Tao Te Ching: PART VI: COMMUNING WITH NATURE - David Tuffley (7 of 7) [Audiobook]
Channel: David Tuffley
Date: 23/08/2019

The seventh in a seven part audiobook of the Tao Te Ching in plain English, written by David Tuffley (PhD) based on the timeless work of Lao Tzu. 

Kindle eBook & print from: https://www.amazon.com/Dao-Te-Ching-Timeless-Classic-ebook/dp/B00573Y65K 
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PART I:  KNOWING THE TAO
PART II:  USING THE TAO TO BECOME MORE CONSCIOUS
PART III: USING THE TAO TO CULTIVATE ONESELF
PART IV:  USING THE TAO TO INFLUENCE GROUP DYNAMICS 
PART V:  USING THE TAO TO REFRAIN FROM ACTION 
PART VI:  COMMUNING WITH NATURE
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Part VI: Communing with Nature.
This Part is not from Lao Tzu's Dao de Ching. It is the author's own practice of communing with Nature over a long time. I have included it to guide those who want to go beyond the words in a book to have a direct experience of that which the words point to. One could write a million words about something, but until you experience it directly, you will not really know it. 

What we experience when immersed in Nature can be our gateway into a deep and abiding awareness of the Dao. We come to know the ineffable spirit that informs the world, that which we call the Dao, as an all pervasive, non-conceptual intelligence. This informing principle finds expression in the trillions of life-forms and intricate ecosystems that make up the biosphere of this planet. Even a cursory look at the workings of ecosystems leaves one in no doubt there is an underlying order at work. 

Investing time to know Nature is rewarded by a deepening understanding of the intricate web of Life. We come to feel ourselves to be inextricably connected with everything around us, everything in the world. As the poet Rumi so beautifully put it, we come to know ourselves not as a drop in the ocean, but the whole ocean in a drop. Close communion with Nature is both exhilarating and liberating. And it is free, no strings attached. 

The all pervasive, non-conceptual intelligence that underpins Nature, actively wants you to merge your mind with it. For every step you take towards the Dao, the Dao will take a step towards you.  The Dao, or Nature as its proxy, wants to meet you in the middle. It wants to give you the gift of knowing the wisdom of finding the common ground in all your endeavors.