Category: Sat Nam Rasayan

Previous reading: “Use your creative powers to expand your horizons.”

Previous previous reading: “Once you understand your path and your destiny, you must conquer all of the obstacles to its completion. Keep up.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 77 – As it acts in the world, the Tao is like the bending of a bow.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

57 – Fifty-Seven. Sun / The Penetrating Wind

Wind follows upon wind, wandering the earth, penetrating gently but persistently:
The Superior Person expands his influence by reaffirming his decisions and carrying out his promises.

Small, persistent, focused effort brings success.
Seek advice from someone you respect.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Gentle persuasion is the key in this instance.
Though the words are soft, their speaker must be firm, calm and confident.
Gentle words are worthless if spoken with trepidation.
Wordless influence by example is also effective in this situation.
All persuasion should be almost unfelt, yet consistent and persistent.
Ask for feedback from someone you know to be an effective persuader.

Six in the fourth place means:

Self-doubt vanishes and determination grows.
Three forms of game will be taken in this hunt.

Remorse vanishes.
During the hunt
Three kinds of game are caught.

‘Pheasant Shooting’ – Julius Ceasar Ibbetson, 1790

When a responsible position and accumulated experience lead one to combine innate modesty with energetic action, great success is assured. The three kinds of animals referred to served for offerings to the gods, for feasting guests, and for everyday consumption. When the catch answered all three purposes, the hunt was considered especially successful.

14 – Fourteen. Ta Yu / Great Treasures

The Fire of clarity illuminates the Heavens to those below:
The Superior Person possesses great inner treasures — compassion, economy, and modesty.
These treasures allow the benevolent will of Heaven to flow through him outward to curb evil and to further good.

Supreme success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have become an instrument of Heaven’s will, offering a balance in the world around you.
It is not swashbuckling prowess or uncanny talent that qualifies you for this office, but your simplest gifts — your modesty, your compassion, your economy.
Because you can see clearly who most needs a miracle, Heaven’s bounty is being put at your disposal.

“Use your creative powers to expand your horizons.” – Today’s Reading

Use your creative powers to expand your horizons.

Get ready to ride a tide of accelerated growth toward self-actualization.
A joyful awareness of the best within you, coupled with an acceptance of your Shadow, will provide a greater repertoire, a much bolder vision, and new depth and clarity that will compel you to expand your horizons.

Practice this:

Previous reading: Once you understand your path and your destiny, you must conquer all of the obstacles to its completion. Keep up.”

Previous previous reading: “Be careful to balance forward progress with caution for what you may have failed to include in your view.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 76 – Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

42 – Forty-Two. I / Expansion

Whirlwinds and Thunder:
When the Superior Person encounters saintly behavior, he adopts it; when he encounters a fault within, he transforms it.

Progress in every endeavor.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Get ready to ride a tide of accelerated growth toward self-actualization.
A joyful awareness of the best within you, coupled with an acceptance of your Shadow, will provide a greater repertoire, a much bolder vision, and new depth and clarity that will compel you to expand your horizons.


		above: Sun / The Gentle, Wind
		above: Sun / The Gentle, Wind


		below: Chên / The Arousing, Thunder
		below: Chên / The Arousing, Thunder

The idea of increase is expressed in the fact that the strong lowest line of the upper trigram has sunk down and taken its place under the lower trigram. This conception also expresses the fundamental idea on which the Yi Jing is based. To rule truly is to serve.
A sacrifice of the higher element that produces an increase of the lower is called an out-and-out increase: it indicates the spirit that alone has power to help the world.

THE JUDGEMENT

INCREASE. It furthers one
To undertake something.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

Sacrifice on the part of those above for the increase of those below fills the people with a sense of joy and gratitude that is extremely valuable for the flowering of the commonwealth. When people are thus devoted to their leaders, undertakings are possible, and even difficult and dangerous enterprises will succeed. Therefore in such times of progress and successful development it is necessary to work and make the best use of the time. This time resembles that of the marriage of heaven and earth, when the earth partakes of the creative power of heaven, forming and bringing forth living beings. The time of INCREASE does not endure, therefore it must be utilised while it lasts.

THE IMAGE

Wind and thunder: the image of INCREASE.
Thus the superior man:
If he sees good, he imitates it;
If he has faults, he rids himself of them.

