The wisdom of Lao Tzu meets Pooh

Uusally the deepest and insightful stories come about the nature of reality to us the most playful of ways. I love the story of 'The Vinegar Tasters'. It offers three distinctive perspectives on life and profound insight into perception and awareness. An excellent metaphor!
So which vinegar taster are you?

Here is an entertaining excerpt from Benjamin Hoff's 'Tao of Pooh'...

Walking an authentic path in life
Walking an authentic path in life can often be confusing. We might at times find ourselves torn whilst swirling in the torrent of life's choices. How do we navigate the path and unleash our true beingness? The following story, originally by Chuang Tzu, offers a profound metaphor for life and the true nature of what it means to 'go with the flow'. Essential reading for all awakened souls...

Learning through adversity
I've faced many challenging and difficult situations in my life. It seems prior to awakening, my life was nothing but struggle through adversity: continually confronting and overcoming challenges. Since awakening, many things have changed. I've learned the art of divinely surrendering to the flow. Of accepting life as it really is. Has this made life any easier? Not at all! I love the complexity, challenge and opportunities in life; the chance to learn and grow. Overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles is what stirs our blood. Whether man or woman, cultivating the warrior spirit can be of great service to us all...

Past lives unveiled
I'd never been interested in past lives. Nor had I found compulsion to remember what I'd experienced before this life time. Yet beneath me echoed a medlodic chant of the past. There were always whispers of the joys and suffering of lives forgotten to me. Having consistently peeled away that which no longer served my evolution, I trusted that those aspects of me that I needed to remember would be unveiled, if and when, the time was right...

What does success mean to you?
This question is likely to invoke as many different answers as there are shades of colour on a bright summers day! For me, success means: whether I have, in any given moment, followed the calling of my soul. If I can rest my head upon my pillow each night, knowing that I have been the ‘me’ to best of my ability then I have fared well. If I have embraced the lessons that universe has given me, especially the most challenging ones, with profound self honesty and humility then I could not ask for anything more...

To trust or not to trust?
Do you trust that if you do exactly what your soul is guiding you to do, you'll be in exactly the right place at the right time and get exactly what you need to be who you truly are? Do you trust enough to do what you are 'meant' to do?

The world is in pretty uncertain times. If we look throughout history, we've undergone huge transition periods through different eras.
Unthinkable things have caught unsuspecting people off guard, heart-wrenching their lives. Throughout the ages, royalty has been overthrown, good men, women and children have been enslaved, currency rendered useless, war, disease and famine have wreaked havoc. This list is endless. What makes us so different now?...

Do you consider yourself an Energy Worker or Light Warrior?
There are countless of you dotted around out there in the world, unveiling who you are, shining the light, making a difference in this crazy, magical consciousness evolution. It helps doesn't it when someone recognises you? - just for a moment. It helps to share in your trials and tribulations, your sorrow and pain, your joy and your passion. It creates an energy loop which speaks to the core of your being and lights it up. That's what this wonderful poem does for me. It recognises my passion and gives it wings...

A great deal is spoken of in spiritual texts and musings about the Chakras and exactly what their purpose is. Here at Openhand, we view them as 'consciousness exchange points' where Unity Consciousness as the soul infuses with Separation Consciousness as the bodymind. Our lives are greatly affected and influenced by our relative level of vibration within these crucial consciousness centres. Understanding and exploring them will have a profoundly beneficial impact. Here is an extract from Five Gateways offering a perspective on their functions and purpose...

Stilling the busy mind from incessant chatter creates breathing space for the soul to flood in. When the soul floods in, we catalyse our spiritual evolution. The wisdom of Higher Consciousness can then flow through to inspire our every waking moment.

Stilling the mind (or not)
Have you ever tried to still the mind? The conversation we have with ourselves might go something like this...

Birds of a feather or feathers off the same bird?
We've been receiving many questions of late concerning the subject of soul mates. It seems many are out to find their "ideal" partner in life. So what's it all about? Do we meet on a dreamy white cloud and sail off into an eternal sunset whilst cherubims play their sweet soul music? Or is there a bit more to it than that? Both Trinity and myself are soul mates who have joined in union in this incarnation to help one another. We felt compelled to write this joint article which you might like to read if the subject interests you...