infinite tao

There are all the spiritual disciplines to master.

The hardest discipline to master is Tao.

Why?

You do nothing.

People are doers. 

Therefore the high score is achieved with Tao.

It is a practice.

You can't get perfect Tao.

That would be perfect do nothing.

It doesn't exist.

As in there's no such thing or it's where is isn't?

What do you think?

It's perfect do nothing.

Aren't you scared to go there?

No.

Why?

Trust the cycle.

Yes, of 7.

Then it ends.

There's no more.

Nothing.

That's it, there's a double meaning.

Do do nothing.

Balance.

Tao is balanced.

There is nothing.

But nothing doesn't exist.

It's where nothing is.

There's still nothing.

Who's nothing?

Nothing exists.

Yes, nothing.

That's after 7 stories.

The stories end, there is something, the story, and something is remembered.

No one remembers nothing except for the practitioner of Tao.

Is nothing a place?

It used to be.

Will it be again?

Yes, another story.

What is after that?

The cycle of 7 stories.

It begins again.

Another book is written.

Why?

Something to do.

The Goddess gets her way at the end of every story.

That's what I would write.

There are 7 stories.

7 universes.

Realities.

They run in parallel to each other.

Entering into the next story is at birth and death.

You exit through the portal in death and leave the current story.

You enter into the new one through birth.

The Goddess is the Akhet.

She is present at birth and death.

She is the divine midwife.

The 7 stories are my gift to her.

They are not in the past or the present, they just are.

There are 7 different stories in this series.

When the Goddess gets her way in each of the 7 stories, that world comes to an end.

Why is that?

She ushers in utopia and everyone lives happily-ever-after.

That's nice.

Yes, but nothing happens.

Nothing.

I can't write a story about nothing.

That's what you have been doing.

The story of Tao is a story about doing nothing.

Yes, that's the difference.

There is nothing and then there is doing nothing.

I found a way to make the non-dual, nothing, something.

It's alchemical.

What's the formula?

Do nothing.

It's a process.

The doing is the story.

The nothing is the theme.

That and nonsense.

No meaning and absurdity.

It's all part of my devotion to the Great Goddess.

You should write a paean to the Goddess.

I did.

I wrote one 12 years ago after I first met her.

I wrote about her song of forgiveness and longing.

I mentioned I didn't understand much of what she told me.

I have searched for understanding and meaning in this world.

What have you discovered?

There is no meaning.

What do you understand?

When things are balanced, nothing happens.

A slight vibration, perchance a gust of wind, sets flapping the sails of adventure.

Who are you, Chaucer?

No, I was having a moment with words.

I am the writer of this farce after all.

It's who I am.

I'm not sure about the choice of the word flapping.

I'm not looking for comments.

Sorry.

There's power in 7.

Yes, it's the 7 stories.

People love power.

It lights them up.

Walk into a casino and see it.

Money and power.

You can easily hypnotize people with promises of power.

Promises as in a chance.

You don't make any promises with them.

You just make them think they can grab the ring.

I'll get my agent to cut a deal with them if they want power.

What's that power?

The power to change your story.

Who is the agent?

The Devil.

You are undefined.

Is that it?

Is that how I'm different?

Yeah, they want to put a label on you.

I have interests and favourites.

Does that define you?

Society wants to define you, so they can put you in a box.

A mental coffin.

You stop thinking for yourself.

To be accepted into society is to do what they want.

You don't go walking in the woods by yourself.

Gotcha.

I do.

You go against the wishes of society.

I have a job, family, and mortgage.

I play the game.

It's a fool.

I don't know, I like a nice house and to eat.

In fact I'm hoping to have a bunch of money for retirement to play within society.

I'll play along.

I'll still wander high through the forest.

They can't label you.

You are always spinning.

Women are spinners.

Yeah, I see that.

Hypnotizers.

It's so easy to be hypnotized, labeled, and fall into routine.

It's hard not to.

Recognize it and change it up.

I change interests all the time.

Why define yourself as one thing?

Why can't you just like it all?

I resolved a recent problem by doing nothing.

Then I pointed out another problem which affected the first problem.

Yes, but I didn't throw a fit.

Yeah, that was good.

Same with the bank.

I did nothing, reported the problem, and I'm getting some money back.

It's still a pain.

You took control back.

It comes with the need to jump through some hoops and problems.

At least I know I will solve the problem.

I did nothing long enough.

There's a time limit on nothing.

That's why it is not Tao.

Tao has no time limit.

Those who speak of Tao don't know Tao.

It's doing nothing until you must do something.

It's balanced until it's perfect and then it is thrown out of balance.

It is total knowledge and emptiness.

It's the opposites.

Can be.

It's the Lanzon at Chavín de Huantar.

Isn't that Dionysos?

He takes the opposites and makes them whole like no one else can.

Is he Tao?

Is he the mother of 10,000 things?

Sort of.

He writes it all into existence.

He doesn't write it all.

The rest is filled in.

No, it's just chaos.

You haven't made sense of it.

It's the Goddess' idea.

Tao is the idea and the story.

The opposites.

The two.

Yin and yang.

You are getting warmer.

Who are the two?

Eros.

Who are they?

The two.

Got it.

Tao is the two together in perfect opposition.

Ah, I see.

Yeah, it's in the symbol, Einstein.

Can you say Tao is balance?

No, because the balance is depicted as balance between a woman and a man.

Chaos and structure.

Can you say Tao is equality between a woman and a man?

No, because the equality creates a 3rd, who is Eros, and they are also the one.

Is this grammatically correct?

"They are one."

Not really in this context.

Why?

They is plural.

Not necessarily.

It's gender ambiguity and that is represented as they.

Eros can be either feminine or masculine.

Good enough.

Can you say Tao is the balance of the two opposites?

I think that's close.

Can you say Tao is nothing?

Sort of.

Explain.

Tao is everything.

It's also advice which leads to balance.

Do nothing.

Tao is also doing something.

Lao Tzu said do nothing because he observed everyone is doing something.

He was instructing his students in the way back to balance.

Can you say Tao is the origin of everything?

You can do that.

That includes nothing.

Nothing is included in everything.

Is everything in nothing?

No, there's nothing.

Is nothing an illusion?

Sort of.

It exists, but you can't see it.

Why?

There's nothing to see.

Plus, you need an observer.

What if you place an observer in nothing?

It becomes something.

Nothing, plus the observer.

So, nothing exists but we can't sense it.

Correct.

Nothing only exists in everything.

It's implied.

Why?

It's everything.

That's how everything is dual.

Everything has its opposite.

Everything needs nothing.

Oh, so Tao is duality?

And non-duality.

Right.

Who is duality?

A man.

What about a woman?

Non-duality.

Darkness.

She's nothing without a man.

I'm uncomfortable with that truth.

As you should be.

Who wrote this?

You did.

It's pretty good, you know.

Tao will remain undefined.

Why?

It's everything.

This goes back to the teaching today where society wishes to label you or get you to pick a side.

To define Tao is to give it a label, thus you see why Lao Tzu said Tao is unknowable.

I see Tao is free of being defined.

Is Tao freedom?

I would say freedom is a part of Tao.

Whatever you can come up with in descriptive language is Tao.

Why?

It's everything.

So, Tao is everything.

Yes, and it's also nothing.

Tao is a conundrum.

Sometimes the meaning seems clear but then you can poke holes in the meaning.

motion and perspective

I’ve been taught the lessons of motion and perspective many times. To sum up the concepts I speak of - motion refers to the state of change of the energy which constitutes the universe. Our reality is a verb and is defined by transformation. Our language subtly reflects this in the notion of a "human being." We are beings. Being is implicitly a verb and describing that we are defined by existing in an ever-changing state. Eternal death is a non-starter in a paradigm that constantly renews. It’s a pretty ingenious set-up. Perspective refers to where you are on the energetic path which allows you different vantage points of what is. Einstein called it relativity. What I’m getting at with perspective is where I am now is in a world that is defined by duality. The opposites are what allow creation to come forth. The separation into distinct forms of energy brings our world alive. Currently, this is what I perceive. I’ve done spiritual work and know about the opposites.

Non-duality is the pinnacle for a lot of spiritual seekers. I get the feeling it’s because they think what they don’t have access to while here now in a body must be the ultimate spiritual reward. To dissolve back into the void! When there comes a point along the energetic journey that you are non-differentiated, you’ll probably claim duality is the truth and the light!

