Wayne Dyer’s interpretation: Putting a value on status will create contentiousness. If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal. By not displaying what is desirable, you will cause the people’s hearts to remain undisturbed. The sage governs by emptying minds and hearts, by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones. Practice not doing....When action is pure and selfless, everything settles into its own perfect place.
According to Dr. Dyer this verse of the Tao is about living contentment instead of being led by the ego’s fixation on getting more. Rather than seeking more, practice gratitude. It’s also about not seeking to do but seeking to be. This verse is about practicing not doing and then trusting that all will settle into a perfect place. Some might say this is lazy but Lao-tzu was not talking about being slothful or inactive but about being guided by a higher principle and getting the ego out of the way. Dr. Dyer asks us to allow what’s within to come forward. To remind ourselves daily that there is no way to happiness, rather happiness is the way. We need to bring happiness to every encounter instead of thinking outer events will bring joy. Stop pushing to get things done or obtain objects but feel gratitude and awe for what is right here in this moment. Remember that the Tao took care of everything in our creations and first 9 months of life and that it will do the same today. What we’re being asked is why not do the Tao in every situation?
Stephen Mitchell’s interpretation: If you over esteem great men, people become powerless. If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal. The Master leads by emptying people’s minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve. He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire, and creates confusion in those who think that they know. Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place.
Byron Katie’s interpretation: Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place.
Ms. Katie suggests that the Master leads simply by being. That if we allow reality to unfold it will bring with it more beauty, more luxury, more exquisite surprises than the imagination could ever devise. So that if we allow life to flow like water, we in essence become that water, always giving us what we need.
What comes to mind for me in this third verse of the Tao Te Ching is an area I struggle with constantly. Trusting in God. Not just believing that God will provide but trusting God by letting go of the worries, fears and desires in my life and knowing that no matter what may come, all will be well. Trusting that by listening to the “small still voice” inside of me I will be guided in everything I will ever what or need. And I mean EVERYTHING. Oh I’m pretty good at listening to my higher power when I’m feeling troubled. I’ve learned over my many years here on earth that the best way for me to solve any of my problems is to listen to that “small still voice” for God always has a much higher view of what’s going on than I do. I’ve even become pretty good at trusting in God when it comes to the big ticket items I desire in my life, like moving to a warmer climate and finding ways to make a living. But what I’m not so good at is actually stopping to listen before I make any decision, like what to eat for dinner, or whether to buy something at the store or not, or whether to take a particular trip, or even what direction I should go when I’m driving somewhere. Yet those are also situation
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