Today: “Beware of people who attempt to befriend you for personal advantage.  Hold closer those with whom you form a genuine bond.” – from the I Ching

Beware of people who attempt to befriend you for personal advantage.  Hold closer those with whom you form a genuine bond.

Meditations:  Meditation:  LA588 890411 Silver Grain Meditation 

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17 – Seventeen. Sui / Following

Thunder beneath the Lake’s surface.
The Superior Person allows himself plenty of sheltered rest and recuperation while awaiting a clear sign to follow.

Supreme success.
No mistakes if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Thunder from the Lake — the lulling, rhythmic roar of the faithful tide, eternally wearing away the stone of the shoreline, forever obedient to the phases of the moon.
The pull of the moon on the tide is the Following called for now.
As mighty as the tide is in its own right, it is ever the puppet of the invisible, irresistible gravity of the moon.
What cyclical forces pull you along?
Are you futilely attempting to resist a natural attraction?

Nine in the fourth place means:

Following for dishonorable reasons.
Pause for clarity and a return to integrity.
Once actions are sincere, you may move forward blamelessly.

Following creates success.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
To go one’s way with sincerity brings clarity.
How could there be blame in this?

Flattery

‘Flattery’ – Juan Gris, 1908 – Pencil, color pencil and watercolor on paper

It often happens, when a man exerts a certain amount of influence, that he obtains a following by condescension toward inferiors. But the people who attach themselves to him are not honest in their intentions. They seek personal advantage and try to make themselves indispensable through flattery and subservience. If one becomes accustomed to such satellites and cannot do without them, it brings misfortune. Only when a man is completely free from his ego, and intent, by conviction, upon what is right and essential, does he acquire the clarity that enables him to see through such people, and become free of blame.
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.

Today: “Let go of your fears and ambitions so you can see things as they are. ” – from the I Ching

Let go of your fears and ambitions so you can see things as they are.

True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life.

Meditations:  Meditation: LA571 890214 Let Go of Your Limitations

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

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's and subsequent translations of the I Ching
52 – Fifty-Two.   Kên / The Mountain

Above this Mountain’s summit another more majestic rises:
The Superior Person is mindful to keep his thoughts in the here and now.

Stilling the sensations of the Ego, he roams his courtyard without moving a muscle, unencumbered by the fears and desires of his fellows.
This is no mistake.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is a higher vantage point available to you, but it is obscured by the visible peak of personal ambition.
To climb to this higher plane, you must shake off the desires and fears of the conscious, visible world around you.
To make this journey you must quiet the Ego, empty your mind of past and future, and dwell totally in the moment at hand.
Thorough mindfulness of what is before you is the only tranquility.
Be. Here. Now.

yang
yin above: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain
yin
yang
yin below: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain
yin

 

The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The male principle is at the top, because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the direction of its movement is downward. Thus there is rest because the movement has come to its normal end.
In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart. It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart. While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Yi Jing holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement. Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.

THE JUDGEMENT

KEEPING STILL. Keeping his back still
So that he no longer feels his body.
He goes into his courtyard
And does not see his people.
No blame.

True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life.
The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement. The back is named because in the back are located all the nerve fibres that mediate movement. If the movement of these spinal nerves is brought to a standstill, the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were. When a man has thus become calm, he may turn to the outside world. He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings, and therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe and for acting in harmony with them. Whoever acts from these deep levels makes no mistakes.

 
 

Still Life with Chinese Lantern flowers

 

Still Life with Chinese Lantern flowers.
Colored lithograph, H.A. Dievenbach 1

THE IMAGE

Mountains standing close together:
The image of KEEPING STILL.
Thus the superior man
Does not permit his thoughts
To go beyond his situation.

Huang Shan

The heart thinks constantly. This cannot be changed, but the movements of the heart – that is, a man’s thoughts – should restrict themselves to the immediate situation. All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.


