The yin first line

One must remember that the first hexagram is about all things that relate to yang, and the second all that relates to yin. It is elementary that yang stands for light, and yin for darkness, yang for good, yin for evil, but don't let that fool you into thinking it5 doesn't have its place. It is not so elementary that yang stands for time, and yin for space. Yang initiates, yin receives. Nothing could be initiated without something being receptive to that initiation. Good could not be good if evil did not exist. And space cannot exist without time, nor time without space. Since hexagram one relates to time, it follows that the lines will all have timing elements, and indeed, all the lines in all hexagrams have at least secondary timing meanings, but as a rule, for yin lines, it will be a matter of space. It is also true that while hexagram one is evolution, hexagram two is involution, or negative inertia. Now, much depends however, on where the lines are in the hexagram. While hexagram two is generally thought of as more negative, especially in the Confucian model, there are proper places for yang lines, and proper places for yin lines. Hopefully we can get into more of this later, but just as a general remark, yang is considered odd numbered and yin even. Therefore, the proper place for yang lines is in line 1,3, and 5. The proper place for yin lines is 2, 4, and 6. Yang lines are by nature unbalanced, that is why they initiate, to give them the balance that yin lines can provide. Yin is more balanced, being even, therefore it does not tend to activate. Since line one is by nature a yang line, in hexagram two we see some aspect of time in the definition of the line. However, another aspect of yin is decay, since it does not initiate, and since it is only receptive, left to itself, it follows the second law of thermodynamics, and decays.

Hence, in the first line is quoted, "When there is hoarfrost underfoot, solid ice is not far off." Here in the first line we can see the signs of decay. In its timing aspect, it tells us that the time is that when the sine wave is on a downward spiral. Hexagram four line one has a similar theme, it says, "To make the uneducated develop, it furthers one to apply discipline." Without discipline, there is no impulse to improve, decay sets in. Hexagram forty eight, line one says, "No animals come to an old well. Decay has set in. It takes human effort to repair the damage, and replenish the well so that it may be used. Hexagram 53 gives us another sample. It says, "The young son is in danger." No one comes to help him. He must make his own way step by step. Without action, without forethought, there is the danger that the enterprise may not succeed, and one must always be ready to take action to counteract the decay of the time.

When one is too soft, one must become strong, when one is too strong, one must become soft. It is the middle way that matters. The middle way is the way that works. Nature observed is an observance of balance within imbalance, and imbalance within balace. For whenever we see imbalance, a look at the bigger picture will restore our faith in balance. The same too is true of our bodies, our lives. We must strive for, and obtain balance. When yin rests upon yang, there is balance. When there is an abundance of one over the other, there is imbalance.

And so it begins

There can be no yang without yin, and vice versa. This is the basic premise. So then, why do we even have a first and second hexagram? All hexagrams come in pairs. the first yin, the second yang, the third confusion, the fourth order out of confusion, and so on and so forth, which we will get into later.

Dealing with the trigrams later, we will now do a little discussion of the lines. As mentioned previously, the lines in the first and second hexagrams, give us a hint as to how to interpret the lines in the rest of the hexagrams. For example, line one of hexagram one says, "Hidden Dragon, do not act." I also like the work of Hua-Ching Ni here, who translates it thusly, "When the potency of the dragon has not yet emerged, it is not time to try to use it." As a side note, here, I should mention, as I hadn't thought to do it, that the first hexagram, being yang, relates to time, where the second hexagram, being yin, refers to space, once again, polar opposites, though this may not be apparent at first glance. We can assume, based on the meaning of this first line, that the first line of all hexagrams following, especially those who's first line is yang, will have this flavor. or element. In the Wilhelm Baynes commentary, it is said, "...Hence it is wise for the man who consults the oracle and draws this line to wait in the calm strength of patience. The time will fulfil itself..." (This concept of time fulfilling itself will be dealt with later, first the groundwork must be completed.)

A few samples will suffice for the moment, although as time goes on, this will be dealt with at length. Hexagram three, another subject that will be dealt with in great length soon, shows the beginnings of interaction between yin and yang. Hexagram three deals with beginnings anyway, so you have this flavor throughout the hexagram; we will deal with further examples soon. But the first line here follows the flavor of premature activity. The line is translated as, "Hesitation and hindrance..." The commentary says, "If a person encounters a hindrance at the beginning of an enterprise, he must not try to force advance, but must pause and take thought..." This theme is very common in the I Ching, which describes to us where we are on the sine wave mentioned earlier. When it is not time to take action, it is time for us to prepare. Preparation is a must for any undertaking. Hexagram 26 very strongly proclaims this principle. And in hexagram twenty six line one, it is stated. "...Therefore it is better for him to compose himself and to wait until an outlet is offered." One more hexagram will suffice, for the moment only, to advance this concept of waiting for the appropriate time. Hexagram sixty three, line one, says, "He brakes his wheels..." The commentary for this line says, "...But this pressing forward at the beginning is not good..." The west has been traditionally characterized as a more yang civilization, as compared to the east, (once again, duality expresses itself even on the planet as a whole, with its corresponding civilizations.) We tend to initiate. We move, we act. Even within the United States we see on the West coast a very innovative and creative people, where on the East Coast we see a population much more steeped in tradition, and maintaining the status quo. (It's not that they don't create, and its not that the west doesn't follow tradition, it is simply the primary focus that is of concern.) As such though, the west tends to move quickly, and it has helped us in many ways, but we must understand the times and their corresponding requirements. Otherwise that which is to our advantage, can quickly be our downfall. If you want to understand a persons strengths, look at their weaknesses, and if you want to know a person's weakness, look at his strengths, for they are one and the same, and that being the case, why should we judge?

More yin and yang

And now, we will start to get a little more deeply into the meaning of the I Ching per se. There is much to say about yin and yang, but it is hard for me to think right now. As a homework assignment, I suggest reading the commentary on the first two hexagrams of the I Ching. They are the only ones, that, the first being pure yang, and the second being pure yin. Because of this, we can take a look at the meaning of the individual lines, and that gives us a hint as to how to interpret the individual lines in the rest of the hexagrams. As a rule, it is in the nuclear hexagram, described later, but basically the second, third, fourth, and fifth line, where most of the action takes place. The first line is generally considered to show premature action, the sixth line, action that either comes too late, or is excessive. More on this later.

In reality, the real changes do not start until hexagram 3, the first mixed hexagram, mixed with yin and yang that is. The book really ends with hexagram 62, which tells us of small actions, and extreme caution. This is a theme to a certain extent throughout the book. The sixty third and sixty fourth hexagrams also, are outside the book as a whole, showing a balanced condition, but one that can remain that way, only with effort. The sixty third hexagram teaches us of the second law of thermodynamics, that everything left to itself, witll tend to disintegrate, or breakdown into a lesser order. The sixty fourth hexagram teaches us that even though everything breaks down, there is a form of energy which causes the broken down forms to rearrange in an even higher, though different order. These hexagrams are indicative, among other things as a form and time of transition from one form to another. The third and fourth lines in all hexagrams also have a secondary theme of transition. We will get into this later, for all forms of reality, illusion though it may be, is controlled and dictated to by the laws of inertia, involution, and evolution.

If not tonight, within the next day or so, I hope to go through the lines of the first and second hexagram and show how they teach us the meanings of the various lines throughout the book.

A side note, just for fun

I live in the Tampa Bay area and therefore, naturally root for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in football. They are a bit of an enigma to say the least. It is evidence that football teams, like nations, have their own particular form of destiny, or karma. The eight years I have spent here rooting for this team has been a roller coaster ride, I'll tell you. These guys are known to win, especially with their great defense, still working on their offense, but I have never seen a team that can keep you on the edge of your seat til the last seconds like this one. They can never, it seems, put anyone away. If they have too big a lead, they will screw it up phenomenally until the game is close again. I mean, ninty per cent of the time this happens. The games are almost always close. There are a few exceptions, granted, but not a lot. And more often not they will win it or lose it over some controversial call that ends up being reviewed, usually win there are only four or five seconds in the game anyway... You think the game is over, then, suddenly comes the challenge. Last week, this team I nickname the cardiac kids, being ahead 20 to 14, with about 52 seconds left to play, suddenly let a guy run around the end, they miss five tackles in a row, and from 52 yards away they score. Now the score is 21 to 20, and it appeared as if no one even cared. When they scored, it looked as if Tampa Bay wasn't even trying to catch the guy, let him go, they seemed to be saying. But no problem, there are still 52 seconds on the clock. So in 52 seconds, Tampa screws up royally, until, by some stroke of luck, a penalty is called on the opposing team, 15 yards. Then to make matters worse, and it was somewhat of a controversial call on the player, the player got mad because he thought the call was unfair, kicks the penalty flag, and gets another 15 yard penalty. So now, if I remember right they had one last play, they got up to about the 45 yard line, and there are four seconds left on the clock. Fourty five yards for a touchdown, sixty two for a field goal. The record is 63 yards. No problem, the kicker came out, who hadn't made a field goal longer than 28 yards all year, and kicks a 62 yard field goal to end the game. I am saying, "what the hey?" Unbelievable. I tell you these are the original cardiac kids. And the team does this kind of thing game after game, year after year. I do believe they have a kind of karma...

Well, its fun, but its also instructive, because individuals, teams, and nations all have these karmic roles that they play, it's kind of an unconscious thing. But gnostic christians texts, gospels, whatever, tell us that to enter the kingdome of heaven, right here, right now, not after we die, we have to make the unconscious conscious, and the conscious has to temporarily be suspended, as if into unconsciousness, to do this.

The I Ching has a similar scenario, though much more hidden within the text. (It is hidden within the gospels too, but not quite as much the gnostic texts). Remember that yang is the polar side of yin, and whatever is yang, its polar opposite is yin. This applies to the conscious and unconscious too. More on this later.

