Today: “If you live simply without social ambition and do your work to your satisfaction, you will be free to live as you will and unencumbered by social pressures.”- from the I Ching

If you live simply without social ambition and do your work to your satisfaction, you will be free to live as you will and unencumbered by social pressures.

The situation is one in which we are still not bound by any obligations of social intercourse. If our conduct is simple, we remain free of them. We can quietly follow our predilections as long as we are content and make not demands on people.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 18 – When the great Tao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear.

Meditation: LA010 – 19780210 – Gobinda – Project to the Infinite

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Complacency and apathy are as dangerous as the would-be oppressors. Pay attention! The very structure of what you hold dear is at risk. The choice is between unbridled creativity and abject oppression.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “The darkness is decreasing. It will be necessary that sanity conquers chaos and wisdom accompanies action. In all ways, the dark forces will resist all change.”

See related posts.

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

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
10 – Ten.  Lü / Worrying the Tiger

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Nine at the beginning [yang at bottom] means:

He treads the simple path of least resistance, making swift and blameless progress.

Simple conduct. Progress without blame.

Bal au moulin de la Galette - Montmartre

Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1876

The situation is one in which we are still not bound by any obligations of social intercourse. If our conduct is simple, we remain free of them. We can quietly follow our predilections as long as we are content and make not demands on people.
The meaning of the hexagram is not standstill but progress. A man finds himself in an altogether inferior position at the start. However, he has the inner strength that guarantees progress. If he can be content with simplicity, he can make progress without blame. When a man is dissatisfied with modest circumstances, he is restless and ambitious and tries to advance, not for the sake of accomplishing anything worth while, but merely in order to escape from lowliness and poverty by dint of his conduct. Once his purpose is achieved, he is certain to become arrogant and luxury-loving. Therefore blame attaches to his progress. On the other hand, a man who is good at his work is content to behave simply. He wishes to make progress in order to accomplish something. When he attains his goal, he does something worth while, an all is well.

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?

Today: “The soul is a slave to none” – Yogi Bhajan

“The soul is a slave to none. In fact, everything else is subject to the soul and connected through its projection. So if you call on that and dwell in that, it works where no logic, reason, or mental intrigue can.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA010 – 19780210 – Gobinda – Project to the Infinite

See related posts 

Tao Te Ching – Verse 18 – When the great Tao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 18

When the great Tao is forgotten,
goodness and piety appear.
When the body’s intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
patriotism is born.

(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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The great Tao fades away
There is benevolence and justice
Intelligence comes forth
There is great deception

The six relations are not harmonious
There is filial piety and kind affection
The country is in confused chaos
There are loyal ministers

(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
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There is no Code of Ethics,
And there never was.
There is no kindness; no morality.
There is no genius.
Loyal sons and dutiful workers
Are unreal.
Stop.

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

 

Today: “Complacency and apathy are as dangerous as the would-be oppressors.  Pay attention!  The very structure of what you hold dear is at risk.  The choice is between  unbridled creativity and abject oppression.”- from the I Ching

Complacency and apathy are as dangerous as the would-be oppressors.  Pay attention!  The very structure of what you hold dear is at risk.  The choice is between  unbridled creativity and abject oppression.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 17 – When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists. Next best is a leader who is loved. Next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised.

Meditation: LA046 – 780614 – Hari Shabad Meditation – Use the Wind to Produce Trance and Dissolve Negativity

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “The darkness is decreasing. It will be necessary that sanity conquers chaos and wisdom accompanies action. In all ways, the dark forces will resist all change.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Choose carefully who will serve as your leader. They should have integrity and not be a tool of external forces.”

See related posts.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
44 – Forty-Four.  Kou / Compulsion

A playful Zephyr dances and delights beneath indulgent Heaven:
A Prince who shouts orders but will not walk among his people may as well try to command the four winds.

A strong, addictive temptation, much more dangerous than it seems.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are ignoring a clear and present danger to your well-being.
If this threat emanated from a heavy-handed oppressor, you would see it coming.
But this danger comes to you in the form of a seduction, an amusement, a diversion, an indulgence that is eating away at the fiber of your secure little world.
You are too cocksure.
You underestimate the tribute this dalliance will demand.

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

Get control of yourself.
This temptation has you rooting like a hog.
Only self-discipline can steer you off this road to disaster.

It must be checked with a brake of bronze.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
If one lets it take its course, one experiences misfortune.
Even a lean pig has it in him to rage around.

Pig

‘Pig’ – J. Singer

If an inferior element has wormed its way in, it must be energetically checked at once. By consistently checking it, bad effects can be avoided. If it is allowed to take its course, misfortune is bound to result; the insignificance of that which creeps in should not be a temptation to underrate it. A pig that is still young and lean cannot rage around much, but after it has eaten its fill and become strong, its true nature comes out if it has not previously been curbed.
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.

