How SunTao Can Help You Discover That Question For Yourself?
The meaning of life is often seen as something outside of ourselves. It is often used to define something that is a part of our physical, or external world. But really, it is not separate from us at all. According to SunTao (Sundo as it is more traditionally named), principles, the “meaning of life” is something that we are already aware of, that is innate to all of us: it is harmony, balance, and connectivity between humans and nature. In Chinese, Sun (仙 ), describes the connection between humans and nature. It refers to being one with nature and one with ourselves in mind, body, and soul. The more we connect with nature’s intelligence, the more we move in sync with the laws of nature. We will not want to destroy or disharmonize nature once we know that we are one and the same with it. Instead, we will focus on how to live harmoniously with nature and the rest of humanity; and the only way we can do that is through love.
Love allows us to access expansion in ourselves and in nature. Love allows us to forgive and accept ourselves and share that harmony with the world. When we tune into love, we begin to recover divine consciousness or the consciousness of complete enlightenment.
Reaching Divine Consciousness
In Chinese, Tao (道), means road. The road we are moving towards, or our destination is connectivity between the physical world, our bodies and/or matter, and the spiritual world, our souls and energy. Nature already moves in divine consciousness because it is in a perfect state of flow all the time. Nothing tells animals to birth and look after their young, they do that instinctively. Nothing tells the plants and trees to grow, or the sun to shine, or the rain to come, or the waves to crash against the shore. We can only access a similar state of consciousness if we too flow in harmony with nature.
First, we have to let go of our egos. These are our thoughts, emotions, and the meanings we place on things outside of ourselves; and embrace the energy and vibration of nature. We can access this through the mere practice of living and being. We don’t have to study or learn how to embrace the energy of nature; we can simply observe it. Earth is our training ground and the school for life. Our textbook is inside of our bodies. If we are in a state of flow, we will feel peaceful and harmonious. Just like the trees grow when they are undisturbed and nature is in balance, so can we. If we are not in a state of flow, we will feel blocked or consumed by negative thoughts and emotions. If nature is disturbed, the trees cannot grow and nature experiences extreme states of natural disasters.
Once you understand this concept on an intellectual level, you can start working with energy to get in touch and empower yourself to flow in harmony with the laws of nature.
Developing An Energy Practice
Energy is a tool to use to begin healing imbalances within, activate, and allow yourself to move in a state of divine consciousness. This practice of working with your own energy will actually reverberate through nature as well. The more we heal and harmonize ourselves, the more we work to heal nature as well. The more we connect with it, the less we want to harm it; which will actually support more growth and expansion in nature as well. This is the state of hongik, or the state of benefiting all.
Starting out can be difficult if you have never worked with energy before and you are used to only tuning into your ego. In order to do this practice, you must shut off your thoughts, your emotions, or the meanings you place outside of yourself; and connect to your body’s sensitivity.
A simple way to start is to rest your body and meditate with your sit bones on the ground and your back straight and upright. Your sit bones are where your root chakra area or the energy center for grounding your body is located. We work with all our main energy centers, the chakras, and meridian points, or energetic passageways, in the body to open and clear old, stagnant energy to bring new energy into your space. Become present in the here and now to let go of thoughts and emotions of the past and of the future. So often, we have been programmed to consider everything else besides the present. But it is the state of being present that will allow us to connect with our bodies, minds, and souls more deeply and intentionally.
You can take your hands, palms facing each other, out in front of your body and begin to feel a current of energy between your hands. Start playing with this current of energy and move your hands further and closer together, and eventually bring that energy to other parts of the body. (i.e. Move your hands around your head, your heart, and down your body.) If you are feeling like you are having a hard time feeling this energy, then you can use rattle egg magnets to get a sense of the magnetic push and pull of the energy. Then eventually, you will feel more connected to your own body’s energy.
There are other forms of energy practice. But this is just one example of beginning to feel beyond the realm of the physical body and move into expansion and divine consciousness. The more we gain divine conscious awareness, the more we become one with nature.
The meaning of life is a continuation
As we continue to work with energy daily and get into this state of unity with ourselves and with nature, the more the work continues. The meaning of life is a continuous journey. Just like the Tao means road, the meaning of life is not a search for a destination. It is a continuation and access to the road to enlightenment.
Even after twenty years of practicing the principles of SunTao, I am still uncovering more about myself. I am still letting go of old or negative thoughts, habits, beliefs, emotions, etc. Nature goes through this as well. Plants, animals, humans, etc. die and new living things grow in their place. The Earth does not look like it did 20 years ago, and it will change in the next 20 years.
We must still remain open to discovering new things about ourselves; just like nature is open to the continuation of growth. The meaning of life is therefore connecting and being open to the flow of nature; growing, evolving, and reinventing ourselves in order to love ourselves, and love the world.