Baruch Spinoza ¹

Amsterdam, November 24^th 1632 – The Hague, February 21^st 1677

While observing how thunder and wind increase and strengthen each other, a man can note the way to self-increase and self-improvement. When he discovers good in others, he should imitate it and thus make everything on earth his own. If he perceives something bad in himself, let him rid himself of it. In this way he becomes free of evil. This ethical change represents the most important increase of personality.

1. Baruch Spinoza, born ‘Benedito de Espinosa’ (Portuguese), November 24^th 1632 – February 21^st 1677, later Benedict de Spinoza, was a Dutch philosopher of Sephardi Portuguese origin.
The breadth and importance of Spinoza’s work was not fully realized until many years after his death.
By laying the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy.
His magnum opus, the posthumous ‘Ethics’, in which he opposed Descartes’ mind–body dualism, has earned him recognition as one of Western philosophy’s most important thinkers.
In the Ethics, “Spinoza wrote the last indisputable Latin masterpiece, and one in which the refined conceptions of medieval philosophy are finally turned against themselves and destroyed entirely.” Hegel said, “You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all.”

Spinoza was raised in the Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam.
He developed highly controversial ideas regarding the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of the Divine.
The Jewish religious authorities issued a cherem against him, effectively excluding him from Jewish society at age 23.
His books were also later put on the Catholic Church’s Index of Forbidden Books.

Spinoza lived an outwardly simple life as a lens grinder (on this page a lens magnifies his potrait with a mouse-over), turning down rewards and honors throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions.

Spinoza died at the age of 44 allegedly of a lung illness, perhaps tuberculosis or silicosis exacerbated by fine glass dust inhaled while grinding optical lenses.
Spinoza is buried in the churchyard of the Christian ‘Nieuwe Kerk’ in The Hague.

“Once you understand your path and your destiny, you must conquer all of the obstacles to its completion. Keep up.” – Today’s Reading

Once you understand your path and your destiny, you must conquer all of the obstacles to its completion. Keep up.

Today: “Dear ones, never blame anyone or anything…Have patience, for patience pays.” – Yogi Bhajan

Practice this:

sadhana

Meditation: LA101 790419-Faith In Our Self And Our Own Discipline

Previous reading: “Be careful to balance forward progress with caution for what you may have failed to include in your view.”

Previous previous reading: “Once recognized, it is best to escape the snares laid by powerful people whose intentions are deceitful and self serving. Do not take the bait.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 75 – When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

63 – Sixty-Three. Chi Chi / Aftermath

Boiling Water over open Flame, one might extinguish The other:
The Superior Person takes a 360 degree view of the situation and prepares for any contingency.

Success in small matters if you stay on course.
Early good fortune can end in disorder.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Victory at the expense of another is a merciless taskmaster.
The precarious balance here is reflected in the lines of the hexagram: each of the yin lines rests upon a strong yang line — a seemingly perfect arrangement.
But the scales will be tipped with the change of any one line.
And there WILL be change.
Tireless vigilance and an answer to every challenge — that is the uneasy Seat of Power occupied by the conqueror.

Nine in the third place means:

He marches into the Devil’s Domain, and conquers it after three grueling years.
Lesser men could not do this.

The Illustrious Ancestor
Disciplines the Devil’s Country.
After three years he conquers it.
Inferior people must not be employed.

Shang Dynasty (Yin Dynasty in its later stages)

“Illustrious Ancestor” is the dynastic title of the Emperor Wu Ting of the Yin dynasty.¹ After putting his realm in order with a strong hand, he waged long colonial wars for the subjection of the Huns who occupied the northern borderland with constant threat of incursions.
The situation described is as follows. After times of completion, when a new power has arisen and everything within the country has been set in order, a period of colonial expansion almost inevitably follows. Then as a rule long-drawn-out struggles must be reckoned with. For this reason, a correct colonial policy is especially important. The territory won at such bitter cost must not be regarded as an almshouse for people who in one way or another have made themselves impossible at home, but who are thought to be quite good enough for the colonies. Such a policy ruins at the outset any chance of success. This holds true in small as well as in large matters, because it is not only rising states that carry on a colonial policy; the urge to expand, with its accompanying dangers, is part and parcel of every ambitious undertaking.

