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sabrinamariNot Striving
The magnificent Tao is all pervading...
all creatures abide with it and grow,
none are excluded from it.
When its work is done, it does not demand merit.
It nurtures all things, but does not rule them...
Therefore, the wise does not endeavor to be great.
Hence, his attainment is great.
(Chang, 34)
The most powerful thing the Priest does for us is provide a setting, a nourishing womb, in which our lives can unfold. Through the physical setting and, most important, the setting of his own being, he creates a place of safety; a trustworthy place where all of life is befriended through an affirmation of faith in our wisdom and creativity.
Hold fast to the great form (Tao),
And all the world will come.
They come and will encounter no harm;
But enjoy comfort, peace, and health.
(Chan, 35)
When the setting is right, the work, the inner explorations, happen by themselves. The unity of the universe moves to overcome separations and make parts into wholes. Our process often develops with minimal need for guidance. The master Priest is always noted for how little he does. He helps us realize how we have empowered ourselves, how our growth and change is of our own doing. He gives perfect freedom for inner wisdom to lead us where we need to go, even if that means away from him.
He also realizes that though the power of the universe is available in his rituals and within us to do whatever needs to be done through nondoing we might not recognize this. That is the reason we have come to him. We do not quite have eyes to see and ears to hear. We are often controlled by unconscious fears and need a grace-full presence to be with us as we face those fears. So he is patient. He works on safety first, knowing that it is always defined through our perception of it, rational or otherwise. At this beginning stage, he looks as if he were doing more, responding more, than at transformative stages where nondoing is more easily embraced and trusted.
Since she provides this setting with such ease, the Priestess is often surprised by the expressions of gratitude she receives. On one level, the gratitude is appropriate. It is a rare gift to find someone who can help by not being too helpful, who can facilitate without getting in the way, who can be involved without mixing up her own needs with ours, and who can be a midwife for transformation without taking credit away from the mother and child. Still, her helpful ways stem from paying attention to her own need for sanity and enjoyment of life, letting the universe do what it does best, and not trying to make anything special happen. She can claim no credit for satisfactory outcomes. She is thankful for this since it means she has no reputation to uphold or defend. It is simply wonderful in itself to be present when a child is given birth. It is inherently marvelous to behold a wounded child relinquish its fear and receive what it thought was impossible.
The sage never strives for the great,
And thereby the great is achieved.
(Chan, 63)
From Grace Unfolding: Psychotherapy in the Spirit of the Tao-te Ching, p. 99
NOTES: I alternate from "he" to "she" and "Priest" to "Priestess" to include both. Other bolded words (not titles) have been altered; usually, text has been replaced.
Please note that this excerpt describes the goals we strive for; no one can or should meet them all the time.
The magnificent Tao is all pervading...
all creatures abide with it and grow,
none are excluded from it.
When its work is done, it does not demand merit.
It nurtures all things, but does not rule them...
Therefore, the wise does not endeavor to be great.
Hence, his attainment is great.
(Chang, 34)
The most powerful thing the Priest does for us is provide a setting, a nourishing womb, in which our lives can unfold. Through the physical setting and, most important, the setting of his own being, he creates a place of safety; a trustworthy place where all of life is befriended through an affirmation of faith in our wisdom and creativity.
Hold fast to the great form (Tao),
And all the world will come.
They come and will encounter no harm;
But enjoy comfort, peace, and health.
(Chan, 35)
When the setting is right, the work, the inner explorations, happen by themselves. The unity of the universe moves to overcome separations and make parts into wholes. Our process often develops with minimal need for guidance. The master Priest is always noted for how little he does. He helps us realize how we have empowered ourselves, how our growth and change is of our own doing. He gives perfect freedom for inner wisdom to lead us where we need to go, even if that means away from him.
He also realizes that though the power of the universe is available in his rituals and within us to do whatever needs to be done through nondoing we might not recognize this. That is the reason we have come to him. We do not quite have eyes to see and ears to hear. We are often controlled by unconscious fears and need a grace-full presence to be with us as we face those fears. So he is patient. He works on safety first, knowing that it is always defined through our perception of it, rational or otherwise. At this beginning stage, he looks as if he were doing more, responding more, than at transformative stages where nondoing is more easily embraced and trusted.
Since she provides this setting with such ease, the Priestess is often surprised by the expressions of gratitude she receives. On one level, the gratitude is appropriate. It is a rare gift to find someone who can help by not being too helpful, who can facilitate without getting in the way, who can be involved without mixing up her own needs with ours, and who can be a midwife for transformation without taking credit away from the mother and child. Still, her helpful ways stem from paying attention to her own need for sanity and enjoyment of life, letting the universe do what it does best, and not trying to make anything special happen. She can claim no credit for satisfactory outcomes. She is thankful for this since it means she has no reputation to uphold or defend. It is simply wonderful in itself to be present when a child is given birth. It is inherently marvelous to behold a wounded child relinquish its fear and receive what it thought was impossible.
The sage never strives for the great,
And thereby the great is achieved.
(Chan, 63)
From Grace Unfolding: Psychotherapy in the Spirit of the Tao-te Ching, p. 99
NOTES: I alternate from "he" to "she" and "Priest" to "Priestess" to include both. Other bolded words (not titles) have been altered; usually, text has been replaced.
Please note that this excerpt describes the goals we strive for; no one can or should meet them all the time.
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