How to live an inspired and peaceful life
The ancient Chinese master said that living and practicing these teachings can open you to higher wisdom and greater happiness because they realign you with source and allow you to access all the powers that source energy has to offer.
“When you succeed in connecting your energy with the divine realm through high consciousness and the practice of non-discriminating virtue, the transmission of the ultimate subtle truths will follow.” Lao Tzu
Lao Tzu means “Old Master,” and some believed him to be a divinely realized being. The four cardinal virtues are found in the Tao Te Ching, a collection of sayings that outline the major Taoist teachings. It contains 81 short poetic verses packed with universal wisdom for politics, society and personal life, and aims to support personal harmony through the right view and understanding of existence. The Tao (also known as the Way or the Dao) has baffled its readers for centuries with its cryptic and deliberate contradictions, yet offers seekers profound contemplation and lends itself to varied interpretations and inner questioning.
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be called is not the eternal name. The Tao is both named and unnamed. Because it is nameless, it is the origin of all things; as mentioned it is the mother of 10,000 things. Always desireless, one can see the mystery; always longing, one sees only the manifestations. And mystery itself is the door to all understanding.” – Wayne W. Dyer, Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life: Live the Wisdom of the Tao
In 2006, the late Wayne Dyer was inspired to spend his entire 65th year reading, researching and meditating on the messages of Lao Tzu, then went on retreat to put them into practice and ultimately write down the insights he believed that Lao Ttzu wanted us to know. Dr. Dyer researched ten respected translations of the text and the result of that life-changing year was his best-selling book Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao.
Dr. Dyer, affectionately known as the Father of Motivation, says that Lao Tzu’s four cardinal virtues represent the surest way to leave behind habits and excuses and reconnect with your original nature. “The more your life is in harmony with the four virtues, the less you are controlled by the uncompromising ego.”
Dr. Dyer says that Lao Tzu’s four virtues represent the surest way to leave habits and excuses behind.
The Tao encourages us to be in touch with ourselves, especially our deepest selves, because when you know who you really are, you discover eternal peace. Lao Tzu liked to compare different parts of nature with different virtues. He said, “The best people are like water, which benefits all things and does not compete with them. It remains in humble places that others reject. That is why it is so similar to the Way (Dao).” Every part of nature can remind us of a quality we admire and should cultivate ourselves: the strength of mountains, the resilience of trees, the cheerfulness of flowers.
We enter life with a seemingly blank slate, a spectacular path before us with unlimited possibilities and choices. To navigate through our lives and come to grips with the challenges and gifts that life has to offer us, it is helpful to have some sort of compass so that we don’t end up on the rocks or lost in the sea.
For many people this may be religion, morality or the belief systems passed down through their family, and they can derive a sense of strength and direction from their strongly held inner compass, which comes from this integrity. No matter what happens in life, they will always fall back on that maxim, whether it’s leading from the heart or being kind.
“When you realize the steadfastness and stability in your life, you realize the deep nature of the universe. This realization is not dependent on any transient internal or external condition, but rather is an expression of one’s own unchanging spiritual nature. The only way to attain the Universal Way is to maintain the integral virtues of fortitude, steadfastness and simplicity in daily life.” – Lao Tzu
The four cardinal virtues, or rules for life, can provide a framework for a life of inner peace and purpose.
A framework for a life of inner peace and purpose.
This virtue manifests as having unconditional love and positive regard for all beings in the universe, starting with ourselves, and this will naturally flow out to all others. This reverence applies to all life, not just some forms. It honors all forms of life and has at its core an innate spiritual understanding of how the universe really works – that we are all sparks of the one fire. When we live with reverence for all life, we give up our need for control and dominance. We naturally come to sincere appreciation and gratitude for all life. This first virtue is the key to reducing the ego.
“Affirm this as often as you can, because when you see yourself in a loving way, you have nothing but love to extend outward. And the more you love others, the less you need old patterns of excuses, especially those related to guilt.” Wayne Dyer
2. Natural sincerity
This virtue includes kindness and authenticity. To me it has a sense of compassion and an all-encompassing love for all beings. When we are sincere and act with integrity, we move toward peace and inner peace. Our conscience is clear, we do not have the inner problems about our dishonest actions that can erode a peaceful mind. Many of these four pillars relate to karma, the law of cause and effect, and maintaining balance and flawlessness. This virtue is honesty, simplicity and faithfulness, says Wayne Dyer. It’s about being true to yourself and living up to what you say.
If you find this challenging, Dyer says try affirming, “I no longer need to be insincere or dishonest. This is who I am and this is how I feel.”
Having unconditional love and positive regard for all beings in the universe.
Softness is a very powerful quality. Often interpreted as weakness, gentleness is sensitivity, respect and reverence for all life. Perhaps this virtue can be summed up by the Dalai Lama who often says; “My religion is very simple, my religion is kindness.” In life it is much more important to be kind than to be right, and to be nice rather than important. Gentleness is an umbrella for forgiveness, acceptance and love. It is very similar to the yoga term ahimsa, or non-violence. When we give up being right and superior, we begin to accept ourselves and others, and many conflicts in our lives disappear.
“Softness generally involves no longer having a strong ego-inspired desire to dominate or control others, allowing you to get into rhythm with the universe. You work with it, like a surfer who rides the waves instead of overwhelming them. Gentleness means accepting life and people as they are, rather than insisting that they be as you are. If you practice living this way, the guilt will disappear and you will enjoy a peaceful world.” –Wayne Dyer
“My religion is very simple, my religion is kindness.” ~ Dalai Lama
4. Support
When we support ourselves, with kind words, loving actions and self-care, we naturally support others as well. This virtue is the basic principle of humanity. We are naturally social beings and at our core we want to be with others and help others. Many experiments show how people are motivated by connection and will strive for this rather than other things. When we give to others, share and support others, we become happy. Our lives become meaningful and our hearts are filled. Support is about service provision. Open-hearted service for the sake of helping and benefiting others without regard for our own gain. Supportiveness also passes save space for someone else, listening to others, and being there for others. It is radical loving-kindness in action. This quote from the poet Hafiz sums it up: “Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, ‘You owe me.'”
“The greatest joy comes from giving and serving, so replace the habit of focusing solely on yourself and what it brings to you. When you make the transition to supporting others in your life without expecting anything in return, you will think less about what you want and find comfort and joy in giving and serving.” Wayne Dyer
Let these four virtues perfume your life and notice the grace and ease that will come your way. For each of these virtues brings with it a way of being that is light, graceful, and fluid that will help you release destructive, self-destructive patterns that sabotage your inner peace and happiness.
“The four cardinal virtues are a roadmap to the simple truth of the universe. By respecting all of life, living with natural sincerity, practicing gentleness, and being of service to others, you replicate the energy field from which you emerge.” Doctor Wayne Dyer
By means of Azriel ReShel
Original article @ Elevate