Being spiritual

My mother used to think being spiritual meant teaching a sunday school class, God rest her soul. A very well meaning and devout woman, but naive in some ways. Being spiritual has nothing to do with going to church or teaching sunday school class or even reading the Bible, but starts with an understanding that we are all connected, and that there is a higher metaphysical level, still physical in a sense, just a level that vibrates at a much higher frequency. We become accustomed to that level when we let go of fear and anxiety and learn to just trust in a higher principle - not in a God that is out there, but a God that is "There." And "Here," within our hearts. If he is not within our hearts then it is true that there is no "room for him in the inn."

I don't have time to get wordy here, so, suffice it to say, I hope people will take a look at hyperdimensional physics, and you can find something about it through Richard Hoagland's work, he talks about it in his latest book, "Dark Mission," and there is more, you could go to his website www.enterprisemission.com or look it up in google, or your favorite search engine. Anyway, I have to go, will write more later.

Gene

Hope everyone is doing well for the holidays

Well, I hope everyone is doing well for the holidays, and again I say I have to get back into posting.

The new year is a time for new beginnings, and new for each of us. At the same time we are facing the end of the age. This isn't mere new age speculation, it is factual and without question. The road ahead is rocky, but the end is sure. And a new age is coming with new hope for mankind.

In light of that, I propose to start writing again, (yes, I know I have said that a hundred times, but this time I mean i), and I hope to put a lot of effort into the more metaphysical aspects of the I Ching. I just get so busy, I can't stand it. I am interested in too many things, all of it seeming very important, but there are only so many hours in a day. Even if I didn't have to work, I couldn't keep up with it all.

But as Jesus was (supposedly) born in Bethlehem, let us, (not so supposedly) let the Christ light shine in our hearts, and renew us daily so that we may become Christ beings, building a body of light, indestructible, and immortal.

Best wishes for everyone this coming new year

Gene

Not in the mainstream news, but...

Here is the deal. Proceedings for impeachment of Dick Cheney.
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/199.html

I really believe, but cannot absolutely confirm, that the year 2008 is the year that "the crap hits the fan." People will see our leaders for what they really are, except those who are die hard unwilling to face the truth. Not necessarily a civil war, but a war over the minds of men and women will become ever more open and clear. It in a way is the year of destiny, and the year of decision. Get ready now for what is coming.

Gene

A new conference in Tempe

Next week I am going to a conference in Tempe. It will be I am sure a fascinating experience. William Henry will be there, as will many other great speakers.

When I get back, I hope to start writing again, at least to a certain extent, about the I Ching, and esoteric Christianity. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Anyway, maybe I will have some great new info when I get back.

Gene

Conference in Nashville

On October 5th this year I am going away for three days to be a part of William Henry's conference in Nashville. You can find out about it at http://williamhenry.net/ It is the "light body effect" conference. This man has unearthed some amazing information about ancient mythology and scripture. I highly recommend his website.

Gene

Conference in Nashville

On October 5th this year I am going away for three days to be a part of William Henry's conference in Nashville. You can find out about it at http://williamhenry.net/ It is the "light body effect" conference. This man has unearthed some amazing information about ancient mythology and scripture. I highly recommend his website.

Gene

What is going on

Just taking time here, as I am very, very busy, to pass on an executive order of what I consider to be extreme incidence. This, following on the heels of an executive order a couple months ago that gives G W almost unlimited power, there is strong, very strong evidence, not that I need more, that we are in the last days of this age. I am trying to decide my best courses of action right now in terms of where I live, how I survive, etc.

Here is a link to the executive order.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html

Gene

I noticed today that William Henry's website is presently not available. I hope that is fixed soon. I can't recommend this site enough, because it is about sacred scripture, but not from a religious viewpoint, in fact, from a scientific and technological viewpoint. I highly, highly recommend people getting involved with this website, get some of his material. Find out something about the "light body immortal." (Tai Chi was a form meant to produce immortality, as were all original eastern martial arts and qigong systems.)

Did you know that when you read the gospels in the original Greek and Aramaic it sounds more like a modern quantum physics manual? There is a big, and immensely exciting world out there. But to explore it, it takes discipline. Would to God that I had more discipline!

Gene

I may start this again, post more on a limited basis. Time has always been crucial for me though. Nothing discouraging me more than to see my time off from work dissipate into the night, and little has been accomplished. I am just interested in far too many things, but at least those things are all related. Most people wouldn't agree with me, and they seem to get a lot done in their lives, whereas I never seem to get anything accomplished. But to accomplish what I want, I would have to spend several hours a day practicing Tai Chi, then three to five hours meditating. then three to five studying the I Ching, then three to five studying esoteric spirituality. By the way, I ran into an interesting site the other day, which I think I will list here, that speaks of how the Bible is not to be taken literally. Check this website out, for example. http://www.hiddenmeanings.com/crucifixion.html

I haven't finished reading it by the way, but it looks like it has a lot of potential.

Well, anyway. Time! How it disgusts me. I wish I had a button, I could push the button and the work day would be suddenly over, all the work done, and I would be home or wherever doing my real work. The work that is important but you don't get paid for. Then when I am doing my real work, I could press the button, and time would stop, except that I could still do things, like study and practice.

What is life really all about anyway? I am listening right now to a near death experience researcher on coast to coast who is talking about life reviews and a learning immediately after death, (clinical death) just what our life purpose really is. This goes back to my earlier posts in which I discussed repeatedly that we are all one. I am you and you are me, and there is no getting away from it. So whatever I do to you, I do to myself. Yes, I know, many people are not convinced, but, well, you WILL be. Sooner or later. Why are we here on earth? Jesus said, "and this is my commandment, that ye love one another."

Gene

you seek me, you seek me not

Jesus said to the crowd, "you seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled."

This is ever true, yet today. We are still like the crowd. We hear about the I Ching, and about the gnostic gospels, and we are awestruck, but only in a superficial way. People flock to the sites that can give them minor insights, that cure their curiosity for a little while, the flock to the opportunity to learn a new keyword, or a little bit more about the meaning of a particular paragraph, how they can use it for divination, but when it comes to the real meat of the word, nobody wants it. This is why people do not come to my website. They want the crumbs that fall from the master's table, but they do not want the real meat. That would be asking too much. Why, they might even have to shape up their lives a little bit. Like the multitude by the sea of Galilee, they want the physical substance, but not the real food. They don't want food for the soul, only for the body. They do not think beyond this level and in fact, are not even capable of doing so. Before that happens, they must be shaken out of their lethargy, they must get a rude shock, and in hexagram 51, or as in the Tower card in the Tarot. "Give us this day our daily bread," is the disciples prayer, but most do not realize what it means to have that true bread which comes out of heaven. I suspect no one is reading this blog, but if you have been, I recommend you get down to business, quit playing, and find the meaning of "the manna that came down from heaven." Bite through to the true meaning of the word, (hexagram 21 line 4) and stop playing. Get serious.

Biting Through

And speaking of union, or unity, there are often times when we have to break through barriers to unity. Hexagram twenty one relates a time when one needs to take action, strong action, but in regard to what? In one respect, this refers to breaking through to the barriers that keep us from our true inner work. We must always be ready and willing to take action to work on ourselves, and especially, to come to know our inner selves, as is often called the Sage, or the Superior Man in the I Ching. In the writings of Paul this is referred to as "putting on the mind of Christ." But always and ever we must be on guard for wrongful or innacurate ways of thinking and responding. We must be on guard that the ego does not take over. Hexagram twenty one tells us of our need to break through the barriers that keep us from union with our inner self. It also refers to barriers that keep us from uniting our inner yin and yang, our male and female. Again, it can refer to barriers that keep us from meeting and uniting with our true soul mate, or as some would say, twin ray. The Wilhelm/Baynes commentary says that this is always due to a slanderer and a talebearer. On the physical level this is true. But on another level our ego selves operate in this same manner, always telling us that the ego must keep control, or else bad things might happen to us. But the ego cannot save us. It is too small. It is only the still small voice, from within, that can show us the way.

Computers

Well, I recently installed windows Vista, and to a certain extent I love it, but it has created problems, my printer no longer works, and some of my programs aren't working right.

Anyway, getting back to the subject at hand, the I Ching, and esoteric material, the lady in the third chapter of the I Ching, waits ten years before accepting a man.

If anybody thinks men and women think, or react to things alike, they are barking up the wrong tree. Most men are totally unsuccessful with women, because they haven't got a clue about the opposite sex's mental and emotional makeup. And yes, women, though you don't think so, you have total, complete and total control over social relationships. Many men slip on the rocks of social interaction because they do not know. And often, their social life is damaged, sometimes even their career, beyond repair all because they do not understand the different way in which the female mind works. It does not work to be nice to a woman. (I'm not talking about being rude either, although that is better than being too nice.) At first this seems very strange, and yet, in some odd way, I have over the years eventually discovered a rational for this. And for men, I do recommend the work of David DeAngelo in this matter. He's not spiritually oriented at all, but in terms of yin and yang, male and female, one can see a whole new perspective. Men who are not nice, often seem to a woman to just be playing with them, and how much better that than some guy who just gushes over them, showing no self control at all. Unfortunately for men, something as simple as a hello can be taken by some women as a come on. Many men falter on this level alone.