So we have chi

Chi, a subtle force we will be dealing with again and again. We must understand that at first there was the one perfect whole. That whole split into half and became yin and yang. Yin and yang are the beginnings of all that is. As the Taoists texts say, "The one becomes the two, and the two becomes the three, and the three becomes the ten thousand things." When the perfect whole split, it split perfectly and equally. Therefore yin is no greater than yang, nor yang than yin. They are perfect complements to each other. Yin is the perfect complement to yang, not merely its opposite. We make it its opposite when we rally against one, and promote the other. It would seem that the Confucian model promotes yang over yin, as yang is strong, firm, and all the things we think of as positive. It would seem that the Taoist model promotes the yin. As it says in the Tao Teh Ching, "nothing is softer than water, yet nothing can stand in its way." Actually, in terms of an overall view, neither one can promote the one without the other, for yang must have a recepticle, to place the life force within, and yin must be that recepticle, without which there would be no womb for the life force to grow in. What then, do you think of as God? A male giant up in the sky? Or perhaps he is that perfect whole, that never having separated, is one with him/her self, being both totally male and totally female. As such he/she can create the ten thousand things because being totally united, one with the other, there is a permanent and total orgasm, and whole universes are created eternally. What would you give for that kind of sex life? Perhaps that was what we had before God, or more accurately, "The gods," separated us into male and female. For our sake? Or for theirs, or for partly both? Think about it, There is much more to this Genesis story than meets the eye. More than you will get in the English translation, that is for sure.

building up chi

It is by building up chi that we build up life force, by building up life force we increase health and longevity. This is something our western scientists are only beginning to understand. And the only reason for that is the influence that has come to us from China, Japan, and Indian yoga that has forced them to sit up and take notice.

There are multiple means of building up chi in the body, Mantak Chia is probably one of the foremost authors on this, and he has written maybe as many as twenty books on the subject. Another author is Yang, Jwing Ming. He writes more from a martial arts standpoint. He does more questioning of his own, trying to find deeper answers to the meaning of life. If you want longer life, I suggest you find a valid, I mean valid, Chi Kung, or qigong teacher. If you are close to a larger city there is probably one somewhere.

In ancient China there were two apparent groups of I Ching users, or two models, one being the Confucian, and one being the Taoist. Don't get me wrong, they are not mutually exclusive, but their focus and emphasis is different. Didn't mean, of course, that you couldn't be involved with both. The Confucian model was concerned with ethics and morality, while the taoist model was concerned with energy manipulation. Due to the fact that the Confucian model has survived more intact, this thread will concern itself with that more. But as more study is done, and more emphasis is made by me on the meaning of the trigrams, rather than just the lines, more will be discussed on the taoist model also. It is with great regret on my part that the taoist model has not survived so well intact. At least not in social circles. I am sure there are those who follow the taoist model, but they are not talking, and perhaps with good reason. The knowledge of energy manipulation can be very powerful.

Remember though, true power is not power over others, it is power over the self.

Chi

Chi is a novel concept to the west, or at least it was fifty years ago, now it is accepted in some circles, and some scientists are doing some work with it, while the mainstream still doesn't want to accept it. If they did they might have to accept that there is something beyond the physical. Of course, those scientists who insist there isn't are losing ground fast. You don't believe in conspiracies? Here's a prime example of one, a conspiracy to make sure no one looks beyond the physical. No scientific evidence! What a crock. Would it be too hard for the scientists to admit they don't know everything, that plenty of so called science is still being discovered, and fifty years ago they said there is no scientific evidence for things that there are scientific evidence for now? Whoops, can't say that: Because there can be no scientific evidence for something there was no scientific evidence for before. ahem! Let's get on with it, leave the scientists with their foolish arrogance, with their false bravado, and their insistence that because they are scientists they know everything. Actually, some scientists may be getting close to knowing everything, but don't expect to see their papers out too soon. The establishment won't tolerate anyone rocking their boat, just as the Pharisees in Jesus' day wouldn't allow him to rock the boat, or shake up the waters. We can't break with tradition, now can we?

Anyway, Chi, what is it? Well, the closest translation in English is energy, but that in itself doesn't cut it. So you have to speak a number of words to even come close to what the Chinese meant by it. I prefer to call it life force. Some call it bio magnetic/electric energy. In Star Wars Yoda called it life force. That doesn't complete it though. Even the Chinese of today, I am quite well convinced, don't fully understand the meaning of this word. For there is an intelligence in it. It is alive and it is aware. Maybe not the type of awareness we have, but an awareness nontheless. Now that doesn't mean it just takes a notion and follows that notion willy nilly regardless of any laws or principles, for it is to a certain extent law and principle itself. But it does have a mind that acts, and while it, like electricity, will follow the path of least resistance and follow other natural laws, part of its law is karma. So don't expect to be able to learn to use chi, develop it within yourself, then go harm your neighbor with it, its law is karma, like anything else. Actually, it is anything, and everything else.

Now the interesting thing about this Chi is that it follows the principles of duality as well as everything else, and even though it is one unified whole, it has two sides to it, yin, and yang. We are getting back to this principle, but more on this later.

