Pixie

Speaking of Basics, I like Michael Winn's stuff, particularly his Fundamental II DVD which has some very good chi gung routines. He has extensive courses at the Healingtaousa website.

 

One of my favorite Tao CD's is from Minke DeVos, her Tao Basics CD has 4 guided meditations, Microcosmic Orbit, Energy meditation, Sexual Energy meditation and Full Body w/ exploration of organ/spirits. All have music and sound effects w/ them, they're very well done; not as good as a real class, but close and they're repeatable. You can find them at the Silent Grounds website, though Minke can be slow to ship.

 

Guided meditations like hers are a good way to get a feeling for what you're reading about.

Michael

Thanks for your reply! As I am new to this, I'm currently focusing on getting to grips with the philosophical concepts. From there I plan to move on to the practical aspect if I find I agree with what Taoism teaches. Thanks for suggesting these DVDs to me, when I am ready to incorporate the practical side I will definitely try to get hold of them.

Pixie

in doing one's taoist best, making a mistake still can happen often, and hopefully less and less. when it doesn't

fly, one waits in reflection on 'why', and when timing seems right, solutions are further sought - or maybe

one does nothing. lao tzu wrote 'when there is enough remorse, there is no blame'. 'guilt' as so many

feel it is not a driving force on the way to consciousness of tao. in contemplating tao, and so seeking a little

clarity, one lets go of guilt, and all such thought-clutter, and strives to act in ways that keep the possibility

of guilt out of the picture.

Ah I see, so it is a prevention rather than cure approach - and where we most often feel guilt we find the areas we most need to work on. That makes a lot of sense, thanks!

Pixie

besides breathing practice, meditation, and all such approaches to cultivating awareness of tao(consciousness),

the aim of continuing study of taoist texts/commentaries is to cultivate and make quite routine ('automatic'?)

the daily stream of one's responses to situations, difficulties, diversions, etc, in effective ways that don't

conflict with core taoist teachings (principles) (lao tzu, chuang tzu, et al) that is how i practice philosophical taoism (and the 'tao of social psychology', if you will).

Ah, I see, that makes sense. It is a way of life and affects everything you do. It must have taken you a long time to reach a point (or maybe it is one of those things you never stop reaching for).

Say you respond to a difficult situation to the best of your ability, but it turns out to be a mistake: do you feel guilty, and if so who do you ask forgiveness from? Coming from an entirely Christian background that is something that affects me a lot, a plaguing feeling of guilt when I haven't kept up to "standard".

Pixie

First off, both in this question and all the others you've been asking, be advised that there is never one universally accepted answer.

 

You'll have to form your own opinions in the long term, and for choosing harmless and enjoyable ways to investigate it usually boils down to finding people you'd quite like to be more like and doing a bit of what they do.

 

...

 

I think pretty much everyone is agreed that belly breathing is good, and that being in nature is great but you don't want to get dependent on it, and that not being pulled all over the place by negative thoughts and emotions is good. But I can't offhand think of anything else that everybody agrees on.

 

Hope that helps. There is way more. Chew slowly, I'd suggest.

 

Ian

Hi Ian, thanks for your reply! Since there are so many different opinions, perhaps ch'i is something that is individual to each person, like the soul, but it is also connected with everything else. I'll be sure to read into this once I get hold of some books.

Pixie

hi pixie - i practice only philosophical taoism, and have since age 18. taoism IS my existing 'faith'. i hesitate to use the term faith, as it can have so many confusing connotations. the old religious/philosophical

'compare and contrast' discussion on knowledge, belief, and faith, doesn't enter into my daily living (practice)

of taoism. i just make a point of it here to illustrate the sort of cumbersome construct-bound thought that

taoists generally 'cast off'. letting go of such habits is one of the objects of taoist practices such as meditation.

Ah okay, sorry, I got confused ^^ (this happens a lot...particularly just now as I have the flu, blagh). How do you go about practicing philosophical Taoism? I understand that religious Taoism involves incense, giving offerings, that sort of thing, but I figure this isn't the way you go about things.

Pixie

Thanks for the replies, everyone! *still stunned by the helpfulness*

trailmaker, I like your take on it - that Taoism has its place among all religions without being intrusive or contradictory. Do you feel that you practise Taoism as an addition to your existing faith?

Hardyg, I did try looking it up on Wiki but unfortunately it seems to crash my browser (I'm using Safari so a lot of sites don't work on it). I will probably download Firefox to use as an alternative when this happens.

goldisheavy and WhiteTiger, thanks for giving me such detailed answers to my questions, that has cleared up a lot of things. It's interesting that some choose to follow Tao as a religion and others as a philosophy, although, I think it makes more sense as a philosophy as there are no particular deities to worship in Taoism.

Eric23 and Mal, thanks for the book suggestions, I will try to get hold of copies of those.

fizix, thanks for the advice - I have noticed that and I am more interested now in studying it as a philosophy rather than as a religion.

---

Onto the next dumb question! I understand that ch'i is spiritual energy and that it's important to one's health and wellbeing... but can anyone tell me about it in more detail? What are the ways of influencing ch'i? Do you get different strengths of ch'i in different people - can it be "grown" over time?

