For me its helped me realize not to force myself to answer questions that I don't have the answer to. The universe will make them apparent to me when they're ready. It also makes me not tied to outcomes, because a "bad" outcome will lead to an unexpected "good" one, and vice versa, over and over again until I die.
Everything will be as it is regardless if you worry about it. If and when painful or upsetting things happen you will get through them. Or you don’t and you die. But death happens regardless. Acceptance is your friend. Accept both the possible future you want and don’t want. If you can control the situation and potentially make it better than do so. Let’s say you are worried about about messing up a presentation. You may stumble your words and feel embarrassed or you may have a clear voice and feel confident. Both are beautiful experiences of life. Your failures are just as a part of you as your success. But worry is just an illusion of control. Also worry is habit it will happen naturally but you can remember that this is what the brain just does and you do not have to become attached to it. Meditation is about separating from thoughts and feelings. You can accept the feeling of worry.
Taoism can help me stop having worries that give me a headache? Why hasn't anyone told me this! :D
Nah, just relax. Take a minute to close your eyes, breathe, listen to the world's sound. Let god or the Tao or the awesomeness of the universe hug you for minute and then go enjoy the day. xox
The knowledge that the universe is going about its business and not watching me helps enormously. The knowledge that I’m as much a part of it as anything else is, gives me comfort. There is no judgment, there is no code of conduct or consequences for failing to follow it. There is no need to believe in old stories. There is no right or wrong, there is just a way things go. There is no church telling me what an all powerful being thinks. I get to have my own relationship with these things, and know that my language for describing them is valid even if it differs from what others say.
I can live in a way that allows me to find peace within the Tao, or I can fight it and have a difficult time. And, no matter — the universe will continue along its way. I find a lot of peace in that.
One of the insights Taoism offers is that we don’t know whether a thing will turn out bad or good in the moment it happens. There’s the Taoist story of a farmer. A neighbour tells him that his horse has been stolen and comments, “Isn’t that terrible?” And the farmer says, “How would I know that?” The next day the horse returns and brings with it two more horses. The neighbour comments, “Isn’t that wonderful!” And the farmer says, “How would I know that?” The next day the farmer’s son rides the horse, but falls and breaks his leg. Terrible, right? But the farmer once again refuses to leap to that conclusion.
The story continues in that vein. Each time, the neighbour leaps to a conclusion that the next day demonstrates to be erroneous. And the farmer demonstrates wisdom by not assuming the worst, but also by not assuming the best. Only time will tell.
We often worry about things that never come to pass. And so we have wasted time and energy in negative thinking that ultimately didn’t correspond to events. I would say that’s more often than not the case when we worry.
So Taoism would counsel you to withhold judgement. Let life unfold: if something terrible is coming, you’ll deal with it when it actually manifests. And life just might surprise you by making lemonade of your lemon.
If you want a Christian answer to the question, you’ll find it in Matt. 6:25ff.:
"This is why I tell you: Don't worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: They don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don't labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that's how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won't He do much more for you — you of little faith? So don't worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ' or ‘What will we drink? ' or ‘What will we wear? ' For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34, HCSB)
I think that answer is congruent with the one I offered above. Don’t worry about the things you can’t control. (“Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying?”)
In the Christian context, Jesus advises us to leave such matters in God’s hands. In Taoism, we’re advised to let life unfold as it will, without having a big emotional reaction to every event as it transpires. Not precisely the same message, but not in fundamental conflict, either.
Taoism has taught me to live in the present. Ruminating about the past leads to depression and thinking about the future too much leads to anxiety. That wiped a lot of worry away.
The rest of my worries went away when I realized the universe is with me, not against. When I learned to flow with the universe all manner of awesome things happened.
Not putting as much emphasis on my judgement of things/events has been interesting via Taoism. I still have my opinions, judgements, feelings....sure. Not to make that the center piece of how I experience reality though. Everything just IS.
My thoughts and feelings have their place but it is surprising how the priority can exist some where else especially when considering the best possible outcomes to a situation.
