Daily Taoist 1_46 – Buddha Zhen Reads TAO #25 Strategy Harmonizing Nature’s Patterns into Goals
YouTube Video TRANSCRIPT: Daily Taoist 46 Tao #25
Alright. Welcome back to the Daily Tao. Buddha Zhen here. And I’m on TAO NUMBER 25. And this is a big one.
And… I also… I think I improved my lighting. I did add something up there. Washed my face. Pinched a little bit. Hopefully it doesn’t look like I got stung by a bee. [LAUGHS] And combed my hair. So, anyway… Those are my efforts– In other words… Remember we talked about the self-discipline? That’s my self-discipline is that little extra effort to look nice and everything. A lot of people just spend all their time looking nice. But they’re not doing anything for themselves on the inside. But, you know, I need to spend a little more work on the outside.
I’m not faulting anybody. We’ve just got to see where our balance is and see if we want to shift it.
Okay, if I was an actor I’d need to spend a lot more time on the outside than the inside.
Okay. Here we go. Each per– Well, that’s what I’m trying to change. I’m trying to help actors be a lot more that tools.
Okay, #25.
Each person can exemplify
the ultimate powers of Nature
by intelligent and natural actions.
That’s only the first sentence. There’s a whole bunch. Let’s read that one sentence again because that’s important. So in other words that’s saying if you’re smart and natural, that’s better than being stupid and unnatural. Right? Why when I say things like that do I picture Mr. Trump?
Each person can exemplify the ultimate powers of Nature by intelligent and natural actions.
As each goal is planned, initiated, incorporates ideals, and is completed: so are the seasons of life imitated.
I’m gonna read that one sentence again.
As each goal is planned, initiated, incorporates ideals, and is completed: — (That’s the four seasons there.) —so are the seasons of life imitated.
Intelligent goals must be natural and within Nature’s patterns so that the ultimate powers can be utilized and harmonized with. Not opposed. In this way goals that are also Nature’s goals are natural goals that enhance life.
Wow! There’s a lot there but, kind of simple thoancugh. It’s basically saying that you can develop your life to have goals, processes, and beginnings and endings that… kind of flow like Nature. And you and yourself are a natural Nature. You have your own Tao. The Tao has its Tao. And now your Tao and the Bigger Tao are in harmony with each other. And so now you’re kind of–It’s kind of like swimming. Swimming in water. Okay?
So, here we go. Real fast. This is two pages long so let’s see what i can do. Um, this has got a lot of blanks to fill-in so this may go really fast.
List your current goals in terms of the four seasons of Nature.
So first of all, come up with all your goals. Now figure out how they fit into the seasons of Nature. Which ones–you know… Where are they at? Are they at their Autumn? Are they dying? Are they old, and something you did ten years ago? Or is it the winter: Is it something you’re planning but it’s not ready because you don’t have resources like the sunlight? Is it the spring? Where now you’ve got everything together and you’re really putting all your effort into making it happen? Or is it the summer when everything’s flowing along and you’re starting to pump the product out and building the business? See?
So you’ve got these seasons you can work with.
So you want to take your goals and then start looking at them in terms of how they fit into a seasonal structure.
So let me go along. Because, like I said, I broke this down into the four seasons. And then I gave you some kind of clues for the four seasons to help you understand them a little better.
So in this case, AUTUMN. So I’m summarizing this because remember our goal is to figure out how to make this work for us. In our lives. So that’s why I’m kind of superimposing these human concepts on this book.
AUTUMN: Clean up and prepare for the future, fertilize and planning.
Okay. So once again. The… goals that are at this stage of the operation. Which are your AUTUMN GOALS. You’re cleaning them up. You’re preparing them for the future. You’re fertilizing them. Maybe… they’re like I said, might be dead stuff. So you’ve gotta fertilize them. And you’re in your planning phase.
Okay. So you’re in kind of a [SCRUNCH] mulch situation.
Okay. So what are the goals? You list them out. And then you put down–you’ve got a column to put down these goals.
The IDEALS that are incorporated. So if one of your goals has the of maybe pleasing your wife. That’s the whole reason you’re doing it.
Maybe another one is because it satisfies this long term thing you wanted to do since you were a little kid.
Maybe this other one is because you’ve–you’re doing it for somebody else. And when you’re done they’re gonna pay you a whole bunch of money. [LAUGHS]
Your ideals.
We’ve got to be more idealistic.
As one of your ideals–how does it satisfy your ideals… Your Nature… as far as being a better person?
“Well this is going to improve my ability to do this. Or maybe it’s gonna make me understand this better.”
I don’t know. Try to put some ideals in there. I’ll have to think about that more myself.
Okay. And then it’s got two other columns. So you’ve got the goal.
What IDEALS are incorporated in this goal?
Like for me it might be philosophy, or Buddhism, or something like that. You might have something specific in there.
Now, then there’s two more lines. The first– It says, “FIRST STEP.” In other words, what’s your next step? What’s the thing you’ve gotta do? And what’s your OVERALL STRATEGY? Gave you a teeny little line to do it. But what’s your Strategy? “Oh, I’m gonna do this and then… (your Strategy)… then I’ll do this and this.
Okay. You’ve got four goals and you do all that.
Next one is WINTER GOALS.
