Declare yourself immune to injurious entreaties.
Visualize a protective shield all around you, guarding you against what’s perceived as evil in the world. Your shield is permeable only to energy that harmonizes with the Tao. Love, kindness, and help can all get through—but if any harm comes near you, it will be repelled by your shield. This means you create a great sense of faith in the Tao. With this kind of inner trust, when evil rages around you, it won’t be able to impact you directly. Become the sage, the leader who governs your life and the lives of those around you, and who can’t be hurt. Declare it, practice it in your every thought, and walk freely in the midst of danger. This isn’t having a false sense of security; instead, it’s an awareness that you and the Tao are one.
Do the Tao Now
The next time you think that you’re the target of a harmful thought from a stranger, a family member, or a co-worker, make every effort to remember to respond from your inner nature, which is the Tao. Send back a loving, kind response, and then retreat to a silent and peaceful knowing that you’ve begun the process of immunizing yourself from harm. By practicing with even a seemingly innocuous statement, you’ll witness how effective this is. Approach the universe with the Tao in your heart rather than reacting defensively.
61st Verse
A great country is like the lowland,
toward which all streams flow.
It is the reservoir of all under heaven,
the feminine of the world.
The female overcomes the male with stillness,
by lowering herself through her quietness.
So if a great country lowers itself before a small one,
it wins friendship and trust.
And if a small country can lower itself before a great one, it will win over that “great” country.
The one wins by stooping;
the other, by remaining low.
Living by
Remaining Low
Most of us have been taught that it’s important to tower over lesser folks in virtually all of life’s endeavors. We’re told to “get to the top,” “stand out in the crowd,” “be the best,” and “honor champions” who defeat challengers. We’re expected to pay homage to those who make the most money, collect the most material objects, and evoke the most fear and obedience because of their positions of power; and those who deign to live among the “commoners” are the least deserving of our respect. This passage of the Tao Te Ching invites us to reevaluate these beliefs.
Look at the ocean: It’s the most powerful force on the planet because it stays lower than the streams, which are necessarily and inescapably drawn to it. As the rivers flow downward to become one with it, the sea is able to be the great reservoir of all under heaven. This is what Lao-tzu refers to throughout the Tao Te Ching as the “great Mother” or the “feminine of the world.” That female energy, or yin, is the true receptor of all; by remaining quiet and still, it ultimately overcomes male (yang) efforts to subjugate and conquer.
In the 61st verse of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu speaks of the advantages of leading by remaining low, using entire countries as his examples. He makes the case for nations both large and small to be like the great ocean. As he observed warring territories attempting to vanquish each other by exerting their strength, he saw that peace and harmony could only be possible if the territories behaved in accord with the Tao—that is, by subjugating their egos rather than their neighbors.
Lao-tzu was addressing countries and their political leaders in this chapter, but countries are made up of individual men and women. We need to become a critical mass of individuals who are willing to model the wisdom that the great Chinese master offers us. We all must learn the value of making a dramatic change in the way we think of ourselves and each other. Yes, it may require a complete about-face on our part, but if we begin to lessen ego-dominated thinking, sooner or later the world will get the message that Lao-tzu proposed in ancient times. Nations all over the globe will find that leaders with feminine yin energy are beneficial. After all, this is the way of nature . . . it is the Tao at work.
You can apply the wisdom of this verse in the business world or with anyone you encounter by updating the notion that towering above others in the yang approach of masculine domination is the way to get ahead. Instead, see the value of living as if you can win trust and friendship through a yin approach of feminine receptivity and stillness.
As you try on these new attitudes and behaviors, quietly watch as the energy from the following suggestions begins to influence your reality:
Reassess your personal view of what constitutes strength.
Can you see power in humility, stillness, and remaining low and out of sight? In martial arts, the strongest conqueror is the one who uses the least force and converts the lunges of his opponent into his own might. Look at the story of violence throughout human history: Those obsessed with positions of power ultimately resort to brutality, and then incur the same kind of violence on themselves. And so it is in your personal life.
By staying calm and under the radar, others will ultimately flow to you, joining with you in creating friendship and trust.
