Today: “If you can listen and hear the power of your own spoken word” – Yogi Bhajan

“If you can listen and hear the power of your own spoken word, you own committed language, and if it is remembered by you, it becomes you. Say it and listen to it consciously. That is the work of the mind. It should listen consciously and help you be surprisingly successful.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0365-20001024-On Communication II

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 11 – We work with being, but non-being is what we use.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 11

We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.

(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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Thirty spokes join in one hub
In its emptiness, there is the function of a vehicle
Mix clay to create a container
In its emptiness, there is the function of a container
Cut open doors and windows to create a room
In its emptiness, there is the function of a room

Therefore, that which exists is used to create benefit
That which is empty is used to create functionality

(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
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It is the gaps that define.
That definition is perfect.
Ornate vessels hold water —
So it is Nothingness which has been defined, not the vessel.
The unwise have been tricked.

(translation by Jeremy M. Miller, 2013)
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from I Ching Online

Today: “Faced with conflict, engage if it can be resolved quickly either by compromise or having the overwhelming advantage of truth.”- from the I Ching

Faced with conflict, engage if it can be resolved quickly either by compromise or having the overwhelming advantage of truth.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 10 – Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?

Meditation: Drib Dhristi Lochina Karma

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Though it may seem that everything opposes your endeavors, just ensure that you are on the right path and seek good company. You will triumph.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Rely on your experience, knowledge and wisdom as you venture into unknown territory. Witness all that lies before you with out preconception.”

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6 – Six   Sung / Conflict

The high Heavens over a yawning Deep chasm:
An expansive void where nothing can dwell.
Even though he sincerely knows he is right, the Superior Person anticipates opposition and carefully prepares for any incident.

Good fortune if your conflict results in compromise.
Misfortune if your conflict escalates to confrontation.
Seek advice.
Postpone your crossing to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Conflict is a necessary part of life.
Tension upon the strings of a violin can make majestic music.
The critical mass of two hydrogen atoms trying to occupy the same space fuel the sun that nourishes our solar system.
Most conflicts you face in life are the result of your Path converging with another’s.
Your Path is not his, and one Path is not necessarily more right than the other.
Can you work together to remove the blockage?

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

No quarrel will blossom, unless you let your pride fertilize this budding conflict.
Let the one who insults you expose himself for what he is.
Don’t fight this battle until you’ve already won it.

If one does not perpetuate the affair,
There is a little gossip.
In the end, good fortune comes.

Gossip - Norman Rockwell

‘Gossip’ – Norman Rockwell

WHILE A CONFLICT is in the incipient stage, the best thing to do is to drop the issue. Especially when the adversary is stronger, it is not advisable to risk pushing the conflict to a decision. It may come to a slight dispute, but in the end all goes well.

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.

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

Today: “Problem is not whether you will live and how rich you can be” – Yogi Bhajan

“Problem is not whether you will live and how rich you can be. The problem is how much impact you have, how many legacies you leave, how much grace you show, and how much vastness you experience.” Yogi Bhajan

Lecture: NM0399-20010512 – The Power of Shushmana

Tao Te Ching – Verse 10 – Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?

Tao Te Ching – Verse 10

Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child’s?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind
and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.

(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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In holding the soul and embracing oneness
Can one be steadfast, without straying?
In concentrating the energy and reaching relaxation
Can one be like an infant?
In cleaning away the worldly view
Can one be without imperfections?
In loving the people and ruling the nation
Can one be without manipulation?
In the heavenly gate’s opening and closing
Can one hold to the feminine principle?
In understanding clearly all directions
Can one be without intellectuality?

Bearing it, rearing it
Bearing without possession
Achieving without arrogance
Raising without domination
This is called the Mystic Virtue

(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
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Be empty and know effulgent Zero.
Breathe softly and know Blissful Nothingness.
Stop looking, then see what was hidden.
Love in secret.
Watch without touching.
Rule All while resting in Zero.

(translation by Jeremy M. Miller, 2013)
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from I Ching Online

Today: “Though it may seem that everything opposes your endeavors, just ensure that you are on the right path and seek good company.  You will triumph.”- from the I Ching

Though it may seem that everything opposes your endeavors, just ensure that you are on the right path and seek good company.  You will triumph.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 9 – Better to stop in time than to fill to the brim

Meditation:  TCH36-1-A00713 – Pain and Ecstasy – Triangle of Knowledge

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Rely on your experience, knowledge and wisdom as you venture into unknown territory. Witness all that lies before you with out preconception.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “You have everything at your disposal to help anyone in need.  Without any challenge or pressure you can be assured that your relations benefit from you as long as you are aware of danger and keep your humility.”  – from the I Ching

See related posts.

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?

Six in the third place means:

Bandits stop his oxen team and board his wagon.
He is scalped, his face is disfigured, and he is left to die.
Not only will he survive — he will endure and triumph.

One sees the wagon dragged back,
The oxen halted,
A man’s hair and nose cut off.
Not a good beginning, but a good end.

Sphinx Giza

Sphinx Giza

Often it seems to a man as though everything were conspiring against him. He sees himself checked and hindered in his progress, insulted and dishonored.1 However, he must not let himself be misled; despite this opposition, he must cleave to the man with whom he knows he belongs. Thus, notwithstanding the bad beginning, the matter will end well.
34 – Thirty-Four.  Ta Chuang / Awesome Power

Thunder fills the Heavens with its awful roar, not out of pride, but with integrity; if it did less, it would not be Thunder:
Because of his Great Power, the Superior Person takes pains not to overstep his position, so that he will not seem intimidating or threatening to the Established Order.