1. [Wu Ting reigned from 1324 to 1266 B.C.]
The Shang dynasty in its later stages is also called the Yin dynasty.
It is believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last Xia ruler. Its civilization was based on agriculture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. Two important events of the period were the development of a writing system, as revealed in archaic Chinese inscriptions found on tortoise shells and flat cattle bones (commonly called oracle bones), and the use of bronze metallurgy. A number of ceremonial bronze vessels with inscriptions date from the Shang period; the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high level of civilization.

Large bronze wine jar
Shang or Yin Dynasty

3 – Three. Chun / Difficulty at the Beginning

Thunder from the Deep:
The Superior Person carefully weaves order out of confusion.

Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
Carefully consider the first move.
Seek help.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

New ventures always pack along their inherent chaos.
Though this is an annoyance at best, and can even imperil or downright doom an endeavor, it is also the friction needed to polish your project to jewel brilliance.
Learn from these early obstacles.

“Be careful to balance forward progress with caution for what you may have failed to include in your view.” – Today’s Reading

Be careful to balance forward progress with caution for what you may have failed to include in your view.

Today: “A woman who is capable of giving birth must give birth to a saint, a hero, or a giver.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA721-920325: for the Intuitive Intellect

Meditation: LA004 780109 Experience the Experience

Previous reading: “Once recognized, it is best to escape the snares laid by powerful people whose intentions are deceitful and self serving. Do not take the bait.”

Previous previous reading: “Once we see the intentions of the evildoers, it is better to escape their plans rather than to join them.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 74 – If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

26 – Twenty-Six. Ta Ch’u / Recharging Power

Heaven’s motherlode waits within the Mountain:
The Superior Person mines deep into history’s wealth of wisdom and deeds, charging his character with timeless strength.

Persevere.
Drawing sustenance from these sources creates good fortune.
Then you may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There are important precedents in this situation.
Others have trodden this Path before you, overcoming the same obstacles facing you now, and making crucial decisions at the same crossroads.
Study their journals, watch for their trail markings.
Gain inspiration and wisdom from the heroes and learn from the mistakes of those who chose a sidepath.
All were Seekers, explorers whose daring mapped a course you can follow.
The words and deeds of the finest can imbue you with the courage necessary to face what lies before you.

Nine in the third place means:

A good stallion with speed.
Discipline daily, study your goal, and advance is assured.

A good horse that follows others.
Awareness of danger,
With perseverance, furthers.
Practice chariot driving and armed defense daily.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.

Scene form Ben Hur, the movie

The way opens; the hindrance has been cleared away. A man is in contact with a strong will acting in the same direction as his own, and goes forward like one good horse following another. But danger still threatens, and he must remain aware of it, or he will be robbed of his firmness. Thus he must acquire skill on the one hand in what will take him forward, and on the other in what will protect him against unforeseen attacks. It is good in such a pass to have a goal toward which to strive.

27 – Twenty-Seven. I / Providing Nourishment

Beneath the immobile Mountain the arousing Thunder stirs:
The Superior Person preserves his freedom under oppressive conditions by watching what comes out of his mouth, as well as what goes in.

Endure and good fortune will come.
Nurture others in need, as if you were feeding yourself.
Take care not to provide sustenance for those who feed off others.
Stay as high as possible on the food chain.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are a conduit in this instance, able to provide the sustenance needed by others.
Position yourself to nourish the truly needy and worthy.
Avoid situations where you might be coerced into supporting the parasites and vermin who deprive your true charges.
Your own nourishment is an issue here, too.
Remember Lao Tzu’s three Great Treasures:
Only the person possessed of Compassion, Modesty and Frugality can remain fit enough to stay free of desperation and keep control of the situation.

“Once recognized, it is best to escape the snares laid by powerful people whose intentions are deceitful and self serving. Do not take the bait.” – Today’s Reading

Once recognized, it is best to escape the snares laid by powerful people whose intentions are deceitful and self serving. Do not take the bait.

The pheasant senses danger and flees the jaws of the trap.
Descending into the belly of the beast, the man beholds the true face of evil.
In revulsion and despair, he flees what he knows he can never defeat.

Today: “God means total creativity, but the power of love is beyond that.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA372 831212 Corruption and character

Meditation: LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change

Previous reading: “Once we see the intentions of the evildoers, it is better to escape their plans rather than to join them.”

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

Previous previous reading: “Your grace will turn the more subtle matters in your favor.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 73 – The Tao is always at ease.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

36 – Thirty-Six Ming I / Eclipsing the Light

Warmth and Light are swallowed by Deep Darkness:
The Superior Person shows his brilliance by keeping it veiled among the masses.

