More wisdom from "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life," by Wayne Dyer. The 21st verse of the Tao is a poetic musing on the mystery of the all-knowing, all-providing energy that surrounds us always. The last two lines read:
How do I know the ways of all things at the beginning?
I look inside myself and see what is within me.
The Tao comes from the truth that is inside of us at all times. Another version of this, from the Sufi poet Hafiz:
If you think that the truth can be known from words
If you think that the sun and the ocean can pass through
That tiny opening called "the mouth". . . .
Oh! Someone should start laughing!
Someone should start wildly laughing —
Now!
One of the categories of GOforChange is "Inspiration." I’ve always been fascinated by the etymology of words that we tend to throw around unconsciously. "Inspiration" comes from the Latin, inspiratus , or inspirare : "inspire, inflame, blow into," from in -"in" + spirare "to breathe." Breathing is such a part of life that we often are completely unaware of it. When we take a bit of time to notice our breath, we become more open and expansive. This stillness helps us navigate the challenges of life.
I’ve been listening to Wayne Dyer’s "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life," which is his exploration of the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching , as applied to our modern world. Each day, I listen to a verse of the Tao, along with his musings on what it means to us today and how to apply it in simple, practical terms. For example:
11th Verse of the Tao Te Ching
Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub.
It is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges.
Shape clay into a vessel.
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Carve fine doors and windows,
but the room is useful in its emptiness.
The usefulness of what is
depends on what is not.
As an architect, I have always been attracted to this verse, with its embrace of the void, of the spaces between. Continued
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