Tao In You

Tao of leadership is more like farming, rather than hunting.

In farming, you plough the land and plant the seeds, but see nothing.  You water the plants and remove the weeds.  Still, you see nothing.  You patiently wait in faith before the fruits are born.  However, before they are ripe, you can do nothing.

Finally, it is time for harvest.  When the next season comes around, you harvest again.

Hunting is different.  You capture the prey, and enjoy the reward immeditately.  You have to, nevertheless, continuously hunting for new preys.  There is no recurring harvests.

As a leader, if you can function like a farmer, or a hunter.

As a farmer-type of leader, you invest in, and cultivate your relationship with your peaple.  You may not get anything immediately, but there will come a time when you can start harvesting, and enjoy the fruits of loyalty team in the long run.

If you behave like a hunter, you can exact respect and obedience by force.  It will, however, ‘kill’ the loyalty. If there is no loyalty, the leadership will not last.

Those who lead people by following the Tao
don’t use weapons to enforce their will.
Weapons often turn upon the wielder.

- Lao Tze 30

Life is an irony.

A young man is on his way home from a journey, when he is stuck by a river. It is so wide, almost impossible to cross. Just as he is about to throw in the towel, he sees a old man on the other side of the river.

Delighted, the yells, “Sir, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river”?

The old man ponders for a moment.  He looks up and down the river, and then yells back, “Young man, but you are on the other side”.

So even when you are in the most difficult situation, there is another way to look at your situation.  This explains why Lao Tzu says,

“If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.”  (Tao Te Ching 33)

As part of the Nature, you should sleep while the earth is asleep, and wake up when the earth is awake — in order to stay healthy.

Based on the Chinese traditional beliefs, there are four seasons in a day. The Spring of a day starts at 3 a.m., and ends at 9 a.m.. So the earth rises at 3 a.m. as the Spring begins. Even when you are asleep, your cells — in tandem with the vibration — get up at these hours.

Since 6 a.m. is in the prime of the Spring of the day, it is better that you have awakened by then.

For this consideration, if you wake up at 3 a.m., there is no point for you to go back to the bed. Not only is the sleep not effective, it may make you feel more tired.

Similarly, if you go to bed late, you should still wake up at around 6 a.m., rather than remain sleeping till noon. Catch a nap later in the day to make up for the lost sleep! Sleeping late is an act of exhausting your yang energy, while waking up late is a way to kill you yang energy. It is ‘double deprivation’ of your yang energy — if you sleep late and wake up late. This can badly affect your health in the long run.

The best time to be sound asleep in a day is between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.

Based on the traditional Chinese beliefs, this is the time when the earth is asleep. Following the rhythm of the Nature will make your sleep deeper and more effective.

Unfortunately, many of us are unable to be asleep during these hours.

There are two major reasons that deprive you from sleeping during these hours. First, you find it difficult to fall asleep, even if you want to. Second, you postpone the sleep for other reasons. It could be that you’d have to rush a report, or simply to stay on for your Internet chats. It could also due to health reasons, such as muscle pains.

If you find it difficult to be asleep, one thing you may do is to observe the pattern of the day to plan your activities. While there are four seasons in a year, the same rhythm can be found in a day. The autumn of a day begins at 3 p.m., and ends at 9 p.m.. Beginning from 9 p.m., it is the winter, and it should be the time that you’re getting ready for your slumber.

For those who have problems falling asleep by 11 p.m., you may want to review what you do during the autumn of the day; i.e. from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Since it is the autumn, it is the time for harvest. If you do something fluttering during these hours, you may find it difficult to lower the chi of yang, thereby allowing the chi of yin to take over and lead you to a sound sleep during the winter of the day.

If you do not sleep by 11 p.m. because you choose not to, it could be that you are unaware of the importance of living in tandem with the rhythm of the Nature. Unless you can’t do it due to reasons beyond your control, for your health sake, it is worth the while to review the ways you plan your daily activities.

Time your sleep, so that you can benefit the most from every slumber.

Let your sleep hours be in harmony with that of the Mother Earth.

