Today: Use the flow of power that is assisting you – I Ching

Use the flow of power that is assisting you.  Be sure that your intentions align with the cosmic flow.

 

 

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching

Thunder – electrical energy – mounts upward in the spring. The direction of this movement is in harmony with that of the movement of heaven. It is therefore a movement in accord with heaven, producing great power. However, true greatness depends on being in harmony with what is right. Therefore in times of great power the superior man avoids doing anything that is not in harmony with the established order.

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Today:”When you bring your soul and your will together” Yogi Bhajan

“When you bring your soul and your will together you become conscious. It is all you and it is all about you.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

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Today:”relate to consciousness your neuroses will fall away.” Yogi Bhajan

“This is great and practical truth, a basic principle in Humanology: when you relate to consciousness your neuroses will fall away.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

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Today: “The mind was given to you to relate to Infinity” Yogi Bhajan

“The mind was given to you to relate to Infinity, and consciousness was given to you to live. If you react and project mentally, and then depend on that, you as you are just a zero. Anything multiplied by zero will become zero. With this habit even your elemental personality will eventually become zero and leave no trace.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

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Today: Beware of opposition that comes from inner oppression – I Ching

Beware of opposition that comes from inner oppression.  Coming from within, it is easier to break the bonds that hold you back merely by a change in attitude.  No guilt, no shame, if you can see clearly within and not propagate the conflict outwardly.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching

Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right man. When a strong man meets with adversity, he remains cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. He who lets his spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly has no success. But if adversity only bends a man, it creates in him a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself. No inferior man is capable of this. Only the great man brings about good fortune and remains blameless. It is true that for the time being outward influence is denied him, because his words have no effect. Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.
A man is oppressed by bonds that can easily be broken. The distress is drawing to an end. But he is still irresolute; he is still influenced by the previous condition and fears that he may have cause for regret if he makes a move. But as soon as he grasps the situation, changes this mental attitude, and makes a firm decision, he masters the oppression.
CONFLICT DEVELOPS when one feels himself to be in the right and runs into opposition. If one is not convinced of being in the right, opposition leads to craftiness or high-handed encroachment but not to open conflict.
If a man is entangled in a conflict, his only salvation lies in being so clear- headed and inwardly strong that he is always ready to come to terms by meeting the opponent halfway. To carry on the conflict to the bitter end has evil effects even when one is the right, because the enmity is then perpetuated. It is important to see the great man, that is, an impartial man whose authority is great enough to terminate the conflict amicably or assure a just decision. In times of strife, crossing the great water is to be avoided, that is, dangerous enterprises are not to be begun, because in order to be successful they require concerted unity of focus. Conflict within weakens the power to conquer danger without.

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Today: “You and your mind must meet” Yogi Bhajan

“You and your mind must meet. If you rush ahead of your time and space, if you depend on the shortcuts your mind projects, your life will be half digested, and you will carry a bad smell.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

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Today: Gracefully nourish yourself and others – I Ching

Nourish yourself and those around you with only what is needed, not desired.  Nourishment is a matter of sustenance, not gratification.  Lose your bad habits that only try to make you feel good.  Make all consumption an act of growth beyond desire and you will be graceful.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching

In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes. Nature nourishes all creatures. The great man fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men through them.
He who seeks nourishment that does not nourish reels from desire to gratification and in gratification craves desire. Mad pursuit of pleasure for the satisfaction of the senses never brings one to the goal. One should never (ten years is a complete cycle of time) follow this path, for nothing good can come of it.
This hexagram shows tranquil beauty – clarity within, quiet without. This is the tranquillity of pure contemplation. When desire is silenced and the will comes to rest, the world-as-idea becomes manifest. In this aspect the world is beautiful and removed from the struggle for existence. This is the world of art. However, contemplation alone will not put the will to rest absolutely. It will awaken again, and then all the beauty of form will appear to have been only a brief moment of exaltation. Hence this is still not the true way of redemption. For this reason Confucius felt very uncomfortable when once, on consulting the oracle, he obtained the hexagram of GRACE.

