The ‘valley spirit’ is immortal,
It can be called the ‘mysterious female’.
The ‘mysterious female’ is the way.
To what is called ‘Heaven and Earth’s’ essence.
It is timeless like existence.
To be accessed without exertion.
Here in Chapter 6 of the Dao De Ching, I believe that Lao Tzu is giving us essential directions on how to become one with the Tao. The ‘valley spirit’ is such a beautiful metaphor for the true essence the lies deep within us. The valley is hidden by the mountains of the ego on all sides, no wonder it’s so difficult to approach. But to approach it we must and the way is by adopting the archetypal feminine characteristics which the ‘mysterious female’ (another great metaphor) represents. By being receptive, intuitive, passive, open, curious, etc. we are able to observe our true essence, our real self. This is the ‘way’ to the Tao or to the essence of ‘Heaven and Earth’ which is a wonderful metaphor for the Spiritual and Material World, which includes everything. It is through connecting with our true essence that we are able to understand and therefore deeply connect with the rest of life, those around us in the material world and to the higher spiritual world. Of course, our true essence has always been there, it is timeless like the essence of all of life; we just haven’t seen it. The mountains hide the valley, all the valleys, and all that’s left is a great mountain range of egos only concerned about trying to get bigger, higher. But seeing the valley is not easy because it’s so subtle and our conditioning and the size of our ego makes it so difficult. Because it’s so subtle, we cannot approach it as we would other things. We need to apply those feminine qualities, being unhurried without desire or expectation, remove the mental stuff (ego) that keeps getting in the way. If we can quiet the talking mind (ego), we can find our true essence and experience all of ‘Heaven and Earth’ fully for perhaps the first time.
