“In the house of the Lord, progress is slow, but there is no ultimate darkness. You shall be answered if you will call Him.” Yogi Bhajan
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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.
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.
Therefore the Master steps back
so that people won’t be confused.
He teaches without a teaching,
so that people will have nothing to learn.
Continue reading “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.”
Today: “Without trying to bring any special advantages to. yourself, strive for bonding among your relations. Unity will be realized.” – from the I Ching
Without trying to bring any special advantages to. yourself, strive for bonding among your relations. Unity will be realized.
See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today
Tao Te Ching – Verse 71 – Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease.
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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.
Nine in the fourth place means:No one will begrudge you the good fortune ahead.
Great good fortune. No blame.
‘Rue Montorgueil, Paris’, Claude Monet, June, 30 1878 |
| This describes a man who gathers people around him in the name of his ruler. Since he is not striving for any special advantages for himself but is working unselfishly to bring about general unity, his work is crowned with success, and everything becomes as it should be. |
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.
SITUATION 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.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 71 – Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 71
Not-knowing is true knowledge.
Presuming to know is a disease.
First realize that you are sick;
then you can move toward health.
The Master is her own physician.
She has healed herself of all knowing.
Thus she is truly whole.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 71 – Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease.”
Today: “Rather than resisting authority or cultural or tribal pressures, stay true to your path. That is the most powerful position amidst conflict and chaos.” – from the I Ching
Rather than resisting authority or cultural or tribal pressures, stay true to your path. That is the most powerful position amidst conflict and chaos.
See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today
Tao Te Ching – Verse 70 – My teachings are easy to understand and easy to put into practice.
Meditation: LA907 – Kriya for Non-Reaction
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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.
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.
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.
Today: “When there is a holy man and you touch his feet” – Yogi Bhajan
“When there is a holy man and you touch his feet, what can he do? What is left for him, except to say, “God bless you.” Right? If he has the habit of speaking the truth and if he says God bless you, then God has to bless you. What option has God?” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: LA958 A00413 Grace My Grace Is Me! 20000413
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 70 – My teachings are easy to understand and easy to put into practice.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 70
My teachings are easy to understand
and easy to put into practice.
Yet your intellect will never grasp them,
and if you try to practice them, you’ll fail.
My teachings are older than the world.
How can you grasp their meaning?
If you want to know me,
look inside your heart. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 70 – My teachings are easy to understand and easy to put into practice.”
Today: “Project from the heart in your relations today. All will go well.” – from the I Ching
Project from the heart in your relations today. All will go well.
See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today
Tao Te Ching – Verse 69 – Rather than make the first move it is better to wait and see.
Meditation: LA010 – 19780210 – Gobinda – Project to the Infinite
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25 – Twenty-Five Wu Wang / Remaining Blameless
Thunder rolls beneath Heaven, as is its nature and place:
Sage rulers aligned themselves with the changing seasons, nurturing and guiding their subjects to do the same.
Exceptional Progress if you are mindful to keep out of the way of the natural Flow.
It would be a fatal error to try to alter its course.
This is a time of Being, not Doing.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
This is thoroughly a matter of the heart.
If everything you attempt, no matter how carefully planned, ends in disarray, then examine your motives.
They are the cause of your predicament.
It isn’t that your motives aren’t pure — even the best intentions will fail under these circumstances.
What stymies you in this situation is that you have a motive at all.
Free yourself of all expectations, release any tenuous grip you may have, and roll with it.
This is totally out of your control.
There are higher powers and more elements affecting the outcome of this situation than you can imagine.
Get out of their way.
Nine at the beginning [yang at bottom] means:A guileless nature reaps good fortune. Innocent behavior brings good fortune.
“L’Innocence” – Guillaume Seignac |
| The original impulses of the heart are always good, so that we may follow them confidently, assured of good fortune and achievement of our aims. |
12 – Twelve. P’i / Stagnation
Heaven and Earth move away from each other.
In the ensuing void, the small invade where the great have departed.
There is no common meeting ground, so the Superior Person must fall back on his inner worth and decline the rewards offered by the inferior invaders.
Difficult trials as you hold to your course.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
It is natural to assume that, if Earth above Heaven forms the hexagram for Peace and Paradise, then the opposite configuration, with Heaven over Earth would represent the antithesis of Paradise, Hell.
Not so.
This hexagram is actually the Dark side of Peace, its unsavory byproduct, Stagnation.
In a time when most of our wants are provided, there is little need for the heroes, the artists, the great thinkers and innovators.
As they recede into the shadows, Idleness, Apathy, and Lassitude come to the forefront.
Peace has become boring, bland, unchallenging — Stagnant.
Now our attention turns to the quick fix, the instant celebrity, the fad, the one-nighter, the current buzz.
There is no room for depth.
If you are a passionate soul, you must wait for a better time to find kindred spirits.
In these times, they are only curious legends, bas-relief, dead poets.
Today: “those who serve with devotion will go across this world ocean” – Yogi Bhajan
“God guarantees that those who serve with devotion will go across this world ocean.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: NM142 19940615 – Bless the Planet Earth and Let the Heavens Descend in You
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 69 – Rather than make the first move it is better to wait and see.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 69
The generals have a saying:
“Rather than make the first move
it is better to wait and see.
Rather than advance an inch
it is better to retreat a yard.”
This is called
going forward without advancing,
pushing back without using weapons. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 69 – Rather than make the first move it is better to wait and see.”
Today: “Treat people who have been misled with kindness. It is the only way they will see a new view without reacting.” – from the I Ching
Treat people who have been misled with kindness. It is the only way they will see a new view without reacting.