Opportunity will arise along this course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The Awesome Power available in this hexagram stems from what the Taoists call your Te, a term not perfectly translated into English.
Roughly, it is your Integrity — not in the Western sense of honor — but more in the psychological definition of a full integration of Who You Are.
This Awesome Power is achieved only by fully embracing both the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, the masculine and the feminine — all polarities within you.
Such self-knowledge spawns a Mastery tempered with the humility necessary to rein in and harness this Awesome Power.

 


  1. Cutting off of the hair and nose was a severe and degrading punishment.
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “A relaxed mind is a creative mind and a creative mind is a relaxed mind” – Yogi Bhajan

“A relaxed mind is a creative mind and a creative mind is a relaxed mind and only a relaxed mind can become a one-pointed mind, and a one-pointed mind is the most wonderful mind; it is the most powerful, it can do anything.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: KWTC 980708 Our internal Fears and their exit

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 9 – Better to stop in time than to fill to the brim

Tao Te Ching – Verse 9

Better to stop in time than to fill to the brim.
Hone a blade to the sharpest point, and it will soon be blunt.
Fill your house with gold and jade, and no one can protect it.
Be prideful about wealth and position, and you bring disasters upon yourself. Retire when the work is done.
This is the way of heaven.

from the Tao Te Ching

Translation by Tolbert McCarroll Comments and layout by Thomas Knierim

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from I Ching Online

 

Today: “You communicate with you. Your mind communicates with your mind.” – Yogi Bhajan

“You communicate with you. Your mind communicates with your mind. Now you have to understand which mind because your mind communicates with your mind. One mind is the mind of the intellect and senses, the other mind is that which observes what the mind of the intellect is doing. We call it consciousness.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: M061b-19901124 – Know the structure of the mind

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 8 – The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 8

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 8 – The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.”

Today: “Rely on your experience, knowledge and wisdom as you venture into unknown territory. Witness all that lies before you with out preconception.”  – from the I Ching

Rely on your experience, knowledge and wisdom as you venture into unknown territory.  Witness all that lies before you with out preconception.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 7 – The Tao is infinite, eternal.

Meditation: LA004 780109 Experience the Experience

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “You have everything at your disposal to help anyone in need. Without any challenge or pressure you can be assured that your relations benefit from you as long as you are aware of danger and keep your humility.”

See related posts.

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.

yang
yin above: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain
yin
yang
yang below: Ch’ien / The Creative,
 

Volcano Caldera de Taburiente - La Palma

 

Cloud in the crater of the volcano Caldera de Taburiente, La Palma – Canary Islands, May 2013
Mirador de Los Roques (La Cumbrecita) – photo Lex van den Bos

THE IMAGE

Heaven within the mountain:
The image of THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.
Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity
And many deeds of the past,
In order to strengthen his character thereby.

Heaven within the mountain points to hidden treasures. In the words and deeds of the past there lies hidden a treasure that men may use to strengthen and elevate their own characters. The way to study the past is not to confine oneself to mere knowledge of history but, through application of this knowledge, to give actuality to the past.

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

Today: Each thought and act stirs the universeand many subtleties occur.” Yogi Bhajan

“Each thought and act stirs the universe and many subtleties occur. They seem like mysteries, but they are masteries.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA544 – 870610 – Know and Experience the Unknown

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What else Yogi Bhajan said

Tao Te Ching – Verse 7 – The Tao is infinite, eternal.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 7

The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 7 – The Tao is infinite, eternal.”

Today: “You have everything at your disposal to help anyone in need.  Without any challenge or pressure you can be assured that your relations benefit from you as long as you are aware of danger and keep your humility.”  – from the I Ching

You have everything at your disposal to help anyone in need.  Without any challenge or pressure you can be assured that your relations benefit from you as long as you are aware of danger and keep your humility.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 6 – The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.

Meditation: NM345- Strengthen and enhance the radiant body

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Persevere in what you are doing, yet remain mindful of the danger in every action.”

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Reading – “Enhance your durability beyond strength. Apply yourself to a firm commitment to your aspirations and intentions. Be both firm and flexible as required.”

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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.

Nine at the beginning [yang at bottom] means:

No mistakes if you stay out of harm’s way.
Remain conscious of dangers and difficulties, and you will have no regrets.

No relationship with what is harmful;
There is no blame in this.
If one remains conscious of difficulty,
One remains without blame.

Chinese coins

Great possession that is still in its beginnings and that has not yet been challenged brings no blame, since there has been no opportunity to make mistakes. Yet there are many difficulties to be overcome. It is only by remaining conscious of these difficulties that one can keep inwardly free of possible arrogance and wastefulness, and thus in principle overcome all cause for blame.

50 – Fifty   Ting / The Caldron

Fire rises hot and bright from the Wood beneath the sacrificial caldron:
The Superior Person positions himself correctly within the flow of Cosmic forces.

Supreme Accomplishment.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Your needs are coming into harmony with the requirements of the Cosmos.
Blending brilliantly with the Dance of Life, you are becoming an actual element of Cosmic Law.
Your goals will now be realized because you no longer cut against the Cosmic grain; you are no longer swimming against the flow of the Tao.
You are acquiring an intuitive sense of what can and cannot be, and aligning your efforts accordingly.

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

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 6 – The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 6

The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.

It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 6 – The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.”