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Cosmic Fusion
In the Taoist view, attachment and detachment are not to be
seen as opposites, which exclude each other. What may be useful
and functional in one stage of life, in one particular situation or
moment, may well lose its functionality at another time. This explains
why Taoists question the usefulness of externally induced
and pre-arranged moral codes. Instead , they value, above all, selfcultivation
in learning to act in harmony with what is inwardly experienced
as genuine and truthful, because it is in tune with the universe
in us.
The training in such an attitude in which one frees oneself from
fixed rules imposed and determined from outside and one consults
one’s own body and inner feeling, creates both freedom and
flexibility. It helps to avoid being trapped in positions which undermine
the capacity to trust oneself, and at the same time raises
self-esteem.
In the process of genuine self-reflection and the growth of selfawareness,
you learn to look at yourself and your inner life from a
distance and as a neutral witness, rather than as a judge. As a
result, you grow into a spirit of inner freedom and you learn to look
at yourself with a sense of relativity and even with a sense of humor.
At the point you are able to truly smile at yourself and have
reached the point you can forgive yourself, wisdom is dawning and
the knots which you felt were in your way are in the process of
dissolving, to create space for new and fresh energy.
Going with the Flow
This view on going with the flow in the universe and within yourself
is also the basic principle underlying and inspiring the ancient Taoist
arts of self defense. In Tai Chi no position is fixed and the body
enters into a continuous flow of movements, as life is movement
and in the movement to become one with the universe and its energies
and forces one becomes invulnerable. The power gained in
the martial arts is not an external but an internal one; it is generated
by the process of alignment. It is this alignment through which the
body is empowered from below and above and the power can flow
from the center.
If you have no center, you can be easily pushed around. A person
who is centered has an internal balance. He is more free from
external influences and less fearful and suspicious of others, as
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