IDIOSYNKRSA

THE TAO. “In Chinese philosophy, there is the idea of the “middle Path” that lies between the opposites. It is called Tao. Tao is usually associated with the name of the philosopher; Lao-Tze, born in 604 B.C. Tao expresses itself as, “Dwelling without desire, one perceiveth its essence; clinging to desire, one seeth only its outer form.” – “Tao is an irrational, hence a wholly inconceivable fact. Tao is essence, but unseizable, incomprehensible.”

“Tao is an irrational union of the opposites (opposites-one’s good and bad sides blended to make an acceptable whole) - therefore a symbol which is and is not...

“He whose actions are in harmony with Tao becometh one with Tao. Therefore the complete person is freed from the opposites whose intimate connection, and alternating appearance, he is aware of. Therefore to withdraw oneself is the celestial way, and he is the complete one inaccessible to intimacy, inaccessible to estrangement, inaccessible to profit, inaccessible to injury, inaccessible to honor, inaccessible to disgrace! Being one with Tao resembles the spiritual condition of a child.

“The Taoistic religion says that Tao is divided into a principal pair of opposites, Yang and Yin.

“Yang is warmth, light, masculinity.
“Yin is cold, darkness, femininity.
“Yang is also heaven.
“Yin is earth.
“From Yang force arises, Schen, the celestial portion of the human soul.
“From yin force arises, Kwei, the earthly part.
“As a microcosm, man is also in some degree a reconciler of the pairs of opposites. Heaven, man and earth form the three chief elements of the world...

“The Chinese Tao presentation is also suggested in the familiar passage in Faust:

“Two souls, alas! Within my bosom dwell-
“One would from the other sever:
“The one in full delight of live
“Clings with clutching organs to the world:
“The other, mightily, from earthly dust
“Would mount on high to the ancestral fields.

“The existence of two mutually contending tendencies, both striving to drag man into extreme attitudes and entangle him in the world-whether upon the spiritual of the material side (thereby setting him at variance with himself) – demands the existence of a counterweight, which is just this irrational fact: Tao. That is why the followers of the Taoistic philosophy make anxious efforts to live in harmony with Tao, lest they fall into a conflict of the opposites, Since Tao is an irrational fact, it cannot be deliberately achieved, a fact which Lao-Tze emphasizes.

“Thus the aim of the Taoistic ethic sets out to find deliverance from that tension of the opposites, which is an inherent property of the universe, by a return to Tao.” -Author Jane Cabot Reid from “Jung, My Mother and I”; Pages 339-341. FROM CARL JUNG ON POWER, LOVE AND TAO.

“As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clearheaded science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about the atoms this much: There is no matter as such! All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. . . . We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.” ― Max Planck, The New Science

ESSENTIAL THING:

LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL...

“The great events of world history, are, at bottom, profoundly unimportant. In the last analysis, the essential thing is the life of the individual. This alone makes history, here alone do the great transformations first take place, and the whole future, the whole history of the world, ultimately spring as a gigantic summation from these hidden sources in individuals. In our most private and most subjective lives we are not only the passive witnesses of our age, and its sufferers, but also its makers. We make our own epoch.” – Carl Jung

FLOW...

...Happiness/ inner harmony might be described as a condition of "flow," achieved by:

a. setting personally challenging goals;

b. total immersion in reaching these objectives, thus even making small steps or common tasks along the way extremely engaging; and,

c. drawing the maximum out of the immediate experience to be really there "in the moment."

“Flow” is focusing on one’s core self, immersed in it, living true self-interest; purposely stepping outside one's own “ego” whose shortsightedness must be ignored.

“Flow” is learning by looking beyond sudden, disruptive negatives that only disorganize consciousness.

“Flow” is often experiencing the archetypal, caught in life's currents or patterns, like a rolling stone, sometimes affirming, other times churning.

"Flow" stretches the mind for accomplishing the difficult and worthwhile, automatically pushing aside all worries and even sense of time.

DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY... "Now these problems either have solution - or they don't. Either you can do something here and now - or you can't. If you can do something here and now about them, then do it - even if it's just a step. It zaps your energy to be worried or anxious about a problem. Do what you can do - but don't be addicted to results or you will create more worry for yourself. If you can do something about a problem here and now, then why make yourself uncomfortable and drain energy by worrying about it? "It's part of the here and nowness of life. That's what it is - here and now. Worry, anxiety or other unpleasant emotions are absolutely unnecessary - and simply lower your insight and the effectiveness of your actions." --from Handbook of Higher Consciousness by Ken Keyes, Jr.

LIFE IS DIFFICULT... "This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters... " from The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck.

EVERY PROBLEM, ANXIETY, OR STRESSful situation can be viewed (&, thus, more easily handled) as either a “challenge” or “inconvenience”.

If it's an “inconvenience”, it's temporary and easily handled.

If it's a “challenge”, it can be embraced as one more fascinating pursuit or lesson. In either case, it is conquered by immersion in "the flow” of life.