Well, back to the I Ching, hexagram 31 gives us some general guidelines to follow, and if we understood the original language, I am sure we would have more to go by, but there is something available to us anyway. The general gist of the hexagram is that we should not "rush in where angels fear to tread." Or, in other words, take your time, be careful about how you go about approaching someone. We should not just follow our inclinations at any given time, but be able to hold back. And this works not just in male female relationships, but is a life principle in general. Sometimes it is much better to take our time about things, and develop good relationships, or in other cases, a good working model, before we go on with anything.

A new contribution

I have added just a touch to my blog http://genessequentialiching.blogspot.com/ There will be more coming shortly.

Oracles

I have been reading a fascinating book by William Henry called, "Oracle of the illuminati." I recommed it to everyone for a fascinating new, and probably very alien to most, definition and viewpoint of esoteric Christianity and near eastern, (and far eastern too) thought. Check out his web page that I have listed.

Union

All through the I Ching we have the message of union or unity and how it can be brought about. We see this right at the beginning: And in hexagram three the first attempts at union are made, for here is the beginning of all things. When yin and yang split, there is at once an attempt to reunite. Was it "Peaches and Cream"? who sang, "Reunited and it feels so good, reunited cause we understood..." This is one of the deepest messages of the I Ching. How we can reunite. This issue involves many levels but the principles are basically the same on each level. On one level we reunite the yin and the yang within ourselves, on another we reunite with our soul mate, on another we reunite with the family we belong with, and on another we reunite with our leaders, and society as a whole. Finally we reunite with the sage and then reunite with the eternal one, the source of all. The I Ching, as well as all other truly sacred scriptures is an oracle that in metaphorical and allegorical terms teaches us how to do that.

So in hexagram three we see this evolution taking place on a core level. From mistrust to "hitching the wagon." Or getting hitched, to our soul mate, to our divine inner self, on each level. The first line tells us we cannot do it alone. We need a helper. That helper on one level can be our true spiritual guide, the Sage that is so often talked about in the I Ching, or the superior man, the I Ching itself. The inner part of us that is the real I, that is what I am talking about. The problem in line two is that we have learned to distrust others. But why do we mistrust others? Because when our minds are not clear and we are walking about in the dark, in the illusion of a materiTal world, we cannot trust even ourselves. From here we walk about as if "in a dark forest" thinking to ourselves all the time that we are not blind, hence we do not need any helper, especially not from some mystical inner world. But because of allowing ourselves that illusion, we reincarnate over and over again, never remembering who we are. But the fourth line says, "an opportunity to make connections offers itself. Neither false pride nor false reserve should deter us." The third line sees no need for a teacher. In its arrogance it says, "We are not blind." We need no teacher. The fourth line, in contradistinction, says, "Strive for union." The fourth line sees the potential for a connection, especially with the fifth line, the one in authority. The fifth line recognizes the problems, but here, although he has good will toward others, unity is still not fully achieved, because now, although he no longer has to deal with his/her own distrust, he/she must deal with the mistrust of others. He realizes the rational behind this, thus does not attack full force, but works toward developing mutual confidence.

The same thing happens, in respect to the fifth line, in the way the Sage, the I Ching, the eternal Father/Mother, teaches us. It realizes our lack of faith and understanding. It recognizes the blind spots in our thinking, and rather than forcing its brand of teaching on us, allows for the life experiences offered an individual according to one's own karma, to allow us to be brought to a place of acceptance and humility in life, so that we may be taught.

Unhitching the wagon

Hello everyone

In continuance with hexagram three...

The issue here is one of a struggle. When spirit falls into matter, (or Adam and Eve falls into sin, or onto the material plain, or duality becomes part of our psyche) there is by nature at this point a struggle to find oneself. The fall, as it can be called, entails a bit of amnesia. We do not remember who we truly are, or what our true spiritual heritage is because we fall become as a result of the fall, esoterically speaking, separated from our true spirit. This is the meaning in the book of Genesis when God says, "in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." The serpent says, "Yeah, does God say... Ye shall not surely die for in the day... Your eyes shall be opened to know good and evil." And every since then esotericists, and literalists have been arguing over the true meaning. For obviously man did not die on that day, in fact, his eyes were opened, so who was lying and who was telling the truth? It would appear at first glance that God was the one that was really lying. But was he? Perhaps there is a different meaning to the death that he was talking about. The death, perhaps, entailed a bit of amnesia. Man forgot his true spiritual heritage, where yin and yang are not separate, and now live in separation, not only from God, but from one another, being split in two. (The esoteric meaning of the taking of a rib from Adam.

Well, we could discourse about this for a while, but let's get back to the I Ching. In hexagram three, the split has occurred. Man now sees himself as separate. Separate from God, separate from the observed universe, and separate from his female counterpart. Since he has forgotten who he is, now there is a sense of urgency in the sense that he needs to find his way in the world. (We will shortly be discussing this concept in a discussion of hexagram 53 also, and then later from all the first lines in the I Ching,) More than this, we see not only the story of the fall of man in hexagram three, but also a hidden discussion of the separation of man from woman. When we seek (unconsciously) to reunite our male and female side, we run into confusion for some time. As a result of the fall, or the separation, there is a natural tendency to be wary of our fellow man, as well as even our own soul mate. The first impression is that the other is a robber. The other has come to steal from us or take something away from us if even only our virtue. It is only in the course of deep events and incarnations full of experience, that we begin to see others in their more positive form. (For it is the way we ((inwardly)) see others that ultimately shapes the experience that we have with others.) For a more detailed discussion of this, see hexagram thirty eight.

Since we tend for the most part, and pretty readily, to misperceive the intentions of others, it is often in our own best interests not to immediately except the help that is offered until we have matured enough to recognize the good in others. In a discussion I remember, there was a question presented to the I Ching about a woman's relationship with a man, and hexagram 3 line 2 was at least part of the answer. Some said she should not accept that man but wait on another. This depends a great deal on the situation, for though there is a hint of this in the Wilhelm/Baynes commentary, the real question is, have conditions settled down? Have they settled down enough that we see clearly? Are we now in a position where we can make proper judgments?

More on hexagram 3 later

Affirmations

By the way, I hope that anyone reading this will realize they need to be on Hilary's website, reading and contributing to the conversations. They are very helpful, especially for beginners, but others too.

http://onlineclarity.co.uk/

She recently recommended a book about "Why affirmations don't work." I don't know what the book said, I haven't read it, but I do have something to say in this regard. Well, this is built right into the I Ching. The first two hexagrams relate to the division of yin and yang. In hexagram three, the division of yin and yang lead to "the fall" or the situation of the descent of spirit into matter. Then the I Ching actually starts with hexagram three which tells us of the fall and the confusion that follows the descent. Because there is confusion, the fledgling needs a teacher. (Hexagram four) It is not until the end of the book that yin and yang find their proper places, hexagram 63, and lead to harmony, 63 and 64. When yin and yang separate the mind becomes confused because it is torn into two parts. It no longer recognizes unity, but now recognizes duality. As such, an attempt to recognize the positive, as in an affirmation, automatically brings into mind the possibility of its opposite. Therefore if we affirm that we are beautiful, the exact opposite is brought to mind as well. We may not be immediately aware of this. When we do an affirmation, we are normally thinking what we want to be. When we think of what we want to be, we are affirming that we are not that now. The best way is not to affirm that we are beautiful, but to simply see ourselves joyfully in the present, not in the future, as being that. This is what we are already, it is not a future event to be attained, it is now. When we simply joyfully recognize what we already are, we are not bringing into mind the possibility of the opposite. We can have anything we want. The trick is knowing what we want. The old addage, if that works then why aren't you rich is unfair. There are a multitude of things to be and accomplish besides being rich. Best to recognize that richness in the other, as well as ourselves, once again as here and now, not in the future. In this way we create wealth for all, not just ourselves. Whatever "type" of wealth we wish for, that is. Physical, spiritual, emotional, what have you.

Thank you Carlos

Carlos was kind enough to comment on his website, which is in Spanish. I do not speak Spanish well, but I can give a hint of what his website is about, and I believe, there are websites out there that can do translations for us.

Carlos's website is

http://www.personal.able.es/cm.perez/

The headline says something to the effect of "The Art of Strategy." Which I think is in effect, "The Art of War." The website is, in effect about that. Next is a quote from Sun Tzu who wrote "The Art of War." The quote is: "He who wins a battle is strong. He who wins before a battle is powerful. The highest wisdom is to win without a fight." Some of you might enjoy this website.

Gene

Relationships

Good grief Charlie Brown

There just isn't enough time for anything. I just bought a new book (my subconscious complexes are having a hey day, One belief system is saying you don't have money, time, or the need for a new book. The other is saying, you do, you do, and you do.) To make matters worse, I bought one just yesterday that is a combination of relationships, science looking at consciousness, and the male and female approach to relationships.

