What are you thankful for? We have to thank ourselves for having the opportunity for learning and for having this freedom of choice and flexibility. See, today we have wisdom facing life, stress, crisis and opportunity, we are facing them, we are able to make choice, able to go beyond our reality and make choice. We must thank the Tao for making us have the ability for choice

Joy, gratitude and acceptance are all part of the same thing, it depends on your perception - how you look at it. Thanksgiving is the time that we learn to thank ourselves for making the choice to follow the path of the Tao; we make the choice to go beyond ordinary reality. Are you thanking yourself tonight? Or are you being entertained by life?

Only those who appreciate the self can learn to appreciate the joy of life. Be thanking the self, thank yourself for having the wisdom of making choice. Instead if entertained by the life, you are being controlled by stress, by desires, by the control of the emotions. Tao gives you wisdom, the key to the door. Tao give you the wisdom and the key to the door of happiness and joy, therefore, we need to give ourselves the credit and the appreciation and take the offer from the Tao to learn the wisdom of the Tao. For those who do not appreciate it, the phenomenon of the self, you will never learn the joy of life.

Have you ever given yourself the credit and appreciation for self existence? See, when you learn to thank yourself and appreciate your existence, you start to learn the abundance of joy, the profound love, mercy and compassion. When we learn to accept ourselves unconditionally without punishing the existence of ourselves, then we can advance the quality of life, the quality of self existence. We become much wiser, more compassionate persons. We make the choice when facing the crisis, we make much wiser choice from the internal wisdom.

Let’s give thanks to ourselves first before we give thanks to others, to the Tao. Thank Tao that we always make choice when we face crisis in life. We know we have freedom in making choice on path of Tao.

Do you know how many people on earth are making wrong choice or have no ability of making choice? Do you know how many people do not appreciate themselves, and never thank themselves? Never thank themselves for being in existence on earth?

That’s why it is a gift from the Tao that you are capable of making the right choice and capable of knowing that you can make a choice. I thank Tao every day that I can make choice, that I have fun making choice, and I have freedom of making choice. Would you do it, are you going to do it; to give thanks to the Tao, to give thanks to yourself?

The Tao is within everyone but the choice of whether to be entertained by life or to try to see more must be made by each individual. Know that life is a gift from the Tao already. That is worth thanking yourself for. Everybody should know that you are precious treasures of the Tao and that you have a purpose in this life - to enjoy this life and to find the way home. So before Thanksgiving is over meditate and thank yourself for having the ability to know the Tao. Tonight is the night we should give thanks to ourselves, to the Tao.

Shen is the third of the three Treasures of the Body. We have Shi Shen or post-heaven spirit, also sometimes called the intelligent mind, and we have Yuan Shen or original spirit, sometimes called intuitive mind. If we have a concept then the Shi Shen has been invoked so we have to let go of concept. Once you use your intelligence to come up with an answer, then your intelligence is already bringing up the answer and then your intelligent spirit is formulating the new answer. Am I right?

Inside the yin yang symbol there is an S line dividing Yin and Yang, dividing left side and right side. Do you think that line is a crystal clear divider? It’s a relative divider - each thing can be on either side depending on the comparison. Between Yin and Yang, right and wrong, there is no such thing as a clear divider. People try to use their judgment to determine what is right and wrong but this extreme judgment comes from their intelligent mind. This divider is not clear, it is a comparison, relative to
what is right and what is wrong. Just bear in your mind, whatever we talk about, try to make a point about it we are giving you a new concept, however we think about it, I am teaching you a new concept.

Each culture teaches a different way. Western culture seeks clear lines, Eastern culture asks each person to be open, flexible, the mind open not giving a permanent judgment for what is right or wrong, even giving that judgment knowing it could be completely wrong. The concept only describes the intelligence for the moment of the phenomenon, it cannot describe the reality for the past or future. So the judgment is a reflection of the intelligence only for that moment. But your mind does not agree, your intelligence took the judgment as permanent and as right or wrong and kills the flexibility. If you make the S line crystal clear, then it becomes a concept. Do not grab it as a final concept. Leave it flexible. Let spirit and mind make the decision rather than conscious mind make the decision.
You just need to learn to give yourself the flexibility and to not make the judgment permanent. It may take a long moment to make a judgment if you are over careful with that.

Being always comes from non-being, non-being is the stillness, being is the motion, non-being creates the being. Concept always comes from no-concept. We need to know that we are not the only person who make the right judgment or the wrong judgment; right or wrong is only a reflection of the judgment of the moment and may not reflect the true spirit of your heart. It’s just a new judgment to say “I must be detached", but at this moment are you aware that this is only representing this moment?

