Halftime

I have written and discussed half of the verses from the Tao Te Ching and will take an extensive break from it as I am about to embark on some drastic life changes. I will resume with the second half of the Tao Te Ching as soon as I am settled and have as much free time as I did before. For the time being, hold on. It will return.

Verse Forty-one

When the best seeker hears of Tao, he strives with great effort to know it. When an average seeker hears of Tao, he thinks of it now and again. When the poorest seeker hears of Tao, he laughs out loud.

- Unity interests those who are especially seeking universal truth.
- If one is not interested in truth, then the message is silly.

Application: This reminds me of the Sufi saying, "Teach to those according to their understanding." We shouldn't talk about Taoism or Sufism to those who don't want to hear it. I find myself a seeker these days, so I approach both ways of life with an open mind. I have found extraordinary similarities between the two. The same goes for Quakerism which I have recently come across.

Tao is always becoming what we have need for it to become. If it could not do this, it would not be Tao.

- Unity obeys the needs of all
- If unity obeyed only individuals, then it would not function.

Application: Tao has become what I have need for it to become. The flexibility of the philosophy is what appeals to me. Rigidity in religion is either short-lived or doesn't apply to all people, and that's why most popular religions do no appeal to me.

There is an old saying, the clear way seems clouded, the straight way seems crooked, the sure way seems unsteady.

- Things are not always what they appear.
- If fact, they can appear as their opposite.

Application: This could be interpreted as "beware of false prophets," in which the loudest preachers seem right whereas the quiet ones do not. Usually the forceful or hypnotic prophet is only interest in self-promotion rather than global illumination. The right message always come from a person who is passive and flexible like the Tao itself.

The greatest power seems weak. The purest white seems tainted. The abundant seems empty. The stable seems shaky. The certain seems false. The Great Square has no corners. The Great Vessel is never filled.

A beginner may be clumsy, but after practice--what talent! A large drum may sit silently, but when banged--what noise! Tao lies hidden, yet alone it is the glorious light of this world.

- When one grasps the Tao, then its purpose and function is revealed.
- When one cannot grasp it, it lies hidden and dormant.

Application: I believe I have found the Tao in open-minded meditation, where I found myself understanding everyone including my enemies, and that brought upon love for them. That reminded my of Jesus saying, "Love your enemies." It was then when I totally realized what he meant. The thing is I cannot reveal the Tao to others because it is hidden and is only found through personal insight. Know thyself in order to love your enemies.

Verse Forty

The movement of Tao is to return. The way of Tao is to yield.

- The process of unity is cyclical.
- Even though the cycle is passive, it never stops.

Application: I believe in the cyclical process of nature. I don't believe in the linear concept of life from birth to death. I have seen cycles in everything from good times to hard times. Life is not over when we die, is what I'm getting at. But "heaven" isn't permanent either. There is no permanence except Tao or unity or God or the universe or whatever you'd like to call It.

Heaven, Earth, and all things are born of the existent world. The existent world is born of the nothingness of Tao.

- Individuals are born into the known world
- The known world comes from the unknown and hidden unity

Application: I am beginning to believe that the "stuff" of God is in the emptiness and hidden. God is in silence, the space between objects, the love between relationships, the emptiness of outer space, etc. All that "stuff" is permanent as opposed to the noise, the objects, the relationships, and the physical contents of the universe. This is becoming my worldview.

Is it dada?

Admission!

This dinosaur of a champion has a time-honored bone eater to replace his can. Every fifth invention receives bigger bonuses due to the inflation we see fit to grow faster and quicker. Roses have grown in your honor and we know why. It’s how the runners stop in time to feed the grass. Right now, someone can hear another one chopping an onion. Chop! Chop! It doesn’t take much to imagine someone’s eyes watering from the seething edges of a freshly cut onion. I myself prefer the leek, that underrated vegetable growing so nearby.

I had asked for your attention prior, but apparently you had lent it to a flea-bitten mutt. Dogs have too much of everyone’s attention anyway. I find them disturbing my peaceful sleep and dirtying my neighbor’s lawn. Your attention had been asked by me for reasons unknown to you and most of the royal court. Now it is time for me to uncover that reason in a poem.

Slither, slither, a snail in a snake
Just how long to the tail will it take?

Yes, misters. I’ve witnessed a snake devour a whole snail, but this was no ordinary situation. You see, I wasn’t in my garden or any garden FOR THAT MATTER. The snake had somehow acquired bipedal locomotion (don’t ask me how) and went into a French Restaurant. That bizarre scene caused me too to become a connoisseur of that very restaurant. The snake orders a plate of snail…one snail…just one snail. And I must add that the gastropod was still living and breathing when the snake gormandized it. The Gormandized Gastropod: oh, how I say what a riot it was. Just then I started worrying about the poor snail and how he would meet his end.

Thank for your persnicketiness! And watch out for the wicked for they shall pick at your bones.


Artlessly,

Margrave Rachel Sedgewick

Verse Thirty-nine

From ancient times till now, the One has been the source of all attainments. By realizing the One, Heaven becomes clear, Earth becomes still, spirits gain power, and hearts fill up with joy. By realizing the One, kings and lords become instruments of peace and all creatures live joyfully upon this earth. Without the One, Heaven has no clarity and would crack, Earth has no peace and would crumble, spirits have no power and would lose their charm. Without the One, hearts would dry up, empires would fall, all things would go lifelessly upon this Earth.

- Unity is the source of life.
- When one embraces unity, the power of life rushes in and a sense of peace prevails
- When one denies unity, he is at odds with the perceived world

Application: With all this chaos around the world, it is easy to perceive who has not realized the One. If you do not realizing the One, your goals are selfish and only lead to suffering. I can see this in myself when my goals are selfish. We just have to learn to relax.

Long ago kings and lords called themselves "orphaned," "lonely," and "unworthy." What honor can there be without humility? What heights can be reached without being low?

- A humble position delivers an honorable position.
- When down, the goal is up.
- When up, there is no believable progress.

Application: This is why certain people and institutions gain no respect--they are lacking in humility. I notice this in myself when I'm feeling on top of the world, that people don't like it when I tell them all of my good news without humility. Why do you need support when you have everything else you need? When this happens, the support is taken out from under and how quickly the mighty have fallen. This applies to a personal as well as a national level.

The pieces of a chariot are useless unless they work in accordance with the whole. A man's life brings nothing unless he lives in accordance with the whole universe. Playing one's part in accordance with the universe is true humility.

- To find one's purpose in life, one needs a universal perspective
- A self-serving life yields no rewards

Application: When I finally realized the Tao through contemplation, I gave up my old childhood dreams of becoming famous. I don't care to be famous or materially wealthy. If I do what is in accordance with nature, I will inherit the wealth of the universe. It feels great not to strive for such selfish dreams as fame and fortune.

So whether you're a gem in the royal court or a stone on the common path, if you accept your part with humility, the glory of the universe will be yours.

- Once you've found your calling, happiness is yours.
- No matter your path, it serves another person.

Application: This has caused me to step back from politics. My calling is not to agitate or stir up people for socialist reasons. I believe nature will take care of us more than people can. The less interference from human authority the better. Nature and people won't stand for it. If you don't believe this now, you will soon enough.

Verse Thirty-eight

To give without seeking reward, to help without thinking it is virtuous--therein lies great virtue. To keep account of your actions, to help with the hope of gaining merit--therein lies no virtue.

- Do things for the present, not for the future
- Always give and help when you can without thought of reward or disadvantage

Application: This is tremendously difficult for me at times. Sometimes I can do while others I cannot. It's a mood thing. Somedays I feel more helpful than others. I need to find out how to stay in that helpful mood. Another is helping "takers," people who never or rarely give in return. Nature has a way of always giving in return, I must remind myself. It may not be directly from the "takers." Then there's that argument that I'm being taken advantage of. Where did that argument originate? Is it cultural?

The highest virtue is to act without a sense of self. The highest kindness is to give without condition. The highest justice is to see without preferences.

- Lack of labeling other individuals is virtuous
- Seeing all as on helps to benefit all

Application: Here's the solution to my problem. I'm being selfish when not wanting to help or expecting something in return. I am just part of the whole scheme of things. Helping is always more important than what I am doing unless it's helping another person in greater need. I can do this when I'm employed, but I need to do it more often when I'm working. I have to change my perception of "not working." I'm obligated to help at work under contract. But I'm also obligated to help in life under nature. There are rewards for both.

When Tao is lost, one must learn the rules of virtue. When virtue is lost, the rules of kindness. When kindness is lost, the rules of justice. When justice is lost, the rules of conduct. And when the high-blown rules of conduct are not followed, people are seized by the arm and it is forced on them. The rules of conduct are just an outer show of devotion and loyalty--quite confusing to the heart. And when men rely on these rules for guidance--Oh, what ignorance abounds!

- Rules are for those without Tao, a sense of virtue, kindness, and justice.
- Blindly following rules does not make one virtuous, kind, or just.
- Rules attempt to force individuals as one
- External motivation towards unity is fruitless

Application: Doing the right thing according to nature is something that is found within. The wisest and most virtuous person is internally motivated to do good. Most people can distinguish good laws from bad laws, but we must follow them both. But when are faced with a conflict of breaking the law to do something good or obeying the law to allow something bad, then we must define "good" and "bad." For me, doing something good is doing something selfless and doing something bad is doing something selfish. The more people that benefit from my actions the greater the deed and the more people that lose from my actions the worse the deed. I feel as if I could go on forever, but I prefer to do in person as a debate or argument.

