You may have heard the word “Tao” before, but have you ever wondered what it truly means? It may sound esoteric or like it’s the name of a religion, but Tao is something more fundamental that we interact with all the time. The word Tao literally means “way” or “path.” Philosophically, the Tao is life in the context of a natural order, including the natural laws by which life operates - but it is far more than a set of rules. As noted author Ilchi Lee says,
“It is the principle of life energy flowing behind all things in the cosmos, and it is ultimate wholeness…. Although it is all things in existence, the Tao is also the source and background that causes them to exist.”
Within the Tao, the vital energy of all life (Qi in Chinese, Ki in Korean) has a natural balance. The practical and beneficial applications of this Tao principle are still found today in many of the healing arts, martial arts, and related practices such as Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi, as humans seek to restore and achieve their own natural balance of life energy.
The most famous text about the Tao, titled Tao Te Ching, dates from about 2500 years ago, attributed to the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. In this text, Lao Tzu emphasized that the Tao can not be known intellectually. Then how can we know the Tao and apply its principles? Finally, Ilchi Lee has given us a modern interpretation and a practical guide for how to experience the Tao in our daily lives.
Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi founder Ilchi Lee’s book, Living Tao: Timeless Principles for Everyday Enlightenment, offers an in-depth exploration of the Tao. Rather than being a list of laws to memorize, it shows you, as the title suggests, how to live according to the Tao. Ilchi Lee reveals how to understand and apply the Tao to your life using the practices of a Korean Tao tradition called Sundo, as well as the practices he has developed over forty years of meditation and teaching self-development through body, mind, and energy.
Ilchi Lee emphasizes in this book that the Tao is not a theory that can be understood through intellectual knowledge. The Tao needs to be felt and experienced as life energy and oneness. The exercises in Living Tao help you feel the Tao. Then, by putting this feeling to work in your life, you can come to your realizations and open your eyes to the Tao at work in every aspect of not only your own life, but life in general.
Living Tao is organized into 12 lessons, which can be thought of as stations on a journey to self-realization through the Tao. These stations make you reflect on your birth, death, and everything in between. While your journey through the book may not take long, the journey through these 12 stations can be repeated again and again as you navigate your life's journey, and the book is always available for guidance. As your understanding and experience grow, what you gain from Living Tao deepens and expands simultaneously.
While Living Tao may seem like a serious book for serious spiritual seekers, even those who feel they are too busy trying to make ends meet and take care of their families can use it to make their lives a little easier. As you take in each lesson, or even a little piece of a lesson, you get a little more insight into how to understand your irritable teenager, how to be more creative at work, and how to focus on what’s important so that you have time for everything you need to do. You can also learn exercises to stay energized during the day and to get a good night's sleep, as well as learn how to resolve your feelings of frustration or anger in a productive way.
From Living Tao you can learn essential life skills, because within the study of the Tao are the fundamentals of living a harmonious life. When you live according to the laws of Nature, everything in life flows better for you and those around you. You may even find that Living Tao can help you remove whatever is holding you back from being your most whole, most vibrant self.
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Ilchi Lee is a New York Times bestselling author of over 40 books and an educator who helps people unlock the full potential of their brains. He developed Brain Education, a mind-body training method that allows each person to create their own health, happiness, and peace, of which his Body & Brain Yoga and Tai Chi is a part. Ilchi Lee is also a dedicated advocate for a peaceful and sustainable world, having founded the International Brain Education Association (IBREA), a non-profit organization with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC). He also founded the Benjamin School for Character Education for high school students, the Global Cyber University and the University of Brain Education.
You can get your copy of Living Tao here in the Body & Brain Shop.