Faith

January 26, 2011 · Posted in Tao · 2 Comments

Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)

Via Twitter, @TheOnlyRealSage asked me if I have any words on lost faith or hope. To start with, we need to understand what these words mean. Faith is often used interchangeably with belief or trust. In such cases, to lose your faith in someone would mean a loss of trust or belief in their words or actions. Another use of “lost faith” is in a wider spiritual sense and means to become disillusioned with a particular view. In this light, Faith is the acceptance of an explanation for something that has no other reasoning that satisfies you. When you begin to doubt this explanation, you lose acceptance and eventually you’re left with no satisfactory answers.

The problem with faith in a specific system or religion is these are generally static, meaning they have little room for change. Yet answers must change as our understanding of the world changes. Anything unable to reasonably grow with our awareness will often bring us into direct conflict between our faith and our understanding. While it may be possible to make enough justifications in our minds to reconcile these differences, it’s often that we have to let go of old answers that simply no longer work for us.

Tags: faith, religion, science, twitter

Jealousy

January 17, 2011 · Posted in Health · Comment

Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)

This post is in response to a twitter message asking my thoughts on Jealousy and how to get rid of it.

It’s important to understand the feeling and its source. Personally, I place it in the Fear Family of emotions. It can have various roots: uncertainty, distrust, a low self-esteem. The important thing when examining the feeling is to be honest with yourself and accept that you are the reason you feel jealous. Nobody else forces this on you.

Tags: jealousy, twitter

A Closer Look at the Golden Rule

January 7, 2011 · Posted in Tao · Comment

Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)

A popular saying is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. From the Bible( KJV), Jesus is quoted as saying, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”

While on the surface, this sounds like solid advice, I believe its intrinsic flaw in logic has been the cause of much suffering through the ages. The problem is not everyone else wants to be treated the way you want to be treated.

A poem by Chuang Tzu expresses this idea.

Tags: Bible, Chuang-Tzu, golden rule

Movement and Stillness

January 1, 2011 · Posted in Health, Tao · Comment

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As with many things in Taoism, an interdependent duality is expressed about things which seem opposite of each other. Darkness has no meaning without light. Beauty cannot exist without ugliness present for comparison. While these seem to easily appeal to the logically minded, the idea that movement is defined by stillness causes some to pause.