Regular practice of the Inner Smile meditation leads to calming the mind, developing concentration, getting rid of all types of depression, and creates a powerful healing and rejuvenating potential. This meditation is a powerful tool that helps transform negative emotional energies into positive virtues, higher vibration, improved health, and a more balanced person.
Tao and Smile
Tao practitioners have noted that the energy of a smile has a high and positive level of vibration. When we smile, joy and wellbeing radiate from our eyes and our energy feels soft and welcoming. Smiling is a universal language that extends compassion to others, without the need or use of words. An open smile offers positive energy and speaks directly to the hearts of others. When we radiate a genuine smile, it opens our Anahata chakra and stimulates warmth deep within us.
Taoists believe that when done consciously, smiling can be literally a healing practice. They have discovered that there is a connection between emotional energies and organ systems. They developed methods to transform negative emotions to positive from their practical and intuitive understanding of the human body. Many of the Taoist teachings are supported by observations and evidence from modern psychology and medicine.
Taoists believe in the power of healing energy generated from a smile. When we smile, our eyes transmit this energetic force outward to others. Similarly, when turned inward, a smile can help us heal ourselves.
The Inner Smile meditation is a Taoist technique that focuses on five organs or organ systems: the heart, the lungs, the kidneys, the liver/gall bladder, and the stomach/spleen. This meditation also helps to remove the consequences of stress and psychological trauma. Early Taoist texts suggest that maintaining a constant inner smile ensured health, happiness, and long life.
Inner Smile Meditation as a Self-Love Tool
The Inner Smile meditation is a wonderful self-love and self-care tool which helps us to become more connected with ourselves and feel more loved.
When you smile to yourself, you become your own best friend. Befriending your inner self helps you feel more grounded, settled, and stable no matter what else goes on around you. It helps you to find inner harmony that cultivates contentment.
The Inner Smile meditation will help you to become more conscious of what your organs do for you and establish a loving relationship with them. You will become more grateful to these faithful servants who keep us alive and healthy. That will make you stop taking your organs for granted and start appreciating them more.
Each of us should always keep in mind how amazing your body is, how intelligent and kind it is to you, what an incredible job it does to keep you alive! Without this attitude, you will eventually become sick and emotionally imbalanced.
Organs affected by emotions
According to Mantak Chia’s teachings, the health of our organs can be affected by negative emotions we feel. Based on this connection between negative emotions and the health of the organs, let us share with you the five major organ systems and their associated emotions and properties.
#1: The heart
The health of our heart can be affected by such negative emotions as arrogance and hate, and such positive virtues as kindness and love. Recent scientific research shows that feelings of love and appreciation strongly affect the heart’s rhythm and its relationship to the body’s physiological systems.
#2: The lungs
The health of our lungs can be affected by such negative emotions as sadness and depression, and such positive virtues as courage and righteousness.
#3: The kidneys
The health of the kidneys can be affected by fear and such positive emotions as gentleness and kindness.
#4: The liver
The health of the liver can be affected by anger and such positive emotions as generosity and forgiveness.
#5: The stomach/spleen
The health of the stomach/spleen can be affected by such negative emotions as worry, mistrust, and anxiety, and such positive emotions as fairness, trust, and openness.
The Inner Smile meditation directs our attention to the body’s organs and associated qualities. When practicing this meditation, we visualize each organ, cleansing it, and transforming negative emotional energies into positive virtues.
The Inner Smile Meditation
According to the Taoist tradition, each person assumes responsibility for the emotions that arise within, regardless of the external events that trigger the emotions. The Inner Smile meditation takes us into our bodies and transforms emotions by transforming the associated physiological systems. It helps us balance and integrate our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, promoting health, resilience, and vitality.
Below is a variation of the traditional Inner Smile meditation which helps you direct the energy of a smile into any part of your body.
Instructions:
- Sit comfortably near the edge of your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Keep your back straight, but not stiff. Stay relaxed, and clasp your palms together in your lap. Press your tongue against the upper palate of your mouth.
- Close your eyes and become aware of the soles of your feet. Feel their connection to the Earth.
