What is Reddit's opinion of The Tao of Pooh?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

By popularity on Reddit, this product is:

25 reviews of this product found across Reddit:

Pooh is intentionally simple minded and comparing trump's garbage to that beautiful simple bear is just not fair!

Side note, check out "the Tao of pooh" as it shows why pooh is so wonderfully simple. The Tao of Pooh https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140067477/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6UbeCbQ3ZHQEQ

I'm sorry you're going through this. I hope that if you're married, you're sharing your journey with your spouse; it will help you both stay together as you make whatever decision is appropriate for you.

I would say that the first thing to do is be patient with yourself. Rebuilding a worldview takes time, exploration, curiosity, and patience. Keep what is good about the church, leave what isn't, and remember that it's ok do do so. The answers to life's big questions are not necessarily unambiguous. That's ok.

If I could recommend one book, it would be The Tao of Pooh. This is a book that explains the basics of Taoism for Western audiences. Taoism at its heart is a philosophy that tries come to grips with ambiguity. You're in a time right now that you're learning that things you thought were definite are now much more ambiguous. I'm not saying you need to be a Taoist, but reading a book like this will help you see how other people have come to deal with the ambiguity. That can take a lot of the angst out of the process as you rebuild your worldview and find what gives you meaning. That book was very helpful to me as I was plowing into my faith crisis at BYU. I had to read the book for an Asian humanities class and only chose it because it was the shortest on the list, but it quickly became one of the most useful things I ever read at BYU. It helped me gain some perspective and have less angsty time figuring things out.

I don't like the idea of a "dating game" - To me, it trivializes what can be deep meaningful relationships. I tend to meet people and, however seriously we become involved, we do. Each relationship is a different experience you learn from. To me, the fear of investing feelings is part a fear of being hurt by the other person, and part a fear of loss. The first is inevitable and is kind of like an entrance fee into a relationship. You have to open up in order to get anything meaningful out of it. You experience the loss when you have had something meaningful and its time for it to end. There's such a thing as being too trusting, but I'm inclined to think the loss is a positive thing to the extent that it means you experienced something worthwhile. I take a Taoist approach to relationships, the Taoism I've gleamed from this book. Its a quick read that reminds me to stay in the present. To me, the pain of loss doesn't hurt so bad when I can look back at the good with a smile, knowing that I made the most out of things when I had the chance.

If you're familiar with Whinnie the Pooh, The Tao of Pooh is an entertaining introduction to Taoism, a branch of Buddhism.

http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Pooh-Benjamin-Hoff/dp/0140067477

It made me realize I've been some sort of a taoist since I was seven or eight. It's also pretty funny and an easy read. It has helped me a lot when confronted with closeminded people.

I also suspect a lot of redditors being taoist without knowing it :)

The Tao of Pooh

>Author/narrator Hoff calls Winnie the Pooh a "Western Taoist" and uses the unassuming bear to introduce Eastern philosophical principles. Pooh epitomizes the "uncarved block," as he is well in tune with his natural inner self. Pooh enjoys simple pleasures and the daily progress of life. Hoff contrasts this unpretentiousness to other characters created by Winnie - the - Pooh author A.A. Milne, including Owl, whom he describes as a "mind that tries too hard," and Eeyore, the eternal pessimist. In a clear and crisp voice, Hoff explains the central tenets of Taoism and further illustrates them with familiar excerpts from The House at Pooh Corner stories (1923), Chinese proverbs, maxims, and tales from Lao Tzu and others. The result is at once thought-provoking and charming. This is a small literary event that will leave all who experience it a little more serene. For most collections.

The Tao of Pooh

The book he quotes looks really interesting - Plenty of really good reviews on amazon too. Thanks for sharing!

Came to the comments to suggest this book. Here's a link to the Amazon page if you're feeling lazy.

It took some time for me to come to terms with it. In the end, I had to accept that ambiguity is ok. I was Mormon. That's a fact. I had good experiences. A lot of those experiences revolved around the church in one way or another. That's another fact. I don't have the option to have memories that are purely sweet in retrospect, butI do have the opportunity to accept and appreciate the sour with the sweet.

Have you ever heard of the painting The Vinegar Tasters?

In it, Confucius, Buddha, and Laozi (the writer of the Tao te Ching) are tasting vinegar from the vat. Confucius and Buddha find it too bitter or sour, and make bitter and sour faces. Laozi tastes it and a look of joy is on his face. He is the only one between them who can taste it, accept that it is sour, and appreciate it because it is sour.

