The TAO of STEEM - Part 1: It´s all a beginning!
Let me start off by introducing to you, what you are getting here.
I’m a spiritual guy, but I love to put things of daily interest into a totally new perspective. Chances are (if you have read past articles by me) that you won’t even realize, that I have written about spiritual stuff at all.
The thing is, that for me, everything is spiritual and I truly believe, that in the new paradigm, people have to get to this point, where everyday stuff gets a totally new meaning.
In this article series, I want to introduce to you the TAO of STEEM!
There will be many things to smile about and to contemplate - to learn how STEEM can enrich your life and make you STEEMlightened!
Join me down the rabbit hole, while I make up rules and steps as we go along….
1. Be present on STEEM
“Stand before it and there is no beginning. Follow it and there is no end. Stay with the ancient Tao, move with the present.” – Lao Tse (Chapter 14, Tao Te Ching)
The first rule of the TAO of STEEM is to become present. With that I mean, that you should really read and listen and let things sink in.
Don’t just look for the right timing to hit the upvote button or copy/paste some stupid spam comment under posts, just because you hope to earn something with that behavior.
Being present means to show up with your mind and heart at the same time. Dare to be you - real, authentic and forget every plan you have made, that you force yourself to stick to.
Being present means to be you - and there is no right or wrong way to do so.
If you want to become a STEEM TAO master, you have to take this (what´s the right spiritual word for it? oh yes…) shit for real!
2. Paying attention pays you STEEM
„If I have even just a little sense, I will walk on the main road, and my only fear will be of straying from it. Keeping to the main road is easy, but people love to be sidetracked.”– Lao Tse (Chapter 53, Tao Te Ching)
Open your mouth only after you have really read and listened to the stuff here. Show people, that you are paying attention.
The truth is, that you don’t invest Steem to earn Steem. What you are really investing is your attention.
The more you pay attention, the higher your STEEM payout will become.
3. Know less and then forget the rest
“In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.” – Lao Tse (Chapter 48, Tao Te Ching)
Knowledge is bondage. If you treat other people and the world out of your knowledge, you are not open enough, to let new things sink in.
Always keep an open mind and if you question viewpoints, start with your own first. STEEM is about learning and growth. For that to happen, you have to empty the cup first, before new things can fill it up.
4. Take your time and then slow down even more
“It is not wise to rush about.” – Lao Tse (Chapter 55, Lao Te Ching)
Yeah, we all know, that this crypto and blockchain tech is fast and the common believe is, that the faster something is, the better.
STEEM is already fast (I mean, 3 second transaction times are awesome), but chances are, that you won’t get STEEM rich in such a short time.
Be patient, then breathe, then slow down even more, before you do anything on STEEM. Take your freaking time! It´s all about the journey.
You can’t have fun, when you are in a hurry….
5. Accept the flow of the TAO
“Do not be concerned with loss or gain.” – Lao Tse (Chapter 13, Tao Te Ching)
What goes up, must come down - and then it will go up again. Its the flow of life. Waves. The flow of Steem and even that of Bitcoin (although there my never be an up for Bitcoin again, but hey, even the best things must come to an end, right?)
This is one of the most important parts of the TAO of STEEM teachings.
The price of STEEM will go up and down and as long as you attach your moods to the moods of the market (masses), and let them dictate your inner state, you are lost.
Instead know, that everything comes in phases. YIN and YANG.
For that, you have only to slightly shift your focus away from the numbers and start to see the bigger picture.
There is nothing outside the TAO. Everything is the TAO.
So the good news is, that you can’t miss the TAO!
So why hurry? Why concentrate on the red, when the green will come soon without a doubt? It´s all part of the journey. So relax and enjoy the ride!
Since I know, that it´s hard for most people to read longer texts, I will stop for now and let these first things sink in. Rest assured, that there will be a part 2 (and most likely many more parts to come).
Now that we are reaching the upvote button below, I want to tell you, that you will get guaranteed good curation rewards on every of my posts, because I always use upvote bots, to make it rewarding for me and for everyone who is supporting this message.
Please also resteem - not only my posts, but in general I truly believe, that we should all resteem much more, since this is the best way to support people (especially if you got low SP yourself). Thank you!
See you in the next part of the TAO of STEEM!
This is a shoutout to fellow STEEM TAO MASTERS @taskmaster4450 and @wwf ❤️
Thank you for the honour and recognition. I am deeply touched and moved. <3
@atmosblack I liked how you themed your post around Taoism. It's true, one of the things I believe will overwhelm people is trying to consume a lot of content, try to make sense of it, and then post a comment in the hope of making a buck. But it is also a surefire way to burnout pretty fast. So being here now, present to the moment, to the article will be a gainful in its own way. Keep the posts coming. We can learn and grow together on this journey called life! Cheers!
Thank you so much! 🙏
Most Welcome:)
Beautiful mate! You artist you! Facts of life right there 😀 and well worth a RS
Thanks man! ❤️
I am joining you on this path. I have no doubt that I will make it here on the blockchain and this has the most important meaning to me what "making it" means. I can be annoyed by people who are rushing and leave superficial comments on my blog or I can be patient and encourage them with what I can sense through a hasty comment. What I found out to live up to my ethics - or the TAO - is that I add to the great scheme of life whenever I interact with another one. Even my sheer existence has a meaning for people, may I believe it or not. I am a role model and so every one is.
