Today: “Understand that you have a certain number of breaths left in your life.  Cultivate your spirit while you still can.  That is why we exist in this life.” – from the I Ching

Understand that you have a certain number of breaths left in your life.  Cultivate your spirit while you still can.  That is why we exist in this life.

“Here the end of the day has come. The light of the setting sun calls to mind the fact that life is transitory and conditional. Caught in this external bondage, men are usually robbed of their inner freedom as well. The sense of the transitoriness of life impels them to uninhibited revelry in order to enjoy life while it lasts, or else they yield to melancholy and spoil the precious time by lamenting the approach of old age. Both attitudes are wrong. To the superior man it makes no difference whether death comes early or late. He cultivates himself, awaits his allotted time, and in this way secures his fate.”

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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

Meditation: LA719 930303 – Magnetic Field – Sacred Space

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Gathering resources, it is most useful to find good helpers, give them good leadership and keep an eye on organization, planning and discipline.”

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Reading – “Without trying to bring any special advantages to. yourself, strive for bonding among your relations. Unity will be realized.”

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

30 – Thirty.  Li / Igniting

Fire sparks more Flames:
The Superior Person holds an inner Fire that ignites passion in every heart it touches, until all the world is enlightened and aflame.

With so searing a flame, success will not be denied you.
Take care to be as peaceful and nurturing as the cow in the meadow; you are strong enough to be gentle.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

A Promethean flame is delivering light and heat to the situation at hand.
This radiance will cause such an alchemical transformation of circumstances that the changes will seem magical, miraculous.
Yet they are only shifts of perspective and attitude that bring clarity.
The passions kindled by this fire must be harnessed and used judiciously, or they threaten to consume your hopes and dreams.

Nine in the third place means:
In the light of the setting sun,
Men either beat the pot and sing
Or loudly bewail the approach of old age.
Misfortune.

Pacific sunset

Pacific sunset

Here the end of the day has come. The light of the setting sun calls to mind the fact that life is transitory and conditional. Caught in this external bondage, men are usually robbed of their inner freedom as well. The sense of the transitoriness of life impels them to uninhibited revelry in order to enjoy life while it lasts, or else they yield to melancholy and spoil the precious time by lamenting the approach of old age. Both attitudes are wrong. To the superior man it makes no difference whether death comes early or late. He cultivates himself, awaits his allotted time, and in this way secures his fate.
16 – Sixteen.  Yü / Enthusiasm

Thunder comes resounding out of the Earth:
Similar thunder roars up from the masses when the Superior Person strikes a chord in their hearts.

Whip up enthusiasm, rally your forces, and move boldly forward.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is a rhythmic force, a world music, that lives deep in the Unconscious of each of us.
It’s a primitive drumbeat, a shaking rattle, a tribal chant that invokes the primal self to rise up and join the dance.
This is the enthusiasm that is generated now.
Not rhetorical persuasion, not a play on the emotions, but a charismatic, irresistible Call of the Wild.
Confucius said that the person who could comprehend this could ‘rule the world as though it were spinning in his hand.’
This is a time for instinct, not intellect — the Thunder from the Beneath.

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

Today: “I see you all in only one way. I see divine everywhere. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“I see you all in only one way. I see divine everywhere. Now I have seen it, I cannot see anything else. If I am blind to the man-made rules and regulations, that is not my fault. I have lived under those rules and it was the grace and the glory of the Master who gave me sight; now I have that sight and I don’t want to lose it at any cost; I am more willing to lose this body, this vehicle, and leave it here, then to lose that sight which has taken me beyond time, beyond karmas.’” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: See Without the Eyes

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

Tao Te Ching – Verse 73

The Tao is always at ease.
It overcomes without competing,
answers without speaking a word,
arrives without being summoned,
accomplishes without a plan.

Its net covers the whole universe.
And though its meshes are wide,
it doesn’t let a thing slip through.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 73 – The Tao is always at ease.”

Today: “Gathering resources, it is most useful to find good helpers, give them good leadership and keep an eye on organization, planning and discipline.” – from the I Ching

Gathering resources, it is most useful to find good helpers, give them good leadership and keep an eye on organization, planning and discipline.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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.

Meditation: LA741 – 921125 – Dance of Shiva

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Without trying to bring any special advantages to. yourself, strive for bonding among your relations. Unity will be realized.”

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Reading – “Without trying to bring any special advantages to. yourself, strive for bonding among your relations. Unity will be realized.”

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7 – Seven.  Shih / Recruiting Allies

Deep Water beneath the Earth’s surface:
Untapped resources are available.
The Superior Person nourishes and instructs the people, building a loyal, disciplined following.
Good fortune.
No mistakes if you follow a course led by experience.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You must gain support from others.
Find a way to make others want to see your objectives met as badly as you want it.
How can they profit from the attainment of this goal?
Can you command confidence that you are just the person that can bring this plan to fruition?

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

Knowing neither purpose nor direction, the soldiers march blindly onward.

An army must set forth in proper order.
If the order is not good, misfortune threatens.

Battle of Borodino

Napoleon: Vue de la bataille la plus sanglante de l’Empire
la bataille de la Moskova ou de Borodino (7 septembre 1812) – Jacque-Louis David

AT THE BEGINNING of a military enterprise, order is imperative. A just and valid cause must exist, and the obedience and co-ordination of the troops must be well organised, otherwise the result is inevitably failure.

19 – Nineteen. Lin / Noble Calling

The rich, loamy Earth on the banks of the Marsh provides fertile soil for exceptional progress.
The Superior Person is inexhaustible in his willingness to teach, and without limit in his tolerance and support of others.

Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
But be aware that your time is limited; your power will wane, as Summer changes to Fall.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are in a position to help another.
This is a temporary situation, because your power is cyclical, seasonal.
Knowing this, you must perform your good deed without hope of reward.
You are not furthering your own process, but another’s.
Though you may cherish this other, you will never possess.
Touch without grasping.
Take comfort in becoming a fond memory.
Nurture, then let go.

 

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

Today: “In the house of the Lord, progress is slow, but there is no ultimate darkness” – Yogi Bhajan

“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

Meditation: The Positive Mind

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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.

Review of Meditation and Sat Nam Rasayan® Healing Workshop with Hari Nam Singh 11/27/2016 – “Division and Unity”

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – Rather than resisting authority or cultural or tribal  pressures, stay true to your path.  That is the most powerful position amidst conflict and chaos.

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Project from the heart in your relations today. All will go well.”

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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

‘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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Project from the heart in your relations today. All will go well.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Treat people who have been misled with kindness. It is the only way they will see a new view without reacting.”

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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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Treat people who have been misled with kindness. It is the only way they will see a new view without reacting.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “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. ”

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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

“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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “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. ”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “It is a time to hold together. Act on your strengths that contribute to the whole, making us all stronger. ”

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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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