One of the most important books I've read is the Tao of Pooh. Funny enough, I was assigned it in an Asian Humanities class. It didn't turn me into a Daoist, but it did explain a philosophy that accepts ambiguity and suggests a way to accept and appreciate my past. It's $6 and 158 pages. Maybe you will appreciate it, too.

The 'Dao of Pooh' and the 'Te of Piglet' are two great books by Benjamin Hoff.

https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Pooh-Benjamin-Hoff/dp/0140067477

https://www.amazon.com/Te-Piglet-Benjamin-Hoff/dp/0140230165/

This made me think of a book I read in college - The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.

You have such an interesting life.

Seeing as you aspire to be more like Pooh Bear, have you read The Tao of Pooh ?

Part IV

Western Taoism

The Tao of Pooh - Benjamin Hoff

The Te of Piglet - Benjamin Hoff

The Watercourse Way - Alan Watts

Tao Te Ching (Perennial Classics) - Stephen Mitchell

Lao Tzu : Tao Te Ching : A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way - Ursula LeGuin

The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism - Fritjof Capra

The Tao of the West: Western Transformations of Taoist Thought - J.J. Clarke

Tracing the Contours of Daoism in North America - Louis Komjathy

New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought - Wouter J. Hanegraaff

A Gathering of Cranes: Bringing the Tao to the West - Solala Towler

Daoist Alchemy in the West: The Esoteric Paradigms - Lee Irwin

Online Resources

Text

http://terebess.hu/english/tao/_index.html - An online resource for translations of Daoist works.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/index.htm - Another online resource for Daoist works, as well as other religious and esoteric traditions.

http://media.bloomsbury.com/rep/files/9781441168733_basicinfo_daoisttradition.pdf - An information sheet providing basic information about Daoism.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/daoism/ - The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Daoism.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/daoism/ - The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Daoism.

http://www.daoiststudies.org/ - A website assisting scholars, practitioners, and the public in furthering knowledge about Daoism.

http://www.goldenelixir.com/ - Golden Elixir Press - A publishing company which provides high quality translations of Daoist literature.

http://daoistfoundation.org/ - Daoist Foundation - An educational organization dedicated to preserving and transmitting traditional Daoist culture.

http://www.daoistcenter.org/ - The education and research branch of the Daoist Foundation.

http://ctext.org/daoism - Chinese Text Project - An online resource which compiles texts of historical significance in the original Chinese language.

tldr: You have tremendous opportunities. There are tools to help you move forward more easily.

Just to be sure I'm understanding, how accurately does the following describe your situation?

you've experienced lack of compassion, reliability, and accountability with family members;
you continue to live with family for cultural, religious, and financial reasons;
your family isn't emotionally healthy or emotionally supportive;
you haven't found a role in society that you enjoy yet where society sufficiently supports to your lifestyle through compensation;
you haven't gathered a reliable and consistent circle of friends yet;
you believe you're not good enough or deserving enough to have your needs, desires, and dreams satisfied;
you believe that your circumstances won't change, no matter what choices or actions you take, no matter what time, energy, money, and other resources you apply to change your situation;
you believe that enduring suffering is the rational choice since influencing change is impossible;
you experience depression plus loneliness in terms of companionship, friendship, and romance; plus,
you dream of photography, writing, and travel.

It sounds like your circumstances are difficult. At the same time, your current situation is a sign of your incredible wisdom and persistence; you've achieved a lot in a short period of time. You have tremendous potential to move beyond your current circumstances, onto a path where you can meet your needs, experience the things you desire, and pursue your dreams. Most notably, the following:

you're in a sufficiently/minimally healthy and safe place with free housing and meals;
you're aware of your struggles and exploring potential solutions;
most people earn their bachelor's degree at 22; you have a Masters degree at 23;
most people are in significant debt, not just college related, at age 23; you have $11k in savings; and, most importantly,
your have incredible wisdom and persistence, very powerful foundations to make change;

Do you have a life coach or mental health therapist? It sounds like you might experience learned helplessness.

Have you explored meditation and mindfulness? It might be helpful to either read, listen to, or watch content related to meditation (to quiet the internal negative voices) and mindfulness (to embrace natural suffering of life while inspiring experimentation to use your experiences, talents, and other resources to improve the world around you as much as possible, not only for yourself, but also for others around you). Regardless of your religious and spiritual beliefs, meditation and mindfulness might offer many useful perspectives and habits that are compatible with most (if not all) religious and spiritual communities. Perhaps just start with listening to Acknowledging Suffering by Gil Fronsdal, which is part of The Twelve Steps to Freedom series while your mindlessly browsing the 'nets. Or, Suffering and the End of Suffering Series - Talk 1, Talk 2, Talk 3, and Talk 4. Note the concepts that resonate most with you, then explore those using a variety of mindfulness and meditation resources, perhaps including the following:

Have you read Tao of Pooh written by Benjamin Hoff? Imagine you are a block of wood. Would it be better – more compassionate, more wise, and more persistent — to shape yourself to fit into the world as it is, or find a place where you naturally fit in as you are, or a little bit of both?

