Month: July 2022

Tao Te Ching – Verse 50 – The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings

12 – Twelve P’i / Stagnation

Heaven and Earth move away from each other.
In the ensuing void, the small invade where the great have departed.
There is no common meeting ground, so the Superior Person must fall back on his inner worth and decline the rewards offered by the inferior invaders.

Difficult trials as you hold to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

It is natural to assume that, if Earth above Heaven forms the hexagram for Peace and Paradise, then the opposite configuration, with Heaven over Earth would represent the antithesis of Paradise, Hell.
Not so.
This hexagram is actually the Dark side of Peace, its unsavory byproduct, Stagnation.
In a time when most of our wants are provided, there is little need for the heroes, the artists, the great thinkers and innovators.
As they recede into the shadows, Idleness, Apathy, and Lassitude come to the forefront.
Peace has become boring, bland, unchallenging — Stagnant.
Now our attention turns to the quick fix, the instant celebrity, the fad, the one-nighter, the current buzz.
There is no room for depth.
If you are a passionate soul, you must wait for a better time to find kindred spirits.
In these times, they are only curious legends, bas-relief, dead poets.

Six in the third place means:

They bear shame.

Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI in the Garden of the Tuilerie

Inferior people who have risen to power illegitimately do not feel equal to the responsibility they have taken upon themselves. In their hearts they begin to be ashamed, although at first they do not show it outwardly. This marks a turn for the better.

13 – Thirteen T’ung Jên / Social Mechanism

Heaven reflects the Flame of clarity:
The Superior Person analyzes the various levels and working parts of the social structure, and uses them to advantage.

Success if you keep to your course.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a matter of Positioning — not only yourself, but others as well.
There are niches to be filled, potentials to be realized, right livelihoods to be found.
You are not building a new organization, but shoring up an existing infrastructure.
It’s worth the effort, because it will provide union, community, and an ironclad alliance.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “Mind is a unit energy given to you to serve you” – Yogi Bhajan

“Mind is a unit energy given to you to serve you. Be its guide and not its slave.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA041-780525- Control the Mind

Meditation: 771201 – Three Minute Meditation – For a Meditative Mind

Today: Look at all the choices you have made to this point and their perceivable consequences. If you are satisfied with current results, then expect ultimate success and good fortune. – from the I Ching

Look at all the choices you have made to this point and their perceivable consequences. If you are satisfied with current results, then expect ultimate success and good fortune.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 49 – The Master has no mind of her own. She works with the mind of the people.

10 – Ten Lü / Worrying the Tiger

Heaven shines down on the Marsh which reflects it back imperfectly:
Though the Superior Man carefully discriminates between high and low, and acts in accord with the flow of the Tao, there are still situations where a risk must be taken.

You tread upon the tail of the tiger.
Not perceiving you as a threat, the startled tiger does not bite.
Success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have reached a perilous point in your journey.
This is a real gamble — not a maneuver, not a calculated risk.
The outcome is uncertain.
If it goes as you hope, you will gain — but if it turns against you it will cause serious injury, at least to your plans.
The best tack is extreme caution and a healthy respect for the danger involved.

Nine at the top means:

At your journey’s end, look back and examine the path you chose.
If you find no causes for shame, only good works that make you shine, you may take this as an omen of the certainty of great reward.

Look to your conduct and weigh the favorable signs.
When everything is fulfilled, supreme good fortune comes.

‘Enjoying the Fruit of Labor’ – Keith Martin Johns

The work is ended. If we want to know whether good fortune will follow, we must look back on our conduct and its consequences. If the effects are good, then good fortune is certain. No one knows himself. It is only by the consequences of his actions, by the fruit of his labors, that a man can judge what he is to expect.

47 – Forty-Seven K’un / Exhaustion

A Dead Sea, its Waters spent eons ago, more deadly than the desert surrounding it:
The Superior Person will stake his life and fortune on what he deeply believes.

Triumph belongs to those who endure.
Trial and tribulation can hone exceptional character to a razor edge that slices deftly through every challenge.
Action prevails where words will fail.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is the realm of the Shaman.
You have exhausted every alternative, spent yourself completely, taxed body and mind beyond your former limits.
Survival and salvation lie beyond your reach now.
Only transcendence to a new existence — a higher plane of being — will see you through.
The Old You is just a dry husk.
You can’t return to it.
Metamorphosis is the only grace offered.
You can only return to your homeland as a New You.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “When we feel we are limited, we become limited” – Yogi Bhajan

“When we feel we are limited, we become limited. When we feel we are unlimited, we become unlimited.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA571 890214 Let Go of Your Limitations

Meditation: TCH36-8I-2000724-You and Thou

Today: You will be victorious in struggle after struggle, knowing it is the right thing to do for all concerned.- from the I Ching

You will be victorious in struggle after struggle, knowing it is the right thing to do for all concerned.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 48 – In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Tao, every day something is dropped.