The Tao teaches each of us to be a mystical dragon that swims in the clouds, never able to see the whole. The mystical only shows a part of the dragon but when we let go, detach from it, we can sometimes see the whole dragon, but even then we should know that it is or could be total illusion. Indeed, only when you’re in the void do you see the whole dragon, but then when you see it you are no longer in the void - you are back in action.

So think about the life. No concept is no concept. How many of us try to make concept all the time and make that concept into a permanent judgment? It can often make it hard to look at things with fresh eyes. The mind try to make sense of life, we are judging through the five senses, the 5 senses misleading the true intelligence but our intelligence try to accept it and make a permanent judgment
out of it. When each one of us try to make sense of life, then each of our life comes into the motion
and we’re busy making sense out of it, judging it, one concept after another concept, then we have lost our ground. The ground that is letting go may not be true either. Remember, the S line should be a broken line, not a solid line. We do not allow for change. The laziness and stubbornness of mind prevents you being flexible and forces you into the concept formation. Intelligence often builds the blockage in the light of pursuing joy and happiness but our body is often fooled and not willing to let go of expectations and make change.

My master had made this analogy saying if you put a palm with five fingers and try to stop the flowing stream you cannot do it, your five fingers equal the five senses, and all the elements of nature can try to stop the floating mind. Actually such a huge percentage of the population do try very hard and believe that the five fingers floating palm can stop the flowing stream.

How many of you try to have your life in control and how many of you are willing to not have control in your life? Control is an illusion. What do you have control of? People who try to control their life
are strictly manipulated by their own fear of life. You see, that makes us very stubborn and a boring life. When you are in that kind of life, you get used to it and don’t want to make change. In order to have a new life, we have to break out of the “comfort zone” and make a new comfort zone. It can be uncomfortable, many people are not willing to make that change, they are there daydreaming of a new life, without effort. Without effort it is never easy to have a new balance or a new harmony of life;
the joy is not rising from the gut. They old ways of thinking have to change, the old concepts have to break, then the new harmony, the new concepts will be born. Indeed, it takes not only the willingness to make change, but also have to be happy and joyful to make change.

It’s always nicer to be a dragon that flies than to be a dinosaur that crawls or walks on the ground. Life should be in the flow, not stopped by a blockage of your thinking, by the concept about your life, rather break the illusions and welcome the change - produce happiness and joy. When we make change, when there is a change that happens in you in the spiritual world, when the spirits arise and a new spirit come in you, it makes you confused and not thinking straight and not able to make the old judgments. At this point do not let the new intelligence scare you. The new concept of that moment will be formed only when you are willing to accept the change and welcome the change and be happy with the change. That change means when the spirit changes, when we make the change it is our spirit that has changed and our new spirit, we must make peace with it and make harmony with it. Which I often describe: when we buy a new pair of leather shoes, the first few days they hurt our feet but after those days they turn out to be very efficient and comfortable shoes that make our feet very happy.

Don’t let your intelligence fool your wisdom, Let your original spirit make decisions, rather than continuing with the old concepts and fear of making change. When the new concept form into a new concept, then that one eventually becomes an old one, then let your mind be in the flow and know that no concept is the concept. Like trying to learn Mandarin - at first scary, foreign, can’t tell where one word ends and another begins, then it gets easier.

Do you know it is always more exciting riding on the true dragon than on the old dinosaur. Change never flows too fast, only too slow. Between Yin and Yang there is no crystal clear line to divide the two sides, then you should know that between your spirit there is no crystal clear border line either.
Let your pre-heaven spirit take charge rather than the post-heaven spirit taking charge. No crystal border between body and spirit. Pre-heaven spirit is one before your birth - while you are still in fetus,
your post-heaven spirit begins to form after birth and you take in your first breath and milk. Post-heaven spirit is your intelligent spirit. Hope you get some understanding that no concept is good concept. Life turns out more smooth and more fun eventually.

I am delighted to share this Taoist concept with you, now just find the balance in contradiction and just go deeper.

When someone asks you “Who are you? What are you doing for living?” How would you answer? Many people do lock in to certain identities in their life time, or perhaps would just answer their name. Be a single identity, or be a whole. Which side is your hand? I am or I am not? Why people do track on the “I am” or say “I am not"? Because they identify with their ego.

These day many people study spirituality like a child in the candy shop. People don’t have a clue what is the Tao, it is so sad to see.

The Tao comes with two side as a whole, you see and not see, you are and you aren’t. You don’t have a need to take side. Am and am not. When you are: “I am", you are others too. Leave all the possibility open. Why can’t we be the all we can be and don’t attach to any of them. We are one with the Tao. Am and am not are two side of the Tao. Can you go beyond the “I am"? Do you still hold that “need"?

What is the purpose of the life? In or out of the circle? Free of the circle, free of the choice. Return to the home, be free. Life is a game, play the damn good game. Am and am not, take them all.