Today: “You must develop the mind, through meditation” – Yogi Bhajan

“You must develop the mind, through meditation, to give you the positive of the negative and the negative of the positive so that by your own grace and consciousness you can find the neutral of it. In this way you can reach to the subtle, refined, and spiritual dimensions of your life and your relationships.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: The Neutral Mind

See related posts

Tao Te Ching – Verse 17 – When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists. Next best is a leader who is loved. Next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 17

When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 17 – When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists. Next best is a leader who is loved. Next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised.”

Today: “The darkness is decreasing.  It will be necessary that sanity conquers chaos and wisdom accompanies action.  In all ways, the dark forces will resist all change.”- from the I Ching

The darkness is decreasing.  It will be necessary that sanity conquers chaos and wisdom accompanies action.  In all ways, the dark forces will resist all change.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 16 – Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return.

Meditation: NM0337-Bujung Kriya – For Wisdom and Understanding

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Choose carefully who will serve as your leader. They should have integrity and not be a tool of external forces.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “You are treading on dangerous terrain. Ultimately, caution, commitment and perseverance will carry you to success.“

See related posts.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
55 – Fifty-Five.  Fêng / Abundance

Thunder and Lightning from the dark heart of the storm:
The Superior Person judges fairly, so that consequences are just.

The leader reaches his peak and doesn’t lament the descent before him.
Be like the noonday sun at its zenith.
This is success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are in a position of authority in this situation.
Archetypally, you are the New King, returned from your quest to claim your throne.
However, you are enlightened enough to realize that you are merely a part of a cycle, and that you must someday yield your throne to the new kid in town, the younger, faster gunslinger, the young turk, the next returning hero, the next New King.
Fretting about the inevitable descent is senseless.
For now you must play your role to the hilt and use this gift of power to govern your world as best you can.
You are the best person for the job.
That’s why you were chosen.
Give it your personal best.

Nine in the fourth place means:
The curtain is of such fullness
That the polestars can be seen at noon.
He meets his ruler, who is of like kind.
Good fortune.

Polestar

‘Polestar’ – Kallman Art Gallery

Here the darkness is already decreasing, therefore interrelated elements come together. Here too the complement must be found – the necessary wisdom to complement joy of action. Then everything will go well. The complementary factor postulated here is the reverse of the one in the first line. In the latter, wisdom is to be complemented by energy, while here energy is complemented by wisdom.
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.

Today: “When you want to be successful and very convincing, just feel truth in your heart.” – Yogi Bhajan

“When you want to be successful and very convincing, just feel truth in your heart. Be sure. Be confident. Feel that truth in your heart, then speak that truth from the heart. Don’t try to run it around or manipulate it with your brain or head.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM327-990930 Know Your Heart

See related posts

Tao Te Ching – Verse 16 – Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 16

Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings,
but contemplate their return.

Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 16 – Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return.”

Today: “Choose carefully who will serve as your leader.  They should have integrity and not be a tool of external forces.”- from the I Ching

Choose carefully who will serve as your leader.  They should have integrity and not be a tool of external forces.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 15 – The ancient Masters were profound and subtle

Meditation: LA935-980608- Connect the subconscious and intuition

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “You are treading on dangerous terrain. Ultimately, caution, commitment and perseverance will carry you to success.“

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Take the path of least resistance as you project your intentions. Stop trying to enforce your will on everything.”

See related posts.

20 – Twenty.  Kuan / Contemplation

The gentle Wind roams the Earth:
The Superior Person expands his sphere of influence as he expands his awareness.
Deeply devoted to his pursuit of clarity and wisdom, he is unconscious of the inspiring, positive example he is setting for others to emulate.

You have cleansed yourself; now stand ready to make your humble, devout offering.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The situation marks a rising to new heights.
As you climb for a better view of the panorama, you make yourself more conspicuous to those below.
This hexagram is also known as the Watchtower, because the shape formed by its lines resembles the ancient guardposts manned by Chinese soldiers.
These towers were placed on mountainsides to give a better vantage point.
To those below, the watchtowers served as landmarks to help them find their way.
The quality of your search for clarity in this situation serves as such a guidepost for others along the Way.

Six in the fourth place means:
Contemplation of the light of the kingdom.
It furthers one to exert influence as the guest of a king.

Observe the leader firsthand to decide the worthiness of the cause.

Ancient paintings

This describes a man who understands the secrets by which a kingdom can be made to flourish. Such a man must be given an authoritative position, in which he can exert influence. He should be, so to speak, a guest – that is, he should be honored and allowed to act independently, and should not be used as a tool.
45 – Forty-Five.  Ts’ui / Gathering

The Lake rises by welcoming and receiving Earth’s waters:
The King approaches his temple.
It is wise to seek audience with him there.

