See you on top form

I trust this finds you on good form.

And if not or if you wish to up your form, so to speak, let us now make a brief foray into the realm of the following angle on Taoist form-optimizing.

But not before examining the Taoist take on form and how it interfaces with and sits in juxtaposition to consciousness.

Firstly all forms change over time. This is a transient universe – everything in it is undergoing constant transformation – nothing is static, not even the most solid, intransigent-looking mountain range – both in a macrocosmic and microscopic sense, all is in motion.

Hence no form, however much revered by the many, is in itself eternal or sacrosanct. And that even includes your own body, your own form – and those of those you love and hold dear.

The Tao, that which cannot be described or defined but think of it as God without a beard or anything else to identify it by, the prime mover of existence, the Tao sits in the eternally un-manifest state – the undifferentiated absolute. Simultaneously, as we see, it activates the manifest universe, along with this marvelous, rare, little planet supporting all members of our brand of great ape as its human expression. We are it, everything is it, and it is everything with its clothes on.

Otherwise the Tao (in its un-manifest state) is naked.

We are the clothes of the Tao. All forms are.

And like any article of clothing all forms eventually lose shape, style, and fashion-factor and get dumped in a thrift store or discarded.

And just as you’d expect articles of clothing not to take their existence personally, we must expect that of ourselves.

Which is all philosophically thought-provoking and well of itself, but it gets interesting now on a practical level if deploying Taoist ways of guiding the Tao to manifest through form according to your intention, which naturally needs to be coherent and congruent with the flow to hook into the current so you can influence it with your loving will.

I’m sure I’ll find progressively clearer ways to say this over time so that its significance to you is instantly evident but for now, if you’re the Tao you can alter the flow of events – hence if you can momentarily divest yourself of the illusory identity of the transient form that’s going to wind up in the equivalent of a charity shop one day anyway, and instead identify with and embody the Tao, the prime motile force of existence, and eternal aspect of your being, by sliding your assemblage of awareness and cognition backwards into the rear brain and all down the back, so that you’re now in command of the illusion-based activity in the front rather than vice versa, standing behind the story of you, here in the back where all is silent and still and soothing and sublime, you are accessing what us westerners call the subconscious mind, but which Taoists regard as your omniscience, and are therefore thinking with the mind of the Tao.

Now if you make an intention, say something broad-based enough to not require armies of angels to bring to fruition, something like, ‘I want to thrive…and I want all material resources necessary for my thriving to be made manifest without effort as I go along, and for my part, I relinquish doubt and static and allow the Tao to bring it all to me’, you’ll find form bending to your gracious will.

This is particularly helpful for healing yourself, mind or body, or even bank account.

May it serve you well and see you on top form.

With love, your brother on the windy path, Barefoot