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Skip links Skip to content Skip to primary sidebar CenterTao.org taoism, taoist thought, buddha, yoga, tai chi, shakuhachi Header Right Home Tao Te Ching Ways Facebook Group Taoist Thought Finally it’s done! Like the Tao Te Ching’s “A tree barely embraceable grows from a fine tip” [#64], this project began nearly 60 years ago. Now, perhaps it may serve as a “fine tip” to help you approach what chapter 16 describes as “Nearly rising beyond oneself”. Continue reading… May 13, 2020 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations The Tradeoff Jñāna yoga Many of us find life very troubling at times. Knowing how humanity got to where it is today and what to do about it can put to rest many puzzling and disturbing aspects of life. Jñāna yoga is a spiritual practice that pursues knowledge with questions such as “who am I, what am […] Continue reading… Jan 4, 2017 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life Buddha’s Truths apply to all Earth’s creatures, although only humans need to have truth stipulated. For me, this suggests that our desire for truth is a symptom of something we feel missing. For that reason, considering the widest possible scope of these truths gives helpful context for their application – ‘profound sameness’, as chapter 56 […] Continue reading… May 30, 2016 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: balance , Buddha , civilization , fear , future , hunter gatherer , need , pleasure v pain , religion , thinking Trump and the Mandate of Heaven To better comprehend the Trump phenomenon, I need to examine it from a symptoms point of view (1). After all, judging circumstances at face value leaves out all the underlying causative forces at play, and this just perpetuates my ignorance. First off, I see Donald Trump as mostly symptomatic of the devolution of the cooperative […] Continue reading… Mar 4, 2016 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: Buddha , civilization , competition , donanld trump , economics , hunter gatherer , mandate of heaven , politics , sub-tribes , survival , symptoms point of view Refreshing Redundancy Research reported in Science News, That familiar feeling comes from deep in the brain, sheds light on a cognitive problem for anyone who wants to remember their life priorities. This quote sums it up, “The research suggests that novelty and familiarity are two sides of the same brain cells. Turn them down, and even the […] Continue reading… Jan 14, 2016 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations , Times of Yore Tagged With: civilization , hunter gatherer , mysterious sameness , old news , Profound Redundancy , Taoist Thought Volume 1 & 2 The Year Is 1915 This brief retrospective came across my screen recently. It can be profoundly sobering to see how much life has changed over the past 100 years. Such rapid change is unprecedented in human history, or almost any history that comes to mind. Continue reading… Dec 20, 2015 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Tao Tips Tagged With: change , civilization , electic revolution , history , science We All Know We Don’t Know I enjoy doing yoga on the beach because I can easily pause to look seaward and skyward to soak in eternity, or glance closer in to bond’ with my friends, the sand flies and the seagulls around me. Today I got to thinking how small and insignificant we are — they and me. Then I […] Continue reading… Nov 20, 2015 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: balance , civilization , ego , Electric Revolution , emotion , enlightenment , evolution , hunter gatherer , instinct , knowing , mysterious sameness , placebo , religion , symptoms point of view , thinking Who are you? (Part V) It’s about time I wrap up this “Who are you?” series. This time I’ll use a few observations from Lorna Marshall‘s research of hunter-gatherers to demonstrate what I’m really driving at. In my last post, Who are you? (Part IV), I pointed out how our ancestral old way just happens to mirror the core spiritual […] Continue reading… Oct 5, 2015 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: civilization , emergent property , hunter gatherer , Kung of Nyae Nyae , Lorna Marshall Who are you? (Part IV) The social qualities integral to our ancestral hunter-gatherer old way (1) just happen to mirror the core “spiritual” qualities that the world’s religions promote. That’s no coincidence. Indeed, those innate qualities of harmony we now seek are the very ones we lost when we left the old way for the alluring material benefits and security […] Continue reading… Sep 14, 2015 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: belief , Buddha , civilization , desire , fear , hunter gatherer , knowing , need , religion , worry Who are you? (Part III) Recent posts, Who are you? and Who are you? (Part II), examine the losses of emotional security and comfort caused when our civilized way of life replaced our ancestral one. Common sense, personal experience, and timely mid 20th century ethnographic research reveals this. (See The Harmless People) This post and the next cover some thoughts […] Continue reading… Aug 1, 2015 by Carl Abbott Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: Agricultural Revolution , civilization , comfort and security , Electric Revolution , evolution , family , history , meta-story , religion , symptoms point of view , the old way , thinking Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 … Page 32 Next Page » Primary Sidebar Subscribe via Email Receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address Subscribe Latest Chapter Post Monthly Chapter 4 (pandemic era) Continue reading… See all monthly chapters Who is CenterTao? CenterTao is a non-profit corporation founded in 1982. Read more... Overview CenterTao focuses on the why, what, and how of life. Read more… "Knowing doesn’t speak; speaking doesn’t know." Read more… Join the Discussion! Add your observation on the Forum , or visit CenterTao Group on Facebook . Search Search this website Categories Categories Select Category Monthly Chapter Series (75) Observations (296) Old Chapters (1) Tao Tips (17) Times of Yore (72) Tags balance belief bio-hoodwink blind spot Buddha children civilization consciousness correlations desire ego emergent property fairness instinct family fear food freedom freewill future happy hunter gatherer imagination independance instinct knowing language learning mind mountains out of molehills mysterious sameness need parents pleasure v pain religion responsibility science stress symptoms point of view tai chi tao thinking understanding what is tao worry yoga Recent Comments Dhyananda Sadhu on So, You Want Enlightenment, Eh? Carl Abbott on Monthly Chapter 72 (Pandemic special) Michael Lewis on Monthly Chapter 72 (Pandemic special) Carl Abbott on The Tradeoff Grant Shalks on The Tradeoff Carl Abbott on Monthly Chapter: 38 Carl Abbott on Cultivating Ego Thomas on Monthly Chapter: 38 Mark on We All Know We Don’t Know Carl Abbott on Suicide Just Doesn’t Work Past Observations Taoist Thought The Tradeoff Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life Trump and the Mandate of Heaven Refreshing Redundancy The Year Is 1915 We All Know We Don’t Know Who are you? (Part V) Who are you? (Part IV) Who are you? (Part III) Who are you? (Part II) Who are you? The Word Trap Stressors of Comfort and Security “Right state of peaceful mind” What Climate Catastrophy? Straight Poop on the Paleo Diet Fear & Need Born in Nothing Science Proves Buddha Right! Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder Amazon mother Cultivating Character Cultivating Ego Passing judgment is healthy if… Necessity is the Mother Practice what you preach Of Mountains, Molehills and the Supernatural Civilized Insanity Ancient Signs Of Modern Behavior The Good Old Days Modus Operandi Alone with Thought A proper sense of awe CenterTao Group Anyone? Loving Your Eco-System Where does the fault lie? Taoist secrets Laws as Symptoms, not Solutions Loss Aversion Management Mind Over Milkshake Flow Triggers Naturally Racist BRAIN Managing Our Dis...