Cultivate harmony within yourself, and harmony becomes real
Cultivate harmony within your family, and harmony becomes fertile
Cultivate harmony within your community, and harmony becomes abundant
Cultivate harmony within your culture, and harmony becomes enduring
Cultivate harmony within the world, and harmony becomes ubiquitous.

-Daodejing, from Chapter 54,
translation by Peter Merel

Think of life as a garden.  Every action we take is a seed.  Well grounded actions are firmly planted seeds.  These are not easily uprooted.  What does this mean?  For the things in your life that matter most, be consistent and be thoughtful.  Rash actions, harsh words and frivolous care can disrupt your garden.

Each of us tends our own garden.  Yet our garden is part of our family’s garden, which is in turn part of our community’s garden.  The community’s garden is part of our culture’s garden which is part of the global garden.  What you plant influences those around you.  It can change what others plant in their garden.  People are social.  We look at the garden’s around us.  What do you see when you look around yourself?  Do you see beautiful gardens or do you soil going to waste because nothing takes root?

Help those around you by tending your garden well.  It will be an example for others.  Plant fun flowers that make you smile.  Plant good vegetables that fill your belly.  Cultivation is how we live our lives.  How we grow our gardens is our contribution to the world.

I am often asked questions such as  “Do you believe in the soul?” or “Do you believe in an afterlife?”  First, I make it clear that Taoists as a whole do not all share the same views on this subject.  Views can range from a type of reward or punishment existence to reincarnation.  What follows are my own personal views:

Tao is the source of all things.  What this means is that I consider all matter, all energy, all things and the emptiness between things to be part of the Tao.  It’s similar to saying, “everything in the universe”.

To quote Carl Sagan, “We are made of star stuff.” We understand matter to the point where we can trace everything down to protons, neutrons and electrons.  These same basic building blocks can be found in everything from a grain of sand to the brightest star.

But what are we beyond the body?  Our thoughts are the result of brain activity: continuous bio-chemical-electric activity.  I sometimes like to imagine thoughts as looking like lightning streaking back and forth within storm clouds.  I know that when I die, my body will eventually decompose, and the material that I once used will return to the Earth and be made available to be reused.  Just as my body once took from available resources to come into existence and grow, it will be used again.  Nature naturally recycles.

But what about the electrical energies used by my body?  I believe energy is not created nor destroyed.  It can be transformed and dispersed, but it too will be given use by nature, or Tao.  In the strictest manner of speaking, we are all reused in the universe, so you could say this is a type of reincarnation.

Do I believe in the concept that a specific soul, retaining definition from previous lifetimes is reborn as an intact entity?  No.  When the energy of my life is released from the body, it will immediately follow whatever natural paths exist.  Perhaps it is partially absorbed by those around me.  Perhaps it is drawn to the sky and joins the clouds.  It’s all speculative certainly, but I do not believe I will retain the same “self awareness” that I have now since the concept of self is tied to being an entity.

Everything I am, everything that I have been will continue to exist (and eventually become part of something else) after I die … except for the “I” part.

“Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting point. Existence without limitation is space. Continuity without a starting point is time. There is birth, there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in. That through which one passes in and out without seeing its form, that is the Portal of God” - Chuang Tzu

“Sometimes people think of themselves as who they have been and forget to keep being who they are.”

Life is a series of experiences.  As we live, we make choices related to those experiences.  Over time the choices we make become based on similar choices we made in the past instead of being a new choice based on the current situation.  This is accompanied by sayings like “that’s how it’s always been done” and “I’ve grown up now” as justification.

Before our growing history of choices, as a child and even young adult, we were “carefree”.  We lived for the moment.  We took risks.  We were ourselves.  But with each new choice we made, we slowly covered our fluid motions with structure.  Moment by moment we cemented ourselves into a statue-like shell.

There comes a point where we forget what it was like to be who we are, because all of our choices become based on who we have been through the years.  Nothing is new.  Colors are not as bright.  We have it all figured out.  We know how the world works.

So what’s the point?  Existence for the sake of just existing is hollow.

The exciting thing about choices is that at any time we can change how we make them.  Just because “we did it that way in the past” does not force us to do it that way again.  What has always worked doesn’t have to be what only works.

Look at each new day as an actual, bona fide new day.  There may be similar moments, there may be similar choices to make, but they’re still unique and the one and only time you will get to live them.  Why treat them as mundane?  Look at the world today without preconceived perceptions.

Look at everything as if it were the first time.  Because on some levels it is the first time, and what you actually see is being obscured by what you have decided to see.  You can be that person you once knew.

If you have forgotten who you are,  just let go of who you have been.

It has long been considered that we have within us three distinctive types of energy.  The first is Shen, which represents our mental energies.  It is the sculpting force of our thoughts, our personality and emotions.  When shen is high, we are creative, happy, positive.  When it is low, we feel mentally exhausted and can succumb to ailments such as depression.