- Create a source of smiling energy up to three feet in front of you. You can just visualize an image of your own smiling face or any memory of a time in which you felt deeply at peace. It can be anything – feeling of sunshine, being by the ocean, or walking in a forest.
- Focus on the midpoint between your eyebrows. Draw that abundant smiling energy to that area. Let your forehead relax. Feel how the smiling energy accumulates at the mid-eyebrow until it eventually overflows into your body.
- Visualize this smiling, warm energy moving throughout your entire body. It comforts and heals your muscles, joints, and internal organs. Take your time. Visualize each organ being soothed by this smiling, warm energy.
- After you have spent time connecting with and smiling into your organs and muscles, focus on the sensations in your body. Perhaps you feel energized, content, or warm. Allow the smile to drift where it wants. Or you can also direct it to any place you’re feeling discomfort.
- Continue visualizing the warm and golden essence of that smile within your body. Bring your awareness back to any place you may have missed, or any place you’d like to heal, and let it flow over and through your organs and soft tissue. Imagine this warm, smiling energy spreading throughout your entire body.
- When you’re ready to bring the meditation to a close, focus on the feeling of peace and contentment in your body by placing your hands over your heart. Take several deep breaths and simply relax. Now it’s time to release any visualizations, images, or thoughts, and simply be, without thinking or doing.
The Bottom Line
Try to practice this meditation every morning as soon as you wake up. This will charge you with positive energy for the whole day. Love for your body will help you love yourself and other people more, and feel full of vital energy.
When you feel pain or/and discomfort in any part of your body, in any of your organs — smile at these parts of the body, talk to them, tell them how grateful you are for such a wonderful job they’re doing, get a response from them.
Also, practice the Inner Smile meditation during times of stress, irritation, fear, or depression. Smile at the parts of your body that are experiencing tension and pressure, and you will gradually feel the negative energy being converted into the positive force of vital energy.
The energy of a smile can turn the energy of negative emotions into vital energy that will heal and rejuvenate all organs and tissues. Therefore smile as often as possible!
FAQs
What is the Taoist inner smile technique? ›
The ancient Taoists, who were the founding fathers of Chinese medicine, understood the healing nature of a smile. In fact, they developed a meditation practice whereby you hold a smile on your face and direct that energy inwards to your internal organs.
What are the techniques of Taoism meditation? ›In the main, there are four types of Taoist meditation techniques; visualization, mindfulness, concentration, and contemplation. Each of these has benefits on the body and mind and people all over the world are beginning to understand this, particularly those in the western world.
What is smiling meditation? ›In smiling meditation, your energy source will be your smile, as something that naturally affirms you and sustains your life. In this meditation, you are to visualize that this specific energy expands through your whole body until all you see is your whole body beaming with smiling energy.
What are the benefits of Taoist Meditation? ›Students who practice Taoist Meditation diligently find many health benefits such as improved cardiovascular health, improved circulation, reduced stress, lower blood pressure, improvement in pain symptoms caused by arthritis, respiratory problems, digestive problems and many others.
What are the 3 important Taoist principle? ›The important Taoist principles are inaction, simplicity and living in harmony with nature. Taoist philosophical principle rested on a belief in the law of unity of the two opposite forces: yin and yang.
What are the 3 inner treasures of Taoism? ›A consensus translation of the Three Treasures could be: compassion or love, frugality or simplicity, and humility or modesty.
What are the 5 Taoist elements? ›The five elements in their model are earth, fire, water, metal, and wood. They developed this model from the patterns of the universe easily observable to anyone who watches. Rain (water) causes plants (wood) to grow.
What is the moral code of Taoism? ›It disapproves of killing, stealing, lying and promiscuity, and promotes altruistic, helpful and kindly behaviour. Taoists believe such good behaviour is an essential part not only of self-improvement but of improving the world as a whole.
What are the five basic movements of Taoism? ›The "Five Phases" are Wood (木 mù), Fire (火 huǒ), Earth (土 tǔ), Metal (金 jīn), and Water (水 shuǐ). This order of presentation is known as the "mutual generation" (xiāngshēng 相生) sequence. In the order of "mutual overcoming" (xiāngkè 相克), they are Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal.