The great master follows his own nature and not the trappings of life. It is said, "He stays with the fruit and not the fluff. He stays with the firm and not the flimsy. He stays with the true and not the false."

- Following nature of unity is superior to following the rules of people
- Harmony is found when they do not conflict

Application: Purposely breaking the rules of people causes more problems than solutions. I'm not one who often breaks rules, but I would if the rules conflicted with my own morality. To give details would require me to give political examples, but I will refrain as this is a more spiritual platform. A book that I'm currently reading that does a good job describing this matter is Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You. That book falls in line with the Tao in many ways.

Lady's Angelic Men

Berthold Dalyrimple, a stockholder in several of the world’s leading fish markets.

Gordon Trask, inventor of superpolymer 171 and mountain bicycle race champion of the world in 1991 and 1996.

Ernest Hennington, all around relaxed man who happened to save 7 POWs from Vietnamese and Lebanese prison camps in the early 1980s.

These are the 3 men “Lady” has deemed “Angelic,” but only one of these titled men may share a bed with “Lady.” We now urge you citizens of New England and the North Atlantic region of the United States to assist her in such a matrimonial decision.

Please fill out the following (brief) form:
I, _____________, from _________, __ have decided that Angelic Man, _________, is the right man to lay down with “Lady” because of the following 3 small reasons. 1)__________, 2)___________, 3)_________
And one more lengthy reason with a minimum word count of 250. (attach the pages).
I have made the decisions rightly because my background is a highly reputable one.
For example, I go to church __ times a month.
In my prayers, I included such people in my prayers.
1)____________
2)____________
3)____________
4)____________ and other people close to my heart.
Of all the human virtues, I consider the top two attributes to be the most enduring:
1)_______________ & 2)________________
___% of my income is put towards charity per ___day(s)
Besides God, Jesus Christ, and all the Saints, I find the following historical figures to be the most upright in our world’s history: 1)_____________, 2)_____________
3)_______________, 4)_____________
My most treasured material possession in my house is __________ because _________________________.

Verse Thirty-seven

Tao does not act yet it is the root of all action. Tao does not move yet it is the source of all creation.

- All individuals emerge from unity
- All perceptions emerge from the hidden

Application: Here Tao sounds like God. Instead of an active God who judges, rewards, and punishes, he is a passive God. I have adopted this viewpoint of God as one who is the source but not necessarily the controller. So I believe in free will.

If princes and kings could hold it, everyone under them would naturally turn within. Should a doubt or old desire rise up, the Nameless Simplicity would push it down. The Nameless Simplicity frees the heart of desire and reveals its inner silence.

- When the powerful grasp the truth, they lose their power
- One goal of unity is to remove desire from the individual

Application: Here I noticed the mutual exclusivity of truth and worldly power. As the Bible states, the truth will set you free. Most individuals prefer a quest of power than a quest of truth, and that is unfortunate. I think there is a time in everyone's life in which he or she sees the two paths--truth or power--and can foresee the results of both. Worldly power brings worldly glory and that seems much more appealing than truth which brings peace. I'd like to be on the path of truth and I hope my line of work is in harmony with it.

When there is silence one finds peace. When there is silence one finds the anchor of the universe within himself.

- The cessation of perceptions brings one to unity
- Without perception, one perceives unity
- When the individual no longer sees the external, he sees the internal

Application: I am currently reading some Quaker literature, and there is a strong likeness between this part of verse 37 and Quaker ideology. This is evidence that one can be both Christian and Taoist. So one does not need to veer away from Christ to grasp Taoism. My discovery of Quakerism was a pleasant one.

Verse Thirty-six

Contraction pulls at that which extends too far. Weakness pulls at that which strengthens too much. Ruin pulls at that which rises too high. Loss pulls at that which you fill it with too much stuff.

- What goes up must come down.
- Moderation is better than excess.
- Too much of anything is never good.

Application: For some things, I am good at practicing moderation. But for others, I go to extremes like worrying about work or only drinking water. I believe I should avoid addictive things because they only lead you to extreme consumption. With everything else I should practice moderation. This leads me to question if anxiety is addictive.

The lesson here is called "The wisdom of obscurity" -- the gentle outlast the strong, the obscure outlast the obvious. Hence, a fish that ventures from deep water is soon snagged by a net. A country that reveals its strength is soon conquered by an enemy.

- Aggressive individuals burn out faster.
- Those that do not attract attention last longer.
- To live long requires quiet passivity.

Application: I do not have a desire to live long nor do I desire to live short. In many situations, I try to remain passive or obscure. But I am in a career that demands attention from students and peers. I have to find a balance in which I do not seek attention but can remain respected with passive authority. Hmm...

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The False Rhymes...
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What's the cola with the fizziest sound?
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Don't drink water like your hound
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What's that drink that making rounds?
It's bottle after bottle or Royal Crowns.

When you find yourself on the pitcher's mound
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What's that pirate got hidden underground?
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Do you know why you friend has frowned?
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Verse Thirty-five

Hold fast to the Great Form within and let the world pass as it may. Then the changes of life will not bring pain but contentment, joy, and well-being.

- Awareness of unity keeps an individual confident through change
- When one cannot have what is external, one muse secure what is internal

Application: During this year in my life, I have been the most fearful of changes because it's the first time that I have something to lose. I have to teach myself to stop grasping on to what I have to lose. More changes have brought pain than not, so this is definitely something I need to work on.

Music and sweets are passing pleasures yet they cause people to stop. How bland and insipid are the things of this world when one compares them with Tao! One tastes, but the sweetness turns bitter. One sees, but the colors grow faint. One hears, but the sound fades into silence.

- Unified perception outshines individual perception
- Like the individual himself, what is perceived is temporary.
- We enjoy the pleasures of our senses because they remind us of our fleeting lives.

Application: I am guilty in finding pleasure in both music and sweets, but music is what causes me to stop. Fortunately it's the music that helps bring me to the Tao. So when the sound fades into silence I still have the Tao. Not a bad trade off.

One may look for fulfillment in this world but his longings will never be exhausted. The only thing he ever finds is that he himself is exhausted.

- The chief Buddhist tenet of desire causing suffering.
- The length of life often depends on the strength of desire.
- Enjoyment is not desire but contentment with the present.

Application: At this point in my life, I can wholeheartedly agree with finding myself exhausted after longing for a better life. Life hasn't been too enjoyable because I'm not living in the moment. My head is in the future too much that the present slips away.

Verse Thirty-four

The great Tao flows everywhere. It fills everything to the left and to the right. All things owe their existence to it and it cannot deny any one of them.

- We are all part of unity.
- There is no escaping it.

Application: I know this.

Tao is eternal. It does not favor one over the other. It brings all things to completion without their even knowing it.

- All are treated equally.
- Things get done whether or not individuals participate.

Application: I know all are treated equally, but sometimes I forget that things will get done whether I do something or not. Sometimes things get done without me even trying. On the other hand, sometimes things never get done when I try my hardest.

Tao nourishes and protects all creatures yet does not claim lordship over them. So we class it with the most humble. Tao is the home to which all things return yet it wants nothing in return. So we call it "The Greatest."

- It is the self-sustaining source
- Everyone is protected because we are all one

Application: I know this yet I worry about the planet. Nature takes care of herself. If something gets out of hand, she deals with it. We don't have to intervene unless we thing we are part of the problem, which nature will deal with.

The Sage is the same way--He does not claim greatness over anything. He's not even aware of his own greatness. Tell me, what could be greater than this?

- Humility is greatness
- One should use his greatness passively

Application: I try to be humble, but am I trying to be humble to be great? I shouldn't. These past few months have been a very humbling experience, so at this moment in my life I can say that I claim greatness over nothing. But I do not think myself as a sage.

New Japanese Planets

Radio House Kingdom
in connection with…
The National Telescopic Astronomy Administration
funded by NHK and NTT
have jointly discovered 14 new planets outside our Japanese solar system

Planet One is New Tokyo with the highest real estate in the universe
Planet Two is The Planet that Says Ni! Because Ni means Two in Japanese
Planet Three was lost when Okabe-san bumped into the telescope
(it will soon be located under ExxonMobil funding though,
so please visit their homepage at www.killearth.com)
Planet Four is already inhabited by dogs. We’re waiting for a suitable name for that planet.
Planet Five was claimed by Pink Floyd and David Bowie to hold their new recording studio
Planet Six is so close to Planet Seven that we don’t know which is which
Planet Six will be the only planet in which racism will be encouraged
Planet Seven is where Earth will store all its toxic waste
Planet Eight is TOP SECRET c/o US GOVERNMENT
Planet Nine is Hubbell II: The Telesphere
Planet Ten actually is Pluto (we made a mistake)
Planet Eleven is completely made of gold and was found to have the Microsoft logo on it
Planet Twelve is for Japanese tourists only for authenticity’s sake
Planet Thirteen has been deemed Satan’s Lair of Doom by the Roman Catholic Church
Planet Fourteen is the last planet found so we don’t have enough information on it yet

Verse Thirty-three

One who knows others is intelligent. One who knows himself is enlightened.

- Establishing relationships is healthy but self-awareness is healthier.
- The weakest link in a network of people is the one who doesn't know himself well.

Application: I'm afraid I may know myself better than I know others. Knowing myself and observing others has helped me understand others indirectly.