I hope you all understand the Tao by now. Confucius said: “I heard the Tao in the morning, I can die now in the evening”

Do you get it?

Things always have two sides: beauty and ugly, motion and stillness, happiness and sadness, white and black, past and future. These two sides are the unit of the one whole. Through comparison, to identify one or the other, there is a difference between humans and God. God does not see two sides. Humans see a difference while God sees the unity and beyond. We see the world with intelligence. God sees the world with compassion and love. Ying and Yang is the unity of Tao. My master tells me that when a musician plays to a cow without appreciation of the cow he is not a musician but just an ordinary man. You can’t separate yourself from the world. Loving and respecting your enemy is equal to loving and respecting yourself. Balance and harmony is the true purpose of life. We seek unity from the contradiction rather than finding disunity. Enlightening the devil to see the love is better in every way than to try to kill the devil. Enlightening the devil to find the light within is more powerful than any technique to kill the devil.

Whenever you take a side on an issue, without being aware of it, you are already in trouble. Look dialectically to see both sides. Emit Qi to dissolve blocks, germs and virus. Balance the germ and it vanishes. Balance the argument and it vanishes. You must have a passion for solving the puzzle to balance and return to Tao. Balance and vanish! Don’t get hung up on results, walk away without taking credit. Before you take action, be still to listen to the body. Look inside! When you return to the stillness and become quiet, often an issue disperses. Do not label things; it is merely Tao giving opportunity for internal reflection.

A coin has three sides. If you can’t find the second side then surely you will never find the third side. Do not attach yourself to a concept. Something that you possess can eventually possess you if you are not careful. Give the freedom of love, space! Do not attach judgments. The principle is not the absolute truth. Even Taoist principle is not the absolute. That which can be described is not Tao.

Autumn: Autumn has three months. The Qi is very strong. The grass and wood are naturally mature. It is the naturally mature harvest season. Golden wind slowly is coming. The Qi is getting stronger and more aggressive, the wind is getting stronger and more aggressive. The temperature from the summer is gone. The earth, she is getting a little more purified. In this season humans must get up when the rooster crows, and go to sleep when the skies get dark and keep the mind and intent or ambitions in peace. Turn the spirit inward to consolidate Jing & Qi. Not getting impatient but getting peace. Therefore balancing the violence energy in the Autumn. The universe has some kind of violence killing energy in the autumn. That is why in the autumn time the leaves drop, the crops mature to be harvested; those are the universal “violent” or “killing” energies. We need to get smooth between the human and universe to turn the Jing, Qi inward; harmonize and weaken our ambitions to turn the Jing and Qi inward and not to get impatient and therefore we can get smooth with the autumn’s special character of the Qi. The intent do not go outward, so the Qi of the lung is getting more harmony and this is to accommodate the nature of the autumn. We need to be harvesting the autumn’s energy. If we disobey the autumn’s harvesting and resting Qi then the lung energy cannot be collected and then the lung will get too dry and depressed and will become disease. As soon as the lung gets disease in the autumn it will contribute to getting disease for the winter. If you don’t have a good harvest in the autumn, then you decrease the ability to contribute the energy to the winter to help winter hibernating and nurturing energy. So this is what the autumn three months energy.

Winter: In the winter three months, the 10,000 things on earth start hibernating, close the gate and hide. This is the season for 10,000 things to hibernate, closing and hiding. The water becomes ice. The earth breaks down because it is frozen at this time. It is important not to disturb the Yang Qi in the human body. We need to go to sleep early and get up late. Get up after the sun rises, go to sleep after the sundown. Make it intent and ambition, just like hibernating and hiding. At this season it is important to eat nice food and take care of the nutrition. Avoid the cold food and eat more warm food. Do not let the skin be exposed right to the cold, and do not let it sweat right into the cold air. As long as we hide the Yang Qi, not to disperse it outward, this should harmonize with the winter’s nurturing and hiding character. If we disobey with winter’s Qi, then kidney Qi will not be able to hibernate and will be sinking and then function will decrease. As soon as come to the spring it will become disease because the hibernating nourishing function will supply a very weak foundation for the spring, to help spring to grow and nourish. In the winter time when you are collecting or hibernating too little and spending too much of the energy, then when you come to spring you do not have enough energy to supply the organ Qi to create and develop.

As long as we understand the season’s character, we go with season and find harmony with season, resting or nourishing, following what is nature. We are not to cure disease but to prevent disease. As long as we learn the character of the seasons and learn to preserve and nourish life according to the different season then we will live in harmony with the universe. Internal and external harmony, internal and external environment, getting harmony that enable us to have a strong quantity and quality of Jing, Qi and Shen and therefore we live healthy longevity.