Namaste!
By the time you read this I’m probably in the car in route to London where Penny and I will spend the night close to the airport for a much welcomed early morning get-away.
I’m very excited to come home and rest. Sleep hasn’t come easy on this trip and at times, I’ve felt as though someone scooped my brain out and left me with a plant pot for a head; not the best way to lecture but I gave them my best!
Here you can see me giving my last lecture at Fit Pro, which was titled, Knee Pain – A Holistic Approach. It was well attended and many shared their gratitude for their new, expanded understanding of knee pain and injury, which was gratifying.
As usual, my lectures trigger MANY questions in people, usually about their own problems. You can see me answering their questions here:
When I got to Loughborough, I was walking all over the place hoping to find some rocks to stack. After looking all over the place to no avail, I was about to leave with Penny to go to workout at the gym and low and behold, there was a great big pile of rocks behind our apartment (flat) where Penny parked the car.
I couldn’t help but laugh at myself for looking all around the “neighborhood” before looking around the house! Just before we left this morning, I left a little surprise for the landlord.
Here you can see me with my morning meditation:
This is a photo of the stack when the sun peeked through the clouds. I was really happy with it because I felt it added some beauty to the area.
I’ve put a lot of effort sharing into my blogs as of late, so I thought I’d just get right to the point today.
The word “Tao” essentially means, the middle way.
Not too much.
Not too little.
To be in harmony with nature and your surroundings.
To invest time and energy only into the things that are important in life.
To not get hung up on the small stuff!to not sweat the small stuff!
Here is my little reminder I drew for myself that sits by my table where I eat at my office. Written at the top, just in case you can’t read it from the picture, it says:
If your actions are in accord with The Way, you will be of The Way!Nurture The Way yourself, and virtue will follow.
Lao Tzu —The Tao Te Ching
If you’ve not read the Tao Te Ching, I recommend Steven Mitchel’s translation, It’s excellent. The audio is great to. I’ve listened to it oh, maybe 60 times or more!and I still learn from it every time! And no, “I don’t know” !
[amazon-product align=”left”]0061232068[/amazon-product]The more challenging, hectic, chaotic or unpleasant your life is, the more of an opportunity you have to practice living Tao. The more chance you have for personal, professional and spiritual growth.
We can all learn to take advantage of adversity, or, we can make excuses about how shitty our life is and hope God will send angels to fix everything, give you money, cook for you and tuck you in bed.
So far, the later option hasn’t been too successful even after a couple thousand year long-range study by those of the Abrahamic religions at large.
Therefore, the evidence suggests that you actually have to participate in your life and take responsibility for your own “godding”.
There is a very good reason that OSHO said, “There is no religion before Lao Tzu – there is no religion after Lao Tzu”.
Anyone that has studied and practice the teachings of the Tao Te Ching honestly knows exactly what OSHO meant. Anyone that hasn’t will argue that this kind of statement from OSHO or someone like myself is bullshit.
Anyone that needs a big daddy in the sky to take care of them and reassure them that they will have a spot in heaven, regardless of how silly they act from Monday through Saturday before repenting yet again on Sunday will not want to read or even know about Lao Tzu.
All we can do is be living examples for them. Life will be their own parasite infection. When their body, mind and spirit are inflamed and in pain, then is the time to share.
Pain is beautiful once you understand how it functions in life, just like parasites.
I look forward to sharing my next blog with you from the comfort of my own office.
Love and chi,
Paul Chek