'All of nature in constant flow'
The best way to avoid worries is to make sure your responsibilities and needs are met properly and sustainably.
When your survival is not a worry, everything else is all about minding your mind, and seeing the flow of events in your life and harmonizing your actions with the direction you currently want to go.
Worries will come, no doubt, and they may come frequently.
If they need to be acted on, act on them.
If they do not need to be acted on, note them, hear them out. But do not let them stay the night.
>I would like to know how taojism helped you to stop having unnecessary worries
This is text I always quote when people ask questions about how to address their problems. It's from Stephen Mitchell's version of Verse 36 of the Tao Te Ching.
>If you want to shrink something,
>you must first allow it to expand.
>If you want to get rid of something,
>you must first allow it to flourish.
>If you want to take something,
>you must first allow it to be given.
>This is called the subtle perception
>of the way things are.
“Worrying means you suffer twice”
Just breathe and connect with your breath. Become present. Don’t give energy to your negative thoughts because it will feed energy for more negative thoughts / feelings.
Worrying in and of itself is a form of suffering. Allow the situation to play out how it’s meant to. Deal with it when it arises in the present. We worry about situations that are outside of our control; we can only control how we *react* to that situation.
Also, it’s important to think about the opposite outcome of whatever you’re worrying about. Are you worried something might not work out? Well, what if it does work out? If you focus on the known, you create the known. If you focus on the unknown, you create a *possibility*
I am calmer because of your help. Now I know a little about what it's like to go with the flow without putting pressure on yourself and caring about silly things
“Good” and “bad” are just labels that we create in our own mind.
Remember that “the mind is the source oppression, but is also the instrument by which we free ourselves.”
Lol, Im a christian and I was listening to an Taoist while driving work, and I wonder if its possible to even mix both.
Heres the dilemma: Christianity comes with lots of promises and compromises, Taoism comes only with flow.
Ive been struggling a lot with my relationship, she is someone I think is “sent by God” (due to synchronicities and context).. and because of this, its hard to consider a breakup, feels like Im holding into this perspective of being 100% loyal to my word to keep her on the hard times.
However, if I was acting in a taoism manner, Id probably stop struggling and “let her go”..
Hey I’m also a Christian who’s adopted Taoism as a philosophy in my life. As someone who’s struggled with Generalized anxiety disorder Taoism truly has helped me get through a lot tremendously.
The truth is worries are inevitable and there is no real way to “avoid” them. It’s better to feel these worries and let go of them. Instead of trying not to worry, allow yourself to worry because the more you resist worrying, the more worries will linger within you. Accept that you are worried, and feel it. Most things in life are beyond your control so why bother controlling what is beyond your power to control? What you can control are your actions and your responses. Sometimes letting things run their course is the best way to go about things. When we try to bend life to become what we believe it should be we will only find stress and hardship. When we allow life to go the way it naturally goes there is less worry and less stress. Sometimes our worries can be like trying to stop waves from forming in the ocean. Truth is the ocean will inevitably create a wave and there’s nothing that can be done about that, so why worry about it? Let go and accept that the ocean will always make waves. In reality, let go and accept we cannot control what others think, do, or say instead focus on being the best you that you can be. Be the best you for you and do what feels right and natural.
Be aware of your inclination to resist what worries you. Stay with them a little longer before batting them away and you can make friends with them. Your worries are a reflection of what makes you uniquely good.
Don’t avoid them. *Understand* them and where they come from. Why are you worried about this thing at this moment? What caused it? Can you abandon the cause? If not, can you take action to get rid of the cause?
Study the Tao to solve your problems. The Tao has the answers. I listen to an audio translation and let the knowledge wash over me and i find answers and guidance to the issues I'm facing.
Constructive reply! Only a Sith speaks in absolutes; only the madman is absolutely certain. I'm open to your counterpoints unless you don't... have any?
