When inner energy does not flow we turn to something new in our environment for comfort, stimulation, food for identity.

His desire for continuation is for this identity-feeling to continue, it requires activity, demands experience, or it fears for its validity and existence. This makes it difficult for us to follow the tao when it is inactive.

Feeling is the link between our inner and outer selves (one self in larger terms, but we feel it as two). Persisting in feeling the tao is, here, to have faith that the life force is providing the nourishment we need; this is the continuance in following the tao of which the oracle speaks.

Following the tao is choiceless and when we make no choices we cannot regret them.

When our own life force energies need no expression and have become silent we may follow the tao concerning some need outside ourselves.

Feeling is our first interpretation of the life force, from it we define our reactions and outer actions in the world; here in this tao we are scattering a form of identity so it is counter-productive to turn feeling into attitudes.

Feeling is protected if kept within; in sacrificing the formation of an attitude we must hurry because feeling turns into an attitude so quickly we hardly see it turning, if indeed we see it at all. If we can stop in time, regret will disappear because regret is only possible when we have invested in attitudes.

Our outer activity naturally wanes in this tao, and it is harmonious to allow it to die away so that we have no goal, no desire to achieve. We will then be empty, ready to allow the inner source to pass through and resonate in us.

Our own outer activity is normally directed towards achieving our desires in the world. Here we withdraw from this relationship, it is time to end what we have been doing to make room for something new.

The ordinary man is our normal mode of creating a world out of our attitudes, it takes an extraordinary attitude to realize that our being is indestructible and our form one of continual change.

Feeling is not creating anything and we are living in this state of non-identification more where nothing leads identity and it becomes an awareness of being.

The effort is great when the identifying process gives away the right to identify; identity gives up the ownership of what is there; it is a great statement, a great realization.

Accepting dispersal in our inner being is the scattering of our ongoing self, the realization that this is not necessary to being.

Blood is the life flow, the nourishing medium of our inner life which enables the separate parts to maintain themselves. To scatter this is to dissipate the established pattern of ourself or to keep it at a distance from our ability to be. It is to flow simply with the life force rather than with our own pattern of flow.

The first sign of inner movement is not the time to make outer action. We should not be too eager or we shall not have the support of the life force and whatever we do will be superficial and unsatisfactory.

Activity is identity’s chosen role; here we feel the inactivity of the life force and fear for our ability to act.

In the darkness (activity is the “light” of consciousness) there are calls for light, for activity to avert extinction of our ability to identify, but we are armed with the light of the tao—the movement will come when it comes, we need not fear to miss but we will stay alert, that is how we are armed.

Here we are not peaceful enough to withstand the anticipation of the tao and we create outer activity which will divert the life flow.

The cheekbones enable us to read determination in another’s face; here there is this power of self-will which is misfortunate in this context because no amount of it can be effective and it produces stress with no flow for its relief. The wide-seeing superior man is just going about his business, not trying to push things, and this is correct in our present circumstances.

Here we are involving our identity in outer inactivity, which is to say we are worried about it and consider it a problem to be solved; this is an impatience for activity and is not supported by the life force.

The muscles of the thigh carry us forward, and here there is no support from the life force if we go forward. If we were following the life force we would not have this problem.

Our intuitive state is inactive (line 2) so here we become aware of this lack of feeling. This has dangers in this tao because unless we can persevere with quiet feeling, our interest will arouse desire for active feeling; if we create activity with desire we will miss the next movement of circumstances.

The middle way is neither identified outside nor inside, it is non-identified, clinging to the real or wholeness or earth. Staying with what exists, not searching, is the advice contained here.

This whole tao is a watching for potential to be manifest and this sixth line is the watcher of the emerging life force; if we cease to be alert it will catch us by surprise and we will be out of step with it.