One who conquers others is strong. One who conquers himself is all-powerful.

- Enemies in person are weaker than enemies of the mind
- Finding mental peace is more difficult than finding international peace

Application: I agree that what makes me weak is what is in my head. I believe all international strife is caused by a few powerful people who do not have mental peace. If only they would...

One who approaches life with full force surely gets something. One who remains content where he is surely gets everything.

- A narrow focus yields small rewards
- A wider focus yields greater rewards
- In order to recieve, one must be passive

Application: This year I've often found myself in situations where my focus is very narrow and I forget the big picture. The results were just like this part of verse 33--small rewards. My problem is forgetting the bigger picture, the wider focus. Only when I'm content do I see the big picture. In times of stress, I cannot keep it well. This is what I must work on.

One who gives himself to his position surely lives long. One who gives himself to Tao surely lives forever.

- An individual goal lasts shorter than a unifying goal
- Serving unity gets one further than serving individuals

Application: During the past few years, I have been giving myself to my position as a teacher. My desire is to give myself to "Tao," but my fear of letting go of my position prevents me from doing so. I'm currently trying to find a synthesis of the two. I've had little or no success.

Verse Thirty-two

Tao is eternal, one without a second. Simple indeed yet so subtle that no one can master it. If princes and kings could just hold it, all things would flock to their kingdom. Heaven and Earth would rejoice with the dripping of sweet dew. Everyone would live in harmony, not by official decree, but by their own inner goodness.

- The problem with peace is that we are individuals.
- To achieve worldwide peace requires everyone to let go of their selfish individuality
- What binds us to life is the individualistic desire to survive
- Peace cannot be enforced

Application: I realize the sad truth about bring about world peace. As long as someone is looking for power, there will be none. But peace comes to us as we leave our individuality. And peace is within us. Searching for peace outside of us in an individualistic world is pointless. I no longer believe that world peace can be achieved through war or political change. It can only be achieved through personal and spiritual change.

The world is nothing but the glory of Tao expressed through different names and forms. One who sees the things of this world as being real and self-existent has lost sight of the truth. To him, every word becomes a trap, every thing becomes a prison.

- Everything is already unified
- It is the perception of the individual which divides and categorizes
- We live in the world we perceive
- Reality is relative

Application: I have realized that when I think of the world, I usually think of the man-made world instead of the natural world. For example, I think of nations and cultures. I also think of cities and cars. All of that is not the world really. It is the product of our selfishness. When I think of the world I must think of it as humans, animals, plants, oceans, rivers, mountains, etc. The natural world recycles itself. Man-made world does not, but nature always finds a way.

One who know the truth that underlies all things lives in this world without danger. To him, every word reflects the universe, every moment brings enlightenment.

- Fear dissolves as individuality dissolves.

Application: I can make all of my fears, anxieties, and desires go away as soon as stop thinking of myself as an individual and start thinking of myself as unified with the whole.

Rivers and streams are born in the ocean. All creation is born of Tao. Just as all water flows back to become the ocean. All creation flow back to become Tao.

- The water cycle as a metaphor for life.
- Water is life, both have essence.

Application: I believe that the natural world is cyclical and the artificial world is linear. Once we die all our artificial constructs are destroyed including our individuality but our natural constructs are recycled as our bodies return to the earth and our souls return to Unity.

People Who Have Upset the Apple Cart...

Eat meat at night
Drink champagne in the daylight
Play mind games with children
Sing to marigolds between their toes
Call late at night just to say “Hello”
Roll the dice sideways
Stand on their heads
Duke it out on Sundays
Call “lunch” + “dinner” = “dunch” or “linner”
Use machines towards their own advantage
Ditch their friends for the day’s last train
Tell too many Polish jokes
Bus their own tables
Smoke Lucky Strike cigarettes
Dance naked alone in front of their neighbor’s rose gardens
Dial direct from overseas
Smell like pine tree sap

Verse Thirty-one

Even the finest warrior is defeated when he goes against natural law. By his own hand he is doomed and all creatures are likely to despise him.

- Going against nature causes great antagonism
- Fighting nature brings self-defeat

Application: I never consciously put myself against nature, and I hope I never do.

One who knows Tao never turns from life's calling. When at home he honors the side of rest. When at war he honors the side of action. Peace and tranquility are what he holds most dear so he does not obtain weapons. But when their use is unaviodable he employs them with fortitude and zeal.

- Only when needed does one need to be put to work
- One should remain still until called to a task
- When put to work, full concentration can be put into it

Application: This has been a little difficult for me because it's hard to remain still for such a prolonged period of time. I must try to keep my mind still. There's no problem keeping my body still. If there's nothing to worry about, I shouldn't worry.

Do not flaunt your excellence. Do not rejoice over victory. With the loss of others weep with sorrow and grief. After winning a battle do not celebrate, observe the rites of a funeral.

- There is no victory without loss
- A celebration insults others and encourages ill feelings
- Excellence is a result and not an end of focus and skill

Application: I try not to gloat unless it is harmless. Most gloating or celebration of victory looks foolish as time goes by. Celebrating in spite of others is worse than losing because it encourages ill feelings. I haven't done this seriously since I was a child. And it is a childish act.

One who is bound to action, proud of victory, and delights in the misfortune of others will never gain a thing from this world below Heaven.

- A boastful braggart will gain no more than what he had
- When one sticks to the task at hand without expectations, then living brings reward

Application: This part of verse 31 sound like the aspirations of a politician. This is why I have no desire to enter politics--its seems like evil versus evil. No matter who wins we all lose. True democracy is the solution to this. Where is it?

Verse Thirty

Those who rule in accordance with Tao do not use force against the world. For that which is forced is likely to return-- Where armies settle, Nature offers nothing but briars and thorns. After a great battle has been fought, the land is cursed, the crops fail, the Earth lies stripped of its motherhood.

- For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
- There is no such thing as total victory because there is always a loss.
- In war, one not only fights his enemies but also nature.

Application: I found my beliefs reinforced with this pacifist statement. I am in total agreement about this anti-war sentiment.

A knower of Truth does what is called for then stops. He uses his strength but does not force things. In the same way, complete your task, seek no reward, make no claims. Without faltering, fully choose to do what you must do. This is to live without forcing, to overcome without conquering.

- One should do what is needed without expectations.
- A goal can be reached without dwelling on it.
- Forcing a situation does not improve the outcome.

Application: This part of verse 30 I have found to be difficult to apply as my mind is often future-focused. I feel as if not much is going on in the present so I focus on and anticipate the future. This type of mindset helps only when I am at task. Presently I am not at task, so this type of mindset either does nothing or hinders my goal. I must work harder to appreciate the fact that there is no task at hand.

Things that gain a place by force will flourish for a time but then fade away. They are not in keeping with Tao. Whatever is not in keeping with Tao will come to an early end.

- Individual effort yields temporary results.
- What is right needs not be enforced.

Application: This is kind of an anarchist statement. What is natural and good will take place regardless of our individual effort. As individuals, we should assist this natural process as opposed to enforcing it. Because our life is temporary so are our efforts. If we do things in accordance with the Tao or Unity which is permanent, then our efforts aid permanence.

The International Museum of Garbage and Sages

The wise man wipes in the garage
No one pays him
Any attention he gets is squandered on refutation
No one pays him
He owes no one
The key to the car unlocks independence
The key to wisdom unclogs the drains
Windshield wipers can solve the problems of obscurity

Verse Twenty-nine

Those who look down upon this world will surely take hold and try to change things. But this is a plan I've always seen fail. The world is Tao's own vessel. It is perfection manifest. It cannot be changed. It cannot be improved. For those who go on tampering, it's ruined. For those who try to grasp, it's gone.

- This is the problem with politics, usually liberals
- One should embrace change yet not bring about change because change always comes

Application: This is what helped me lose interest in politics. It also helped me away from voting either Democrat or Republican. I find myself closer to the Libertarian Party than even before, but I'm not sure if I'll vote for them. Politicians usually change the world for the worse. Its the people that change the world for the better.

Allow your life to unfold naturally. Know that it is a vessel of perfection. Just as you breathe in and breathe out, sometimes you're ahead and other times behind, sometimes you're strong and other times weak, sometimes you're with people and other times alone.

- For everything there is a season
- Do not fret during times of weakness and loneliness because they pass

Application: I found this passage to be full of hope. When I'm down, I know I can only progress upwards. When I'm up, I cherish the moment because it won't last forever.

To the Sage all of life is a movement toward perfection
So what need has he for the excessive, the extravagant, or the extreme?

- One can find pleasure in the commonalities of the world
- People and things that often catch the senses have problems of their own
- Being excessive, extravagant, and extreme cause isolation from the world

Application: The news media glorifies the abnormal. Sometimes it makes us feel great to be normal. Other times it makes us wish we were abnormal (famous). We should be comfortable with who we are. In the end, we will achieve perfection. All we have to be is patient. Patience was my biggest lesson of 2006.

Verse Twenty-eight

Hold your male side with your female side. Hold your bright side with your dull side. Hold your high side with your low side. Then you will be able to hold the whole world.

- If you can acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses, then you can acknowledge the world
- If you can bring together the microcosm, then you can do the same for the macrocosm

Application: This calls for self-reflection. I must acknowledge my masculinity and my femininity, my intelligence and my stupidity, and my virtue and my disgraces. Once I embrace both sides then I can feel better in the world I live in. I can accept others as easy as I accept myself.

