Something Strange Happened to Me on THE WAY out of a Taoist Temple

I went for a trip to the other side today ... of the city that is, to Evergreen Taoist Church of Australia, the largest Taoist place of worship in the Southern Hemisphere.

 Evergreen Taoist Church of Australia

I think my friend Halfasheep
would like this configuration

I don't know much about Taoism at all, but I've been meaning to look into it a little more deeply and I've been meaning to visit a Taoist temple for some time.

Would you call this practice TO DO?-)

Rune Soup: Talking Taoist Sigil Magic with Benebell Wen
When I heard Gordon from Rune Soup interviewing Benebell Wen about the history of Taoism and Taoist magic on his podcast show, I decided it was time for that visit, so I drove out to the temple today on my way out to Redcliffe to see the Bee Gee's WAY (but that's for another future post).
Taoism (/ˈdaʊɪzəm/), also known as Daoism, is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao (道, literally "Way", also romanized as Dao).

Bee Gee's WAY at Redcliffe

I've got to say that when I first entered the temple complex, I didn't know what to make of this greeting, but I hope it translated to English sign language a bit better than I thought it might;-)

Maybe he was telling me that I was number one in his books?

Protector of the Faith (Guardian Angel) - 3rd eye to see far?

At least the incense smelt welcoming to me.

There was a bell and a drum on each side as you walk in sitting there like latent sonic weapons that may not be able to split atoms, but I bet would go close to splitting eardrums if used in close proximity to those eardrums.

The Wealth Lord

The Door Official 

I've got to say that I warmed to these two guys above which were to the left and right of me when I walked in much better than the guy right in front of me with his middle finger sticking up.

I saw this poster taped onto a window at the temple and realized that I had a pair and should play with my balls more around the home.

My Chinese exercise balls

Two dragons chasing a flaming Pearl (positiveness)

When I stepped out into the courtyard, I saw this fantastic work of art and was drawn to it, as I love dragons, maybe because I was born in the Year of the Dragon, but I think I would have loved them just as much if I was born under another sign, as well.

I guess I'll never know in this lifetime though.

I was also a child that grew into a teenager in the 70s and another guy who was born in the year of the dragon was one of my pop-cultural heroes, so that probably helped in my love of dragons also.

The main incense burner of the temple

Once you walk across the courtyard you are met by these three guys that all have mirrors behind their heads, which I kind of liked because it reminded me of something Whitley Strieber often says, "when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." 

The Cranes and the Pine Tree (longevity)?

I didn't know who this guy was above, but if I had to guess I would say he was some kind of saint to anger management.

The 8 Immortals attending the Jade Pond longevity gathering

I felt like I was in a great wave of peace while walking through this temple, maybe because I was truly living in the now as I walked through the temple complex.

On my "way" out of the temple I walked down what I now know as the Dragon Corridor which houses the memorial halls in honour of departed relatives, which made me think of my own father and other departed relatives who helped or hindered me (or both) through my own lifetime that I'm living through now.

I like how the Chinese honour those who have passed as though they live on and still guide us.

After passing the memorial hall I came across an office with sliding glass doors with two men working inside, so I went in and asked if they had some information on Taoism in English, so I could read up on what this place was all about ... that's if you could put a place like this into words.

My old incense sticks on the right 

I also bought some incense sticks, as I was running a bit low on my old sticks that I had purchased years ago at a Buddhist temple on the south-side of Brisbane (pictured on the right in the photo above) and these sticks the Taoist temple were selling were huge compared to the ones I had at home, and the real big ones I bought would probably set off my smoke alarms in my unit if I tried to light one inside my unit.  

As I was leaving the office with my literature and incense sticks, I looked out into the courtyard towards the main temple I had just come from and being a badge carrying member of the 
Cloud Appreciation Society I noticed clouds forming above the temple, and I thought into the sky that if I'm meant to follow the path of Taoism in this life then show me a flying dragon in the clouds above the temple.

I thought that this was a bit of an unfair and unlikely request at first, but then I saw what looked like the flying dragon (Falcor) out of the movie 'The Never-ending Story' flying over the temple roof.
So, I snapped a picture of it to prove to others what I saw on the day hoping that this dragon cloud would be captured on my iPod like I saw it.

Not exactly the dragon I had in mind, but this movie was a big favourite of mine.
"The NeverEnding Story (German: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a 1984 West German-produced English language epic fantasy film based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ende, about a boy who reads a magical book that tells a story of a young warrior whose task is to stop a dark storm called the Nothing from engulfing a fantasy world."

A very badly drawn outline by me to
show you what I imagined I saw

And I assure you that photo was not doctored in any way to make it look like a dragon that is how it was captured on my iPod on the day.

Imaginary Friends?

Looking at that NeverEnding Story music clip above I realized how timing is everything it seems, because the day before I had a bit of a shamanic experience when I ate snails for the first time in my life (cooked ones at a French restaurant that is).
But that is for a future post I'm yet to write.

One of the half-dozen snails I ate on
 Friday at a French restaurant 

"Early Taoist movements developed their own institution in contrast to shamanism, but absorbed basic shamanic elements. 

Shamans revealed basic texts of Taoism from early times down to at least the 20th century."

The Bee Gee's Way

Walking the way ... the Bee Gee's WAY ... really put my visit to the Taoist temple on the way to Redcliffe into perspective for me, knowing how short life can be.