The currents of this time are flowing in your favor. Make good use of it. Success is assured.
Tag: I Ching
Today: Keep up what you are doing with yourself to improve – from the I Ching
Keep up what you are doing with yourself to improve. It is having an effect. First, internally, which increases your vastness. That vastness dissolves the boundaries between you and God and the universe. Then the effect becomes projective and everything feels the impact. No doubts. Keep up.
Today: Contemplate and find peace – from the I Ching
Do not willfully engage in conflict to change what you do not like. Contemplate your relationship with your discomfort and find peace.
Today: Proceed cautiously with grace – from the I Ching
There are wild, intractable people exerting their influence who are intolerant of any opposition. It is wise to act with what is proper and maintain good manners with grace and decorum.
Today: Adopt a measured approach to hindrances – from the I Ching
New growth is initially beset by difficulties. Just persevere, do not try to escape the hindrances. Do not accept solutions offered by just anyone. Do not go along with other people’s agendas. They will only cause more harm than good. Only ally with those of like mind who understand the goal. Acknowledge the limitations and apply a measured approach to overcome the adversity.
Today: Endure, do not give up – from the I Ching
Bringing order from chaos is a formidable task that requires strength, patience, endurance. With every step completed a new challenge emerges. Do not assume that you are done until you are done. And, don’t give up.
Thoughts on Keynsian Economics
Think about it. When enough people are presented with opportunity, there are many who do not ignore it. Under the right circumstances, they cannot ignore it. Statistically, this tends to cause a shift in whatever macro dynamics are in play.
An obvious case is the question of the implementation of Keynsian Economic Theory. It was used, with impressive effects, to pull the world out of the great depression. FDR was a skeptic of investing in “something for nothing”, but his gamble in creating the WPA paid off big time. What really did the trick was the “forced” government investment in the war machine in the late 1930’s. The tragedy of WWII also led to the greatest period of prosperity in modern history. Investment in war is always questionable. Investment in manufacturing infrastructure worked beautifully.
The “gilded age” of the 1920’s yielded to the “golden age” which lasted into the 1970’s.
It’s simple. During the depression, what everyone wanted, and needed, was a job. The WPA filled that need. During WWII, all the stops were pulled, with seismic economic results. it seems that when money is flowing, people cannot resist spending it, which is a direct stimulus to growth and prosperity. Fear subsides and the economy soars. Of course, it’s not a trivial problem. Too much spending beyond growth can cause inflation, as was witnessed with “stagflation” in the 1970’s.
Rather than adopting sane fiscal safeguards against inflation, which are known to the Keynsian Economic model, President Reagan chose to reintroduce fear into the equation with his “trickle down” proposition, which has been a persistent impediment to economic growth to this day. “Trickle down” is not a theory, it is a voodoo trick intended to persuade people to believe that the monied interests will take care of everybody. Just ask yourself which is more likely: Will more people spend more money when they have more money without the fear of being destitute, or will wealthy people invest more of their wealth to build something for everyone’s benefit? The former makes no assumptions. It’s a fact, proven by history.
The latter is loaded with assumptions:
Wealthy people are philanthropic – some of them are
Big business is willing to put its wealth at risk without the assurances of a monopolistic sure thing – its stockpile of trillions of dollars shows otherwise. Most recent investments have only gobbled up smaller enterprises and reduced competition, indicating one goal – a consolidation of wealth into fewer more powerful interests. More cash in their pockets won’t change this.
President Reagan weaponized fear, and its legacy has been adopted by all of his followers and apologists.
We were privileged to see the Keynsian model at work again when President Obama and Congress passed the Recovery Act in 2009. Its only problem is that it was an anemic gesture that should have been ten times bigger. Of course, there was enormous opposition by the usual suspects. It saved the world economy, but did not set us on a path to prosperity. FDR experienced the same problem with his initial efforts to save the world from the depression. It took the the War to seal the deal.
Other examples of public policy that have led to overall prosperity:
Mandatory free public education (mandatory that it must be offered) includes an enormous talent pool whose education has led to unprecedented achievement in all possible ways. Science, technology, arts, global relief from disease and other suffering and even diplomacy that has trumped tribal instincts. Imagine a world where only Trumps are educated (54% of Republicans think that college education is a bad thing for the nation)
Investment in the humanities. Where would we be without our culture and entertainment? (No philharmonic, no Spiderman?)
Veterans Administration and the GI bill: the only real compensation given to veterans for their sacrifice.
NASA:Today’s private space enterprise and our private lives owe a debt to public policy (JFK’s moonshot, velcro).
What is common to all public policy is that everyone contributes to it, and everyone is the beneficiary.
Today: Choose carefully with whom you commingle and lend your support – from the I Ching
Choose carefully with whom you commingle and lend your support. Living with people in close proximity is not the same as sharing their values. Sociability without undue intimacy is graceful. It is important to uncover where your associations are undermining your integrity and eradicate their influence.
Today: Drink from the well – from the I Ching
You may drink from the well unhindered. It is there for all to partake as long as the rope and jug are still in place. The well precedes and endures beyond all forms of social organization and governance that come and go in time because it serves the deepest needs of humanity.
At the same time, care must be taken that the jug is not broken. This can happen when artificial constraints are formed and get in the way. The most common instance is where the few deny access for the many.
It is important at this time for people of great inner wealth to step up and be a conduit for others to tap into that wealth. If this happens, then abundance is multiplied, serving everyone, including the one who is the conduit. The path of abundance is the path of a snowball that starts rolling and grows to enormous proportion. That is the nature of abundance.
Today: Completion – from the I Ching
This is a time of completion. A delicate balance has been achieved which has been sought for a long time. With new things that must be done, be careful to enlist only worthy helpers so as not to revert to the old ways. Do not overreach. Appreciate the joy of this time and let it inspire others to take on the responsibility to stabilize further a newfound equilibrium.
Today: Proceed with consistency, perseverance and devotion – from the I Ching
Proceed with consistency, perseverance and devotion. These qualities will lead to sublime success. The course has been charted. Don’t try to change anything. Be receptive. Everything will come in its own time.
Today: Adopt an attitude of simplicity – from the I Ching
Adopt an attitude of simplicity. Serve where it is needed. In so doing, you do not deprive yourself nor compromise your dignity. Abandon mindless consumption in favor of a judicious application of your faculties toward your own nourishment and care for others. Give attention to what is important.
Today: Look to the wisdom of the ages – from the I Ching
Look beyond your personal inexperience to the wisdom of the ages. Seek advice, then follow it. Do not engage in ineffective fantasies. Do not fail to act nor rush to judgement lest you fail to grasp the the situation completely. Chaos will yield to a new order. Enduring perseverance will see you through the transition unscathed.
Today: A time of blessing and enrichment- from the I Ching
Lift up others as if they are family, because they are. When everyone benefits, the community flourishes. A time of blessing and enrichment has such powerful effects that even events ordinarily unfortunate must turn out to the advantage of those affected by them. One makes no mistakes while acting in harmony with the truth.
Today: Move toward balance and equilibrium – from the I Ching
Move toward balance and equilibrium and stability in relations with the world. Temper extremes. Be modest.
Today: Another turning point – from the I Ching
Another turning point. All movement is governed by cycles: a starting point (return), progression and completion. There can even be cycles within cycles. Now is a point in time for a significant return. We discover what needs to be renewed, and we align our intentions and actions with that.
When things are ready to turn, then a nudge is all that is required to set them in motion. Only decide what is worthy of your attention, and give it. Right now, you possess a big lever with which to produce a significant impact. Use it.