Taoism vs Religion

When I moved to a house in nature with the plan to live a more balanced and meaningful life compared to the one I lived in England, I set a goal for myself to read all the books I wanted to read for years but never had the time or peace for. Among those books were The Bible and the Quran.

I was open-minded about giving both books the chance to pull me into their ideology if it really resonated with me, but despite both books serving me with great wisdom and practical guidance on how to live a more sophisticated life, none had actually invoked a feeling in me that would tell me I was discovering my truth.

The Bible was more interesting to read as it's mostly written like a story compared to the Quran, which is, in my view, a collection of quotes rather than a continuous narrative. Even though I have not finished deepening my understanding of both religions, I have ended my questioning of whether I may find myself becoming a part of either of those two religions.

After those, I went on to read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and enjoyed and got much more from that book. But anyway, somehow I have, through meditation, discovered that I'm missing a balance between order and my need for exploration, and so I went to research the meaning of balance, which brought me to Taoism.

What I Love About Taoism

Before I begin the whole blog, I think it's important to add some context to the whole story. At the time of my return from England, I was dealing with severe anxiety. I was in a good place, my career was progressing extremely well, and my partner and I lived in a new apartment in the city center of Birmingham. But still, every day that passed, I was getting more and more anxious about just living life.

I would wake up in the mornings looking to see if there was some sun outside, and to my unsurprise, there never was any. I was getting more and more bothered by how dirty the city was and how unhappy everyone seemed. Also, the food was horrible too, and so when the opportunity presented itself, I just left.

Therefore, my journey to dive deeper into the understanding of narrative, storytelling, business, and philosophy (my four intellectual passions) had also helped me heal myself of all the traumas and unhealthy behaviors. The more I deepened my understanding of the world, the better I understood myself—and vice versa.

However, even after six months of mostly meditating, renovating my house, working on my startup, exercising, and reading, I felt much better inside my own body, and my anxiety was decreasing.

I came to the realization that the entire game of life is about energy, and I became obsessed with understanding it. That brought me to Yang & Yin.

The masculine and feminine energy. The order and the chaos. (Chaos = the unknown.)

I came to understand that my entire internal state is composed of these two opposite energies. And therefore, I started studying internally:What is my authentic Yang energy?What is my Yin energy?

I came to the conclusion that much of my unexplained behavior stemmed from the inherent need for both energies and my internal desire for self-mastery. It became clear that it's a lot easier for me to be in my very focused, very disciplined, and powerful masculine Yang energy when I allow myself to fulfill my need for Yin energy.

And the more I allowed myself to feel comfortable in the unknown of Yin, the more alive and like my true self I felt. The conclusion? The more I allowed myself to just follow what truly resonates with my authentic self, the healthier and better I became in all realms of my existence.

I wasn’t trying to motivate or discipline myself to work like I usually would. It started coming naturally to me, and the moments of exploration of the unknown—of being in my Yin energy—never felt safer or more rewarding.

Taoism vs. Religion: A Different Path

Religions create rules and expect obedience. Taoism does neither. Religion tells you what the truth is, Taoism simply asks you to observe. Most of the world’s major religions are built around a strict moral structure, often with a promise of heaven and a threat of hell. Taoism rejects both. There is no divine punishment or reward waiting in the afterlife—only the natural consequences of living in or out of harmony with the world

Religions give you a path to follow, one that is often rigid and controlled by doctrines, traditions, and institutions. Taoism offers no universal path. It simply says to move with life rather than against it. While Christianity and Islam put emphasis on prophets and sacred texts, Taoism has no external messengers. No figure stands between you and your understanding of life. It trusts you to find the answers yourself, without needing someone to reveal them to you.

Religions require faith in something beyond yourself, something unseen but powerful. They say that morality is dictated by divine command and that the only way to live a good life is through submission to that authority. Taoism does not require faith. It does not tell you to trust in something beyond yourself—it tells you to trust yourself. Not because you are above nature, but because you are part of it.

Religions create an endless struggle between what is and what should be. They tell you that human nature is flawed, that we must fight against our instincts to reach salvation. Taoism does not fight human nature, it embraces it. It recognizes that all things have a time, a place, and a balance.

Religions fixate on the afterlife, structuring life around a future that may or may not come. Taoism sees no point in that. It teaches that life is happening now, that each moment is complete in itself, and that the focus should always be on how one exists in the present.

At its core, Taoism is the most practical approach to life, because it aligns with how things actually are rather than how they should be. While religions ask you to believe, Taoism asks you to observe. While religions tell you to resist and overcome, Taoism tells you to move and adapt. It is not concerned with making you into something else, only with allowing you to be fully yourself.

Final Thoughts

Most belief systems operate on control. They give you rules, they give you saviors, they give you a grand narrative to follow. Taoism does none of that. It does not impose commandments or demand that you live a certain way. It simply suggests that by living in balance—by following the natural way of things—you will find peace, wisdom, and fulfillment.

There is no struggle for salvation, no need to force meaning onto life. Taoism trusts that if you quiet your mind, observe the patterns of nature, and live authentically, you will naturally align with what is right. That has been the greatest lesson for me.

For all my intellectual exploration, for all the answers I sought, it was never about finding a grand philosophy or belief system to follow. It was about realizing that there is nothing to follow. No universal answer, no strict path—just the ability to observe, learn, and live in accordance with what makes sense.

Not because you must. But because it is the most natural thing to do.

Thank you for reading, Ivan