I like to set routines, yet I am more of a spontaneous person. So even as I set routines, I know that I have allowance to break them. Does that make sense? For me to know the things I do daily things each day, make my bed , etc., there are some things that I believe to be important, but can be sidelined as necessary. Writing is one of those things. I love to move my pen in my journal and see where it takes me. Sometimes it is interesting and sometimes its routine.
One practice that serves me well and that I learned as a young person is to copy statements, paragraphs, even short books into my journal. Why? So I may glean the wisdom contained in the words, somehow as I write them, the energy expands into my being and comes more alive and the richness grows within me as a bright light.
This year I am revisiting the Tao. It was life changing for me many years ago when I first journeyed (journaled) my way through it. At that time, I chose Wayne Dyer’s translation and commentary, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life. My life at the time was undergoing a major transformation as I had left a very long marriage by choice. Many people judged me as crazy or menopausal, but I knew what I was doing was right for me and I walked step by step through a very tumultuous time. I told my children that I was digging deep to rediscover and build myself anew. I have not regretted the decision, although the now wiser self would have tweaked a few things.
As I muse, I also know I am still learning and growing. I love this part of life. We can always learn, grow, expand and become more than we thought possible. Often this occurs in the still, the silence, the mundane…just being. So, routine serves us well if we will allow it to do so. It is never too late to set up a wisdom practice. Along with writing out each verse of the Tao and my own comments, I am writing out the daily exercises from A Course in Miracles. There are 365 lessons and it will probably take me two years, not one year to write them out. So far I relate to many of the exercises. They are fairly simple and will be profound if you have done little inner work. They are intended to teach you to view life from a very different perspective, which is beyond the text book of modern education. I desire to see the world differently, do you?
I encourage you, to begin a wisdom practice if you haven’t already. Do something that creates wonder and awe in your life. Keep in mind in the still and quiet times, magic occurs. The magic is a spark, a seed, a hope, a dream that carries you through the mundane, the tumultuous, the tedious, the challenging times each day can hold. Developing a wisdom practice soon becomes a yearning, like being with a very good and wise friend.
The truth is to keep moving. If you get stuck in one concept, the truth dies. This is why I call this teaching the Integral Truth. Tzu, Lao. The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching and Hua Hu Ching . SevenStar Communications. Kindle Edition.
Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life is the end product of my yearlong journey of research, contemplation, and application of the Tao Te Ching, a book of wisdom that’s been translated more than any volume in the world, with the exception of the Bible. Many scholars consider this Chinese classic the ultimate discourse on the nature of existence; and it continues to be a valuable resource for achieving a way of life that guarantees integrity, joy, peace, and balance. Dyer, Dr. Wayne W.. Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao . Hay House, Inc. – A. Kindle Edition.
Julia Parsell is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor with an emphasis on the intersection of science and the sacred. She writes from experiences and transformative understandings that have led her to an authentic and peaceful life. She goes by these names: wife, daughter, grandmother, mother, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend. As home educator of her three children, she also developed/ran cafes, and maintained various leadership roles within her community. Her greatest desire is to encourage others to live life fully. Her passions are family, art creation, writing, and trail blazing. She is happily married in Western North Carolina.