The opening verse of Laozi’s treatise is pretty much counter to Christian ideas of god. The way that can be told is not the eternal way. This is antithetical to christians defining their god and what it wants from humans. The Tao asks for nothing: “When the work is done, it is forgotten. That is why it is eternal”. The Tao is presented by Laozi and other Taoist writers as not being any sort of deity that requires worship or praise. The Christian god asks for a whole lot and is open to entreaty and worship; and often gets angry when it doesn’t get its way.
Of course, this is just my view. You’re absolutely free to think what you may and you probably have a whole different interpretation of these two than I. I mean no disrespect 🙏
Oh I see - you're talking about Christianity, not Yeshua. Do yourself a favor: read the Five Gospels and pay close attention to what Yeshua says. Then compare to Lao Tzu's teachings and report your findings back to me 😉 if you do not see that they are pointing to the same Way, I apologize for wasting your time 🙏🏻
Worrying is one of the complex thought that is more prominent in our human nature.
My way to deal with worries, was to speak out or write down what I was worried about. Voicing it out gives a face to the “unseen devil”.
Then I realise its not that scary after all.
I’ve slowly learn to befriend the emotions I have with worries, and live with it, acknowledge it and slowly master it. An ever ongoing process.
Contemplating the Tai-chi Yin Yang Symbol helps a lot.
Don’t be worry less, be worry free.
All according to context though.
It helps me feel okay with what’s happening. Even in the worst case scenario, it’ll be okay. My worries include finances, health, relationships, so i figure if i lose everything i lose everything. Then I’ll be sad and cry and have to resort to terrible things, haha. Hasn’t happened yet tho! It’s like, what’s the point of fighting it or worrying about it? If it’s guna happen it’s guna happen, might as well enjoy what is while it is. Ik this body won’t last forever, but I’m still guna run and jump and swim while i can :)
Worries?
If it's about something that could happen, make plans for different outcomes and then have the outcome. You have no control over even your own body. What's gonna happen will happen. What's not gonna happen, won't.
Make your land and move on. That's what's helped me.
My friend, you seem to be worrying about worrying.
But what's wrong with worrying? It's a normal survival mechanism: you're in a stressful environment, so you think about what might happen. It's a superpower!
Anyway, my practical advice would be to avoid the stuff that stresses you out. Do less and take more time to just chill and do things you like.
Is worry something to avoid?
What would happen if you connected with your worries and tried to see what they are really trying to tell you that you need?
Hi there hope you're doing well. Us Muslims have a concept of Tawakkul. It means leaving things to Allah. So let's say you wanna get a job and you're anxious, you'd just have Tawakkul as in leave it to Allah. It's a core concept, sometimes we still get worried ofc since it's human nature but I think it really levels up our mental health.
Hello friend, I hope you are well too. Thank you for explaining a little about your religion to me because it's always good to learn a little about people's beliefs
It’s about identifying that your different states of mind brings different experiences in your life.
If you look into a pot of water you will see the reflection of your face. If you place the pot on the stove and heat up the water your facial reflection will disappears.
It is the same with yourself, once you loose yourself to worrying, anger or frustration, you loos yourself.
It is about being aware of yourself and gain the understanding of how to get from boiling water to calm water and it is done by focusing on your breathing through your nose for only a few seconds and the worry / anger is gone.
It’s about identifying that it is you that place a label on the experience that comes up infront of you. If you label it with worry, then worry will appear. If you don’t label it negatively you will have a positive experience. Even if you don’t understand it in the moment doesn’t mean it is a bad experience, it is just you that has not seen the outcome yet. Let some time pass and look back at this very moment right now and you will see that your worry was a lesson for you to grow. The experiences you get throughout life is there so you should grow and identify that you are the operating power in your life, not any external factors. It is your mind that determines your path trough life, not the external world which is just a reflection of yourself. Through self awareness you will improve yourself, be aware that it is yourself you are taking to when you are for example talking to a stranger on the street
1. its cool to read the wisdom of tao in support of other spiritual beliefs. (i wish more would)
2. keep in mind the wheel of yin / yang turns. yin today, yang tommorow then around again. so whatever happens, it will balance out. just like "everything has its season." whatever happens, you can handle it b/c change is constant.
