The Way of The Tau

 The Way of The Tau

Aspects of The Way of The Tau include:

1. Self-reliance is vital for survival.

2. Being ecologically conscientious is vital for survival.

3. Dependence upon material attachment weighs down and pollutes the mind.

4. Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, Thoughtfulness, Focus, and Empathy are vital for living.

5. The interconnected and impermanent nature of the universe is such that your actions, words and even thoughts affect all things.

6. Directly or indirectly we all are affected by the results of our choices and actions.

The Early Tau

The Way of The Tau is very old, predating written records. One of the earliest known written references of The Tau is in an ancient obscure Cliodynamics equation, as a symbol representing "the nature of all things" or "the truth underlying existence".

Before coming to Araxes, the ancestors of the people who would become known as The Desertborn were citizens from various parts of the Trantorian Galactic Imperium who were dissatisfied with the materialistic consumptive ways of the Imperium. What they shared in common was a modified version of The Tau.

This Way of the Tau described the core beliefs of these colonization era emigrants to Araxes, but The Way subtly changed as their descendants underwent unexpected fundamental physiologically and psychological changes due to exposure to Spice from conception to the grave. These changes gradually shaped what we know as The Desertborn.

The Way of The Tau is not a religion. The Way of The Tau does not involve itself with creator gods, spirits, deity worship or appeasement, divine intervention, afterlife scenarios, revelation experience from the divine, or other metaphysical matters which rely upon unproven assumptions or indefinable terms.

The Way of The Tau is both a philosophy and a way of life. It promotes thoughtfulness, mindfulness, empathy, and self-awareness of thoughts and actions so as to develop understanding the nature of the mind and understanding the impermanent nature of the universe. These understandings lead one to self-fulfilment and liberation from needless frustration and discontent.

It is said, "Once you better understand how your mind works, your mind can work better for you. Once you better understand how the universe works, the universe can work better for you."

Better understanding of how your mind and how the universe truly is allows for a profound clarity of thought which frees one from needless frustration and discontent. This freedom is necessary for long term survival of the individual and all peoples.

Devotees of The Way of The Tau warn strongly against blind faith; there is danger inherent in fashioning one's beliefs merely on hearsay, on tradition, because many others say it is so, on the authority of ancient scriptures, on the word of a supernatural being, or out of trust in one's teachers, elders, or priests. The Way of The Tau does not demand blind acceptance of doctrine or dogma; The Way of The Tau is learned through directly experiencing the truth about The Law of Universal Causation, which opens the door to profound clarity of thought.

Thus, the Desertborn walk the Pilgrimage which not only proves the individual's strength, but also gives time for the lessons of the universe to manifest to the prepared mind.

Existence is struggle, both positive and negative. Positive struggle strengthens all. The nature of all sentient beings is to struggle, for without positive struggle we die. Positive struggle is striving to be better, do better, live better. It is the way of compassion for self, community, universe.

Negative struggle lacks compassion; it blames, gives up, hates, destroys. Negative struggle becomes suffering. Struggling to own people, places and things causes suffering. People, places and things cannot be truly owned; they all change for everything in the universe is impermanent.

Change is the nature of the universe. Once one is able to completely accept the impermanence of the universe and all in it, then the mind is free to recognize the interconnected and causal nature of all within our universe. Abstain from ways contrary to the universe, constantly cleanse the mind, find balance in life, live in accordance with The Way of the Universe, then needless mental struggling will be eliminated, and self-fulfilment and balance in life can be attained.

The Law Of Universal Causation

The Law of Universal Causation is that all actions of body, speech, and mind yield results; directly or indirectly each and every one of us will face the consequences of our choices and actions. Understanding reality allows you the ability to live in balance and accord with the Universe, which will naturally result in balance and greater self-control.

It is said, "Every choice has consequences. You made the choice, own and accept the consequences."

It is said, "To fight against the flow of the universe is to struggle needlessly. To go with the flow of the universe is to live with a clear mind."

The clear minded are direct and straight-forward persons. Their expectations are based on what is, not on rumour of what might be. This is called The Way, but as there are Quintillions of people, so too are there Quintillions of paths in The Way of the Tau. There is no set path in The Tau; it is an experiential and experimental philosophy and way of life. Individuals are guided by The Tau, each individual may follow a different path to achieve harmony with The Tau.

