Power for the Peaceful: A Course in Tao

Teaser 2 for Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion - How Religion Gets MadeFor his next podclass, Marc Mullinax teams up with Chandler Schroeder to bring you a series of podclasses, the first of which is called "How Religion Gets Made," premiering on July 1, 2025, on...a. YouTube - maybe preferred if you like strong visuals. To sign up, click “⁠⁠The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion⁠⁠“ or (⁠⁠https:www.youtube.com@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion⁠⁠)andb. Apple and Spotify podcast platforms. Just search for "The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion"Contact the show hosts at mmullinax@mhu.edu

Tao is another way of living, of thinking, of walking, ofwondering. It's not new, for It's always been with us. It's “another” Way. In this last verse of the 81 verses of Tao te Ching, Eli Thompson joins me to give this podcast a great send off. We end with a discussion about the eight teachings of Tao that make “Tao still speak” for us today. Be sure to sign up for my new podclasses! Chandler Schroeder and I are beginning a new set of podcasts, on religion and how it, or they, get made. Don't miss the preview trailer or these shows! Stay in touch by pressing “Subscribe” at “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion“ where you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Verse 80 is so counter-intuitive and counter-cultural today. Why travel, when ALL one needs is where one already is. It's called “home.” While we can be like turtles or snails carrying our home around with us everywhere, we should first consider that we do not need to travel frenetically, to be home. This is a most radical teaching for a culture always on the move, where staying at home seems a life of boredom, where our collective motto isStar Trek's mission: ‘to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before!‘ We mention an article by Rebecca Solnit. Chandler Schroeder and I are beginning a new set of podcasts, on religion and how it, or they, get made. Don't miss thepreview trailer or these shows! Stay in touch by pressing “Subscribe” at “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion“ where you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Verse 79 is TTC's main place where Lao Tzu frames “score-keeping” with “faith-keeping”. So in this verse we look at the various ways we injure ourselves (and our futures) with strict accounting of alleged slights we see someone giving us. The resentments build until one of two things happen: A complete breakdown of communication, or, the moment when someone stops practicing keeping-score and instead practices keeping-faith. We're almost finished with this podcast. But please, keep your podcast feed open, for bonus episodes, announcements, and for questions that come up from the class. My email is mmullinax@mhu.edu. We have a new podclass about to begin: Chandler Schroeder and I are conspiring (which means to breathe together) on a new schedule of a series of related podcasts on religion, the ideas of religion, faith, and how the imagination fuels these. The pods we have begun to work on are based uponChandler's career as a counselor, and my 30-year teaching career in New York City, Asheville, NC, and Seoul, Korea. We have already a YouTube channel called TheTechnicolor Dreamcoat of Religion“ where you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on howreligions get made. (https:www.youtube.com@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)You can also keep this podcast feed - Power for the Peaceful - open, and you'll get all the introductory updates.

Today's episode was recorded outside in Fairview, NC, where the 17-year locusts are partying hard in the background. Verse 78 contains the third of only three instances of the word “water”. However, Water serves for Taoists through the centuries as THE single metaphor or model for Tao Itself. Act like water and you will live, refuse, get all brittle, and you'll break upon the rocks. Water wears down mountains. Iterodes hard places, and makes the rough ways smooth. But especially, when acting like water, the tough become tender. Soft like water, they wear things away; and outlast every unnatural thing.Thanks to Teresa Aeschliman for her voice. The song Loveis the Water that Wears down the Rock is by Pat Wictor & Brother Sun, performed by Brian Graves, Jen Folkers, and Andy Barnett

Verse 77 this time. I call it ‘The Tao of Robin Hood,' who was an equalizer of his (mythical) day, like Tao is all the time. In its yin-yang algorithm, ‘just enough' is given to all, so no one lacks, and no one has more than enough. If another, ‘human tao' interfereswith ‘Heaven's Tao,' then the yin-yang balance actually takes from those with too much, and gives to those with not enough.In this episode Marc confesses his love of Marx's analytical power to understand big power issues (though he has no love for Marxism, or its actual practices in real time).We hear from lots of voices today: Thich Naht Hanh, The Buddha, Mick Jagger, Sun Tzu, and Herman Melville.

As we near the end of Tao te Ching's 81 verses, we see Lao Tzu revisit some high themes we've seen before. Today's verse 76treats how our grounding and rootage in the Way of Tao leads to a flexible, supple, resiliency, which leads to a longer or better life than one dedicated to grasping, getting hard-set and inflexible. In today's podclass I provide some practices and ideas for living softly and nimbly, as well as reminder of those practices and ideas that we “can” practice that leads only hardening of life's categories, to brittleness and dryness, leading perhaps to small deaths even before our final death.Here's our Mantra: “Soft at the center, strongin the flow.”Reminder! Along with Chandler Schroeder, I am beginning a new series of podcasts called “TheTechnicolor Dreamcoat of Religion“ to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Verse 75 recapitulates some themes we havealready seen in Tao Te Ching. Today we focus on how these themes are not Lao Tzu's alone, but have wide and universal appreciation throughout the world's spiritual traditions, philosophies, psychologies, and artistic endeavors. Thiswas so fun for me, and I hope you enjoy it, too. May your days begin with unclenched and empty hands, to become the sources for peace and hope in your world today.

As we near the end of Tao te Ching's 81 verses, we see Lao Tzu revisit some high themes we've seen before. Today's verse 74 treats how our prior grounding and rootage in Tao is ever and always stronger than culture's siren calls to pay attention to the worthless, lifeless dreads and find  of thinking. We hear from Paul Coelho, Abraham Lincoln, Cornel West, and the book of Ecclesiastes. Reminder! Along with Chandler Schroeder, I am beginning a new series of podcasts called “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion“ to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Verse 73 has a unique take and message for us looking for patterns in the universe to support our penchants for assigning “good” and “bad”, or “right” and “wrong” in advance as the universe unfolds around us.Instead, this verse might tempt us to flirt with becoming a student of the “Great Maybe” – a life where we let others make distinctions where there are none, while we return to the original uncarved block of existence where we find ourselvesoriginally defined by eternal Tao, and not by some temporary culture. We talk about theodicy, or the tendencies we have to offer predigested answers about why seemingly bad things happen. Reminder!Along with Chandler Schroeder, I am beginning a new series of podcasts called “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion“ to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Verse 72 has been translated several ways through the centuries. We look at these differing translations, and then focus on the power of fear to dampen our experience of Tao's adjacent, fecund wisdom. We conclude that there is a “right fear” – such as fear of not preventing an injustice – that can influence us to act, and help us to overcome any inertia not to act.Reminder! Along with Chandler Schroeder, I am beginning a new series of podcasts called “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion“ to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Strongly-worded verse this time! Lao Tzu teaches about the subtle conspiracies of ignorance to dumb us down, weigh us down, & bring us down. But who anymore thinks of ignorance is an illness? Verse 71 teaches how Ignorance is not bliss; it is brutal, and can make us into the walking dead. How to work with or overcome ignorance? We offer several ways to deal with the silent killer disease of ignorance. If you want my collection of family- or kid-friendly Tao te Ching verses mentioned in this episode, use this email: marc.mullinax@gmail.com. Reminder! Along with Chandler Schroeder, I am beginning a new series of podcasts called “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion“ to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made.

What'sthe difference between knowing something, and understanding it? Maybe to know something is a mark of achievement and pride we saturate with our words, while to *understand* something or someone is a wordless condition, a state where we are VERY close to our original birthright status in Tao. I mention in the pod today a daily Buddhist wisdom email I urge you to subscribe to. Here is the link.Reminder! Along with Chandler Schroeder, I am beginning a new series of podcasts called “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion” to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Today, Verse 69. The centerpiece of today's verse is captured in a story I tell about being in the presence of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It's a story that anyone who has an enemy may want to consider. Today's awesome guest is Chad Smith, and his contact info is here: https://houseofmercyavl.com/connectReminder! Along with Chandler Schroeder, I am beginning a new series of podcasts called “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion” to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

