 A Taoist story tells of an old man who accidentally fell into a river and was sucked by the river rapids to the bottom of the river, completely out of sight. Onlookers feared for his life and rushed down to the riverbank, trying to see him. Miraculously, as they ran down a riverbend, they came to a shallow section and they found the old man, walking out, completely unscathed. The people all rushed to his side and asked him how he managed to survive. The man looked at them, ringing out a shirt and simply said, I became one with the water, instead of trying to force the water to do what I wanted it to. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. I surrendered to the flow, which ebbed up and down naturally. This is how I survived. Now, naturally, we don't recommend that you jump in some rapids and take this literally just to try it out, but this parable does have some great insights if you know how to apply it. Many times, spiritual people spend their lives swimming upstream, fighting a powerful current in their attempts to be holy and live the way they believe their God will find pleasing, or that they think is an alignment with their true self. After some time, many of these people will get tired in their efforts to maintain what they believe are holy, righteous lives and will often give up. Whenever we go against the grain, we're not only having to put the effort into succeed, but also to push back against friction and resistance, which makes our job twice as hard. If instead you take a second to see the direction things are moving naturally and adjust yourself to that, you'll gently flow with the current. It's also interesting to see that the old man ebbs up and down with the flow of the river, as we should remember that flow doesn't always go in one direction. Life is more of a push and pull, yin and yang than a straight path, and while we often think going down or backwards is a bad thing, following her medic laws, everything is cyclical, and it's only later that you'll look back and recognize that the whole process was ultimately beneficial, even the part of being dragged under the current. A lot of Taoist parables mention flowing water and rivers, mostly in metaphors for the flow of life itself. However, as water naturally flows around obstacles, viewing the situations in our lives as obstacles is an expression of judgment. Instead, perhaps by surrendering to the flow of life, we flow with the stream of the Tao, and our attitude becomes one of non-judgment, which like the water allows us to flow unobstructed and freely, no matter what the situation. Now, it's important to say I don't think that this means turning the other cheek or becoming a doormat as a reaction to events in life, but instead, the lesson of this parable seems to lie in being proactive in life, following the natural order of things, solving problems by not creating them in the first place, by not forcing one's way against the flow of the river, and letting it naturally carry you to your exit point with grace. A young student approached his guru one day and said, Master, you have spoken so much about karma, but I do not yet understand it. How can I truly learn? The guru smiled and gestured for the student to follow. The two walked silently to the edge of the village where workers were busily engaged in making bricks for a house. The two stood and watched the activity of the brickmakers for some time, and the guru asked, Now, do you understand karma? No, Master, the student replied. The guru paused and slowly nodded his head. He cleared his throat. What are the workers doing? Making bricks, the student responded. Very good. And what happens to the bricks once they're made? Asked the guru. They're put in the stack, the student said. And then, the guru asked. Well, they're used to build a house, the student responded. Getting more agitated because he could not see what a single brick had to do with karma. The exchange continued, elaborating on every step of how and where the bricks were made until finally the guru sighed and turned to a student. He leaned over and picked up a freshly made brick and handed it to the youth. Here, carry this brick with you everywhere you go. Do not put it down under any circumstances. Do you understand? Yes, said the student. Good, returned to me with the same brick in a year's time, exclaimed the guru. A year later to the day, the student returned brick in hand to the guru. The youth was barely able to contain his frustration. Master, I have done exactly as you told me. I have carried this brick with me everywhere and it has nothing more than caused aggravation and a nuisance among several other things I will not mention in your holy presence. And I have learned nothing at all about karma. The guru chuckled. Did you set the brick down at any time? He asked. No, master, I carried it everywhere. The student exclaimed. The guru smiled. Ah, now do you understand karma? Karma is one of those things in the West that is seldom understood truly, as it has been passed down to us through translation after translation. While the basic understanding states that whatever we do will eventually return to us, the actual philosophy is much deeper rooted. This parable speaks to the burdens and choices we carry with us and how they can affect us in later life if we don't take time to work through them. Just as the tiny brick is used to make the foundation of a house, even the smallest and most seemingly insignificant event or act can have huge effects on our future and lives if we aren't aware. Perhaps this parable even speaks to the cyclical nature of the universe. Maybe there's an echo here of the whole holding onto a glass idea, where initially