39 – Thirty-Nine Chien / Obstacle

Ominous roiling in the Crater Lake atop the Volcano:
When meeting an impasse, the Superior Person turns his gaze within, and views the obstacle from a new perspective.

Offer your opponent nothing to resist.
Let a sage guide you in this.
Good fortune lies along this course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The Obstacle lies in obstinance.
An insistence on only one way of proceeding has brought things to an impasse.
You may either continue banging your head with irresistible force against this immovable object, or you might step back and survey this situation from a fresh perspective.
Which is immobile here — the obstruction or your attitude?

Six in the second place means:

He stoically faces trial after trial, knowing his loyal labors will benefit another.
The King’s servant is beset by obstruction upon obstruction,
But it is not his own fault.

‘The parable of The Unmerciful Servant’ (Matthew 18:28) – Harold Copping

Ordinarily it is best to go around an obstacle and try to overcome it along the line of least resistance. But there is one instance in which a man must go out to meet the trouble, even though difficulty piles upon difficulty: this is when the path of duty leads directly to it – in other words, when he cannot act of his own volition but is duty bound to go and seek out danger in the service of a higher cause. Then he may do it without compunction, because it is not through any fault of his that he is putting himself in this difficult situation.

43 – Forty-Three Kuai / Breakthrough

A Deluge from Heaven:
The Superior Person rains fortune upon those in need, then moves on with no thought of the good he does.

The issue must be raised before an impartial authority.
Be sincere and earnest, despite the danger.
Do not try to force the outcome, but seek support where needed.
Set a clear goal.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Your iron will must come to the forefront now.
It will take great personal determination to resolve the situation in question.
Your adversary would love to force you into an angry display.
That would legitimize his opposition to you.
Such a berserker rage would drag you down to his level.
You must resolutely take a public stand against what he represents, but refuse to engage him.
Without compromise, you show others the way to higher ground.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “What is the value of old age?” – Yogi Bhajan

“What is the value of old age? Grace. Any old man who is graceful will be loved and respected. What is the value of childhood? Sharpness.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA958 A00413 Grace My Grace Is Me! 20000413

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Today: Though you have completely become yourself, there is still work to do, if you choose. Others are fortunate to know you, yet they do not yet realize it.- from the I Ching

Though you have completely become yourself, there is still work to do, if you choose. Others are fortunate to know you, yet they do not yet realize it.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 47 – Without opening your door, you can open your heart to the world

19 – Nineteen Lin / Noble Calling

The rich, loamy Earth on the banks of the Marsh provides fertile soil for exceptional progress.
The Superior Person is inexhaustible in his willingness to teach, and without limit in his tolerance and support of others.

Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
But be aware that your time is limited; your power will wane, as Summer changes to Fall.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are in a position to help another.
This is a temporary situation, because your power is cyclical, seasonal.
Knowing this, you must perform your good deed without hope of reward.
You are not furthering your own process, but another’s.
Though you may cherish this other, you will never possess.
Touch without grasping.
Take comfort in becoming a fond memory.
Nurture, then let go.

Six at the top means:

You approach with humble honesty and generosity.
This is a superior act.

Greathearted approach.
Good fortune. No blame.

‘Supper at Emmaus’ (Luke 24) – Caravaggio

A sage who has put the world behind him and who in spirit has already withdrawn from life may, under certain circumstances, decide to return once more to the here and now and to approach other men. This means great good fortune for the men whom he teaches and helps. And for him this greathearted humbling of himself is blameless.

38 – Thirty-Eight K’uei / Estrangement

Fire distances itself from its nemesis, the Lake:
No matter how large or diverse the group, the Superior Person remains uniquely himself.

Small accomplishments are possible.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are working at cross-purposes with another.
The distance between you is very wide.
The gap can be closed, however, with no compromise of your integrity.
You are not adversaries in this case — just two persons addressing individual needs.
Ask yourself: are these needs mutually exclusive?
Is there common ground here?
Must there be one winner and one loser?
Could you become partners in seeking a solution that would allow for two winners?

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “Asking for self-reliance and obtaining self-reliance is not only great, it is the answer to every problem of life.” – Yogi Bhajan

“Asking for self-reliance and obtaining self-reliance is not only great, it is the answer to every problem of life. No one is so small that he cannot be great.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA950 A00214 20000214 Develop Self-Reliance

Meditation: NM142 19940615 – Bless the Planet Earth and Let the Heavens Descend in You

Today: Be generous, sharing your well-being with those less fortunate. It is the way to strengthen bonds among people.- from the I Ching

Be generous, sharing your well-being with those less fortunate. It is the way to strengthen bonds among people.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 46 – When the world has the Tao Fast horses are retired to till the soil. When the world lacks the Tao Warhorses give birth on the battlefield

11 – Eleven T’ai / Peace

Heaven and Earth embrace, giving birth to Peace.
The Superior Person serves as midwife, presenting the newborn gift to the people.