: This verse 68 is a work-out from verse 67's three treasures: unconditional mercy, simplicity of wants, and humility. A personoperating from this strong triad of foundational virtues is not lured by the hell of violence, and encourages others to see the heavenly, peaceful way. Reminder! Along with Chander Schroeder, I ambeginning a new series of podcasts called “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion” to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Subscribe for the episodes when they come out at Please subscribe!! Stay in touch by pressing “Subscribe” at “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion” where you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Chandler Schroeder returns as my associate today to help us figure out how the triple treasures of kindness, simplicity, and humility are part of our very being, or as Oko Yono said, “We've been filled with great treasure for one purpose: to bespilled.” For the Buddhist listener, these three treasures are our guides to counter the Three Poisons (Hatred, Greed, and Delusion) you already know about. This verse is a fantastic reminder of who we are. Reminder! Chander and I are soon beginning a series ofpodcasts called “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion” to which you can subscribe NOW for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

Leadership, whether in nations, schools and homes today is usually of a style that preaches, however subtly, “You need me to save, teach or parent you.” But the truth is that the leader is the paragon of being a follower. So once again, Tao overturns our expectations, turning our norms upside-down, where leadership is following, teaching is a return to being a learner, and parenting is a back and forth dialogue where parent and child each matters. NEWS!! Chandler Schroeder and I are beginning a new set of podcasts, on religon and how it, or they, get made. Don't miss the preview trailer or these shows! Stay in touch by pressing “Subscribe” at “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion” to which you can subscribe now for updates and our first semester of classes on how religions get made. (https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion)

What a treat this time! I have a local Taoist Reading Club joining me for Verse 65, a community within this magical Christian church in Asheville called “House of Mercy”. We look at a most-timely topic: How government leaders hoodwink the people with confusing, "clever" information that passes for knowledge, and colonizing citizens into settling for less than they actually are.Also referenced here is a localanti-poverty initiative this church is heavily involved in, called “12 Baskets” in Asheville.

Today's verse 64 we return to consider how things begin, and how we can understand wisely how to (i) let them begin and then grow without my meddling, and (ii) how to live attentively to the entire processes range of Tao's wisdom for living. Chandler Schroeder, who has been on our show twice already, is our voice today. Today, Chandler and I announced there will be more podcast classes in the near future, in the YouTube channel, “The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion”. Hope you can stay tuned!

This verse 63 will pair up with 64's themes. (i) Act with simplicity; avoid meddling, so you can align yourself with the natural flow of life. (ii) Pay attention to beginnings. The small will become large, so address your first steps or beginnings with care and foresight. And (iii) live with true-true integrity, and focus on matching your actions with situations, and abandon the temporary ways of the ego. The voices of David and Danai Chaisson feature big on today's episode. Thank you!

What if there is an inner refuge or sanctuary, one ultimately untouchable by any force you may know? There is! This refuge is where we have our true identities, our true calling as humans, and our true destiny. This Tao-logic and teaching about our inner light that never goes out ... it neutralizes the cheap, over-loud voices that would tell us anything – ANYthing otherwise. Who tells you who you are? Getting tired of that voice … that tears you down and declares you hopeless? It is to you I dedicate this episode. -Marc Mullinax

Nature teaches true power, the power of being open, helpful, and that this power is deeper than our egotistical searches for other kinds of power. As Nina Sabatino, my partner for this verse, said herein, the not-pursing of power can be the beginning of a revolution. The only power of Tao that is real and lasting is the NOT-pursuing power. Be like water, descending low, lower, and then ever lower, like oceans, to receive all, and in your quiet, you help quieten a noisy world. This is Tao's Way of diplomacy, a diplomacy of sharing. -Marc Mullinax

Wu-Wei makes another appearance in Verse 60. Herein we discover how Wu-Wei is not a total “non-doing,” but knowing when to retire from doing just enough. Wu-Wei is not hands off. It's knowing when to retire your hands-on. We speak of application to educators, governors, parents, and in this verse, even cooks and chefs! Chandler Schroeder returns for another round at the mic with his wise and kindling voice.

