TAO TE CHING VERSE 1 EMPOWERED SURRENDER – YOGA AND TRANSFORMATION

TAO TE CHING VERSE 1 EMPOWERED SURRENDER – YOGA AND TRANSFORMATION

The Tao Te Ching is a great treasure house of Chinese wisdom written in the 6th century B.C., a classic work of spiritual enlightenment.

The Tao Te Ching provides the basis for the philosophical school of Taoism, which is an important pillar of Chinese thought. Taoism teaches that there is one undivided truth at the root of all things. It literally means:

tao (the way)

te (strength/virtue)

ching (scripture)



BECK TRANSLATION

The Way that can be described is not the absolute Way;

the name that can be given is not the absolute name.

Nameless it is the source of heaven and earth; named it is the mother of all things.



Whoever is desireless, sees the essence of life.

Whoever desires, sees its manifestations.

These two are the same,but what is produced has names.

They both may be called the cosmic mystery:

from the cosmic to the mystical is the door to the essence of all life.



As you begin the journey through the 81 verses of the TAO TE CHING with me, I would like to share this prayer.



Dear God,

If it be in accordance with your will,
I pray that this new age in human history
be a time of spiritual renaissance,
a "second Enlightenment" that will heighten values
and help everyone to realize their true purpose in life.
I pray for peace and justice,
and love and light.
I pray for an abundance of beauty, truth and goodness
in the lives of all the inhabitants of this troubled world.
May there be harmony, sustainability, and evolutionary progress.
Thank you for this gift of consciousness, dear God.
Amen - Steve McIntosh



Tao: the Universal, Invisible, All That Is. The Tao is the source of all, yet it remains unseen and it is Eternal. Once you let go and allow your life to unfold, you will begin to experience the Tao. The mystery and the physical things all come from the same place. There is nothing that is separate. The first verse focuses on the unity of opposites and the mysteriousness of the Tao itself.



YOGA

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means "yoke," and yoke means "union" and "joining." Erich Schiffman describes this:

Yoga, then, is about cultivating the consciousness of your personal connection with the All and of living your daily life with this awareness.



Using your yoga practice to find balance in your body, look for tight, weak, unbalanced and sore spots. Then breathe into them and stretch them with variety of intensity. Using your internal intuition, make subtle adjustments as you search for tension. When you are really stress-free, the poses feel easier, and there will be a feeling of free-flowing unobstructed energy. This is where practice comes in!



Erich Schiffman: The word yoga, the way I think of it, means conscious union with the Infinite. It is not so much that you are re-yoking with the Infinite - you're already yoked with the Infinite - but pausing and feeling the energy that constitutes you and getting out of your head what you think you are supposed to do and giving yourself permission to do as the energy is wanting to do through you. That is how you evidence the inherent harmony of the oneness of the Infinite. Keep being a student of the one and only teacher, the Infinity of God, and dare to do as your deepest feelings prompt you to do. That's how you can help embody the realization of yoga in the world.





Here are some great poems and quotes about union and non-duality

Ramana Maharshi:



"You are awareness. Awareness is another name for you. Since

you are Awareness there is no need to attain or cultivate it. All

that you have to do is to give up being aware of other things, that

is of not-self. If one gives up being aware of them then pure

awareness alone remains, and that is the Self."









A POEM BY RUMI

RADIANCE

If ten lamps are in one place,

each differs in form from another;

yet you can't distinguish whose radiance is whose

when you focus on the light.



In the field of spirit there is no division;

no individuals exist.

Sweet is the oneness of the Friend with His friends.



Catch hold of spirit.

Help this headstrong self disintegrate;

that beneath it you may discover unity,

like a buried treasure.





Bhagavad Gita 4.34-35

Approach someone who has realized the purpose of life and question

him with reverence and devotion; he will instruct you in this wisdom.

Once you attain it, you will never be deluded. You will see all

creatures in the Self, and all in Me.



Yoga is a great way to get in touch with the present moment. I have been studying Ashtanga Yoga for a few decades now and I would like to share a few Yoga-isms with you from the father of Ashtanga Yoga.



Quotes from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, 1915-2009

"Do your practice and all is coming."



"If we practice the science of yoga, which is useful to the entire human community and which yields happiness both here and hereafter - if we practice it without fail, we will then attain physical, mental, and spiritual happiness, and our minds will flood towards the Self”



"Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal.

Yoga is not mine. But don't approach yoga with a business mind -

looking for worldly gain. If you want to be near God, turn your mind

toward God, and practice yoga."- Sri K Pattabhi Jois





NAMASTE







Thank you........

Angie Kielar info@fitnessrxonline.com

248-488-9830

fax 248 488 9828