a glass of water is easy to pick up, but the longer that you hold onto it, the heavier it seems to become to us. Perhaps even the smallest of choices that we make can be carried with us for long times. Now, the student could have put the brick down at any time, but they remained true to their word and hopefully learned the lesson the guru was teaching. While karma is often presented as something we carry over between lifetimes, perhaps the silver lining here is that maybe clearing our karmic baggage is as easy as choosing to let go of the brick. And by letting go, we simply become part of a new cycle. A hermit was meditating by a river when a young man interrupted him. Master, I wish to become your disciple, said the young man. Hmm, why? The hermit asked. Well, like, you know, to find God and stuff, I guess, the young man responded. The hermit jumped up, grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck and then dragged him into the river and plunged his head under the water. After holding him there for half a minute with him kicking and struggling to come back up, the hermit finally pulled him out of the river. The young man coughed up water and gasped to catch his breath. And then the hermit asked, tell me, what did you want more than anything when you were underwater? Air gasped the man very well. Go home, said the hermit, and come back to me when you want God as much as you just wanted air. Now, I gotta be real with you, this should be called the parable of the brutal hermit, I'll tell you that much. While we can mostly agree the methods probably aren't the best way to teach someone, poor guy probably has aquafobia now. The hermit does make a very good point. Spirituality is a lifestyle. It's a way of living life in alignment with your true self, being connected to the core of your being and the world around you. It isn't just something that you can turn off or on when it suits you. Many people who start on a spiritual journey may eventually become disillusioned with it because they find it isn't really an alignment with them or their core values, or it just isn't what they imagined. In many cases, people sometimes want something but are afraid to give something else up in order to achieve it. As such, people often miss the simple truth of a spiritual path. I don't meditate to gain anything, I meditate to lose it. Contrary to what many religions may say, if you want to find God bad enough, you don't need someone else's help, but to find true wisdom, you must go after it with the same desperation as wanting air. Because in the way are many obstacles keeping you from actually finding it and applying it to life. But once you do find it and apply it, the cultivation of wisdom leads to inner peace, purposeful living, and relationships that work. But most of all, it leads to freedom. Once upon a time, Jesus approached a town on his journey. Word had spread of his arrival and soon a great crowd came together around him. And people not only from this town, but the next town also. And as they listened to his words, he said in a parable, Listen, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground and immediately they sprang up. And when the sun rose, they were scorched since they had no root and withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them, yielding no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding 30-fold and 60-fold and 100-fold. And so, he who has the ears to hear, let him hear. Now, this is one of the most famous parables from Jesus' teachings, who explains himself that the seed is the wisdom, truth, and love in each and every heart. The seeds that fell along the path and were trodden underfoot or consumed by the birds of the air are those who have received the truth in their hearts, but they do not grow because the busyness of life consumes the mind and the seeds disappear from memory and the truth is not heard any longer. And the seeds that fell on the rocks are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy and grow enthusiastically. But these have no roots. They believe it for a while, but when they are asked to ground what they have received, they fall away. And as for what fell among thorns, they are those who hear the wisdom, but as they go along their way, they are suffocated by the pressures, riches, and self-indulgent distractions of life, and their fruit simply does not mature. But the seed who is planted on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it, fully believes in it and nurtures it within them. This is the one who produces a crop yielding 30, 60, or even 100 times what was sown. In other words, where you put your effort, where you plant your heart, your bodies and minds, cause and effect of your creations. While this parable is used often as a discussion on the importance of the gospel, which is a valid interpretation, even non-Christians can interpret it in their own way and find value in the wisdom, as is the case with many teachings. Jesus often said that he taught in parables because people were opposed to his direct teachings. Even if he were to take the tale at face value and see the seeds as wisdom or intentions rather than the word of the gospel, the underlying message is the same. Sometimes all that's needed for truth and wisdom to prosper in an environment is a belief that it can, but even then the truth will only enlighten those who believe in it. Ultimately, whatever walk of life you come from, this parable teaches us to be purposeful with everything that we do, every thought that you think, take it as a chance to plant your own wisdom and truth in good soil, and the kingdom of heaven will be beholden unto you, whatever form that may take. Shortly