The more I look for content and people who share the same worldview the more I find them. And I am amazed by how many there are!
The great learnings I pick up while acting on this platform is how I myself feel when I see someone with greater "success", the stings it gives me and then how I can transform this negative emotion into something of value. My dark side will always accompany me and I like to take care of it as it is one part of what I call "me". For this reason, I even purchased a wonderful piece of art from another user which contains this message: "embrace the beast". The artist named his picture "force". It will now remind me on what I have told myself and will serve as a visible anchor on my wall.
Thank you for putting up the TAO of Steem! It is a great writing and it contains almost all of what people can consider on their way through life.
Thank you for your beautiful and in depth reflections!
Yes, "the beast" (or the shadow aspect as I prefer to call it) has a huge importance also on my path. I will write about this in future articles too. I also have some articles about it, that I wrote in German over the past years - so I just need to take the time to translate them into English.
I had an interesting encounter with our dark friend "envy" yesterday here on Steemit. I found a post in the "psychology" category here about Mindfulness. It was (for me) a very superficial article on a very (let´s try to say it nicely) "basic" level (I would call it "Kindergarden Level" ;))
I couldn´t believe, how many people upvoted and commented on the article, like it was the first time in their life that they heard about "mindfulness" and "meditation". Yes, it was my chance to have a look on my own (spiritual) arrogance and on the envy, that such a "superficial" article gets way more recognition than my "deep spiritual shit" articles. 😀
HaHa! thank you, you must be my mutual shadow here :-) You know, I had the same feelings about it and now that you are coming up with it, I think it is just another starting point. I've heard once the expression "to pick up people where they stand".
Not a long time ago I was standing exactly at that same spot on my journey. I dealt quite some time with the mindfulness business and for me, this was just another rung on the ladder of self-knowledge.
I suspected there was more to it and so I dug deeper into the earth to get higher up. I was amazed that the people who followed the idea of Minfullness had somehow come into contact with the Tao, but for many people the terms were too strange and unfamiliar to confront them.
You must first choose a more understandable translation. Some of them jump onto the train and ride along, others sit in the compartment and unconsciously take in the essence of the food served. Others jump off and get lost somewhere else.
I have decided to go along and see where it will take me. The journey remains exciting and to be inside it feels right. The great role models of human history have tried to express all this in different variations and will continue to do so. The Asian teachings are a rich resource and find their way to us here. It's a blessing that they exist.
P.S. are you German?
Yeah, it really is picking up where people stand. Since I´m into spirituality since I was just 15 years old, I somehow lost touch with where most people are as it seems. I´m from Austria. 😀Good that we found each other!
Followed the trail to you from a recent post @axios and so very happy to have done so.
The concept of this post is genius and makes the Tao accessible to many.
Your number 4 especially resonated with me as I often forget to be patient and enjoy the journey!
:)
I am an artist/writer/lightworker who had a spiritual epiphany a short while back. These days I speak to spirit!
My writing explores spirituality in simple terms ~ I call it 'Kitchen Sink Spirituality'.
I have followed you and invite you to pop by mine if you have a moment; I have a series of, short form, essays on 'Love' which you may appreciate here.
I look forward to getting to virtually know you over the coming months and wish you well.
xox
Thank you! I already love your kitchen sink spirituality by its name alone! 😀
I´ll have a look and thanks for reaching out! I love to get in touch with fellow lightworkers! ❤️
Yes! This is such a fantastic idea - and so damn relevant. I would say that every point you mentioned is something I've experienced in the Steemit/crypto space. When you're trading, especially as a newb, it's quite easy to lose your way and find yourself operating from the past or future, when the best way to be is right here and now. That's where the best decisions happen.
Great share @atmosblack. So glad you also got the love for it ;-)
Thanks, man! Very appreciated! Stay tuned for part 2 next week 😀...or maybe even tomorrow, when the TAO guides me 😉
You have my attention, @atmosblack. I’m an Egyptian poet & frequently turn to Tao te Ching for sustenance and inspiration. Will try to apply what you say to Steemit, too, more consciously.
Here are my own ‘spiritual’ aphorisms: https://steemit.com/writing/@yahialababidi/brief-reflections-on-cynicism-and-faith-original-sayings
Peace,
Yahia
Thank you! So good to get in touch. I´ll have a look at your posts now. Blessings! ❤️
I can jam to this. I love some good Tao/Zen/Stoic thoughts. Especially important these last few days with the market going as haywire as it is. STEEM is one of the greatest things to ever happen to the internet, we just need all the chaos and smoke to clear first for people to notice it, quietly doing its thing over here and on the various D-sites...
Very nice post, i like the choose of quotes! And I agree very much that an open and present mindset is very important :)
Peace
Thank you! ❤️
Thankyou,
very good advice :-) I've taken a good few months to get started here and I have no clue where this whole thing is going to take me :-)
For now it's a learning process :-)
The good thing with STEEM is, that it´s the only cryptocurrency that even pays you when the markets go down and it´s a working product. Even when you are not in for the money aspect, you will always earn in knowledge and valuable connections.
You are very welcome!