Stay true to your course, despite the visible obstacles ahead.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This time calls for a saintly effort to turn the other cheek.
You have been deliberately injured.
Going blow-for-blow will only escalate this war.
Abstain from vengeance.
Show all watching that you are above it.
Sidestep your aggressor’s headlong charge, giving him the opportunity to fall on his face.

Six in the fourth place means:

The pheasant senses danger and flees the jaws of the trap.
Descending into the belly of the beast, the man beholds the true face of evil.
In revulsion and despair, he flees what he knows he can never defeat.

He penetrates the left side of the belly.
One gets at the very heart of the darkening of the light,
And leaves gate and courtyard.

Hara kiri

We find ourselves close to the commander of darkness and so discover his most secret thoughts. In this way we realize that there is no longer any hope of improvement, and thus we are enabled to leave the scene of disaster before the storm breaks.

“Once we see the intentions of the evildoers, it is better to escape their plans rather than to join them.” – Today’s Reading

Once we see the intentions of the evildoers, it is better to escape their plans rather than to join them.

Today: “One who does not know how to live to his word does not know how to live.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA372 831212 Corruption and character

Meditation: LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change

Previous reading: “Your grace will turn the more subtle matters in your favor.”

Previous previous reading: “Meeting with danger, keep with those you are committed to protect. Together, you will prevail.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 72 – When they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion. When they no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend upon authority.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

36 – Thirty-Six Ming I / Eclipsing the Light

Warmth and Light are swallowed by Deep Darkness:
The Superior Person shows his brilliance by keeping it veiled among the masses.

Stay true to your course, despite the visible obstacles ahead.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This time calls for a saintly effort to turn the other cheek.
You have been deliberately injured.
Going blow-for-blow will only escalate this war.
Abstain from vengeance.
Show all watching that you are above it.
Sidestep your aggressor’s headlong charge, giving him the opportunity to fall on his face.

Six in the fourth place means:

He penetrates the left side of the belly.
One gets at the very heart of the darkening of the light,
And leaves gate and courtyard.

Hara kiri

14 – Fourteen. Ta Yu / Great Treasures

Supreme success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

“Your grace will turn the more subtle matters in your favor.” – Today’s Reading

Your grace will turn the more subtle matters in your favor.

The fire, whose light illuminates the mountain and makes it pleasing, does not shine far; in the same way, beautiful form suffices to brighten and to throw light upon matters of lesser moment, but important questions cannot be decided in this way. They require greater earnestness.

Today: “In religion you have to believe something and in yoga you have to experience what you want to believe.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA958 A00413 Grace My Grace Is Me! 20000413

Meditation: NM345- Strengthen and enhance the radiant body

Previous reading: “Meeting with danger, keep with those you are committed to protect. Together, you will prevail.”

Previous previous reading: “Modest yet firm resistance against an oppressor will end the aggression and win concessions. Sometimes you have to show your strength.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 71 – Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

22 – Twenty-Two Pi / Grace

Fire illuminates the base of the Mountain:
The Superior Person realizes he has not the wisdom to move the course of the world, except by attending to each day’s affairs as they come.

Success in small matters.
This is a good time to begin something.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The emphasis now is on form, not function — on the sizzle and not the steak.
The environment around you is not one of depth, and you are appreciated now for your image, not your essence.
You perfectly fill a role, and no one is seeing the genuine you.
Still, you are being listened to and watched.
Use this influence to further your goals as much as possible.
Even if you don’t feel understood, you can perhaps connect with a few isolated hearts.
Relax and enjoy the attention.


		above: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain
		above: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain


		below: Li / The Clinging, Flame
		below: Li / The Clinging, Flame

This hexagram shows a fire that breaks out of the secret depths of the earth and, blazing up, illuminates and beautifies the mountain, the heavenly heights. Grace-beauty of form-is necessary in any union if it is to be well ordered and pleasing rather than disordered and chaotic.THE JUDGEMENT

GRACE has success.
In small matters
It is favorable to undertake something.

