My Venture Into The Wisdom of Taoism and Systems

In 1994, I read a book that changed the course of my life. Written by the legendary pro basketball coach Phil Jackson, Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior was my first orientation to the practical tenets of Zen Buddhism. It remains my all-time favorite book. Little did I know this gem of a read would serve as my entry point to a philosophical path known as Taoism.

So what is Taoism? My Taoist teacher Casey Kochmer offers a great perspective to ponder:

“Taoism is more than a philosophy or religion. Rather, it’s a lifestyle dedicated to being the best person you can be in life. A Personal Tao is defined by how you flow with your essence. Essence is about how you live fully in your style, not allowing outside crises or stories to limit you. Taoism, as a practice, teaches a person ways of growing stronger against the unknown.”

In light of the chaos and uncertainty of 2020, finding wisdom and guidance for the path ahead is paramount. It’s about focusing exclusively on what’s right in front of us at that moment.

I just recently completed a book entitled “The Tao of Systems Thinking:” Exploring The Parallels Between Eastern Mysticism and System Thinking” by Michael McCurley which offered some enlightening insights for the times that we’re in. 

Filled with pithy life wisdom, this book explores the parallels between ancient Chinese mysticism tied to Lao Tzu’s book Tao Te Ching more than 2,500 years ago and a body of work known as Systems Thinking in the mid-20th century.  What I discovered in reading this book are the striking parallels between the Tao Te Ching written more than two thousand years ago and principles of Systems Thinking that have been advanced in recent times. 

Today, in the aftermath of a pandemic, looming economic uncertainty, and social unrest our world may seem difficult to understand. Given these realities, I believe it is our duty to stay grounded in who we authentically are while allowing ourselves to flow rhythmically with the natural order of life. The keyword here is “flow” as opposed to “force.” 

In “The Tao of Systems Thinking” author McCurley asserts that people often make choices that are not optimal because of a lack of perspective regarding how systems and intricacies surrounding them operate. 

He notes in Chapter 2:

“To maintain a balance that unifies your energies, you must be highly flexible. By adapting to the cycles within systems, you will discover their hidden virtues.”

This very much comports to my own personal belief that life becomes unbalanced and goes haywire whenever we attempt to force things to their unnatural extremes. As with the health practice of acupuncture, the root of our health maladies is often tied to extreme imbalances in our bodies. As a skilled acupuncturist will attest, either rebalance these or suffer the consequences. 

McCurley also talks in the book about the importance of turning off our minds and avoiding overthinking things — an unnatural state that can again lead to imbalances and stress. He says that this overthinking often occurs as a result of our obsessive concern around making mistakes. 

It’s here where McCurley is a big advocate of simplicity. In his book, he notes: 

“Simplicity is the root of more complex systems. It is easier to work with complicated issues by starting out with basic components and principles. From these we see how more elaborate structures emanate. Once we grasp fundamental principles, we will understand better how more complex things work and be able to troubleshoot issues when things don’t function as we expect.”

This, he says, often requires us to engage in a practice of forgetting what we’ve learned, reimagining things for ourselves that allow us to “go beyond how and understand why.” 

As a minimalist myself, I so resonate with this as my life is about keeping things simple and avoiding complexity. Some call it boring. I call it smart. 

McCurley says that this possibility of more interferes with our basic knowledge of what’s enough — a fact that’s not surprising given the natural inclination as human beings to think that more is better when it isn’t. 

I was also struck by another piece of wisdom that McCurley offer about partway through the book: 

“What distinctions can we make between “good” or “bad”? Since when do we distinguish what we do because we fear what others think? Learn to think for yourself!

In recent months, I have begun to fully embrace this concept of “thinking for myself,” — allowing my emotional hot cognition to drive my cold rational cognition. As a result, I am now fully directing my energies toward my own passion project “Great Books, Great Minds”

In parlance that smacks of Ayn Randianism, McCurley in his book inquires: 

“Do you think actively or passively? Learn to think for yourself! Be responsible for your own existence and learn to think critically. Not just to complain—you must learn how to transform your environment—first by focusing mentally within—and then the external, physical world will begin changing as well.”

Learning, he says begins with the process of emptying ourselves, noting:

“Those who are caught up by superficial aspects will be constantly agitated. But wiser men, who know what is profound and well-rooted, are tranquil and serene.”

He says that we need to focus on what makes us truly happy — a direction that is quite different from the often common call to pursue more materialistic endeavors. 

The challenge I found in reading this forward-thinking advice on how to direct our lives is that we are living in a time of rarified air — where covid and the deeper economic and societal unrest have created such chaotic conditions for us to navigate through. 

Personally, I believe that the biggest barrier impacting the flow of humanity has been our reliance on political leaders. Often, I find that we end up turning over our power to those who do not have our best interests at hand and who care little about our best interests. 

To this point, I recently responded to an Instagram post where someone began taking issue with those who resist the notion of climate change amidst the devastating fires on the West Coast. Here’s what I had to say:

“We as a people need to get busy versus bemoaning those who are in denial about climate change. Because at the end of the day, pure numbers dictate there is more of us than them, which equates to a groundswell of political power and influence. We’ve been waiting for how long now for these leaders to step up and address this issue? Well, it ain't happening in a substantive way anytime soon. If there’s going to be meaningful change, we the people need to emerge as leaders. This is something we can all do in small ways. By way of example, I went car free in 2012 and began walking virtually everywhere. In fact, I just walked back a few minutes ago in the drinking rain to the Airbnb I’m staying at versus taking an extra trip in a car. Maybe folks will stop laughing and join me.”

McCurley is “spot on” in his assessment of today’s oligarchical political climate opining: 

“The problem is that those who are selfish have discovered effective ways of controlling what they take, by creating an illusion that other people must depend upon them in order to succeed or survive, rather than the actual resources required.” 

Here, McCurley is speaking to the dangers of political ideology, the type of groupthink that can exact severe consequences for those who think for themselves and have views counter to the accepted norm. 

As my Taoist Casey Kochmer coach often reminds me, “nonconformity to the status quo could get you killed.”  

Adds McCurley: 

“Somehow a few people still have a sneaking suspicion that something isn’t quite right, but they’re not encouraged to express dissension or contradictory opinions because of what others might think, unless, of course, they’ve joined one party of thought or another, where most of their thinking is already done for them.” 

He notes that people are often encouraged to think for themselves, they are simultaneously dissuaded in very subtle ways from offering an alternative thought to the prevailing groupthink. 

In the end, the more we try to change things, the more resistance there is by way of the prevailing model. Our best course, therefore, is to focus on changing yourself in order to adapt and pivot to the new realities that are taking shape in today’s new pandemic normal. McCurley’s book does a great job of articulating this very important message.