Daoist practice connects adepts to Dao; it comes in two forms, self-cultivation and ritual. Self-cultivation centers on the concept of cosmic or vital energy (qi) and works through healing, longevity, and immortality. Besides techniques of nourishing life, such as diet, sexual hygiene, and exercise, self-cultivation involves breath work and various forms of meditation. Through these methods, Daoists align with Dao in the natural patterns of life and merge with it to people of spirit. Ritual works through a galactic level of existence that is part of pure Dao but not ineffable or formless, a celestial dimension that houses an extensive otherworldly bureaucracy managing human affairs. It modifies the actions of supernatural administrators by placing priests into their midst and empowering them as celestial bureaucrats to exert control over time, space, and life. Sacred texts are the manuals and passports to this empowerment, recited on a regular basis and transmitted in formal ordination ceremonies. The Daodejing plays a role in both these dimensions. Rather than a philosophical text, in the religious Daoist vision it a core scripture stored in the heavens, created by pure Dao. Its meditative recitation thus conveys cosmic energy and spiritual advancement and supernatural powers. Accompanied by purifications and visualizations, this is a key practice both in cultivation and ritual as a fundamental way of aligning oneself with Dao. This alignment is further formalized in Daoist ordination, where the Daodejing is studied and activated at the basic rank of all major systems developed over the millennia. Last but not least, many Daodejing concepts play a role in personal transformation, beginning with ideals of no-desire, simplicity, and frugality and moving on to methods of concentration and mental focus. Advanced meditation practices reverse ordinary development and aid the recovery of Dao in oblivion and through alchemical refinement.