that is ok, practice mindfulness whenever you can and let your environment - the Tao - catch you instead. When you step out of your slumber, it is impossible to miss Her.

The missing connection in our God discovery is energy. We have learned the hard way that it is good for us to stay away from dark energies, like colleagues who love to gossip, alcohol, bad food, violence, porn or stress. We have learned as well that we need exposure to good energy fields to stay sane, like nature, serene music, or good books. All these activities simply put new life into us. We want to have exposure to good energies all the time but alas, the pendulum always swings and we are back to our routines and the dark energies start eating away at us.

 This is the Law of Karma.  You are following the path that you have subconsciously set out for yourself.   You can in fact study this force in action. If you keep on exposing yourself to good energies, the positive momentum will get stronger and stronger. In the same way, once you expose yourself to a negative energy field, and you will be carried along into the opposite direction. The truth is, no one can move completely in one direction or the other, there will always be a dance of yin and yang. Let life - the Tao - be the great healer and take you by the hand. The truth is that is what has been going on all your life, and every path is designed to lead you home. Yet, it has been a subconscious journey thus far, but hopefully with the help of this book you can make this process a conscious one instead. Have no fear, experience life as it is, the "good" as well the so-called "bad". Everything that happens to you is designed to take you home, back to the Source.

What you can do today, start experiencing your life with a new perspective and become aware of everything that is going on.  It is not about just experiencing the good stuff all the time, it is about becoming more aware of what you are experiencing.  When you are mindful, when you observe everything that is going on inside of you and your environment, something magic happens. You become one with life, you submerge into what Ekhart Tolle  calls the divine Now.

As a spiritual traveler you can learn to be in tune with your energies. You can feel how your impatience is rising, you can hear when you speak too fast. In this journey you  always have the Tao to lean onto; the way life interacts with you. The Tao is a constant feedback mechanism, the signs and symbols that come your way. When now and then you lose access to your spiritual energy, your friends and your so-called foes will be happy to tell you so. "Slow down brother", or "speed up a little"; everywhere and in every occasion will your soul siblings be happy to tell you what's in store for you.

Let us give you a little example that may illustrates this point. Christian went with a colleague to play some golf.  His colleague was complaining about some management decisions when he heard how their golf bags kept slamming into the door of the SUV, but when he changed the direction of the conversation towards more agreeable subjects, the drive suddenly became much smoother. And as they pulled into the golf course parking lot Christian was saying how much he enjoyed working with a younger colleague as he observed that the clock had just moved to 12:34, a feat that was totally lost on his colleague whose mind had already moved on the golf game instead.

Along the Tao you cannot really make a mistake. Good or bad, light or shade, every state is accepted as is. If you are completely in tune with yourself and your environment, the Tao always stands ready to guide you. We are driven by our desires like everyone else, but we can experience Heaven on earth whenever we hold Her hand. Bliss, love and joy is ours to experience when we are connected. Every moment is yet another priceless opportunity to capture this magic moment.

Christian and Su Zhen