Have you read the book The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom written by Don Miguel Ruiz? It suggests that simply doing 4 things will help to slowly improve your life and the world around you, perhaps not day-to-day or week-to-week or even month-to-month, but fairly noticeably from year-to-year, and certainly over an entire lifetime.

Have you taken the Myers-Briggs personality test? It may be helpful to better understand your personality type and natural tendencies. Granted, personality tests are not 100% accurate. But, even if they are only 80% accurate, having some awareness about your personality and tendencies may be helpful for discovering the best path available for your life's journey. Sufficiently valid and reliable (and most importantly, free) versions of the test can be found via 16Personalities, Truity, and Humanmetrics. Once you identify your personality type, you can learn more about that type on those and other websites. Note that characteristics that resonate most with you. Ignore the ones that don't.

Have you identified strategies to make the most of your limited time, energy, talents, finances, and other resources with your unique circumstances given the world around you? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What opportunities and threats/challenges exist in the world around you? How might you apply your strengths to the world's opportunities as your unique empowerment strategies? How might you apply your strengths to the world's threats/challenges as your unique improvement strategies? How might you apply your weaknesses to the world's opportunities as your unique assistance strategies? How might you apply your weaknesses to the world's threats/challenges as your unique avoidance strategies? For example, in a table like this with 3 to 5 bullet points in each of the 8 main sections (i.e. not the upper left-hand corner box):

External / Internal	Strengths to Maximize	Weaknesses to Minimize
Opportunities to Maximize	Empowerment Strategies	Improvement Strategies
Threats / Challenges to Minimize	Assistance Strategies	Avoidance Strategies

What are your core values? What do you believe is the purpose of life, in general, or better yet: the purpose of your life, specifically (especially if you've identified strategies to make the most of your limited time, energy, talents, finances, and other resources with your unique circumstances given the world around you)?

Have you explored how you might build a decently-paying job or career in light of your limited time, energy, talents, finances, and other resources with your unique circumstances given the world around you? Have you read Business Model You: A One-Page Method For Reinventing Your Career written by Tim Clark, Alexander Osterwalder, and Yves Pigneur? Or, explored ["how might I get started as a travel blogger or photographer?"](https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+get+started+as+a+travel+(blogger+OR+photographer)

In the groups that I have attended, they have suggested that you, can be your own higher power. They described it this way, You have your own morals and beliefs, You know what is right (Wise mind skill) within yourself.

When confronted with an issue that requires me to 'let it go' I tend to work Radical acceptance or use the tenets of Buddhist teachings to replace the higher power concepts. (ie: Life is impermanence) Much of DBT skills are founded on Buddhist ideas and CBT therapies. If you want to learn more about Buddhism (a traditition that focuses on personal spiritual development) I would suggest the books, The Tao of Pooh, and the Te of Piglet. (good introductory books about the subject)

I break things down this way. Do I have control over the problem? If the answer is no, I work at letting go of the suffering by meditating or distraction (for distress / suffering),and finally radically accepting that it is something that is not within my power to change. I am my own higher power by using my own wise mind and working to let go of my suffering.

I found that Buddhist beliefs were the 'spirituality' I could accept into my life, because it doesn't focus around a god head (no one worships Buddha) it is just about the pursuit of enlightenment and bettering oneself.

You might enjoy reading the book "The Tao of Pooh".

the tao of pooh

I loved it. Thanks for sharing and, if you haven't I recommend giving this book a try.

That book is awesome.

Oh! I went through exactly this just a few years ago. First of all, none of this is abnormal. I think it means you're leading an examined life which is a great start. If I could make one tiny recommendation it'd be to read the book "The Tao of Pooh". Loved that book and I re-read it every year to help keep my mind in a better spot. Also, I love this morning routine from Tony Robbins. Changed my life.

Uptoke for Tao of Pooh. Came here to mention this:

http://www.amazon.ca/Tao-Pooh-Benjamin-Hoff/dp/0140067477

I like it because it's funny, understandable and straightforward while not straying from the essence of the teachings.

It's actually all a Taoist parable.

Yup, I re-read The Alchemist when this happens to me. I'd also like to add the classic The Little Prince, and The Tao of Pooh. edited to add: Haven't read it yet, but next on my reading list is Hesse's Siddhartha. Could be enlightening as well.