As the New Year rang in just one month ago, many around the world celebrated the end of the unofficial worst year ever. 2020 was a very tough year and many took up ways to cope, from starting creative projects to taking up new hobbies to watching new TV shows. People found what made them happy in times of extreme uncertainty.
Fortunately for us, thousands of years ago, people had some good ideas on how to handle times like these. Here are some small ways you can incorporate these teachings into your daily life.
Taoism
Taoism is the Chinese philosophy of going with the flow. Having one of the most contested histories out of all the ancient schools of thought, Taoism is widely regarded as being written by a man known as Lao Tzu, which is ancient mandarin for “old man.”
Taoism’s main teaching is something that has been referred to as “non-action.” It warns that, by forcing events to happen when they are not ready, you waste your energy aimlessly and to instead focus on what you can change today.
A simple way you can practice Taoism is to reflect on your day at the end of it and observe which problems solved themselves without your interference, which ones you were able to solve and which solutions have yet to present themselves.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion originating in India. It has many ways in which it is practiced, but they all seem to agree on the end goal of reaching Nirvana, a spiritual state of absolute enlightenment that can be reached by multiple reincarnations. Buddhism’s teachings stem from one called the Buddha, who was believed to be incarnated on Earth in the form of a man. Buddhism’s teachings emphasize the necessity of pain in life, the beauty of the natural world and human’s role in it and the importance of finding inner peace.
A Buddist exercise to do wherever you go is to appreciate the nature surrounding you. Quite literally stopping to smell the roses can go a long way in fostering a love and appreciation of the natural world, which in turn can clear your mind and prevent over-stressing.
Hermeticism
Daniel Molina, a Freemason and lecturer who has discussed the topic, was introduced to Hermeticism five years ago.
He said, “I read the Kybalion written by the mysterious ‘three initiates’… the text discusses the seven Hermetic principles, which are the principle of mentalism, correspondence, vibration, polarity, rhythm, cause & effect and the principle of gender. In short, to me, Hermeticism is a philosophical system that provides a better understanding of the universe we live in and the relationship that we have with said universe.”
Molina gives two principles to meditate on and to observe their effects on our lives.
He said, “For polarity, Hermeticism teaches that ‘everything is dual.’ With this, we understand that everything is composed of two opposites of the same thing. For example, there is the conservative manner of running the government and the progressive. Both are two poles of how to run a government. Specifically, meditating on the principle of polarity reminds one to be aware of [their] perception in all aspects of one’s life. When considering moments of love and hate or light and dark, our perception allows us to control what polar degree we experience…”
He continued, “For cause & effect, the principle of cause and effect teaches that there are no coincidences … With this understanding, meditating on this principle allows one to analyze different circumstances or aspects of one’s life to figure out what led to said circumstances. If one is dissatisfied, then it is within one’s power to ‘become the cause’ and make the necessary decisions or changes for an intended outcome.”