When the opposing forces unite within there comes a power abundant in its giving and unerring in its effort. Flowing through everything, it returns one to the First Breath. Guiding everything, it returns to No Limits. Embracing everything, it returns to the Uncarved Block.

- More power comes through unity than division
- Acknowledge and embrace your imperfections to grow stronger
- The path to perfection divides oneself and is inhuman

Application: Here is another difference I see between Christianity and Taoism. In Christianity, I have been told to seek perfection. As I was raised, I had to admonish all of my sins. The more I sinned, the more I hated myself. This does nothing but belittle the human spirit and bring about miserable humility. But we should embrace our sins and realize that the whole world struggles in the same way. We should strive for the balance and not for the extreme of goodness and virtue because that is inhuman, only godly.

When the Block is divided, it becomes something useful and leaders rule with a few pieces of it. But the Sage holds the Block complete. Holding all things within himself, he preserves the Great Unity which cannot be ruled or divided.

- Individuals can only use or hold power over other individuals
- When one is with Unity, then he is useless to the greedy individual
- This is why Taoists may feel useless in a materialistic world

Application: Individuals have tried to overpower me by causing an imbalance within myself. They have tried to make me strive for extreme goodness and neglecting anything bad. They have tried to make me strive for extreme masculinity and neglecting anything feminine. I should hold on to everything that I am, and not let others unbalance me, causing them to overpower me. I have witness an imbalance cause vulnerability to the powers of another.

The Robot's Exhibition, part 7

For every busy shopper in the Mall of America there is a gift certificate the size of a deluxe bite-size Whopper. The shopper with the most coupons can win all the gift certificates if nine and nine never add up to twelve, a yellow twelve with pieces of chocolate surrounding the savory number. Twelves are for sale next to the jugs of ale in the counselor's twisted sense of bail.

The barrister on a banister rejected any illegal reasons to open a discotheque written on a legal pad. He did not know that the place was called THE LEGAL PAD after the barrister's backwards and fiendish scandals involving linen closets and the easy women found inside them. No, they weren't dead. The banister found a way to preserve women's sex appeal, but they had to be stored in linen closets. That's the story written by the journalists from the land of Overhype.

Overhype flashes in the eyes of dullards. Dullards are the people who love living in Overhype. Overhype is the land where it is possible for very small things to create big explosions. The land of Overhype is ruled by the Esquire Enquire and the Sun-Times of the Round Table. Esq. Enquire has the special capability to create any substance from concrete.

The real story behind the barrister on the banister is this: The sexy women volunteered to wait in the linen closets awaiting the butterfly's insectual message. There's nothing true about preserving sex appeal. Those rabble rousers from THE LEGAL PAD will go to the far reaches of the globe, such as the land of Overhype, to find a valid argument for their dancing establishment.

Without hesitation, an anchor detaches itself from the almighty cruise ship and heads for the underworld. This rebellious incident causes the Aluminux to float with the trade winds in the middle of the Atlantic night. Meanwhile the anchor finds the reservoir of other lost anchors joining in a current towards the rupture between the ocean floor and the underworld in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Blue whales and bottle-nosed dolphins stare at the amazement as the procession of lost anchors head into a small fissure in the ridge. The intense heat emanating from the breach keeps the sea creatures distance, but it's not hot enough to keep away the insurgent anchors.

Once the Aluminux anchor marches through, it is amazed to discover a field of ice cream plasma. The surroundings are sweet and blinding because of an unknown source of light remaining a mystery to the renegade anchors. An anchor's realm of perception is very limited. What they cannot perceive is that the source of light is the fugitive eye from Eightron, the largest octopus that ever existed. Eightron could have easily become the King of the Ocean, but it was cursed with the fugitive eye that leads anchors astray. One day a cruise ship will veer so far off course that it will accidentally destroy Eightron, but this octopus has superintelligence. She speeds backward through the seven seas like a frightened lobster. Every living thing clears the way for Eightron, her body easily doubling the size of Bluto, the daddy-o of blue whales.

High above the speeding mass of the blind octopus is Radar Island, a vast desert island containing five thousand satellite dishes, none of them belonging to the superpowers of the globe. The only living being on this island is the hyphenated buffalo. Every morning it melts into a puddle of primordial residue that seeps into the bases of each satellite. The DNA sequence of the hyphenated buffalo is a sequence, which programs the satellites to either receive or transmit information not for the world, but for itself. The hyphenated buffalo's goal is to expand its mental capacity so large that the whole universe will collapse within its cranium.

By the afternoon, the hyphenated buffalo forms back into its hyphenated self to recreate alien viruses that were received as data to Radar Island. The first virus the hyphenated buffalo ever created is in all of us, but it is basically harmless. It makes us blind to the hyphenated buffalo and its island.

The alien races with higher morals than the buffalo and the human race try to stop this scheme, but they are always thwarted to the extent of extinction. The hyphenated buffalo has successfully killed off all aliens with morals greater than its own. It is a wonder that the human race still exists.

The robot's exposition's secret purpose is to eradicate the hyphenated buffalo, but no living thing knows of this scheme. Once the robot has the gentry in high spirits, the buffalo will be in no spirits. As the buffalo's life passes out of its malleable anatomy, then the infinite dimensionality of the universe will also pass away because the robot will unknowingly destroy the continuity of infinity. Things will begin to end and never reappear again. So as all forms of energy try to bail out, the Double-Pope will supply the planet Earth with a very convincingly easy exit.

THE END

Verse Twenty-seven

A knower of the Truth travels without leaving a trace, speaks without causing harm, gives without keeping an account. The door he shuts, though having no lock, cannot be opened. The knot he ties, though using no cord, cannot be undone.

- Traveling from one life to the next, one cannot bring his individuality
- Once beyond the realm of individuals, one cannot return physically or mentally
- One cannot keep anything beyond this world

Application: I cannot say I have spoken without causing harm or given without keeping an account. Both are difficult to stop. A solution to speaking without causing harm can be found with a famous Sufi quote, "Speak to those according to their understanding." There is no need for shocking statements. Giving without keeping an account contradicts our modern society, but it can be done easily. I've only done it once or twice, but it's hard not to expect something. As for my outlook on life beyond death, I agree with what is stated.

The Sage is always on the side of virtue, so everyone around him prospers. He is always on the side of truth, so everything around him is fulfilled.

- When following the Tao, everything works out

Application: This is a very general statement. For me to claim to be always on the side of virtue and truth would be preposterous. What I can say is that when I am virtuous and truthful, things around me do prosper and become fulfilled. My problem is the "always" condition.

The path of the Sage is called "The Path of Illumination." He who gives himself to this path is like a block of wood that gives itself to the chisel--Cut by cut it is honed to perfection.

- Don't control your destiny, let your destiny control you
- Let life take you where it may; the journey will be more enjoyable
- The wisdom of Unity supercedes the wisdom of one individual

Application: During the past few months, I have seen this to be true. The more I try to control my destiny, the more struggles I encounter. But when I give up the driver's seat to the unified consciousness, then I end up in a good place--sometimes somewhere I would have never expected. It's like riding a wave.

Only a student who gives himself can receive the master's gift. If you think otherwise, despite your knowledge, you have blundered.

- Be in the moment of servitude when in need
- Do not aggressively pursue your goal--serve your goal

Application: I also realized this in the recent past. This is a psychological change when pursuing a need or goal. Instead of chasing it head on, I should think of it as service. Humility may achieve the goal that aggression cannot. I have found this to relieve the mental anxiety from false responsibility. False responsibility is perceiving responsibility for something you do not have.

Giving and receiving are one. This is called, "The great wonder, the essential mystery, the very heart of all that is true."

- This is another cycle like unity and individuality
- One cannot occur without the other

Application: Almost all religions have written about this: when one gives, one will receive. When one receives, when will give either voluntarily or involuntarily. Nature has its way of giving and taking. You can see this everywhere. So when I receive something, I expect to give something in return. And when I give something, I know something will come my way either directly or indirectly. I shouldn't demand something in return because it's not my decision to make.

Verse Twenty-six

The inner is foundation of the outer. The still is the master of the restless.

- One's definition is found within
- Image only appeals to other individuals but it does not define the self
- One at peace can master anything because he has no worries to distract him
- The restless mind seeks solace in the still and peaceful sage

Application: I definitely believe this and have believed this since I can remember. I, like most others, have put more faith in those who were still and calm than those who were busybodies. This is something I already knew.

The Sage travels all day yet he never leaves his inner treasure. Though the views are captivating and beg attention, he remains calm and uninvolved. Tell me, does the land of a great empire go out begging for rice?

- Everyone carries unity within and should not worry about external matters
- When the outside world seems exciting one should not get caught up in it, that is the way of things
- When one has unity than all individuals should not cause him worry

Application: This part of verse 26 refers to the now common idea of "finding one's center." When I was in Japan, I felt that I accomplished what is in this verse. I remained calm and uninvolved in the captivating views of Japan. Just because I am somewhere new and exciting, that doesn't mean I have to do something. The world is not an amusement park that requires payment for a short ride. If I am "centered," I can enjoy the world through observation.

One who seeks his treasure in the outer world is cut off from his own roots. Without roots, he becomes restless. Being restless, his mind is weak. And with a mind such as this, he loses all command below Heaven.