Distractions from a clear mind lie in needless struggle. What is needless struggle? The desire to acquire more induces a struggle which narrows the focus of the mind. In summation:

1. Self-reliance is vital for survival.

2. Being ecologically conscientious is mandatory for survival. Cooperate with how the universe works instead of trying to work against it.

3. Dependence upon material attachment weighs down and pollutes the mind. Be caretakers and stewards of things; avoid the ego of ownership.

4. Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, Thoughtfulness, Focus and Empathy are mandatory for living a full life.

5. The interconnected and impermanent nature of the universe is such that your actions, words and even thoughts affect all things.

6. Directly or indirectly we all are affected by the results of our choices and actions.

Modern Araxi Way Of The Tau

The rigors of adapting to the harsh climate of Araxes, and the ubiquitous presence of the spice ingested since conception and immersed in from birth to grave for dozens of generations transformed these Devotees of the Way of the Tau who emigrated to Araxes into Homo Araxi (also Homo Sapiens Araxi), a fundamental physiologically and psychological change due to exposure to Spice, to, and became what is known as The Desertborn. The Way of the Tau manifested in particular with the people who would later become known as The Desertborn:

1. Seeq Economics (a.k.a. Palace Economics). The Seeq manages the resources and doles them out as needed to the members of the Seeq, who return it when done with it. Very little needs to belong to an individual Desertborn and they learn from childhood to take care of what is granted to them to use. There are no destitute Desertborn and no orphans; all are provided for and everyone contributes.

2. Ecological Awareness. The Desertborn are careful to work cooperatively with the forces of nature of Araxes. To that end, The Desertborn took a substantially more gradual approach to sustainable terraforming of Araxes over thousands of years, and have minimized the overall change to the environment. If the early colonists HAD NOT been so ecologically conscientious, and done traditional brute-force terraforming, then there would have been no Cinnamaldehyde NanoCrystal Spice.

3. Self reliance. Self reliance is strongly promoted, learning how to survive in the desert, how to protect oneself, learning valuable skills, and many aspects of taking care of oneself, but also how to contributes to the greater good.

4. The Pilgrimage. Approaching adulthood, a Desertborn partakes on a long trek across dangerous desert, with only the clothes upon their back and their spirit knife. Pilgrimage ends with the decision whether to go off planet or to stay on Araxes. Some return to the Seeq, and see about apprenticing or attending university on-world such as Southron University, some return to live in the desert wilds to hunt or mine, some migrate to the cities; other take their path to move off-world joining the Imperium Navy, or working in the Imperium Government if skilled enough, or attending university off-world, or working on off-world trade. It is an important part of the path of self reliance, both the pilgrimage itself and the path one chooses afterwards.

5. The Tau of the Ever Shifting Sands. The scarcity of water, the overwhelmingly harsh climate, the perpetually extremely hostile weather, and the ever shifting landscape of Araxes is a constant reminder of the impermanent nature of the Universe. To survive Araxes, the DesertBorn encourage an acceptance of what they cannot control, and promote a positive attitude about what they can control in their lives.

6. The Tau of the Araxes Forge. Cast aside the petty and needless sufferings that distract and drain the self. Accept and embrace the rightful and needful sufferings which strengthens the self. They are necessary for survival of the individual and community, but also necessary to thrive in life.

7. The Tau of The Seeq. The Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, Thoughtfulness, Focus and Empathy so mandatory for survival to the early colonists manifested into a profound awareness of the neuro-peptides of people they live in close proximity for a long time, such that they share their feelings, a type of empathic sense. Similar to sensing pheromones, endorphins, cortisol, adrenaline and other hormonal and glandular responses to emotion from people they spend a lot of time with. By the time of the Spice Wars, The Desertborn (Homo-Araxi) this limited telempathy had manifested beyond mere neuro-peptide awareness to sensing beyond immediate proximity and line of sight, and even sensing loud and shared emotions from other Homo-Araxi from other nearer Seeqs, such as hunger, thirst, anticipation of arriving, etc. Strong emotion such as fear, hatred, love and even passion could be picked up more remotely from those who shared the same Seeq. The mechanism of this more developed Homo-Araxi Telempathy is not currently known; most current theories attempting to explain it are unsatisfying.