Gene

Michelle's Words

Michelle has some good things to say here, so I thought I would make it a post as well as a comment.

Michelle wrote

I think that most (if not all) sacred writings are written so that they may be understood on many levels.

A very simple outline: First there is the level of taking a writing literally, then there is the level of taking it symbolically, then there is the level of living what you have learned....becoming a living symbol of the writing as, for example, the way a Daoist does with water symbolism.

In order to get there, yes, the ego has to go. The thing I have noticed about people and the Bible is that most of them are ruled by the ego, and are too intent on convincing you that, whether literal or symbolic, their interpertation is the only right one, and if you don't believe and follow them, you're going to hell. (I guess some of them haven't heard that the church has admitted that hell is not real.) They spend much less time living the lessons, which is a shame I guess. (I don't actually know too much about the lessons and the Bible, so I better stop talking before I get into trouble!) :-)

9:21 AM

The scriptures are a meaningful myth

The scriptures are a meaningful myth. VERY meaningful. The Christian church got all caught up in literalist interpretation. Doesn't matter whether you talk Catholic or Protestant, it is all the same. The Bible is to be taken literally. The Catholic Priesthood, and the Bishops don't necessarily, although they still do to a certain extent, but that is what the flock is led to believe. We take the Bible literally. In fact, the laity of most if not all religions do the same thing. And if you take it literally, well, they all tell us to fight the evil. And there are sure a lot of things out there we can call evil, including every religion, or nation, or tongue, besides our own. It's us against them. Always. That mean old Devil is out there to get us! Well, maybe he is, in his own sneaky little way. But we will deal with that later. Supposing we do find significant allegory in the Bible, and other sacred books. Maybe some of its literal, but the real story is not so literal. Maybe the teachers are trying to tell us something else in parables but we don't get it. We literalize it because that is how our little old brains think. There is the objective, or you could say the subjective, us, and then there is the objective world, out there.

What if Jesus birth, weren't really a birth, or if it is, what if that is still not the meaning that is conveyed? Could his birth be an allegory of our own spiritual birth? The one Jesus talked about to Nicodemus. Could his birth really be the allegory of the second birth? What does that mean. Or the death of Jesus. Maybe he really did die on the cross, maybe not, but either way, does it change the allegory? Perhaps what is meant here is the death of the ego.

It has been shown conclusively by todays scientists and psychologists that man has two sides to his brain. The left side is more analytical, and more independent, dissecting things into their parts more what we could traditionally describe as having so called masculine traits. The right side is more intuitive, more cooperative, more into comparing things and bringing things together, to find the part that each plays in the whole. There does seem to be incomplete communication between the two though, and in the Eastern world many meditation techniques have been developed to improve the cross communication between the two halves. When Jesus died the veil between the holies and the holiest of holies was rent in half from top to bottom. Perhaps this is an allegory of the breaking down of the wall that separates the two halves. I have heard that one meaning of "Pharisees" is those who separate. The Pharisees demanded jesus death. Whether they really did is conjecture, we weren't there, but the symbolism makes sense. Separation is our lot, until we, as Paul said, "break down the middle wall of separation between us. Perhaps meaning the ego that causes separation?

More on this later

Timing

Hello everyone. A short note on timing. This will have to be carried on more at a later date, because time is of the essence, but just a note about how everything is a sine wave. I will later relate how I came to this conclusion a number of years ago. At any rate, a sine wave has a rise and a fall. It has amplitude and frequency. More on that later.

At any rate, the I Ching is a tool to inform us as to where we are on that sine wave. Sometimes we are on the top of the wave, and everything is easy, and goes well, as in hexagram 35. At other times we can do nothing, as in hexagram 51 line 4. But nothing ever stays the same. It always returns to its opposite. Hexagram 54 line 4 tells us that "movement is crippled." It is as if we are in a prison cell and cannot go anywhere. However, nothing remains the same. The meaning of the I Ching is the book of changes, because everything changes in accord to the law of entropy, and reverse entropy. Often it is only a matter of waiting. In hexagram 3 line 1, it mentions that "our freedom of decision may be impaired, but if we bide our time, things will quiet down again, and we shall attain what we had hoped for."
At times we may be able to accomplish small things only, while we are waiting for the times to change. This is the case in hexagram 62. In hexagram 29 line 2 we get much of the same meaning. "We must calmly weigh the conditions of the time, and be satisfied with small gains. But hexagram 45 tells us that by putting together small things over and over again, it eventually comes up to something big.

When we cannot do anything in the outer world, we can still do something in the inner world. We can contemplate the situation, and look to spiritual guides in the inner world. We can also contemplate our own life and the results we are producing. It is only when we have contemplated, as hexagram 20 tells us to do, and know the causes in the inner world, that we can bite through to the truth of the situation, and make the situation fluid once again.