1. Hendrikus Anthonius Dievenbach (1872 – 1946), was a Dutch artist.
In 1910 he settled in the village of Laren, North-Holland.
Henri Dievenbach was a traditional painter who was particularly inspired by his direct environment.
Apart from farmer’s interiors he made portaits of fellow-villagers. In his later life he painted especially beautiful still lifes and flower pieces, like this colored lithograph with Chinese Lanterns.

Today: “Under attack, you must join allies under the guidance of a seasoned, capable leader.  Do not let the mob ruin everything you have built.” – from the I Ching

Under attack, you must join allies under the guidance of a seasoned, capable leader.  Do not let the mob ruin everything you have built.

Meditations:  Meditation: LA822-950201-Healing the Physical

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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 in the fifth place means:

The seasoned veteran is elevated to command, and none too soon.
For the game is in the field, and it would be wise to catch it.

There is game in the field.
It furthers one to catch it.
Without blame.
Let the eldest lead the army.
The younger transports corpses;
Then perseverance brings misfortune.

Wild boars

Wild boars

Game is in the field – it has left its usual haunts in the forest and is devastating the fields. This points to an enemy invasion. Energetic combat and punishment are here thoroughly justified, but they must not degenerate into a wild melee in which everyone fends for himself. Despite the greatest degree of perseverance and bravery, this would lead to misfortune. The army must be directed by an experienced leader. It is a matter of waging war, not of permitting the mob to slaughter all who fall into their hands; if they do, defeat will be the result, and despite all perseverance there is danger of misfortune.
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.

Today: “The entire Universe is just one person. There are no two persons.” Yogi Bhajan

“The entire Universe is just one person. There are no two persons. There is one link of a breath of life, which comes from me to you, to you, to you, to you, to you, to you… It is all linked with one thing. When it is disconnected, you are gone. We are all one mala, one rosary, linked with one thread of the breath of life.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA847-19950816-Unity-Your Magnetic Field of the Total Self Will Become One

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See today’s verse from the Tao Te Ching 

Today: Be very cautious performing the task you are undertaking.  Be aware of the danger that has arisen as you proceed. – from the I Ching

Be very cautious performing the task you are undertaking.  Be aware of the danger that has arisen as you proceed.

A quote from Yogi Bhajan

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: LA101 790419-Faith In Our Self And Our Own Discipline

No Superstition and the Vagus Nerve – HNS Class Golden Bridge 2012-12-12

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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.

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.

Nine in the fifth place means:

Though fully aware of the danger that lies on the narrow path ahead, the man is fully commited to move forward.
The future is uncertain.

Resolute conduct.
Perseverance with awareness of danger.

Suricates

Suricates Stand Alert to Danger with Their Young at Their Feet
photo Chris Johns

This refers to the ruler of the hexagram as a whole. One sees that one has to be resolute in conduct. But at the same time one must remain conscious of the danger connected with such resoluteness, especially if it is to be persevered in. Only awareness of the danger makes success possible.
41 – Forty-one. Sun / Decrease

The stoic Mountain drains its excess waters to the Lake below:
The Superior Person curbs his anger and sheds his desires.

To be frugal and content is to possess immeasurable wealth within.
Nothing of value could be refused such a person.
Make a portion of each meal a share of your offering.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is an occasion for downsizing to fighting trim.
Simplicity and economy are strong defenses against the slings and arrows of Outrageous Fortune.
Whether this is a time of want or a time of plenty, it is an auspicious time to shed a dependency.

 

 

Today: “Your grit is not based on your muscles, your grit is based on how deeply you breathe.” Yogi Bhajan

“Your grit is not based on your muscles, your grit is based on how deeply you breathe. The length of your breath and your sustenance (endurance) are proportionate. How attractive you are is not based on your makeup, your dress, your jewelry, your art of speaking, and your everything. How slowly and long you breathe, that is attractive. Because your psyche affects the psyche of another person and the life energy is measured by the length of the breath and the depth of it. Length and depth of the breath measures the effect of your psyche on another person’s psyche.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0405-20010529- Sahaj Naad Kriya

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Today: Recognize the first signs of decay.  Unchecked they will lead to dissolution.  Taking heed you can experience a new beginning. – from the I Ching

Recognize the first signs of decay.  Unchecked they will lead to dissolution.  Taking heed you can experience a new beginning.