Thanks all

Pixie

1. Do Taoists believe in God (or a Goddess? or several?)

Religious Taoists believe in gods but philosophical ones usually dont.

2. Do Taoists believe in the concept of Heaven and Hell, or any kind of afterlife for that matter?

Religious Taoists do but philosphical ones usually dont.

3. What is the difference between "circular" and "linear" time?

I dont know.

4. What is the purpose of an individual in Taoism?

To know, love and serve Tao.

5. How do Taoists worship?

Religious Taoists worship in temples with altars and priests and philosophical ones dont usually worship.

6. Is Taoism a religion or a philosophy?

Both.

7. Are there any sacred texts in Taoism?

The Taoist canon has over 2000 books but there is no central authority to say which ones are gospel or not.

Thanks for replying so quickly, I'm really amazed at how friendly and helpful everyone has been so far. I haven't really experienced this from any religion before.

I like that Taoism embraces both religion and philosophy. In Christianity I used to struggle with the commandments to have a "child-like" faith and to not ask questions... My feelings about that were something close to, "Why would God give me intelligence if I'm not allowed to use it?"

I think I am going to find this very interesting to study, even if I don't adopt it as a religion myself. Thank you

Pixie

Hi thelerner, thanks for your reply! Everyone is being so helpful, I'm amazed.

So far I am finding Taoism very interesting to study in that it openly acknowleges the many different aspects of life. As I said in my reply to DarinHamel, I used to struggle in Christianity with the concept of "child-like" faith, of not asking questions - it was like an insult to my intelligence!

Could you tell me any more about Inner Alchemy? That sounds quite interesting. Do all Taoists practise it?

Pixie

right - you'll find taoists very receptive to questions.

 

at an early age, i was introduced to taoism through lao tzu's 'tao te ching' by a professor of religion, and

have been studying one translation or another many years now. everyone has preferences regarding

translators of the 'tao te ching', and available commentaries to help guide others. my favorite is

'the tao te ching' by david hinton, very concise verses, poetic format. available at amazon.com or amazon.ca

for $5 to $10 u.s. plus shipping, used/good condition. it has, like many editions, a good introduction to taoist

study, and a concise glossary of key terms. great for the beginner.

Thanks for the suggestion! Because of my spiritual background I am really quite hestitant about throwing myself into anything too quickly, so something that is consise will be very helpful to me! Thanks!

Pixie

hello, pixie, and welcome.

 

the word when i was studying for a teaching degree was 'there are no stupid questions - only stupid answers.'.

am sure you will find the finest advice/answers here, and hope you really enjoy.

Hello trailmaker, thanks for the reply! Wow, that was fast. I think I'm going to like it here. Most forums don't welcome newcomers.

Pixie

Hi everyone.

I know pretty much nothing about Taoism so I am feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the amount of information posted in the pinned forums... I need some guidance! I would like to buy a book which is sound and easy to understand - an 'introduction' to Taoism so to speak, which includes a little background history to the path. I really don't know anything about it at all. Any suggestions?

And if anyone is in the mood for a questionnaire...

1. Do Taoists believe in God (or a Goddess? or several?)

2. Do Taoists believe in the concept of Heaven and Hell, or any kind of afterlife for that matter?

3. What is the difference between "circular" and "linear" time?

4. What is the purpose of an individual in Taoism?

5. How do Taoists worship?

6. Is Taoism a religion or a philosophy?

7. Are there any sacred texts in Taoism?

... I realise that all of these questions have probably been asked thousands of times on this forum but I found it pretty difficult to find any basic answers... so thanks in advance for your time.

Pixie

Hi all!

Let's see... where do I start?? I'm a quirky, off-the-wall 19-year-old from Scotland... and pretty disillusioned with most things in Western culture... I was brought up as a Christian and ended up in a Baptist church for 6 years... let's just say that there is NO WAY ON EARTH that that pastor was a Christian, all he taught was hatred and intolerance, it was totally imbalanced and wrong... so I have kinda lost faith in religious leaders, which also led me to question what I'd been brought up to believe.

I've looked into various different faith systems without much success - this includes Ras Tafari, Catholicism, Wicca... everything you can think of. But everything, I have noticed, lacks harmony, and lacks control over one's own path. I had heard a little about Taoism and liked the concept of Yin and Yang... I felt I could relate to it somehow, as if it was something I was remembering from a dream... but somehow more real. If that makes any sense whatsoever.

I've long had an interest in Eastern culture and religion because it's so different to what I have known. I'm hoping to find some answer/direction in joining this forum... I'm afraid I'm going to be asking a lot of stupid questions, but "He who dares ask is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask is a fool forever".

Oh and a bit about my personal background, as well as spiritual: Parents divorced when I was 8, got bullied in school until I was 16, have had a couple of bad breakups, one of which I am still trying to get over. Had severe jealousy issues between myself and my siblings (step-siblings included). Basic result is... no harmony whatsoever, and this is really what I am searching for... wish me luck.

Hoping to make some new friends on this forum too, so say hi and tell me a bit about yourselves... Sorry if this was long...

Pixie