Western therapy builds the self. Eastern tradition says the self is the problem. What if they’re both right, just at different stages of the same journey?

#Philosophy #Psychology #Buddhism #Taoism #EasternPhilosophy #Mindfulness #MentalHealth #Spirituality

https://open.substack.com/pub/tjbrewer/p/building-the-self-to-dissolve-it?r=7nzepv&utm_medium=ios

My yoga teacher in Rishikesh taught me about tapas, discipline as devotion, not punishment.

Discipline isn't forcing, it's tending the fire. Showing up when nobody's watching.

Read about discipline as devotion
https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-ritual-of-morning-cbb8e628dc61

#tapas #devotion#yogaphilosophy #spiritualpractice#yogateachings #easternphilosophy #embodiedwisdom #sacredpractice #dailydevotion

"This book is all madness.
Reason is alien to these pages.
Not until the soul breathes in
the fragrance of its own lunacy
can it stop being a stranger to itself."

#Bookstodon #BookReview #Sufism #EasternPhilosophy

The Conference of the Birds by Attar of Nishapur
https://hermitage.utsob.me/reading/books/read/the-conference-of-the-birds-by-attar/

🌀 Daily Tao Reflection 14

“Look, and it can’t be seen.
Listen, and it can’t be heard.
Reach, and it can’t be grasped.”

The Tao doesn’t hide. It just can’t be held.
Not a form. Not a sound. Not a thing.
But you can be it.

No beginning. No end.
No image, yet it shapes all images.
No name, yet it names all names.

#tao #taoteching #dailytao #mindfulness #laotzu #easternphilosophy

“Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.”

Climb or fall, the ladder is shaky.
Stand grounded—stay balanced.

Hope and fear arise from ego.
Lose the self—what’s left to fear?

🌀 See the world as yourself.
🌀 Love it as yourself.
🌀 Care for all things.

#tao #taoteching #dailytao #mindfulness #laotzu #spirituality #easternphilosophy

The story of the man who becomes premier and is dismissed from his post three times without showing any emotion highlights a critical Zhuangzian virtue. His equanimity stems from the understanding that honor and disgrace are external, circumstantial things that don't belong to the self. True self-worth cannot be given or taken away by others.

#Philosophy #Virtue #Zhuangzi #EasternPhilosophy #Dao

I've been reading more Zhuangzi, and one insight stood out: the ideal is to dwell between usefulness and uselessness—not as a rule, but as a fluid state. It fosters adaptability and freedom, shielding one from exploitation or irrelevance.

#Zhuangzi #Daoism #Dao #Philosophy #EasternPhilosophy

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an action and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character.” -Confucius

#Confucius #Habits #MindsetMatters #ChinesePhilosophy #SelfGrowth #InnerStrength #EasternPhilosophy #SelfMastery #Mindfulness #PersonalGrowth #Motivation #LifeWisdom