A quote from Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 13 – Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear.

Meditation: NM091 – 19921110 – Self Emboldenment, Engagement, Vision

No Superstition and the Vagus Nerve – HNS Class Golden Bridge 2012-12-12

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2 – Two  K’un / Receptive Force

Earth above and Earth below:
The Earth contains and sustains.
In this situation, the Superior Person should not take the initiative; he should follow the initiative of another.
He should seek receptive allies in the southwest; he should break ties with immovable allies in the northeast.

Responsive devotion.
Receptive influence.
Sublime Success if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a time for dealing with reality as it is, not as you would have it be.
If you realize that in this situation you are the receptor, not the transmitter of the stimulus, you will find yourself reaching goals that seemed unattainable under your own steam.
If you persist in futile efforts to be the Shaper rather than the Shaped, you will completely miss this unique opportunity.

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

When frost crunches underfoot can winter ice be far behind?
When there is hoarfrost underfoot,
Solid ice is not far off.

Hoarfrost

Hoarfrost

JUST AS the light-giving power represents life, so the dark power, the shadowy, represents death. When the first hoarfrost comes in the autumn, the power of darkness and cold is just at its beginning. After these first warnings, signs of death will gradually multiply, until, in obedience to immutable laws, stark winter with its ice is here.
In life it is the same. After certain scarcely noticeable signs of decay have appeared, they go on increasing until final dissolution comes. But in life precautions can be taken by heeding the first signs of decay and checking them in time.
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: “Whoever does one-minute breath for sixty-two minutes (every day) will have a mastery over the breath…” Yogi Bhajan

“Whoever does one-minute breath for sixty-two minutes (every day) will have a mastery over the breath and then anytime the body’s bio-rhythm gets weak the breath will become one-minute breath automatically because of the hypothalamus and you will be the most wise, stable person.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny

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Today: Do not normalize evil deeds perpetrated by bad actors.  Do not become like them.  Apply your experience and knowledge with intuition and your intellect. – from the I Ching

Do not normalize evil deeds perpetrated by bad actors.  Do not become like them.  Apply your experience and knowledge with intuition and your intellect.

A quote from Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 12 – He allows things to come and go. His heart is open as the sky.

Meditation: LA101 790419-Faith In Our Self And Our Own Discipline

No Superstition and the Vagus Nerve – HNS Class Golden Bridge 2012-12-12

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29 – Twenty-Nine. K’an / Dangerously Deep

Water follows Water, spilling over any cliff, flowing past all obstacles, no matter the depth or distance, to the Sea.
The Superior Person learns flexibility from the mistakes he has made, and grows strong from the obstacles he has overcome, pressing on to show others the Way.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are facing a crucial trial along your Journey.
The danger of this challenge is very real.
It is a test of your mettle.
If you can maintain your integrity and stay true to your convictions, you will overcome.
That’s not as easy as it seems when you are faced with the sacrifice of other things you’ve come to depend upon or hold dear.

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

Deep beneath the earth, he falls into an even deeper chasm.
Perilous.

Repetition of the Abysmal.
In the abyss one falls into a pit.
Misfortune.

Abysmal

By growing used to what is dangerous, a man can easily allow it to become part of him. He is familiar with it and grows used to evil. With this he has lost the right way, and misfortune is the natural result.

60 – Sixty. Chieh / Limitations

Waters difficult to keep within the Lake’s banks:
The Superior Person examines the nature of virtue and makes himself a standard that can be followed.

