The Tao Te Ching is not just an ancient Chinese text—it’s a consciousness transmission. This category dives into its paradoxes, metaphors, and timeless truths as an archetypal map for navigating power, ego, flow, and resistance. Written over 2,500 years ago, the Tao speaks not just to rulers and sages, but to the inner sovereign within each of us.
Here, the Tao is not reduced to quotes—it is lived, interpreted through the lens of modern spiritual psychology, shadow work, and myth. Expect reflections that challenge control, deconstruct ego, and whisper to the deeper intelligence moving through everything.
A few weeks ago, I left the gym in Arlington and drove into something I didn’t expect: a coherent human field.
Five blocks away, I could feel that something unusual was happening. A steady stream of people was moving down the street. I instinctively began calculating a new route home, assuming traffic or disruption.
Before I could pivot, I was absorbed in the flow of human beings and dogs.
And then I noticed something striking.
Everyone was smiling.
Not performative smiling. Not protest-chant energy. A quiet brightness. Even the dogs on leashes seemed unusually calm. People weren’t agitated. They weren’t amped up. They were softened.
Only then did I realize: the Buddhist monks were completing the final stretch of their 2,000-mile walk for peace through Arlington, and then the next day, into Washington, D.C.
People hadn’t gathered to rage.
They had gathered to drink from a well.
What struck me most was the absence of repulsion. Political protests, even when righteous, generate polarity. For every person drawn in, another turns away — “I don’t want to get involved in all that.”
This was different.
The monks did not magnetize through outrage.
They magnetized through coherence.
Through silence. Through kindness. Through disciplined intention sustained mile after mile.
People were not reacting.
They were replenishing.
And I could feel it.
Coherent Human Field | Photo by Mahmoud Ramadan on Pexels.com
Coherent Versus Noise
At the close of the walk the next day in DC, one of the monks offered simple guidance:
Each morning, before you touch your phone — Take care of your basic needs. Feed yourself. Wash. Make your bed.
And before you begin the day — most especially before you enter the digital stream — write this affirmation by hand:
Today, I rise to live a peaceful day.
He explained that Buddhist practitioners have long understood something modern neuroscience is only beginning to articulate: intention strengthens when it is thought, spoken, written, and seen. The repetition weaves coherence into the nervous system.
Thinking it is one layer. Speaking it adds another. Writing it deepens it. Seeing it anchors it.
The act organizes the mind before the world begins organizing it for you.
In a culture where perception is constantly engineered from the outside, this is radical.
It is pre-emptive coherence.
Coherent Human Field | Photo by KoolShooters on Pexels.com
The Field We Emit
There is emerging scientific exploration into the body’s bioelectric and biomagnetic activity — research examining how neural oscillations and electromagnetic fields interact within and around the human organism. The brain is not merely “mush.” It is an exquisitely complex generator of electrical patterns.
We are still babies in understanding what we are.
But one thing is clear: human beings are rhythmic creatures. Our brains synchronize. Our nervous systems entrain to one another. Heart rate, breath, posture, tone — these align in groups more often than we realize.
Ancient communities learned to synchronize through ritual, chant, shared labor, shared intention. Coherent groups were capable of extraordinary coordination long before modern technology.
Contrast that with today.
Instead of synchronized coherence, we live in perpetual cognitive fragmentation. Instead of collective rhythm, we scroll in isolation. Instead of shared stillness, we consume constant stimulation.
Noise scatters.
Coherence gathers.
That is what I felt in Arlington.
Not spectacle.
Not dominance.
A field of disciplined, peaceful intention sustained over 2,000 miles.
And people were pulled toward it.
Not to fight.
To remember.
Coherent Human Field | Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com
Reclaiming the Mind Before the Feed
If power trains perception before it takes the state, then the defense of democracy begins before the phone is unlocked.
Before the feed. Before the outrage. Before the algorithm begins shaping your morning mood.
The monk’s instruction is deceptively simple.
Write it.
Today, I rise to live a peaceful day.
Not passive. Not disengaged. Peaceful.
Peace is not the absence of clarity. It is the absence of internal fragmentation.
From that coherence, discernment sharpens. Reaction slows. Perception widens.
Soft eyes return.
Democracy does not require perpetual agitation.
It requires citizens capable of regulating themselves in an environment designed to dysregulate them.
Citizens who can hold complexity without collapsing into myth. Citizens who can feel economic pressure without surrendering moral agency. Citizens who recognize when noise is attempting to colonize their perception.
We inhabit only a fraction of reality.