Grace brings success. However, it is not the essential or fundamental thing; it is only the ornament and must therefore be used sparingly and only in little things. In the lower trigram of fire a yielding line comes between two strong lines and makes them beautiful, but the strong lines are the essential content and the weak line is the beautifying form. In the upper trigram of the mountain, the strong line takes the lead, so that here again the strong element must be regarded as the decisive factor. In nature we see in the sky the strong light of the sun; the life of the world depends on it. But this strong, essential thing is changed and given pleasing variety by the moon and the stars. In human affairs, aesthetic form comes into being when traditions exist that, strong and abiding like mountains, are made pleasing by a lucid beauty. By contemplating the forms existing in the heavens we come to understand time and its changing demands. Through contemplation of the forms existing in human society it becomes possible to shape the world.¹

Fire on the mountain

‘Fire On The Mountain’ – David Pantuso

THE IMAGE

Fire at the foot of the mountain:
The image of GRACE.
Thus does the superior man proceed
When clearing up current affairs.
But he dare not decide controversial issues in this way.

Confucius

Mount Rainier Snow Sunrise

Mount Rainier Snow Sunrise – photo Ron Coscorrosa

1. 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.

“Meeting with danger, keep with those you are committed to protect. Together, you will prevail.” – Today’s Reading

Meeting with danger, keep with those you are committed to protect. Together, you will prevail.

Today: “Teaching is not a verbalization or a communication; teaching is also not a direction; teaching is to be.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: NM345- Strengthen and enhance the radiant body

Previous reading: “Modest yet firm resistance against an oppressor will end the aggression and win concessions. Sometimes you have to show your strength.”

Previous previous reading: “It is easy to be God because you have all the power. But it is more difficult to be a guru because you have no power of a god.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 70 – My teachings are easy to understand and easy to put into practice.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

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?

Nine in the third place means:

Advance will meet with breathtaking obstacles.
Remaining will meet with criticism from family and friends.

Going leads to obstructions;
Hence he comes back.

Life in old China

While the preceding line shows the official compelled by duty to follow the way of danger, this line shows the man who must act as father of a family or as head of his kin. If he were to plunge recklessly into danger, it would be a useless act, because those entrusted to his care cannot get along by themselves. But if he withdraws and turns back to his own, they welcome him with great joy.

8 – Eight. Pi / Bonding

Deep Waters on the face of the Earth:
Surface waters flow together.
The Superior Person recognizes the situation calls for joining together.
Thus he cultivates friendly relations with all.

Good fortune is possible.
Cast the coins again to discover if you have the qualities needed to lead such a group.
Then there will be no error.
Those uncertain will gradually join.
Those who join too late will meet with misfortune.

SITUAT ION ANALYSIS:

This is a time of connection with another or others — not just an alliance, but a melding of parts into a new whole.
Such a connection may be too close, too intense for some.
Consult the oracle again to see if you have the qualities needed to strengthen and withstand such an intense synthesis.

“Modest yet firm resistance against an oppressor will end the aggression and win concessions. Sometimes you have to show your strength.” – Today’s Reading

Modest yet firm resistance against an oppressor will end the aggression and win concessions. Sometimes you have to show your strength.

Modesty is not to be confused with weak good nature that lets things take their own course. When a man holds a responsible position, he must at times resort to energetic measures. In doing so he must not try to make an impression by boasting of his superiority but must make certain of the people around him. The measures taken should be purely objective and in no way personally offensive. Thus modesty manifests itself even in severity.

Today: “What is a human being? A magnetic field, that’s all he is. ” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: NM0336 – For Inner Strength

Meditation: LA692-781102 – Experience Tremendous Strength

Previous reading: “Even in this difficult time, you can enjoy blessings and enrichment.”

Previous previous reading: “Quiet your heart. Do not be moved by activity around you. Be perfectly still.”

Today: “It is easy to be God because you have all the power. But it is more difficult to be a guru because you have no power of a god.” – Yogi Bhajan

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

15 – Fifteen. Ch’ien / Modesty

The Mountain does not overshadow the Plain surrounding it:
Such modest consideration in a Superior Person creates a channel through which excess flows to the needy.

Success if you carry things through.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The Cosmos is moving toward equilibrium.
Extremes are being tempered, excess is beginning to shift toward the empty.
You can use these moderating influences to strike a balance in the world around you.
Remember, though, that this Leveling will not come about through an arrogant confiscation of excess, but through subtler persuasions.
Modesty and moderation are the keys.

ix in the fifth place means:

Modest yet firm resistance against an oppressor will end the aggression and win concessions.

No boasting of wealth before one’s neighbor.
It is favorable to attack with force.
Nothing that would not further.

