Easier said than done.

Global Positioning Systems a.k.a. GPS make it virtually impossible to get lost these days. Granted the dreaded ‘no data’ prompt provides for some Maalox moments when you realize that you’ve trusted the voice a bit too much and consequently failed to pay attention to where you were going. User oblivion allows plenty of margin for error but by and large a GPS will guide you to almost anywhere. Simply plug in your current position, add your destination and voila! Enroute, you are prompted at every turn by a pleasant, English, gender of your choice, voice in a box. Relieved of the pressures and responsibilities of charting your own course you can sit back and enjoy the ride. If your destination runs amuck you can blame it on the box. The box accepts this blame without complaint as it continuously updates your position. If you do take a wrong turn, no worries, the box will recalculate your direction and lead you back on course. Don’t panic, keep driving, keep smiling, all is well.

If only there was a GPS for the soul. The name of the device would have to be changed as the range would outreach the confines of the mortal coil. How about Astral Positioning System? By punching in a few, personal, details the APS could enlighten you as to your current, spiritual trajectory and suggest a path of least resistance by calculating the projected outcome of each encounter based on collected data from similar encounters in your past.

The data would require some modification from that of a typical GPS. The basic input required could be: action/reaction/result with an additional box at the bottom of the screen for logging the reaction to the result.

Beyond the differences in input the basic responses of an APS remain applicable to that of a GPS.

For example: It’s is Monday morning. You see you boss coming toward you after an unpleasant exchange on Friday when you, in a moment of mouth speaks before brain thinks, called out your boss for blaming you for her mistakes.

Enter data: action(unwarranted blame assignment from superior to cover their inadequacies)/reaction(telling superior that you know full well what is going on and you don’t appreciate it!)/result(superior gets angrier and avoids you for the rest of the day) with additional box for reaction to result(apologize because it’s the correct thing to do but come Monday you are STILL PISSED ABOUT IT!! )



APS command: Roadblock ahead. Turn around at first possible opportunity. Consider alternate route.

I recently read an unassuming book entitled, “Tao Te Ching.”

Vs. 24
On his tiptoes a man is not steady
Taking long strides he cannot keep pace

To the self-serving nothing shines forth
To the self-promoting nothing is distinguished
To the self-appointing nothing bears fruit
To the self-righteous nothing endures

From the viewpoint of Tao, this self-indulgence is like rotting food and painful growths on the body-
Things that all creatures despise
So why hold onto them?
When walking the path of Tao
this is the very stuff
that must be uprooted, thrown out and left behind.

Vs. 56
One who speaks does not know
One who knows does not speak

Shut the mouth
Close the gates
Blunt the sharpness
Loosen the knots
Temper the glare
Become one with the dust of the world.
This is called
“The Secret Embrace”

One who knows this secret
Is not moved by attachment or aversion,
Swayed by profit or loss,
Nor touched by honor or disgrace
He is far beyond the cares of men
Yet comes to hold the dearest place in their hearts

Vs. 76
When life begins
We are tender and weak
When life ends
We are stiff and rigid
All things, including the grass and trees,
Are soft and pliable in life
Dry and brittle in death

So the soft and supple
Are the companions of life
While the stiff and unyielding
Are the companions of death

An army that cannot yield
Will be defeated
A tree that cannot bend
Will crack in the wind
Thus by Nature’s own decree
The hard and strong are defeated
While the soft and gentle are triumphant

action(unwarranted blame assignment)/reaction(silence)/result(sun continues to rise and set) with additional box for reaction to result(triumphant!)