Carole Remy: Taoism

Showing posts with label Taoism. Show all posts

Friday, May 17, 2013

Humility and Publishing #TBSU

My friend Amy Putkonen wrote a post this morning on humility from a Taoist perspective. Here's the image from her post. I'll enjoy it while you take a minute to read her wise words...

The last two sentences got me thinking. "Give [humility] a spot at the table and ask it how its day has been. Let it teach you something."

That wisdom applies to so many aspects of life. If we can take a step back and detach a bit from our emotions, life suddenly becomes much simpler. Not easier, necessarily, but simpler.

I began to wonder how the concept of humility applies in the publishing world.

Humility implies comparison.

The word humble carries within it the notion of high and low. In fact, one of Webster's definitions of humble is "ranking low in a hierarchy or scale." The publishing world is certainly full of comparison. Just look at the ever mysterious Amazon rankings.

So does striving for humility mean we should hope for poor rankings? Does it mean we should be content with sitting in the middle somewhere, unnoticed. I think not. To me, humility in publishing means letting the book talk. A brief digression, then I'll tied it together...

The word humble comes from the Latin humus, meaning "of the earth." It goes back in English all the way to around the year 1200. Of the earth to me has a connotation of trusting the elements, the basics. When we live of the earth, we don't worry about numbers, we don't compare. We live gratefully with the abundance we have.

Trust the book.

In place of the phrase of the earth, substitute of the book. To me, humility in publishing means trusting the book. Just as we can nurture the earth, we can certainly nurture the book: Amazon it and Tweet it and Facebook it and Google+ it and Goodreads it. But we can also realize that the words themselves, apart from us entirely, have their own life.

The book itself owns the Amazon ranking, not the writer. When we detach our ego from the darling product of our creation, we take a giant step toward peace and contentment, as writers and as human beings. We become neither humble nor arrogant, but simply happy parents of strong, independent offspring.

Could humility become obsolete?

I wonder if we can reach a place where humility becomes irrelevant. I ask myself, is my Soul humble? The question has no meaning. My Soul just is. Humility is a human construct, something we've accumulated over the millenia along with blame and guilt and anger.

In every one of our modern definitions and connotations, humility implies comparison. Once we recognize that we are everything, that we lack nothing, that the Universe is us and we are the Universe, we are neither humble nor arrogant. We just are. What an excellent goal!!

What do you think of when you hear the word humble? Is humility even a goal? How does humility play into your experience of the publishing world? Please join me in the comments. I look forward to a lively discussion!

[As a fun aside, my personal exercise in humility this morning includes having no control over the spacing of paragraphs! Must learn HTML...]

Check out these related posts:

Some great blogs, presented here in the grand tradition of The Blog Scratchers' Union! #TBSU

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Thriving on the Roller Coaster of Life #TBSU

Many people these days feel like they are riding a roller coaster of emotions. Among others, Law of Attraction bloggers and my (generally non-blogging!) Mexican shaman friends agree that

♫♪♫ The times, they are a changin'. ♫♪♫

As my friend Seumas Gallacher so eloquently put it in his blog post today,

... the highs and lows in any walk of life are a matter of fact… zoning in on Writers/Authors/Quill-Scrapers in general, prob’ly more so… the joy, blood, sweat and tears of producing the masterpiece… the angst of waiting to see how it fares in the Big Bad World of Publishing... the despair when even one bad review gets registered… the ecstasy when it’s praised by sumb’dy ye don’t even know… there’s the ultimate in roller-coasting emotions…

A Taoist Perspective

So here we are as writers, in a profession that offers perhaps even more opportunity than most for higher highs and lower lows. And here we are as human beings, in a time of rising global vibration, which brings with it a natural resistance to change = major tension!

Looked at from a Taoist perspective, events in our lives rise and fall. In an earlier post I recounted the story of the Taoist farmer. If life is an river, we can learn to float, which doesn’t mean living a superficial life, but rather being adaptable and accepting, even enjoying, each variation. Huck Finn is an exemplary Taoist!!

It's easy to feel alone when we're in a trough.

Here are Seumas' words on the mingling of laughter and pathos.

… years ago, an English comic genius, Norman Wisdom, had a signature song, ‘Don’t Laugh at Me, ‘Coz I’m a Fool’… the switch from the laughter to the pathos evoked with the song made it all the more poignant for me, and it still does… looking back over the decades, I’m struck by how strongly the chord still resonates with me… the humanity, and the humility, all wrapped into a few minutes of music from a man who made millions laugh for his living… the life lesson is there for all to learn… (my word, Mabel, this sounds serious, eh?)… no matter how any of us is generally perceived by our fellows, there’s usually at least more than one facet to our individual personalities…

And my response...

Pondering these words about perception and personality (uh oh, danger, thinking!), the metaphor that comes to mind is the ocean. Aspects of who we are rise and fall like waves, but the reality is more vast and complex than even we can perceive. Others mostly see only a peak here and there.