(I said I would do more on hexagram three, and I will, but this is as you might say, breaking news.)

Why relationships? Because it is something every one is interested in, and hopefully there are a number of people out there reading this. (Hopefully more than I think are reading it.) Once again, I do not feel qualified to talk about relationships. I have been alone most of my life, with few exceptions. I have problems carrying on a discussion if it is outside the field of metaphysics. And in order to get into relationships, a man has to be capable of not appearing interested, which is just not my style. I am what I am. (See Sun Tzu's classic, "The Art of War," and apply it to relationships.

The problem with relationships boils down, to a large extent to this. Both sexes feel they are being misunderstood, and dominated by the other sex. This is due to the fact that women feel like their emotions are not validated, and men feel like they are overwhelmed and swamped by a woman's emotions. It is a yin and yang situation, my friends, pure and simple. Yes, women, men feel dominated just as you do. Why? because women being more yin, network much more, are not so much rugged individualists, and with their feelings they cower us into a corner, afraid to come out because he will be shouted down by the collective voice of women? Are men and women both dominated? In a way, yes, and in a way no. We are because we have certain mental predispositions that lead us in certain directions without our ever realizing there is another choice. We live according to our tendencies.

Let me put it this way. A fully integrated person, a Chuang Tzu, will have integrated yin with yang. And on the personal level, he/she thinks, but thinks with feeling. Pure rationalism might work in working out a mathematical formula, but in order to conceive of the possibility of a mathematical formula, intuition and feeling must be integrated into the process. Rationalism can only carry us so far. But becoming immersed in emotionalism can lead us off the track as well. It behoves both sexes to understand this. A man needs to listen to a woman's feelings, and accept them for what they are, whether he sees the logic in them or not. This is very, very difficult, for often a woman will, when pressed to the limit fight back with extreme emotion, anger, what have you, and a man, in accordance with the laws that we live with, can do nothing, but move away from the situation. On the same level, a man must understand, and find the rationality of the emotional argument. For, for her, there is a rationality to it. It is just hard to cut to the chase sometimes, and understand what that is.

While it is true that thoughts are things, thoughts by themselves cannot create. In order to create, one must infuse the magnetic power of attraction found only, or at least much more so in emotion, (In actuality, all thoughts have some emotion attached to them.) It is emotion that creates, we just need to be careful what we create, (rationalism.) Jesus made this clear in the book of Thomas, when some of the men were upset because a woman seemingly ranked higher than them; but Jesus said, "When the male becomes female, and the male female." And in the beginning of the book of Thomas it is said, something to the effect, When one can make the inner outer, and the outer inner..." And again, "Whoever discovers the meaning of these words shall not taste of death."

Compare with the Tao Teh Ching, where it is said in chapter ten:

Comparing body and soul, and embracing the one, can you avoid separation?

Opening an closing the gates of heaven, can you play the role of women?

And they tell me Christianity is a unique religion!!!

The beginning, Hexagram 3

The things I might pose about hexagram three are not obvious, and some might take issue, but those truly schooled in Eastern thought, and/or esoteric Christianity, might recognize the full potential of these ideas. Hexagram three is really the first hexagram. Hexagram one and two are merely archetypes for that perennial energy that has always existed. In reality it exists as one. There is no separation of yin and yang. The separation is merely a necessary illusion so that life may have experience. When the one becomes two, there is division and separation.

The book of Changes, or the Yi Jing, is really a story of the prodigal son. In the 3rd hexagram, the son leaves his father's home. In essence, yin and yang is divided and the son recognizes both joy and sorrow. In hexagram sixty one, the son finds inner truth, and in hexagram sixty two he returns to his home base. Hexagram 63 and 64, however, show us the cyclical nature of time and space, and that there is nothing new under the sun. In other words, what has happened before will happen again, and the son will once again leave his heavenly home. In the same way, spirit enters into, and becomes matter. However, matter is not dead solidity, as we have believed in our illusion for so long, for it is infused with spirit, which has awareness. All matter is spirit, and therefore aware. The nuclear hexagram in hexagram three tells us of this fall from grace, Adam from the Garden, spirit into matter. The prodigal son leaves his home. (Hexagram fifty six tells us something of the wonderings of the prodigal son in the material realm. The realm of illusion. Hexagram 47 tells us of the dreariness of this "world of illusion." A gloomy place.) The prodigal son goes through the dark night of the soul, and once again, decides to return to his fathers home, where he can find his true spirit, his true home, his true life, his riches, his inheritance.

Since the way back home involves the reintegration of yin and yang, in their proper places and matches, (hexagram sixty three is the only one that is totally correct) then the image of a marriage of soul mates is presented in this hexagram. In order to properly integrate yin and yang, we must have a proper match with our inner psyche with our outer consciousness. Without this we just wonder in the wilderness. (hexagram fifty six, as well as others.) On a societal level, the integration comes about by finding our true soul mate. (There is much discussion of this, much longing for this in society today, but one must realize, one will never be integrated with his or her true soul mate until such time as a full ripening of the individual comes about. Before this time, even though we more than occassionally meet and marry our soul mate, it does not appear to be so, and divorce or trouble happens because we do not have the true inner integration.)

And one more point for tonight, before we go on about this hexagram, on a third level, the integration is between the individual and the sage. Hexagram three says we cannot do it alone, we need helpers. Line three says something to the effect, "If we hunt in the forest without a guide, we only get lost in the forest. To integrate yin and yang, we need spiritual teachers. True teachers who have proven themselves. We cannot integrate without a teacher. And hexagram four is about the teacher.

More on this later.

That which endures

Hexagram 32 teaches us that it is that which changes which is that which endures. This is because what changes is what is cyclic in its progression. What has happened will happen again. But within the individual it is an unswerving direction that endures. This is what counts. It goes without saying that that direction should be positive. Different people, however, will have different opinions on what is positive and what is not. Often peoples intentions seem very negative to others but very positive to those who are carrying them out. This is why we need a guide. Hexagram three line four says, "Whoever hunts deer without the forester only loses his way in the forest." To most of us it seems that we come into life without a guide for living. That is not true however, we do have guides. We have the sacred literature. We have the I Ching, the Tao Teh Ching, and the Bible. Often though, we unknowingly trivialize them and do not recognize them for what they are. Even when we recognize the power of the literature, we often think of it as only a trinket, useful for divination, or for some knotty question, but never as a true guide for ourselves. There was some discussion some time back on online clarity about whether there is even such thing as a sage. Mark my words, those who think there is not a sage, do not have a very deep understanding about what spirituality is all about. The sage is there to guide us and to teach us. He is at our disposal, as long as we approach him/her with the proper respect, and dignity. The Sage is the forester, who shows us the way through the wilderness. The Sage is the one who is discussed constantly in the words of the text, and in the judgments and images. The Sage is the one with the keys to the kiingdom. (See hexagram 20 line 4.) The Sage shows us where we are on the ever changing cycle of time. When we are in the peak of a time or energy wave, when we are in a valley, or when we are on an even keel. He/she is the one who sees us through the gloomy valley of hexagram 47, who helps us with our deliverance from karma in hexagram 40, the one who abides in the deep ravine of knowledge and wisdom in hexagram 29. The Sage teaches us when to advance, and when to retreat. (Hexagram 33 and 34) The Sage teaches us to look at the positive potential in times of darkness, (hexagram 12) and the inherent dangers that lurk in times of peace. The Sage teaches us that all things ebb and flow, and we must learn to read the signs of the times. This is what never changes, is that ebb and flow. As Sun Tzu said, "it is not enough to know that when the leaves change color winter is approaching, or to know that when the ice thaws spring approaches, one must read the signs before the obvious signs, and in time will come to not just know, but be reconciled and one with the ebb and flow of all things, and therefore, always prepared. Do we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead, with the right understanding of the signs of the times?

A copy of my review

This is a review of a book I have admittedly only partially read by Ben Witherington III, regarding the church and the Da Vinci code. The name of the book is, The Gospel Code: Novel Claims About Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Da Vinci (Paperback)

But I do want to bring up the importance of the meaning of history in terms of whether one believes in the more literal or more allegorical meaning of the gospels.

"I am not going to say a lot because in all honesty, I need to finish the book. But there is an important statement here I would like to make. So much boils down to what an individual believes is the history of the church. Ben Witherington the III seems to be of the opinion that the gnostic scriptures do not come until later. This is certainly not my understanding of history. And in order to take this view, this stance, of history one must be somewhat apologetic of the Roman Catholic Church, even if one is a protestant. It is stated in the book something to the effect that Constantine became a Christian and presided in a kindly manner over the council of Nicaea. It is certainly questionable whether Constantine ever was a convert in anything more than name. His only conversion was one of convenience to keep Rome from falling apart. It is my understanding of history, that in presiding over the council, Constantine consistently used the power of the sword whenever his view of what Christianity should be was challenged, and Bishops who opposed his point of view were removed from the council by force, and a revote was taken. Can I prove this? No. Not any more than I think anyone can prove otherwise, but the weight of the actions of the church over a 1000 year reign, I think, proves incontroversably, that the church was not interested in truth, but in control. It is without question, over the next 1000 years of the reign of Rome via the church, that multitudes of individuals who questioned the church in any way were tortured horribly and killed. They were furthermore, tortured and killed even if they recanted and admitted they were in error. I don't think anyone can deny this aspect of history. It is too well documented. So why would the church care about preserving the truth? It is also, without question, that the church over the next thousand years, sought out any documents they considered detrimental to the churches rule, and burned those documents. It has been well established that the church added and deleted text from the supposedly cannonical scriptures. Can anyone therefore, affirm incontrovertibly, that the scriptures that have come down to us are the inerrant words of God regardless? I think this is a very dangerous position to take.

