Tao Te Ching

Seven

"The Tao is infinite; eternal. Why is it eternal? It was never born, thus, it can never die. Why is infinite? It has no desires for itself, thus, it is present for all beings. The master stays behind that is why she is ahead. She is detached from all things, that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled."

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There will be no ego present in one who is desire less. Oneness with all beings requires:

ahimsa or non-voilence

asteya or non-stealing

bramacharya or celibacy

satya or speaking truth

aparigraha or without greed

These are called 'yamas' or restraints or things you may resist doing and can take time to put into practice. Ahimsa begins with kindness to all, including animals, fish, plants, insects and all beings in nature and may come in the form of vegetarianism or veganism. When we are kind to all beings we practice giving love and respect.

The practices of not taking from others, being honest and not withholding things from others requires one to connect with the idea that the universe will take care of you. If we are greedy or holding onto things we fear we will not be supported. Always the universe will be looking out for us. Trust is a big component. Giving away to those in need is an important concept of aparigraha as there is generally always someone in more need of food, water or shelter than you. Speaking truth is a way to keep integrity and honesty. Your word is important and should count! Expressing what is true for you even though it may not be someone else's truth is being honest with yourself.

At last there is bramacharya which I find to be a practice that teaches beyond the physical. Just like yoga is beyond asana, knowledge is really beyond physical. While sexual intimacy is a beautiful thing, yoga focuses beyond physical pleasures and so taking time to direct your energy to other things can be a practice you might want to observe for some time.

I have practiced all of these yamas and find that joy, happiness and bliss have heightened in ways I would never imagine.

Love, Dayna