Tao Te Ching – Verse 31
Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.
Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Month: November 2024
“Escape the best you can the impending upheaval. Stay safe. What is lost will return to you.” – Today’s Reading
Escape the best you can the impending upheaval. Stay safe. What is lost will return to you.
Try these meditations:
Meditation: LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change
Meditation: LA950 A00214 20000214 Develop Self-Reliance
See Meditation: Breath of Fire
51 – Fifty-One. Chên / Thunder
Thunder echoes upon Thunder, commanding reverence for its father Heaven:
In awe of Heaven’s majestic power, the Superior Person looks within and sets his life in order.
Thunder mingles with startled screams of terror for a hundred miles around.
As the people nervously laugh at their own fright, the devout presents the sacrificial chalice with nary a drop of wine spilt.
Deliverance
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
A thunderbolt of Cosmic judgement crashes to earth.
For the common person, it’s just a momentary fright soon forgotten, its warning unfathomed and unheeded.
But to one who understands its significance, this thunder is a signal to awaken.
Centering the Self, seeking balance, the enlightened person will respect and align himself with this Higher Power, while his fellows remain subject to the whims of every passing storm.
Six in the second place means:
This thunder erupts from the ground beneath your feet, delivering real danger.
Abandon your belongings and climb to higher ground.
Don’t grieve over treasures left behind.
They will return to you in seven days.
Shock comes bringing danger.
A hundred thousand times
You lose your treasures
And must climb the nine hills.
Do not go in pursuit of them.
After seven days you will get them back again.
Nine hills
This pictures a situation in which a shock endangers a man and he suffers great losses. Resistance would be contrary to the movement of the time and for this reason unsuccessful. Therefore he must simply retreat to heights inaccessible to the threatening forces of danger. He must accept his loss of property without worrying too much about it. When the time of shock and upheaval that has robbed him of his possessions has passed, he will get them back again without going in pursuit of them.
54 – Fifty-Four. Kuei Mei / A Loveless Marriage
The Thunderstorm inseminates the swelling Lake, then moves on where the Lake cannot follow:
The Superior Person views passing trials in the light of Eternal Truths.
Any action will prove unfortunate.
Nothing furthers.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
This is at best a Marriage of Convenience.
You have found yourself in desperate straits, a position of weakness, and you are tempted to pay dearly for a remedy.
A drowning man isn’t picky about who throws him a rope.
The rescue offered to you now is undesirable.
It may pull you out of this sticky situation, but it will cause even greater predicaments down the road.
Don’t obligate yourself in this way.
You are selling your future for a quick fix today.
Today: “You are not what you think you are. ” – Yogi Bhajan
“You are not what you think you are. You are what your glands secrete and at what ratio and proportion they secrete. That is very important. Breath of Fire does it all. Thirty-one minutes of Breath of Fire every day will regulate the pituitary. Pituitary will regulate the entire glandular system. Glandular system will change the nervous system. Nervous system will tell the organic system of the blood to just recapture itself. Breath of Fire is a breath which burns away all diseases and karma. It is a conscious voluntary breath. Yogi Bhajan
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 30 – Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men doesn’t try to force issues or defeat enemies by force of arms
Tao Te Ching – Verse 30
Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
doesn’t try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.
“Make a singular bold move for all to see. When the time is right they will follow suit. It is a time of chaos, so change is in the air.” – Today’s Reading
Make a singular bold move for all to see. When the time is right they will follow suit. It is a time of chaos, so change is in the air.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 29 – Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done.
Try these meditations:
Meditation: LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change
Meditation: NM091 – 19921110 – Self Emboldenment, Engagement, Vision
49 – Forty-Nine. Ko / Revolution
Fire ignites within the Lake, defying conditions that would deny it birth or survival:
The Superior Person reads the Signs of the Times and makes the Season apparent to all.
The support you need will come only after the deed is done.
Renewed forces, however, will provide fresh energy for exceptional progress.
Persevere.
All differences vanish.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
A revolutionary Change must be made forcibly.
There is no negotiating with the Established Order.
Perfect timing is essential.
Let the abuse of power become apparent and oppressive to those around you before making your move.
Lay the groundwork, sow the seeds for Revolution without tipping your hand prematurely.
You will need a strong foundation, because you will have to bring about this necessary change alone.
You cannot count on popular support, so you must wait until there is massive dissent.
Then the avenue for your assault will be cleared.
Nine in the fifth place means:You transform into a tiger before their eyes. The great man changes like a tiger.
