(Continued from Taoist Shrine in Ancient Hội An) The first time I visited this temple in Hội An, I had no idea it was one that venerated a Taoist god. You must forgive me. All temples look the same from the outside. The architecture might have been one type of construction but then, over the years,... Continue Reading →
The Difference between Taoism and Taoism
You may ask yourself: Is she descending into dementia due to old age? Is she losing her critical thinking skills? Can she not tell that she has written the word Taoism twice in the title? That should not be the question that floats around in your mind. The question should be: Is there a difference... Continue Reading →
Perfectly Centered
I was sitting on my favorite chair outside in my backyard the other day, minding my own business, enjoying the winter sunshine when something happened which caused me to rethink a very boring subject--geometry. Since it's almost spring here, and I live in a very mild Mediterranean climate, the flowers were starting to bloom and... Continue Reading →
The Great Flood of 9,700 BC
Every culture around the world has a Great Deluge or Great Flood tale. For the Europeans, it was Noah's Flood and for the Hindus, it was the manvantara-sandhya. The Mesopotamians have their own flood stories that are very similar to the Native Americans in North America's recounting of a Great Flood. There is also the... Continue Reading →
Firewood, Rice, Oil, Salt, Soy Sauce, Tea
The Seven Necessities In ancient Viet culture, there is a very famous old saying: Quan môn thất kiện sự, sài, mễ, du, diêm, tương, thố, trà” When translated, it means, "The seven necessities to begin a day: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea." It was very underwhelming to be honest. What in... Continue Reading →
Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Vietnam 2
(Continued from Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Times 1) As promised, here are the remaining Requirements of an Ancient Beauty, as written by an ancient scholar of anonymity. 5. The Three Arts So far, the first four requirements are something that is beyond the scope and ability of any young beauty of the day to... Continue Reading →
Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Vietnam 1
We all know what constitutes Beauty in our present-day world. The artificially constructed image created by the trillion-dollar beauty industry informs us in no uncertain terms, what is necessary to have in order to be considered Beautiful. The images show up everywhere we look to influence our lifestyle and to sell us things that we... Continue Reading →
Hexagram 18 – Poisonous Dark Sorcery
Hexagram 18 is a bit of a doozie. On the one hand, it has to do with creepy crawly critters, and on the other hand, it has to do with mountains and wind. Neither of these seem to go well together, but bear up with me for a bit. Since these are very disparate ideas,... Continue Reading →
My First Step onto the Taoist Path
To be honest, I never thought that anyone would be interested in how I got started on the Taoist path. It never seemed to be that interesting a process to me, but since I have had several queries by separate individuals asking about my own personal journey, please allow me to share my story with you, my precious... Continue Reading →
Human CCC 4: How to be a Human CCC Tower
Ever since Old Dude charged me with being a Tower, I have been trying my best to act like a bona fide, certified Tower. In my mind's eye, a Human Tower should be someone standing tall and proud, eyes slightly closed and facing into the stark cool wind of a fluctuating summer. I imagine myself as... Continue Reading →