The small depart; the great approach.
Success.
Good fortune.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

It doesn’t get any better than this.
Everything is in harmony, all obstacles are cleared from your Path, anything you could ask for is right at hand.
This is the Elysian Fields, the Garden of Eden.
The only thing wrong with Peace is that it, too, must change.
Whether you are in this state of harmony now or it is predicted for your future, recognize it as your greatest opportunity to build your resources against less harmonious times.

Six in the fifth place means:

The emperor gives his blessing to his daughter’s marriage to a commoner.
All ranks of life benefit from this.

The sovereign I
Gives his daughter in marriage.
And supreme good fortune.

The sovereign I is T’ang the Completer.¹ By his decree the imperial princesses, although higher in rank than their husbands, had to obey them like all other wives. Here too we are shown a truly modest union of high and low that brings happiness and blessings.

23 – Twenty-Three Po / Splitting Apart

The weight of the Mountain presses down upon a weak foundation of Earth:
The Superior Person will use this time of oppression to attend to the needs of those less fortunate.

Any action would be ill-timed.
Stand fast.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a situation easily mistaken for Stagnation (Hexagram 12) or Revolution (Hexagram 49).
It just depends on which side you’re on.
During a time of Stagnation, human worms invade to feed on the decay.
During a time of Revolution, oppression is being overthrown.
But in this situation, oppressors are violently seizing power.
Pay special heed when you receive this hexagram, because the oracle is often warning you of a situation of which you are totally unaware.
You are about to be blindsided.

1. [This refers to Ch’êng T’ang, the first of the Shang rulers, whose reign is thought to have begun in 1766 B.C. However, modern Chinese scholarship no longer accepts the identification of the Emperor I (1191 – 1155 B.C., according to tradition) with T’ang, and holds that the daughter mentioned was given to King Wên’s father, or perhaps to King Wên himself.]

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “the highest state of the yogic mind ” – Yogi Bhajan

“When the one-pointed, infinite beam of the mind starts sending the signal into the infinity and the infinity relates to the finite, the unit becomes united and this is called the highest state of the yogic mind.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: TCH20 02 960722 – Increase the Power of the Infinite Within

Meditation: Shobogenzo Genjo Koan

Today: Regardless of your unrest or impatience, recognize and follow your duty as you take care of those who depend on you.- from the I Ching

Regardless of your unrest or impatience, recognize and follow your duty as you take care of those who depend on you.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 45 – True perfection seems imperfect, yet it is perfectly itself

37 – Thirty-Seven Chia Jên / Family Duties

Warming Air Currents rise and spread from the Hearthfire:
The Superior Person weighs his words carefully and is consistent in his behavior.

Be as faithful as a good wife.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

One in this situation must be keenly aware of his influence on others.
Maintain a healthy respect for the ripple effect of your words and deeds.
To some you serve as a role model.
You can either help shape their world or tilt them into chaos.
Show temperance and consideration to all.

Six in the second place means:

She should not follow her whims.
She must attend within to the food.
Perseverance brings good fortune.

‘The milkmaid’ – Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675)
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam – Holland

The wife must always be guided by the will of the master of the house, be he father, husband, or grown son. Her place is within the house. There, without having to look for them, she has great and important duties. She must attend to the nourishment of her family and to the food for the sacrifice. In this way she becomes the centre of the social and religious life of the family, and her perseverance in this position brings good fortune to the whole house.
In relation to general conditions, the counsel given here is to seek nothing by means of force, but quietly to confine oneself to the duties at hand.

9 – Nine Hsiao Ch’u / Gentle Restraint

Winds of change high in the Heavens:
Air currents carry the weather.
Dense clouds blow in from the West, but still no rain.
The Superior Person fine tunes the image he presents to the world.

Small successes.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

No matter what you do, the fruit of your labors never seems to ripen.
Your reward remains just out of reach.
Men have gone mad from such anticipation.
Don’t lose your balance lunging for the brass ring.
While the Fates continue to restrain you, go them one better and display a self-generated restraint and grace.
Look for the humor in the situation.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “The difference between you and an animal is… ” – Yogi Bhajan

“The difference between you and an animal is that the animal has limited compassion and you can have unlimited compassion.” Yogi Bhajan

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Today: When support disappears among associates, go to the source of your strength and endurance for your endeavors – from the I Ching

When support disappears among associates, go to the source of your strength and endurance for your endeavors.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 44 – Fame or integrity: which is more important?