Self-discipline brings success; but restraints too binding bring self-defeat.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Cultivating the proper disciplines and the proper degree of discipline are the concerns of this hexagram.
By limiting options, you may give more attention to priorities.
One who is all over the map is no less lost than one without a map.
Avoid asceticism, however.
Deprivation is not wise discipline.
The key here is regulation, not restriction.

 

Today: “Those who meditate, looking at the tip of the nose and breathing one breath a minute, have total control of their glandular system. And then they develop it as a habit.” Yogi Bhajan

“Those who meditate, looking at the tip of the nose and breathing one breath a minute, have total control of their glandular system. And then they develop it as a habit. And once that habit is there, then you have the power to control your praanic energy and your system can work out perfect.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation:  One Minute Breath

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Today: Contemplate on the consequences of your past actions.  You will then know how to proceed. – from the I Ching

Contemplate on the consequences of your past actions.  You will then know how to proceed.

A quote from Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 10 – Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?

Meditation: Contemplate in Shuniya from the Spine

No Superstition and the Vagus Nerve – HNS Class Golden Bridge 2012-12-12

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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

Nine in the fifth place means:

His future is shaped by the quality of his influence on others in the past.
Be blameless.

Contemplation of my life.
The superior man is without blame.

Contemplation

Contemplation

A man in an authoritative position to whom others look up must always be ready for self-examination. The right sort of self-examination, however, consists not in idle brooding over oneself but in examining the effects one produces. Only when these effects are good, and when one’s influence on others is good, will the contemplation of one’s own life bring the satisfaction of knowing oneself to be free of mistakes.

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.

 

Today:”Twenty seconds inhale, twenty seconds hold, twenty seconds exhale. It is called praana path.” Yogi Bhajan

“Twenty seconds inhale, twenty seconds hold, twenty seconds exhale. It is called praana path. Moment you achieve that status, your intuition will open up. You’ll know everything. And when you know everything, you don’t have to worry about anything. When you don’t worry, you are clear.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation:  One Minute Breath

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Today: As better times return, do not be tempted to hasten the fall of the wicked people whose dark alliance is imploding.  Your message of renewal will be widely received.- from the I Ching

As better times return, do not be tempted to hasten the fall of the wicked people whose dark alliance is imploding.  Your message of renewal will be widely received.

A quote from Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 10 – Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?

Meditation: Contemplate in Shuniya from the Spine

No Superstition and the Vagus Nerve – HNS Class Golden Bridge 2012-12-12

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23 – Twenty-Three. Po / Splitting Apart

The weight of the Mountain presses down upon a weak foundation of Earth:
The Superior Person will use this time of oppression to attend to the needs of those less fortunate.

Any action would be ill-timed.
Stand fast.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a situation easily mistaken for Stagnation (Hexagram 12) or Revolution (Hexagram 49).
It just depends on which side you’re on.
During a time of Stagnation, human worms invade to feed on the decay.
During a time of Revolution, oppression is being overthrown.
But in this situation, oppressors are violently seizing power.
Pay special heed when you receive this hexagram, because the oracle is often warning you of a situation of which you are totally unaware.
You are about to be blindsided.

Nine at the top means:

Refusing fruit offered by the serpent, he gains a carriage when the snake swallows its own tail and the light is restored.

There is a large fruit still uneaten.
The superior man receives a carriage.
The house of the inferior man is split apart.

Large fruit

Here the splitting apart reaches its end. When misfortune has spent itself, better times return. The seed of the good remains, and it is just when the fruit falls to the ground that good sprouts anew from its seed. The superior man again attains influence and effectiveness. He is supported by public opinion as if in a carriage. But the inferior man’s wickedness is visited upon himself. His house is split apart. A law of nature is at work here. Evil is not destructive to the good alone but inevitably destroys itself as well. For evil, which lives solely by negation, cannot continue to exist on its own strength alone. The inferior man himself fares best when held under control by a superior man.
2 – Two. K’un / Receptive Force

Earth above and Earth below:
The Earth contains and sustains.
In this situation, the Superior Person should not take the initiative; he should follow the initiative of another.
He should seek receptive allies in the southwest; he should break ties with immovable allies in the northeast.