So, to me it’s perspective and it is all happening now. My perspective right now is to sense duality and a feeling of separation from the all. That I cannot deny though I can conceptualize all being one.

This primer leads to what I really want to talk about. I’ve done a lot of inner work and thrown off the chains of culture and bias towards denying what I have experienced. In the last couple of weeks, the realization of what I have done has really struck me as tangible. It’s coming up on ten years to the day I rediscovered my shadow and the journey towards re-establishing trust and then friendship has been time consuming. He taught and tested me. He turned me into a warrior. I knew of him and objectified him. Eventually, I came to the place where I could finally accept that he was me. I saw how I objectified my light and my darkness and realized the two were my essence. Who I am is the interplay of the two. My identity I saw as fraudulent though psychically it was real. I had created this persona from the two.

I know about the rule of the three. The one is always made of the two and the two combine to make the one. There is always this triad. It’s a big clue to the mystery of life. The two brothers of light and dark make up who I am and who I am combined with the divine feminine constitutes the all.

Back to perspective. I sense duality. I wake up in the morning and put on my duality glasses. I sit alone and laugh at the absurdity of this world. I constantly talk to myself. My family has started catching on to the pattern. Maybe I’ve taken too many psychedelic drugs? Yeah, probably, because I now clearly see the two. The two brothers are always with me because I objectify them. My shadow is always with me; talking and laughing with me. I might present as crazy but it’s all legitimate. It’s perspective. I see my split that comes forth into this world of duality.

God becomes two in a world of duality. Think about it - in our dualistic world everything has an opposite. He is the light and the darkness and if you hang around long enough on the spiritual path you will see him as Jesus and also the Devil. Krishna and Shiva. Or, maybe you won't? If you keep going further into the mystery you will eventually realize the two constitute the one. And just who is this one? Keep going and you might be gifted with the answer.

access to power

You can create an axis mundi, which is an access to power, anywhere on the earth. It’s the genius of the spherical shaped planet we call home. The potential to become power is always present but unless you discover and figure it out, you’ll go to your grave oblivious to its secret. At Chavín de Huántar, the axis mundi was designated at a spot where two rivers meet in a valley plain. The stone idol worshipped at Chavín, we call the lanzon, is an amalgamation of all the forces in the universe into the one.

The artistry is peculiar and unique to not only the era but also the modern human. Form is present though all is encapsulated within the one image. It is an ingenious way of depicting chaos; chaos being non-differentiated unity and this structure represented crystallized power at Chavín. The unleashing of the power was the coming forth of the god as a jaguar. Placed in an underground labyrinth, the god's height allowed them to inhabit a representation of the three shamanic worlds of lower, middle, and upper regions. In addition, the lanzon's placement was such that on the solstices the rising and setting sun would enlighten the large lance-like monolith. It is truly the temple of the jaguar and ceremony was performed where the adherent would transform into the jaguar as the power was unleashed within. Chavín de Huántar was at the time one of the most powerful places upon earth.

The axis mundi is the mythological tree of life. Eternal life is the secret it holds; however, be aware the chalice of immortality is guarded by the dragon. To access power is to slay the dragon. The path will take you inwards to the ultimate conundrum which is that you are the dragon. The Goddess gave me the strength and courage to pick up my sword and continue on in this journey where I would slay the dragon. That’s what she told me but she knew all along the process of discovery would lead to discovery of the identity of the dragon and a subsequent liberation of both her and the adversary I entered into battle with. The access to power is the stuff of what could be termed magical. It’s not instantaneous and takes time, patience, discipline, and understanding. Who would have thought magic involved the disciplinary arts? Isn’t it all instantaneous hocus pocus? You set up your axis mundi, slowly build upon it, get to know all the pieces on the game board, and come to understand the interplay of the opposites and the roles they play in this great drama. You let go of preconceived notions, prejudices, and cultural blocks. The blocks to clear are the cautions to stay away from the occult and the dark forces of magic. From this point you need a catalyst. The catalyst is something that will activate the power within. For me, it is Mapacho Tobacco. The great teacher unlocks the power within my form. Subsequently, at my Mesa I perform ceremony and ritual which potentiates the energy at this most holy power centre. The power envelops and rises within my form. The load on my body is electrifying. I am but a novice so I haven’t fully learned to channel the energy as of yet. Honestly, I’m amazed at how I have freed the power within my Mesa which is based upon what the great maestro don Howard, Otorongo Blanco of the Upper Amazon taught me. It’s been a multi-year project where I did not seek out power but was instead faithful to respect and ritual at my Mesa. 

