Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B00C1ITG0Y | Format: PDF
Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao Description
The Tao Te Ching, attributed to the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu, has been called "the wisest book ever written". Comprised of 81 short verses, it is a book of wisdom that has been translated more than any work in the world, with the exception of the Bible. This classic text offers advice and guidance that is moral and spiritual, and is a valuable resource for achieving a way of life that guarantees integrity, joy, and balance.
In this extraordinary program, taped live on the campus of the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, California, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer presents his interpretation of the verses, encouraging you to see them as insights into life and nature. The core program addresses how, by applying the Tao, it's possible to change your thoughts on some of the most profound questions and issues confronting you today - and how, by doing so, your life will be transformed in a peaceful and harmonious way.
You will understand how, by understanding and emulating the qualities of water, you can go from "being rigid and certain, confident and demanding" to being "flowing and allowing, humble and soft"...and so can bring about the dramatic achievement of living an unhurried life.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 1 hour and 54 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Hay House
- Audible.com Release Date: March 26, 2013
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00C1ITG0Y
We're all so busy these days. And distracted. Who has time to pause and ponder on much of anything beyond what we're grabbing for dinner after school or work? That is, if we even have time for dinner. So at first glance this almost-400 page book with its obvious philosophical leanings appears a little daunting. But dig in and you'll quickly see that it is not a book to be read in one concentrated time period, but rather taken a step at a time as a meditative process.
Each chapter is based on one of the 81 verses of the ancient Chinese wisdom and philosophy of the Tao Te Ching and beckons the reader to stop and think before moving on with his/her busy life. Dr. Dyer studied numerous translations of the Tao, meditated on his own interpretations, and observed how each verse influenced his thinking (and life) for the day. Each chapter begins with the actual verse from the Tao, followed by a title which summarizes the chief learning, followed by Dr. Dyer's comments and interpretations. Each chapter ends with a short instruction on a way to "Do the Tao Now." The instructions are deceptively simple ranging from thoughts to hold in your mind to actions you can take. Some actions can take all day (such as a suggested fast for a day); others can be done in minutes, such as expressing kindness toward another.
The notion that changing your thinking can change your life is found in almost all cultures and writings since early civilizations. This philosophy is at the heart of the most successful psychological treatments for depression, anxiety, and other disorders. The Tao provides one more example of this powerful philosophy, and Dr. Dyer nicely walks us through it.
If I had to summarize this book in one word it would be "peace.
Tao Te Ching..meaning Book of The Way, or book of the Word. One of the best books ever written. Or, if you read the author's insights in the preface, Book of the Way-ne Dye-r (adder of color and light) : )
If you are like most people, you may be wondering should I get this particular version, and how does it compare with other versions or his earlier book.
No matter how great a writer you think Wayne Dyer is, he did not write the Tao, yet his rendition is consistent with the best versions I have read. The difference between this and his earlier book, Living the wisdom of the Tao, being the short essays of several pages, offering insights on each verse.
Stephen Mitchell's version has worked best for me, and it has no essays. The Tao concepts bypass ego based thinking, and the idea of doing without doing yet getting things done allows a higher more authentic way of thinking to inform your being and your action. You can apply this wu wei (effortless action) principle anywhere.
One Jonathan Star version has Chinese symbols at the back, with multiple meanings of each symbol. This allows you to come up with your own version of the Tao, and would really open up your thinking on the Tao.
The Tao is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.
81 verses all less than one page. Like any great mystery, the Tao is there to be experienced and not necessarily understood. Here is a selection from verse 81 to illustrate the difference between different versions.
True words aren't eloquent;
Eloquent words aren't true;
Wise men don't need to prove their point;
Men who need to prove their point aren't wise.
Here is what Dyer writes.
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