A few short notes

Just a couple of general notes for now. As far as the gnostic side of this discussion, as I reread Peter Novak's "Original Christianity" I realize that a lot of what I might say is already in the book, so a third time I am recommending that book as a marvelous study in gnostic Christianity. And I will try to limit my personal discussion a little bit more to the I Ching except in areas that are not covered in that book. I am not at home right now, when I get back I will get out a few of my other books that I think have awesome content in the book and link to those books. In the meantime, here is Peter's website. And here is a link to another interesting book by Freke and Gandy that I think is very very good. These authors have at least one other, I think two, books that are in my opinion very illuminating.

A further note. I have received an email regarding a complaint about the pearl.org website. It is stated that this site plagiarizes material and creates their own documents. I am not removing the link because the link is specifically to the audios on the gospel of John which I think has a lot of value. As far as the accusations, I do not know one way or another. The reader can decide for him or her self.

A lack of seriousness

Often people get into metaphysical studies not because they are more moral than others, or even more serious, or what some might call high quality, or great, people. They start to study metaphysics because their life is not working. But too often we get caught up in looking no further than something to help our immediate life, without realizing that there is a deeper message. We tend to reject this message because, even if we recognize it for what it is, it does not seem to fit in with the nature of reality that we have been taught growing up. Therefore we reject the deeper message. In the same way in Jesus time many of his followers eventually rejected the message because it was too difficult to swallow. Often those who reject the deeper level insist on a lower level message and create a cult or a religion around it, thinking this is all there is. Hexagram 63 line 5 discusses this. It speaks of greater and greater outer forms, but inner seriousness is lacking. In hexagram 4 it is said that the inexperienced tend to obstinately cling to unreal fantasies. These unreal fantasies can be our view of an objective world outside of ourselves. In hexagram 4 line 1 it is said that the inexperienced are inclined to take everything carelessly and playfully. The inexperienced must be shown the seriousness of life.

The illusion of separation

In chapter two of the Tao Teh Ching Lao Tzu states, "All can know good as good only because there is evil." I had a discussion of this type with a fundamentalist Christian friend once, who just could not understand how there could be no good without evil. Perhaps the problem would have been cleared up if I had stated, "I am talking about the concept of good and evil, not the actual doing." Then again, that may not have changed anything in his mind either. One must get a real mental pattern. If something is good then its opposite is evil. While Christians don't totally ignore verses in the Bible, they do tend to diminish some things without realizing they are doing it. I don't have time to look it up, I believe it is in Isaiah, where God says, "I alone create the good and the evil. You could make the case such as this, the Devil is only the dark side of God. In that sense, our own dark side would be the dark side of god also, as it would be the ego playing itself out and battling with its polar opposite, God. When we as individuals come to know ourselves, in essence that means getting to know our dark side. But I want to make a point, that does not mean simply the evil in us, it means that which is hidden within us. In other words, the unconscious As we cast a light on it, we get to know our own essence, and in actuality, we come to know God. The is the essence of Gnostic Christianity. Gnostic means direct, experiential knowledge. It is not the blind faith that is often followed by traditional Christianity. By knowing ourselves we come to know God.

More on this later

And in continuing, hexagram 50 of the I Ching mentions the idea of harmonization also. In the Wilhelm Baynes commentary it is stated. "...And if he succeeds in assigning the right place to life and to fate, (yin and yang) thus bringing the two into harmony, he puts his fate (he intregates the different aspects of his personality) on a firm footing.

About the time of Jesus the age of Pisces was beginning. Traditional Christianity has been a little puzzled about the association with Jesus and the sign of the fish because of the supposed prohibition of astrology. The sign of Pisces is two fish with an apparent connection, one attempting to swim down into the depths, the other up to the surface. We can see this in the taoist yin yang symbol also. The yin form and the yang form connected together in a circle and one preparing to move upward while the other moves downward.

And as the image in hexagram 50 says, "thus the superior man consolidates his fate by making his position correct." In other words combining yin and yang in their proper correlation. Then the last statement of commentary under the image is, These words contain hints about the fostering of life as handed on by oral tradition in the secret teachings of Chinese Yoga." Apparently there was an oral tradition in china as well as in the gnostic and Jesus system. We today for the most part are missing that. It behoves us, myself as well, to do everything in our power to rediscover that oral tradition. I think it can eventually be found in the myths and allegories of all the sacred scriptures.

More later

Yin and Yang, Male and Female

In the Eastern tradition it is called yin and yang, in the western, generally, it is called male and female. But the ancients apparently put a great deal of emphasis on it. In all the ancient sacred scriptures I have read, the books begin immediately with a description of a sudden change from unity into duality. In the I Ching, the first two hexagrams discuss this, Hexagram one discusses yang, and hexagram two discusses yin. In the Wilhelm Baynes version there is very, very interesting commentary on these first two great hexagrams, which are the bases for all the hexagrams that follow. All that follow have a combination of yin and yang lines. They are mixed. It is the way in which these two great powers interact with each other that determines the positiveness or negativeness of the situation. The two great powers are equal but opposite, yet in their equality it is necessary in their interaction to understand their proper relationship to one another. Their equality does not mean they can act in the same way and have the same result. This is not possible due to the nature of their character.

