Ancient Chinese Secret ?

Do you remember that old commercial where a Caucasian woman with an American accent asks "Mr. Lee," a laundry shop owner, how he gets her shirts so clean. He replies, with what appears to be a Chinese accent, that it's an "ancient Chinese secret." That secret actually turns out to be Calgon water softener.

Here is the commercial:



Well, I'm learning that there are many, many ancient secrets that seem new to me, but which really have been around for hundreds of years. My latest interest is in the Tao Te Ching, which really is an ancient Chinese secret - but the secret is out.

I've been reading Wayne Dyer's newest book Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life, which is his year-long journey in studying the Tao Te Ching and offering his interpretation of the Tao through studying many translations. When you really stop and think about the Tao, it's not that difficult. What's difficult is getting rid of all the conditioning and beliefs that have been running us for so many years. As I read and think about these short verses, I'm starting to see that this ancient wisdom feels strangely familiar to me. It's not that difficult to give up all my beliefs and find that it's like coming home to Truth.

The Tao is not the only "ancient" wisdom that I've been reading recently. I'm amazed at the wisdom James Allen gave us in his little book called As A Man Thinketh. It's really difficult to dispute some of his claims. Here's one, for example:

"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound."

Or this one:

"Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results. This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles. Men understand this law in the natural work, and work with it; but few understand it in the mental and moral world (though its operation there is just as simple and undeviating), and they, therefore, do not cooperate with it."

Lots of wisdom there. Yet so often we seem to be fighting to remain in our victimhood and work so hard to justify our blame. Why is that?

I'm here at the radio station for my last broadcast and played John Mellencamp's Your Life is Now just now and he's as wise as the sages before him. Here are some of those lyrics:

"Would you teach your children to tell the truth
Would you take the high road if you could choose
Do you believe you're a victim of a great compromise
cause I believe you could change your mind and change our lives"

Wow - same message, different medium, different age.

We really are all connected - and it's no secret!