My fitbit #Fitstats for 11/22/2013: 4,952 steps and 2.2 miles traveled. http://www.fitbit.com/user/28KDGG
Daily Tao / 327 – Colorless
What’s the difference between the erotic and spiritual?
Temples and lovers are equally gaudy.
What’s the difference between eroticism and spirituality? Both refer to ecstasy. Both lead to transcendence of the self. Both lead to unification with a larger order. Both are vulnerable to the excesses of perversion, lust, sadism, obsession, and madness. Eroticism and spirituality — the two deepest endeavors of humanity are twins.
Both eroticism and spirituality mean intense involvement in the diversity and color of the world. But there is a higher order, a state where one is holiness itself. Then nothing of the world of color matters to you anymore. The pleasures of the couch will mean nothing. Neither will the glories of the ascetic’s efforts mean anything. Only by entering the colorless state of pure, blinding light can there be freedom from the twins.
Meditation changes your consciousness. The type of consciousness that emerges depends on the meditation. Your consciousness in turn colors your perceptions of the world around you. There is no such thing as objective reality. You color everything. If you want the highest state of being, aim for consciousness without color.
Daily Tao / 326 – Mysticism
All mystical traditions are one.
They are the seed of all religions.
Tao. Zen. Tantra. Yoga. Kabbalah. Sufi. Mystic Christianity. Shamanism. And so many more secretly treasured by their adherents. These all share the same mystical sense of communion with the divine. Meditation is not something peculiar to one culture.
All cultures know a mystical core that emphasizes continuing refinement, meditation, and unification with the greater cosmos. I call that greater order Tao. They call it by different names. What does it matter what people call it? When they discovered what was holy, they uttered different sounds according to their history and culture, but they all discovered the same thing. There is only one divine source in life.
For generations, mystics of all traditions have plunged into Tao. When they meet on the unutterable levels, they know without words that they have reached the same core of spirituality. No matter where in the world you are, there are traditions with the purity to lead you to Tao.
Daily Fitbit stats
My fitbit #Fitstats for 11/21/2013: 5,124 steps and 2.2 miles traveled. http://www.fitbit.com/user/28KDGG
Daily Fitbit stats
My fitbit #Fitstats for 11/20/2013: 6,640 steps and 2.9 miles traveled. http://www.fitbit.com/user/28KDGG
Daily Fitbit stats
My fitbit #Fitstats for 11/20/2013: 6,640 steps and 2.9 miles traveled. http://www.fitbit.com/user/28KDGG
Daily Tao / 325 – Mate
Passion is but a prelude to
Years of gradual unfolding.
Some people mate for life. Perhaps their love affair starts with infatuation, passion, and eroticism. Eventually it gives way to a more stable companionship. Not all couples pass this transition period intact, but those who do find a new mode of relating to one another. Devoted lovers find that minor faults can be accepted. At the same time, they find acceptance in spite of their own inherent shortcomings and insecurities.
Mature love is patient, selfless, generous, and kind. The lover becomes more important that the self. In love, we find transcendence and a unity that is unattainable alone.
Many sages speak out against romantic love. Can it be that they have never felt it or that they have been bitterly disappointed themselves? Individuals should know themselves well. If they are meant for love, they will know.
Ultimately, the other is divine and divinity dwells in the other. Through love, one can come to know the beauty of unity and wholeness. Without the female, the male element is static and sterile. Without the male element, the female is boundless potential without a catalyst. Through unification, we find selflessness, purity, and divinity.
Daily Fitbit stats
My fitbit #Fitstats for 11/20/2013: 6,640 steps and 2.9 miles traveled. http://www.fitbit.com/user/28KDGG
Daily Fitbit stats
My fitbit #Fitstats for 11/19/2013: 5,743 steps and 2.5 miles traveled. http://www.fitbit.com/user/28KDGG
Daily Tao / 324 – Mosaic
Tiles of carnelian, lapis, and jade,
The muralist sets his picture
One centimeter at a time.
Every piece alone is precious;
Together they make a priceless whole.
Not far from where I grew up, there was a muralist whose specialty was mosaic. He accepted commissions from all over the world and also collaborated with a number of famous artists on their murals and sculptures. He had bins and buckets full of all sorts of fascinating tiles. Some were red, blue, and yellow glass. Others were elaborately glazed ceramic. A few were stones like lapis, turquoise, malachite, and obsidian. Some were even mirrored with gold and silver, and these would shine out first whenever he would wash away the grout.
God may be in the details, but it is also important to know the big picture.
That is where the muralist is such a great example. He knew what the big picture had to be, and yet he had enough concentration to piece together enormous tableaus out of tiny square centimeters. That is knowing both the small and the big. Follow his example and you will never be petty; yet you will not lose sight of the relationship between the microcosmic and the macrocosmic.
my mostly unfabulous life 