Meditation? Maybe.

This week, I want to share a story about the day my understanding of meditation changed. I met my Daoist teacher when I attended a workshop series he gave on Daoist Mysticism at the Jung Center in Houston. Through his website, I discovered the formal education and ordination program I would later travel with him, and that he offered a regular Wednesday night meditation at his Four Dragons Institute. To say I was intrigued is a given.

Four Dragons offered Eastern holistic services: acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, and medical qigong. It was also the hub of the Daoist priest ordination program. Wednesday night meditations took place in the yoga studio, after the final class of the day. Some of the yoga students stayed for meditation but the majority of the class were people who came in after work or school.

Lao sat in an office chair, streaming the session on his phone for the distance education group of students, while the rest of the room sat on mats, bolsters, blankets, against the wall, wherever they were comfortable.

There was no calming music, no incense, or candles. No grounding breath, or ohms, or chants of any kind. No bells or singing bowls. The bright overhead lights remained on.

He began the meditation by asking us how we were doing, and like the throwaway question that normally is, several of us responded we were good, or fine, or whatever.

He then asked: “How do you know that you are fine?”

Whoa, okay.

From that point, he just started talking. It seemed like a ramble, like he had no idea where the conversation was going (I later realized that he didn’t, like almost everything he did it was completely instinctive), but by the end of the 90-minute session (he had a wicked accurate internal clock as well) everyone in the room transformed into a calmer and more balanced version of the person they were when they arrived. Wrapped inside his words were lessons to help us be better at aligning with our nature, if we chose to find it. If not, well, we left in a better state than when we came, at least.

He was funny, irreverent, and provocative, with an innate understanding of what our monkey minds needed at the end of a day ‘out in the world of people’ and by taming his own thoughts, helped us take our energy down several notches. The result was better than the best savasana. And I love savasana.

This form of active, guided, meditation was like nothing I’d come across prior to, or since. Like many of the lessons learned while figuratively sitting at the foot of my teacher, the deeper meanings, and ways to apply them in my life right this moment, have come in time. It’s true that we don’t appreciate much of what we have until it’s gone. I’m very fortunate to have realized the gift of his teachings both then and continuing in the present.

I’m in the middle of an intensive tarot course offered through TABI (Tarot Association of British and International members – ask me about this if you’re interested) and this past Sunday was the module on the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life. I’ve struggled to grasp this for many years and a few years ago I began individual Theurgy sessions with Lao (he was a true mystic and Hermeticist). Through a series of guided meditations, he led me through the pathways of the Tree of Life, as I met specific entities and guides within. A few months after we started, he fell sick and was unable to continue. He’d recorded each meditation session so I could revisit them, but I never have, until now.

Thanks to Janine Worthington, the fabulous instructor of the tarot Kabbalah module, and the kernels of understanding planted in my psyche by Lao, something clicked during the class last Sunday. Like the Hermit shining his lamp, the two of them have shown me the way and that means returning to the beginning. I have the tools, I have the guidance in the form of the hundreds of recordings Lao left for his students, and the newfound knowledge of how to use tarot as my guide. Most importantly, I now have the desire to see where the pathways take me.

Will I ever reach the end? Will I find answers, or more questions? Will I lose myself? The answer to these, and all questions, lies in the single most valuable lesson I learned from my beloved Shifu.

How to apply the concept of: Maybe.

I could write volumes about Lao, and the impact he had on the quality of my life. He left little bits of himself around the interwebs, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit him in this way.

If you’d like to know more about him, his practice, and his teachings, this YouTube series is excellent on many levels.

Two Monks, One Cave --The Trailer #taoism #daoism #Please subscribe - YouTube

If you would like to know more about my ancestral connection work, my Daoist path, or my other offerings such as tarot readings, spiritual guidance and mindset coaching, you can find more detailed information by using the drop-down menu on my website: The Mystic’s Parlour (the-mystics-parlour.ghost.io)

You can also contact me via email at themysticsparlour@gmail.com or on any of my social media channels. And follow along with TABI Tarot on their social media channels as well. https://tabi.org.uk

Your continued support and encouragement are greatly appreciated.