When did Noah build the Ark, goes the popular wisdom? Before the rain. Preparation for the days of too much or too less seem to be a good practice. To live as we ought is joy. This Verse 59 talks about how to live so that we, and that which we love, endures. It's simple: Find your joy, and spread it around. Thanks to Lauren Lausen for your voice, time, and what you do. May all of us find our days beginning in peace, so that we may deal out from our hands the radical hope our world needs. -Marc Mullinax

The Taoist Sage is calm, even in the toughest – or the best – situations life offers. That sage models resilient peace in every situation, not resorting to thought- and conversation-killing cliches or ego maneuvers. That's why they can join ANYone, ANYwhere, and bring peace, needed help? Why? Their egos are parked! Thank you Kimberly Mason for your calm presence and help on today's podcast. I think you will love her wisdom and questions about our verse. Marc.

The personal becomes public in this Verse 57. You who attempt to practice Wu-Wei in your life, or family … what if the government and rulers practiced Wu-Wei as well as you practice? What might happen and not happen in a Wu-Wei-informed government? Whoa! Stuart Lamkin joins me to discuss this verse. His insights are wise and timely, and the reason why this episode is longer. May your days begin rooted in spontaneous Peace, so you may know and practice a politics of hope, of which our world is in great need.

This verse starts off with one of the two most famous proverbs in the Tao te Ching: Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know. Talking-up Tao ain't walking the Tao Path. In the silence, the word-free spaces, are where we then develop the wisdom on how to live wisely, peaceably, and in service to others. Listening more than talking actually gives one cred among people, and the other than human world.   Thanks to my quote reader Johnny Richardson, to whom I ask the question this time!

A theologian I read, Paul Tillich wrote: We must abandon the external high and mighty images in which the theistic God has historically been perceived and replace them with internal depth images of a deity who is not apart from us, but who is the very core and ground of all that is. I invite us to see the entire universe as God's body. That is, there is nowhere, and no time, where we are not encountering the holy, the divine, that Which IS. Be careful how we interpret the world, for it will become exactly like that.

Verse 55 speaks about the qualities of a person so rooted in Tao they are spontaneously joyful, artless and not contrived, because conforming with the Changeless Tao is the only enlightened way to live. Teased out in this verse is how we exchange this birthright in Tao with a mess of something we have no business messing in. We have seven voices today, and I hope this is a feast in your ears. May your days begin rooted in spontaneous joy and Peace, so you may know and practice moment-by-moment hope, of which our world is in great need. Marc Mullinax - mmullinax@mhu.edu

Verse 54 teaches that Tao and its practice are a single events, moment by moment, but we may see them as two phases: (i) Knowing our roots in Tao, and (ii) regarding all through this eternal rootage. This has wonderful implications for the Golden Rule, which I attempt to upgrade as “always do first, as you would be done by.” May your days begin rooted in Peace, so you may know moment-by-moment how to regard hope in every situation. Marc Mullinax – mmullinax@mhu.edu

This verse 53's episode, on “Lowered Ceilings,” is a call for the inner self not to compromise on the single, or the very few important things in life … like following the level and straight path of the Great Tao, and not becoming side-tracked by the many sideways of fruitless action and thinking over and over again those thoughts that take us nowhere but round and round in circles. Melvis Madrigal is my second voice on the podcast this week. Thank you, Melvis! May your days begin in peace, and become laboratories for radical hope. Marc Mullinax – mmullinax@mhu.edu

Verse 52 takes us on a wild but life-affirming ride that Tao is our Grand and Prolific Mother, who invites all her creations – all her children – to a family reunion that never stops. Chandler Schroeder is my accompanying voice this time. In the episode, I make a new call for listeners to contact me for two reasons: (i) to be a reader and question-asker on a future podcast, and (ii) to join me in a new edition of this podcast after we finish all 81 verses, in a podcast we'll entitle, “My Favorite Verse of Tao te Ching.” The email to contact me for either is: mmullinax@mhu.edu. May your days begin in peace, to become labs and wombs for radical hope.