- When looking outward rather than inward, he loses all command below Heaven
- When one loses touch with himself, he has nothing to fall back on and that wears him down
- Eventually the total loss of control brings him back without his effort

Application: While I was transcribing this part of verse 26, I going through this process. I was seeking my treasure in the outer world, so I became cut off from my own roots, becoming restless with a weak mind. I felt out of control of my destiny. It took a long time for me to recover from this uprooted feeling, and as I was healing the treasure was revealed to me. Because I witnessed it working, my faith in my beliefs was strengthened.

The Robot's Exhibition, part 6

In order to proceed as directed by personal respect, the assassination will have to be canceled. Human life has just surpassed the domination of souls as moral order. Long live the pope until further notice.

This is when the robot enters with its plans of an exposition magnetically pressed into laser-accessible circuits. Wires and cords are crisscrossing the plaza of the palace as the robot's arrangement. A sphere of electricity is planned to balloon from the fountain like a soap bubble from a plastic ring. Lords, ladies, dukes, and duchesses from around the planet have been invited to witness the robot's exposition.

A stainless steel framework containing plasma injectors and concentrated tritanium ore will create a structured order of synthetic sound to provide the plaza with magnetic resonance. In the amalgamation of every dimension of time will the images of the robot's exposition be projected.

This creation will be drawing condensed infrared rays from the sun as a source of energy. During the process of this exposition the infrared rays will be reversed and returned to the sun in the form of ultraviolet waves. The consolidated ultraviolet effect will be a reverse of the color spectrum cast from the largest source of light. Green grass will become red and the blue sky orange. Blonde hair turning magenta and everybody's eyes will glow a purplish hue as if in a black light.

Since this mighty fair releases intense heat, industrial size fans will blow across the plaza. The power of these fans is so strong that it could move a heavy-set man off his feet. Aerodynamic bodysuits have been constructed by the robot for the invited gentry. In all this splendor, these people will have the ability to fly.

The exposition would be impossible without the robot and the robot would be impossible without Dr. Harvey Ewald, scholar. Born during the Stuben Comet crash into the moon during a solar eclipse, Ewald was born to break barriers. After inventing the frictionless engine and the first fuel which emits ozone-binding molecules as exhaust, therefore repairing the atmosphere, Dr. Ewald invented the robot who's sole purpose is to put progressive scientific ideas into realities that benefit the humans' need for entertainment.

Today Ewald relaxes in his bungalow in the Bikini Atoll that he raised from the ocean and radioactivity-proofed it with his device, which uses that radioactive energy to clean itself off all matter, and into the device. Inside the device, the radioactive molecules are broken down to power the Bikini Atoll's resort: Ewald's Escape from Entropy.

All the money Ewald makes from his totally beneficial inventions is put forth to entertain the population of the planet. All his endorsed amusements are pumped full of subliminal messages to reduce crime and to stop all habits that destroy one's health. None of these companies refuse Ewald because he has rescued the world from the rot of human entropy, and he is by far the richest man on Earth. No money goes to him only because, "He shares as much as everyone else in the world."

Such a man cannot be stopped unless it is the Double-Pope who stops him. The Double-Pope has spiritual influence over all man-made devices. All thinking power coming out of the human force is supplied by the Double-Pope's agent. Therefore he can inspire the machines, computers, and robots to turn against the inventors since the initial energy source of thoughts are spawned from the beast himself.

Verse Twenty-five

Something formless, complete in itself. There before Heaven and Earth. Tranquil, vast, standing alone, unchanging. It provides for all things yet cannot be exhausted. It is the mother of the universe. I do not know its name so I call it "Tao." Forced to name it further, I call it "The greatness of all things," "The end of all endings." I call it "That which is beyond the beyond," "That to which all things return."

- Unity is described here.
- It is the space that connects all individuals.
- Without it, the universe would collapse.

Application: There's not much to act upon a description. What is described here is close to my own concept of God.

From Tao comes all greatness--It makes Heaven great. It makes Earth great. It makes man great. Mankind depends on the laws of the Earth. Earth depends on the laws of Heaven. Heaven depends on the laws of Tao. But Tao itself depends on itself alone, supremely free, self-so, it rests in its own nature.

- Civil laws only apply to humanity.
- Science laws only apply to individual perception.
- Interconnectivity applies to unity and that why Tao only needs itself.
- Tao is the universal law.

Application: Here I discovered the limits of politics and science, one serving humanity and one serving the physical world. But there is more than that and that's where philosophy, spirituality, or religion come in. Almost all sacred texts describe their own universal law. Here is the Tao Te Ching, which has a freeing and open message. Knowing this leaves me content. I believe there is more to the universe than humanity and the physical realm. I'm afraid many people do not. But if people are left to think things over and meditate, I believe they will find more if they can get over the fear of nothingness.

Verse Twenty-four

On his tiptoes a man is not steady. Taking long strides he cannot keep pace.

- Trying too hard causes a fall.
- When one overexerts his energy, the goal cannot be attained.

Application: I usually know my limits of physically overexerting myself, but it's more difficult to find my limits of mental overexertion. Usually others will have to tell me that I'm mentally straining myself. It's like a kind of torture. I need to develop an internal mechanism to tell me when my mental limits have been reached.

To the self-serving, nothing shines forth. To the self-promoting, nothing is distinguished. To the self-appointing, nothing bears fruit. To the self-righteous, nothing endures.

- Since the individual serves the self, nothing else will.
- Being self-absorbed, nobody else can come through.

Application: When it comes to selfish acts, I believe I do quite well avoiding most of them. I'm not into material greediness. I don't always demand attention (from most people). Only when I get into politics can I become self-righteous, but that is changing. The contradiction comes when pride sets in. It's impossible to be proud of one's selflessness. That doesn't make any sense.

From this viewpoint of Tao, this self-indulgence is like rotting food and painful growths on the body--Things that all creatures despise. So why hold onto them? When walking the path of Tao, this is the very stuff that must be uprooted, thrown out, and left behind.

- All bragging, all egocentrism should be abandoned
- We are blessed to experience individuality but we should not revel in it
- When self-love overshadows love itself then one becomes despised

Application: I try to keep my braggadocio to a minimum. My weakpoint is when I start comparing myself to others. This is an expression of the yang energy, the competitive, individualistic spirit that we all have. Most of our lives is spent comparing things to make choices. I make choices because of desire, and the teachings of Buddha can explain the rest. So I should enjoy the differences and not feel better or worse about them.

The Robot's Exhibition, part 5

The people try to stop the money, but the pressure is too great and the dike is broken by the bribe. Rich runs up the nostrils of Mister and delivers a highbrow consciousness to him. He says, "I am very intelligent," as he looks over the killing floor. Money permeates throughout his pants like an octopus in the ocean. Rich and richer, Mister pays the snails to slaughter the pirates and the alligators to chew up the billboards. Anything is in the pockets of Mister in today's stimulated event.

Mister, the nabob, crawls like a baby to the supermarket and the busy traffic stops. Look at the rich man go! They start to laugh and, within a minute, his motorcade takes him to a farm. Like a fox, Mister robs the eggs right from the chicken but tosses the farmer a vintage coin worth $800.

After he swallows the owl-infested eggs, Mister and his many moneys seem unstoppable, but that's when the wurly-glove touches his ticklish sleep neurons. Mister is sleeping for the next couple of days with a new intention, an intention of impossibilities with subtle conformities to make it catchy and fun.

Red carpets are rolled out in every town because the pope's assassination is scheduled today. Senator Gilbright had the chance to interview the pope last night over a bottle of cream soda and kielbasa. "Let loonies be loonies," was the most important sentence from the Holy See's lips that night. Once the pope is rubbed out, the Antichrist will take the seat of the Vatican. This Antichrist will be disguised as the most powerful Roman Catholic man ever to live; he is called the Double-Pope. This will fool all. Bill Cosby and the Republic of China are the conspirators behind this assassination. It is not execution because the Holy Catholic Church and the United Nations did not officially approve it. Cosby and China have hired the Vice President of the United States of America to carry out the assassination. Here is his speech on this predicament:

"Beware! Citizens of the United States, a predator of each of your souls lurk around the world without restraint. It is time to give this predator the title and power of pope to successfully drain each and every one of you of spiritual power. I, your Vice President, have been chosen to carry out the deed of destroying the present pope. If I am killed afterwards, I will not be able to install the Double-Pope as the usurper. I hereby request that the American Senate fulfill this duty if I do not survive. To hell with Monster Giaour! Precision shall never wither from my mind as I go into the Mediterranean climate and fire the iron-cased olive into the heart of the pope. We, the people of the United States of America shall witness our most favored death and the crumbling of desolate land. I shall now persist as of the Official Assassin of the Pope. Thank you!"

The Double-Pope has come back from witnessing the re-enactment of the crucifixion. He was most deeply honored to be in the presence of a digitally re-mastered savior. Today he stands protected by a powerful Italian family in Milan awaiting the death of the pope. That's all we have for the news. Stay tuned because we will have full coverage of the assassination--live.

Verse Twenty-three

Speak little. Hold to your own nature. A strong wind does not blow all morning. A cloudburst does not last all day. The wind and rain are from Heaven and Earth and even those do not last long. How much less so the efforts of man?

- Patience brings reward
- There is no permanence for individuals
- An individual shouldn't expect anything to last forever

Application: I don't expect anything to last forever, but there are a few things I hope will last for the rest of my lifetime like my marriage and my health. I know friends and family will pass away. And I am very aware that my lifestyle will not last forever.

