Tao Te King works – if you are honest with yourself!

Without honesty can lead to misconceptions about your life aspiration, focus and happiness

Tao is about being absolutely honest with yourself.

Without the honesty, you are putting your ego, own knowledge and desire in between who you think you are and the actual you, blurring the truth about who you actually are and where you are originally from.

This could lead to misconceptions about your life aspiration, resulting in you focusing on the wrong things, only come to regret it later.  They could also, without you knowing, build blockages that stop you from  bringing out the best in you.

Tao is not about doing your best, but making the best of your nature.  It is not only about being yourself, but also expressing your true self.  Without the understanding of your true self, how are you going to do any of these?

Honesty, therefore, is indispensable in the pursuit of Tao.

The first step towards being absolutely honest with yourself is to empty your mind. Cast away your knowledge, your desire, your prejudice, your worries and fears. With the emptiness, you allow your mind to conduct direct dialogues with your inner self.  With the repeating conversations, you’d be able to get closer and closer to your real self.

This can be done by the regimen of Tao exercises, including meditation.

If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.

Lao tzu Tao Te Ching Chapter 19

Thanks to Kacper Gunia for the picture.