Tao is the Original Blueprints of the Universe. Te is the architect that makes these Blueprints visible. Tao is the Dream. Te coaxes the Dream to become deeds. This spontaneous mutual relationship got us here; Verse 51 explores how. Joe Bennett is our voice and questioner today. Pink Floyd provides some awesome lyrics.  May your days begin in radical, lettin'-it-be peace, to become wombs and laboratories for the change-up our world so desperately requires. Did I get Joe's Question right? Let us know: mmullinax@mhu.edu --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

This verse gets to the heart of what we are made of, and made for. Origins and Destiny. Often, however, we get trapped by the shiny blings of life and lower our ceilings, and have these vulnerable places I call targets for our temptations. But we are more than enslaved slabs of meat susceptible only to reactive thoughts, acquired tastes and cultivated addictions. Listen for more! Who knows? It's perhaps my most important episode.Kenny Meade is our voice and question-raiser. Find out more about him at https://www.kennethmeade.com/. I make reference to a teaching from J.R.R. Tolkien that parallels today's episode. You can find that teaching here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtHfY06sP1s  May your days begin in original peace, and become laboratories for radical hope! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Today's verse 49 teaches how to live with natural grace and peace in what seem like pivotal and violent times. We dissect in this episode how the servant leader, or Taoist, holds to their original vision of peace without compromise. It's a difficult path, but to become adjusted to society's neuroses and fragmentation into violent factions and self-righteous means to live in knee-jerk reactivity, not in mindful response or engagement with life. Trent Moore is our valued voice and question-raiser. May your days begin in peace, to become laboratories for radical hope in this pivotal year. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

We are taught to add to self to be a self, but where is the wisdom that to increase is really decreasing, and to decrease is actually a positive? It's here in Taoism, but also in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Orthodox Christianity, to start a list. I reference a pretty crazy podcast from OnBeing by Krista Tippett: https://onbeing.org/programs/colette-pichon-battle-on-knowing-what-were-called-to/ Thanks so much to Naomi Joy Gill for lending her energy, voice, and – for me – a devastating question (in the good sense!). May your days begin in emptiness, to become wombs to birth radical hope! Marc Mullinax --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

The Beatles put this verse into a song, which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swT6YTPYwgM. Verse 47 has a mystical teaching, one claiming that we can sense the entire universe from our tiny rooms or spaces in which we live. How does one even begin to explain this unitary, unified, worldview where all creation intermixes, interpenetrates, and intermingles in one unified vision or field? So, we talk about developing spiritual literacy. Thanks to Chris Haynes for his voice and timely question, that links this verse with climate change. May your days begin in peace and become wombs for radical hope! Marc --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Knowing when enough is enough is a choice, of quality over quantity, a free determination and conclusion of the wise mind, a free choice made by free persons; “enough” is not an amount or quantity, it is a learned attitude that helps us merge more quickly and easily into the way of the universe. Eric Cain (https://www.christschool.org/node/290008) is our reader and question-asker. May your days begin in the awareness of what is Enough, to become wombs for radical sufficiency and gratitude. Marc Mullinax --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Much of Tao te Ching teaches us how to hear and experience Tao. To this end, we need to remove our mental interferences and filters that act to weaken or neutralize the experiencing of Tao. This Verse 45 teaches such removal, by helping us to embrace the Paradoxical and the Ambiguous. We start with the Rolling Stones and end with guest Mattie Miller-Decker's beautifully phrased question on how Taoist paradox and Buddhist Original Mind are complements. Mattie is at https://www.hidasta.com/. May your days begin in peace, and become wombs for radical hope! Marc Mullinax - mmullinax@mhu.edu --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Taoism joins most faith traditions that cast doubt on the ability of "things" and other items we can hoard (but not use) ... to satisfy our deepest selves. Rangsey Chang is our voice for quotations and two great questions on the hope and spirituality of the "things" in our lives. I mentioned a book in the podcast: The Ego Tunnel: the Science of the Mind and the Myth of Self. He gave a TedTalk on his ideas: https://youtu.be/5ZsDDseI5QI. May your days begin in peace, and become thirstless fields in which we sow the seeds of radical hope. Marc Mullinax --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