One who lives in accordance with the Truth becomes the embodiment of Tao. His actions become those of Nature, his ways those of Heaven. It is through such a one that Heaven rejoices, that Earth rejoices, that all of life rejoices.

- When one accepts unity one becomes a part of it
- When one accepts the present moment than all becomes harmonious
- All individual effort gives way to the Tao

Application: I must accept the way of things. I shouldn't let the shortcomings of others, my community, and my country get to me. That is how things are. I should do what I can do, but no more. Nature has a way of letting things work out in the end. So when I hear some bad news, I should only act in a way that I can. I should not grumble and complain.

Verse Twenty-two

"Surrender brings perfection." The crooked become straight. The empty become full. The worn become new. Have little and gain much, have much and be confused.

- When at a low point, progress is on your side
- Without expectations, your life will be fulfilled
- Too many choices confuse the mind

Application: This is difficult to do in times of anxiety. I had this really tested for about four months. The more that time drags on, the more anxiety builds. What I need to learn is to not worry even if it takes years. Everything works out anyway. What caused me anxiety is an unknown picture of the future. Once I know where I am headed, my anxiety decreases. How can I stop being worried about the future at a point when all routine has stopped?

So the Sage embraces the One and becomes a model for the world. Without showing himself, he shines forth. Without promoting himself, he is distinguished. Without claiming reward, he gains endless merit. Without seeking glory, his glory endures.

- When with unity, one doesn't need to reward the individual
- One was already blessed when with Unity
- Individual desires just pulls one away from Unity

Application: If you do what you're supposed to do, then that alone is the reward. This is hard to conceive in a society where all work is paid with money. The whole world expects to be paid. I have to ask myself, "What work would I do for free?" It would have to be work that benefits my community. I imagine most people would answer the same. Politics cannot interfere with this goal, and that's the trouble with the world we live in.

The Sage knows how to follow so he comes to command. He does not compete so no one under Heaven can compete with him.

- Having the humble point of view gives a leader trust
- Transcending competitions leaves competitors baffled
- Only individuals can compete because in unity you compete with yourself

Application: I don't like most competitions. What I like about sports is getting together, but once competition becomes serious I want out. It's not because I "can't handle the pressure." It's because it's stupid. I don't understand the urge to demonstrate defeating someone in order to show off one's superiority. When I am in a competitive situation, I try to take the seriousness out of it. Nobody's #1 forever. Competition just shows how fleeting one's individuality is.

The ancient saying, "Surrender brings perfection" is not just empty words. Truly, surrender brings perfection and perfection brings the whole universe.

- Surrender your individuality and then all you have is unity
- Unity is perfection and the universe

Application: This is the answer to competition--don't compete. Oh, how I disappoint so many when I give up in a competition. I think the only competition I actively engage in is the race for a good job. If only I could give up the rat race and laugh at the money grubbers. That type of competition really strains my life. It strains at everyone's life. It keeps the world the way it is. Are you happy with it?

The Robot's Exhibition, part 4

Greg Chantorian became a tourist of New York City instantly when he bought a Hawaiian shirt, a camera, and piece of Chew Brother's formaldehyde/Naugahyde-flavored gum. Chew Brothers are not afraid of naming their flavors after the real ingredients. Wrigley denies that any of their gum is made from a combination of formaldehyde and Naugahyde, but all big Chicago companies are famous for denial.

Once Greg had this special gum coagulating in his mouth, it over took his perception of New York. It became a stimulating city, the Empire State Building got pointier and the World Trade Center* budded a third tower slightly taller than the second. The Statue of Liberty switched hands with the torch and document. Chew Brother's formaldehyde/Naugahyde gum in not a hallucinogenic food product. It is a special agent that interacts with physical reality instead of the perceptual reality. Chew Brothers know how to make a very convincing gum.

Greg found this out as New York entertained him more than any other tourist. Other tourists became jealous and hid behind huge billboards only to find waiters of five-star restaurants gathered together in their nudity. "Preservatives?" asked Ewan VanHuewy, a waiter with a nasty birthmark. His question could be interpreted in so many ways. What it really meant was, "It's time to take the elevator to waiter class."

A grain elevator coming down the train tracks nearby delivered an entire course with such precision that it became dangerous. An explosion instantly occurred and then canceled the final result of the explosion, which is a mass number of casualties. Nobody died and that's what fascinated Greg. His jealous tourists remained in life.

"Bravo!" said Greg before he swallowed the gum. DO NOT SWALLOW GUM! It may entertaining to chew but, once swallowed, gum has unexpected results. Mr. Chantorian developed a delusion, a rare delusion, a delusion that is contagious, a delusion involving weightlessness. Greg thought he was floating. As the Big Apple watched Greg pretending to float (although he thought he really was), other New Yorkers got the feeling of floating. They mentally became bubbles helpless in the wind and traffic.

Everyone saw the city of New York get smaller and smaller as they floated towards the stratosphere. This never actually happened, but in the minds of New Yorkers that day it did. Delusions of weightlessness unified the seeds of the Big Apple and a real perception of togetherness fought off the delusion. When hugs began, they noticed that their feet never left the ground. That feeling led to the feeling of being lied to. By the time everyone needed someone to blame, Greg Chantorian was on the expressway to Philadelphia.

Birds hummed escalator tunes, a new kind of muzak. Most birds can whistle elevator tunes, but escalator tunes need to be hummed. For instance, "Majorie's Halfway Shuffle" is hummed with a velvet banana. The bird sits on the banana and hums, not because the fruit is made of a synthetic fiber, but because an escalator tune is reverberating around the auditory realms of the aviary. Yes, the bird hums.

The best compact disc to get, as great escalator music is concerned, is BLAIR'S ELECTRIC STAIRS. "Majorie's Halfway Shuffle" is among the tracks on the disc. The best humming bird to get not a hummingbird but the fissilingual lingbird, the meadow pipit with the forked tongue. The combination of BLAIR'S and the lingbird will create the keenest fete champetre this side of the Bosporus Strait.

Six months later, on the crayon of the cask, lay down Mister. His mustache made from the finest paper bags and his eyes polished like ivory bubbles. A sleeping face like that can beam anyone to the groves. In the many awaken states he experiences, Mister's favorite is the event of the grassation. His wandering intimidates people, and it should. Mister's grassation only carries discontentment and glass satchels though today Mister lies on the crayon of the cask like an impenetrable balloon. Flags of nylon and pylons of rag try to out-shadow the shadow of the resting Mister, but it's of no use. When Mister awakes, he intends to join the nabobs in their hobnobbing.

*This was originally written in 1996 by Dirk Babbage. A 10-year anniversary if you will.

Verse Twenty-one

Perfect action. True action. Supreme power. That is how the Tao is revealed through those who follow it completely.

- These 3 things must come naturally.
- They come from unity and not the individual.
- Individual action, virtue, and power do not reveal the Tao.

Application: These lines could be taken out of context to contradict the message of the Tao Te Ching. I realize that it is the Tao that is revealing the action and power and not the individual.

Though formless and intangible, it gives rise to form. Though vague and elusive, it gives rise to shapes. Though dark and obscure, it is the spirit, the essence, the life-breath of all things. "But is it real?" you ask--I say its evidence is all of creation.

- Many individuals arise from the invisible unity
- Something seems to be created out of nothing
- Emptiness is a source and an end of the individual and should not be feared

Application: This part of verse 21 is comforting in that it helps me view nothingness/emptiness/without as something beneficial. In modern American society, it seems that that's what everyone is afraid of. This is also the core of the fear of death. Why should we be afraid of what we came from? Nothing is how it is perceived as individuals, but through meditation that nothing is revealed as God or unity.

From the first moment to the present, the Name has been sounding. It is the gate through which the universe enters. The witness by which the universe sees.

- Unity is limitless and without form or borders
- It cannot end or be perceived physically
- It is the energy that makes us feel alive

Application: What we don't perceive is what gives us consciousness. We are more than an amalgamation of chemicals in a humanoid form. This realization helps me to understand the overused tag of someone being "special." That something special is the energy of life.

How have I come to know all this? That very Name has told me. That Name which is sounding right here, right now.

- I perceive therefore I am.
- Tao or the unity can be discovered through meditation, perceiving all as one
- It interprets the outside inside

Application: Through the context of unity, I am the universe and the universe is me. When I look into the vast depths of space, I am looking at a part of me. Time and space come together as one unit, the universe, me. This thought is both liberating and frightening. On one hand, I control my destiny. On the other, my destiny controls me. It is both. What makes life worth living is balancing the two.

Verse Twenty

The difference between a formal "yes" and a casual "yeah"--how slight! The difference between knowing the Truth and not knowing it--how great! Must I fear what others fear? Should I fear desolation when there is abundance? Should I fear darkness when that light is shining everywhere? Nonsense! The people of this world are steeped in their merrymaking as if gorging at a great feast or watching the sights of springtime. Yet I sit here, without a sign, staring blank-eyed like a child.

- There is a correlation between fear and frenzied consumption.
- When free of fear, one's desires decrease to a minimum
- Happiness is something that cannot be grasped. It is something to live.
- Grasping for happiness is a desire that brings suffering.