after telling the parable of the sower and the seeds, Jesus came across a man possessed by demons and healed his illnesses. But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, It is only by Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons that this man drives out demons, Christ turned and called to them, and when they came close he stated with a parable, Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself, how then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? While this parable is evidently Christian in nature and serves to show the power of God, the central idea of unifying your own kingdom also has great value in itself. Throughout our daily lives, many of us attempt to multitask far too often. We'll go 100 miles an hour and attempt to do 100 different things at once, sometimes because we believe we only have so much time in the day or gain something by completing our tasks. However, multitasking in such a way always inevitably makes us exhausted. By splitting our attention between multiple tasks, we divide ourselves into different pieces that are all clamoring for our undivided attention. Whether it be in your professional, personal or spiritual lives, we do have a tendency to spread ourselves too thin, put our foot in too many doors and divide ourselves up into too many pieces. And while this has become somewhat normal in society today, it doesn't mean it's safe to stay that way. Jesus' discussion of a kingdom also doesn't necessarily refer to the kingdom of heaven or hell here, although of course it still does in the bigger picture, but it can also speak to your own personal domain. Historically, a house could mean your home, sure, but it can also be used to refer to your family, legacy or dynasty, and in more modern times can be thought of as your own life and personal reality. In which case, the parable speaks to unifying the various aspects of your life, especially at the foundations. If your house remains split and divided among 100 different things, it will crumble again and again no matter how hard you try to keep it all together. In other words, in order to create a meaningful life and experience, your goals, actions, words and activities should be in alignment with your truest goals and aspirations, the inner Christ consciousness, and they should all fall under one roof. If your actions or beliefs aren't in line or unified with your goals and hopes and dreams and wishes, you'll end up going round and round in circles until your life eventually falls apart, needing to be rebuilt. However, if you take the time throughout your day to step back and take a moment of quiet to reflect on your goals and yourself, then to quote Matthew 725, the rain will fall, the rivers will rise, and the winds will blow and pound the house, yet it will not collapse. One day, Zhuang Zha and a friend were walking by the river. Look at the fish swimming about, said Zhuang Zha. They are really enjoying themselves. You're not a fish, replied his friend. There's no way that you could truly know that they're enjoying themselves. You are not me, replied Zhuang Zha. So how could you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves? I am not you, to be sure, replied his friend. So of course I don't know about you, but you are obviously not a fish, so the case is complete. You do not know that the fish are happy. Zhuang Zha smiled. Let's go back to the beginning. You said, how do you know the fish are happy, but in asking me this, you already knew that I know it. I know it right here, above this river. This parable comes to us from a book of Zhuang Zha, one of the two foundational texts of Taoism that contains stories that exemplify the carefree nature of the ideal Taoist sage. While the exact point or lesson isn't always clear, it's thought that the tale is a discussion about the nature of knowledge. Everyone we meet in the world may have a different view of life, having different subjective knowledge and experience. However, if knowledge comes through experience and learning, is there such a thing as true or objective understanding? The point seems to be that knowing a thing is simply a state of mind, and that it isn't really possible to determine if that knowing has any objective validity by looking at it outside of ourselves, as all understanding is ultimately experiential. Zhuang Zha often beautifully concludes this tale by saying, I know the joy of fishes in the river through my own joy as I go walking along the same river. After all, even modern science today is simply a collection of atoms trying to understand themselves through direct experience. As some scholars of Taoist texts have pointed out, this tale is a great example of Zhuang Zha's wisdom and written mastery, as he is said to use reason to make an anti-rationalist point. The alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus. The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the Narcissus. But this was not how the author of the book ended the story. The author told that when Narcissus died, the goddess of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been freshwater, transformed into a lake of salty tears. Why do you weep? the goddess asked. I weep for Narcissus, the lake replied. Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus, the goddess said. For though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand. But was Narcissus beautiful? the lake asked. Who better to know that than you? the goddess said in wonder. After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself. The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said, I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that he was beautiful. I weep because each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see in the depths of his eyes my own beauty reflected. What a lovely story, the alchemist thought. This modern version of the Greek myth finds its place in the prologue of Coelos, the alchemist, and holds a message on the importance of self-love, our interconnection, and the reflective nature of that which we call reality. While the original myth was pretty dramatic, with Narcissus killing himself because he couldn't get his own reflection to love him back, and then turning into a daffodil, so metal, I know. This version expertly shifts the focus, showing us that when we love ourselves, it shines through us, and that love can bring others to feel the same. Many times we can't see our own importance, as we go through life day after day just trying to get by, and get caught up in other people's perceptions of us. And it isn't really until someone else points out how important we are to them, that we actually realize it. Sometimes the key to understanding ourselves lies in seeing how we are reflected in another, and by acknowledging other perspectives than our own, we come to an even greater realization of our true and beautiful nature. You see, Narcissus enjoying his beauty wasn't wrong, and in fact, we might argue, based on what the lake said at the end, that Narcissus wasn't even enjoying his own beauty, but the beauty of the lake moving through him. On the other hand, his love also allowed the lake to see its own beauty, and the dance of the soul between man and nature becoming intertwined. For this idea we can dive deeper, asking the question, was it wrong for Narcissus to become so enamored that he killed himself in the process? What if, from a spiritual perspective, this version of the story is truly about the soul of Narcissus merging with the soul of nature? It's interesting then that on the surface level, it is viewed purely about being narcissistic, which, of course, is where we get the word from at all. Should Narcissus have been less than what he was? No, but I suppose that had he not been so enamored by the lake and his reflection, he could have found a way to give others the same loving reflection that he gave to the lake. Ultimately, this parable teaches us not only that balanced self-worth is vital, but also that our reality, no matter what perspective we take, is still a reflection of our own inner self, and that if you allow yourself to see the beauty in all things, you might as well see it in yourself too. A boy went on a journey to seek the wisest man in the land, seeking the secret of happiness. Upon arriving at his home, the boy found a hive of activity. Tradesmen came and went, people were conversing, and a small orchestra was playing soft music. When he approached, the wise man listened to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but responded that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours. However, before the boy departed, the wise man handed him a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill. The boy began to move throughout the many rooms of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was, who promptly asked, well, did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining hall, the garden that took the master gardener 10 years to create, or the beautiful parchments in my library? The boy was embarrassed and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been to not spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him. Then go back and observe the marvels of my world, said the wise man. You cannot trust a man if you do not know his house. Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the marvels that the wise man had suggested. And upon returning at last, he related in detail everything that had been seen. But where are the drops of oil that I entrusted to you? Asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon, he saw that the oil was gone. Well, there's only one piece of advice I can give you, said the wise man. The secret to happiness is to see all of the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon. This parable seemingly speaks to living in balance with our approach to life. While at first it seems like a contradiction, with the wise man sending the boy off on a journey, only to change the reasoning each time, there is evidently much to be seen in the world. But this tale teaches us that we must not lose sight of our primary responsibilities in life while doing so. When the boy doesn't spill the oil, he becomes consumed by it and misses everything around him, missing the beauty of the world. If he is spilling the oil, he's losing sight of his original goal, losing focus because of the things he sees in the world as he moves about. As he becomes distracted by the amazing wonders around him, he loses sight of his purpose and will wander aimlessly. But at the same time, if he focuses too much on the oil, he loses that sense of amazement and wonder that the world can bring. For us, if we were to go about our goals in life mindfully, we would always have time to appreciate the world around us. As in the end, our experiences and memories will be what remain. If however we focus only on a single goal and ignore the wider world, then we might rush through life and forget about the journey itself. In other words, this parable teaches us to balance the big picture and small details of our lives and enjoy our surroundings while accomplishing our goals. Enjoy and experience everything the world has to offer and have fun. But never forget the reason you're on your path. Go about your goals mindfully and always put the most important thing in your life today at the top of your to-do list.