Taoism

Taoism (or daoism) is an ancient Chinese way of living and philosophy. Tao means "the way" or "the path".

Furthermore, Taoism expresses the holistic view of humans living in harmony or "oneness" with nature and being a "microcosm within the macrocosm" of the Universe. These are foundations of Chinese medicine which is said to be inspired by early Taoist thought.

Lao Tzu was a Chinese philosopher and writer. He is the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching from the 6th-century BC, the founder of philosophical Taoism. Taoism is considered a spiritual practice and is not necessarily religious. Learning about the concepts provides alternative perspectives that allow for self-awareness and the cultivation of inner peace and healing.

Much of Taoism relates to health. Mental health is deemed essential to physical wellbeing.

Nutrition is important and it's said what you put inside your body you become. Very simply and directly, the correlation of quality of life to diet is obvious, once again through practicing balance.

Some of Lao Tzu’s most significant teachings are as follows:

Yin and Yang: "good" exists only if there is "bad", "light can't exist without "dark" and so on. It further reiterates nonattachment. Don't get too caught up on one side of things, rather seek balance.

Non-attachment: seeing something for how it really is, rather than how you want it to be.

Non-contention: violence and conflict creates negativity, no matter how minimal. It is the goal to work through issues calmly whenever possible.

Non-intention: often we do things in order to receive recognition, but that is in opposition with our soul and with nature. True virtue is a state where such actions flow naturally, requiring no conscious effort and no need of external approval.

Simplicity: there is power and truth in simplicity and not over complicating one's life. Often, we overcomplicate things to avoid truth and our internal reality. Contentment and satisfaction are found in life's simple treasures.

Wisdom: using logic is important in our lives but should not define us. If we only use our rational mind, we miss out on the connection to something greater. In order to transcend our learning to our life we need to use our intuition and our Heart.

Humility. The more you learn, the more you realise there is still so much more to learn and opens you up to other ideas and realisations which tends to make you humble. Most of the time people who are arrogant are ignorant.