The Tao of Peace

Can Chinese seer Lao-Tzu's ancient classic, Tao Te Ching , help you cope with divorce, being fired, tension, a negative self-image, poor communication, environmental pollution, personal and political conflict? Most certainly, according to this busy self-help manual, complete with meditation, breathing and visualization exercises, activity lists and ``self-assessments.'' Dreher, a California psychologist, urges us to use Taoist principles to harmonize with nature, flow with cycles of change, live in the present, seek simplicity and reach out to the world in loving service. Some readers may be put off by this primer's relentlessly upbeat tone, its division of humanity into ``Tao people'' and ``non-Tao persons''; others will doubtless welcome it as a valiant attempt to apply Taoist wisdom to our high-pressure, modern world. Each chapter is prefaced by a verse from the Tao and ends with the author's aphoristic ``Affirmations.'' (Mar.)