We do not need to master the bulk.
But we must guard the brane — the thin layer of awareness through which we interpret the world.
Because before power captures institutions, it captures attention.
Before it captures attention, it captures habit.
Reclaim the first minutes of your day.
Strengthen your interior signal.
Generate coherence before consuming noise.
The preservation of democracy may begin in something as small — and as profound — as a handwritten sentence before sunrise.
Coherent Human Field | Photo by Amanda Linn on Pexels.com
The Physics of Entrainment& the Power of a Coherent Human Field
In physics, when oscillating systems are placed near one another, they tend to synchronize. Metronomes align. Fireflies pulse together. Neural networks fall into rhythm. This phenomenon is called entrainment.
Human beings are not exempt from this principle.
Our nervous systems entrain to surrounding signals. Heart rates synchronize in conversation. Emotional tones spread through rooms. Repeated slogans become cognitive grooves. Rhythms of outrage or fear, pulsing continuously, begin to feel normal.
The question is not whether we will synchronize.
The question is: to what frequency?
Authoritarian movements understand this intuitively. Repetition. Chants. Symbolic gestures. Emotional crescendos. Narrative loops. These are not merely persuasive tools — they are rhythmic tools. They establish a dominant oscillation and invite the nervous system to fall into step.
In an algorithmic age, that oscillation is amplified. The feed becomes a metronome.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Burak The Weekender on Pexels.com
Then one that is filled to the brim.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Charlotte May on Pexels.com
The sharper the knife.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com
The easier it is to dull.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Badulescu Badulescu on Pexels.com
The more wealth you possess.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
The harder it is to protect.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com
Pride brings its own trouble.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com
When you have accomplished your goal.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by RF._.studio on Pexels.com
Simply walk away.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Spencer Davis on Pexels.com
This is the pathway to Heaven.
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao:Chapter 9 | Tao Te Ching by Laozi
What is fate? What is destiny?
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao: Fate * Destiny * Choice | Music: Caddyshack — Various Artists | [1] I’m Alright – Theme from “Caddyshack” 3:47
It seems especially important to understand fate and destiny since a person’s circumstances can be greatly impacted for the good or for the bad by the roll of the dice of either one.
But do we even have a choice? Can we stack the decks of fate and destiny so we get more paradise and less hell in life? Is this even possible?
Laozi believes it is and chapter 9 shows us further how to drum out our personal destiny day by day by being conscious of the choices we make and actions we take that are determined in a large part by how much we consider. Laozi suggests considering all pathways of action, especially possible opposite actions.
It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.
When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe. When wealth and honors lead to arrogance, this brings its evil on itself. When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.
Taking things too far: Lao Tzu is wonderfully clear in this verse - it’s easy to understand that a knife that’s been sharpened too much loses its edge. Or that a vessel that is at capacity is overflowing.
So why is it so hard for me to see that I already have enough? Why do I need to keep getting more and more to feel accomplished in life?
I don’t know about you, but there have been times when I’ve felt that it’s never enough - and I’ve actually thought, “yeah, I like this - this means I’m driven! Let me keep this feeling and I’ll always be achieving!” -- To read more, see The Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living
Drumming Out Destiny: Now Is Tao:Feature Archetypal Animation
Blending Modern Images and Music With Ancient Wisdom
The supreme good is like water, which benefits all of creation without trying to compete with it. It gathers in unpopular places. Thus it is like the Tao.
The location makes the dwelling good. Depth of understanding makes the mind good. A kind heart makes the giving good. Integrity makes the government good. Accomplishments make your labors good. Proper timing makes a decision good.
Only when there is no competition will we all live in peace.
Good, Like Water: Sapience Sense | Where Does It Come From
In this chapter of the Tao Te Ching (Chapter 8), Laozi talks about how supreme good is like water.
So, just what is supreme good? Isn’t is our ability as human beings to know that we know… to know that we feel something… to know that we can do good in the world or we can do bad?
This is consciousness, right?
So how do we choose Good over Bad?
Is it entirely an individual choice: Good vs Bad?
Or, is there a collective responsibility hidden in this choice? A collective basin, deep reservoir upon which we all must draw from and upon which we all depend for our sentient sense… for our sentient life.
Good, Like Water: Song | Sapience | Synchronicity
The song I found for the feature archetypal animation is sublime! There is something very synchronistic going on with this song and this chapter in the Tao Te Ching. But, I can’t quite pin it down.
Can you?
