VERSE 4

Good Afternoon,

Verse 4 has been wonderful as the focus falls upon infinity, endlessness, emptiness, nothingness but yet our very essence containing everything we need.  The Tao is simply inexhaustible, it is never going to diminish or run out. Really this is just like our own pure essence which is so much more than just our form. Many of you will have heard the phrase " We are Spiritual beings taking on a temporary human form" Well this verse relates to that in my opinion. Thoughts travel to a place so much deeper than what we see and hear and feel but a calling to tap into the soul. The Tao actually is our ancestor, our Mother or Father , our ocean perhaps and all will return back to that state of being Just like the rivers and valleys and streams all return there too. Empty yet full, all providing yet inexhaustible. A great way to look at verse 4 is to stand in a room full of furniture. Imagine somebody asking you to explain the room but that person did not want to hear about the furniture or the contents. How would you explain its very essence? How much is there in that room that you have never contemplated? I have spent time meditating on this while reciting the verses and although you will never know the Tao, you will come to know and visit that other place...

THE ALL PROVIDING TAO

IS EMPTY YET

INEXHAUSTIBLE 

This verse also asks us to go beyond our mind and thoughts and tap into something much more meaningful. This place is the place that existed before our own consciousness was born. Think about it for a moment.. It is pure magic..

If you overvalue status

you will create contentiousness.

If you overvalue possessions,

people will begin to steal.

Do not display your treasures

or people will become envious.

The Master leads by

emptying people’s minds

and filling their cores,

by weakening their ambitions

and toughening their resolve.

He helps people lose everything

they know, everything they desire,

and creates confusion

in those that think they know.

Practise not-doing.

and everything will fall into place.

Verse 3

Wow it is hard to believe that the 4 days spent with verse 3 are coming to an end. Of course the words will live on so there is not really an ending as such but a time to reflect and gather one's thoughts before studying verse 4. You see verse 3 is all about emptiness, not having, not doing and just being. It teaches us that if we show too much of what we conceive to be special or better than that which someone else has then we immediately cause friction. Yes human nature brings about these feelings and not everyone is studying how to better one'self so the less we show off, the less we create envy and the more peace that ensues. Of course we will all be proud at times and want to share good times along the way but why not think for a short while about how you share these moments... It is also a good time to think about your possessions. Do they make you the person you are and what would you be without them? 

Verse 3 teaches us to simply wake up HAPPY... Lao Tzu says that Happiness is the way and it is not something we can seek to find. It is here all of the time but it is always a choice. Just as verse 3 says, WE ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE. 

Imagine having a life that was so very full yet from the outside looked empty to some. No flash car.. no huge TV screen on the wall, no designer clothes in the wardrobe, no shoes lined up never being worn... Just imagine if you had no possessions? Could you cope? Wayne Dyer started this year long work by asking his secretary to get rid of almost everything he possessed . He wanted to start from the bottom up but without the need to gain along the way. We can all do the same, in fact it is very easy. Give things away, don't become what you have and empty your life of clutter. Start trusting that all is well and know that everything you can see started as an idea, a thought if you like... Once you think on that for a moment you understand anything is possible. I have spent the last few weeks car hunting after having my car written off.. I became quite frustrated with the hunting process but last night I asked for help before going to sleep. The help arrived as it always does and today the very car I had been looking for showed up...... I thought it up and it happened....

Be still.. try not to do... let desires go and let freedom in. Remember that the EGO stands for edging God out ... 

Looking forward very much to verse 4

VERSE 2

Hello and welcome back... I have spent the last 4 days working with verse 2 of the Tao De Ching and what enlightenment it has brought to my every day thinking.. It centers around judgments, ego, opposites and doing what is right for the universe. The core of the focus for this verse reminds us that we should work without ever expecting anything back for our efforts and that little should be said about good deeds. If you were to be totally honest how many times have you done something nice or good for someone and then told another about your work? This verse teaches us that our work must be DONE and then forgotten and that way it will last forever. In fact Wayne Dyer breaks this verse above into the following..
"WHEN MY WORK IS DONE, IT WILL BE FORGOTTEN.. THAT IS WHY IT LASTS FOREVER"
It takes a while to get your head around these words admittedly but after 4 days I get it... It has changed my thought process completely when giving from the heart. Similar to how a Mother gives love without any expectations, we too must do the same with all of our daily work. Another beautiful quote that Wayne uses says that..
"THE SUN SHINES ON THE EARTH AND NEVER EVER DOES IT SAY TO THE EARTH THAT ..YOU OWE ME"
We are talking about giving here from the heart even when the love is not or cannot be offered back. That does not matter, it matters only that we give. I love this verse very much. I have also contemplated the beauty of a rose and paused upon the fact that the prickly thorn leads up to the rose itself. Proving that good and bad however perceived or beautiful and ugly are one of the same. Let go of all judgments and just practice being. This moment is really all we have to work with.... Make plans as Wayne says but don't fall in love with them as you may be required to be flexible and change course..
HAVE A LOVELY DAY ALISON X