In the Chinese traditional belief, maintaining a rhythm in harmony with the Nature is critical to health. While there are four seasons in a year, there are four seasons in a day as well. You must do the right thing in the right season to stay healthy.

The spring of a day begins at 3 a.m., and ends at 9 a.m. The summer is between 9 am and 3 p.m. As for the autumn, it begins at 3 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. The winter is meant for hibernation. It begins at 9 p.m. and ends at 3 a.m.

By 9 p.m., as the day goes into the ‘daily winter’, the Mother Earth goes to sleep. If you do not slow down, and get ready to sleep during these hours, you are acting against the rhythm of the Nature. Whatever you do is counter productive. On the other hand, if you can slow down and get ready to sleep, you are in harmony with the Nature. Whatever you do can be more productive. In this case, your body functions in the rhythm of the Nature, and it is a boon to your health.

While it is most productive to sleep between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., it is especially important for you to sleep deeply between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. it is said that during these hours, chi in the gall is very powerful, and it is better that you are asleep to store the chi.

So do more than just sleeping, Time your sleep!

What is tai chi?

Try asking ten different people the question, and you’d get ten different answers.

Indeed, tai chi can be different things to different people.

It is a form of martial arts. You can fight employing the tai chi techniques.

For most of the practitioners today including the veterans with decades of experience, however, fighting is something that has never come across their mind. They see the art as an exercise system for health.

There are also those who see tai chi as a spiritual pursuit. The exercise involves not only the body. It involves the mind. You must learn to not just relax, but to let go — something that cannot achieve with the physical focus alone. If you’re unable to enjoy the exercise by engaging the mind, it is incomplete.

So what exactly is tai chi?

It is all the above in one, and you can reap the most benefits from the exercise if you can see it in more than one way.

One of the questions that I’m often asked about tai chi chuan is, “am I too young to learn?”

For those who have been practicing the martial art form, it is a rather amusing question.

Of course, tai chi is an excellent exercise for the elderly, as it is gentle, and allows one to do it in a non-strenuous manner. This is, nevertheless, only one facet of the sport. The exercise can be as demanding as any other sports! It needs not be slow, and the blows can be extremely powerful.

See how this young boy of 10 years old enjoys the exercise, and you will have no doubt that tai chi can be equally delightful for the young.

The style he practices is Yang style – one of the five major styles of tai chi practiced today.

Before a palace is built, it is in the architect’s mind’s eye.

Before an enterprise is born, it is in the founder’s dream.

Being able to see the unseen is an ability that distinguishes the leader and follower, the creator and admirer.

Non-being is origin of the universe,
Being is mother of all creations.
See the non-being, and you can see the hidden mystery.
See the being, and you can appreciate the manifestations.

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

The art of listening is not in listening to what is spoken, but what is unspoken.

If you, for example, can sense that a person is angry only when he says that he’s angry, you are not listening.

When a person is angry, he tends to express the feeling in other means other than the word ‘angry’.  This can be in the behavior, which shows indifference to what you say.  It can also be in spoken words with sarcastic remarks.

Don’t wait for him to say that he’s angry, before you do the necessary to avert the unpleasant feeling.

Even for something pleasant, people may not be using the word you expect to express the exactly feeling.  In addition to facial expression, this can be detected through the ways she moves or sounds.  Even when the spoken words are used, they could be something totally unrelated to the word ‘happy’, such as an invitation to lunch.

In the lingo of Taoism, Tao is unspoken.

Just like what Lao Tzu says in the opening of the classic ‘Tao Te Ching‘:

The Tao that can be voiced
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

Chinese note:  道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。

Staying healthy begins from your mind.

How you see the values in the things that you have can make the quality of your life very different.  When you can be truly at ease with what you own, you are relaxed, and ‘chi’ begins to flow smoothly throughout your body.  This will lead you to a healthier life.

The following verse of Lao Tzu is useful in this aspect.

Which is more important, your renown or your life?
Which is more valuable, your possessions or your being?
Which is more harmful, gain or loss?

So deep love leads to great expense
and heaping wealth leads to greater loss.

Be contented and you will not be disappointed,
He who knows when to stop can stay clear of danger
an thus endure long.

Lao Tzu (44) (Translated by Tekson)