Application: This verse hits to the spiritual core of consumerism. If I desire something to buy that means I am lacking it. The lack of that consumer good causes my unhappiness. This philosophy keeps me from going on a shopping spree. When I do go on a shopping spree, I horde books and CDs. That means my lack of specific information and interesting music cause my unhappiness. Usually that makes me feel shallow inside, especially when it comes to purchasing music. Books can help bring about change. Look at what the Tao Te Ching has done for me.

I am but a guest in this world. While others rush about to get things done, I accept what is offered. Oh, my mind is like that of a fool, aloof to the clamor of life around me. Everyone seems so bright and alive with the sharp distinctions of day. I appear dark and dull with the blending of differences by night.

- The light that burns brightest dies quickest.
- The desire to appear bright and alive is an individual goal, seperate from unity.
- Letting go of appearing unique aids in becoming closer to others, bonding relationships.
- The paradox of conformity of the West

Application: This part of verse 20 sparked a chain reaction of ideas in my mind. It reminds me of the difference between my desire to become independent between the ages of 16 and 20, and my spiritual quest at the present moment. Most teenagers strive for a unique identity. Not only are they gaining independence from their parents, but they are trying to make their (immature) mark in the world. I think this striving for uniqueness in me faded sometime between Beloit College and Japan. Perhaps it was the bonding of new friendships that caused it--acceptance. Now I think I'm unique enough and I get tired of standing out in a crowd, especially with my lifestyle. Although this "standing out" maintains my youth. But how long should I maintain it? What's the purpose of holding onto one's youth? I'm beginning to think that is foolish. I don't care if I act or look young. I hope I regret nothing when I reach the age of mid-life crisis.

I am drifting like an ocean, floating like the high winds. Everyone is so rooted in this world, yet I have no place to rest my head. Indeed I am different...I have no treasure but the Eternal Mother. I have found no food but what comes from her breast.

- Clinging to identity and "home" is the desire of the individual
- One must free the self from all that ties one to this physical world
- God provides

Application: This part of verse 20 is a lot like the teachings of Jesus. All that is really important in the world is love (relationships) and trust in God (no worries). Everything we own serves no spiritual purpose. Our possessions bind us to the physical world of desire. Every place we call home should have no special meaning. Our hometown binds us to tribal thinking of us versus them, when us and them are in fact one.

The Robot's Exhibition, part 3

Stopping a stop sign is ironic, but a very dumb thing to actually do. Picture someone like your grandma walking up to the red octagon and saying, "Stop!" Surreal but more half-witted than a piece of avant-garde performance art. The last leg collapsing under a dog is avant-garde, especially if it was a cat playing the role of a dog. All the cat fanciers would dig it.

Illustrations by the Madman interested Mr. Frederix, but when he opened the book he was surprised to see no illustrations at all. Instead he saw infinity and couldn't take his eyes away from it. No one take his or her eyes off infinity. Mr. Frederix lived the rest of his life with the book with the Madman's illustrations dangling just beyond his nose.

The Madman adopted Mr. Frederix as his coat hanger and tipped him a dime every time he hung up a new coat. The Madman always had one coat and it was an old one. Mr. Frederix died a very pitiful death from a pitiful existence. The Madman's books still sell like hotcakes, so he won't have to worry about losing a coat hanger for long.

Mr. and Mrs. Bickens were trapped and now have to support the Madman while he sleeps. They're adopted as beds. Miss Ketchum was adopted as his showerhead, and Mr. Childers as his spoon. The Madman's house is made of adopted people with books dangling off their faces.

In that land, a conveyor belt serves as the highway. It goes down, so far down that you have to shrink to pass through the pores of the earth's crust. Most of the passengers are droplets of rain that will have the privilege of not quenching the earth but visiting the world-renowned Magma Flow of Arachnes. Arachnes is the stingy turtle with the head and neck of a giraffe. She oversees the magma flow and makes sure that the minerals it spews contain something that will screw up humanity's industry.

Cough syrup is the only daily supplement that Arachnes demands. And so the rain droplets make sure to contain some evaporated cough syrup as they enter the spectacular Magma Flow. The steam rises to create a demi-god of new rain droplets. Arachnes' one super power is to give the gift of invincibility to the droplets that bestow evaporated cough syrup. This is why the water cycle never ends.

As the steam pushes the demi-god out of the Magma Flow of Arachnes it finds that the world is hilarious and whispers the secret of the Earth's jocularity to the clouds that then have such a laughing fit that they cry new cough syrup messengers down.

The bit about the clouds is hypothetical. What is known about the clouds is that within their condensed vapor are pieces of sports. A fraction of football was detected in a cumulus about an hour ago. This is why bad weather does not ruin the reception of sports events. Bad weather can only interfere on the game itself and that's if it's played outdoors.

The sports industry is building too many domes. This is because the municipal industries rejected the dome corporation's contract as bad weather protection. One dome company, Good Weather Domes, was near a contract with New York City to provide a unique ventilation system that would rid the town of all air pollution. Top secret government documents intercepted by certain individuals revealed that the reason for rejection was that it would hurt New York's tourism.

Verse Nineteen

Abandon holiness. Discard cleverness and the people will benefit a hundredfold. Abandon the rules of "kindness." Discard "righteous" actions and the people will return to their own natural affections. Abandon book learning. Discard the rules of behavior and the people will have no worries. Abandon plots and schemes. Discard profit-seeking and the people will not become theives.

- All these things that we must abandon and discard are human inventions
- They seperate us from the natural world
- They distort ourselves as we become removed from nature
- They turn us into posers, a fake impression for all other posers
- They distract us from what really matters in the world

Application: This verse helps me view what is good according to humanity (individuals) and what is good according to nature (unity). To me, it seems that what is good according to humanity are a bunch of rules to control people and a bunch of titles for people to aspire to--all of them are really unnecessary. As an American, I live more in a world removed from nature so it is hard to avoid following social and legal rules and it is hard to aspire to a certain social status. At this point in my life, it seems like the alternative is to become a hermit or join some clergy.

These lessons learned are mere elaborations. The essence of my teachings is this: see with original purity, embrace with original simplicity, reduce what you have, decrease what you want.

- The things that seperate us from nature make like unnecessarily complex
- Remaining true to nature makes life simpler
- There are no distractions in nature, just a straight focus
- This is what distinguishes Taoism from Christianity, which tells us to be removed from nature
- Christianity calls for a permanant schism between "god" and nature when there is none.

Application: This is one element that pulled me away from Christianity--many natural behaviors are seen as ungodly. We were taught shame with many of our animal instincts, which Freud later pointed out causes certain neuroses. I believe God's laws are simpler, meaning the laws can be found through nature and self-reflection. For forgetful people, perhaps a book can help to remind them. But I don't believe a book should be analyzed to death when its purpose is to remind us that God's laws are found within us and around us. When there is a conflict between what is natural and what is written, then all sorts of unwinnable debates arise. I take the side of what is natural.

Verse Eighteen

When the greatness of Tao is present, action arises from one's own heart. When the greatness of Tao is absent, action comes from the rules of "kindness" and "justice." If you need rules to be kind and just, if you act virtuous, there is a sure sign that virtue is absent. Thus we see the great hypocrisy.

- Rules are meant for those who are too impatient to find the Tao
- Blindly following the rules keeps one in line but off the path
- Kindness and justice come naturally and need not be enforced
- Kindness and justice are not an act
- Do no act virtuous, be virtuous through the Tao

Application: A lot of self-reflection and meditation upon morality and ethics have revealed the inner laws. Laws are made to control people who can't control themselves. When there is no critical thinking involved, then rules are necessary. All just laws make sense. Unfortunately we live in a world where people don't think critically or even for themselves. We can either let them be, causing harm to themselves and others, or we can control them through the law. I believe we could reduce problems caused through stupidity by educating people about spirituality and interpersonal relationships. A lot of education is spent on dealing with things rather than people, so we grow up treating people like things. I would like this to change.

Only when the family loses its harmony do we hear of "dutiful sons." Only when the state is in chaos do we hear of "loyal ministers."

- This is the difference between Confucius and Lao Tzu
- Rules cannot bring peace, only you can
- One can only control oneself
- Leave the order of the universe to the Tao
- When one tries to control more, he runs into conflict with the Tao

Application: This shows the problem with the first part of verse 18. I said I would like to change the focus of education from dealing with things to emphasizing relationships and spirituality. This is control--the more one tries to control the education system, the more one runs into conflict with the goal itself. If I managed to change the education system, it could not be strict and rigid. But many educators will not buy into a system without clear-cut boundaries and limits. I hope this demonstrates how spirituality can only successfully change one person instead of a family or a community. Nobody likes the guy/gal in charge telling them what to do and how to think.

The Robot's Exhibition, part 2

The sun made the other stars jealous. This jealousy started a fad in the stellar galaxy. Stars used their light to beam aboard certain anatomical features for their luminescence. Alpha Centauri, the closest star to the Earth, took my best friend's nose. Now we got a bunch of human body parts as large as the world a hundred times over sneezing, winking, and farting at us. I liked the light and I liked the heat, but that's all the stars should have. This new consciousness of stellar life and their jealousy to be human makes the universe a bit unrealistic.

Who's to say what's real? asks a fictional philosopher. A cardboard scientist made by semi-real scientists was programmed to define real. And so it did: "Real is the perception of all unimagined things." Only a thing that can't image can say that. Way to go semi-real scientists!