Tell The Magical Story of Mushkil Gusha over a meal with friends today.

59 – Fifty-Nine Huan / Dissolution

Wind carries the Mists aloft:
Sage rulers dedicated their lives to serving a Higher Power and built temples that still endure.

The King approaches his temple.
Success if you stay on course.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Walls meant to protect have instead separated and isolated.
Your defenses have kept you apart from those whom you most need to touch.
Whatever the reason for discord between you, it is time to lay down your arms.
Dispel the inflexible demands and fears of the Mind so that you may reunite in the Heart.
If you have begrudged, forgive.
If you have torn down, repair.
If you have injured, heal.
If you have judged, pardon.
If you have grasped, let go.

Nine in the second place means:

When his dreams evaporate to mist on the breeze, he returns to his well of strength.
Regret is washed away.
At the dissolution
He hurries to that which supports him.
Remorse disappears.

Composition by Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)

When an individual discovers within himself the beginnings of alienation from others, of misanthropy and ill humor, he must set about dissolving these obstructions. He must rouse himself inwardly, hasten to that which supports him. Such support is never found in hatred, but always in a moderate and just judgement of men, linked with good will. If he regains this unobstructed outlook on humanity, while at the same time all saturnine ill humor is dissolved, all occasion for remorse disappears.

32 – Thirty-Two Hêng / Durability

Arousing Thunder and penetrating Wind.
Close companions in any storm:
The Superior Person possesses a resiliency and durability that lets him remain firmly and faithfully on course.

Such constancy deserves success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Endurance is the key to success in this situation.
However, durability is not synonymous with stone-like rigidity.
True resilience requires a flexibility that allows adaptation to any adverse condition, while still remaining true to the core.
Can you maintain your integrity under any circumstance?
Can you influence the situation without giving opposing forces anything to resist?
Then you will endure to reach your goal.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “If man can awaken himself to the awareness that he is a man, then his destiny changes. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“If man can awaken himself to the awareness that he is a man, then his destiny changes. What you must know in your life is that you are positively a human being.” Yogi Bhajan

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Meditation: LA007-780117-Sadhana Yojina-To Infinity Upon Death

Today: We are here to navigate life, not control what happens. Give up all egotistical attachments. – from the I Ching

We are here to navigate life, not control what happens. Give up all egotistical attachments.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 43 – The gentlest thing in the world overcomes the hardest thing in the world.

52 – Fifty-Two Kên / The Mountain

Above this Mountain’s summit another more majestic rises:
The Superior Person is mindful to keep his thoughts in the here and now.

Stilling the sensations of the Ego, he roams his courtyard without moving a muscle, unencumbered by the fears and desires of his fellows.
This is no mistake.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is a higher vantage point available to you, but it is obscured by the visible peak of personal ambition.
To climb to this higher plane, you must shake off the desires and fears of the conscious, visible world around you.
To make this journey you must quiet the Ego, empty your mind of past and future, and dwell totally in the moment at hand.
Thorough mindfulness of what is before you is the only tranquility.
Be. Here. Now.

Six in the fourth place means:

He keeps his trunk still through flexibility.
Faultless.
Keeping his trunk still.
No blame.

‘Finding Inner Peace’ – Joe Triano

As has been pointed out above in the comment on the Judgement, keeping the back at rest means forgetting the ego. This is the highest stage of rest. Here this stage has not yet been reached: the individual in this instance, though able to keep the ego, with its thoughts and impulses, in a state of rest, is not yet quite liberated from its dominance. Nonetheless, keeping the heart at rest is an important function, leading in the end to the complete elimination of egotistic drives. Even though at this point one does not yet remain free from all the dangers of doubt and unrest, this frame of mind is not a mistake, as it leads ultimately to that other, higher level.

56 – Fifty-Six Lu / The Wanderer

Fire on the Mountain, catastrophic to man, a passing annoyance to the Mountain:
The Superior Person waits for wisdom and clarity before exacting Justice, then lets no protest sway him.

Find satisfaction in small gains.
To move constantly forward is good fortune to a Wanderer.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are a stranger to this situation.
It is your attraction to the exotic that has led you here, but you will move on to a new vista when this one has lost its mystique.
Because much of this environment is foreign to you, you must exercise only the best judgement.
You don’t know the custom here, and it’s too easy to cross a line you don’t know is there.
Because you are the foreigner in this setting, you have no history to acquit you.
Watch, listen, study, contemplate, then step lightly but decisively on.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “Ignoring your soul is ignoring your Godhead” – Yogi Bhajan

“Ignoring your soul is ignoring your Godhead: as a rose has an aroma, so you have a soul; as a mirror has an image, so you have a soul. Ignoring your soul is ignoring your total capacity.” Yogi Bhajan

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