Verse 1 and 2 seem to get close to what/why I feel a synchronistic blending going on… a mixing of ancient wisdom with modern day experiences and feelings (I’ve copied the lyrics to this song below).
How often does competition and trouble arise in our lives from not being understood or being left behind by the group. How often do we simply need others to see who we are for what we are… all of what we are (the good parts & bad parts)?
When we don’t feel seen, heard, or understood… isn’t there a part deep inside of us that wants to fight to be seen, heard, and understood? We need it like water, like air. We need the attention of others, the sense of belonging, the feeling of unconditional love to live… it feeds us deep down inside the part of ourselves that is sentient… the invisible part inside of everyone that feels, perceives… that knows that it’s alive!
"And they had gold like water"
"They wanted to fight"
Maybe the gold like water is consciousness… the sublime boundaries of personal and collective consciousness.
Gold like water = consciousness, knowledge, knowing, kinship, culture, protection, safety…
You tell me what you think is the resonance here?
Good, Like Water: Images for Feature Archetypal Animation
[Verse 1] Your voice always calms me down I can’t explain it somehow I need you to see who I am And now that I’m here with you I can accept what I’ve been through To watch over the voices
[Chorus] Oh-oh, Mary And they had gold like water They wanted to fight And they had gold like water They wanted to fight
[Verse 2] And everyone you meet is someone you couldn’t leave behind And now they’re getting close to the people that you know And you’re still scared that they won’t believe you as much as you do
[Chorus] Oh-oh, Mary And thеy had gold like water They wantеd to fight And they had gold like water They wanted to fight
[Breakdown] They’re waiting for you They’re waiting for you
[Chorus] And they had gold like water They wanted to fight And they had gold like water They wanted to fight
The Tao of Heaven is eternal, and the earth is long enduring. Why are they long enduring? They do not live for themselves; thus they are present for all beings.
The Master puts herself last; And finds herself in the place of authority. She detaches herself from all things; Therefore she is united with all things.
She gives no thought to self. She is perfectly fulfilled.
The Master Puts Herself Last: TextFrom:
Microsoft Word – Tao Te Ching – trans. by J.H.. McDonald
Ancient Wisdom | Modern Images & Music
The Master Puts Herself Last: First Archetypal Image
Note: Troubleshooting animation, check back later tonight for full feature!
Spirit of Emptiness: Other Things to Wonder & Ponder
Throughline’s award winning episode on Afghanistan is well worth listening to and perfectly aligns with the sentiments of Chapter 6 of the Tao Te Ching.
Description: This episode was published days before the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and just weeks after U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan. It is the first part in Afghanistan: The Center of the World, our Peabody Award-winning series about Afghanistan, focused on the country and its people.
Afghanistan has, for centuries, been at the center of the world. Long before the U.S. invasion — before the U.S. was even a nation — countless civilizations intersected there, weaving together a colorful tapestry of foods, languages, ethnicities and visions of what Afghanistan was and could be. The story of Afghanistan is too often told from the perspective of outsiders who tried to invade it (and always failed) earning it the nickname “Graveyard of Empires.” In this episode, we’re shifting the perspective. We’ll journey through the centuries alongside Afghan mystical poets. We’ll turn the radio dial to hear songs of love and liberation. We’ll meet the queen who built the first primary school for girls in the country. And we’ll take a closer look at Afghanistan’s centuries-long experiment to create a unified nation.
Description: This episode was published days before the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and just weeks after U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan. It is the first part in Afghanistan: The Center of the World, our 2022 Peabody Award-winning series about Afghanistan, focused on the country and its people.
How did a small group of Islamic students go from local vigilantes to one of the most infamous and enigmatic forces in the world? The Taliban is a name that has haunted the American imagination since 2001. The scenes of the group’s brutality repeatedly played in the Western media, while true, perhaps obscure our ability to see the complex origins of the Taliban and how they impact the lives of Afghans. It’s a shadow that reaches across the vast ancient Afghan homeland, the reputation of the modern state, and throughout global politics. At the end of the US war in Afghanistan we go back to the end of the Soviet Occupation and the start of the Afghan civil war to look at the rise of the Taliban.
As Trump doubles down on Afghanistan, Russians shake their heads — The US president’s decision to extend the war, reversing his campaign pledges to withdraw from it, stand in sharp contrast to the lessons that Mikhail Gorbachev and the USSR took from the conflict almost 30 years ago.
Heaven and Earth are impartial; they treat all of creation as straw dogs. The Master doesn’t take sides; she treats everyone like a straw dog.
