Today: “We are here to serve and to help each other.” – from the I Ching

We are here to serve and to help each other.  Our service comes from inner conviction.  As such, we are graced with the great power and resources to accomplish our intentions.

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Meditation: NM0336 – For Inner Strength

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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.

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.

Six in the fourth place means:

He flutters down, not boasting of his wealth,
Together with his neighbor,
Guileless and sincere.

In times of mutual confidence, people of high rank come in close contact with the lowly quite simply and without boasting of their wealth. This is not due to the force of circumstances but corresponds with their inmost sentiment. The approach is made quite spontaneously, because it is based on inner conviction.

34 – Thirty-Four Ta Chuang / Awesome Power

Thunder fills the Heavens with its awful roar, not out of pride, but with integrity; if it did less, it would not be Thunder:
Because of his Great Power, the Superior Person takes pains not to overstep his position, so that he will not seem intimidating or threatening to the Established Order.

Opportunity will arise along this course.

The Awesome Power available in this hexagram stems from what the Taoists call your Te, a term not perfectly translated into English.
Roughly, it is your Integrity — not in the Western sense of honor — but more in the psychological definition of a full integration of Who You Are.
This Awesome Power is achieved only by fully embracing both the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, the masculine and the feminine — all polarities within you.
Such self-knowledge spawns a Mastery tempered with the humility necessary to rein in and harness this Awesome Power.


 


Today: “When the one-pointed, infinite beam of the mind starts sending the signal into the infinity” Yogi Bhajan

“When the one-pointed, infinite beam of the mind starts sending the signal into the infinity and the infinity relates to the finite, the unit becomes united and this is called the highest stage of the yogic mind.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA935-980608- Connect the subconscious and intuition2018

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Today: “Be aware of your influence on others.” – from the I Ching

Be aware of your influence on others.  Know the impact of your words.  Use your communications wisely for positive results.

Meditation: NM0364-20001023-On Communication I

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#37

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.

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.

This hexagram represents the laws obtaining within the family. The strong line at the top represents the father, the lowest the son. The strong line in the fifth place represents the husband, the yielding second line the wife. On the other hand, the two strong lines in the fifth and the third place represent two brothers, and the two weak lines correlated with them in the fourth and the second place stand for their respective wives. Thus all the connections and relationships within the family find their appropriate expression. Each individual line has the character according with its place. The fact that a strong line occupies the sixth place – where a weak line might be expected – indicates very clearly the strong leadership that must come from the head of the family. The line is to be considered here not in its quality as the sixth but in its quality as the top line. THE FAMILY shows the laws operative within the household that, transferred to outside life, keep the state and the world in order. The influence that goes out from within the family is represented by the symbol of the wind created by fire.

THE FAMILY. The perseverance of the woman furthers.

The foundation of the family is the relationship between husband and wife. The tie that hold the family together lies in the loyalty and perseverance of the wife. Her place is within (second line), while that of the husband is without (fifth line). It is in accord with the great laws of nature that husband and wife take their proper places. Within the family a strong authority is needed; this is represented by the parents. If the father is really a father and the son a son, if the elder brother fulfils his position, and the younger fulfils his, if the husband is really a husband and the wife a wife, then the family is in order. When the family is in order, all the social relationships of mankind will be in order.
Three of the five social relationships are to be found within the family – that between father and son, which is the relation of love, that between the husband and wife, which is the relation of chaste conduct, and that between elder and younger brother, which is the relation of correctness. The loving reverence of the son is then carried over to the prince in the form of faithfulness to duty; the affection and correctness of behavior existing between the two brothers are extended to a friend in the form of loyalty, and to a person of superior rank in the form of deference. The family is society in embryo; it is the native soil on which performance of moral duty is made easy through natural affection, so that within a small circle a basis of moral practice is created, and this is later widened to include human relationships in general.

Wind comes forth from fire:
The image of THE FAMILY.
Thus the superior man has substance in his words
And duration in his way of life.