It is also questionable whether the gnostic documents came earlier or later. Throughout history there have been God man saviors who were surrounded by a mythology, so to speak, almost identical to the story of Jesus. Is it still therefore reasonable to believe in a literal and only literal interpretation of the Bible? Why then did Jesus speak in parables? Why was it that even when he interpreted the parables, he claimed that the disciples still did not understand? Even without gnostic texts it becomes apparent that there was a secret doctrine. And when one delves into the secret doctrine, they find they can no longer go back to that literalness, it is no longer of import to them, not because they are ignorant or deceived, but because they now have the "inner light" of gnosis, something Ben Witherington apparently knows nothing about. When one attains a deeper understanding, one realizes unquestionably the futility in believing in a literal god man savior. It, folks, just aint so. But prove it? Each person will have to decide for themselves.

At any rate, if one is of a fundamentalist disposition, one will tend to believe the so called scholars who are also of that persuasion. If not, one is more inclined to believe those scholars that are more critical of the church. There is no proof one way or another that one set of doctrines came earlier than another. To many of us who study these things it appears very strongly that both sets of doctrines were preached at the same time. The more literal set was preached for those who were not ready for the higher mysteries. There is ample evidence in the cannonical gospels themselves that there was a set of doctrine for the masses and another for the elite.

So which version of history do you believe in? It is up to each individual to decide. But I am very unattracted, though I once found refuge in, a literalist church that in one way or another was created and/or strongly influenced by Roman Catholicism. I find it very, very hard to believe in a God whose attitude is that those that don't believe the way he prefers they do should be burned at the stake as heretics. Even as the book of Revelations says, "Mystery Bablyon,(Roman Catholicism) mother of harlots, (protestant churches) and abominations in the earth."

When you wear Rose colored glasses, you tend to see religion, as well as everything else, in a perverted way. Is there a savior outside of ourselves? A deeper understanding of the hidden meanings of the parables and sayings of Jesus, with the alternate and deeper meanings of the Greek and other language words, would indicate there is not. In fact, the gospels begin to sound a lot, and I mean a lot more like a Bhuddist or Taoist text than a god savior manuscript. I will even go further. A deeper understanding shows a text full of meanings that mirror and parallel quantum physics, and the way we can related to the "Divine Matrix," as some would call it.

Nothing more at this time, but I do feel that Ben Witherington, not to critisize, he has written and excellent book, needs to look deeper into the material that he himself presents, unprejudiced by a fundamentalist eye."

Overcoming the world

There is much in sacred scriptures, Eastern and Western, that relates to the "overcoming of the world." As we become spiritual, we attain less interest in worldly matters. But perhaps there is a deeper meaning here. If we think of the world as meaning "the illusion" maya, the materialization of the "Divine Matrix," then we can understand "overcoming the world" in a whole different light. Many mystics and saints, many deeply spiritual monks, priests, and what have you, have sought refuge in temples away from the world, to complete their meditation, their yogic practices, and their transforming of the mind. And this is not wrong, but we can look at this in a deeper way. Jesus said, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." We can look at this without being wrong in the same sense we think of this as becoming "superior" to the world. But let's take a paradigm shift, or a perception shift and look at this as a matter of overcoming the tendency to look at the world as an object that exists outside of ourselves. Let's look at this as meaning one who no longer looks upon the world as a real entity separate from oneself, but now understands that the world is an illusion created by the mind, and can just as easily be dispelled by the mind. Such a person has overcome the world in the sense that he/she is no longer under its power and subjugation, but realizes that since he/she is one with this world, and that it is just an illusion of the mind, that the world becomes a malleable instrument through which he can communicate with the universal subconscious mind behind it, and that the world bends to his will. In essence he/she becomes a co creator, with God. He/she understands the meaning in quantum phsyics of "spooky action at a distance," because the world is not really physical, it is immaterial, and is subject to the will of the creator, and the co creator.

In the gospel of Thomas it is stated, "he that has found the world has found a corpse." The world as we know it is just that, a dead piece of material that has no intelligence, and is simply hard matter, nothing more. This is indeed a corpse. But in a different sense, finding the world is finding a corpse because it is not real. It simply appears real to us. It is Maya, it is an illusion. It is as we perceive it. Jesus said to the rulers of his day, "ye are from below, I am from above. Below is the world, the illusion that we believe to be real. He was from above; he operated from a set of principles that recognized the unreality of the physical dimension. He was above the world in the sense that he did not operate from Newtonian scientific principles, but from Quantum principles, the metaphysical reality that no one really yet understands. The world is truly subject to our will, if we really understand the principles behind it. Can we overcome the world? Can we say like Jesus, "I and my father our one." The father is that divine matrix, from which we all are born, and from which we all return. Both the organic and the inorganic, all part of that divine matrix.

Hexagram seventeen speaks to us of conforming. But what do we conform to? The essence of the hexagram is a matter of recognizing what is right and following it. The secret is recognizing what is right. When we see with a higher vision, (hexagram 20) we understand better what is right. We also gain a deeper understanding of the principles of life, of the matrix. In another sense, hexagram seventeen gives us another view of our relationship with the Sage, with the I Ching, with the Christ, with the Buddha, with the Tao. For we must conform to the divine father/mother's will. This is our proper attitude toward the I Ching, is that of a student willingly following a proven correct teacher; a master. We must know how to adapt to the yardstick that is set before us, adapting to the time, to the way, to the teacher. In so doing, the standard changes, (line one). When we have a "second birth, a spiritual birth, the standard of our perception changes to an understanding that the world is merely an illusion. Are we willing to be "born again?" Are we willing to change our perspective, and see the world for what it is, a dead corpse?

A possibly interesting biofeedback site

Some of you might find this meditation/biofeedback site interesting.

http://www.biocybernaut.com/

Pointing at the moon

When one attempts to teach a lesson, in a sense, he is pointing at the moon. One must remember, the finger pointing is not the moon. In many different ways, an instructor points at the moon, but it is too easy for the student to get caught up in the meaning of the finger and not look at the moon. I myself, in presenting this material, have never figured out a way to adequately or accurately point at the moon. Even when all the pointers are taken together, the message is still not clear, and I am not sure how to deal with this. Jesus, or the Sage in the I Ching, had no problem presenting their meaning, albeit in allegorical form, in a way that could by those most adept at understanding the symbolical forms, and "pulling down the kingdom."

It is to be remembered, though, that even the disciples of Jesus, of the Buddha, of Mohammed, of Lao Tzu, or whoever, could not fully fathom the message that was being taught. They needed to break through their world view of a material world, and even when doing that, it is in a superficial way. A few of Jesus' disciples understood better than others, but did any really get it? I don't know. Do I? Probably not on a really truly deeply level. You see, we have all bought into a viewpoint of an existing material world, where things outside of us need to be controlled. Some have bought into it deeper and more powerfully than others. As such, many of us have bought into the idea of the Jesus story being a religious thing. The same is true of the Confucian model and the Taoist model. Actually, it is not religion at all, and is in fact, a higher level science than the science that exists in our classrooms today. For the true teaching of Jesus and Lao Tzu, and the Buddha, was that of a way that our souls, our deeper psychological being could interact with the "Divine Matrix," as Greg Braden would call it, that "web that has no weaver." The deeper teachings of Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism are not concerned with religion, they are not concerned with a "we approach God this way, not that way, mentality," but are concerned with the way, the only way, that a human being, male, or female, can interact with the "Divine Matrix." This Matrix is now starting to be very seriously taken by quantum physicists, and believe me, the parables of Jesus are quantum physics at its finest. The parables, eastern, and/or western, are concerned with one thing. The way reality works, the maleability of reality according to our inner belief systems, and the way to approach and become one with this underlying unity. When Einstein first learned about the strange world of quantum physics, he could not accept it, calling it quantum spookiness at a distance. ( Because information packets, or quantum packets, photons, what have you seemed in some cases to arrive at their destinations before they left.) Every particle in the universe seems to interact with every other particle in the universe, and it does so immediately. The Chinese have been saying this in their own way for centuries. They have said something to the effect that, "the wave of a hand changes particles throughout the universe, and it does so instantaneously." Think of the implications of this. Think for a moment what that and the following really mean." The following being that, it appears that all particles/waves, are nonlocal. In other words, they exist everywhere at the same time. People have questioned, "If there is a God, where is he? Is he in this solar system? Maybe over there, maybe over here, or maybe he is in another galaxy." Their point is that there can be no God. Well, when you talk about that kind of God, they are right. There is no God. But there is that. There is this. When talking to Moses, Yahweh says, "I am that I am." In other words, there is nothing that he is not, and there is nothing that he is. He/She is the "Divine Matrix." The web that has no weaver, the Tao. When we understand that, and when we understand all that that entails, that we are all one, the scriptures, east and west, begin to take on a new significance. We understand why Jesus must have spoken in riddles. As such, the apostle Paul says, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery..." Why? There are at least two reasons, one, understanding the laws of the universe by those who are not purified could lead to dire consequences, and we can see that in the present when mankind, for example, now has access to nuclear weapons, but is not on a sufficiently high moral plain to be able to use them wisely. The second reason is, most of the mysteries of the kingdom would not be understood by the masses anyway, who, in their minds, cannot help but notice that all the objects in the world are separate from each other. What utter nonsense to think otherwise. As Paul again said, "Which none of the princes of this world knew,,," And unfortunately, to a large extent, neither do we know, for we have not been yet accepted the offer of the kingdom, even though Jesus said, "It is the father's good will to give you the kingdom." How it behooves us to understand the deeper message. Rather, as Jesus said, "ye have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear." For when the gospel of the kingdom is given unto us, we do not enter in ourselves, nor do we allow others to enter in.

