Playing in the Tao

The Tao Te Ching is said to be one of the greatest wisdom books in all of recorded human history. Its philosophical moorings are unfettered by western religious and social notions like absolute good and evil, right and wrong, heaven and hell, etc.Featured throughout the Tao Te Ching the Taoist concepts of Yin and Yang, while appearing to be polarized opposites, are actually a deeply fluid, interchangeable, and all-encompassing matrix of understanding which can be used to address all kinds of issues in life as it proceeds from the very life force of nature itself to take its teaching cues.

In each of our monthly Olio gatherings, we will explore a single chapter of the Tao Te Ching to consider and discuss its contents and its application to our daily life situations. In addition, we will have a movement or somatic piece that features body integration of the principles of Yin and Yang through either Qigong, Zen Shiatsu, Meridian Touch Yoga or Sotai.

The main idea here is to integrate both mind and body into a seamless understanding of these nature-based truths for relating to ourselves, to others and the world around us. This holistic mind-body approach exponentiates the learning process for better comprehension, deeper understanding and longer retention of the information shared.

For our very first gathering, we will be exploring chapter one of the Tao Te Ching and our discussion will revolve around these words:

"Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding."

-Tao Te Ching (Translation by Stephen Mitchell)