Heat creates energy: this is signified by the wind stirred up by the fire and issuing forth from it. This represents influence working from within outward. The same thing is needed in the regulation of the family. Here too the influence on others must proceed from one’s own person. In order to be capable of producing such an influence, one’s words must have power, and this they can have only if they are based on something real, just as flame depends on its fuel. Words have influence only when they are pertinent and clearly related to definite circumstances. General discourses and admonitions have no effect whatsoever. Furthermore, the words must be supported by one’s entire conduct, just as the wind is made effective by its duration. Only firm and consistent conduct will make such an impression on others that they can adapt and conform to it. If words and conduct are not in accord and not consistent, they will have no effect.


 


Today: “The Creator created the creature to realize the state of the stability, the finite of the infinity.” Yogi Bhajan

“The Creator created the creature to realize the state of the stability, the finite of the infinity.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny

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Reading from March 26 regarding the state of the corona virus – from the I Ching

The world is being overwhelmed by the spread of the virus.  Immediate, drastic measures must be taken to mitigate the spread.  Stagnation is imminent.  The crux of the matter is this:

Nine in the third place means:
The ridgepole sags to the breaking point.
Misfortune.

This indicates a type of man who in times of preponderance of the great insists on pushing ahead. He accepts no advice from others, and therefore they in turn are not willing to lend him support. Because of this the burden grows, until the structure of things bends or breaks. Plunging willfully ahead in times of danger only hastens the catastrophe.

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Today: I Ching – Previous Readings

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#28, Line 3, #12

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.

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 third place means:
The ridgepole sags to the breaking point.
Misfortune.

This indicates a type of man who in times of preponderance of the great insists on pushing ahead. He accepts no advice from others, and therefore they in turn are not willing to lend him support. Because of this the burden grows, until the structure of things bends or breaks. Plunging willfully ahead in times of danger only hastens the catastrophe.

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.

It is natural to assume that, if Earth above Heaven forms the hexagram for Peace and Paradise, then the opposite configuration, with Heaven over Earth would represent the antithesis of Paradise, Hell.
Not so.
This hexagram is actually the Dark side of Peace, its unsavory byproduct, Stagnation.
In a time when most of our wants are provided, there is little need for the heroes, the artists, the great thinkers and innovators.
As they recede into the shadows, Idleness, Apathy, and Lassitude come to the forefront.
Peace has become boring, bland, unchallenging — Stagnant.
Now our attention turns to the quick fix, the instant celebrity, the fad, the one-nighter, the current buzz.
There is no room for depth.
If you are a passionate soul, you must wait for a better time to find kindred spirits.
In these times, they are only curious legends, bas-relief, dead poets.


 


Today: “Do not adopt urgent measures halfway.  You must must mitigate the danger immediately.” – from the I Ching

Do not adopt urgent measures halfway.  You must must mitigate the danger immediately.

Meditation:  KWTC19950725 Meditation to Balance the Tattvas 

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#47, Line 4, #29

A Dead Sea, its Waters spent eons ago, more deadly than the desert surrounding it:
The Superior Person will stake his life and fortune on what he deeply believes.

Triumph belongs to those who endure.
Trial and tribulation can hone exceptional character to a razor edge that slices deftly through every challenge.
Action prevails where words will fail.

This is the realm of the Shaman.
You have exhausted every alternative, spent yourself completely, taxed body and mind beyond your former limits.
Survival and salvation lie beyond your reach now.
Only transcendence to a new existence — a higher plane of being — will see you through.
The Old You is just a dry husk.
You can’t return to it.
Metamorphosis is the only grace offered.
You can only return to your homeland as a New You.

Nine in the fourth place means:
He comes very quietly, oppressed in a golden carriage.
Humiliation, but the end is reached.

A well-to-do man sees the need of the lower classes and would like very much to be of help. But instead of proceeding with speed and energy where there is need, he begins in a hesitant and measured way. Then he encounters obstructions. Powerful and wealthy acquaintances draw him into their circle; he has to do as they do and cannot withdraw from them. Hence he finds himself in great embarrassment. But the trouble is transitory. The original strength of his nature offsets the mistake he has made, and the goal is reached.

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.

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.


 


Today: “Any man who creates environments to show clarity about the causes and effects of the Creator…” Yogi Bhajan

“Any man who creates environments to show clarity about the causes and effects of the Creator—beauty and bounty in this world—gets merged into infinity.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0415 – 20010910 – Karma & Dharma

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Today: “We have to understand the basic fundamental existence of ours—to understand the spirit.” Yogi Bhajan

“We have to understand the basic fundamental existence of ours—to understand the spirit. Once you understand the spirit you are all right.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0415 – 20010910 – Karma & Dharma

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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.

The Magical Story of Mushkil Gusha

ONCE upon a time, not a thousand miles from here, there lived a poor old wood-cutter, who was a widower, and his little daughter. He used to go every day into the mountains to cut firewood which he brought home and tied into bundles. Then he used to have breakfast and walk into the nearest town, where he would sell his wood and rest for a time before returning home.

One day, when he got home very late, the girl said to him: ‘Father, I sometimes wish that we would have some nicer food, and more and different kinds of things to eat.’

‘Very well, my child,’ said the old man, ‘tomorrow I shall get up much earlier than I usually do. I shall go further into the mountains where there is more wood, and I shall bring back a much larger quantity than usual. I will get home earlier and I will be able to bundle the wood sooner, and I will go into town and sell it so that we can have more money and I shall bring you back all kinds of nice things to eat.’

The next morning the wood-cutter rose before dawn and went into the mountains. He worked very hard cutting wood and trimming it and made it into a huge bundle which he carried on his back to his little house.

When he got home, it was still very early. He put his load of wood down, and knocked on the door, saying, ‘Daughter, Daughter, open the door, for I am hungry and thirsty and I need a meal before I go to market.’

But the door was locked. The wood-cutter was so tired that he lay down and was soon fast asleep beside his bundle. The little girl, having forgotten all about their conversation the night before, was fast asleep in bed. When he woke up a few hours later, the sun was high. The wood-cutter knocked at the door again and again and said, ‘Daughter, Daughter, come quickly; I must have a little food and go to market to sell the wood; for it is already much later than my usual time of starting.’

But, having forgotten all about the conversation the night before, the little girl had meanwhile got up, tidied the house, and gone out for a walk. She had locked the door assuming in her forgetfulness that her father was still in the town.

So the wood-cutter thought to himself, ‘It is now rather late to go into the town. I will therefore return to the mountains and cut another bundle of wood, which I will bring home, and tomorrow I will take a double load to market.’

All that day the old man toiled in the mountains cutting wood and shaping the branches. When he got home with the wood on his shoulders, it was evening.

He put down his burden behind the house, knocked on the door and said, ‘Daughter, Daughter, open the door for I am tired and I have eaten nothing all the day. I have a double bundle of wood which I hope to take to market tomorrow. Tonight I must sleep well so that I will be strong.’

But there was no answer, for the little girl when she came home had felt very sleepy, and had made a meal for herself, and gone to bed. She had been rather worried at first that her father was not at home, but she decided that he must have arranged to stay in the town overnight.

Once again the wood-cutter, finding that he could not get into the house, tired, hungry and thirsty, lay down by his bundles of wood and fell fast asleep. He could not keep awake, although he was fearful for what might have happened to the little girl.

Now the wood-cutter, because he was so cold and hungry and tired, woke up very, very early the next morning: before it was even light.

He sat up, and looked around, but he could not see anything. And then a strange thing  happened. The wood-cutter thought he heard a voice saying: ‘Hurry, hurry! Leave your wood and come this way. If you need enough, and you want little enough, you shall have delicious food.’

The wood-cutter stood up and walked in the direction of the voice. And he walked and he walked; but he found nothing.

By now he was colder and hungrier and more tired than ever, and he was lost. He had been full of hope, but that did not seem to have helped him. Now he felt sad, and he wanted to cry. But he realized that crying would not help him either, so he lay down and fell asleep.

Quite soon he woke up again. It was too cold, and he was too hungry, to sleep. So he decided to tell himself, as if in a story, everything that had happened to him since his little daughter had first said that she wanted a different kind of food.

As soon as he had finished his story, he thought he heard another voice, saying, somewhere above him, out of the dawn, ‘Old man, what are you doing sitting there?’

‘I am telling myself my own story,’ said the wood-cutter.

‘And what is that?’ said the voice.

The old man repeated his tale. ‘Very well,’ said the voice. And then the voice told the old wood-cutter to close his eyes and to mount as it were, a step. ‘But I do not see any step,’ said the old man. ‘Never mind, but do as I say,’ said the voice.

The old man did as he was told. As soon as he had closed his eyes he found that he was standing up and as he raised his right foot he felt that there was something like a step under it. He started to ascend what seemed to be a staircase. Suddenly the whole flight of steps started to move, very fast, and the voice said, ‘Do not open your eyes until I tell you to do so.’

In a very short time, the voice told the old man to open his eyes. When he did he found that he was in a place which looked rather like a desert, with the sun beating down on him. He was surrounded by masses and masses of pebbles; pebbles of all colours: red, green, blue and white. But he seemed to be alone. He looked all around him, and could not see anyone, but the voice started to speak again.

‘Take up as many of these stones as you can,’ said the voice, ‘Then close your eyes, and walk down the steps once more.’

The wood-cutter did as he was told, and he found himself, when he opened his eyes again at the voice’s bidding, standing before the door of his own house.

He knocked at the door and his little daughter answered it. She asked him where he had been, and he told her, although she could hardly understand what he was saying, it all sounded so confusing.

They went into the house, and the little girl and her father shared the last food which they had, which was a handful of dried dates. When they had finished, the old man thought that he heard the voice speaking to him again, a voice just like the other one which had told him to climb the stairs.

The voice said, ‘Although you may not know it yet, you have been saved by Mushkil Gusha. Remember that Mushkil Gusha is always here. Make sure that every Thursday night you eat some dates and give some to any needy person, and tell the story of Mushkil Gusha. Or give a gift in the name of Mushkil Gusha to someone who will help the needy. Make sure that the story of Mushkil Gusha is never, never forgotten. If you do this, and if this is done by those to whom you tell the story, the people who are in real need will always find their way.’

The wood-cutter put all the stones which he had brought back from the desert in a corner of his little house. They looked very much like ordinary stones, and he did not know what to do with them.

The next day he took his two enormous bundles of wood to the market, and sold them easily for a high price. When he got home he took his daughter all sort of delicious kinds of food, which she had never tasted before. And when they had eaten it, the old wood-cutter said, ‘Now I am going to tell you the whole story of Mushkil Gusha. Mushkil Gusha is the remover of all difficulties. Our difficulties have been removed through Mushkil Gusha and we must always remember it.’

For nearly a week after that the old man carried on as usual. He went into the mountains, brought back wood, had a meal, took the wood to market and sold it. He always found a buyer without difficulty.

Now the next Thursday came, and, as it is the way of men, the wood-cutter forgot to repeat the tale of Mushkil Gusha.

Late that evening, in the house of the wood-cutter’s neighbours, the fire had gone out. The neighbourshad nothing with which to re-light the fire, and they went to the house of the wood-cutter. They said, ‘Neighbour, neighbour, please give us a light from those wonderful lamps of yours which we see shining through the window.’

‘What lamps?’ said the wood-cutter.

‘Come outside,’ said the neighbours, ‘and see what we mean.’

So the wood-cutter went outside and then he saw, sure enough, all kinds of brilliant lights shining through the window from the inside.

He went back to the house, and saw that the light was streaming from the pile of pebbles which he had put in the corner. But the rays of light were cold, and it was not possible to use them to light a fire. So he went out to the neighbours and said, ‘Neighbours, I am sorry, but I have no fire.’ And he banged the door in their faces. They were annoyed and confused, and went back to their house, muttering. They leave our story here.

The wood-cutter and his daughter quickly covered up the brilliant lights with every piece of cloth they could find, for fear that anyone would see what a treasure they had. The next morning, when they uncovered the stones, they discovered that they were precious, luminous gems.

They took the jewels, one by one, to neighbouring towns, where they sold them for a huge price. Now the wood-cutter decided to build for himself and for his daughter a wonderful palace. They chose a site just opposite the castle of the king of their country. In a very short time a marvellous building had come into being.

Now that particular king had a beautiful daughter, and one day when she got up in the morning, she saw a sort of fairy-tale castle just opposite her father’s and she was amazed. She asked her servants, ‘Who has built this castle? What right have these people to do such a thing so near to our home?’

The servants went away and made enquiries and they came back and told the story, as far as they could collect it, to the princess.

The princess called for the little daughter of the wood-cutter, for she was angry with her, but when the two girls met and talked they soon became fast friends. They started to meet every day and went to swim and play in the stream which had been made for the princess by her father. A few days after they first met, the princess took off a beautiful and valuable necklace and hung it up on a tree just beside the stream. She forgot to take it down when she came out of the water, and when she got home she thought it must have been lost.

The princess thought a little and then decided that the daughter of the wood-cutter had stolen her necklace. So she told her father, and he had the wood-cutter arrested; he confiscated the castle and declared forfeit everything that the wood-cutter had. The old man was thrown into prison, and the daughter was put into an orphanage.

As it was the custom in that country, after a period of time the wood-cutter was taken from the dungeon and put in the public square, chained to a post, with a sign around his neck. On the sign was written ‘This is what happens to those who steal from Kings.’

At first people gathered around him, and jeered and threw things at him. He was most unhappy.

But quite soon, as is the way of men, everyone became used to the sight of the old man sitting there by his post, and took very little notice of him. Sometimes people threw him scraps of food, sometimes they did not.

One day he overheard somebody saying that it was Thursday afternoon. Suddenly, the thought came into his mind that it would soon be the evening of Mushkil Gusha, the remover of all difficulties, and that he had forgotten to commemorate him for so many days. No sooner had this thought come into his head, than a charitable man, passing by, threw him a tiny coin. The wood-cutter called out: ‘Generous friend, you have given me money, which is of no use to me. If, however, your kindness could extend to buying one or two dates and coming and sitting and eating them with me, I would be eternally grateful to you.’

The other man went and bought a few dates. And they sat and ate them together. When they had finished, the wood-cutter told the other man the story of Mushkil Gusha. ‘I think you must be mad,’ said the generous man. But he was a kindly person who himself had many difficulties. When he arrived home after this incident, he found that all his problems had disappeared. And that made him start to think a great deal about Mushkil Gusha. But he leaves our story here.

The very next morning the princess went back to her bathing-place. As she was about to go into the water, she saw what looked like her necklace down at the bottom of the stream. As she was going to dive in to try to get it back, she happened to sneeze. Her head went up, and she saw that what she had thought was the necklace was only its reflection in the water. It was hanging on the bough of the tree where she had left it such a long time before. Taking the necklace down, the princess ran excitedly to her father and told him what had happened. The King gave orders for the wood-cutter to be released and given a public apology. The little girl was brought back from the orphanage, and everyone lived happily ever after.

These are some of the incidents in the story of Mushkil Gusha. It is a very long tale and it is never ended. It has many forms. Some of them are even not called the story of Mushkil Gusha at all, so people do not recognise it. But it is because of Mushkil Gusha that his story, in whatever form, is remembered by somebody, somewhere in the world, day and night, wherever there are people. As his story had always been recited, so it will always continue to be told.

Will you repeat the story of Mushkil Gusha on Thursday nights, and help the work of Mushkil Gusha?

*                *                *

A hand and a foot do not clap together.

Proverb.                            

Idries Shah: CARAVAN OF DREAMS, The Octagon Press, London 1968

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….)