Living In The Flow

"Those who flow as Life flows

know they need no other force."

Lao Tzu

All of us are familiar with the old saying, 'go with the Flow'. This Flow, (which can also be referred to as the Tao), is the Universal Intelligence that is unfolding our lives right Now, along with everything else in the Universe. The Tao (also known as The Way or the Path), is the Awareness in us which knows that we are alive, and without which, nothing would exist or happen. Even your breathing or the beating of your heart happens due to the Tao's power. The Flow of the Tao is always moving downstream, on the path of least resistance, finding its course without forcing anything to happen in a certain way. When we are in-harmony with the Tao, moving with ease and trust in It's all-encompassing Power, our lives unfold in the most harmonious and delightful way possible.

Yet, when we do the opposite; resisting and opposing the direction that the Flow of our lives is taking us, we find ourselves exhausted and depleted of vital energy (not to mention completely lacking in joy and creative power). Trying to 'force' the Flow to go the way we think it should go is like trying to stop a powerful river with our hands: it will knock us over and eventually drown us. When we live this way, we tie ourselves into knots of confusion and fear, trying in vain to control what can't be controlled, and in the process, cut ourselves off from the very Intelligence that is doing everything that is done. Fortunately, when we have grown tired and exhausted from this adversarial relationship with Life, we can choose to let go of the resistance and struggle, and instead move with the Flow of the Tao as it unfolds everything before us. All that is required is to trust where the Flow is taking us, and cooperate with the Divine Intelligence that is doing everything anyway, knowing that it's all happening for our complete benefit.

As Spiritual Teacher Byron Katie has said, "You may not like what happens, it's just easier if you do." One of the primary practices given by the old Taoist Masters to aid us in trusting and following the Flow of the Tao is meditation. By spending time each day turning within and resting in the breath (which flows like the Tao), we re-learn how to relax and be exactly where we are (which is the only place that we can 'find' the Flow of the Tao). As we 'move with' the current of our Life, and the direction it's going in, the more the Flow will take us exactly where we need to be (Here), at the time we need to be there (Now). When we begin to trust that the Tao knows where we need to go much better than we do; our life becomes a delightful play that always works out exactly the way it's suppose to work out. All we have to do is let go of our struggle; breathe and relax; knowing all is exactly the way it's suppose to be, right Here and right Now.