The space between Heaven and Earth is like a bellows; it is empty, yet has not lost its power. The more it is used, the more it produces; the more you talk of it, the less you comprehend.
It is better not to speak of things you do not understand.
Heaven & Earth Are Impartial:TextFrom:
Microsoft Word – Tao Te Ching – trans. by J.H.. McDonald
Ancient Wisdom | Modern Images & Music
Heaven & Earth Are Impartial:Feature Animation ImagesFrom:
Microsoft Word – Tao Te Ching – trans. by J.H.. McDonald
Ancient Wisdom | Modern Images & Music
Unites All of Creation with Dust: Chapter 4 | Tao Te Ching
The Tao is like an empty container: it can never be emptied and can never be filled. Infinitely deep, it is the source of all things. It dulls the sharp, unties the knotted, shades the lighted, and unites all of creation with dust.
It is hidden but always present. I don’t know who gave birth to it . It is older than the concept of God.
Unites All of Creation with Dust:Previous Chapters | Tao Te Ching
This blog is about Pratītyasamutpāda, which states that all dharmas (phenomena) arise in dependence upon other dharmas: “if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist” …
Unites All of Creation with Dust:Relevant Topics & Events to the Tao\Now
Conservatives have long invoked the specter of the 1857 Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott vs. Sandford in their fight against abortion rights, likening embryos and fetuses to slaves with no due process. Progressives now, too, are drawing parallels between the stripping of rights from people who may get pregnant and the infamous majority opinion penned by then-Chief Justice Roger Taney, who wrote, "a Black man has no rights which the white man was bound to respect."
Missing from this historic analogy, however, are the experiences of Black women, whose enslavement and forced reproduction was fundamental to America's rise. We speak with Dr. Deborah Gray White, Distinguished Professor of History and Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University, about this not-so-distant history and the possibilities it holds for all American women.
My take away: In the wake of Roe vs Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court, Deborah Gray White was watching the dystopian story the Handmaid’s Tale with her daughter who said, “Oh my God, we’re becoming this!” Deborah replied, “We already are this. America has used black and brown women as reproductive commodities since its founding. What’s changing is now white women are getting closer to becoming commodities again.”
Unites All of Creation with Dust: Portrait of Alok Vaid-Menon ( Celeste Sloman ) | From The Take Away
Alok Vaid-Menonis a gender non-conforming writer and performer who grew up in Texas to Indian immigrant parents. They use their creativity and platform to explore themes of gender, race, trauma and belonging, advocating and bringing visibility to the trans community. We speak with Alok about their work and advocacy, and what they learned from their aunt, Urvashi Vaid, the beloved LGBTQ rights activist who spent more than a decade working for equality at the National LGBTQ Task Force.
My take away from this amazing interview: The gender non-conforming community is showing the world how to love during a time of great division, growing hate, tremendous suffering, and huge oceans of human anxiety.
Unites All of Creation with Dust: SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images | From 1A
The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that established a constitutional right to abortion. The decision could lead to abortion bans in half of U.S. states.
We talk about changing the Constitution and what comes next after the reversal of Roe.
This conversation is part of our Remaking America collaboration with six public radio stations around the country. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
My take away: I loved listening to Olatunde Johnson, professor at Columbia University School of Law | The United States Constitution was made by a bunch of slave owning, patriarchal, misogynistic pale males. It is ludicrous to think we cannot update or change it as our society changes and grows. This is what overturning Roe vs Wade is about. This is what Jan. 6, 2021 is about. It is about a bunch of people who want to live 18th Century lives in the 21st Century.
Unites All of Creation with Dust:Sources of Feature Image
On June 11, 2022, the Washington, DC 2022 Capital Pride Parade began with full regalia and ceremony followed by rowdydow fun and celebration. This is the first of four videos from this day.
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Into A Rainbow | Washington, DC Pride Parade 2022 10 views, Premiered Jun 13, 2022
For the video, I wrote this:
Today was like walking into a rainbow. After more than 2 years due to COVID, the WDC Pride Parade of 2022 took place in an embrace of joy and celebration. It was one big mass of human exuberant celebration. Such a different energy than the Trump rallies that twisted and deformed into the raging, dangerous mob of Jan. 6, 2021.
I filmed one of the earlier Trump rallies, and I filmed one of the Black Lives Matter marches after the murder of George Floyd. The paranoia and double-standard of the Trump years faded to a distant unpleasant memory in the embrace of so many people celebrating differences, diversity, and inclusiveness.
What kind of world do we want?