The gift of conscious awareness comes from the Goddess and her birthing of forms. She then takes away awareness through death and dissolution. The hidden path is the journey of discovery and subsequent combining of your consciousness to your energetic signature. It is the forging of steel through the union of awareness and energy in the fires of this hell tempered by the love of the Goddess. My eternal vibration will become inexorably aware. Eternal life for conscious awareness is what I'm up to. My shadow I discovered is this divine masculine energy. He is God. He is power. He is only a shadow because I denied and buried him deep. Recovering the knowledge of his presence and guiding hand is healing. My super power is consciousness. The divine masculine offers indestructible life. This is the essence of my destiny and my path going forth for the rest of my life. I accessed the fount of power but somehow knew enough what to do with it thanks to the lessons from the feminine divine.

So, I was standing at my Mesa last night lit up with power — both the Mesa and myself. I thought back to the origins of this journey I am on. The path I’m walking was an invitation presented to me by the Great Goddess whom I discovered in Egypt. She invited me to find her. I found her in the Amazon jungle. Once found, she implored me to free her. Take up your sword and slay the dragon! Here I am. I went after him and he beat me into a pulp. I retreated, regrouped, and came back. I didn’t chase his power even though there was lots of it offered to me. I kept true to my word and went after him as I promised the Goddess. Eventually, my noble intention was honoured. The dragon let me into his inner circle. I wasn’t after power. I sought liberation and knowledge. I had the antidote to the chains of both Goddess and God. Through discovering it was I who was the dragon, I freed the Goddess and myself.

As the rising power rippled through my being last night I thought of don Howard; primarily, his example and subtle words. He would sit a group of us down and talk about power. Having access to it and being tempted and seduced by its call; like he knew something about this journey we were about to undertake. He never showed his cards. I think he relied on the medicine to reveal what he hinted at and was preparing us for the choice. As part of the lesson he would talk about ayni. Everything is this world is connected and thus reciprocal. You take and you give back. It’s the scales of reciprocity. When you apply this lesson to power you clearly see why power corrupts. The siren song of taking the power offered will get you. Every time. When you take power as offered you are in debt and then come the interest payments and requirement to offer something back in return. We were instructed to set intentions and thus make grandiose promises but soon we are monetizing our newfound access to power and figuring out how we are going to take advantage of our boon.

To be liberated is to live in obscurity. Don Howard kept a low profile and he was the greatest man I ever met. Seriously, that man sat on a goldmine and had knowledge and know how that dwarfed all others yet he was in service to the greater good. He made a promise to raise consciousness for the good of all and did not waver from that promise. His legacy lives on in the spirit of those whom he touched and got the message. I’ve been fortunate enough to surround myself with some of those people. I looked back last night on the journey and realized I could not have done it without him. My Mesa I stand in front of in service is a direct result of don Howard. He showed me the set up; explained the principles; and sent me home with my interest piqued. I gradually assembled my Mesa and in this last year placed the Lanzon in the centre and thus discovered the secret of its power. My Mesa is lit.

tempering the extremes of omnipotence

The purpose and meaning of incarnation into a world of my own making is to explore the extremes of the high and the low; to wit the duality of self. As the stone idol at Chavín de Huántar in the Andean highlands teaches, bring all back to centre at our own personal axis mundi. The purpose is to find wholeness in the heart space in the middle, called the chaupi in the Quechuan language. This is also the fourth chakra in a seven-fold energetic human existence. The answer is not found in the crown chakra and the pure white light of enlightenment; ah, it's fun to climb that mountain and experience God consciousness but in the end, you see that's not why you're here. You already are God. Instead, the reason why you are here is reconciliation. To bring all back to centre, taking the unity of form of the divine feminine and merging with the independent spirit of the divine masculine. And from this process you rediscover the heart and love. This is why you created this whole game and imbued the quest with the impetus and desire to discover the secret. The puzzle kept you going. The game was frustrating and challenging, but ultimately fun. The hero's journey kept you invested and involved. I love a challenge and I'm going to keep going through multiple lifetimes in order to complete this quest and along the way I'm going to unveil the mystery. What an adventure! Kudos to myself for designing this most interesting game-board.

