I do mention it a lot. I read about it when I was about 18 and was very interested in it but couldn't really understand it. I keep coming back to it and keep learning a little bit more. I appreciate Eastern thinking a lot but it can fall into the same traps as Western thinking (i.e. Confucianism can be quite bureaucratic and a bit po-faced). Most Taoists and Confucianists are also Buddhists (which is where the religious element comes in). Buddhism can also preach that life is sour and to be tolerated.
If you take just the Taoist principles (not really religious in terms of what should and shouldn't do, but more giving you a different way to think about things and yourself), you can find not something to believe in, but a way of life ("Tao" means "The Way"). Most Westerners start out with "The Tao Of Pooh and the Te of Piglet", an especially good book if you're familiar at all with Winnie The Pooh because it could be argued that he follows "The Way".
What I've noticed are that the people who are most at odds with Taoism tend to be least happiest in life and so it makes some sense to assume that Taoism brings inner peace. I am very much a novice, though. It takes way more than reading books, but it's a good start.
Atheist problems.
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I do mention it a lot. I read about it when I was about 18 and was very interested in it but couldn't really understand it. I keep coming back to it and keep learning a little bit more. I appreciate Eastern thinking a lot but it can fall into the same traps as Western thinking (i.e. Confucianism can be quite bureaucratic and a bit po-faced). Most Taoists and Confucianists are also Buddhists (which is where the religious element comes in). Buddhism can also preach that life is sour and to be tolerated.
If you take just the Taoist principles (not really religious in terms of what should and shouldn't do, but more giving you a different way to think about things and yourself), you can find not something to believe in, but a way of life ("Tao" means "The Way"). Most Westerners start out with "The Tao Of Pooh and the Te of Piglet", an especially good book if you're familiar at all with Winnie The Pooh because it could be argued that he follows "The Way".
What I've noticed are that the people who are most at odds with Taoism tend to be least happiest in life and so it makes some sense to assume that Taoism brings inner peace. I am very much a novice, though. It takes way more than reading books, but it's a good start.