What are the three stages of smiling? ›Stages of Smile
First stage: Lips are closed. Second stage: Resting display. Third stage: Natural smile.
What does smiling for 30 seconds do? ›
Science has shown that the mere act of smiling can lift your mood, lower stress, boost your immune system and possibly even prolong your life.
What is divine smile? ›Divine Smile is a dental practice focused on the oral health of adults and children as part of our extended family. We are dedicated to provide excellence with personalized and gentle care in a comfortable, friendly and professional environment. The goal is to ensure healthy mouth for life.
What is Taoist energy? ›Taoism teaches that all living creatures ought to live in a state of harmony with the universe, and the energy found in it. Ch'i, or qi, is the energy present in and guiding everything in the universe.
Why do Taoist burn incense? ›The incense burner is the most important object in a Taoist ritual. The smoke from the incense purifies the ritual space, alerts the gods that a ritual is about to be performed, and draws the gods to the altar. Incense smoke is also believed to resemble the swirling patterns of cloudlike energies underlying all matter.
Do Taoists believe in God? ›Taoism does not have a God in the way that the Abrahamic religions do. There is no omnipotent being beyond the cosmos, who created and controls the universe. In Taoism the universe springs from the Tao, and the Tao impersonally guides things on their way.
Who do Taoist pray to? ›Chinese Deities like Lord Guan, Xuan Tian Shang Di, and Tua Pek Kong are some of the most popular deities among Taoist adherents and the local Chinese community. Many Taoists also worshipped Buddhist Bodhisattvas like Guanyin and Di Zang Wang.
What are the eight pillars of Taoism? ›Scholars attribute the Eight Virtues to a line in the Sage Em- peror Guan's Book of Enlightenment: “It is through Filial Piety, Sibling Harmony, Dedication, Trustworthiness, Propriety, Sacrifice, Honour, and Sense of Shame that we become fully human.” Practicing the Virtues is integral to Confucian training.
What are the three jewels of the Dao? ›- compassion, kindness, love. ...
- moderation, simplicity, frugality. ...
- humility, modesty.
Jing is the wax and wick of the candle, the extremely condensed energy that becomes material. Qi is the flame, compared to the energy activity of the candle, which through burning (life) makes the candle burn. Shen is the light / radiation that emanates from a burning candle.
What are the Taoist colors? ›The Chinese color scheme is based around the five colors of black, red, 'grue', white, and yellow. These colors are associated with the cosmological philosophy of Taoism, which teaches the balance of cosmological forces to attain spiritual harmony.
What is the metal element in Taoism? ›
In Taoist Five Element medicine, the metal element governs the lung/colon. It represents the air we breathe. It is non-judgemental, and gives itself freely to all. The emotion of metal is grief.
Is wood a yin or yang? ›Wood is the lesser yang character of the Five elements, giving birth to Fire. It stands for springtime, the east, the planet Jupiter, the color green, windy weather, and the Azure Dragon (Qing Long) in Four Symbols.
What is forbidden in Daoism? ›The first precept: No Killing; The second precept: No Stealing; The third precept: No Sexual Misconduct; The fourth precept: No False Speech; The fifth precept: No Taking of Intoxicants.
What can Taoist not do? ›- Don't harbor hatred or jealousy in your heart. ...
- Maintain a kind heart and do not kill. ...
- Maintain purity and be withdrawing in your social interactions. ...
- Don't set your mind on sexual desire or give rise to passion. ...
- Don't utter bad words. ...
- Don't take liquor or drug.
Early Taoism showed remarkable stability in its basic ideas of the origins of evil and how to deal with it. Basically, evil is seen as anything that under- mines or is antipathetic to life. Life is the supreme good, and everything must be done to secure it and even to extend it.
What are the two types of Taoism? ›Modern Taoism falls into main categories: 'Southern' Taoism, popular in Taiwan and South China and 'Northern' Taoism, a tradition largely unknown to Westerners but widely practised among modern Taoists in mainland China.
What is the flow of life Taoism? ›According to the Hungarian psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, when we are deeply involved in trying to reach a goal, or an activity that is challenging but well suited to our skills, we experience a joyful state called “flow.” One may find still greater happiness experiencing “flow” in working towards long-term, ...