See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today
Meditation: NM0163 – Feel God Within You, The Kindness in You
Meditation: LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change
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4 – Four. Mêng / Inexperience
A fresh Spring at the foot of the Mountain:
The Superior Person refines his character by being thorough in every activity.
The Sage does not recruit students; the students seek him.
He asks nothing but a sincere desire to learn.
If the student doubts or challenges his authority, the Sage regretfully cuts his losses.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
This is a time of interchange between a mentor and pupil.
Whether you are the teacher or the student, it is a time of companionship along a mutual path.
This hexagram also emphasizes the eternal, cyclical nature of the mentor/student relationship — a mentor is merely a more seasoned pupil, further along on the journey.
A pupil holds within himself the seed of a future Master.
Nine in the second place means:
The man is gentle with the misguided and understands the hearts of women.
Such a one can be trusted with the kingdom.
To bear with fools in kindliness brings good fortune.
To know how to take women
Brings good fortune.
The son is capable of taking charge of the household.
These lines picture a man who has no external power, but who has enough strength of mind to bear his burden of responsibility. He has the inner superiority and strength that enable him to tolerate with kindliness the shortcomings of human folly. The same attitude is owed to women as the weaker sex. One must understand them and give them recognition in a spirit of chivalrous consideration. Only this combination of inner strength with outer reserve enables one to take on the responsibility of directing a larger social body with real success.
24 – Twenty-Four. Fu / Return
Thunder regenerates deep within Earth’s womb:
Sage rulers recognized that the end of Earth’s seasonal cycle was also the starting point of a new year and a time for dormancy.
They closed the passes at the Solstice to enforce a rest from commerce and activity.
The ruler himself did not travel.
You have passed this way before but you are not regressing.
This is progress, for the cycle now repeats itself, and this time you are aware that it truly is a cycle.
The return of old familiars is welcome.
You can be as sure of this cycle as you are that seven days bring the start of a new week.
Use this dormancy phase to plan which direction you will grow.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
You are about to experience a rebirth — about to be given another chance, a new lease on life.
You have persevered, gone the distance through an entire cycle — through the Spring of hope or new passion, through a Summer of growth and building, only to be sacrificed like the archetypal Harvest King at the Autumn reaping.
You lie dormant like seed beneath Winter snows now, healing and absorbing new energies in preparation for the new young Spring coming shortly to your life.
Today: “The greatest education man has to learn” – Yogi Bhajan
“The greatest education man has to learn is not medical science, not sociology, not chemistry, not biology, not mathematics, but the science of man, the science of self. The science of self and self-awareness is the highest knowledge a man can possess because then you can pull through all circumstances.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: M136-970930 – Work on Shashara, Balance Earth and Heavens
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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 serves the communal good. The best leader follows the will of the people.
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
serves the communal good.
The best leader
follows the will of the people. Continue reading “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 serves the communal good. The best leader follows the will of the people.”
Today: “It’s time for a sweeping, radical change. The status quo is no longer sufficient to satisfy the needs of the time. New ideas and creative solutions must come to the forefront and be acted on. ” – from the I Ching
It’s time for a sweeping, radical change. The status quo is no longer sufficient to satisfy the needs of the time. New ideas and creative solutions must come to the forefront and be acted on.
See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today
Tao Te Ching – Verse 67 – Some say that my teaching is nonsense…
Meditation: LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change
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49 – Forty-Nine. Ko / Revolution
Fire ignites within the Lake, defying conditions that would deny it birth or survival:
The Superior Person reads the Signs of the Times and makes the Season apparent to all.
The support you need will come only after the deed is done.
Renewed forces, however, will provide fresh energy for exceptional progress.
Persevere.
All differences vanish.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
A revolutionary Change must be made forcibly.
There is no negotiating with the Established Order.
Perfect timing is essential.
Let the abuse of power become apparent and oppressive to those around you before making your move.
Lay the groundwork, sow the seeds for Revolution without tipping your hand prematurely.
You will need a strong foundation, because you will have to bring about this necessary change alone.
You cannot count on popular support, so you must wait until there is massive dissent.
Then the avenue for your assault will be cleared.
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above: Tui / The Joyous, Lake | |
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below: Li / The Clinging, Fire | |
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The Chinese character for this hexagram means in its original sense an animal’s pelt, which is changed in the course of the year by molting. From this the word is carried over to apply to the “moltings” in political life, the great revolutions connected with changes of governments. The two trigrams making up the hexagram are the same two that appear in Kuei, OPPOSITION (38), that is, the two younger daughters, Li and Tui. But while there the elder of the two daughters is above, and what results is essentially only an opposition of tendencies, here the younger daughter is above. The influences are in actual conflict, and the forces combat each other like fire and water (lake), each trying to destroy the other. Hence the idea of revolution. THE JUDGEMENT REVOLUTION. On your own day Times change, and with them their demands. Thus the seasons change in the course of the year. In the world cycle also there are spring and autumn in the life of peoples and nations, and these call for social transformations. |
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THE IMAGE Fire in the lake: the image of REVOLUTION. |
Today: “there is a chance for every man to become a perfect saint” – Yogi Bhajan
“Whether you believe me or not, there is a chance for every man to become a perfect saint. If your mental attitude is perfect and security and calmness is achieved inside, everything, all the material world, will relate to you outside.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: NM0420-20011015 – The Power of Memories – Remember the Saint Within
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 67 – Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 67
Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.
I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 67 – Some say that my teaching is nonsense.”