Tag: Tao Te Ching

Previous reading: “Those who have risen to power and turned things upside down may soften their approach to rule. Look for gradual change for the better.”

Previous previous reading: “Hold to the character of your close relationships. When challenged, do not be swayed to act against what has always worked for you.”

Meditation: LA159 800318 NAAD KRIYA

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

61 – Sixty-One. Chung Fu / Inner Truth

The gentle Wind ripples the Lake’s surface:
The Superior Person finds common ground between points of contention, wearing away rigid perspectives that would lead to fatal error.

Pigs and fishes.
You may cross to the far shore.
Great fortune if you stay on course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The subject of this hexagram discovers a key to Tranquility by first gaining insight into his own nature, then turning that vision outward.
By resolving inner conflicts and being at peace with himself, he learns to gain insight into others.
In effect, he enters another, sees with the other’s eyes, listens with the other’s ears, feels with the other’s heart.
He then returns to his own center, with new perspective and understanding.

Six in the third place means:

True companions share their fate.
One beats the drum, one grows silent.
One weeps, one sings.

He finds a comrade.
Now he beats the drum, now he stops.
Now he sobs, now he sings.

Ever Changing Moods by Jaybe

Here the source of a man’s strength lies not in himself but in his relation to other people. No matter how close to them he may be, if his centre of gravity depends on them, he is inevitably tossed to and fro between joy and sorrow. Rejoicing to high heaven, then sad to death – this is the fate of those who depend on an inner accord with other persons whom they love. Here we have only the statement of the law that this is so. Whether this condition is felt to be an affliction or the supreme happiness of love, is left to the subjective verdict of the person concerned.

37 – Thirty-Seven. Chia Jên / Family Duties

Warming Air Currents rise and spread from the Hearthfire:
The Superior Person weighs his words carefully and is consistent in his behavior.

Be as faithful as a good wife.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

One in this situation must be keenly aware of his influence on others.
Maintain a healthy respect for the ripple effect of your words and deeds.
To some you serve as a role model.
You can either help shape their world or tilt them into chaos.
Show temperance and consideration to all.

Today: “The highest, most effective energy on this planet is the word.” – Yogi Bhajan

“The highest, most effective energy on this planet is the word. There is nothing beyond it, there shall be nothing beyond it, and there was nothing beyond it; therefore, we must consciously understand the power of the word. When we understand the power of the word and we apply the whole mind behind the word, then we create the word which can create the whole world for us.” Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 58 – “If a country is governed with tolerance, the people are comfortable and honest”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 59 – For governing a country well there is nothing better than moderation

Tao Te Ching – Verse 59

For governing a country well
there is nothing better than moderation.
The mark of a moderate man is freedom from his own ideas.
Tolerant like the sky,
all-pervading like sunlight,
firm like a mountain,
supple like a tree in the wind,
he has no destination in view
and makes use of anything
life happens to bring his way.

Nothing is impossible for him.
Because he has let go,
he can care for the people’s welfare
as a mother cares for her child. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 59 – For governing a country well there is nothing better than moderation”

“Those who have risen to power and turned things upside down may soften their approach to rule. Look for gradual change for the better.” – Today’s Reading

Those who have risen to power and turned things upside down may soften their approach to rule. Look for gradual change for the better.

Inferior people who have risen to power illegitimately do not feel equal to the responsibility they have taken upon themselves. In their hearts they begin to be ashamed, although at first they do not show it outwardly. This marks a turn for the better.

Today: “Regardless of your history of abuses or kindness, opportunity, or challenge, it is within you to direct your mind. ” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Lecture and Meditation: Patience Pays – LA-19831020

Kriya: Awakening Yourself to Your Ten Bodies

Previous reading: “Hold to the character of your close relationships. When challenged, do not be swayed to act against what has always worked for you.” –

Previous previous reading: “Persevere step by step, steady and with confidence. You will find the nourishment you seek.”

Meditation: NM0420-20011015 – The Power of Memories – Remember the Saint Within

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

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.

Six in the third place means:

They bear shame.

Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI in the Garden of the Tuilerie

53 – Fifty-Three. Chien / Gradual Progress

The gnarled Pine grows tenaciously off the Cliff face:
The Superior Person clings faithfully to dignity and integrity, thus elevating the Collective Spirit of Man in his own small way.
Development.
The maiden is given in marriage.
Good fortune if you stay on course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Adaptability mixed with integrity will bring a calm, steady progress.
Move from your center, always faithful to your principles, yet with the flexibility to weather any tempest.
Yours is not a meteoric rise to the top, but the solid, confident footing of one who has a clear vision of what can be, and who is willing to climb the distance to reach it.
The oracle foresees companionship along the way — a Divine comfort on any journey.