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Today: “If you do not depend directly on your consciousness” Yogi Bhajan

“If you do not depend directly on your consciousness, you are not you at all. When you are not you in the beginning and core of each action, then there is nothing you can do which will be true, and there is nothing you can do which can make you happy.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

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Today: Seize the moment to turn things around – from the I Ching

Now is an opportunity for a turning point.  Put aside pride and vanity and seize the moment.  Then success is assured.  Otherwise, conditions are such that another opportunity of the same nature will not arise in the near future and a time of decrease will ensue.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
After a time of decay comes the turning point. The powerful light that has been banished returns. There is movement, but it is not brought about by force. The upper trigram Kun is characterised by devotion; thus the movement is natural, arising spontaneously. For this reason the transformation of the old becomes easy. The old is discarded and the new is introduced. Both measures accord with the time; therefore no harm results. Societies of people sharing the same views are formed. But since these groups come together in full public knowledge and are in harmony with the time, all selfish separatist tendencies are excluded, and no mistake is made. The idea of RETURN is based on the course of nature. The movement is cyclic, and the course completes itself. Therefore it is not necessary to hasten anything artificially. Everything comes of itself at the appointed time. This is the meaning of heaven and earth.
All movements are accomplished in six stages, and the seventh brings return. Thus the winter solstice, with which the decline of the year begins, comes in the seventh month after the summer solstice; so too sunrise comes in the seventh double hour after sunset. Therefore seven is the number of the young light, and it arises when six, the number of the great darkness, is increased by one. In this way the state of rest gives place to movement.
Return always calls for a decision and is an act of self-mastery. It is made easier if a man is in good company. If he can bring himself to put aside pride and follow the example of good men, good fortune results.
If a man misses the right time for return, he meets with misfortune. The misfortune has its inner cause in a wrong attitude toward the world. The misfortune coming upon him from without results from this wrong attitude. What is pictured here is blind obstinacy and the judgement that is visited upon it.
Decrease does not under all circumstances mean something bad. Increase and decrease come in their own time. What matters here is to understand the time and not to try to cover up poverty with empty pretence. If a time of scanty resources brings out an inner truth, one must not feel ashamed of simplicity. For simplicity is then the very thing needed to provide inner strength for further undertakings. Indeed, there need be no concern if the outward beauty of the civilisation, even the elaboration of religious forms, should have to suffer because of simplicity. One must draw on the strength of the inner attitude to compensate for what is lacking in externals; then the power of the content makes up for the simplicity of form. There is no need of presenting false appearances to God. Even with slender means, the sentiment of the heart can be expressed.

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Today: “You have been so trained and brainwashed…” Yogi Bhajan

“You have been so trained and brainwashed that you can’t relate to yourself as a living consciousness. You do not even have the concept.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

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Today: Command yourself to remember the ways in which you are strong – from the I Ching

Besieged by the pressures of adversity, keep heart.  Command yourself to remember the ways in which you are strong and act in alignment with them.  In perseverance you will succeed in breaking the opposition and exiling them.  Then you are surrounded by friends.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right man. When a strong man meets with adversity, he remains cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. He who lets his spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly has no success. But if adversity only bends a man, it creates in him a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself. No inferior man is capable of this. Only the great man brings about good fortune and remains blameless. It is true that for the time being outward influence is denied him, because his words have no effect. Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.
This shows a man who is restless and indecisive in times of adversity. At first he wants to push ahead, then he encounters obstructions that, it is true, mean oppression only when recklessly dealt with. He butts his head against a wall and in consequence feels himself oppressed by the wall. Then he leans on things that have in themselves no stability and that are merely a hazard for him who leans on them. Thereupon he turns back irresolutely and retires into his house, only to find, as a fresh disappointment, that his wife is not there. Kongfu (Confucius) says about this line:
If a man permits himself to be oppressed by something that ought not to oppress him, his name will certainly be disgraced. If he leans on things upon which one cannot lean, his life will certainly be endangered. For him who is in disgrace and danger, the hour of death draws near; how can he then still see his wife?
This hexagram signifies on the one hand a break-through after a long accumulation of tension, as a swollen river breaks through its dikes, or in the manner of a cloudburst. On the other hand, applied to human conditions, it refers to the time when inferior people gradually begin to disappear. Their influence is on the wane; as a result of resolute action, a change in conditions occurs, a break-through.