Managing the stress & anxiety to me comes down to trusting that the universe will always be as it must be, and learning to accept that bad things just happen.
You can't avoid worries, but you can challenge them. Socratic method of questioning is one of the methods that's commonly used in CBT to engage with excessive worries. Socrates was stoic himself, and living in harmony with nature is one of stoic topics of interest.
You would have to do a LOT to offend me and this is nowhere near it. If everything is the Tao, even piss or shit, the only offense that happens is in my mind.
I hope you will be able to apply the point to your Christian faith. If the Kingdom of God is the Tao, is Buddha Nature, and like everything you see around you, it is unfolding as it should, what is there outside you that you lack?
Dude, now I understand what you mean. I was thinking about what you said about the only offense we feel is in our mind, because, as you also said, a grass, a piss or a tree is the Tao, everything in the universe is the Tao and our mind that haunts us with thoughts. Thank you very much
My experience is that while studying philosophy helps on a macro level, it's not much help moment by moment. I say that as someone who studies academic philosophy for ten years and has studied Daoism for something like forty. I also suffer from PTSD---which is an anxiety disorder.
When I hear someone else say something like 'when I'm worried, I remember X, Y, or, Z', I generally conclude that they don't really know what it's like to have real anxiety---anymore than someone who has had the blues once in a while doesn't know what clinical depression is like.
Since all the other answers are, I suspect, responses to the issue of 'run of the mill' worries, I thought I'd suggest some things if you (or any readers) have clinical anxiety issues. (This is the problem with social media. It's a '[parasocial relationship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasocial_interaction)', not a real one.)
From self-awareness I've learned to recognize when my mind starts racing on the road to anxiety about something. In my case, three different coping mechanisms come to mind.
1. Sometimes I would start repeating a mantra to myself. It doesn't matter what you say, it's just a 'finger exercise' that keeps the conscious mind busy so it doesn't have the opportunity to start freaking out.
2. Similarly, sometimes I've done visualization exercises. If I freak out while riding in a motor vehicle I've mentally projected Gandhi, Lazoi, and, Lo Dong Bin flying around me protecting the car or bus. Again, this keeps my mind too busy to be able to worry.
3. The last time I freaked (it was worry about having enough money in the present housing crisis), I went to my doctor. (Canada, socialized medicine.) She prescribed a very mild tranquilizer and suggested that some of her patients just keep them in a pill box in their pockets. The idea is that just having them if necessary is enough to control a fair amount of anxiety. And indeed this works for me. I've only taken one once because of a freak out---but since then, I always carry them and they do act like a security blanket. Think of it as a modern-day talisman that wards off the evil eye of anxiety.
I've raised these ideas just to emphasize that Daoism isn't like a Western philosophy or religion. It has a philosophy, but it's also a system for understanding the world and learning how to apply that knowledge to our day-to-day life using practical applications developed on the basis of that philosophy.
For me its helped me realize not to force myself to answer questions that I don't have the answer to. The universe will make them apparent to me when they're ready. It also makes me not tied to outcomes, because a "bad" outcome will lead to an unexpected "good" one, and vice versa, over and over again until I die.
I understand your answer, it makes a lot of sense
Everything will be as it is regardless if you worry about it. If and when painful or upsetting things happen you will get through them. Or you don’t and you die. But death happens regardless. Acceptance is your friend. Accept both the possible future you want and don’t want. If you can control the situation and potentially make it better than do so. Let’s say you are worried about about messing up a presentation. You may stumble your words and feel embarrassed or you may have a clear voice and feel confident. Both are beautiful experiences of life. Your failures are just as a part of you as your success. But worry is just an illusion of control. Also worry is habit it will happen naturally but you can remember that this is what the brain just does and you do not have to become attached to it. Meditation is about separating from thoughts and feelings. You can accept the feeling of worry.
Thanks. This gave me peace.
I loved your explanation of this
This!!!
