TAOISM IN A NUTSHELL

What is a spiritual system? I see it as a kind of map which we can use to navigate Reality and guide our way through life.
Just as there are different kind of maps, there are different metaphysical systems. They may be different, but each has a validity. You could have a drivers’ map showing the one way systems and road names, or you could have the walkers’ map showing the contours of the hills and lay of the land. Different maps…same terrain. You simply choose the map that helps you to navigate best.

​About ten or so years ago I was lost in the New Age! I had done meditations and ecstatic dances, Reiki and massage, Satsang and deeksha…and I longed for a clear path, a simple map. I went on a vision quest* into nature for four days and four nights and had a series of visions that drew out a clear map. This map was nature’s map, based on seasonal cycles and flows. It turned out to be the map used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Taoism. As this was what came to me when I asked for guidance, it is the map I have used ever since.
I want to offer Taoism, as I experience it, in a nutshell!

• Our bodies are part of a bigger body…the body of Nature.
• Our energy is also part of a larger energy system that runs through this planet and universe.
• Our minds are part of a bigger consciousness, the Higher Consciousness or Oneness.
• When we feel cut off from these greater sources, we experience suffering and separation.
• When we align with these greater sources we feel ease, harmony, wellbeing and connection.
• When the body aligns with nature, we find our natural health and a sense of innocence and naturalness.
• When the mind aligns with Highest Consciousness, we fall into mental peace and clarity. We move beyond personal truths and into the ultimate Truth.
• Poetically, we can call this “aligning between Heaven and Earth” (Taoism likes poetry!!)

Well that’s the nutshell! You can spend a lifetime studying the details. Taoism offers a huge poetry of form…understanding nature’s cycles and how they apply to our health and wellbeing. It is a comprehensive system. Either you can dip your toes in, or you can immerse yourself in it for life!
Tao Tantra uses these same principles to understand our sexuality, and has many techniques to use sexual energy to enhance the union between Heaven and Earth. Sexual energy is the mysterious energy that builds up from the earth and rises up to the heavens: It arises in our physical body, but can be raised to lift our level of consciousness. The Tao Tantric Arts are the mastery of this process…like learning to play an instrument.
Taoism is not a dogmatic religion…it is not even a religion. It is a map. It is a guide. It is a poetry. It is an art. Enjoy!
Related article: How can we Embody Spirituality?