Tiger camouflage |
| A tigerskin, with its highly visible black stripes on a yellow ground, shows its distinct pattern from afar. It is the same with a revolution brought about by a great man: large, clear guiding lines become visible, understandable to everyone. Therefore he need not first consult the oracle, for he wins the spontaneous support of the people. |
62 – Sixty-Two. Hsiao Kuo / Lying Low
Thunder high on the Mountain, active passivity:
The Superior Person is unsurpassed in his ability to remain small.
In a time for humility, he is supremely modest.
In a time of mourning, he uplifts with somber reverence.
In a time of want, he is resourcefully frugal.
When a bird flies too high, its song is lost.
Rather than push upward now, it is best to remain below.
This will bring surprising good fortune, if you keep to your course.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
There is no profit to striving here.
To be content with oneself is the greatest success imaginable.
The enlightened person has nothing to prove to himself or others, and thus may always operate from a position of sincerity, with no pretense or posturing.
His humility is guileless simplicity.
His mourning is selfless compassion.
His frugality is an unshakeable faith that he is but a conduit, letting what is needed flow through him to others, with no loss to himself.
Today: “You were alive (in the womb) by the navel point. So now you combine the navel with the breath. If you can combine that, you can conquer death.” – Yogi Bhajan
“You were alive (in the womb) by the navel point. So now you combine the navel with the breath. If you can combine that, you can conquer death. It is a very simple yogic rule. Five, ten minutes of Breath of Fire is all you need. If you do Breath of Fire, it will cleanse your lungs and make them strong. You will have deep breathing all day, you will have good oxygen in your bloodstream, and you will be young and healthy for a long time. If you do it five to fifteen minutes every day, it is the best way to keep the blood purified, it doesn’t matter what. It’s a direct blood purification system.” Yogi Bhajan
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 29 – Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 29
Do you want to improve the world?
I don’t think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can’t be improved.
If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 29 – Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done.”
“What you are being liberated from is your expectations. Accept the harsh reality and find your place in it. The strength in your durability lies in your adaptability.” – Today’s Reading
What you are being liberated from is your expectations. Accept the harsh reality and find your place in it. The strength in your durability lies in your adaptability.
It pays to accept things as they are for now.
If there is nothing else to be gained, a return brings good fortune.
If there is something yet to be gained, act on it at once.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 28 – Know the male, yet keep to the female
Try these meditations:
Meditation: NM0336 – For Inner Strength
40 – Forty. Hsieh / Liberation
A Thunderous Cloudburst shatters the oppressive humidity:
The Superior Person knows the release in forgiveness, pardoning the faults of others and dealing gently with those who sin against him.
It pays to accept things as they are for now.
If there is nothing else to be gained, a return brings good fortune.
If there is something yet to be gained, act on it at once.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The relief you experience here is not your own personal pardon, but the release of others from your rigid expectations.
Like a hot air balloon, you will rise to new heights as you cast the heavy sandbags of resentments and restrictions away from you.
Feel the lightness of being that results from forgiving others and accepting them as they are.
Free yourself of the endless vigil of policing the behavior of others.
See them for who they are, not what they can or can’t do for you.
Six in the third place means:
The porter carries his burden in a gilded carriage well beyond his means.
This attracts not only the resentment of his peers, but bandits as well.
Injury and humiliation ahead.
If a man carries a burden on his back
And nonetheless rides in a carriage,
He thereby encourages robbers to draw near.
Perseverance leads to humiliation.
Chinese carriage
This refers to a man who has come out of needy circumstances into comfort and freedom from want. If now, in the manner of an upstart, he tries to take his ease in comfortable surroundings that do not suit his nature, he thereby attracts robbers. If he goes on thus he is sure to bring disgrace upon himself. Kongfu (Confucius) says about this line:
Carrying a burden on the back is the business of a common man; a carriage is the appurtenance of a man of rank. Now, when a common man uses the appurtenance of man of rank, robbers plot to take it away from him. If a man is insolent toward those above him and hard toward those below him, robbers plot to attack him. Carelessness in guarding things tempts thieves to steal. Sumptuous ornaments worn by a maiden are an enticement to rob her of her virtue.
|
‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, circa 1665 – 1667 – Johannes Vermeer
Mauritshuis – The Hague – Holland
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.
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Today: “The navel point is sometimes misunderstood, but it is the most active point in the entire body.” – Yogi Bhajan
“The navel point is sometimes misunderstood, but it is the most active point in the entire body. This is what the scriptures say. Human grows to life (in the womb) without the breath of life (because the praana comes from the mother) through the navel point. The only energy you had was at the navel point. That is why we stimulate the navel. In Kundalini Yoga there are two points that we stir up: one is the pituitary and the other is the navel point.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: NM249 971230 theorem of the Kundalini Yoga; control your micro & macro consciousness
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 28 – Know the male, yet keep to the female
Tao Te Ching – Verse 28
Know the male,
yet keep to the female:
receive the world in your arms.