Can we view each other as beautifully complex, even fractal? Can we acknowledge and relish the fact that what we see is only one facet of an immensely rich sea? Even further, perhaps we can sense that just as you are an ocean and I am an ocean, we are actually the same ocean? Whew! There's a thought exercise!

Seumas wouldn't be Seumas if he didn't have an uplifting conclusion.

... hark back to yer man, the incomparable Norman Wisdom… his technique encapsulated the ability to laugh at himself… and THERE’S the lesson… I suggest we should correctly take our work, our profession, our craft seriously, but never, ever take OURSELVES too seriously… humour is a wonderful release from all sorts of daily stresses.. and MY easiest target for it?… Master Gallacher himself... oh, and you can laugh at me too, if yeez want

Humor = Laughter = Joy!

Not taking ourselves too seriously. Laughing a lot. Realizing that today's mountain is tomorrow's molehill. This is the simple formula for navigating the ups and downs, for floating on the river, for adapting to the world's rising energy with glee rather than despair.

Going back to the ocean metaphor, while complex and profound, we are also simplicity itself. Just as the ocean is water, we are joy. As Seumas points out, humor is the linchpin. The humility of a drop of salt water, the fun of dancing in a spring shower—that’s us!

Introducing Norman Wisdom

... click on here to hear the maestro :

Thank you to Seumas Gallacher for his kind permission to interweave his post and my reaction! I hope you've enjoyed our shared thoughts. How do you navigate the ups and downs of life? Are you feeling like 2013 is a roller coaster of a year? Where do you find everyday joy? Please join the conversation in the comments.

Check out these related posts:

Three fantastic blogs, presented in the grand tradition of The Blog Scratchers' Union! #TBSU

Tao Te Ching Daily (all things Tao)
Deliberate Receiving (all things Law of Attraction)
Seumas Gallacher (all things life)

Monday, April 22, 2013

Taoism and Erotica, Not as Strange a Mix as You Might Think #TBSU

Note: The words here are PG,

but the overall topic of the post isn't!

This post first appeared on the blog 4 the LUV of Sanity, along with a steamy excerpt from Who Is Candid?—definitely not PG! Head on over and take a look at this excellent blog!

Taoism, from a Slightly Different Perspective...

If I were to describe Taoism in erotic terms, I would say that it’s a philosophy of topping from below. The hand that holds the whip isn’t the hand that’s really in charge. It’s an odd concept for those unfamiliar with SM, but maybe makes sense to some of you.

Taoism is all about influencing from the sidelines, guiding from beneath, surrendering in order to lead.

“Superior leaders are those whose existence is merely known.” (17)

“Those who use the Tao to guide leaders

do not use forceful strategies in the world.

Such matters tend to recoil.” (30)

[quotes are from R L Wing’s translation of the Tao Te Ching.]

Taoism is about having the patience and stamina to wait for the right moment. It’s about honoring the female, the stream, the flow, the creation. It’s about emptiness and the value of the vessel. Yeah, it’s erotic.

How has being a Taoist influenced me as a writer of erotica?

Thinking in practical terms, I think Taoism has had the most influence on my male characters. I like men with strength and gentleness. I like men who respect and have the urge to protect the feminine. I’ve always thought of the men in my erotica as updated Regency heroes, but writing this article makes me see that they are all Taoists at heart.

I confess to falling in love with the hero of each novel as I write it. If I don’t love them, why should the heroine, and why should you the readers?

Dick, the Hot Hunk Nerd Taoist God!

Dick, the hero of Who Is Candid?, is just about perfect. Yeah, he’s a little dorky, in a gorgeous hot hunk, not taking advantage of his sexiness kind of dork. Imagine Zachary Levi, on the TV show Chuck. Don't you just love Chuck!

got this photo from TV Guide

Yeah... Hot!

In the novel, Dick is sweet and protective and secure enough to let Lucy leave and find her own way back. Now, that’s sexy! And the ultimate Taoist!

There’s a Taoist fable that a farmer has a strong young son. The neighbors say, “How lucky you are.” The farmer shrugs. The son breaks his leg and can’t work. The neighbors say, “How unlucky you are.” The farmer shrugs. The army comes and takes all the young men off to war, except the farmer’s son. The neighbors say, “How lucky you are.” The farmer shrugs. And so on, and so on...

Excellent website for a quick intro to Taoism

The point of the story is that we can’t see a big enough picture to judge how something will ultimately turn out.

Dick could be that farmer. He trusts Lucy; he trusts the future. He’s the ultimate in non-judgmental! And when the time comes to act, trust me, Dick knows EXACTLY what to do!

Would you like to read Dick and Lucy's story? Buy it now on Amazon!

So how about you? Readers, can you sometimes see the philosophical underpinnings of characters in novels? Is there a certain type of character that you just love? Writers, does your philosophy of life reflect in your writing? Please comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts, and look forward to a lively discussion!