What are some of the signals that we are shifting out of communion with our Lord God and into some ritual-of-the-mind, habit, or addictive behavior? At times like these, we go “unconscious.” This is usually most obvious “after” the fact when we look back on our behavior and it was not what we would have chosen from our highest and best or from Who We Really Are.

What would we look like if we spent our time “hooked up” with Spirit? If Spirit moved us? If Spirit filled us and acted us?

We would look as described in the 15th Chapter of the Tao Te Ching…

—The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive.

—The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.

—Because it is unfathomable,

—All we can do is describe their appearance.

—Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream.

—Alert, like men aware of danger.

—Courteous, like visiting guests.

—Yielding. like ice about to melt.

—Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood.

—Hollow, like caves.

—Opague, like muddy pools.

—Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?

—Who can remain still until the moment of action?

—Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.

—Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change.

Probably the clearest model for reality is holographic. In a hologram, each piece contains the whole.

The larger the piece, the more clarity. This applies to time as well as space. This means that each moment and each place contains within it all the moments of the universe — past and future. In like manner for space. Since space/time is one fabric with different qualities, we could simply describe it as What Is.

Advice from Christ, Buddha, Lao Ise and other mystic spirit mentors is consistent around the idea that less is more. Knowledge is increased by adding things, wisdom is increased by losing or dropping things.

To be described as the “ancient masters” the Tao would be:

Subtle: open to the next moment’s change, not committed or blindly running down some previously discerned path towards a perceived destination that may have since shifted.

Mysterious: hard to predict from external viewpoints. Subject to unfathomable motivations or directions.

Profound: obviously containing a depth that goes beyond the norm. Solutions, answers coming from deep, powerful and wonderful places.

Responsive: Response able. Awareness of constantly shifting needs in the environment and in people around me and able to shift my internal orientation to accommodate and adjust to those needs. To love fully and appropriately.

Unfathomable: Probably reference to the “emptiness” or “void” that field of infinite potentiality into which we can go in the moment of NOW. Deep within. If we don’t go within, we go without.

Watchful: Where are the rocks? Where the ice? Where is the strongest part of the snowbridge, undercut least by the stream?Watching for cracks or settling of the snow. Listening for changes in the sound of moving water beneath. Mesmerized by the beauty of the crystalline whiteness. We wish to continue moving, following our own flow above that of the cold stream below. To drop in and get stuck is to expend unnecessary effort for survival — jeopardizing the journey. Watch. Wait. Move forward. Move backward. Move around. Pick your path carefully.

Alert: All senses up like radar. The opposite of frozen with fear, this is flowing with alertness. For some reason, Smiling during the crux, enhances the relaxation reflex. Allowing your awareness to expand. Relying on all of your senses. The Buddhists include the Mind as a Sixth Sense. Go from Small Mind (of worry and anxiety) into Large Mind (of expanded awareness of surroundings and feelings)

Courteous: Humbly appreciative of that which has been provided by our Host as we sojourn on this planet this day and this moment. We extend simple courtesies to those around us realizing that we have no genuine ownership or familiarity and are simply guests in this time and place.

Yielding: There is great power in water and great resistance in ice. Unlike most substances, water’s solid form is less dense (and thus floats and forms from the top down, not the bottom up). The tiny hydrogen bonds and hexagonal structure give ice great strength. Strength to split granite. Ice about to melt is strength unhurriedly and gently giving way to action.

Simple: As it is. Can we look at the world and see it “as it is” without dressing it in dazzling raiment woven from the threads of past judgments and future concerns? We weave and spin these two threads into of fabrics of intrigue, meaning, and fear? Less is more. Simple is beautiful. The uncarved block has a purity, vibrancy and life unencumbered by Ego’s accoutrements. No hidden agendas.

Hollow: Empty. Open. Available. Able to be filled and fulfilled. A place for shelter from the storms of life.. A place to echo our feelings and thoughts. A place of safety from which to venture and return to rest. Profit comes from what is there, usefulness comes from what is not there.

Opague: Clarity is not a constant. When following the Tao, change and flow are the constant. From the outside perspective, things often need to settle before being able to see.

Heisenberg Principle. Once clarity is attained, the elusive Now of Change has of course moved on and we are simply left with the artifact — to discuss, catalog and embalm for our tomes.

Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?

Things are often not clear. Especially under the pressure of deadlines and anticipation. We have become a world that highly values productivity. I suspect because it has been tightly tied to self-esteem which is related to earning money for stuff and status. If we are to be more and more productive, then we need to work smarter, better and faster. We are so efficient that we often lose our effectiveness and do something 3 times in a hurry faster than we once did it the first time properly.

Who can remain still until the moment of action? Who can wait upon the Lord? Who can pray without ceasing? Who can then be moved by that praver and not merely jump-started by the ego and circumstances?

Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment. Fulfillment from what? Others’ opinions? For how long? What have you done for me lately? Oh, we long for something permanent. If we work hard to produce it from our splendid productivity, then its value is related to how long it lasts before change makes it irrelevant or even obsolete.

Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change. Not seeking permanence, they can go with the flow, enjoy the ride and the creations, without attaching to their permanent existence. So not being swayed by desire for change from “the way it is” to the “way it ought to be.”

Doing not-doing. Wei wu-wei. Acting as nature acts to do huge things. They are accomplished with many minute steps and then forgotten. In that way they last forever.