TAO DE CHING & WAYNE DYER

Hello & Welcome 
Many of you would have been a big part of my 6 year chapter of growth disguised within a wonderful page on FB otherwise known as AMHealing.. About a month or so ago I decided to follow a strong nudge that was re-directing my work. I have had several of these nudges and despite not always wanting to listen and follow, I have done so even if it has meant that I appear confusing to others. Each time I followed, the reason became clear and so my recent decision was one of the easiest I had to make. I believe very strongly that I have been placed in some awkward positions but that I was there to complete a job. A task which I rarely had much choice in. My point here being that we should always listen to that nudge. As Wayne Dyer would say "IF PRAYER IS US SPEAKING TO GOD, THEN INTUITION IS HIM SPEAKING BACK TO US" Maybe we are not all in that place of being able to listen but I do believe it is a place we can slowly find..
So...... As I presumed my work is far from done and my next chapter sees a wonderful year ahead of self study through the work of Lao Tzu... As you will see above in the picture, The Tao de Ching was written 500 years before the birth of Jesus.. Lao Tzu was a Chinese Philosopher and his work has been translated over 14000 times. I came to find out about this work after choosing some beauty products made by RITUALS and on the side of the container I noticed the name was TAO.... Now this was only one of the amazing syncronicities I felt taking place and there were many more to come. I purchased the book (pictured below) just after Christmas this year and started to work with the verses that Wayne Dyer had broken down into his interpretation of the work. This made it easier but it still required much thought to engage in the work fully. I would read a verse and apply it to that day and then sometimes I would leave the book for a while and simply get on with my busy life.. 
Now about a week ago and during a time when there is much going on with my own family I found myself watching a video with Wayne and Oprah Winfrey... I was in awe and knew I was being called back to work with the verses.. This time though I would find myself working with my daughter on what will be a whole year of self study.. Basically we are taking one of the 81 verses and applying it for 4 days. Wayne Dyer did this and he is our inspiration. I will add a link at the bottom for anyone who feels drawn to watch the video..
I have decided to write about each verse after working with it and share my thoughts on how it has impacted my life with examples where possible. You will find many people have completed this work for a year and also blogged about it so feel free to search the Internet for other explanations of how the verses can be interpreted. Anyone can do it but as I have always said, if you are going to do something then give it your all....
Verse 1......(as explained by Wayne Dyer)
I CHOOSE TO ENJOY LIVING THIS GREAT MYSTERY.. THE DAO THAT CAN BE NAMED IS NOT THE DAO...

Ok so you are thinking what on Earth does that mean? Well firstly Dao..Tao are the same thing pronounced with the D.... Now the naming of things gives it a label and the DAO has no label.. It simply cannot be named because it is the way.. It is the great mystery... It cannot be pinned down... It is the way... It has no name because it is the way.....  The Tao is not a 'name' for a 'thing' but the underlying natural order of the Universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe due to it being non conceptual yet evident' in one's being of aliveness.. So as you can see we are working with the path, the key, the route etc.....
Now the first part of the verse is simply wonderful.. When your day gets difficult or challenges arise remember it is always a choice.. The choice being whether or not you choose to enjoy this great mystery or not.. It will not always be easy and as the world shows us much suffering, it also shows us many more good and kind things than those that are not so good.. My daughter and I studied this verse for 4 days and we meditated upon it's meaning. We had regular updates about how we could apply it to our daily lives and we both found that we were able to mentally speak it and bring about a sense of enjoyment when the task at hand or the situation seemed difficult. It brought about a feeling as Wayne explains of watering down the EGO . That EGO which he explains beautifully as the part of us that likes to be  "EDGING GOD OUT"...  When we feel separated this is the ego working at its best.. He suggests we start to edge God back in and by doing this we realise we are all one. We always have a choice.. So four beautiful days were spent speaking, thinking and doing verse 1..... It was life changing and the words are etched in my memory forever... I HAVE A CHOICE......
My aim is to share each verse with you as I complete it .... I hope you enjoy....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4zhQ3M892E

THANK YOU READING.. LOTS OF LOVE ALISON XX