I don’t know that much about Taoism, but what I read about it in Benjamin Hoff’s primer, makes a lot of sense in the integral way of looking at things. There’s a sense of calm in letting things be what they are instead of trying to make them into something else. This seems a pluralistic/integral view of existence, with a focus on being, rather than doing. Not to the exclusion of doing, but just to even out the scales a bit. Having our life  (identity, creative process, etc…) instead of being had by it. A few things that struck me, in regards to art: The uncarved block, or P’u in Chinese, has obvious correlations to sculpture—and when DaVinci said the statue already exists in the stone, I just have to remove the extra bits (my paraphrase). That reveals to me a sense of ultimate, or underlying truth, which, whether or not we uncover it, the “shape inside” is there anyway. (p. 11) In the case of identity, the Taoist way recommends finding out my place and function, then operating within my limitations—knowing that my weaknesses may very well turn out to be my strengths. (pp. 48-49) Emptiness and loneliness look a lot alike. (p. 147) From this I distill a couple of principles that might be applied to the practice of making art. 1) Don’t try so hard. Let the art be what it is and try not to get in the way of that flow. 2) Let my unique expression have its own parade. So I’m not technically or realistically skilled? Who cares? Do what I do REALLY well. 3) Slow down and clear out some of the brain/life clutter. Entertaining emptiness will help me stay connected to the Ground of Being—the source of creative inspiration.