1951 Buick Roadmaster

‘1951 Buick Roadmaster’ Painting by Ron Patterson

Buick taillight

“Even in this difficult time, you can enjoy blessings and enrichment.” – Today’s Reading

Even in this difficult time, you can enjoy blessings and enrichment.

A time of blessing and enrichment has such powerful effects that even events ordinarily unfortunate must turn out to the advantage of those affected by them. These persons become free of error, and by acting in harmony with truth they gain such inner authority that they exert influence as if sanctioned by letter and seal.

Today: “It is easy to be God because you have all the power. But it is more difficult to be a guru because you have no power of a god.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

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

Meditation: NM0406 – Know the Best of You – Share the Best with Others

Previous reading: “Quiet your heart. Do not be moved by activity around you. Be perfectly still.”

Previous previous reading: “You are being liberated. Danger has been averted, differences are resolved. If there remains anything else to do, resolve it quickly.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 68 – The best athlete wants his opponent at his best. The best general enters the mind of his enemy. The best businessman

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

42 – Forty-Two. I / Expansion

Whirlwinds and Thunder:
When the Superior Person encounters saintly behavior, he adopts it; when he encounters a fault within, he transforms it.

Progress in every endeavor.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Six in the third place means:

You are enriched by another’s misfortune.
This is no basis for guilt or shame; you did nothing to bring on these events.

One is enriched through unfortunate events.
No blame, if you are sincere
And walk in the middle,
And report with a seal to the prince.

Single letter wax seal

“Quiet your heart. Do not be moved by activity around you. Be perfectly still. – Today’s Reading

Quiet your heart. Do not be moved by activity around you. Be perfectly still.

Today: “When you fold hands, you neutralize yourself energywise, and when you bow, your whole blood circulation goes toward the head.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: Shuniya Meditations as Taught by Yogi Bhajan, Yoga West, 1994

Meditation: Contemplate in Shuniya from the Spine

Previous reading: “You are being liberated. Danger has been averted, differences are resolved. If there remains anything else to do, resolve it quickly.” –

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

Previous previous reading: “A great one is emerging among us. Still with his peers, he will rise in influence to set the world in order.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 66 – If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

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.


		above: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain
		above: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain


		below: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain
		below: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain

The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The male principle is at the top, because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the direction of its movement is downward. Thus there is rest because the movement has come to its normal end.
In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart. It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart. While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Yi Jing holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement. Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.

THE JUDGEMENT

KEEPING STILL. Keeping his back still
So that he no longer feels his body.
He goes into his courtyard
And does not see his people.
No blame.

True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life.
The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement. The back is named because in the back are located all the nerve fibres that mediate movement. If the movement of these spinal nerves is brought to a standstill, the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were. When a man has thus become calm, he may turn to the outside world. He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings, and therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe and for acting in harmony with them. Whoever acts from these deep levels makes no mistakes.

Still Life with Chinese Lantern flowers.
Colored lithograph, H.A. Dievenbach ¹

THE IMAGE

Mountains standing close together:
The image of KEEPING STILL.
Thus the superior man
Does not permit his thoughts
To go beyond his situation.

Huang Shan

The heart thinks constantly. This cannot be changed, but the movements of the heart – that is, a man’s thoughts – should restrict themselves to the immediate situation. All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.

1. Hendrikus Anthonius Dievenbach (1872 – 1946), was a Dutch artist.
In 1910 he settled in the village of Laren, North-Holland.
Henri Dievenbach was a traditional painter who was particularly inspired by his direct environment.
Apart from farmer’s interiors he made portaits of fellow-villagers. In his later life he painted especially beautiful still lifes and flower pieces, like this colored lithograph with Chinese Lanterns.

“You are being liberated. Danger has been averted, differences are resolved. If there remains anything else to do, resolve it quickly.” – Today’s Reading

You are being liberated. Danger has been averted, differences are resolved. If there remains anything else to do, resolve it quickly.

Here the movement goes out of the sphere of danger. The obstacle has been removed, the difficulties are being resolved. Deliverance is not yet achieved; it is just in its beginning…

Today: “If you can sacrifice your limited ego, you will always get in return unlimited spirit.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: NM360-20000913 – Making a Mold – White Hole Mudra

Meditation: LA719 930303 – Magnetic Field – Sacred Space

Previous reading: “Apply your mind in a solid, steady approach to your goals without hurry or panic. Then review what you have accomplished rather than what you have not.”