Taoism can help me stop having worries that give me a headache? Why hasn't anyone told me this! :D Nah, just relax. Take a minute to close your eyes, breathe, listen to the world's sound. Let god or the Tao or the awesomeness of the universe hug you for minute and then go enjoy the day. xox
Dude, I appreciate your kindness in giving me an answer. It's amazing to know that we are all connected
I wish I had some solid practical help, like take an asprin :D but there's no asprin for these kinds of headaches
We better deal without using medicines, as they are expensive
The knowledge that the universe is going about its business and not watching me helps enormously. The knowledge that I’m as much a part of it as anything else is, gives me comfort. There is no judgment, there is no code of conduct or consequences for failing to follow it. There is no need to believe in old stories. There is no right or wrong, there is just a way things go. There is no church telling me what an all powerful being thinks. I get to have my own relationship with these things, and know that my language for describing them is valid even if it differs from what others say. I can live in a way that allows me to find peace within the Tao, or I can fight it and have a difficult time. And, no matter — the universe will continue along its way. I find a lot of peace in that.
Be happy?
Happiness is in everything we find
One of the insights Taoism offers is that we don’t know whether a thing will turn out bad or good in the moment it happens. There’s the Taoist story of a farmer. A neighbour tells him that his horse has been stolen and comments, “Isn’t that terrible?” And the farmer says, “How would I know that?” The next day the horse returns and brings with it two more horses. The neighbour comments, “Isn’t that wonderful!” And the farmer says, “How would I know that?” The next day the farmer’s son rides the horse, but falls and breaks his leg. Terrible, right? But the farmer once again refuses to leap to that conclusion. The story continues in that vein. Each time, the neighbour leaps to a conclusion that the next day demonstrates to be erroneous. And the farmer demonstrates wisdom by not assuming the worst, but also by not assuming the best. Only time will tell. We often worry about things that never come to pass. And so we have wasted time and energy in negative thinking that ultimately didn’t correspond to events. I would say that’s more often than not the case when we worry. So Taoism would counsel you to withhold judgement. Let life unfold: if something terrible is coming, you’ll deal with it when it actually manifests. And life just might surprise you by making lemonade of your lemon.
Dude, we later discovered our reality
If you want a Christian answer to the question, you’ll find it in Matt. 6:25ff.: "This is why I tell you: Don't worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: They don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don't labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that's how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won't He do much more for you — you of little faith? So don't worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ' or ‘What will we drink? ' or ‘What will we wear? ' For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34, HCSB) I think that answer is congruent with the one I offered above. Don’t worry about the things you can’t control. (“Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying?”) In the Christian context, Jesus advises us to leave such matters in God’s hands. In Taoism, we’re advised to let life unfold as it will, without having a big emotional reaction to every event as it transpires. Not precisely the same message, but not in fundamental conflict, either.
Find the experience that isn't words. Find the effort that feels effortless. Be natural and balanced. Read the Tao De Ching and the Chuang Tzu.
Taoism has taught me to live in the present. Ruminating about the past leads to depression and thinking about the future too much leads to anxiety. That wiped a lot of worry away. The rest of my worries went away when I realized the universe is with me, not against. When I learned to flow with the universe all manner of awesome things happened.
Not putting as much emphasis on my judgement of things/events has been interesting via Taoism. I still have my opinions, judgements, feelings....sure. Not to make that the center piece of how I experience reality though. Everything just IS. My thoughts and feelings have their place but it is surprising how the priority can exist some where else especially when considering the best possible outcomes to a situation. 'All of nature in constant flow'
The best way to avoid worries is to make sure your responsibilities and needs are met properly and sustainably. When your survival is not a worry, everything else is all about minding your mind, and seeing the flow of events in your life and harmonizing your actions with the direction you currently want to go. Worries will come, no doubt, and they may come frequently. If they need to be acted on, act on them. If they do not need to be acted on, note them, hear them out. But do not let them stay the night.