But there is one thing that must be brought to bear here. In the western world we tend to see things objectively, independently outside of ourselves. We catagorize and quantitize, and call this this and that that. In the Eastern world this is not the case so much, especially before strong western influence came to bear in the East. The East sees things not so much as independent and outside of self, but bearing within from the inner world and not separate but a part of the overall whole. Therefore, yang is yang only in its relationship to something else, and so is yin. Therefore it is not perceptually correct to say, this is yang and that is yin. They are only correspondingly and relationshipfully so. An object we would consider independent therefore is only yang in reference to an object we would in its independence call yin. It is not inherently yin or yang. That is dualistic perception and we must get beyond that. In reality yin and yang are only concepts created by the mind to catagorize a relationship with someting else.

Much dialague can be carried on about this, and will be shortly. In this case, as opposed to previously, I will stick on this subject for several days rather than jump around. It is the building block in many ways to all that goes on in the future.

In the Western world, we have a similar concept, although the concept is in its origin, also Eastern, at least middle eastern, and it has been clouded over to a great deal in the West. In the beginning of the classic book of the Bible, duality is brought into focus by recognizing that "In the beginning, the Logos, God, created the heaven (yang) and the earth (yin). Just to make sure this division is understood it is brought into view again and again within story after story. After God creates the heaven and the earth, he separates the light from the darkness. But to be extra sure we get it, God separates his new creation of mankind from an androgynous being into male and female. Then it gets even more interesting, as we humans have a hard time getting it. So the story is told of Cain and Abel. One being evil, the other good. The story is told over and over again, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his twelve brothers. Got it yet? Good. We will deal with this more. In the Tao Teh Ching we have a slight variation on the same story. The first chapter talks of unity, the second of division. Then in the next seven chapters Lao tzu gives some hints as to harmonizing yin and yang, and in the eigth he comes right out and asks us if we can do it. Here an intersting thing arises, along with the division comes a description of the division of hun and po, soul and spirit. Here he is discussing how a fully integrated individual harmonizes soul and spirit so that they know no separation and as such become of divine being. Traces of this are found in the polynesian tradition too which we will get into later. But unity of soul and spirit are very important, and we will be discussing this.

Man, know thyself

The greatest teachers of all, it seems, have made the statement eloquently, that to grow spiritually, we must get to know ourselves. What, however, are we learning when we learn about ourselves? We are getting to know God! You think not? Perhaps you had better take another look. I won't go into details now. Suffice it to say, that through meditation, one uncovers unconscious material that effects our lives in a hidden way. Hexagram 57 line 2 discusses this to some extent. The line says, "Penetration under the bed..." The bed is often a symbol for that which supports us or that which we rest upon. The beliefs and the structures we use to enable us to live and move often are found to be wanting. Therefore, they need to be replaced with more useful belief systems. When we have penetrated the subconscious belief systems that have been propping us up, we may realize they need changing. The commentary in Wilhelm/Baynes says, "At times one has to deal with hidden enemies..." The beliefs and structures we have created sometimes need changing. They are truly hidden enemies, and at the critical moment, they betray us. It is through meditation that we uncover hidden enemies. Meditation is the Priest and Magician that is used. We constantly uncover our hidden motives to discover the darkness within us and shed light in that darkness. More on this later.

Trying to get some links here

http://bewellwithmichelle.blogspot.com/

I am not sure how this works, but I want to add some links, as I get permission, first of friends, then of sites I think are important. Above is my first one, but I am not sure it will post as a link, you may have to type it in.

Okay let's try this again.

Now it works. click on again and it automatically goes to Michelle's website.

Speaking of which, nutrition is an important part of developing oneself as a chuang tzu or a fully integrated individual. More on this later.

And here is a website I would like you all to visit. This is a very, very important website. It is gnostic in nature and has an extremely important message. Click on message and it will take you to divisiontheory.com.

Here is a special site that is really good for those who are interested in the I Ching for divination, or want more information on it of a different type than what I present, or want a community of friends for interesting discussion, and general friendship, I recommend...This site Click on this site, and it will take you to onlineclarity.co.uk

Okay, lets do this again, this time it will take you direct to Hilary's onlineclarity.com answers. Click on direct.

And here is a wonderful site that will help explain what gnostic christianity is like, it is a multiple level of audio recordings about, generally, the gospel of John from a gnostic viewpoint. You won't get this in a typical sunday school. Click on Sunday school.

Gene

A quiet heart

Again hexagram 52, the W/B version states that the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart. Why do we need a quiet heart? In order to achieve balance one must know both movement and rest. When we rest the mind we become more in touch with the inner self. Why do we need to become one with the inner self? Because here is where true power lies. Oh, not necessarily power over others, but power over ourselves. Why do we need power over ourselves? We discipline ourselves to reach for and attain the goals we desire, but more than that, we become one with the cosmos. The Wilhelm Baynes version of the I Ching says in the commentary on hexagram 52, "...therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe and for acting in harmony with them. Whoever acts from these deep levels makes no mistakes."