Responsive devotion.
Receptive influence.
Sublime Success if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a time for dealing with reality as it is, not as you would have it be.
If you realize that in this situation you are the receptor, not the transmitter of the stimulus, you will find yourself reaching goals that seemed unattainable under your own steam.
If you persist in futile efforts to be the Shaper rather than the Shaped, you will completely miss this unique opportunity.

 

Today:”Mind is like a pendulum. It can only be controlled when your breath will be one-minute.” Yogi Bhajan

“Mind is like a pendulum. It can only be controlled when your breath will be one-minute. You will not dream, you will sleep like a baby when you want, you can get up when you want, your time clock will be fine. But you have to breathe one minute: twenty seconds inhale, twenty seconds hold, twenty seconds exhale. Mind then has nothing left but to serve you, serve you, serve you.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny

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What else Yogi Bhajan said

No Superstition and the Vagus Nerve – HNS Class Golden Bridge 2012-12-12

Hari Nam Singh
Sat Nam Rasayan® Class
Wednesday, December 12, 2012 -- 4:00 p.m.
Bodh Gaya Room
Golden Bridge -- Hollywood, California

Tune-in.  Ong Namo….

So what is it that’s supposed to happen today?

Student:  Lots of people are getting married today.  That was what they said on the radio.

Are they inducing labor, too?

Student: So that people don’t forget their Birthday maybe.  Lots of people are getting married today because they want their husbands to remember their wedding anniversary.

I guess that’s pretty practical.  Well, actually it makes sense.  For many years my wife and I could never remember what day our wedding anniversary was.  We had a tendency to think it was a day later for some reason.

Numerologically or astrologically you can discern certain tendencies that are produced.  It doesn’t mean that something’s going to go boom on one day or another.  We have in general tendencies to put a lot of energy into these things, thinking that one thing or another is really special.

It amounts to a lot of superstition that we hold.  Superstition is making an assumption about something because you think that something is supposed to happen.  It doesn’t mean that something isn’t going to happen.  We have the tendency not to base our perception on our experience.  Our experience is what counts, and really nothing else.  If we just assume something because everybody says this or that, that’s just really superstition.  So it’s really pretty useful for us to get beyond that tendency that we have of doing that, just be in the moment in the experience, and then see what happens with that.

We could relate with something through a numerological relation, and that has a lot of potential and perhaps even a lot of power; however, that’s just a matter of relating through our experience in that to see how we’re affected by that — not putting the cart before the horse and saying, “We expect this or that.”

That’s one thing that we’ve been working on a lot lately.  Especially in Guru Dev Singh’s Classes, the topic of superstition comes up a lot.  It’s something we can acknowledge, and don’t need to engage in so much.

So in order to mitigate that to some degree, Guru Dev Singh did give us this Meditation, which Yogi Bhajan gave us, which is useful in our time to be engaged with.  Is anybody doing this Meditation?  I thought we’d do that one.

Meditation For Faculty Of Self-Engagement:
Mudra:  Bend your elbows into the sides of the body.  Extend the forearms out in front of the body, and tilt them up at a 45-degree angle.  Have the palms flat, fingers’ pointing straight ahead.  The right palm faces the ceiling, and the left palm faces the floor.  The palms are at the level of the heart center, and the wrists are bent slightly.
Hold the position, and keep the spine straight the entire time.
Eyes:  Stare at the tip of the nose.
Breath:  Breathe long and deep in through the nose.  Breathe out long and deep through the mouth.  Mechanically breathe.
You are bringing a balance between Heaven and Earth in this posture.  Let your thoughts go.  Don’t work your brain.  It will take you through your non-reality, and go deep into Meditation.  Just breathe consciously.
Time:  22 Minutes, 45 Seconds
To End:  Inhale deeply, press your hands together in front of your chest really tightly, press hard.  Hold for 11 Seconds.  Exhale.
Inhale, really squeeze very hard, using the shoulders to add all the pressure you can.  Hold for 11 Seconds.  Exhale.
Inhale, squeeze your spine, vertebrae, muscles, hands, legs, everything, from the base to the top.  Hold for 20 Seconds.  Exhale.
Relax.