Do we want one that is angry, overly righteous, mostly white men who want to control women's bodies and turn America into a desolate land of mediocrity and conformity?
Or do we want one that celebrates diversity, lifts up inclusivity, and makes space for everyone to shine their truth and colors as they feel them?
I choose the rainbow hands down over The Divine Republic of Gilead as depicted in Canadian author Margaret Atwood futuristic dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale that feels more and more possible each passing day, especially since the Trump years that made hate great again in America.
Hate is not what makes us a great nation: Love is what makes us great and moments like this Parade are more important than ever, especially with the plotters of Jan. 6 still scheming how to turn America into a totalitarian state like Russia...
I suppose so we could exterminate the world in a mutual annihilation of scapegoats because that is what cheap, cowardly, hate filled people do...blame everyone else for their problems and who they really are inside.
This is the inspiration for this blog: the idea of diversity and the mutual arising of opposite things in the world because on this same day, 31 members from the group Patriot Front were arrested in Idaho.
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:Pride Parade in Idaho
Thirty-one men, faces covered with masks and carrying baseball bats stood packed in the back of a U-Haul like illegal immigrants sneaking into the state. The truck was heading to the Pride Parade in the city of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Their purpose was to start a riot.
Police said the men came from at least 10 states. They are members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front, previously known as the white nationalist hate group Vanguard America. It rebranded itself after a neo-fascist was photographed holding their shield just before he ran his car into a crowd of people, killing Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, VA.
Interview with Mother of One of the Men Arrested
Earlier this week, a mother of one of the men arrested gave an interview with Sara Sidner.
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: What we know about Patriot Front and its origins 132,051 views, Jun 14, 2022
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:Reflections from the future (2026):
What we know now is 2026 is that the Patriot Front (and other hate groups) make up a substantial part of MAGA’s base (that stubborn 30% who refuse to denounce Trump for hate because they are supporting him so they can get paid to hate). Trump’s ICE is America’s version of Hitler’s Gestapo (short for Geheime Staatspolizei, or Secret State Police). In a very sad way, America has followed this Taoist rule: America stood for freedom and liberty for all and became a bigoted, hateful, rageful nation. This is the essence of the Taoism lesson: if the two polar opposites remain unconscious of each other they will live out the consequences of their lopsidedness as fate.
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:Back to 2022:
From the video above: When "a little army" of men with shields and other riot gear was spotted near a Pride parade in Idaho on Saturday, authorities soon linked the men to a relatively new White nationalist group and charged them with conspiracy to riot. Most of the men arrested had logos on their hats "consistent with the Patriot Front group," and some had other clothing associated with the White supremacist group, Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White said. CNN’s Sara Sidner reports
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:This Same Hate Perpetuates Racism & Wars
This is the same hate that fuels racism and perpetuates continuing inequalities and brutality against black and brown people in the United States. Slavery is barbaric, and so too is racism. Americans went to war and died over ending slavery in America. This war began on April 12, 1861 and lasted until April 9, 1865. In the end, more than 620,000 men were dead, roughly 2% of the U.S .population.
However, this is far less dead than the number of men, women, and children who died being transported from Africa to America, who died as slaves from violence and mistreatment, and who have died since emancipation due to the continuing violent beliefs and hate embraced by white supremacy.
Black Live Matter March
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Black Lives Matter 111 views, Jun 8, 2020
Photos From Gettysburg National Military Park
Photos from Gettysburg, PA — “Often referred to as the “High Water Mark of the Rebellion”, Gettysburg was the Civil War’s bloodiest battle and was also the inspiration for President Abraham Lincoln’s immortal “Gettysburg Address”. — National Park Service
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:Emancipation Proclamation & Juneteeth
Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. It was the most ambitious push of General Robert E. Lee into the North. Each side fought fiercely. This battle turned out to be the turning point of the war. It is also the inspiration for President Abraham Lincoln’s immortal Gettysburg Address.
Word of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans finally reached Texas on June 19, 1865 where people were still being held as slaves. More than 150 years later, Juneteenth has finally been made a federal holiday commemorating and remembering the legacy of slavery and the emancipation of slaves in America.
Yet, this horrible battle still rages in the hearts and minds of far too many white Americans still to this very day. Hate still has a home in America.