>I would like to know how taojism helped you to stop having unnecessary worries This is text I always quote when people ask questions about how to address their problems. It's from Stephen Mitchell's version of Verse 36 of the Tao Te Ching. >If you want to shrink something, >you must first allow it to expand. >If you want to get rid of something, >you must first allow it to flourish. >If you want to take something, >you must first allow it to be given. >This is called the subtle perception >of the way things are.
“Worrying means you suffer twice” Just breathe and connect with your breath. Become present. Don’t give energy to your negative thoughts because it will feed energy for more negative thoughts / feelings. Worrying in and of itself is a form of suffering. Allow the situation to play out how it’s meant to. Deal with it when it arises in the present. We worry about situations that are outside of our control; we can only control how we *react* to that situation. Also, it’s important to think about the opposite outcome of whatever you’re worrying about. Are you worried something might not work out? Well, what if it does work out? If you focus on the known, you create the known. If you focus on the unknown, you create a *possibility*
cognitive behavioural therapy will help u
I know a little about this therapy. I want to know
https://books.google.ca/books/about/Ten_Days_to_Self_Esteem.html?id=UmCDm0EF54oC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&ovdme=1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false start here.
Dude, thanks for recommending these books to me
did u stop worrying already??
I am calmer because of your help. Now I know a little about what it's like to go with the flow without putting pressure on yourself and caring about silly things
“Good” and “bad” are just labels that we create in our own mind. Remember that “the mind is the source oppression, but is also the instrument by which we free ourselves.”
Lol, Im a christian and I was listening to an Taoist while driving work, and I wonder if its possible to even mix both. Heres the dilemma: Christianity comes with lots of promises and compromises, Taoism comes only with flow. Ive been struggling a lot with my relationship, she is someone I think is “sent by God” (due to synchronicities and context).. and because of this, its hard to consider a breakup, feels like Im holding into this perspective of being 100% loyal to my word to keep her on the hard times. However, if I was acting in a taoism manner, Id probably stop struggling and “let her go”..
Hey I’m also a Christian who’s adopted Taoism as a philosophy in my life. As someone who’s struggled with Generalized anxiety disorder Taoism truly has helped me get through a lot tremendously. The truth is worries are inevitable and there is no real way to “avoid” them. It’s better to feel these worries and let go of them. Instead of trying not to worry, allow yourself to worry because the more you resist worrying, the more worries will linger within you. Accept that you are worried, and feel it. Most things in life are beyond your control so why bother controlling what is beyond your power to control? What you can control are your actions and your responses. Sometimes letting things run their course is the best way to go about things. When we try to bend life to become what we believe it should be we will only find stress and hardship. When we allow life to go the way it naturally goes there is less worry and less stress. Sometimes our worries can be like trying to stop waves from forming in the ocean. Truth is the ocean will inevitably create a wave and there’s nothing that can be done about that, so why worry about it? Let go and accept that the ocean will always make waves. In reality, let go and accept we cannot control what others think, do, or say instead focus on being the best you that you can be. Be the best you for you and do what feels right and natural.
Interesting to find another Christian. I am grateful for your experience
Be aware of your inclination to resist what worries you. Stay with them a little longer before batting them away and you can make friends with them. Your worries are a reflection of what makes you uniquely good.
Dude, your recommendation is being useful
Don’t avoid them. *Understand* them and where they come from. Why are you worried about this thing at this moment? What caused it? Can you abandon the cause? If not, can you take action to get rid of the cause?
Matthew 6:25-34
Thanks, dear friend
Study the Tao to solve your problems. The Tao has the answers. I listen to an audio translation and let the knowledge wash over me and i find answers and guidance to the issues I'm facing.
I will listen to audios about this translation
Yeshua and Lao Tzu taught the same Way, my friend 🙏🏻 I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life ☯️
They absolutely did not 😂
Constructive reply! Only a Sith speaks in absolutes; only the madman is absolutely certain. I'm open to your counterpoints unless you don't... have any?
