About
Welcome
Hello, my name is Paul Dotta, and welcome to PaulsDaoMeditations. This is one of my first steps toward sharing my interests in mental and physical health, ancient philosophy, improving in all areas of life, and finding a community that shares these interests.
What you will find on PaulsDaoMeditations.com is: a blog of short essays concentrating on some passage taken from philosophy, primarily the DaoDeJing, articles on topics that I find interesting, and links to social media where I share travel and lifestyle content.
You might be wondering, why?
That answer is a work in process, but what I can say with certainty, is that good people should use technology to deepen positive connections and outcomes. We all share this experience called Life, have an opportunity to consider big questions of why we are here, and contribute to the discourse. Public sharing encourages introspection and discipline, something I find I must work on continuously. I invest a lot of time and mental effort in setting physical goals for myself, and sharing progress in that area helped me stay committed and led to connecting with interesting people. That got me thinking how the same could be done with mental exercise.
What’s the process?
I struggle with meditiation as a stand-alone practice. Sitting and concentrating on breathing gets boring quickly. Often I fall asleep. During practice, I've noticed that my mind will eventually begin ruminating on interesting subjects and I want to get a pen and take notes. Therefore, a good process for me is to practice mindfulness for a short time, maybe only ten minutes, sitting quietly listening to the breath, or focusing on an object, sight, or smell. Sometimes I'll do a walking meditation. Then, sitting down with a notebook, I meditate on a single chapter of the DaoDeJing for 10-20 minutes, whatever feels right. The structure of the DaoDeJing is written in a condensed way, focusing on a single or related concept(s), which I find leads naturally to focused introspection. Finally, I write down my thoughts in the moment. The whole procedure takes about 30 to 40 minutes. Some days thoughts flow smoothly, other days I may edit and improve on past work. There is no judgment and no pressure (ideally, that's the goal). The point is to learn as I go, as this entire project should be viewed.
An honest disclaimer
I make no claims to academic credentials or even to a moderately deep understanding of Laozi, Tao, or Chinese history. I have lived in China for 26 years (and counting), so while the way of life and work here is familiar to me, I am experienced enough to know how little I actually understand. What is shared here are my observations, opinions, and impressions in the moment. I am an imperfect being, and being imperfect, changeable. If anything shared here upsets you, please know that such a result is not ever intentional. We can talk about it. Reach out and we can share.
A humble request
Conversations are best when there is positive give and take, so please, feedback is welcome. My thinking, content, and this site will improve with your input, so I really appreciate that you take the time to contact me through email (pdotta1@gmail.com) or by using any of the social media links below. If you feel I can contribute or collaborate with your organization or business, just ask. All is possible.
