What is the Tao?

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.

The nameless is the mother of 10,000 things.

Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.

Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.

These two spring from the same source but differ in name.

This appears as darkness.

Darkness within darkness.

The gates to all mystery.

(Lao Tzu)

As ancient religions go, Taoism is one that is quite obscure and shrouded in mystery. Or so it would seem. Taoism is actually one of the most straightforward and simple in its application. The ‘Tao’ means the way. One who follows Tao is referred to as a Taoist. 

And what is the ‘Way’? To borrow a term from the Stoic/Roman vernacular, the Tao means living in accordance with Nature or Providence. But while the Stoics and Romans based naturalness on certain precepts, Taoists were much less formalized in their approach (though each school followed the Tao in their own way).

People get trained away from Tao by the so-called education system. Once it is removed, children can remain in this state of awareness. The words Taoist, organic, and naturalness are very closely connected. And everything to do with the current digitalized society is non-natural and artificial.

Taoism is especially relevant in the 21st century. Because the human species, at present, is suffering heavily from their belief in and support of illusory constructs. Socialism, feminism, political correctness, environmental propaganda, COVID 1984 shutdowns, vaccines, mass surveillance. All of these control mechanisms are invasions on the natural sovereignty of the soul.

But while most people would need a full scale epidemic (or orchestrated media-induced pandemic, as in the case of COVID 1984) to see the false nature of these invasive constructs, a Taoist sees it right off the bat. In a nutshell, a Tsaoist relies 100% on his/her own innate faculties to determine the truth of any given phenomenon. They will not rely on the projections of other paradigms, scientific, political, religious, or otherwise. 

So the Taoist is not concerned with being good or righteous or principled or correct. In somes instances, it might be better to hit a student or push them down the stairs. In others, a kind word. Sometimes it is best to speak fast, sometimes slow. To try to formalize, ritualize, or systematize any of these behaviours goes against Tao. To say that one must always try to be good or principled goes against Tao. To say that one should always act in one's self interest goes against Tao. 

There are infinite pointers to Tao. In nutrition, a Taoist does not have any kind of ideology. Neither vegan nor vegetarian nor paleo nor raw foods nor juice faster. These are transient attachments. The Taoist might have a tendency to eat smaller amounts of food than the rest of the population. But would never make an ideology out of this or indicate that this is the correct way for everybody to eat. Because in certain contexts, it would not be the way to eat.

Because Tao does not conform to any human system of logic or systematization. Tao is the anti-structure or anti-system. A system only works provided all variables remain the same. And variables always change. By not having a defined system in place, the Taoist can navigate all areas depending on its unique circumstances. Not based on prior mental conditions or premeditated architectures. Just pure sense awareness based on what is.

Taoism is, in a word, nature. Anybody who has not been indoctrinated to the Western education system or hypnotized by the Western scientific paradigm will tend to be more in touch with the Tao. 

This is one reason that any sensible dictator kills off the indigenous population quickly after assuming power. In New Age vernacular, such populations would be more ‘connected’ to Source. In practical terms, you would call these individuals grounded, natural, or simply stable.

You cannot sell car insurance, pension plans, political correctness, workplace diversity, healthcare, education, taxation, or any of the other propaganda paradigms to a Taoist, spiritual adept, or indigenous citizen. They just won’t buy it. It violates the Tao in an obvious way.

In a world where the mind of the media and the mind of the general population are one and the same thing, it’s safe to say that the Tao has been ignored. And despite an optimistic outlook and lots of help from our ExtraTerrestrials friends, it is going to be a generation or two before we have truly natural, organic, Taoists (sometimes called Genuine humans) on the planet. Thats just the Way it is. Healing and integration takes time, and nature does not rush things.

These are merely words on a page. But by living in conformity with nature (yours and others), you will get a taste of what it is.