Okay.  Take your partner.

Round One :  Take your partner.  Open the space.  Feel how the sounds inside you are affecting your Field.  In particular feel how the sounds are affecting your emotional sensations.  Within you feel the sensations of flow.  At the same time feel the sensations of no-flow or where there is numbness.  Feel all those sensations at the same time.  Keep researching how the sounds are affecting you.  Where you feel sensations of numbness or no-flow, feel that from within Shuniya, within Silence.  Feel how it feels from within Silence.  Give it space.  Give space to all those places inside you that feel numb with the intention to alter the perception of those points to be more like those where you perceive a flow.  Relate with your partner.  Feel how that relation is affecting the flow in you.  With your intention in the Silence, give space to those points of numbness — the intention of altering the perception to that of increased flow.  Hold the relation in the Silence.  Come to conclusion.  Switch.

Round Two :  Take your partner.  Open the space.  Feel how the sounds are affecting you.  Feel the sounds inside you, in particular how they are touching emotional sensations.  In your Field of Perception, recognize sensations of flow and sensations of no-flow.  Allow that to be the Mandala superimposed on your Field.  Relate with your partner.  Allow your partner to affect your Field, still being aware of flow and no-flow.  Give space to those points of numbness in the Silence.  Feel those points within the Silence.  Choose to relate with your partner’s Vagus Nerve.  Feel in the area of your left eye and in your face any sensation of numbness.  Allow that to be present in the Silence.  Allow the Silence to affect those sensations.  As those sensations alter, follow the resistances down the length of the Vagus Nerve.  Give space to the resistances as you encounter them, researching the length of the Vagus Nerve through the body.  Allow the sensations of flow.  Balance the sensations of numbness to being more like the sensations of flow.  Allow the sensations of numbness and flow to begin to merge.  Feel it.  Don’t push it.  Come to conclusion.  Switch.

Round Three :  Take your partner.  Open the space.  Relate with your partner, and in particular the Vagus Nerve, and first of all the area around the left eye and the resistances in that area.  Allow them.  Give them space.  Allow those resistances to mingle with the sensations of flow in your body.  As the perception of those points of numbness begins to alter, follow the resistance down the length of the Vagus Nerve, down the face and the left side of the body.  Begin to recognize how all of the sensations of flow, numbness, and everything related with the Vagus Nerve are affecting your brain.  Allow all the sensations to appear as though they’re happening in the mind.  From that vantage research those sensations along the entire length of the Vagus Nerve, and feel the sensations as a whole.  Give space to that flow that appears in the mind.  Feel how it’s affecting all your sensations.  Let the nature of that flow as a whole come into balance.  Feel it inside your brain.  Balance the sensations there, and the sensations as they are suggested to the mind.  Let all of them interact as One Field.  Come to conclusion.  Switch.

Round Four :  Open the space.  Recognize your partner in you, in particular the space of the relation with the Vagus Nerve of your partner, and the sensation of the points of flow and the points of no-flow.  Feel those points in you, from the vantage of how it’s affecting the brain.  Feel those points of numbness in the brain, and how they’re affecting the flow of the mind.  Give space to those points.  Bring the points of numbness in the flow into balance.  Give space to the points of constriction in the mind.  Let them balance with perceptions that have more flow.  Allow the Field to be One Unified Space.  Just with your intention bring it into balance.  Come to conclusion.

