“The mind should dance with the body, and the whole universe is your stage. Try to feel that whatever you are doing is the most beautiful thing, the prettiest dance, because you are dancing with the whole universe. Don’t resent anything. Let your heart guide you, free of all regimentation.” Yogi Bhajan
Because you can know the origins of behavior and trends, it is best to contemplate the nature of phenomena rather than blindly follow some belief regarding it origins.
“Life is a game, but we do not want to play unattached. We want to play for the sake of winning and losing, and that is where unhappiness comes in.” Yogi Bhajan
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28 – Twenty-Eight Ta Kuo / Critical Mass
The Flood rises above the tallest Tree: Amidst a rising tide of human folly, the Superior Person retires to higher ground, renouncing his world without looking back.
Any direction is better than where you now stand.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
Several high-priority concerns demand immediate attention. All are crucial. None will be denied. Yet some demand the denial of others. Like two atoms seeking to occupy the same space, these irresistible forces and immovable objects threaten to ignite a cataclysm that could irreversibly alter your world. This is no time for fatal heroics. You are at Ground Point Zero. Remove yourself from this situation without delay. Find sanctuary. Later you may deal with these concerns on your own terms, from a position of strength.
Nine in the fourth place means:
You come to the rescue and reinforce the supporting structure. Order and good fortune is restored. But does your help carry a price?
The ridgepole is braced. Good fortune. If there are ulterior motives, it is humiliating.
Ridgepole
Through friendly relations with people of lower rank, a responsible man succeeds in becoming master of the situation. But if, instead of working for the rescue of the whole, he were to misuse his connections to obtain personal power and success, it would lead to humiliation.
48 – Forty-Eight Ching / The Well
Deep Waters Penetrated and drawn to the surface: The Superior Person refreshes the people with constant encouragement to help one another.
Encampments, settlements, walled cities, whole empires may rise and fall, yet the Well at the center endures, never drying to dust, never overflowing. It served those before and will serve those after. Again and again you may draw from the Well, but if the bucket breaks or the rope is too short there will be misfortune.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
There is a Source common to us all. Jung named it the Collective Unconscious. Others hail it as God within. Inside each of us are dreamlike symbols and archetypes, emotions and instincts that we share with every other human being. When we feel a lonely separateness from others, it is not because this Well within has dried up, but because we have lost the means to reach its waters. You need to reclaim the tools necessary to penetrate to the depths of your fellows. Then the bonds you build will be as timeless and inexhaustible as the Well that nourishes them.
“Who am I and what do I know? These are questions that man has to ask himself. He must realize the unknown of him and become the total known self. This is destiny.” Yogi Bhajan
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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?
Six at the top means:
Advance will meet with disastrous difficulties. What you seek is right at hand. Ask guidance from someone you respect.
Going leads to obstructions, Coming leads to great good fortune. It furthers one to see the great man.
‘The Doubting of Thomas’ – Caravaggio
This refers to a man who has already left the world and its tumult behind him. When the time of obstructions arrives, it might seem that the simplest thing for him to do would be to turn his back upon the world and take refuge in the beyond. But this road is barred to him. He must not seek his own salvation and abandon the world to its adversity. Duty calls him back once more into the turmoil of life. Precisely because of his experience and inner freedom, he is able to create something both great and complete that brings good fortune. And it is favorable to see the great man in alliance with whom one can achieve the work of rescue.
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.
“All sickness, all shallowness, all unhappiness, all pain, all miseries are the outcome of one source; keeping negativity within yourself.” Yogi Bhajan
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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 top means:
The victor divides the spoils among the loyal, leaving the jackals with neither reward nor obligation.
The great prince issues commands, Founds states, vests families with fiefs. Inferior people should not be employed.
A view into the intimate universe of the Chinese Imperial Court, the empress in a pavilion at her summer palace surrounded by individuals and entertained by musicians bearing gifts – Oil painting by the Studio of Lamqua (active 1825–1865)
The war has ended successfully, victory is won, and the king divided estates and fiefs among his faithful vassals. But it is important that inferior people should not come into power. If they have helped, let them be paid off with money, but they should not be awarded lands or the privileges of rulers, lest power be abused.
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.
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18 – Eighteen Ku / Repairing the Damage
Winds sweep through the Mountain valley: The Superior Person sweeps away corruption and stagnation by stirring up the people and strengthening their spirit.
Supreme success. Before crossing to the far shore, consider the move for three days. After crossing, devote three days of hard labor to damage control.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
You are blessed with an opportunity to resuscitate that which others have abandoned as beyond repair. This ruin wasn’t caused by evil intention, but by indifference to decay. Just by addressing yourself to the problem, you exhibit a new awareness, a fresh perspective. This is a time of recovery, renewal, regeneration.
Six in the beginning means:
Correcting his father’s error, a son treads dangerously close to dishonor. Yet sparing his father from blame brings good fortune in the end.
Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. If there is a son, No blame rests upon the departed father. Danger. In the end good fortune.
And When Did You Last See Your Father? – William Yeames
Rigid adherence to tradition has resulted in decay. But the decay has not yet penetrated deeply and so can still be easily remedied. It is as if a son were compensating for the decay his father allowed to creep in. Then no blame attaches to the father. However, one must not overlook the danger or take the matter too lightly. Only if one is conscious of the danger connected with every reform will everything go well in the end.
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.
“Why can’t you love everybody? You have no tolerance. You have to learn to hold your temper, you have to learn not to slander, you have to learn to have patience, you have to learn to be humble.” Yogi Bhajan
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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.
Six in the fifth place means:
Tears of repentance flood. Enlightenment turns the tide for the better.
Tears in floods, sighing and lamenting. Good fortune.
‘The Weeping Woman’ (based on Dora Maar) – Pablo Picasso, 1937
Here the zenith of life has been reached. Were there no warning, one would at this point consume oneself like a flame. Instead, understanding the vanity of all things, one may put aside both hope and fear, and sigh and lament: if one is intent on retaining his clarity of mind, good fortune will come from this grief. For here we are dealing not with a passing mood, as in the nine in the third place, but with a real change of heart.
13 – Thirteen T’ung Jên / Social Mechanism
Heaven reflects the Flame of clarity: The Superior Person analyzes the various levels and working parts of the social structure, and uses them to advantage.
Success if you keep to your course. You may cross to the far shore.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
This is a matter of Positioning — not only yourself, but others as well. There are niches to be filled, potentials to be realized, right livelihoods to be found. You are not building a new organization, but shoring up an existing infrastructure. It’s worth the effort, because it will provide union, community, and an ironclad alliance.
What is prayer? You create a vibratory effect which goes into the Infinite Creative around the psyche of you. The answer and energy come and then your job is done and your prayer has worked.” Yogi Bhajan
A generous gesture with no conditions will go a long way toward promoting peace and prosperity. Offering rich experience rather than goods forms lasting relations.
“Life is not given to us to live as a routine. It is given to us as our destiny. It is given so we experience life. Every day we must die and we must experience that death. And every day we must be reborn and must experience resurrection.” Yogi Bhajan