Living by Decreasing by Dr. Andre Muhammad

According to verse 48, people demonstrate learning by a daily accumulation of information and/or things. The practice of the Tao involves just the opposite, as it concerns itself to a daily diminishing of this so-called information and/or things. More specifically, an individual should come to understand that he/she must reverse the idea of increasing as a means of showing mastery in this world. In fact, when an individual sees the importance of decreasing, he or she will experience a broader realization of completeness.

Peace and blessings!

The Universe Teaches by Dr. Andre Muhammad

In life, most of us attempt to excel at what we do. We create benchmarks, goals, and then we set out to achieve them. In doing so, we often become so firm in our desire to achieve that our actions and personality are hardened to a large degree. We often elicit a very strong persona, one which symbolizes that no matter what, we intend to get what we are after in life.

The 43rd verse of the Tao speaks to this school of thought. It suggests that that the softest things overrides the hardest of all things. Further, it states that things without substance are in a better position to enter where there is no space. Perhaps, Lao Tzu, was making a reference to water, as water has the means to override all things that are hard. If one examines water closely, though it is soft and without substance, it still has the ability to destroy that which is hard. For example, the flow of water can create a pattern on any of the hardest substances that you can think of. When I think about water, I think about the Tao. I say this because water has the ability to flow in many places, and it seeps where it pleases.

On the other hand, water symbolizes calmness. Calmness is symbolic to water in that it remains constant as a life-giving substance to all living things. We can learn a great deal from observing water, and we can learn even more from observing the many elements of our universe. The universe is the great teacher. As human, we must come to understand the lessons of the universe, for it teaches without words and it performs without actions. The masters understand this, and this is why few of us matriculate to the level of the masters.

Peace and blessings!

Cultivating the Infinite Self by Dr. Andre Muhammad

People have a tendency to become attached and almost dependent to various things within life. We become attached to family, friends, and material possessions. What if we were to lose some of these things? Perhaps we would feel that we have lost a great deal. Perhaps we would feel that the worst thing in our lives has occurred if we were to ever lose any of our family members, friends, or material possessions; yet, many of those who have often risen to power of some sort have in fact described having lost or been without these very things at earlier stages in their lives. According to the 42nd verse of the Tao Te Ching, when one feels that he/she has lost, he/she has actually gained. The individual gains in the sense that his/her once-thought feeling of dependency is ameliorated and the person, subsequently, finds him/herself having to cope with the loss. It is during this process of coping in which the individual comes to realize the inner-strength and infinite self is not dependent on anything. It is only the mortal aspect of the individual that feels dependent on such worldly things.

The mortal aspect of ourselves is what unfortunately rules most of our existence. Because we become so fixated on the needs and desires of the mortal self, we are often unable to cultivate and come to know the infinite self. Just as the Tao advises that one gains when losing, it is also perceived that one loses by gaining.

For whom much is given, much is expected. The question becomes, then, how are we utilizing that which has been granted?

As humans, no matter what we possess, the mission appears to be very clear. We should not become attached to worldly things, as each of these things are temporal. Our mission, as humans, is to connect to the things which are eternal, so that we come to be in harmony with our infinite selves. To achieve harmony with our infinite selves, we must be willing to transcend the needs of our mortal selves.

Peace and blessings!