Success follows this course.
Making an offering will seal your good fortune.
A goal will be realized now.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is an important Convergence, and you must be part of it.
Look for the Center of this convergence.
Like waters running to the sea, like an astronomical convergence of planets revolving around the sun, you should let the gravity of this Center draw you near.
Others are also drawn to this Center, and among them you will find shared bonds and kindred spirits.
This tribal convergence will give you a clarity of purpose.
You will no longer be alone.

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

Today: “Love is a self-acknowledgment.” – Yogi Bhajan

“Love is a self-acknowledgment. When you love yourself, you feel so rich, that you can afford to love everybody.” Yogi Bhajan

Lecture: LA907 970311 burn the subconscious “Life is Love”

See related posts

Tao Te Ching – Verse 15 – The ancient Masters were profound and subtle

Tao Te Ching – Verse 15

The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 15 – The ancient Masters were profound and subtle”

Today: “You are treading on dangerous terrain.  Ultimately, caution, commitment and perseverance will carry you to success. “- from the I Ching

You are treading on dangerous terrain.  Ultimately, caution, commitment and perseverance will carry you to success.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 14 – Look, and it can’t be seen. Listen, and it can’t be heard. Reach, and it can’t be grasped.

Meditation: TCH2012 960727 – Warrior’s Exercise for Opening the Energy into the Shushmana & Balancing the Hemispheres of the Brain

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Take the path of least resistance as you project your intentions. Stop trying to enforce your will on everything.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “In this time we need experienced leadership to guide us in our struggles. We must leave the child behind and follow the adult in charge.”

See related posts.

10 – Ten.  Lü / Worrying the Tiger

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Nine in the fourth place means:

He treads on the tail of the tiger.
Caution and circumspection
Lead ultimately to good fortune.

He shows humble hesitation and breathless caution, yet still resolutely takes a necessary step on the tail of the tiger.
His modest manner saves him from the bite.

This text refers to a dangerous enterprise. The inner power to carry it through is there, but this inner power is combined with hesitating caution in one’s external attitude. This line contrasts with the preceding line, which is weak within but outwardly presses forward. Here one is sure of ultimate success, which consists in achieving one’s purpose, that is, in overcoming danger by going forward.

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.

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

Today: “When the little me has recognized the big me and the little i has recognized the big I, oneness is achieved.” Yogi Bhajan

“When the little me has recognized the big me and the little i has recognized the big I, oneness is achieved. And when one knows that he is the one and one knows everything is one, then what is there to find? It is only when we think that I am and everything else is everything else that we have to find something.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA0967-Division and Oneness

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What else Yogi Bhajan said

Tao Te Ching – Verse 14 – Look, and it can’t be seen. Listen, and it can’t be heard. Reach, and it can’t be grasped.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 14

Look, and it can’t be seen.
Listen, and it can’t be heard.
Reach, and it can’t be grasped.

Above, it isn’t bright.
Below, it isn’t dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can’t know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.

(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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Look at it, it cannot be seen
It is called colorless
Listen to it, it cannot be heard
It is called noiseless
Reach for it, it cannot be held
It is called formless
These three cannot be completely unraveled
So they are combined into one

Above it, not bright
Below it, not dark
Continuing endlessly, cannot be named
It returns back into nothingness
Thus it is called the form of the formless
The image of the imageless
This is called enigmatic
Confront it, its front cannot be seen
Follow it, its back cannot be seen

Wield the Tao of the ancients
To manage the existence of today
One can know the ancient beginning
It is called the Tao Axiom

(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
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Sight and blindness are indistinguishable.
Thunder and silence are one.
Touch and ether are the same.
There is always light and dark.
Shape is illusion; form is Formless.
The future is the past.
The Beginning is the present.
Nothingness is the Zero called changeless.

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

 

Today: “Take the path of least resistance as you project  your intentions.  Stop trying to enforce your will on everything.”- from the I Ching

Take the path of least resistance as you project  your intentions.  Stop trying to enforce your will on everything..

This will make things much easier.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Meditation: LA135-19791029 Resolve Inner Conflict

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “It is a time of standstill and decay. This time demands a person of the highest integrity to lead us into the light”

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

See related posts.

43 – Forty-Three.  Kuai / Breakthrough

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Nine in the fourth place means:

Your legs are torn and bleeding as you push heedlessly through the thorns toward your target.
If you would allow yourself to be led down the path of least resistance, you would reach your goal.

There is no skin on his thighs,
And walking comes hard.
If a man were to let himself be led like a sheep,
Remorse would disappear.
But if these words are heard
They will not be believed.

Sheep in shade

Here a man is suffering from inner restlessness and cannot abide in his place. He would like to push forward under any circumstances, but encounters insuperable obstacles. Thus his situation entails an inner conflict. This is due to the obstinacy with which he seeks to enforce his will. If he would desist from this obstinacy, everything would go well. But this advice, like so much other good counsel, will be ignored. For obstinacy makes a man unable to hear, for all that he has ears.
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.

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