My Journey to Discover Myself Finally Starts for Real

A few months ago I was looking to find out how to change my life, what to do next. In this search, this Temple and I met each other and I instantly felt it was the right place to go.

I came as a blank page, with no per-conceptions or descriptions of what I’d find; only the brief words in the course calendar as an idea.

But it’s not everyday that one realizes he’s being taught the way to achieve immortality. The breadth and depth of the teachings of the Dao are immense, a huge foundation to absorb as a life guide.

So I thought I came as a blank page. But, no. I came carrying previous experiences, teachings, beliefs, fears, wounds, and so much more. And it has been a struggle to face some of these in light of the new teachings.

I did grow up with a feeling inside myself that I was destined to do something great in this life. But never ever even imagined that it could be attaining immortality.

Whether this is my path, my life destiny, is something I still have to find out. Shifu himself advised us to study and compare. At 39 years of age, my journey to discover myself finally starts for real. I cannot yet tell where it will lead me; I can only say that I feel the answers will keep coming for as long as I keep walking in the direction of finding myself.

Along the days here, it’s been incredible the number of times I’ve been said just the thing I needed to hear at that exact moment. My gratitude to Heaven and Earth for all they are giving me.

Gratitude and contemplation are probably the two elements I must work the most in the near term. With these, there’s certainly many other aspects to work on myself; the 49 barriers pose challenges that are by no means easy to overcome. A “path of bitterness” to be able to be worthy of such a compensation.

I’ll certainly struggle with some of the barriers. But, at least, to start with I’ve been blessed to be given all these teachings and to understand them. Except, I must confess, the barrier that I see as the water of humanity: Love. My heart tells me that we should worship love, and work on growing it more and more. The step of transcending to great love and ultimately to detach from it is something that I guess I’ll only be able to grasp in due time, after studying and cultivating more. Detachment is such a complex concept.

So I leave this summary open here.