Previous previous reading: “With so much resistance to your forward progress, join others of like mind and wait for a better time to proceed.”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 66 – If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

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.


		above: Chên / The Arousing, Thunder
		above: Chên / The Arousing, Thunder


		below: K’an / The Abysmal, Water
		below: K’an / The Abysmal, Water

Here the movement goes out of the sphere of danger. The obstacle has been removed, the difficulties are being resolved. Deliverance is not yet achieved; it is just in its beginning, and the hexagram represents its various stages.

THE JUDGEMENT

DELIVERANCE. The south-west furthers.
If there is no longer anything where one has to go,
Return brings good fortune.
If there is still something where one has to go,
Hastening brings good fortune.

This refers to a time in which tensions and complications begin to be eased. At such times we ought to make our way back to ordinary conditions as soon as possible; this is the meaning of “the south-west.” These periods of sudden change have great importance. Just as rain relieves atmospheric tension, making all the buds burst open, so a time of deliverance from burdensome pressure has a liberating and stimulating effect on life. One thing is important, however: in such times we must not overdo our triumph. The point is not to push on farther than is necessary. Returning to the regular order of life as soon as deliverance is achieved brings good fortune. If there are any residual matters that ought to be attended to, it should be done as quickly as possible, so that a clean sweep is made and no retardations occur.

THE IMAGE

Thunder and rain set in:
The image of DELIVERANCE.
Thus the superior man pardons mistakes
And forgives misdeeds.

Thunder over water

A thunderstorm has the effect of clearing the air; the superior man produces a similar effect when dealing with mistakes and sins of men that induce a condition of tension. Through clarity he brings deliverance. However, when failings come to light, he does not dwell on them; he simply passes over mistakes, the unintentional transgressions, just as thunder dies away. He forgives misdeeds, the intentional transgressions, just as water washes everything clean.

“A great one is emerging among us. Still with his peers, he will rise in influence to set the world in order.” – Today’s Reading

A great one is emerging among us. Still with his peers, he will rise in influence to set the world in order.

Here the effects of the light-giving power begin to manifest themselves. In terms of human affairs, this means that the great man makes his appearance in his chosen field of activity. As yet he has no commanding position but is still with his peers. However, what distinguishes him from the others is his seriousness of purpose, his unqualified reliability, and the influence he exerts on his environment without conscious effort. Such a man is destined to gain great influence and to set the world in order. Therefore it is favorable to see him.

Today: “Host those who have been your enemies, respect those who have slandered you, and communicate with those who have been all your life angry with you.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA935-980608- Connect the subconscious and intuition

Meditation: NM190-19951031-Connect Yourself to the Reality

Previous reading: “Apply your mind in a solid, steady approach to your goals without hurry or panic. Then review what you have accomplished rather than what you have not.”

Previous previous reading: “With so much resistance to your forward progress, join others of like mind and wait for a better time to proceed.”

A letter to a friend

Tao Te Ching – Verse 65 – The ancient Masters didn’t try to educate the people, but kindly taught them to not-know.

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

1 – One Ch’ien / Creative Activity

Heaven above and Heaven below:
Heaven in constant motion.
With the strength of the dragon, the Superior Person steels himself for ceaseless activity.

Productive Activity.
Potent Influence.
Sublime Success if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The time for action has come.
You now have the focus and the stamina necessary for accomplishing great tasks.
The path before you is being cleared and reward lies ahead.

Nine in the second place means:

The dragon climbs to the surface.
Seek advice from an authority you respect.

Dragon appearing in the field.
It furthers one to see the great man.

La Palma Lizard (Gallotia galloti palmae), La Palma – Canary Islands, May 2013
photo Lex van den Bos

31 – Thirty-One. Hsien / Attraction

The joyous Lake is cradled by the tranquil Mountain:
The Superior Person takes great satisfaction in encouraging others along their journey.
He draws them to him with his welcoming nature and genuine interest.

Supreme success.
This course leads to marriage.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is no greater natural law in the Cosmos than Attraction.
From the magnetic pull of an atom’s nucleus to the centrifugal force that spirals a galaxy, the face of the universe is shaped by Attraction.
On a human scale, it is Attraction that fuels procreation and furthers our species.
Yet it is also Attraction that spawns greed and covetousness, threatening our extinction.
Attraction is the underlying force of the situation in question.
You are refined or debased by the objects of your desire.
What gravitational pull are you now under?
Around what sphere of influence do you circle?
Can you use your own ability to attract?