Another energy which is more commonly heard of in the western world is Chi or Qi.  This energy represents the “life force”.  It is our physical energy which powers the body from day to day.  It is everywhere around us, we breathe it in and it revitalizes us.  It’s the form of energy popularized in movies such as “Star Wars”, Eastern influenced holistic medical practices and even children’s anime.

The third energy is Jing, which is our core essence.  It is the initial essence from our beginning.  It is the DNA of energy so to speak.  It is jing that affects aging and lifespan.  Often considered an energy reserve, jing is used up through such things as overworking, stressful or harmful lifestyles or even excessive sexual activities (although the latter usually applies mainly to men).

Jing is also the only energy that can be physically manifested as it is a “compressed” energy.  Some believe the original tai’chi excercises taught the students how to compress chi energy into jing and use it as an actual forceful energy against an opponent.  Although these teachings are no longer widely known (if not lost forever) the concept of jing energy being used in hand to hand combat is no stranger to the Street Fighter style video game market.

All of the energies are interrelated, but the easiest to influence is the chi.  Which is why there are so many books, diets, videos and exercises designed to help us keep our chi up.  The foundations all begin with eating right, treating your body right and exercising.  From there you can find various methods of breathing, meditation, visualization, etc. to enhance the flow of chi through you.

Although it is theoretically possible to replace jing by compressing chi, it’s not commonly a natural practice so in order for us to live long, healthy lives, we need to avoid tapping into that reserve as often as possible.  Generally, we pull upon our reserves whenever the day to day energies are not enough to sustain our activities.  It doesn’t mean we need to avoid being energetic, it means we need to avoid things that drain us without opportunity for replenishment.

In the Western world, those things are numerous:  demanding careers, financial worries, perscription drugs for everything, addictions to things, status and sex.  Even exercise can be excessive when it’s the result of a drive to obtain some physical ideal appearance upon which a self worth is based.

My advice is to go get one of those books on chi.  Relax a bit, focus on your breathing, listen to the things around you.  You know what things in your life are draining your essence.  It’s not a secret that only an “enlightened one” can realize.  Make a list if you need to and then address each item one by one.  Obviously some of the items you simply may not be able to avoid, but some you can at least lessen their demand on you and likewise your jing.

Trying to live my life in balance, I encourage myself not to categorize my experiences.  This is a difficult choice, especially since my career has been sales for over a decade.  I have to keep in check the desire to press what I want others to buy from me and the impression that I can judge in advance what others want from me with being open and simply listening to them tell me what they want.

This is not to say I am an order taker.  A good salesperson is an educator and a provider.  I share my knowledge and personal enthusiasm with others and if they would like to use the tools I can provide them to enhance their day to day lives, I connect them.

For me, most sales do not end at the completion of a transaction.  On a business level, this is described very briefly as “continued customer support”.  I offer free training on how to use the phones (many people buy smart phones which are really personal organizers, information portals, and complete communication solutions, which can be daunting to fully understand at first).  I make myself available for them to visit with me as needed to help them with their frustrations that come from learning or to find additional products to complement their lives.

Of course, I would think these are the traits of many successful salespeople.  My philosophical views have a more subtle presence, but a very noticeable effect.  I do not try and lead them to my direction (of course those who ask my opinions and preference will hear them).  I am like a passenger with them on a raft, watching where they are going and offering them what I have to help them along the way.

I think sales is just a business term for a very basic aspect of life.  Everyone is in sales.  Sales is sharing: products and services, certainly, but also ideas, perceptions, emotions, beliefs.  Sometimes sales involves money transactions, sometimes not.  When we introduce ourselves to another, it’s sales on a very basic level.

My girlfriend plays a computer game called Sims 2.  When the little electronic people in game meet each other, each “transaction” ends with little “pluses” or “minuses” over their heads.  This translates into a numeric value representing how the two feel about each other.  I think this does closely mimic real life.  We remember our interactions with others and that carries over to the next time we meet.  Positive interactions increase the likelihood of future positives, and negatives often breed additional negatives.  In effect, every time we communicate with others, we are selling:  sometimes things, sometimes ideas, sometimes just ourselves as friends.  It doesn’t have to be overt, it doesn’t even have to be with intent.  It just is, without effort, without motive.

I carry this belief along with me in all aspects of my life.  In work I feel relaxed and enjoy it because I am doing the same thing as when I am not working.  I am giving, teaching, learning and receiving.  It’s the same things I do when not at work.

Just like in the Sims game, there will be little plus signs and little minus signs.  Therein lies the challenge with all interpersonal interactions.  In business the goal is to have more of the positives and less of the negatives.  This will result in success.  In life, your goals may vary, but it would be safe to say that life is often easier for most of us when we feel good towards others and others feel good towards us.  It’s not difficult to realize: surround yourself with positive thoughts and feelings and you will attract the same in others.  Angry, negative people often spiral down into more negativity and can even bring others with them.

What do you choose?