Does anyone here practice Taoism?
Recently I've read up a few things about it and found it very appealing. In addition to that I've watched a few youtube videos from the dude who lived in the mountains with a Dao master and how it affected his personality.
I find the philosophical concepts very good. The "mindfulness" thing helped me to overcome social anxiety partially. Also the entire talk about nature made me want to go outside more, which was a completely foreign concept to me a year ago.
Here's some of the teachings (paraphrased by me) which I found cool and really useful:
>eat until you're 80% fullI thought that it sounded like some dumb diet for single moms, but it really makes you feel better in the long run. I didn't notice much change a few weeks in, but after a few months I found out that I no longer feel heavy in the stomach after eating, don't feel sleepy and have my sugar levels much more stable.
>focus on being "right now"This is the "mindfulness" thing. When you feel anxious or something like that, switch all of your attention to the "current" moment. Focus on the fact that you live right here and right now, not in the past or in the future. You're a human being who functions and interacts with the environment right here and now.
>appreciate being a part of the nature's natural wayEverything around you naturally flows and lives on its own - the insects, the animals, the plants, other people, etc. You're part of this flow. Act in the most natural way in order to preserve the flow. Appreciate the ecosystem you're a part of.
>for every "yin" there will always be "yang"The famous "yin yang" thing is part of the daoism philosophy. Put short, there's no yang ("light") without yin ("darkness"). Without bad, there's no good. If you only want good, you'll eventually have to pay the price for it. If something bad happens to you, it means that good will follow.
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