Today: “Regardless of your history of abuses or kindness, opportunity, or challenge, it is within you to direct your mind. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“Regardless of your history of abuses or kindness, opportunity, or challenge, it is within you to direct your mind. You can be a saint; you can be a human; or you can be a demon. You can act as an animal at the altitude of impulse and ground, as an earthling human at the altitude of feelings and horizon, or as an angel at the altitude of essence, Infinity, and the cosmos. It is your choice.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0163 – Feel God Within You, The Kindness in You

Tao Te Ching – Verse 57 – If you want to be a great leader, you must learn to follow the Tao.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 58 – “If a country is governed with tolerance, the people are comfortable and honest”

Tao Te Ching – Verse 58

If a country is governed with tolerance,
the people are comfortable and honest.
If a country is governed with repression,
the people are depressed and crafty.
When the will to power is in charge,
the higher the ideals, the lower the results.
Try to make people happy,
and you lay the groundwork for misery.
Try to make people moral,
and you lay the groundwork for vice. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 58 – “If a country is governed with tolerance, the people are comfortable and honest””

“Hold to the character of your close relationships. When challenged, do not be swayed to act against what has always worked for you.” – Today’s Reading

Hold to the character of your close relationships. When challenged, do not be swayed to act against what has always worked for you.

Today: “Life is in a balance. The swings in the mind are there to give you experience and to let you discover the you within you. ” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA741 – 921125 – Dance of Shiva

Meditation: NM038 – “To Have a Happy Body Increase Vitality, Release Pressure in Body, Balance Endocrines”

Meditation: M074 – 920423 – Balance the Pineal and Pituitary

Kriya: Awakening Yourself to Your Ten Bodies

Previous reading: “Persevere step by step, steady and with confidence. You will find the nourishment you seek.”

Previous previous reading: “Contemplate your plan before executing it, particularly where danger is involved. Allow every aspect to emerge and be included in your view. Danger will not disappear, only the odds of success are far greater.”

Meditation: LA741 – 921125 – Dance of Shiva

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

32 – Thirty-Two. Hêng / Durability

Arousing Thunder and penetrating Wind.
Close companions in any storm:
The Superior Person possesses a resiliency and durability that lets him remain firmly and faithfully on course.

Such constancy deserves success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Endurance is the key to success in this situation.
However, durability is not synonymous with stone-like rigidity.
True resilience requires a flexibility that allows adaptation to any adverse condition, while still remaining true to the core.
Can you maintain your integrity under any circumstance?
Can you influence the situation without giving opposing forces anything to resist?
Then you will endure to reach your goal.

Six in the fifth place means:

To submit to insult is to invite injury.

Giving duration to one’s character through perseverance.
This is good fortune for a woman, misfortune for a man.

A woman should follow a man her whole life long, but a man should at all times hold to what is his duty at the given moment. Should he persistently seek to conform to the woman, it would be a mistake for him. Accordingly it is altogether right for a woman to hold conservatively to tradition, but a man must always be flexible and adaptable and allow himself to be guided solely by what his duty requires of him at the moment.

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.

Today: “Life is in a balance. The swings in the mind are there to give you experience and to let you discover the you within you. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“Life is in a balance. The swings in the mind are there to give you experience and to let you discover the you within you. For all those who will praise and recognize you, there may be an equal number who want to slander you. You may wonder, “Why?” That balance and swing lets your standard be tested. You cannot hold to something external. You must find your own depth and test it, confirm it.” Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 56 – Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 57 – If you want to be a great leader, you must learn to follow the Tao.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 57

If you want to be a great leader,
you must learn to follow the Tao.
Stop trying to control.
Let go of fixed plans and concepts,
and the world will govern itself.
The more prohibitions you have,
the less virtuous people will be.
The more weapons you have,
the less secure people will be.
The more subsidies you have,
the less self-reliant people will be. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 57 – If you want to be a great leader, you must learn to follow the Tao.”

“Persevere step by step, steady and with confidence. You will find the nourishment you seek.” – Today’s Reading

Persevere step by step, steady and with confidence. You will find the nourishment you seek.

When a man is advancing farther and farther, it is important for him not to become intoxicated by success. Precisely when he experiences great success it is necessary to remain sober and not to try to skip any stages; he must go on slowly, step by step, as though hesitant. Only such calm, steady progress, overleaping nothing, leads to the goal.

Today: “When you conquer your mind you can listen to wisdom and let it find deep roots in your mind to serve you, to come to you whenever you need direction. ” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA918 970908 Internal Effectiveness

Meditation: LA950 A00214 20000214 Develop Self-Reliance

Previous reading: “Contemplate your plan before executing it, particularly where danger is involved. Allow every aspect to emerge and be included in your view. Danger will not disappear, only the odds of success are far greater.”

Previous previous reading: “The collective psyche is damaged, if not broken. You are a source of sustenance. Offer the despondent comfort, sincerity and kindness as they heal.”

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

Meditation: Listening to Angelic Whispers – from the Mind

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

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 in the fifth place means:

Climb these steps to good fortune.

Perseverance brings good fortune.
One pushes upward by steps.