If you receive the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you will be like a little child.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 28 – Know the male, yet keep to the female”
“Let go of what you have been clinging to. Give up trying to control. Seek happiness instead.” – Today’s Reading
Let go of what you have been clinging to. Give up trying to control. Seek happiness instead.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 27 – A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving
Try these meditations:
Meditation: LA958 A00413 Grace My Grace Is Me! 20000413
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 fifth place means:He cries in pain as he sweats out this fever. His loud cries are as dissolving as sweat.
|
| In times of general dispersion and separation, a great idea provides a focal point for the organization of recovery. Just as an illness reaches its crisis in a dissolving sweat, so a great and stimulating idea is a true salvation in times of general deadlock. It gives the people a rallying point – a man in a ruling position who can dispel misunderstandings. |
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.
Today: “Now we have to understand…how we can tune our mind to Infinity. ” – Yogi Bhajan
“Now we have to understand, clearly and consciously, how we can tune our mind to Infinity. You should have started learning this when you were one day old. Now one day plus all the days you have lived, that is your handicap. It is that handicap which we have to overcome. And there is a mantra which gives us a secret power. Today I’ll tell you the secret of chanting the Ong mantra. There is a pre-condition to the mantra, because sometime you may just get into your ego and chant Ong and not come back. Whenever you chant it, you must meditate first on the primal sound “Saa-Taa-Naa-Maa” and then do it. So let me record that warning and then we are free, we can do it.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: LA093-790319 – Pranic Energy – the Earth Element Balanced by Ether
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 27 – A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving
Tao Te Ching – Verse 27
A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.
Thus the Master is available to all people
and doesn’t reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn’t waste anything.
This is called embodying the light. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 27 – A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving”
“You must contain the deluge of impressions that come from without. Rather than trying to sort everything, just include everything. What is important will emerge from the rest.” – Today’s Reading
You must contain the deluge of impressions that come from without. Rather than trying to sort everything, just include everything. What is important will emerge from the rest.
This phenomenon is no accident. We are now, and will remain, under siege by disruptors and other bad actors. Experience will show us the truth.
Try these meditations:
Meditation: LA935-980608- Connect the subconscious and intuition
Meditation: NM190-19951031-Connect Yourself to the Reality
Meditation: NM335 – A00111 Connect Up to Infinity
Meditation: LA721-920325: for the Intuitive Intellect
30 – Thirty. Li / Igniting
Fire sparks more Flames:
The Superior Person holds an inner Fire that ignites passion in every heart it touches, until all the world is enlightened and aflame.
With so searing a flame, success will not be denied you.
Take care to be as peaceful and nurturing as the cow in the meadow; you are strong enough to be gentle.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
A Promethean flame is delivering light and heat to the situation at hand.
This radiance will cause such an alchemical transformation of circumstances that the changes will seem magical, miraculous.
Yet they are only shifts of perspective and attitude that bring clarity.
The passions kindled by this fire must be harnessed and used judiciously, or they threaten to consume your hopes and dreams.
Nine at the beginning [yang at bottom] means:Meek and uncertain, he nevertheless approaches the radiance. The footprints run criss-cross.
Footprints in the sand |
| It is early morning and work begins. The mind has been closed to the outside world in sleep; now its connections with the world begin again. The traces of one’s impressions run criss-cross. Activity and haste prevail. It is important then to preserve inner composure and not to allow oneself to be swept along by the bustle of life. If one is serious and composed, he can acquire the clarity of mind needed for coming to terms with the innumerable impressions that pour in. It is precisely at the beginning that serious concentration is important, because the beginning holds the seed of all that is to follow. |
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.
Today: “You have come here to be teachers. You should understand something about life. Life is not what you think.” – Yogi Bhajan
“You have come here to be teachers. You should understand something about life. Life is not what you think. Life is not what you want. Life is not in surrender. Life is not in revolt. Life is not in disobedience. Life is not in obedience. Life is in life, which must be accepted, must be lived, must be recognized, must be organized. It must be mutual in essence. There are three stages. If there is a truth, it will be universal and mutual to all. If it is an ego, it will be mutual only to a few. If it is a neurosis, then it will be mutual only to you.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: TCH20 02 960722 – Increase the Power of the Infinite Within
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 26 – The heavy is the root of the light. The unmoved is the source of all movement.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 26
The heavy is the root of the light.
The unmoved is the source of all movement.
Thus the Master travels all day
without leaving home.
However splendid the views,
she stays serenely in herself.
Why should the lord of the country
flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you,
you lose touch with who you are.
(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 26 – The heavy is the root of the light. The unmoved is the source of all movement.”