More on this later.

Different Teachers

Different teachers do different things for you. To have a really good teacher though, that teacher must be able to show you the way to passage through life learning from everything, and hopefully, the end result will be a unified and integrated single human being. When we reach that stage our soul and our spirit merge and when we die, if we die, our soul and our spirit remain together eternally as one distinct individual force. And as it says of this in the book of Revelations, chapter 3 verse 12, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out..." In other words there will be no further need for reincarnation, for coming back to the world, because he/she has overcome it.

But in order to do this, one must know how, and that requires a teacher. It doesn't, in and of itself, require a savior who sheds his blood for us, except in a metaphorical and metaphysical way. It does require that we follow the path. In China, this was called the Tao, or Dao. In the west, there was once Gnostic Christianity. There message in its deeper meaning was pretty much the same, east or west. Buddhism would fit into that category too, of teaching the way, as I am sure would many other so called religious beliefs. They aren't really religious at all, they are spiritual and in a scientific sort of way.

In the past I have had a number of teachers, but they were only able to take me so far, or things happened that I was taken away from them early, or whatever. Nevertheless, I did get somewhat of a basis. Now my teacher is no longer a person, it is the cosmos itself, and the cosmos speakes to me through passages of the sacred literature, mainly The I Ching, the Tao Teh Ching, and the Bible. Put them all together and you have quite a piece of literature. Add to that the gnostic texts found in the dead sea scrolls and elsewhere. They paint a picture much different than we have heard in the last 20 centuries. But then, we had Rome to contend with.

There has always been an earthbound element that is bound and determined to enslave mankind, and the first way to do that is to destroy, or at the least, ridicule the sacred scriptures. For if man ends his/her incarnations, who is left to enslave. They wanted a race that was aware, yet not too aware, not aware of their spiritual heritage. For if man found a way out, he could no longer be a slave. A man who's books I used to read avidly, as long as he was writing them, was that of U.S. Anderson. They had quite an effect on me. One of his characters that he met along the way made this statement. "In order to break out of prison, one must first realize he 'is' in prison." What do each of us realize? Do we have any idea our true spiritual heritage? I think not.

A divine principle

One must understand that there is a divine principle that works throughout nature. If we believe the conscious mind is the sum total of human understanding, we split ourselves in two and do not recognize the other part of ourselves. When we do this it is as if a cylinder in an engine isn't firing. We may not notice it, for the engine will still run, just a little shakily. When we try to control with our conscious minds the world around us, we may hit or miss, as our karma will dictate, and especially if we hit we think all is right with our world. But we miss a big part of what is really going on in our life, and may develop a karma for ourselves that will register in a future lifetime.

In the I Ching the fifteenth hexagram speaks of the requisite for modesty. That is not always what we think it is. We do not downgrade or denigrate ourselves when we act with modesty. A less well known meaning for this hexagram is partnership. By being modest we recognize that there is a greater power and we need to become one with it. When we do this we accept that we do not control everything, but recognize that there is within us an unconscious power that works ultimately for our benefit. We do not "count on the harvest while plowing" as in hexagram 25, line 2. We do the work for its own sake, and leave the results to the divine principle. This only works however, when we are in harmony with the cosmos, with the divine principle, with the principle of love and tranquility. Otherwise, there is no benefit.

When we are in harmony and tranquility, we no longer "see in the world the struggle and tumult of individual beings, and therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe, and for acting in harmony with them." (Hexagram 52.) This is the "Pearl of great price" mentioned in several of the world's religions. In the I Ching this is described as "Possession in Great Measure." (Hexagram 14.) And the image says, "Thus the superior man curbs evil and furthers good, And thereby obeys the benevolent will of heaven."

Much could be said of this, but we are at a stopping point for now. More will be said of this later.

Peace and Love

Hi Michelle and anonymous, and everyone else, very oddly, most oddly, you both mentioned something that has been on my mind to discuss at the first opportunity. Michelle, you mentioned you received hexagram 52 line 2 changing to 18, and noted I had discussed 18. Interestingly enough, hexagram 52 is about peace and tranquility. There are two major ways to know God, they are through love, and peace. When we meditate, we tranquilize the mind, and therefore, see God. When we love we are at one with all that is loved, and therefore are one with God.

I am not a Bible thumper here, but yet, I do not throw out the baby with the bathwater. There is much to learn in that book if you understand its symbols and allegories, although few of us do. When the Bible says God is love, it means that. It doesn't mean God loves, it means God IS love. Nothing less, nothing more. Many of us think of God as an old man out in the heavens somewhere that pulls strings and makes things happen. And naturally, as a result of that thinking, many say, well, there is no God because how could God allow all the horrible things in the world. But if we understand God is not a personage, but really and truly love, then we can understand these things, for "the rain falls on the just and the unjust." If God is love, how can he love the sinner less than the saint? How can I make this clear, God does not choose to love, there is no God out there in any way shape or form, there is only love. And love is real, it has intelligence, and it has understanding. But it does nothing, feels nothing outside of love. God is not something besides love. He is pure and unadulterated love, and nothing less or more. I cannot find a way to make this clear. Meditate on my words. There is no God, there is only love. (Which we call God).

