Thinking Through the Heart and Feeling Through the Mind part 1

  In the west, we learn to think with our mind and feel with our hearts. In the Tao philosophy, you learn to think with your heart and feel with your mind. In fact, the mind is a tool to for us to observe.

Use your mind as an observation tool

You are not meant to judge what you observe; the mind is meant only to witness. Look at it and recognize it for what it is and then check in with your heart for direction. We slow the mind through meditation.

Use meditation and Tai Chi to connect to hear your heart speak

In meditation, your mind connects with ‘nothingness’ which is also called infinity and is considered God in Taoism. Through meditation, you can tune into your inner voice which is your heart and soul directing you. In this case, the heart is being paired with the soul.  Through meditation, you can retrain your mind to feel what your heart is thinking. You can also access parts of this through moving meditation like Tai Chi. What is important is to quiet your mind so you can hear your heart speak.

Flowing with the current living in sync with nature

The Tao is considered nature, in other words how everything flows together in its most natural way. Just like the tree that grows, the river that flows, the sun that glows and the wind that blows. All of that is considered God in Tao. The same essence that is in nature is also inside of you. First, you learn to connect to this outside flow and then that will connect you to your own inner current and then you will hear the message that your heart is whispering to you.

Because you are of essence just like nature, you are part of infinity. Infinity is a part of the continuum. When you realize that you are a part of a much bigger picture than your own existence, you understand that it is wisest to just flow in the river rather than swim against it which could cause you suffering.

A linear mind in a 3 dimensional world

In the west, we learn to read from left to right. This is called linear thinking but the universe isn’t only horizontal. It is also vertical, omniscient and all-knowing. We live in a two-dimensional mind trying to understand a three-dimensional reality. Our mind cannot make enough evaluations to give an appropriate conclusion.  Thinking with our mind causes a functional disorder with the world around us.

You know without knowing, you feel without feeling

In fact, thinking logically is only possible when you have connected to your inner voice. That is telling you what your heart truly wants. This will allow you to make decisions that are in alignment with your best interests. Once you can hear your inner voice, you know without knowing. It is a feeling you get, a sense of what you need to do. This happens when you live in the present. If you are thinking about your past or worrying about your future you will not be present to hear that voice telling you what you should be doing now.

Play with your child mind

If you are not sure how just watch a child. A mind of a child is open, honest, and sincere. Children naturally think with their hearts and feel with their minds. They live in the now always observing what is there without making judgments.

Everything came from nothing

In the Taoist philosophy, it is believed that when you are in the middle of nothing you are in the presence of everything. There was nothing at first and then all things came to be. Through meditation, you can go back to the nothingness and discover what you have always known. Journeying into nowhere is a continual process of becoming which is the nature of infinity; There is no beginning or end. When you take the journey into nothingness it is an opportunity to learn who you are on a deeper level.

Grow your internal tree

In the practice of Tai Chi, the internal energy that builds within our bodies is also infinity. It never ends and it is a part of the continuum. Like a tree that grows slowly over 100 years, if you practice just 5 – 10 minutes a day you will gradually see your inner tree growing stronger with deep roots as you reconnect with your inner self.

Taoist lifestyle:
Use your mind as an observation tool and let your heart do the thinking

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