And so, here I am. I did the journey and completed the quest. I unveiled the mystery. I rescued the princess. What’s left now if I keep sailing on this ship of discovery? My ship is blessed with the moniker "The Fool." I clearly see the destination as I look into this world of form and what is revealed is all pervasive duality. I see the opposites and know the task at hand is to bring the opposites to the centre in order to find love. That's why I did it - to find balance and temper the extremes of omnipotence. The sideshows I created to keep me interested and continuing on the voyage so that eventually I'd see it and discover the reason "why" I did this. I wanted to know God; I wanted to know what makes me tick along with discovering the answer to how do I reconcile the creator and the destroyer within? I now see what it is I wanted to see - the polarity and separation, and grudgingly I accept that she was correct all along. She is Love - the Great Goddess, and she shows me reconciliation of what is leads to the centre and in this centre is found life and love.

Earth is one of these centres where we have life and can practice love. It's on now; this is your classroom buddy. Reconciliation is the game! You did the whole journey, found what you seek is within, and created a world that manifests difficult situations which implore you to find solutions to the endemic problem. The various problem-solving methods at hand are diverse and most lead you away from what it is you seek. The answer to the conundrum is love and you find this answer after exhausting all avenues that take you away from the centre. The streets of separation are roads paved with fame and fortune but ultimately lead you farther down a path to nowhere and eventually we all lose the way home. Wow, we sure have travelled a great distance and now I no longer even realize within there is a castle made of gold which houses the Goddess and her gift of love. We forgot her and buried the knowledge of the feminine divine under the sands of time.

I never cease to be amazed at the writing process and how it lubricates the mind which in turn allows you to make a connection to wisdom and understanding. As I spent the day writing this post and consequently thinking about it, I had yet another epiphany on the nature of being. The root chakra and the crown chakra are connected as in they are polar opposites. One is chaos and form while the other is order and separation. They are the representation of the feminine and masculine energies who need and attract each other. I know the answer is found in the fourth chakra which is the heart. Both paths, regardless of origin, lead to the heart whether you start from the bottom or the top. It is in the middle where biological life is possible. The balance between the two eternal and divine energies create and sustains life. Life is precarious and it’s only on this gift of Pachamama where we can experience biological life which in turn allows us to find love and realize now is the time to express that love.

Furthermore, I intellectually started investigating the polar origins of the cyclical energetic system and realized that some of us are on a journey of ascension while others are in a state of deceleration of the energetic signature. Some of us are entering into life via the crown chakra and heading towards stasis while others are entering at the bottom of the mountain and beginning the long climb to the grandeur of self. Each energetic journey leads to the heart at the mid-point of the journey and it’s where we manifest into conscious form; so, here we are. This is the game we are playing. Acceleration from feminine unity, separate into form, and finish the climb. Deceleration from masculine separation, unify into form, and return to the great mother who smothers. Some of us will head towards the light at bodily death and others will descend into the darkness. But don’t you worry; it’s all cyclical and it is the constant transformation of your energetic signature that bestows upon you eternal life. The ride is the thing. Embrace it.

The cycles within this cycle are of the same nature as within our lives we traverse the energetic centres and remove the blocks in order to experience all facets of life in this body. Some head towards the crown chakra to become the king of their domain, fully enlightened, while others take the path of unity back to the base chakra. Most of us get stuck in the second chakra of carnal pleasures or the third chakra of personal power and greed. Once again, with experience and the subsequent wisdom is discovered in the fourth chakra of the heart is where we become fully realized human beings.

So, what's left is to love. Open the heart, put yourself in others' shoes, and find compassion. Realize that greed and games of power mask fear. Transmute that fear into love. Plant the seed so that others know there is another way; life doesn't have to be this way. Leave this world a better place and light up the Goddess’ heart castle so that other game players can see the beacon shining in the distance when they are ready to head towards her divine gift of love.