This book was given to me by one of my teachers from massage school. He's a funny contradiction of a guy; he's very average-Joe-like when you talk to him, but he's into all this new-agey stuff, too, and manages to make it more palatable than your average hippie can. I'm pretty left-brained, but over the last few years, I've incorporated some of the more intuitive work into my massage and life in general, I'd say. At any rate, his bodywork is equal parts physical and emotional, and he prescribed a little more spiritual work for me. So...a book with an easily digested bit of taoism for each day of the year. It's also a book that he's loaned me for the year, and I love having books on loan. It makes them richer, somehow. I'm not usually a big fan of this kind of stuff, but I will take it for however it's useful to me, and I will try to be consistent about it. Consistency is a big challenge in my life, so if nothing else, I'll work on that.
Day 1 was, predictably, labeled The Beginning:
This is the moment of embarking.
All auspicious signs are in place.
It goes on about commitment to transformation, meditation, etc. Sort of like New Year's resolutions, it's all just talk unless you actually do it.
Day 2 was Ablution:
Washing at dawn:
Rinse away dreams.
Protect the gods within,
And clarify the inner spirit.
This one is about cleansing, and goes into a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about the body containing 36,000 gods, which is where my eyes glaze over a little, so I will paraphrase: Wash away the old, the unrealistic, the unnecessary so that you can focus on your goals.
Today's is Devotion:
Make the crooked straight,
Make the straight to flow.
Gather water, fire, and light.
Bring the world to a single point.
Faith + devotion = natural momentum. This one really resonates, as I find that most of the low points in my life can be traced to a lack of momentum. And momentum is fairly useless without a place to focus it, like the single point of the world, which requires that you simplify things a bit. Everything is connected and essential. Maybe?
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