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Today: “Project from the point of view of your consciousness” Yogi Bhajan

“Every normal person thinks, imagines, and projects through the mind. You ultimately identify with your mind and become dependent on the mind. The reality is that you should not depend on your mind. Instead, you should project from the point of view of your consciousness.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

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Today: Be simple and unassuming – from the I Ching

Being as a wanderer, a tenant in the world, allowing everything to come to you and then depart in its time, and staying in touch with your inner being, you will attract the support of others and ultimately, great wealth.  Be simple and unassuming.  Empty yourself and the universe will serve you.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth – Jesus

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching

A wanderer has no fixed abode; his home is the road. Therefore he must take care to remain upright and steadfast, so that he sojourns only in the proper places, associating only with good people. Then he has good fortune and can go his way unmolested.
The wanderer here described is modest and reserved. He does not lose touch with his inner being, hence he finds a resting place. In the outside world he does not lose the liking of other people, hence all persons further him, so that he can acquire property. Moreover, he wins the allegiance of a faithful and trustworthy servant – a thing of inestimable value to a wanderer.
The sun in heaven above, shedding light over everything on earth, is the image of possession on a grand scale. But a possession of this sort must be administered properly. The sun brings both evil and good into the light of day. Man must combat and curb the evil, and must favor and promote the good. Only in this way does he fulfil the benevolent will of God, who desires only good and not evil.

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Today: “Your basic necessity, the drive of your elemental self…” Yogi Bhajan

“Your basic necessity, the drive of your elemental self is to become a practical, grassroots, living consciousness – potential living consciousness to practical living consciousness.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

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Today: Be strong within, peaceful without – from the I Ching

For self preservation in very dangerous times sometimes your true colors must remain hidden, not calling too much attention to your dissension.  At the right time, pent-up demand for change can lead to social revolution where change can be effected.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching

One must not unresistingly let himself be swept along by unfavourable circumstances, nor permit his steadfastness to be shaken. He can avoid this by maintaining his inner light, while remaining outwardly yielding and tractable. With this attitude he can overcome even the greatest adversities.
In some situations indeed a man must hide his light, in order to make his will prevail in spite of difficulties in his immediate environment. Perseverance must dwell in inmost consciousness and should not be discernible from without. Only thus is a man able to maintain his will in the face of difficulties.
Prince Chi lived at the court of the evil tyrant Chou Hsin, who, although not mentioned by name, furnishes the historical example on which this whole situation is based. Prince Chi was a relative of the tyrant and could not withdraw from court; therefore he concealed his true sentiments and feigned insanity. Although he was held a slave, he did not allow external misery to deflect him from his convictions.
This provides a teaching for those who cannot leave their posts in times of darkness. In order to escape danger, they need invincible perseverance of spirit and redoubled caution in their dealings with the world.
Political revolutions are extremely grave matters. They should be undertaken only under stress of direst necessity, when there is no other way out. Not everyone is called to this task, but only the man who has the confidence of the people, and even he only when the time is ripe. He must then proceed in the right way, so that he gladdens the people and, by enlightening them, prevents excesses. Furthermore, he must be quite free of selfish aims and must really relieve the need of the people. Only then does he have nothing to regret.
Times change, and with them their demands. Thus the seasons change in the course of the year. In the world cycle also there are spring and autumn in the life of peoples and nations, and these call for social transformations.

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