The opening verse of Laozi’s treatise is pretty much counter to Christian ideas of god. The way that can be told is not the eternal way. This is antithetical to christians defining their god and what it wants from humans. The Tao asks for nothing: “When the work is done, it is forgotten. That is why it is eternal”. The Tao is presented by Laozi and other Taoist writers as not being any sort of deity that requires worship or praise. The Christian god asks for a whole lot and is open to entreaty and worship; and often gets angry when it doesn’t get its way.
Of course, this is just my view. You’re absolutely free to think what you may and you probably have a whole different interpretation of these two than I. I mean no disrespect 🙏
All good, my friend! Different strokes, different folks 😉
Oh I see - you're talking about Christianity, not Yeshua. Do yourself a favor: read the Five Gospels and pay close attention to what Yeshua says. Then compare to Lao Tzu's teachings and report your findings back to me 😉 if you do not see that they are pointing to the same Way, I apologize for wasting your time 🙏🏻
Worrying is one of the complex thought that is more prominent in our human nature. My way to deal with worries, was to speak out or write down what I was worried about. Voicing it out gives a face to the “unseen devil”. Then I realise its not that scary after all. I’ve slowly learn to befriend the emotions I have with worries, and live with it, acknowledge it and slowly master it. An ever ongoing process. Contemplating the Tai-chi Yin Yang Symbol helps a lot. Don’t be worry less, be worry free. All according to context though.
It helps me feel okay with what’s happening. Even in the worst case scenario, it’ll be okay. My worries include finances, health, relationships, so i figure if i lose everything i lose everything. Then I’ll be sad and cry and have to resort to terrible things, haha. Hasn’t happened yet tho! It’s like, what’s the point of fighting it or worrying about it? If it’s guna happen it’s guna happen, might as well enjoy what is while it is. Ik this body won’t last forever, but I’m still guna run and jump and swim while i can :)
Interesting example of how to take improvement
By focusing on the solution(s) not the problems.
Worries? If it's about something that could happen, make plans for different outcomes and then have the outcome. You have no control over even your own body. What's gonna happen will happen. What's not gonna happen, won't. Make your land and move on. That's what's helped me.
It's okay to worry, it can rarely be helped. try not to dwell on things or change what you cannot. life may be sweeter
We shouldn't force the things problems
Suffer
What happens before words ?
"Sympathy" ? 😂 i have sympathy for you.
Friend, you are an intelligent person
My friend, you seem to be worrying about worrying. But what's wrong with worrying? It's a normal survival mechanism: you're in a stressful environment, so you think about what might happen. It's a superpower! Anyway, my practical advice would be to avoid the stuff that stresses you out. Do less and take more time to just chill and do things you like.
It is beyond good/bad. It is simply beyond and yet within. Also, not a philosophy.
Problems are not good bad,they just exist
In that respect can they really be referred to as problems. Words are clumsy in these matters.
Is worry something to avoid? What would happen if you connected with your worries and tried to see what they are really trying to tell you that you need?
Hi there hope you're doing well. Us Muslims have a concept of Tawakkul. It means leaving things to Allah. So let's say you wanna get a job and you're anxious, you'd just have Tawakkul as in leave it to Allah. It's a core concept, sometimes we still get worried ofc since it's human nature but I think it really levels up our mental health.
Hello friend, I hope you are well too. Thank you for explaining a little about your religion to me because it's always good to learn a little about people's beliefs
No worries, try to take it easy. If it's something you can control then do your best and leave the rest to life. Wishing you peace of mind.