Hexagram 52 is the hexagram of peace, of traquility. The image of Hexagram 52 states, "The image of keeping still. Thus the superior man does not allow his thoughts to go beyond his situation." The mind thinks continually. In the east, it is called the monkey mind, because it is always rushing, here, there, everywhere. In line two, the mind is still not calm. It says, "His heart is not glad." There can be many reasons for this, in the commentary on the line, it speaks of a servant warning his master, but the master refuses to hear. This worries and concerns the servant. How often do we have worries, how often do we have shortcomings, would we like to control a situation that is out of our control. The problem is, we do not accept that it is out of our control. If we can accept that, then we can once again attain inner peace. To accomplish our goal and know God, we must first of all gain control over our "monkey" mind. Letting go is the province of among other hexagrams, hexagram 25, which will be saved for a later date. If I can I will edit this post as time goes by and make it make a stronger statement. Words at the moment fail me.

At times like these, it is always questionable which way to go with the information that is being presented. So far everything is relatively shallow and simplistic. In time I suspect that will change, but one never knows who the audience is, what they can handle, how much they can handle, and if your material will be believable to them. To some, this material will not be very believable, to others it will. It is not, though, a simple difference of opinion, either you have matured enough to grasp the material, or you haven't. Therefore I do not debate, only give instruction.

Some say hexagram 48 is the I Ching describing itself. I say, every line, every sentence, every verse, the I Ching is describing itself. I will demonstrate this as we go along. Nothing can be done in a hurry, even if it could, I can't type that fast. Guess what else, and this will separate the superior people from the inferior, your attitude on this, for every line, every sentence, every verse is describing you. Yes you! Not the little you, not the separate, (seemingly) conscious mind, but the big you, which includes all facets of you, conscious and unconscious. For you are the I Ching. You write the paragraphs and the lines. You are the player on stage. Remember Shakespeare's famous line, "all the worlds a stage, and we all play many parts at various times." Absolutely correct. We will get into how you play your part, unwittingly, later. For now just meditate on the words, and reserve judgment for later.

Something to work on

Hexagram 18 tells us we have something to work on. Do you think your work is done, if so, think again. Can you ride the clouds like the immortals? Then you have something to work on. There is not enough time in the day to do everything, even if you don't work, I don't care what these time management experts say. That is why it takes several lifetimes. And don't you dare say if we have several lifetimes, what is the rush? The rush is there is too much to be done. Maybe you like being reincarnated over and over again. And true, it is a beautiful world, with lots of wonderful things to do, but there is a better promise, and hexagram 18 line six says, he does not serve kings and princes, sets himself higher goals. The highest and most promising goal is to work on ourselves. Getting degrees is fine, it will help you get a great job, but it won't help you spiritually, not in the least, except that you do develop a certain amount of discipline by working toward that goal. But oh, how much better ways. There is so much to be said about this hexagram, but it cannot be said all at once here, so I will move on, sort of anyway. We will come back to this, and probably, again and again. Suffice it to say for now, in hexagram 4 it tells us that the inexperienced person must be taught the seriousness of life. There is a time for joking, it thrills the soul, gives us joy, and peace, and happiness, but there is a time to be serious too. This moment is one of those times. Meditate on the words I speak, they can, just possibly, give you peace. More on this later.

Why did I start here?

Again, hexagram 5, why did I start here? Well, I did mention hexagrams 1 & 2, but just in passing. But is there any real starting point? We can start either at the starting point, or our starting point. After all, how do we get back to where we started if we don't start at the right place? Get back to where we started? I thought we wanted to reach the finish line. Doesn't everything go in cycles? If we end up where we started we will, "know the place for the very first time." And really, we have to start with ourselves. Isn't spiritual growth getting to know ourselves? Who else is there if we are all one?

Before I go any further, the profile part of this website doesn't work especially well, so I want to relate somethings that are related but only indirectly. If none of you ever read another book, read Peter Novak's "Original Christianity." In fact, read his whole series, nothing can save your soul faster than knowing it needs to be saved. I joke often, but there is a time to be serious too. The book, "Original Christianity" is based primarily on the Gospel of Thomas.

We Westerners are so impatient. (Western compared to Asia I mean). We expect everything like, right now, and with microwave ovens and cell phones we generally get it. But what about the game of life itself? Hexagram five teaches us something about patience. It tells us that it is not possible to accomplish everything at once.Well, we knew that didn't we? But I suspect, not really. How much time does it take to really accomplish something of value? Rome wasn't built in a day you know. It all depends on how we look at it. And how much lasting value do we really want our achievements to have. If you are looking for spiritual mastery, I suggest you look at it from the perspective of several lifetimes. If you want to learn c+ programming, go to college. C+ programming will get you more money, spiritual growth will save your soul, best if you can do both, but can you? We each must decide which direction we want to go, life is a sacrifice, quit complaining about that truth and sacrifice.