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You might have seen this symbol before,

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whether it's as a temporary tattoo

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or at a Chinese temple.

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It's called the yin-yang symbol.

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It comes from Taoism,

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a religion born in China

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and it has far more meaning than you probably realize.

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The yin is the dark swirl,

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and the yang is the light one,

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and each side has a dot of the opposite color,

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which gives a clue to the meaning of yin and yang.

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Everything contains the seed of its opposite.

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Darth Vadar has the seed of goodness,

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and Luke has the potential to follow

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his father to the dark side.

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Like Luke and his father,

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yin and yang are not total opposites,

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they are relative to each other.

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Taoists believe that the universe is made up

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of energies, vibrations, and matter,

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which behave differently

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in different contexts.

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Something can be yin or yang

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depending on,

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well, depending on lots of things.

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So, while wheat that's growing is yang,

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when it's being reaped, it's yin.

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A wave's crest is yang,

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and the trough is yin.

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Villages on the sunny side of a valley in China

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have names like Liuyang or Shiyang,

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but on the shady side, for example,

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of the Yangtze River Valley,

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there's Jiangyin.

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The brake is yin to the gas pedal's yang.

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An eggshell is yang,

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the egg inside is yin.

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You think you're getting it?

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Yang is harder,

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stronger,

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brighter,

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and faster,

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but one can turn into the other

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or are two sides of the same coin.

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The sunbeams are yang

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in comparison to the shadows.

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The pitch is yang,

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the catch is yin.

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The yang starts an action,

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and the yin receives it,

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completes it.

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Yin is the inside space of a cup;

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it wouldn't be a cup without it.

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Yang is the cup.

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The coffee's heat, however, is yang,

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and its blackness is yin.

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Yang goes berserk sometimes,

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but there's some very powerful yins, too,

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if they don't quite go berserk.

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Yin is the darker swirl, the female,

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but there is a white dot in it.

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And yang is the lighter, the male,

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but it has a black dot.

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Water flowing calmly in a river is yin,

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but when it goes over the waterfall,

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it's very yang.

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Toothpicks are yin

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compared with a telephone pole.

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The back of a person is more yang

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than the front.

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The top of a person is the yang end.

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Taoism teaches that there is a power in the universe.

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It's higher, deeper, and truer than any other force.

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They call it the Tao.

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It means the way.

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Like the Force in Star Wars,

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the Tao has two sides.

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Unlike other religions where the higher power is all good,

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and perhaps has an all-evil rival,

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Taoism teaches that we need to learn

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from both yin and yang.

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And unlike religions with gods that are personal,

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the higher power in Taoism is not.

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Taoists believe that living in harmony with the way,

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a person will not have to fight

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against the universe's natural flow.

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So, for example, listen more,

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argue less.

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Be ready to back up or undo something,

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and you will make even faster progress.

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Don't worry about being the best,

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be who you are.

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Live simply.

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Complications take you away from the Tao.

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"The wise person is flexible," Taoists say.

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Learning to use the Tao

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is what Taoism is all about,

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and that's why you should know

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your yin from your yang.