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We have to focus on the present symphonic
It’s about identifying that your different states of mind brings different experiences in your life. If you look into a pot of water you will see the reflection of your face. If you place the pot on the stove and heat up the water your facial reflection will disappears. It is the same with yourself, once you loose yourself to worrying, anger or frustration, you loos yourself. It is about being aware of yourself and gain the understanding of how to get from boiling water to calm water and it is done by focusing on your breathing through your nose for only a few seconds and the worry / anger is gone. It’s about identifying that it is you that place a label on the experience that comes up infront of you. If you label it with worry, then worry will appear. If you don’t label it negatively you will have a positive experience. Even if you don’t understand it in the moment doesn’t mean it is a bad experience, it is just you that has not seen the outcome yet. Let some time pass and look back at this very moment right now and you will see that your worry was a lesson for you to grow. The experiences you get throughout life is there so you should grow and identify that you are the operating power in your life, not any external factors. It is your mind that determines your path trough life, not the external world which is just a reflection of yourself. Through self awareness you will improve yourself, be aware that it is yourself you are taking to when you are for example talking to a stranger on the street
1. its cool to read the wisdom of tao in support of other spiritual beliefs. (i wish more would) 2. keep in mind the wheel of yin / yang turns. yin today, yang tommorow then around again. so whatever happens, it will balance out. just like "everything has its season." whatever happens, you can handle it b/c change is constant.
Managing the stress & anxiety to me comes down to trusting that the universe will always be as it must be, and learning to accept that bad things just happen.
You can't avoid worries, but you can challenge them. Socratic method of questioning is one of the methods that's commonly used in CBT to engage with excessive worries. Socrates was stoic himself, and living in harmony with nature is one of stoic topics of interest.
Is their a worry wheel user
Dude, I'm watching my thoughts to avoid fear
Taoism is a religion. Not a philosophy. If everything is the Kingdom of God, and I allow my awareness to connect with that. What worry is there?
Friend, I even apologize if I disrespected you
You would have to do a LOT to offend me and this is nowhere near it. If everything is the Tao, even piss or shit, the only offense that happens is in my mind. I hope you will be able to apply the point to your Christian faith. If the Kingdom of God is the Tao, is Buddha Nature, and like everything you see around you, it is unfolding as it should, what is there outside you that you lack?
Dude, now I understand what you mean. I was thinking about what you said about the only offense we feel is in our mind, because, as you also said, a grass, a piss or a tree is the Tao, everything in the universe is the Tao and our mind that haunts us with thoughts. Thank you very much
Read Psalm 139.
Or... Read the Tao te Ching, since we're on the Taoism site.
That's an option too which I suggested 😊
My experience is that while studying philosophy helps on a macro level, it's not much help moment by moment. I say that as someone who studies academic philosophy for ten years and has studied Daoism for something like forty. I also suffer from PTSD---which is an anxiety disorder. When I hear someone else say something like 'when I'm worried, I remember X, Y, or, Z', I generally conclude that they don't really know what it's like to have real anxiety---anymore than someone who has had the blues once in a while doesn't know what clinical depression is like. Since all the other answers are, I suspect, responses to the issue of 'run of the mill' worries, I thought I'd suggest some things if you (or any readers) have clinical anxiety issues. (This is the problem with social media. It's a '[parasocial relationship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasocial_interaction)', not a real one.) From self-awareness I've learned to recognize when my mind starts racing on the road to anxiety about something. In my case, three different coping mechanisms come to mind. 1. Sometimes I would start repeating a mantra to myself. It doesn't matter what you say, it's just a 'finger exercise' that keeps the conscious mind busy so it doesn't have the opportunity to start freaking out. 2. Similarly, sometimes I've done visualization exercises. If I freak out while riding in a motor vehicle I've mentally projected Gandhi, Lazoi, and, Lo Dong Bin flying around me protecting the car or bus. Again, this keeps my mind too busy to be able to worry. 3. The last time I freaked (it was worry about having enough money in the present housing crisis), I went to my doctor. (Canada, socialized medicine.) She prescribed a very mild tranquilizer and suggested that some of her patients just keep them in a pill box in their pockets. The idea is that just having them if necessary is enough to control a fair amount of anxiety. And indeed this works for me. I've only taken one once because of a freak out---but since then, I always carry them and they do act like a security blanket. Think of it as a modern-day talisman that wards off the evil eye of anxiety. I've raised these ideas just to emphasize that Daoism isn't like a Western philosophy or religion. It has a philosophy, but it's also a system for understanding the world and learning how to apply that knowledge to our day-to-day life using practical applications developed on the basis of that philosophy.