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:Photos From Gettysburg National Military Park
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Photos from Gettysburg, PA — “Often referred to as the “High Water Mark of the Rebellion”, Gettysburg was the Civil War’s bloodiest battle and was also the inspiration for President Abraham Lincoln’s immortal “Gettysburg Address”. — National Park Service
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:One of Trump’s Rallies After Losing the 2020 Election (Denial of Reality is Hate)
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Cacophony — The Beautiful Humans of Earth 127 views, Premiered Nov 14, 2020
A Call To All Humans Who Value Freedom and Democracy
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Help Ukraine | Calling All People Who Value Freedom in the World 44 views, Premiered Feb 27, 2022
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:: This Arises… That Becomes
I finally came to understand the idea of This Arises… That Becomes… from a lecture Alan Watts gave.
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Alan Watts – Interdependent origination 3,739 views, May 1, 2015
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:Pratītyasamutpāda
It is the basic principle of dependent origination as described by Buddha. In Buddhist doctrines, it is called Pratītyasamutpāda.
Pratītyasamutpāda consists of two terms:
Pratītya: "having depended."[26] The term appears in the Vedas and Upanishads[note 2] in the sense of "confirmation, dependence, acknowledge origin".[27][28] The Sanskrit root of the word is prati* whose forms appear more extensively in the Vedic literature, and it means "to go towards, go back, come back, to approach" with the connotation of "observe, learn, convince oneself of the truth of anything, be certain of, believe, give credence, recognize". In other contexts, a related term pratiti* means "going towards, approaching, insight into anything".[28]Samutpāda: "arising",[26] "rise, production, origin"[29] In Vedic literature, it means "spring up together, arise, come to pass, occur, effect, form, produce, originate".[30]Pratītyasamutpāda has been translated into English as dependent origination, dependent arising, interdependent co-arising, conditioned arising, and conditioned genesis.[31][16][note 3]
Jeffrey Hopkins notes that terms synonymous to pratītyasamutpāda are apekṣhasamutpāda and prāpyasamutpāda.[37]
-- Wiki
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Photos from DC Pride Parade — June 11, 2022
The term may also refer to the twelve nidānas, Pali: dvādasanidānāni, Sanskrit: dvādaśanidānāni, from dvāvaśa ("twelve") + nidānāni (plural of "nidāna", "cause, motivation, link").[quote 2]Generally speaking, in the Mahayana tradition, pratityasamutpada (Sanskrit) is used to refer to the general principle of interdependent causation, whereas in the Theravada tradition, paticcasamuppāda (Pali) is used to refer to the twelve nidānas.
-- Wiki
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Photos from DC Pride Parade — June 11, 2022
Dependent origination is a philosophically complex concept, subject to a large variety of explanations and interpretations. As the interpretations often involve specific aspects of dependent origination, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive to each other.
-- Wiki
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Photos from DC Pride Parade — June 11, 2022
One interpretation (which I feel is closest to what Alan Watts refers to in his talk) regards this doctrine…
...as describing the arising of mental processes and the resultant notion of "I" and "mine" that leads to grasping and suffering.[8][9] Several modern western scholars argue that there are inconsistencies in the list of twelve links, and regard it to be a later synthesis of several older lists and elements, some of which can be traced to the Vedas.[9][10][11][12][13][5]
-- Wiki
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: Photos from DC Pride Parade — June 11, 2022
Rocks of Ignorance & Rainbow Flags
In other words, we only know inclusivity and love in comparison to callousness and hate. Like a river diverted by a rock–some water flows to the right, some flows to the left. The rock in the river is an idea, a symbol of reality, but it is not reality. Indeed, all words, all thoughts, all ideas are poor substitutes to what is really going on in life.
What should be noted is that both streams flowing around the rock are of the same river of being. They are only being briefly divided and diverted by a rock of thought that got lodged in the river of being.
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become:Maybe, One Day
Another way of looking at this idea is that inclusivity and love are the polar opposites of callousness and hate. Although opposites, both qualities and ways of being in the world go together just as a magnet has a North and South pole. If you chop a magnet in half, there is still a North Pole and a South Pole because a magnet is one cohesive whole thing.
Since I choose to support rainbows and Pride Parades, I stand on this side of our polarized America. It is a conscious choice to flow in the stream of being that includes rainbows and diversity. And it means I am making a conscious choice to embrace all sorts of people and their differences as well as recognize how similar we are because deep, deep down I believe what Alan Watts says that we are the fabric of existence itself.
Maybe one day, we can let go of our rocks of ignorance that we cling to for security and comfort. By letting go, we can grow as a species. And if we grow, we might be able to really feel one day our oneness with each other and all life on this planet. When rocks of thought due appear in our river of being, we can better navigate the currents of division driving us apart and pushing the entire world to a tipping point that we may not recover from due to a mutual massacre of scape goats.