We cannot make the entire world into a garden free of hard things. However, we can make our corner of the world a joyful place. There is then, an art to living softly, as soft beings, living patiently. The wisdom of Verse 43's “the soft overcomes the hard” invites us to pause, and reevaluate our cultural notions of strength and power. May your days begin in peace, to become wombs for radical hope! Marc Mullinax --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Verse 42 is the one and only place where Yin and Yang (阴 and 阳) show up in the ENTIRE Tao te Ching. They show up to help us understand the larger creation process (or story, or mythic representation) of how the Universe got here and is sustained, even to this day. My guest, Rebecca Askew, asks a question about Minimalism, and we discover just how widespread Minimalism is spread across the world's spiritual traditions. May your days arise (YANG) in peace, and your nights fall (YIN) into radical hope. Marc Mullinax --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Verse 41: Lao Tzu's Smile. Today's verse 41 is to be taken as a whole; it is an attitude to embrace, to further deepen into Tao. Tao, as we have seen recently, is mysterious, seems to go in reverse, and remain hidden. Verse 41 reminds one how an attitude of expecting the unexpected is one way for Tao to find you. Receptive, open, becoming strange to one's normal world, to re-engage with Tao's norms. There is a picture referenced: The Vinegar Tasters, which can be seen here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar_tasters. May your days begin with peace, and our lives become poetic places for the strange and the true safely to land. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

The key Chinese word I refer to often in this episode is "Fan" or 反. "Fan" is the word for "return" or "retire". "Fan" is everywhere in the world's spiritualities, and we explore, through "Fan," how things emerge and grow, and then return or retire to their being No-thing. Being and Non-Being. While I do not have a reader, I have some singers! Hope you enjoy. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

This is one of those several times Tao te Ching slows down, so mayhaps we can hear and get in touch with our original nature, a nature deeply rooted in Earth, soil, clay, mud. We are humus ... humus beings. We stay wise when we stay in touch with our humus/humble origins. Stan Wilson (https://www.circleofmercy.org/content.cfm?id=149&pid=67) is our reader and questionS-Asker. Thank you. May your days begin rooted in Earth's peace, and grow the fruits of radical hope. --Marc Mullinax --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

This LONG verse starts a conversation or teaching about Te (as in Tao TE Ching), a conversation that will run through the rest of the verses in Tao te Ching. Because Tao and Te are separate, but share one root, their message remains consistent: No compromise! The person grounded in the depths of Tao does not drink from second-best opinions. S/He stays centered at the root and lets the unrooted take care of itself. S/He avoids the outer to live in the inner root. UNC/A philosophy student Ethan Colon delivers the quotes AND, a most decisive and challenging question. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Once our ego-stroked schemes calm and quieten, there is Something Else. That Something Else is Tao, Tao at the Root of all. Always been there, always "is" everywhere, always will be there. When we rest in our roots, the world not only makes better sense, we are also physically, mentally, and psychically healthy. Verse 37 is a quietly radical teaching verse, a reminder that beneath all noise, commotion, chaos, and other crap, there is another place ... the place we are rooted. Our reader today is Michelle Miller, whom you can find out more about here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/259687/michelle-miller/. May your days begin in peace, and become THE ROOTING OF your radical hope. -Marc - mmullinax (AT) mhu.edu --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

This verse teaches an expansive view of how to become an integrated, peaceful being. Instead of hardening one's categories with dualistic absolutes, it is more wholesome to integrate 'apparent opposites' into a unified view, that one is a mixture of what a dualist culture would label good/bad, ugly/beautiful, and so on. It's ONLY when we allow each energy of yin and each energy of yang to co-exist one with the other, we achieve union, unity, and wholeness. Otherwise, we are at war with ourselves. Tebbe Davis (https://faso.com/artists/tebbedavis.html) lent his wonderful voice to this episode. Thank you. May your days begin in peace, and become wombs for radical hope! Marc Mullinax - mmullinax [at] mhu.edu --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Nothing -- not time, not distance, not circumstance, not geography -- NOTHING weakens or diminishes Tao's power for peace. If we experience any weakening, diminishing, or forgetfulness of Tao, that's on us, and ways we have constructed our lives through thinking, culture, and habit. This episode is dedicated to re-understanding and re-discovery (or remembering) Tao in the normal, the everyday, and in the moment. No reader today; it's a vacation week for many. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message

Critical teaching here. Tao is already within, working, subtly and invisibly the air all around us, but which we forget we breathe and move in. Joe Bennett supplies energy and his voice to this episode's effort. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marc-mullinax/message