So we can maintain some form of reference to sensations that appear in the body; however, we can allow them to be more generalized in a way that they become more diffuse and represented in a more unified way, something that appears in the mind as well.  By maintaining that reference to the body, we can see how we’re doing.  Where we place our intention is in the Overall Field, which includes more than just those specific sensations here and there.

So does anybody have any questions?

We feel something perhaps here or here, and they seem present in the body.  If we allow those sensations and feel how they’re affecting how our brains feel, we can begin to feel how that’s affecting the brain and affecting the mind.  So it’s not just those specific physical things, rather a little bit more diffuse and generalized.  So it’s not just there.  It’s more everywhere.

You can feel where there is flow somewhere.  Feeling where there’s numbness is a contrast to that.  So it gives you some point of a polarity that you can start to balance, not that you push anything through somewhere; however, you feel the difference.  You just give space to those places that feel numb.  We do that with Shuniya.  We go to that place that’s completely Empty, and then see what happens to the flow.  Shuniya is something that’s everywhere.  It doesn’t have a location.  So we would like to start to go beyond just having everything have a location.  Maybe that’s where we can start because our body is a Mandala, which can represent something that’s happening in our Perceptive Field; however, then we can take it further than that and include all perception.  Perception can include what’s happening in the mind.  That’s more where our intentions are held.  We use our mind.  So we don’t need to try to change the perception directly in some place.  There can be a lot of resistance to that.  So what we’re doing is making it a little bit more efficient.  That’s something that you can do more quickly.

You don’t have to believe ahead of time that it’s based in something that’s held emotionally.  You can perhaps discover where in the Emotional Body or in that part of your Mandala it’s appearing in you.  It will touch someplace in your perception where it’s appearing in you.  We deal with it directly there.  We don’t have to assume ahead of time that it’s anywhere.  We don’t have to give it a location.  Just allow whatever then appears in your Field as resistance, and deal with it there.  Just relate with it there.  If it is affecting some kind of emotion, then you can deal with that.  You can relate with that in that way there, and give that space.

It’s a good thing that you’re not thinking in terms of a disease or in terms of something with a cause-and-effect or something that has a position like a sore throat.  You may want to say, “Okay.  Let’s go with the throat here, and see what we can find in our throat.”  We don’t have to do that.  You can use your intention and say, “Well, let’s relate with the throat because that seems to be a gross manifestation.”  Beyond that it’s going to take you to someplace in you where you’re feeling something. You relate with it there, wherever you’re feeling it in you.  It could be an emotional thing.  It could be a flow perhaps somewhere in the body.  You let it be whatever it is.

If we do that, then we’re minimizing our tendencies to be superstitious about it.  Superstitious would be maybe, “Well, let me try to release a blockage in the throat.”  Well, there could be a big assumption in that because often things that happen with people and conditions are much more complex than that.  So the least that we can assume about something and the least superstition we can hold about it and the least belief we can hold, then the more effective we can be.

We’re finding that we can heal things in the most unexpected ways.  Whatever presents itself is your reality.  You can rely on your perception because your perception is what you know, just as it is, unfiltered, and without having to have the commentary, “Oh, well, this is that; this is that,” and start interpreting.  Feel it where it appears in you.  If you can remain stable in Shuniya, then something will start to happen.  You’ll get a broader experience of what’s going on, and allow the complexity of everything that’s going on to start to emerge.  You may find that you’re in a place, relating in a way that’s very different from where you started.

You could ask somebody, “Well, what’s going on?  How do you feel?  Where does it hurt?”  If you ask that question, that’s fine.  The answer is:  What happened in you when you asked the question and there was some response?  That’s the answer:  What happened in you?  Where did you feel that?  Where did you feel the reaction?  Where did you feel the sensation that appeared?  It will always relate with your question; however, you don’t have to interpret the Tiny Pet’s answer because that is irrelevant.  Do you understand what I’m saying?