Maybe one day we will know we are all part of the stream of humanity no matter our skin color, sexual preference, our religious beliefs. It has always been this way. It is only when we cling to our rocks of thoughts and rocks of ignorance, which if we are constantly anxious, nervous, angry, and afraid–we are clinging to an idea, which is one of these rocks dividing us and causing so much suffering and pain in the world.
Let go and flow!
One Day | Yellowstone
Hate Arises, Rainbows Become: One Day — Yellowstone 77 views, Jul 26, 2020
One Day Lyrics
Sometimes I lay under the moon And thank God I’m breathin’ Then I pray, “Don’t take me soon ‘Cause I am here for a reason.”Sometimes in my tears I drown But I never let it get me down So when negativity surrounds I know some day it’ll all turn around becauseAll my life I’ve been waitin’ for I’ve been prayin’ for For the people to say That we don’t wanna fight no more There’ll be no more war And our children will playOne day, one day, one day, oh One day, one day, one day, ohIt’s not about win or lose, ’cause we all lose When they feed on the souls of the innocent Blood-drenched pavement Keep on movin’ though the waters stay ragin’In this maze You can lose your way, your way It might drive you crazy but Don’t let it faze you, no way, no way!Sometimes in my tears I drown But I never let it get me down So when negativity surrounds I know some day it’ll all turn around becauseAll my life I’ve been waitin’ for I’ve been prayin’ for For the people to say That we don’t wanna fight no more There’ll be no more war And our children will playOne day, one day, one day, oh One day, one day, one day, ohOne day this all will change, treat people the same Stop with the violence, down with the hate One day we’ll all be free, and proud to be Under the same sun, singin’ songs of freedom likeWhy-ohh! (One day, one day) why-oh, oh, oh! Why-ohh! (One day, one day) why-oh, oh, oh!All my life I’ve been waitin’ for I’ve been prayin’ for For the people to say That we don’t wanna fight no more There’ll be no more war And our children will playOne day, one day, one day, oh One day, one day, one day, oh
The intersection of gay rights, racism, and white supremacy continue intersecting through time. Will we ever grow up as a species to embrace and hold all of who we are as human beings? Or will we simply continue to label, divide, and conquer each other with hate and despair? See Hate Arises… Rainbows Become… to explore more on these ideas.
Ukraine Letters | Four Letters to the World of Free Men and Women: Letter to the Ukrainian People; Letter to the Free World; Letter to Russian people; Letter to Americans
Walk Through Time | Gettysburg National Military Park
Walk Through Time | Gettysburg National Military Park | May 23, 2022
Music: Airtime — Justin Hori [as featured on iPhone, music that gets you moving!]
We stopped at Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania on our way up for our daughter’s graduation from Middlebury College in Vermont. It was late in the day, cloudy with a little drizzle–perfect weather to walk the roughly 6000 acres of historical pasture and woodlands where Union and Confederate soldiers met in General Robert E. Lee’s second and most ambitious invasion of the North.
It was the “High Water Mark of the Rebellion”, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, and the inspiration for President Abraham Lincoln’s immortal “Gettysburg Address”.
My husband found a monument dedicated to the 13th and 16th Vermont regiments. From their forward position, the nearly 1,500 men of these regiments poured devastating point-blank fire into the enemy ranks. They inflicted terrible casualties and ravaged the Confederate flank. The battle that was going in favor of the Confederate side began to slip. The Vermonters helped turn the tide of the battle and because of this win, turn the tide of the war itself. It would turn out that we were staying in a valley from where one of these regiments came from in Vermont.
Today, in 2022, it seems like the battle that took place on July 1, 1863, occurred so long ago and that the wounds inflicted from a country being torn apart by different ideas and ideals of how to live a good and just life would be long healed. The pictures of the wildflowers and wildlife are a testament to time and nature’s ability to regenerate.
However, the human heart and soul seems to still be torn and hurt. There are people alive today ready to do damage and tear apart America’s delicate democracy. There are people willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get more than they deserve or inflict their own will on the will of the people. Democracy isn’t easy. It requires compromise, and word that seems to have disappeared from American political and culture vocabulary. It does not require every share the exact same beliefs or values, but it does require tolerance and willingness to learn about the beliefs and values of people who are different from oneself. It requires curiosity and a basic agreement of facts and shared reality.