A hidden mystery

In the East it is reported that the old Chi Kung, or Tai Chi masters, or Kung Fu masters, were really looking for a way to mortality. However, the few that found it, were very careful about who was the recipient of their secrets. In the West, it is somewhat the same way, although the methodologies to gain the "fountain of youth" in the west have been all but lost. In the East the masters closely guarded their secrets. In the west, this too, in a way is true, albeit in a different way.

Alah, the story of Jesus. Much has been in the news lately about the finding of the burial ground of Jesus, the story has been developed by Mr. Cameron, the Cameron that created the latest story about the Titanic. This creates a furor in Christian circles because western Christianity is founded on the believe that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. Paul says, "if Christ be not raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain." As William Henry says, a deep researcher into the hidden meanings of the gospels, "the beliefs of the average Christian are so superficial..." And that, I must declare, is true. For the true esoteric Christian, or gnostic Christian believer, it makes little if any difference whether Jesus actually rose from the dead or not. The important part of the story is the allegorical.

A hidden mystery abounds. In this world, we have a cache of men, and I suppose women, who are deadly serious about enslaving mankind. They have wanted this through the ages, and have not ceased in their efforts to enslave mankind. Since there are much more of the average good person around, they must use deceit excessively to reach their goals. There is also a small group of people on this planet who wish for the upliftment of mankind. These work for the most part in the dark also. Not because they are of the dark, but because they realize mankind as a whole is not ready for the deeper teachings. So while the enslavers purposely perpetrate religious systems that are for a large extent false, the liberators allow it and even to a certain extent encourage it so that those who are not ready will not receive the deeper teachings.

As such the darker side of the Roman Catholic Church, in their attempt to use the Church to unify Rome, enforced an incorrect and superficial doctrine of literality to be followed by the laity. But the deeper teachings of Jesus have not been totally confused. In the gospels, where it talks about Mary coming to see the empty tomb, she sees Jesus. At first she doesn't recognize him, but she recognizes his voice. (My sheep hear my voice.) The Jesus says, do not touch me, for I have not yet risen to my father. The vast majority of Christiandom has not a single clue as to why that pasage has survived in there. The Roman Church didn't bother deleting it from the "Holy" scriptures, because they too, knew no one would have a clue as to why it was there. But a few do understand the greater impact of the verse. The verse, as most verses are, is an allegory regarding the building of a light body, a body that is incorruptible: Not something we get in some far off heaven, but something we get here and now when we do the work. This is the deeper meaning, and/or the deeper aspect of the second birth. The birth of the spiritual body. In developing his light body, Jesus needed for a time the opportunity to allow the full body of light to develop without being touched, for the touching of real flesh would indeed stop the process.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches the literal, if anything, to the masses, but they themselves admit there is a deeper doctrine. Well, did Jesus say of the Pharisees, as well as those who would come later in sheep's clothing, "You do not enter the kingdom of heaven yourselves, and you do not allow anyone else to do so either." They demanded strict adherence to the literalness of the law, though they did not obey it themselves, and they refused to follow and teach others the following of the deeper allegorical meanings. The churches for the most part today are guilty of the same thing.

I am not saying there is no value in the literal understanding. but there is something much deeper, and that in early Christianity required the "second initiation." As the book of Hebrews would say, "For the time that you ought to become teachers... and have become as such that need milk, and not of strong meat." The milk is the literal interpretation, the meat is the deeper, allegorical meaning. The story of Jesus is an allegory of the birth of the Christ Child within, the light body, that is, the immortal spirit, called the immortal fetus in China, the death of Jesus is an allegory of the death of the ego, the resurrection is an allegory of the newness of life in the light body. Is the light body tough to create? You bet it is, and for most of us it is no longer an option, but the point I make here is that we need to look deeper, to understand the spiritual meaning of the verses in all the sacred scriptures; to come to a deeper understanding of the nature of love, of reality, of the spiritual laws, of the meaning of prayer and meditation, and how it can benefit us. So that one day we too, even if we can't in this present life, may reach nirvana, or in western terms, the kingdom of heaven.

In the beginning

"In the beginning living aware energy split into two equal and complementary but opposite poles and the heaven above and the earth beneath came into existence."

My version of Genesis chapter one verse one. (See the first two chapters of the "Tao Teh Ching."

The heaven here is defined as the dimension of higher physics, earth is the material plane. The material plane is naught but the inverse image of the higher dimensional field which is called heaven. The "Kingdom of heaven" as described by Jesus is a quantum mechanical physics state which is higher than the physical. It is in this quantum field, this state, this dimension, this plane, that all material substances are created. However, one must remember that the physical dimension is in all aspects only an illusion. It is a real illusion though, created by the interaction of waves of energy, that in their interaction create the illusion of matter. Therefore, when one enters the "kingdom of heaven," it does not mean one goes to heaven, but that one can operate in a higher dimension, and create a reality that is to his/her liking. This is the real meaning of magic. It is not sorcery as we think of it, but only the manipulation of matter by the powers of the mind to create the world we want. We think of the world as outside of us. We are constantly in fear and in awe of it because as long as we see it as outside of us, and separate from us, it becomes a danger to be controlled before it bites us. The superior man does not see any longer in the world the tumult and the turmoil that he once saw, (see the commentary on the image of hexagram 52) because he realizes that the outside world is a mirror image of his inside world, and to change the outside world, one sees clearly that one must change the inside world, and this he can do, by following universal law.

One can get a really interesting perspective on the nature of the physical world by studying "hyperdimensional physics," as related by Richard C. Hoagland and others. One website worth browsing is http://www.enterprisemission.com/physics.html

A petty man cannot do this

Actually, we are all petty people because none of us can do this with any consistency. Hexagram fourteen lne three says, "He is harmed by great possessionsnother, ., because instead of sacrificing them, he would keep them for himself." There are certain principles and laws upon which the cosmos, or if you prefer, the universe, is founded. And often they are in computerese, counterintuitive. It seems that in order to have we must get, but all of the ancient sacred texts tell us that the true way to get is to give. As is said in the text, "A prince offers it to the Son of Heaven." In otherwords, he sacrifices in order to have. Like the monkey with his hand in the cookie jar, we cannot escape the jar until we let go of the cookie in our hand. Now, I am sure some will say, nonsense. You make your money, and you invest it. Yes, but to make that money requires a sacrifice of some kind or another. If not the sacrifice of money, then it is the sacrifice of time and labor. Then in investing it, one gives others a chance to use that money for their own good, and in return, both share a fortune. But more than this, I am talking about an attitude; an attitude that says, "it is not exclusively mine." An understanding isrequired here, that when we give to others, we are truly giving to ourselves, because we are all one.An attitude of sharing is an attitude that will eventually be returned to us, and in our hour of need...

Hoarding wealth at the exclusion of all else is a sign of fear, a fear of lack and poverty, and even if we do not experience that in this lifetime, we will eventually, for as Job said, "The thing that I have greatly feared has come upon me." The image in hexagram fourteen says, "...And thereby obeys the benevolent will of heaven." This is because he does not fear. He understands that what is his , upon being sacrificed, will by the belevlent will of heaven, be returned to him. In essence, everything, including money, is just energy, and the more energy is used and expended, the more becomes available to us. In this way, we can pray, "Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

More on the family

Hi everyone

In Michelle's comments she made some good points. I was making my statements in reference to how the I Ching in every line is talking about itself, and itself in relationship to us. I hope to write more on this later, but for now, I might mention that when the text says, "the perseverance of the woman furthers, it is in many ways speaking about perseverance of the yin form of energy. The yin form of energy can refer to many things. It can refer to a receptive or yielding kind of energy, it can refer to a devoted kind of energy, it can refer to an indirect approach, or many things.