When you apply an intensity to something like asking the Tiny Pet, “Where does it hurt?” that puts a little intensity somewhere.  There’s going to be a reaction, and it’s going to manifest in some way; however, you are relating with that Tiny Pet; and you’ll feel in you where that’s happening.  That’s where you start.  Forget what the words are of that they say, or not.  You could include that if you want; however, that’s not the point.  That’s not the answer.

Okay.  Maybe we had better finish.

Sat Nam.  Sat Nam.  Sat Nam.  (silent prayer….)

 

Today: Your efforts are merging with broader, more powerful forces, producing general well-being.- from the I Ching

Your efforts are merging with broader, more powerful forces, producing general well-being.

A quote from Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 8 – The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.

Meditation: TCH20 02 960722 – Increase the Power of the Infinite Within

No Superstition and the Vagus Nerve – HNS Class Golden Bridge 2012-12-12

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See Previous previous reading

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

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Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
46 – Forty-Six. Shêng / Upward Mobility

Beneath the Soil, the Seedling pushes upward toward the light:
To preserve his integrity, the Superior Person contents himself with small gains that eventually lead to great accomplishment.

Supreme Success.
Have no doubts.
Seek guidance from someone you respect.
A constant move toward greater clarity will bring reward.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are progressing, rising inch-by-inch toward certain success.
What makes this assured is your refusal to tilt headlong toward your goal, slamming into obstacles and going mad with frustration.
You have a clear map before you of the steps necessary to reach your objective.
With faithful patience and a careful conservation of personal energy and resources, you will run this long, slow distance.

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

ou rise to a level where you are made welcome as a peer.

Pushing upward that meets with confidence
Brings great good fortune.

Wawona Drive-Through Tree

Wawona Drive-Through Tree – Yosemite National Park1

This is the situation at the beginning of ascent. Just as wood draws strength for its upward push from the root, which in itself is in the lowest place, so the power to rise comes from this low and obscure station. But there is a spiritual affinity with the rulers above, and this solidarity creates the confidence needed to accomplish something.


1. The Wawona Tree, also known as the Wawona Tunnel Tree, was a famous giant sequoia that stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, until 1969.
It had a height of 227 feet (69 m) and was 26 feet (7.9 m) in diameter at the base.
The Wawona Tree fell in 1969 under a heavy load of snow on its crown.
The giant sequoia is estimated to have been 2,300 years old.
When the giant tree fell, there was much debate over what to do with it.
It has remained where it fell primarily for ecological reasons, but still serves as a popular tourist destination.
Because of their size, giant sequoias can create vast new ecosystems when they fall, providing habitat for insects and animals and allowing new plant growth.
It is now known as the Fallen Tunnel Tree.

Fallen Tunnel Tree

Fallen Tunnel Tree


Other “tunnel tree” sequoias

At Calaveras Big Trees State Park the iconic “Pioneer Cabin Tree”, also known as “The Tunnel Tree”, was carved out to emulate the Wawona Tree.
It fell during a rainstorm and flooding on Sunday January 8, 2017.
Measuring 33 feet in circumference, its exact age and height were not known.
In the 1880s the tree was hollowed out by a private land owner, so that tourists could pass through it; the tree was chosen in part because it bore a large forest fire scar.
The tunnel caused severe damage to the tree.
For many years automobiles drove through it as part of the “Big Trees Trail”.
It shattered on impact with the ground.

11 – Eleven. T’ai / Peace

Heaven and Earth embrace, giving birth to Peace.
The Superior Person serves as midwife, presenting the newborn gift to the people.

The small depart; the great approach.
Success.
Good fortune.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

It doesn’t get any better than this.
Everything is in harmony, all obstacles are cleared from your Path, anything you could ask for is right at hand.
This is the Elysian Fields, the Garden of Eden.
The only thing wrong with Peace is that it, too, must change.
Whether you are in this state of harmony now or it is predicted for your future, recognize it as your greatest opportunity to build your resources against less harmonious times.