Book excerpt: Master Hua-Ching Ni uses straightforward language and personal experiences, as well as traditional stories and teachings of the ancient masters, to impart the wisdom of Taoism, the Integral Way. His teachings promote a simple, natural, healthy, and happy way of life that lays the foundation for spiritual self-cultivation. Master Ni emphasizes that it is important first to establish a good understanding of basic spiritual principles and then begin to realize this wisdom in daily life by adopting practices and attitudes that help to conserve, nourish, and refine the subtle energy. Among the topics he discusses in short, accessible passages are: • Basic spiritual self-protection • Self-reliance • Emotional balance • Do's and don'ts for a healthy, natural lifestyle • Sleeping and dreaming • Diet • Love, sex and marriage • Meditations and invocations from the Taoist tradition