If one notes the structure of this hexagram, one will notice that the middle line in the lower trigram is yin and the middle line in the upper is yang. These are the proper places for the yin and yang lines to be respectively. The second line is centered and balanced, as is the fifth. Also, note, in terms of relationships, which I will talk about eventually, but not a lot because I am of no great authority on the subject, that almost always when the second line is yin and the fifth yang, the hexagram as a whole is structured to be generally positively geared toward relationships. (That doesn't mean though that every changing line is going to be positive.) If we look at the structure of hexagrams overall, the structure is that the lower hexagram is inner, and the upper is outer. In this hexagram, the second line, being yin, says, "She must attend within to the food." In other words, the properly placed yin energy stays within a given structure, and supports the family. While the yang, in the upper hexagram, supports the family through his work and his discipline.

Now, anybody reading this, let's do a little experiment. actually, you will have to do it more than once, over and over again many times, but in time you will feel it. Practice breathing, especially if you can get into a meditational state, practice breathing energy, or chi through your hands. At first, and for many many tries, this will be little if any more than imagination. But in time you will feel the chi. When you begin to feel the chi, you will begin to realize as you breathe in, that the hands turn cold, as you breathe out, the hands will turn warmer. This is because within is yin, and another quality of yin is that it is colder. These energies are real, but their reality can only be experienced with practice. lf you find a good chi kung, or qigong master, you can learn much deeper aspects of this energy. But you will also come to understand that the qualities attributed to yin and yang are not just arbitrary, Buddhist and Taoist monks spent centuries experimenting with these energies in order to describe them properly as to how they really work.

The family

Hi everyone

The thirty seventh section of the I Ching discusses the family. We all know what family means, both nuclear and extended; let's extend it one more step. Our relationship with the I Ching; for I mentioned sometime ago that in every chapter, every verse, the I Ching is talking about itself, and more specifically, speaking of itself in relationship to us. Between ourselves and the I Ching, we are a nuclear family. And in this family, there must be order, and a proper delegation of duties and responsibilities. In modern western society, there is sometimes exception taken to the stanzas in this hexagram due to the belief that we are more evolved than people of the past, and have a better understanding of the proper relationships between men and women, and the text sometimes seems somewhat sexist. I am not going to get into that tonight. I would wish that we look at this from a more spiritual perspective, and see the role of the female as our own role in relationship to the I Ching, the Sage, the Buddha, and/or the Christ. The judgment says, "The perseverance of the woman furthers." Since there is no direct human spoken language between the Spirit and ourselves, there must of necessity be a perseverance from us in learning to understand and apply the cosmic language. As Paul said, "If our gospel be hidden, it is hidden to them who are the lost." So who are the lost? Well, in a sense we all are, for we do not understand the hidden cosmic language. We may think we do, but we do not. So it is in our best interests, if we want to evolve, and eventually become literally sons and daughters of God, that we understand the language that he/she (for God is both) speaks to us. As Jesus said, "I speak to them in parables, because they cannot understand. As we travel the spiritual path, we come to realize more and more, that when we are on one spiritual level, the parables mean one thing, and when we pass on to a higher spiritual level they mean another. This principle applies whether we study the I Ching, or the Bible, or the Tao, or any other deeply spiritual manuscript. It is we who need to persevere, for the Sage, or the Christ, already knows the truth. It is we who need to dig for the "pearl of great price."

Furthermore, it is love that holds the family together. Without love, we are nothing. All things are accomplished through love. Accomplishments that are made without love will not endure. It says of the I Ching in the fifth line, "There is no fear." The commentary says, "...on the contrary, the whole family can trust him, because love governs their intercourse." Remember the discussions we had about love? God is love. He/she is not simply equal to love, but is in fact, love itself. God is defined by and as love. And as such we say, "we love him because he first loved us. To repeat myself, love is the key. It is absolutely the key. Jesus said, "This is my commandment that ye love one another." I am constantly repeating myself on this subject.

Now I will put it a little differently. Love is the opposite of fear. Hate is not, for hate is just the flip side of love. We hate when our love is rejected. But see, that is where we fail, for deep abiding love still loves, even when it is rejected. It loves even as the "crown of thorns" is placed on our head. It loves while the crowd mocks and jeers, and it loves when it is despitefully used. It loves when it is hated. This is hard. This is very hard. Yet we need to learn this kind of love to be close to the Sage, to the redeemer, to the savior, call him/her/it what you will.

Without these nuclear family ties, the sage cannot easily speak to us. Without love, the Sage has difficulty approaching us, and giving of its sustenance, as in hexagram forty eight. Without love, it is hard to approach, and understand the "king of glory." We are redeemed, but not with silver. We are redeemed by understanding first the truth that we are living our lives as an illusion. That we are dreaming, and have not awakened to our true nature. We are redeemed by accepting into our hearts the love of the sage, the love of God, the love of the Christ, of the Buddha, call it what you will.

Mercury Retrograde

Good grief!

It seems only a few days ago when Mercury was retrograde last time and I lost my computer, etc., etc., etc. And to make matters worse, this Mercury retro is exactly conjunct my natal Mercury. I think I will go hide under my bed this time. Actually no, but I will post before, I think, it actually does go retrograde. And tomorrow is Valentine's day. With Mercury retro I bet there will be broken hearts all over the world. E-vines that don't get sent, etc. etc. I am sending mine fast, to get there before the trouble begins. Well, I am sure it won't be that bad. Science says there can't be anything to astrology, after all, there is no scientific evidence. What a load of crap. Of course there isn't going to be evidence for something they can't possibly understand. Why don't they study it sometime? Then they might get an awakening.

Why does it work? Because we are all one. The heavens declare the glory of God. It is all one thing. So, since there is nothing outside of us, the heavens simply reflect the mindset which is within. I realize this isn't going to convince the skeptic, but neither would they be influenced even if one came back from the dead. They would say it was swamp gas, or the military was sending up flares. Trouble is, people actually believe that nonsense. Want to get a good grip on what the earth life is all about? Read the ancient texts...with an open mind. And for God's sake, don't forget to send your valentines day flowers, e-cards, etc.

The I Ching as guidepost

I had mentioned at one time, or more, that in every line, the I Ching is talking about itself, and I do believe this is true. I want to qualify this statement, however, with the statement that even more so, it is discussing its relationship with us. Therefore, when in the image of hexagram 40, it states, "Thus the superior man pardons mistakes and forgives misdeeds," it is talking about universal law. As such the laws of the universe are natural, and are an attribute of the universal subconscious mind. God is not above law, nor is law above God, they are one and the same thing. They are not only equal, they are in essence, one as the other. There is no separation.

We talked earlier about the nature of God being love. In the exact same way, God and love are the same essence, one is not above the other, and they are not only equal, they are one another. Often the question comes up, how can a loving God allow these terrible things to happen? When men kill and massacre, even slaughter other men or women, when unbelievable cruelty is perpetuated on one's enemies, it truly is hard to say, how can God allow this? One reason for this is that God truly is love, and being love he can not love any less the evil person who tortures another than the good person who is being cruelly hurt. God is not a person up in the sky who intervenes. He is pure love for all, and my mean all creatures. But just as he is love, he is also law. And that law cannot be violated. Therefore when we see the horrors of war, as terrible as it is, we must be reminded of the verse that says, "he that liveth by the sword shall die by the sword." And you didn't think karma was in the Bible! Think again, it is there in almost every verse.

This gets into a philosophical discussion of the nature of reality that a lot of us, especially in the west, are not ready to accept, no matter how eloquently it is discussed. So I will not go into a lengthy discussion of it here, except to say, "there is nothing outside yourself to fear. There is nothing outside yourself that can hurt you. Since everything and everyone is one, those who hurt us are simply mirror images of what we have inside us. Therefore, no God judges you, for there is nothing outside of ourself if all is one. When we get hurt it is because we have judged ourselves, and judges ourselves is no less cruel than judging another. We need to understand this, that to forgive another is to forgive oneself. Self forgiveness is the ultimate. For it is because of a feeling of guilt that we have judged ourselves as separate from God and all there is anyway. Our anger ultimately is not with our fellow man, but with God, because supposedly, he allowed it to happen. We created the separation, in our mind. In our conscious mind. We have not forgiven God nor ourselves for the state we find ourselves in.

Thus when the I Ching says the superior man pardons mistakes and forgives misdeeds, it is talking about the I Ching's relationship with us. It is talking about the relationship of our inner self with others. And in the western world, the disciples of Jesus asked, "How many times should we forgive another? Until seven times? And Jesus said, nay, but seventy times seven. In other words, always and eternally, for our karma will never end until we have totally forgiven.

There was once a discussion on another forum, where an I Ching novice insisted that forgives is an insult to ourselves. I understand that argument, I really do, but it comes from a lack of understanding of the true nature of reality. More on this later.