Will America be able to keep this fragile flower of self-governance in the face of a Republican Party that prefers to stick to loyal tests rather than truth, in the aftermath of Jan. 6, in the ongoing disenfranchisement and brutality to African Americans and any people with a darker skin tone, in the double standard that it is OK to regulate a woman’s body, but it is not alright to regulate guns?
“Every day, on average, 316 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides and suicide attempts, unintentional shootings, and police intervention.” — Team ENOUGH
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released updated official mortality data that showed 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the United States in 2020 — a new peak.” — Current Causes of Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States; May 19, 2022, N Engl J Med 2022; 386:1955-1956; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2201761
“Guns have become the leading cause of death for American kids. early two-thirds of the 4,368 U.S. children up to age 19 who were killed by guns in 2020 were homicide victims, per the CDC. Motor vehicle crashes, formerly the leading cause of death for kids one and older, killed nearly 4,000 children.” — Axios
If you are upset by these statistics, by politics, by anything that gets you shouting at your TV or computer screen. It is time to get outside. If you find yourself getting enraged by a rainbow flag celebrating Pride Month or want to join the next raiding party of the Capitol, why not try going to a place like Gettysburg? Walk the park rather than drive. Let yourself sink into the blood-soaked earth where flowers now grow and birds once again sing. Talk to the park rangers, read about what happened, feel yourself being transported back to that time when the sound of gun fire and exploding canon balls rang continuously like a speeding train.
War is bloody. Conflict kills. There are other ways to solve conflict arising from diversity. We have one of those ways. It is called Democracy.
The people of Ukraine are fighting fiercely for this way of organizing society. They are showing us what it means and takes to defend freedom, liberty, and justice for all against a brutal, totalitarian regime; a regime that lies to its people, that exterminates anyone who becomes a threat to it, that concentrates wealth and power among a very few.
In America today, it seems we are choosing whether to stay a democracy, which means making room for tolerance and compromise again. Or will we choose to become a dictatorial regime (like Russia) where lies and distortions are used to whip up dissent and division so that truth, justice, and liberty for all becomes a distant dream.
Stay Human! Go outside today and hug another living being!
Microsoft Word – Tao Te Ching – trans. by J.H.. McDonald
Ancient wisdom blended with modern images and music.
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: Chapter 3
First Archetypal Animation& Stanza
If you overly esteem talented individuals, people will become overly competitive. If you overvalue possessions, people will begin to steal.
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: If you overly esteem talented individuals, people will become overly competitive… | Music:I’m Makin’ Money | Moreira Aldrich
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: Second Archetypal Animation& Stanza
Do not display your treasures or people will become envious.
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: Do not display your treasures or people will become envious… | Music: Envy of None | Envy Of None [3] Look Inside 4:44
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: Third & Feature Archetypal Animation& Stanza
The Master leads by emptying people’s minds; filling their bellies, weakening their ambitions, and making them become strong. Preferring simplicity and freedom from desires, avoiding the pitfalls of knowledge and wrong action.
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: The Master leads by emptying people’s minds; filling their bellies, weakening their ambitions, and making them become strong… | Music: Complex Simplicity | Kyle Bent | Complexity
For those who practice not-doing, everything will fall into place.
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: Last Stanza& VideosRelated to Not-Doing and Falling into Place
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: Complexity 5,845 views | Jan 18, 2019
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: Alan Watts Lectures | The Silent Mind 273,201 views, Jan 14, 2019
Emptying Minds…Filling Bellies: First Archetypal Animation
Ancient wisdom blended with modern images and music.
Acting Without Doing Anything: Chapter 2
When people see things as beautiful, ugliness is created. When people see things as good, evil is created.
Acting Without Doing Anything: First Stanza & Archetypal Animation
When people see things as beautiful, ugliness is created… | Music: The Beauty in Ugly– Ugly Betty Version | Jason Mraz
Being and non-being produce each other. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short define each other. High and low oppose each other. Fore and aft follow each other.
Acting Without Doing Anything: Second Stanza & Archetypal Animation
Being and non-being produce each other. Difficult and easy complement each other… |Music: High And Low by Andreas S. Möhle
Therefore the Master can act without doing anything and teach without saying a word. Things come her way and she does not stop them; things leave and she lets them go. She has without possessing, and acts without any expectations. When her work is done, she takes no credit. That is why it will last forever.
Acting Without Doing Anything: Third Stanza & Archetypal Animation
Therefore the Master can act without doing anything and teach without saying a word… | Music: The Giver | Livingston
Drums of Destiny: Moving Energy by 