Mount Fanjing – south-west China
the Temple of the Buddha and the Temple of Maitreya ¹

1. Mount Fanjing
We’re in Guizhou province looking at a spire called Red Clouds Golden Summit on Mount Fanjing in south-west China. Rising more than 100 metres above the surrounding mountaintop, visitors will need to climb almost 9,000 steps to reach the summit. Look closely at the image and you can see how the stairs swirl up and around the rock formation and through a gorge.

The buildings you see perched at the top are two Buddhist temples – the Temple of the Buddha and the Temple of Maitreya – linked by a small footbridge. For visitors who don’t want to walk to the top, there’s a cable car that will take you two-thirds of the way there. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2018.

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.

Today: “When you conquer your mind you can listen to wisdom and let it find deep roots in your mind to serve you, to come to you whenever you need direction. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“When you conquer your mind you can listen to wisdom and let it find deep roots in your mind to serve you, to come to you whenever you need direction. You can also speak that wisdom simply. Such wisdom forms rules for life. If you listen carefully to simple wisdom, it enriches the mind and opens the heart to your own intuition.” Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 55 – He who is in harmony with the Tao is like a newborn child

Tao Te Ching – Verse 56 – Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 56

Those who know don’t talk.
Those who talk don’t know.
Close your mouth,
block off your senses,
blunt your sharpness,
untie your knots,
soften your glare,
settle your dust.
This is the primal identity.
Be like the Tao.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 56 – Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know.”

“Contemplate your plan before executing it, particularly where danger is involved. Allow every aspect to emerge and be included in your view. Danger will not disappear, only the odds of success are far greater.” – Today’s Reading

Contemplate your plan before executing it, particularly where danger is involved. Allow every aspect to emerge and be included in your view. Danger will not disappear, only the odds of success are far greater.

Today: “Each cause must have an effect, and every effect honors its cause. ” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Recap: Healing and Meditation Class at Yoga West with Hari Nam Singh 2018-12-10-The Hukam

Meditation: LA544 – 870610 – Know and Experience the Unknown

Previous reading: “The collective psyche is damaged, if not broken. You are a source of sustenance. Offer the despondent comfort, sincerity and kindness as they heal.”

Previous previous reading: “You will attract the correct allies by giving them a choice. Nothing good can come by force.”

Meditation: LA653-900612 – Self Hypnotic Trance

See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading

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.

Nine at the beginning [yang at bottom] means:

Roaming his own garden and courtyard, he never strays out the gate.
No mistake.

Not going out of the door and the courtyard
Is without blame.

Chinese courtyard

Often a man who would like to undertake something finds himself confronted by insurmountable limitations. Then he must know where to stop. If he rightly understands this and does not go beyond the limits set for him, he accumulates an energy that enables him, when the proper time comes, to act with great force. Discretion is of prime importance in preparing the way for momentous things. Concerning this, Kongfu (Confucius) says:

Where disorder develops, words are the first steps. If the prince is not discreet, he loses his servant. If the servant is not discreet he loses his life. If germinating things are not handled with discretion, the perfecting of them is impeded. Therefore the superior man is careful to maintain silence and does not go forth.

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.

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Today: “Each cause must have an effect, and every effect honors its cause. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“Each cause must have an effect, and every effect honors its cause. Each word is a cause. Every identity is a cause with its own effects and reality. So a teacher is a teacher, not a human. His effect is teaching, not everything else. To identify your identity and act and speak directly from that with a Neutral Mind gives you caliber, success, and happiness. It trains your mind to use its power to serve you.” Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 54 – Whoever is planted in the Tao will not be rooted up

Tao Te Ching – Verse 55 – He who is in harmony with the Tao is like a newborn child

Tao Te Ching – Verse 55

He who is in harmony with the Tao
is like a newborn child.
Its bones are soft, its muscles are weak,
but its grip is powerful.
It doesn’t know about the union
of male and female, yet its member can stand erect, so intense is its vital power.
It can scream its head off all day,
yet it never becomes hoarse,
so complete is its harmony. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 55 – He who is in harmony with the Tao is like a newborn child”

“The collective psyche is damaged, if not broken. You are a source of sustenance. Offer the despondent comfort, sincerity and kindness as they heal.” – Today’s Reading

The collective psyche is damaged, if not broken. You are a source of sustenance. Offer the despondent comfort, sincerity and kindness as they heal.

Today: “Technically, the best approach is to do jappa—repeat the words and mantras we use in Kundalini Yoga and from the Shabd Guru.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: NM0163 – Feel God Within You, The Kindness in You

Meditation: NM0420-20011015 – The Power of Memories – Remember the Saint Within

Previous reading: “You will attract the correct allies by giving them a choice. Nothing good can come by force.”

Previous previous reading: “In this time of mass delusion there is nothing more to do than to leave people to their folly. Everyone will simply have to live the consequences. Just live your own identity.”