“Apply your mind in a solid, steady approach to your goals without hurry or panic. Then review what you have accomplished rather than what you have not.” – Today’s Reading

Apply your mind in a solid, steady approach to your goals without hurry or panic. Then review what you have accomplished rather than what you have not.

Today: “There is no doubt that we are all very wise.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: NM374 – 20001128 – Patience and Intuition

Lecture and Meditation: Patience Pays – LA-19831020

meditation:

Previous reading: “With so much resistance to your forward progress, join others of like mind and wait for a better time to proceed.”

Previous previous reading: “Appreciate everyone, including yourself, as they are, even though they don’t fit some paradigm or ideal. Go for sincerity and integrity.”

A letter to a friend

“Appreciate everyone, including yourself, as they are, even though they don’t fit some paradigm or ideal. Go for sincerity and integrity.” – Today’s Reading

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

35 – Thirty-Five. Chin / Aspiration

The Sun shines down upon the Earth:
Constantly honing and refining his brilliance, the Superior Person is a Godsend to his people.
They repay his benevolence with a herd of horses, and he is granted audience three times in a single day.

Promotion.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a time of reward for good works.
Those you have helped want to show their gratitude.
Benefits come both from on high and from the humble you uplifted.
Accept all gifts graciously, though the reward may not be what you truly need or hoped for.
Some may bestow more than they can afford to give, but you must realize that they need to feel that they have repaid you.

Nine in the fourth place means:

Scurrying like a mouse.
Such blind panic increases the danger.

Progress like a hamster.
Perseverance brings danger.

Golden hamster

In times of progress it is easy for strong men in the wrong places to amass great possessions. But such conduct shuns the light. And since times of progress are also always times in which dubious procedures are inevitably brought to light, perseverance in such action always leads to danger.

15 – Fifteen. Ch’ien / Modesty

The Mountain does not overshadow the Plain surrounding it:
Such modest consideration in a Superior Person creates a channel through which excess flows to the needy.

Success if you carry things through.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The Cosmos is moving toward equilibrium.
Extremes are being tempered, excess is beginning to shift toward the empty.
You can use these moderating influences to strike a balance in the world around you.
Remember, though, that this Leveling will not come about through an arrogant confiscation of excess, but through subtler persuasions.
Modesty and moderation are the keys.

“With so much resistance to your forward progress, join others of like mind and wait for a better time to proceed.” – Today’s Reading

With so much resistance to your forward progress, join others of like mind and wait for a better time to proceed.

One would like to press forward, but before going farther one sees from the example of others like oneself that this way is blocked. In such a case, if the effort to push forward is not in harmony with the time, a reasonable and resolute man will not expose himself to a personal rebuff, but will retreat with others of like mind. This brings good fortune, because he does not needlessly jeopardise himself.

Today: “Life is an unsolved mystery. Those who solve it don’t talk about it. Those who don’t solve it talk a lot.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: NM190-19951031-Connect Yourself to the Reality

Meditation: LA588 890411 Silver Grain Meditation

meditation:

Previous reading: “Appreciate everyone, including yourself, as they are, even though they don’t fit some paradigm or ideal. Go for sincerity and integrity.”

Previous previous reading: “Your steadfastness is being rewarded. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

A letter to a friend

Tao Te Ching – Verse 63 – Act without doing; work without effort

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

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.

Nine in the second place means:

He lets himself be drawn back.
Good fortune.

He allows himself to be drawn into returning.
Good fortune.

‘The Chess Game’ – Francesco Beda (1840-1900)

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.

“Appreciate everyone, including yourself, as they are, even though they don’t fit some paradigm or ideal. Go for sincerity and integrity.” – Today’s Reading

Appreciate everyone, including yourself, as they are, even though they don’t fit some paradigm or ideal. Go for sincerity and integrity.

Today: “When there is a time to stay, one should stay. When there is a time to go, one should go…but it should all be graceful.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Thoughts on identity and you being you

Meditation: LA093-790319 – Pranic Energy – the Earth Element Balanced by Ether

meditation:

Previous reading: “Your steadfastness is being rewarded. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

Previous previous reading: “It is dangerous to keep pushing ahead, ignoring signs to ease up. Develop a little discipline.”