What is the rarest smile? ›The rarest smile type is the complex smile, with only an estimated 2% of the population possessing this smile. This smile is rare because it requires three muscle groups to work simultaneously when smiling.
What happens in your brain when you smile? ›When you smile, your brain releases tiny molecules called neuropeptides to help fight off stress. Then other neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins come into play too. The endorphins act as a mild pain reliever, whereas the serotonin is an antidepressant.
Which type of smile is most attractive? ›To be considered conventionally attractive, your smile should have the same midline (vertical line that splits the face perfectly in half) as your face. If your smile's midline isn't directly between your two central front teeth, it might look unattractive.
What happens if you smile everyday? ›
Smiling not only offers a mood boost but helps our bodies release cortisol and endorphins that provide numerous health benefits, including: Reduced blood pressure. Increased endurance. Reduced pain.
Where do you feel happiness in your body? ›Your brain
We feel joy in our bodies because of the release of dopamine and serotonin, two types of neurotransmitters in the brain. Both of these chemicals are heavily associated with happiness (in fact, people with clinical depression often have lower levels of serotonin).
A bright, white, and straight smile helps enhance your confidence. And when you have confidence in yourself, you can do things you never believed possible. Furthermore, studies show that smiling even if you don't feel like it will help you get into a better mood.
What is the power behind a smile? ›Smiling increases mood-enhancing hormones while decreasing stress-enhancing hormones, including cortisol, and adrenaline. It also reduces overall blood pressure. And because you typically smile when you're happy, the muscles used trigger your brain to produce more endorphins—the chemical that relieves pain and stress.
How do Taoists find inner peace? ›Taoism teaches this: Inner Peace can be discovered when understanding many questions are asking about Inner Truth. Inner Peace is a matter of accepting your life as an answer towards questions of Inner Truth.
What is the Taoist cultivation technique? ›Taoist Cultivation practices include stillness meditation, internal alchemical meditation, ritual, martial arts, life nourishing through diet, qigong and living in harmony with the seasons and calendar.
How do you find inner peace in Taoism? ›Building physical strength will increase Qi (or energy). This living energy is transformed into shen (or spirit), which means achieving inner peace and eventually recognizing our oneness with the Dao. You can begin to cultivate health by focusing on your breath.
What is the 4 principle of Taoism? ›Fourth Taoism Principle
Harmony is the natural state of being. Being balanced means you are just as aggressive as you are passive. You are all things and nothing. Until you can actualize the true meaning of oneness, you cannot achieve harmony.
Taoist philosophy rejects the Confucian idea that traditions are valuable for their own sake. It also rejects the Legalist idea that human nature is inherently evil. Rather, human behavior simply is.... It is artificial and pointless to force humans to always behave in a certain manner.
What do Taoists avoid? ›Classical Taoist teaching recommends abstaining from alcohol, meat, beans and grains.
Do Taoists believe in chakras? ›
The Taoist concept of dantian as energy centers is similar to the Indian yoga concept of chakras as key points where prana is stored (see also nadi).
What is the Holy Spirit in Taoism? ›In this translation, the Holy Spirit is "the essence of the Tao," Christ the "form of the Tao," and God and God's will "the physical form of the tao." It is not lost on me that the definition "the physical form of the Tao" seems nonsense, but it seems the same sort of nonsense as "God became man and made his dwelling ...
What is the code of behavior for Taoists? ›In practice Taoism recommends the same sorts of moral behaviour to its followers as other religions. It disapproves of killing, stealing, lying and promiscuity, and promotes altruistic, helpful and kindly behaviour.
What does wu-wei mean in Taoism? ›wuwei, (Chinese: “nonaction”; literally, “no action”) Wade-Giles romanization wu-wei, in Chinese philosophy, and particularly among the 4th- and 3rd-century-bce philosophers of early Daoism (daojia), the practice of taking no action that is not in accord with the natural course of the universe. Key People: He Yan.
What are the two kinds of Taoism? ›Modern Taoism falls into main categories: 'Southern' Taoism, popular in Taiwan and South China and 'Northern' Taoism, a tradition largely unknown to Westerners but widely practised among modern Taoists in mainland China.