Living in a Toxic World

We are living in a toxic world, very different from that of our ancestors. As a result, our minds, bodies, and souls have also become toxic to a greater or lesser extent.

First of all, our minds are toxic. In this age of advanced technology, we are often over-loaded with information and over-stimulated by sights and sounds that are mostly toxic in nature, although we may not be fully aware of it. There are simply too many stimulants that have made our minds become compulsive and restless. We have knowingly and unknowingly created undue stress for ourselves.

While growing up, many are facing different challenges and struggles that come in many different forms, such as being too tall or too short, being skinny or overweight; being too rich or too poor, and the list could go on and on. On top of these, many need to belong to or be a part of a group in order to find their true identities, without which they always feel that they are insecure and worthless. Toxins in the many forms of stress corrupt the mind. Indeed, growing up in a toxic environment is not for the faint of heart.

Stepping into the adult world does not make life any easier. Pursuing a career, finding a love relationship, starting a family—many are, more often than not, filled with hurdles and obstacles in the form of anger, betrayal, bitterness, competitiveness, envy, frustration, and many other toxic emotions and thoughts that further stress the mind.

Growing old is even more stressful. Time is running short as well as running out. Adding insults to injuries are frailties and infirmities of the body and the mind, both of which may have become over-toxic by then, and thus devastating the soul.

The reality is that life comes in different stages, and each stage is full of its own challenges and problems that often turn into toxic thoughts in the mind, which create toxic emotions leading to toxic actions and reactions, and they have become toxic memories, haunting the mind, stressing the body, as well as staining the soul.

A toxic mind is responsible for a toxic body. The human body is connected with the mind in the form of biochemical reactions in the body and nerve impulses in the brain. This invisible and intricate communication is subtly responsible for the alignment or misalignment of the flow of life-giving energy between the body and the mind; hence, if the mind is toxic, the body is also naturally vulnerable to its toxicity. In addition, you are living in a physical environment that in itself is very toxic and polluted; therefore, your susceptibility to body toxins increases by multi-folds. Your toxic body only further poisons your toxic mind.

A toxic mind produces a toxic body, and their toxicity taints the soul, ultimately making the soul become toxic too. A toxic soul is incapable of guiding and directing behaviors, actions, and reactions in their physical forms in the mundane world.

NO EGO NO STRESS

This book is made up four parts.

PART ONE An Introduction to Stress

It explains how and where stress comes from, and the damage of stress to human health.

PART TWO Conventional Wisdom:

Stress comes from career, money, relationship, adversity, and time. Conventional wisdom offers many strategies for stress relief, such as exercise, herbs, medications, meditation, and psychotherapies, among many others. Conventional wisdom may reduce stress levels, but it does not eradicate stress completely. Conventional wisdom only complements the ancient Tao wisdom for ultimate stress relief.

PART THREE Tao Wisdom:

This part not only explains what Tao wisdom is all about, but also contains the complete translation in simple English of all the 81 short chapters of “Tao Te Ching” which is one of the most translated works in world literature. Going through the whole script, interpreted and translated by the author, will enable you to understand the essentials of Tao wisdom for stress-free contemporary living.

PART FOUR No Ego No Stress:

Stress originates from the human mind: how it perceives and processes life experiences. What is stress to one individual may not be stress to another. This part explains in detail how having no ego can eradicate all stress related to career, relationship, money, adversity, and time.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau