Today: “Balance your level of self discipline with your ability to maintain it.  Do not overdo it. – from the I Ching

Balance your level of self discipline with your ability to maintain it.  Do not overdo it.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 63 – Act without doing; work without effort

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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Reading

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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.

Six at the top means:  

Self-discipline teetering toward self-destruction.
An empty martyrdom.
Turn back.

Galling limitation.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
Remorse disappears.

L'Ascète

“L’Ascète”, 1903 – Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

If one is too severe in setting up restrictions, people will not endure them. The more consistent such severity, the worse it is, for in the long run a reaction is unavoidable. In the same way, the tormented body will rebel against excessive asceticism. On the other hand, although ruthless severity is not to be applied persistently and systematically, there may be times when it is the only means of safeguarding against guilt and remorse. In such situations ruthlessness toward oneself is the only means of saving one’s soul, which otherwise would succumb to irresolution and temptation.
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.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “There is nothing more precious than the self” – Yogi Bhajan

“There is nothing more precious than the self. There is nothing more beautiful than the self. There is nothing greater than the self. Only with the self can you realize that there is a God, a Supreme Consciousness of the Supreme Self.” Yogi Bhajan

 

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

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 63 – Act without doing; work without effort

Tao Te Ching – Verse 63

Act without doing;
work without effort.
Think of the small as large
and the few as many.
Confront the difficult
while it is still easy;
accomplish the great task
by a series of small acts.

Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 63 – Act without doing; work without effort”

Today: “You must merge with the group that you lead.  Success and failure are experienced equally with every member of the group.” – from the I Ching

You must merge with the group that you lead.  Success and failure are experienced equally with every member of the group.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 62 – The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man’s treasure, the bad man’s refuge.

https://www.harinam.com/meditation-to-know-the-psyche-of-the-other/

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Reading

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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?

Nine in the second place means:
In the midst of the army.
Good fortune. No blame.
The king bestows a triple decoration.

Marie Schellinck

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) presenting the female officer, Marie Schellinck with a medal on the battlefield, illustration from Le Petit Journal, September 1894

The leader should be in the midst of his army, in touch with it, sharing good and bad with the masses he leads. This alone makes him equal to the heavy demands made upon him. He needs also the recognition of the ruler. The decorations he receives are justified, because there is no question of personal preferment here: the whole army, whose centre he is, is honored in his person.
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.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “What is man’s destiny? Man’s destiny is to merge with infinity.” – Yogi Bhajan

“What is man’s destiny? Man’s destiny is to merge with infinity. You should not only know it, you should experience it. Experiencing in yourself the vastness of infinity is the aim of human life.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 62 – The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man’s treasure, the bad man’s refuge.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 62

The Tao is the center of the universe,
the good man’s treasure,
the bad man’s refuge.

Honors can be bought with fine words,
respect can be won with good deeds;
but the Tao is beyond all value,
and no one can achieve it.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 62 – The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man’s treasure, the bad man’s refuge.”

Today: Seek the help you need through mutual loyalty rather than coercion.  Help each other. – from the I Ching

Seek the help you need through mutual loyalty rather than coercion.  Help each other.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 61 – When a country obtains great power, it becomes like the sea: all streams run downward into it.

Meditation: NM0406 – Know the Best of You – Share the Best with Others

Today: I Ching – Previous Readings

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Readings

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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?

yin
yin above: K’un / The Receptive, Earth
yin
yin
yang below: K’an / The Abysmal, Water
yin

 

THIS HEXAGRAM is made up of the trigrams K’an, water, and K’un, earth, and thus it symbolises the ground water stored up in the earth. In the same way military strength is stored up in the mass of the people – invisible in times of peace but always ready for use as a source of power. The attributes of the two trigrams are danger inside and obedience outside. This points to the nature of an army, which at the core is dangerous, while discipline and obedience must prevail outside.
Of the individual lines, the one that controls the hexagram is the strong nine in the second place, to which the other lines, all yielding, are subordinate. This line indicates a commander, because it stands in the middle of one of the two trigrams. But since it is in the lower rather than the upper trigram, it represents not the ruler but the efficient general, who maintains obedience in the army by his authority.

THE JUDGEMENT

The army. The army needs perseverance
And a strong man.
Good fortune without blame.

Chinese Xian warriors

Xian warriors

AN ARMY is a mass that needs organization in order to become a fighting force.
Without strict discipline nothing can be accomplished, but this discipline must not be achieved by force. It requires a strong man who captures the hearts of the people and awakens their enthusiasm. In order that he may develop his abilities he needs the complete confidence of his ruler, who must entrust him with full responsibility as long as the war lasts. But war is always a dangerous thing and brings with it destruction and devastation. Therefore it should not be resorted to rashly but, like a poisonous drug, should be used as a last recourse.
The justifying cause of a war, and clear and intelligible war aims, ought to be explained to the people by an experienced leader. Unless there is a quite definite war aim to which the people can consciously pledge themselves, the unity and strength of conviction that lead to victory will not be forthcoming. But the leader must also look to it that the passion of war and the delirium of victory do not give rise to unjust acts that will not meet with general approval. If justice and perseverance are the basis of action, all goes well.

THE IMAGE

In the middle of the earth is water:
The image of THE ARMY.
Thus the superior man increases his masses
By generosity toward the people.

GROUND WATER is invisibly present within the earth. In the same way the military power of a people is invisibly present in the masses. When danger threatens, every peasant becomes a soldier; when the war ends, he goes back to his plow. He who is generous toward the people wins their love, and a people living under a mild rule becomes strong and powerful. Only a people economically strong can be important in military power. Such power must therefore be cultivated by improving the economic condition of the people and by humane government. Only when there is this invisible bond between government and people, so that the people are sheltered by their government as ground water is sheltered by the earth, is it possible to wage a victorious war.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “recognize your own value, your own merit, consciously” – Yogi Bhajan

“If you are told to meditate in individuality to universality, it means only to recognize your own value, your own merit, consciously; and if you can do this, then everything will be all right.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0383-20010213 – Culturing the Self

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 61 – When a country obtains great power, it becomes like the sea: all streams run downward into it.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 61

When a country obtains great power,
it becomes like the sea:
all streams run downward into it.
The more powerful it grows,
the greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Tao,
thus never needing to be defensive.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 61 – When a country obtains great power, it becomes like the sea: all streams run downward into it.”

Today: Rather than seeking and grasping at what cannot be obtained, be grateful for what you do have.  With new eyes, you will see the treasures that are already yours. – from the I Ching

Rather than seeking and grasping at what cannot be obtained, be grateful for what you do have.  With new eyes, you will see the treasures that are already yours.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Today: It does no good to perform empty duties and ritual while your heart is not in it.  Find purpose in your current context, then make a sincere effort to fulfill your duties. – from the I Ching

Musings on Grace and Gratitude

Today: I Ching – Previous Readings

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Readings

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

54 – Fifty-Four.  Kuei Mei / A Loveless Marriage

The Thunderstorm inseminates the swelling Lake, then moves on where the Lake cannot follow:
The Superior Person views passing trials in the light of Eternal Truths.
Any action will prove unfortunate.
Nothing furthers.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is at best a Marriage of Convenience.
You have found yourself in desperate straits, a position of weakness, and you are tempted to pay dearly for a remedy.
A drowning man isn’t picky about who throws him a rope.
The rescue offered to you now is undesirable.
It may pull you out of this sticky situation, but it will cause even greater predicaments down the road.
Don’t obligate yourself in this way.
You are selling your future for a quick fix today.

Six in the third place means:

Not fulfilled by her marriage, the young woman returns home to her former life.

 The marrying maiden as a slave.
She marries as a concubine.

Empress and concubines

Empress and concubines

A girl who is in a lowly position and finds no husband may, in some circumstances, still win shelter as a concubine.
This pictures the situation of a person who longs too much for joys that cannot be obtained in the usual way. He enters upon a situation not altogether compatible with self-esteem. Neither judgement nor warning is added to this line; it merely lays bare the actual situation, so that everyone may draw a lesson from it.

14 – Fourteen.  Ta Yu / Great Treasures

The Fire of clarity illuminates the Heavens to those below:
The Superior Person possesses great inner treasures — compassion, economy, and modesty.
These treasures allow the benevolent will of Heaven to flow through him outward to curb evil and to further good.

Supreme success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have become an instrument of Heaven’s will, offering a balance in the world around you.
It is not swashbuckling prowess or uncanny talent that qualifies you for this office, but your simplest gifts — your modesty, your compassion, your economy.
Because you can see clearly who most needs a miracle, Heaven’s bounty is being put at your disposal.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “The freedom of instinct exists with man” – Yogi Bhajan

“The freedom of instinct exists with man and not in the vegetable or animal world. Why? Because you have a chance to find your soul.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: M043-19890623 See Your Soul Within Your Third Eye

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Today: It does no good to perform empty duties and ritual while your heart is not in it.  Find purpose in your current context, then make a sincere effort to fulfill your duties. – from the I Ching

It does no good to perform empty duties and ritual while your heart is not in it.  Find purpose in your current context, then make a sincere effort to fulfill your duties.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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

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

Today: I Ching – Previous Readings

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Readings

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54 – Fifty-Four.  Kuei Mei / A Loveless Marriage

The Thunderstorm inseminates the swelling Lake, then moves on where the Lake cannot follow:
The Superior Person views passing trials in the light of Eternal Truths.
Any action will prove unfortunate.
Nothing furthers.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is at best a Marriage of Convenience.
You have found yourself in desperate straits, a position of weakness, and you are tempted to pay dearly for a remedy.
A drowning man isn’t picky about who throws him a rope.
The rescue offered to you now is undesirable.
It may pull you out of this sticky situation, but it will cause even greater predicaments down the road.
Don’t obligate yourself in this way.
You are selling your future for a quick fix today.