Too much time listening

I have been spending way too much time listening to coasttocoastam.com. This is a pay for service, but cheap, and I highly recommend it, whether you agree with the material or not. I haven't found enough time to post here. It is hard to listen and type at the same time. I really enjoy George Noory's show. I enjoy Art Bell when he is on too, but I tell you, I perceive Art as being very hard headed, and not realistic in his interpretation of things. There is a lack of wisdom and good judgment on his part in my opinion. Nevertheless, the material you get here cannot be found anywhere else. I will soon get into greater study of the I Ching, for those who follow this post and enjoy the I Ching, and have a deeper understanding of spiritual realities, for unless you have a deeper spiritual understanding, this site will not appeal to you.

I am looking for people who are extremely concerned about the national ID card that comes up in May of 2008. I am looking for people like myself who will not accept it, no matter what the consequences are. A group, perhaps, who wants to try to make it if necessary, even in the wilderness, where it would not likely be possible to survive by oneself. If anyone knows about groups like this...

Whether you believe in a literal interpretations of the book of Revelations or not, there is, on some level, a very on the line actualization of the events recorded in the book. I don't think I will go into this very deeply right now, maybe soon a discussion on it, for to understand this book, one cannot help but be astonished at the way these prophecies and scenarios are playing out right now. And I am not a Bible thumping, Bible believer, but there is something going on now, that fits the prophecy.

Hexagram 57, in part

Just a note about hexagram 57, as following on the discussion of hexagram 50 line 3. In 50 line three we left off with the rain falling and remorse is spent. In hexagram 57 we see this in just a bit of a different way. Hexagram 57 tells us how to reach into the dark corners of the mind and uncover those hidden complexes within the subconscious mind. Within each of us there are elements of belief that have been impressed upon us in this life or in a previous, that may be emotionally tied to fears or anger, or they may be beliefs that are different than other belief systems found in the unconscious mind. As the belief system kicks in we find ourselves now doing this, now doing that, as the case may be. It is not until two belief systems are forced to confront one another that one will triumph over the other, and we will be free of the less fruitful belief system. Hexagram 57 tells us to reach into the deepest corners of our minds and ferret out the fears and rages that ravage us inside without our conscious awareness. Without bringing into conscious awareness all of our contradictions, and all of our fears and rages, we cannot become an integrated person. On the spiritual path we find these fears and conflicts by paying attention to what happens to us in the so called, "outer world." For our fears will be reflected in our outer life. What we fear we attract. What we secretly desire we attract, and if we have conflicting desires in our subconscious, we will attract first this, then that. A point has to be made here, and it will be brought up later with greater force, but it is essential to understand, everything that comes from without of us, is a reflection, a mirror image of that which we are within. If you don't like your outer circumstances, your inner world is creating that reflection. So, in the I Ching it is said, "Thus the superior man goes within." Often we can see the superior man doing in effect this when, "He approaches his temple." It is also said, "He carefully examines himself."

In the Christian tradition we have what is called "The dark night of the soul." When we search within and find only darkness. All seems lost and foreboding, yet one keeps one's faith. Our seeking and our attempts to go within seem in vain, nothing seems to be happening, yet there is nothing to be done except in continued perseverance to seek out the source of the problem within. It is only when we can "penetrate under the bed," (the bed being a symbol for our belief systems, that which we rest our faith and actions upon; the source of our tendencies and characterstics) that we bring light to bear on the undesirable events in our outer world, why the happen, and what it is within us that is causing these events. (Remember that it is all an illusion, created by the mind.)

More later

Hexagram 50 line 3 Part 4

And the final note in hexagram 50 line three states, "Once rain falls, remorse is spent. Good fortune comes in the end." There is consistently in the I Ching a note of good fortune for those who polish their character. It is, as hexagram forty five line two says, "There are secret forces at work, bringing together those who belong together." The specific meaning here is people, but a more general meaning is, "bringing to those who deserve it, the fate they rightly attract." In other words, since all is one, and that one has awareness, everything in the universe that has a similar vibration will be brought together to be with the person carrying that kind of vibration, and, "if a man will only see to it, that he is possessed of something truly spiritual...." He draws to him the kind of fate or fortune that is consistent with the character that he possesses. The dark side works throught subtlety and deception, This gives it tremendous power, but it too inevitably, by universal law, brings with it its own negativity, and as hexagram 23 says, when evil totally consumes the good, it begins to feed on itself, and brings about its own downfall. By plotting the downfall of others, we attract a karma, or a fate of downfall to ourselves. But if we work toward the good, then eventually, the rain falls, and there is rest.

Almost a forecast

Well, last night I talked about weird weather. This morning I woke up to the news of horrific storms in central Florida. I am in Central Florida, but more to the west. Hundreds of homes were damaged in the region. Churches and other buildings were flattened. They say tornadoes wiped out a very large area. Right where I am, it just rained all night. But it is just another indication...

It has also been reported that the Bush administration has tried its best to suppress information about global warming. I have known this for some time, it actually goes back to previous administrations. This is paritally man made, partially cyclical. There is an old Biblical saying, which is playing out today... "As it was in the days of Noah." I am not trying to scare people, but I am trying to wake people up to a number of things. One, our government is not being honest with us. Two, or schools and universities are not always teaching us scientific truth. Three, there is a spiritual reality. I am not saying the Bible is the literal and 100% word of God. I am saying it carries a message we dare not ignore. And lastly, we are not being honest with ourselves. The weather is cyclical mostly, beyond man's control, but by control, I mean conscious control. Everything is one. When we take attitudes and beliefs that are not in harmony with universal law, universal law must by its very nature create a correction.

Weird Weather

I have heard about weird weather around the country, and a superstorm formed in Europe this winter. I have seen a gradual change in the weather over my approximately 60 years of life, but now, it is hitting a climax. This has been the most bizzrre winter in Florida. Of course, we do not get the super cold weather and snowstorms the rest of the country gets, we get the hurricanes in late summer. However, after an unusually quiet summer in terms of hurricane weather, we are having a winter that exhibits constantly changing weather. They are not big changes, grant you, but changes nevertheless. Most of life, in most areas I have been in, the winters, while maybe cold and stormy, tend to have a somewhat peaceful feel to them. The wind does blow, but usually not excessively. It is quiet. Not this year. From a quiet summer, that is normally not quiet here, we suddenly head into winter, with no fall whatsoever, straight from hot to winter weather, but the wind, the wind, while not super powerful, is nevertheless, quite strong. It comes and goes, but comes more than goes, and lasts a long time. Now, lately, we have had the variation of a day or two where there is not a cloud in the sky, and it is bright and cheery, even if a little windy, to days where strong cloud formations are blowing fast across the sky, often very cloudy, yet with strong variations in colorings, and many openings into blue sky. Nothing unusual when it happens for a day or two, but odd things have gone on all winter long. And today we are having some fairly strong winds. Another odd thing is sometimes on the ground you don't feel a lot of wind, but a little ways up, tree branches are swaying, flags are shaking as if in a strong wind storm... Well, okay, what I am saying may not be very convincing, but to me it is, and it seems... Big changes in this country coming in government, and the loss of rights and freedoms of the governed, big changes in nature as well, to correspond to the attitudes and feelings of men and women on this planet. Something is brewingl. Of that there can now be no doubt.

Awestruck

I know this is supposed to be a site about primarily the I Ching, and secondly, gnostic or esoteric Christianity. I promise, we will get back to that, but I am awestruck at some of the current events. As much as I have known for sometime the rocky road that was ahead of us, I was not prepared for what is coming sooner than I thought. I still say 2008 is the date after which the big stuff will happen, but there will very well be some precursors, or warning signs, of a very serious nature before that, and indeed, we have already seen one big sign with the tsunami that struck Indonesia, Dec 2005, I believe was the date. More is coming, maybe not that per se, but more. 2008 though is the dividing point, for that is when the national ID card comes into effect, and when the sun spot cycle takes a much more serious tone, as this one appears to be the biggest in history. It is said, "as above, so below." In other words, "The heavens declare the glory of God," But it is just as true that, as below, so above, and we here below are doing a lot of crazy stuff, and the leaders of the countries of the world are leading us bold faced to the brink of war. How could there not be sunspot activity when the world has gone crazy. My own feeling about it is this wonderful technology we have developed is creating some side effects, like nuclear winter, for one example, and the natural mind will have to brush it aside. It is more than possible that in the new age, there will be no computers, no electricity even, and no gas driven engines, etc. etc., but we will also live in an eternal spring where everything is provided for us. We will be one with nature. Please bear with me as I get over my shock over the rapidity with which this is overtaking us. It is a matter of both a government, all governments, as well as nature going awry, and creating what has been described in sacred literature, as the great purging, or great tribulation. What really bothers me is that there is no place to run, no place to hide, and no place to go that can be assured of safety, especially if one is not willing to accept the national ID card, or even if one does, the consequences can be even worse. It will take me a little time to get back into balance and rhythm.

