Metaphor

Spirituality is

Applied poetry.

Metaphysics is

Applied metaphor.

All the methods that we have for knowing Tao came from observing the outside  world and then applying it to the human dilemma. In the past, the body was seen as a microcosm of the universe, spiritual energy was compared to the sun, the  duality of the body was matched to the duality of day and night, the habits of animals were copied for their innate wisdom, and the psychic centers of the body were  imagined as opening flowers. Even if we apply these ideas today, they yield results.

Metaphor is essentially a way to shape thoughts. The insights of poetry can  often guide us out of our problems; the imagery of an opening flower is often used  in meditation.

Yet poetry is only a sensation of the mind and there is no opening  flower inside of us. Human beings take objective reality and absorb it partially  through a poetry of the mind. Without this, there could be no sense of humor, no  creativity, and no spirituality.

For until we make the connection between all things,  we have no way out of the isolation that often infects us.