"Let's paint the moon blood red," said the Revelationaries, a cult that encourages the second coming of Christ and the threat of the Antichrist. They program wars and stir natural disasters as if they were a government agency. The United States, encourager of competition, hated this competition with their war and natural disaster agencies, so they tried to dissolve the Revelationaries by exposing untrue but very treacherous things about them. That's how the Revelationary War started and God intervened and how we've got Armageddon.

A piece of cloth without a tag ripped the juice of an instinctual delegate. Just as vitreous minstrel pinchers vouch their way to righteous positions, so will umbrella fiends find you in their self-perpetuated rain. A handout was specifically made for the enjoyment of gasoline electricians. To my dismay and your delight, the frock-wearing Ecclesiaste poured an empty glass of milk onto his own contents.

Back to the story, the castle captured a dragon princess. Luckily the prince of planets knew of this predicament. Hurriedly he did something. Weirdly he always does something where an adverb sets off his sentences. Actually they're the author's adverbs and not the prince of planets'.

Let's see where were we...Ah! Hurriedly he rushed off to the castle, the castle with no name, the castle that is not capitalized because there should be emphasis placed on the castle that captured the dragon princess. Easily the dragon princess was saved from the clutches of the stupid castle. Stupid castles were all made by the hillbillies of the Ural Mountains. Were they European or Asian? Nobody knew, not even them. That's why castles they built were so stupid.

A restaurant in northern California was called the Stupid Castle and a lot of bewildered Russians ate there, but it was nothing like home, so the place closed down and the entire town starved to death.
The United States should blow up the Ural Mountains because it makes sense to do so. Todoso should be someone's name. You should change your name to Todoso because it ended the first sentence of this paragraph. If your last name were Fulton, you would be Todoso Fulton. Doesn't that sound like the best name you could possibly have? Even if your last name isn't Fulton, just indulge in the thought of having the name Todoso. Doesn't it make your viscera curdle?

A badger with nail polish on its claws died of curdled viscera. I saw this because it's a popular joke among Wisconsinites. Wisconsin being the Badger State and America's Dairyland and all. Some people confuse our animal with our food. Wisconsin does have carnivorous citizens you know. There's nothing more irritating than an antagonizing non-Wisconsinite. Stop it!

Verse Seventeen

To know Tao alone, without trace of your own existence, is the highest. Next comes loving and praising it. Then fearing it. Then despising it.

- The relationship between the individual and the unity
- One one extreme, you may lose your individuality without fear or control
- On the other, you may lose touch with unity and perceive life as a war with all who oppose you

Application: Because I'm writing this blog, I am currently in the second tier of "loving and praising it." I am burdened with the conflict between the yin and yang energies constantly. Although the Tao has brought me closer to the yin, my individuality keeps the yang energy going. I can't help but want things for myself. And it's also hard to love people who usually annoy me and it's hard to help people who rarely reciprocate. According to the unity, I should love and help regardless of the outcome. And that's the conflict I face nearly every day.

If one doesn't trust himself, how can he trust anyone else?

- Trust bonds individuals, brings them closer together
- Trust will only work to achieve unity
- Trust never works for individual gain

Application: A common complaint about modern society is that there is less trust. I believe the central component in "modernization" is individual gain. When people realize that this creates a loss of faith and trust, they turn to religion. Those with lots of fear turn to fundamentalism. Those are two extremes which pit person against person or community against community. I am finding this out now through a lot of books and documentaries I have encountered. Modernization is isolation.

The great ruler speaks little and his words are priceless. He works without self-interest and leaves no trace. When all is finished, the people say, "It happened by itself."

- When individual gain is not considered, the goals of a community/nation can be accomplished
- A greedy leader leaves his people behind
- Everything works out well when greed are power are not involved

Application: I can't help but think of today's rulers who do the opposite of what is written in verse 17. Although I believe it is in their self-interest and therefore an essentail guideline in modern politics to watch out for #1 meaning themselves. This immediately stops the function of a representative democracy. All that is representated is greed and power--nothing else. This is how I perceive politics these days--they control the power but they inspire no leadership at all. Politicians are not people we should look up to. And a union between politics and certain religions take the spirit right out of the religion and replace it with the same greed and power. I see this tainting the fabric of my country today. But I comforted by the fact that nothing lasts forever.

Verse Sixteen

Become totally empty. Quiet the restlessness of the mind. Only then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness. See all things flourish and dance in endless variation. And once again merge back into perfect emptiness--their true repose, their true nature. Emerging, flourishing, dissolving back again--This is the eternal process of return.

- When the mind is full of worry and tension, the path grows obscure
- One can only clearly observe one's place when one's mind is at peace

Application: Verse 16 is a call for meditation. There are all sorts of meditation from Hinduism to Buddhism to the contemplative prayer in Christianity. Another reason Taoism appeals to me is its take on meditation. Like almost everybody else, I don't do it enough. I can blame distractions, but that's only half true because I can get away from them half the time.

To know this process brings enlightenment. To miss this process brings disaster.

- A mind unquieted may throw one off his/her path.

Application: This happened to me a few months ago where I let worries and anxiety get to me that I could not focus on anything else and it may have cost me a few opportunities I could have had if I had a clearer, more peaceful mind. I have to learn to let go of my worries even though I feel like it is my responsibility to worry. I should feel carefree even though many things depend on what is to come soon.

Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity. Eternity embraces the all-possible. The all-possible leads to vision of oneness. A vision of oneness brings about universal love. Universal love supports the great truth of Nature. The great truth of Nature is Tao.

- This is the message found through meditation.
- The answer is always available when you let things go.

Application: This part of verse 16 probably summarizes "the truth" revealed to me through the Tao Te Ching and meditation. When I read this part, I nodded my head in whole-hearted agreement. This is it! If only others would get into this, then perhaps we could reach a unified goal of peace. But we all know that selfish individualism gets in the way.

Whoever knows this truth lives forever. The body may perish, deeds may be forgotten. But he who has Tao has all eternity.

- Time ceases but one continues beyond time
- The individual existence is necessary for the perception of time
- When the body dies, time is no longer perceived or needed
- This is how meditation can breach the infinite

Application: What originally brought me into the meditation that revealed Taoism to me was contemplating my own mortality. That's when I realized what is written in verse 16. I was comforted to discover that an entire philosophy/religion had also come to the same conclusion I did. And this origin of thought wasn't too far from where I was living at the time. This really removed all worries from me. I think the hardest thing for all people to do is let go of their individuality--confronting death. When you realize what is written in verse 16, then the fear of death or God's judgment subsides.

The Robot's Exhibition, part 1

THE BEGINNING (evidence of its linearity)

And now it's time for the re-enactment of the crucifixion. Let me bring the grill this time for the disciples. I heard that Simon Peter got hungry on that Good Friday. I'll cook some Oscar Mayer wieners and burgers made from 100% beef. And then a re-run of The Mary Tyler Moore Show will come on after he dies.

Insects did exist in the dawning of anno domini, so I assume the caterpillar will be there. I saw a caterpillar carry a sink on its back once. The thing was as big as an oil tanker. As a matter of fact, I do remember it inching across the sea. Or could it be boiling tea? It did smell like the Imperial Blend. They make tacos in the shape of swastikas now. Somebody's got to keep the Klan happy.

His name is Devron and he owns a foghorn in a lighthouse. Here's a list of his Monday routine: 1) socks, 2) the tick-tock of his cuckoo clock, 3) Bach, 4) pince nez, 5) chafe, 6) a roller derby, 7) and finally the end. Devron likes to make tacos without cooking the shells. Only the meat's hot.
Casey walked to work in his sweatsuit. A flock of flamingos followed him to the subway. Inside the train is Her Majesty's Royal Gardens filled with eyes. When the eyes bloom, the Spanish Armada sails through in their galleons. A flag constructed of feathery toothpicks shall flutter and cover the ships and reveal Christ on the cross again.

Like Star Wars, the digitally re-mastered Jesus Christ enacted the entire New Testament again to get people hyped up about the second coming a few years later. Him and guy named Paul (previously Saul) did most of the work. The best thing about our time is media coverage. That got Christ more disciples than he could handle. I recall the Last Supper had to be booked in a football stadium outside of Jerusalem.

He was clean-, Jesus was. The Bic company offered him $5 million to shave his beard, but the Son of Man did it for free. Everyone was trying to make money off this guy. Well he died and everything, and when this guy named John finished his reading of Revelations the whole world stood up in applause. It brought back the memories of sitting in Sunday School. What if it were all true? I used to ask myself. The special edition crucifixion convinced me.

Enough about religion. I went to the Spyrox Cafe to watch my dentist play the trumpet in a jazz band called the Luncheon & the Bunch. His horn blinded me a few times because the glare from the sunshine hit me directly in the eyes. It wasn't the first time my dentist tried to damage me. Besides my teeth, he almost hurt my ears when pealed a high note in his improvisational solo in "A Taste of Honey." The solo was in bad taste, mind the pun, since it clashed with the classic theme.

I found out how to make bananas from honey: just pour some on raw eggs and voila! Every time I see the word "voila," I read "viola." My chiropractor plays the viola, but I didn't go to watch his ensemble because my previous chiropractor plays as well. I never told him why I switched doctors, but the reason had to do about a bad back he never cared about.

Meanwhile a sunray caught my eye and beamed it about the sun. The sun liked it so much, it took the form of my eye and now I look up at the sky and see my other eye winking back at me. "Thank you, sir," says the sun. At least that's what I think it says since suns can't talk.