Effecting Tangible Change - Daoism and Buddhist Philosophy

In Taoist philosophy it is said that ....'The way or "Tao" that is spoken is not the true Tao.'
What a beautifully enigmatic and bewildering phrase that is.

I have been learning, over the past few years, many great lessons from ancient cultures from all parts of our earth.
The main lesson I have come to know, and one I am truly grateful for, is that there is so much wisdom waiting to be understood if we simply still our minds and look deeply and lovingly towards the natural world we are so dependently intertwined with.

I have enjoyed most learning the teachings of Buddhist philosophy and Taoism. Two schools of thought that fit so well within the other.

Two of the fundamental Taoist teachings are the concepts of silent observation and meditation in nature and the universal laws of ying yang, cause and effect, cyclic energy also known as causality.

The feeling of connectivity between our own consciousness and nature is relatively easy to experience for yourself. It doesn't take much time or effort and the positive effects, for both yourself and those around you, are extremely rewarding.

Sometimes you might sit for a long time just watching, just letting your consciousness detach from your thinking self and connect with the "universal consciousness" that is all around us and so present in nature.

There really isn't anything like it. It's almost as if it brings up a feeling of nostalgia, a reconnecting with our True Selves, it's like finding the missing part of the soul.

I spent much of today simply observing... The garden, the river near my home, the trees along the rivers banks, listening to the birds in those trees and then as night came listening to the thousands of insects and other creatures.

As the night approached I lit the small fire in our meditation garden and sat quietly staring into the flames as our species has done for tens if not hundreds of thousands of years.
(It's funny yet saddening, how we have traded something as thought enhancing as looking at a fire and contemplating the complexities and simplicities of life, for something as mind numbing as watching a tv... But that's another topic).

As I was looking at the flames, watching as they seemed to dance with the wind, I began to think about the four physical elements of traditional Buddhist thought.... Earth, Water, Fire and Air. (These elements are distinguishable in many other philosophies and cultures also, not just Buddhism.)

Everything around us is made from these physical elements, and more importantly the energy that lay dormant within each is powerfully transitional and cyclic.

Earlier today while I was sitting on the banks of Brisbane river, I was looking up at the canopy of a tree as a sudden gust of wind blew free one of the trees flowering seed pods.
As the flower fell slowly towards the earth it spun almost like the blades of a helicopter. Evolutions aerodynamic design helped to glide the pod gently towards the ground. Where with some luck a new plant would spring to life.

If by chance that seed is germinated, if it rains and water softens the seeds hard protective casing, if it's small roots penetrates the earths surface and it's leaves reach up towards the suns warmth; then the totality of that small and seemingly insignificant plants very existence is owed to the energies of these four elemental forces.

In physics, primarily the study of thermodynamics, it is clear that energy cannot dissipate but is constantly changing form.
Whether it be the kinetic energy of a vibrating object that is transferred into sound and heat energy that is absorbed by its surroundings. Or whether it is the energy taken from the sun and water that a tree uses for growth as it reaches maturity and imprints it's genetic data into thousands of small seeds.
The energy is never lost, it merely changes.

As I sat by the fire, thinking about how the physical elements and energies are so entwined, I began to wonder about the other two non physical elements? What about 'Void' and 'Consciousness'? The two non physical elements of Buddhist practice.

I believe our thoughts, our minds and our consciousness' energies also follow these same laws of transitional cyclic energy.
Transient and impermanent when viewed singularly yet effecting long lasting, if not permanent, change when viewed in relative connectedness to the rest of the cosmos.

In Buddhism 'Void' or 'space' as it's also referred to, is the non physical element that could also be described as fate. The plane of chance where the ever rolling universal dice plays it's chaotic game, where All is together in existence with Nothingness, and where Nothingness and Everything walk hand in hand with Possibility.

I believe it is within this realm of endless possibility, that we can effect actual tangible change in our individual realities, our lives and therefor our world.
By connecting our higher consciousness to the very possibility of change and through mindful reflection and positive thoughts it becomes evident that personal and therefor communal change can occur.

Love Ryan

Namaste