This is where you’re organizing and PROTECTING. And you’re establishing TERRITORIES and BOUNDARIES. In the case of a farmer you’d be laying out your fields and this is where you’d be deciding where to put the crops and everything. So you’re establishing– you’re building the future. You’re building the house. You’re gonna build a business. The first thing you’ve got to build is build the building.
Okay? So what are your goals?
What are the IDEALS incorporated in those goals?
The ideals. Once again we can expand on this. I’ll give that more thought too.
And the our FIRST STEP in your STRATEGY. So each of these goals: SEE what the next big steps are. I not only made you just put it out there: I made you think, “What should I really be– Where am I GOING NEXT?” Okay?
SPRING: Your Spring goals.
This is where you’re planting the seeds. And you’re beginning to work on your project on a daily basis. You’re out there tending the field. You’re watering and you’re pulling the weeds. Now you’re working specifically. If you’re like me as a musician this is where you’re recording in the studio. Editing and overdubbing, mixing… and all this type stuff. So this would be the Spring. This is the Springtime. The CREATION of the product.
Then comes SUMMER.
That’s when you harvest and sell. You complete your projects and you end the work. In the case of the record you package it up and sell it up BOOM and start the advertising and go on tour or go to thenext record. So in your case, if you’ve got your IDEALS, your FIRST STEP, and your STRATEGY… But your SUMMER? What things are you finishing right now? What’s this thing you’ve been working on? The car in your garage you’ve been working on. So it’s done… That’s done… You’re in your SUMMER. Okay?
So here’s some questions to ask to illuminate all of this stuff. But this is for you. I want you to make this work for you. You lay out your goals. You kind of try to figure this out. You sort it out and in the process you’re going to learn something. You’re gonna see something. Or… You can’t know everything. [LAUGHS] Or you wouldn’t be here. [LAUGHS] You’re gonna lay it out. See if you can’t learn something from your own stuff. Okay. Here’s what–
How do all your goals fit together and what is their combined result?
What’s an overall perspective if Iwas to look and this and say, “Okay. What does it look like this guy’s trying to do?”
How does this combined result of your goals fit on YOUR PATH?
How does this COMBINED RESULT fit on your path?
How to define your path. I don’t think we’ve talked about that enough.
But anyway YOUR PATH and that’s gonna change and should always change. But from where you can see it right now, this section of your path: Where you are you going.
Hopefully you are on the right path.
Which goals do not really fit on your life path? And why?
It’s not like you have time for everything, but you better come up with a better excuse than that. Because everybody has a limited amount of time. So you’ve gotta figure out what–Why is that not deserved? (For you to put time into it?)
Okay. So putting everything in perspective there.
Lastly: List your methods and techniques for planning the strategies of each goal listed above.
Ahh. So if you do look at all those things–How do you determine–What’s your strategy for getting anything done? Okay? Alright! Probably didn’t say anything. Probably didn’t think of anything. Probably when, “I dunno.”
But you’ve got to get a list. Get a list. Get a “TO DO LIST” for every single project you’re doing.
So if your project is to…even mow the lawn once a week on Saturday: Put up a list on the month whatever– and– You can do this so many different ways… But anyway you’ve got your Saturday mowing list. Well, I wouldn’t make a list just for my mowing, but on the calendar–You just go ahead and on every–All through your calendar you WRITE, “MOW THE LAWN.” on every Saturday of your calendar. And then as you come to that you say, “Ah, yeah, I’ve gotta mow the lawn today.” (or the next day — before…) You say, “Oh yeah, I’m gonna mow the lawn tomorrow.” You see? So that helps you get it done.
So there’s all kinds of methods and techniques you you use to make your strategies happen. Planning and “To Do Lists,” “Goal Lists,” updating your “Weekly List,” calendars… These are all important things.
So just look at life as one of those things you’re going to always kind of– you’re revitalizing. Well that’s why we’re here. We’re looking at it from lots of different ways. Okay?
Here we go. Did I make it? Eleven minutes….
Okay. Tao of Taoism. I’ve got time to read the beginning again. This is a tough one. A big one.
This is #25 of TAO OF TAOISM. Actually, my verson of it. The Tao of Taoism.
Here we go.
Each person can exemplify
the ultimate powers of Nature
by intelligent and natural actions.
(I’d sure lie to think Nature is intelligent and natural.) [LAUGHS]
As each goal is planned, initiated, incorporates ideals–
(That’s the part we need to work on.)
–and is completed: so are the seasons of life imitated.
Intelligent goals must be natural
and within Nature’s patterns
so that the ultimate powers
can be utilized and harmonized with.
Not opposed.
In this way: goals that are also Nature’s goals–
(You know Nature might want you to have that farm. Saying, “Yeah. Go ahead and have that farm and feed all those people. That’s a good idea!)
–This way, goals that are also Nature’s goals are natural goals that enhance life.
Yeah! So let’s all enhance life. Let’s all be individuals, personally driven. Have our own ambitions. Have our own desires, our own likes, our own wants. But still all harmonize and work together.
Alright. Buddha Zhen here, saying the world can be a nice place. Just need to have nice people in it.
Nice people are in harmony with The Tao.
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Tao of Taoism — Using the Dao Te Ching to Improve Your Life by Buddha Zhen (Richard Del Connor)
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