Six at the top means:

The groom draws no blood from the sacrifice.
The bride’s basket remains empty.
A barren marriage.

The woman holds the basket, but there are no fruits in it.
The man stabs the sheep, but no blood flows.
Nothing that acts to further.

Sheep basket

At the sacrifice to the ancestors, the woman had to present harvest offerings in a basket, while the man slaughtered the sacrificial animal with his own hand. Here the ritual is only superficially fulfilled; the woman takes an empty basket and the man stabs a sheep slaughtered beforehand – solely to preserve the forms. This impious, irreverent attitude bodes no good for a marriage.

21 – Twenty-One.  Shih Ho / Biting Through

The merciless, searing judgement of Lightning fulfills the warning prophecies of distant Thunder.
Sage rulers preserved Justice by clearly defining the laws, and by delivering the penalties decreed.

Though unpleasant, it is best to let justice have its due.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

A terrible reckoning is due.
A wrong will be righted — and even if it has been you who has been wronged, you will tremble at the terrible power of Justice untempered by Mercy.
Pray for your oppressor, that his punishment will fit his crime.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “Without realizing who you are, happiness cannot come to you.” Yogi Bhajan

“Without realizing who you are, happiness cannot come to you.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: KWTC7-19910705 – Self Hypnotic Trance – Self Bliss

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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”

Today: Let go of your clinging: your habits, preferences, the status quo, your ego  Allow new experiences shake up your world. – from the I Ching

Let go of your clinging: your habits, preferences, the status quo, your ego.  Allow new experiences shake up your world.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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

Meditation: LA571 890214 Let Go of Your Limitations

Today: I Ching – Previous Readings

Today: I Ching – Previous Previous Readings

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59 – Fifty-Nine.  Huan / Dissolution

yang
yang above: Sun / The Gentle, Wind
yin
yin
yang below: K’an / The Abysmal, Water
yin

 

Wind blowing over water disperses it, dissolving it into foam and mist. This suggests that when a man’s vital energy is dammed up within him (indicated as a danger by the attribute of the lower trigram), gentleness serves to break up and dissolve the blockage.

THE JUDGEMENT

DISPERSION. Success.
The king approaches his temple.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
Perseverance furthers.

The text of this hexagram resembles that of Ts’ui, GATHERING TOGETHER (45). In the latter, the subject is the bringing together of elements that have been separated, as water collects in lakes upon the earth. Here the subject is the dispersing and dissolving of divisive egotism. DISPERSION shows the way, so to speak, that leads to gathering together. This explains the similarity of the two texts.
Religious forces are needed to overcome the egotism that divides men. The common celebration of the great sacrificial feasts and sacred rites, which gave expression simultaneously to the interrelation and social articulation of the family and state, was the means employed by the great rulers to unite men. The sacred music and the splendor of the ceremonies aroused a strong tide of emotion that was shared by all hearts in unison, and that awakened a consciousness of the common origin of all creatures. In this way disunity was overcome and rigidity dissolved. A further means to the same end is co-operation in great general undertakings that set a high goal for the will of the people; in the common concentration on this goal, all barriers dissolve, just as, when a boat is crossing a great stream, all hands must unite in a joint task.
But only a man who is himself free of all selfish ulterior considerations, and who perseveres in justice and steadfastness, is capable of so dissolving the hardness of egotism.

 

Dispersion

‘Dispersion’ – Ryan Bliss, 2007

THE IMAGE

The wind drives over the water:
The image of DISPERSION.
Thus the kings of old sacrificed to the Lord
And built temples.

In the autumn and winter, water begins to freeze into ice. When the warm breezes of spring come, the rigidity is dissolved, and the elements that have been dispersed in ice floes are reunited. It is the same with the minds of the people. Through hardness and selfishness the heart grows rigid, and this rigidity leads to separation from all others. Egotism and cupidity isolate men. Therefore the hearts of men must be seized by a devout emotion. They must be shaken by a religious awe in face of eternity – stirred with an intuition of the One Creator of all living beings, and united through the strong feeling of fellowship experienced in the ritual of divine worship.

Wind carries the Mists aloft:
Sage rulers dedicated their lives to serving a Higher Power and built temples that still endure.

The King approaches his temple.
Success if you stay on course.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Walls meant to protect have instead separated and isolated.
Your defenses have kept you apart from those whom you most need to touch.
Whatever the reason for discord between you, it is time to lay down your arms.
Dispel the inflexible demands and fears of the Mind so that you may reunite in the Heart.
If you have begrudged, forgive.
If you have torn down, repair.
If you have injured, heal.
If you have judged, pardon.
If you have grasped, let go.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “Love is a self-sacrifice. Love is the experience within one’s self of one’s own selflessness; that’s why love is God.” Yogi Bhajan

“Love is a self-sacrifice. Love is the experience within one’s self of one’s own selflessness; that’s why love is God. No one can explain love, because love is ecstasy. Love is the essence of an ever-longing devotion. Love does not change. If love changes, it is not love.” Yogi Bhajan

Lecture: The meaning of love

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