Gene

An interesting site

http://www.thehorizonproject.com/

Not far from home

This happened very close to home. This has been happening around the country lately, not often, but one here and there...

http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=5938

The National ID card

A few sites to add to the awareness of what the national ID card is all about. Many people still do not know this was passed into law in 2005. The ID card will be required by May of 2008. Here is just a few sites to add to awareness of what this is all about, and you can make up your own mind about them. For further info, do a google search. We will talk more about this later. Just click on the number.

1.

2.

3.

4.

50 line 3 part 3

In fact my new years resolution of having a more coherent site, so far, is not becoming manifest. Believe me, though, sometimes it is so hard to determine what should be spoken of next, how, and why, who will read, and what effect will it have? I hear things from day to day that jog my memory, or at least shock me into thinking a further topice is more important and pertinent at this point in time. Nevertheless, for now I will continue with hexagram 50 line 3, and see if I can't do this and then speak a little on a different topic. But in this immediate instant, let me just say, that the news I am receiving as to what is happenning behind the scenes in the news is shocking, even for me who is not so likely to be shocked. If anyone doubts this is the end of the Piscean age, you won't doubt much longer. The weather, the sun, and politics are all acting up now in unbelievable ways, and it is all interrelated. We are headed for a crisis, a serious one, that soon, even the doubters cannot dispell. I discussed on another forum, and I must say I went overboard and showed what I am sure sounded like hostility because things I knew for a fact were happening, were being challenged. I apologize for that to anyone who might be reading this who remembers. I do get a little overly perturbed, to put it mildly, when people challenge my knowledge of the coming new age. This is my area where I need to practice forgiveness. I bring this up because of a discussion I had regarding Yellowstone National Park, and the thermal activity there. Today, there were some earthquake swarms around Yellowstone National Park. This in itself means little, and there has long been some activity there. However, this is being portrayed in the midst of mucLine h news of a planet overall whose weather and geological disposition seem to be getting more and more out of balance. Nature is part of the universal subconscious mind machine, and when that mind machine feels itself becoming out of balance, it will, and I mean emphatically, IT WILL, rebalance itself, whatever it takes. This is involved in the nature of the interchange between yin and yang.

Anyway, the text of line three next says, "The fat of the pheasant is not eaten." When our understanding of the I Ching is not adequate, we cannot truly eat of its bounty. This is another way of saying, as in hexagram 48, line 3, "The well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it..." In hexagram 48, we do not drink the waters, and in hexagram 50, we do not eat from its bounty. We may receive this line when we are not using the knowledge we are being given, or we may receive this line when we do not understand the message that is presented to us. It may also be the case that we receive this line when we have something to share, but no one to share it with. This is true on both the cosmic level, and on the individual level. The I Ching has something to share, but its knowledge and its wisdom is not known or recognized. This is the case when our minds our still convinced of a cold dead universe with a consciousness other than individual consciousnesses. The I Ching is not recognized for what it is, the Bible is not recognized for what it is, the Upanishads, the Tao Teh Ching, or what have you. Line three of hexagram 48 is very, very similar to line three of hexagram 50. Both discuss a situation where an able man is available, but no one recognizes him. In our society, we recognize movie stars, great singers, great dancers, and other entertainers fairly quickly. This is because these kinds of talenta are noticeable, and attractive. The great men and women, the sages, the holy ones, have talents that do not readily appear, and because much of society is not ready mentally and emotionally to understand their value, they of necessity hide their light, though they still shine to those who are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually prepared to recognize their talent.

More on line three hexagram 50 tomorrow.

50 line 3 continued-

In the next part of line 3 it states, "One is impeded in his way of life." If our grasp of the I Ching is incorrect, it will affect us in some area of our life. It has been said, "we all wear rose colored glasses." In other words, we perceive life in a way that is natural to our mind set, and our mind set affects our reality, therefore, there are many realities. If we cannot correctly use or understand the I Ching, there is an impairment to our way of life. It has also been said, "we are all blind, just blind to different things." We all have a blind spot in our thinking. Our blind spot will keep us from a correct understanding of the I Ching. We all understand the I Ching in many different ways and on different levels, yet even in that context, we have misperceptions. Again, it has been said that we cannot see a thing until we are ready to see it. We will not accept something as true until we are ready to see it in our deeper mind. The way to overcome this is to daily and perseveringly persist in study and meditation. Then the real truth, or at least the truth on a deeper level will eventually become apparent. But as the commentary says, "But if he will only see to it that he is possessed of something spiritual, the time is bound to come, sooner or later, when the difficulties will be resolved and all will go well."

Hexagram 50 line 3

This I think, is a very important line, and one that we ought to take a quick look at because it is rather easy to see the relationship between the I Ching and the querent in this line. There are several sayings in the text of this line. We will take them one at a time and see the personal usage of these sayings.

The first line says, “The handle of the ting is altered.

The handle is often the means by which we grab or grasp things. It is important that we grasp the material being taught us correctly. Of course, until we reach a certain level of understanding, we cannot grasp. We may grasp a more momentary meaning, but the true meanings are left cold to us until we are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually ready to grasp on the next level. When we receive this line, there is a good possibility that we are not grasping the meaning of the material that was meant for us. It is also possible that we are ready to go onto the next level, but are simply not “getting it” yet. A third meaning here is that perhaps one is attempting to teach us the I Ching, but is not yet ready for as high a level as his students are. As teachers, we must take a great deal of responsibility for the correctness of the teaching. We, as teachers must also maintain an air of humbleness. We must honor the student as much as the student honors us. And that honoring is not meant to be an ostentatious response, but a recognition of the value of both the teacher and the student. The teacher is not to represent himself higher than he is, nor belittle the student, even in the sense of looking down on the student’s lesser knowledge.

Since it has been a while since I have posted anything, I am going to do it now, and finish this line later, but I want to get something out there, and let people know I am still around.

Writing soon

Believe me, I will be writing again soon on the I Ching. Hold tight, but right now, I have been spending a lot of time listening to some very special reports. Any of you who are keeping abreast of the news behind the news, (the daily news is crap) if you are truly paying attention, you cannot help but come to the conclusion, this age, the age of Pisces, is coming to an end. Things have been slowly simmering, and the nonbelievers still say, all this has happened before, nothing big is changing, but now they are starting to come to a boil. Things are absolutely fascinating. It is coming to a time when men's and women's souls will be tested to the core. A superstorm is happening in Europe. The U.S. and/or Israel will soon be attacking Iran. The Chinese have shot down one of their old satellites. Chuck Berry, (I believe that's the name.) sang in the sixties, the interesting song, "The Eastern World, it is exploding..." Even back then, but nothing like what is happening now. And listen folks, the war in Iran will most likely have nuclear overtones and exchanges. It is coming now, and it is coming quick. I will tell you this, again, the really big stuff will be happening after the year 2008, but there is going to be enough happening before then, people will be opening some eyes. The fireworks are coming. Doon and gloom? No, the new age, once it is here, will be wonderful, but as a woman in travail....

A couple of books

A couple of books I highly recommend are by Gary Renard. The first one is called the "Disappearance of the Universe," and the second one is called, "Your Immortal Reality." These books clearly illustrate the science of oneness. Gary comes from the perspective described in "A Course in Miracles," which I have not spent a lot of time with. It seems extremely wordy, and would take up a lot of my time, not that I don't recommend it. With what Gary has come up with though, it must be a worthy course.

Pluto

I've talked before about Pluto and how it will affect the world when it goes into Capricorn. Looks like there is a new book out about it. I will have to go back and listen for the name.

I haven't written anything lately because I have been sick, but also, it appears no one at all is reading. But just in case, I will talk about this very briefly. The last time Pluto was in Capricorn, America won its independence. Now we may have to rewin it from those who are attempting to take it away from us. I personally believe that governments around the world will fall. We are heading for a very rocky road, but of course, when it is over, the new age will come for those few survivors. But don't worry, those who don't survive will also reincarnate. But after 2008, and maybe to a lessor extent before, we are heading for some very rocky times. I am more than open to discussion on this subject.

Do I have a new website?

After much discussion with tech support, and after calling them last night and getting nowhere, I worked late into the night to figure out how to upload my files with no success. Figuring I would call tech support again this morning, I got up to find a new file and folder that wasn't there before. Then, upon opening it, I came up with the following:

http://web.tampabay.rr.com/ggerber2/Inner%20truth%20webpage.mht

I do not think it is a regular website address though, and it isn't coming up as a hyperlink here. If anyone can try this, and see what they get... I tried it in Mozilla Firefox and it just came up as html. In internet explorer though, it seems to come up, and not just as a file on my computer.

Hexagram thirty six

A brief introduction to hexagram thirty six here, more coming later.

In hexagram thirty we discussed various ways a person can get diverted from the path, or in other words, the T'ao. This is due more to getting distracted. In hexagram thirty six, we can also get diverted, but here it is more of a case of getting discouraged, and giving up.

It is the ego, primarily, which is our mortal enemy. The ego wishes to be in charge, even in situations, and most situations apply, for which it is not inately up to the challenge. Nevertheless, it has an overtly egoistic desire to try, to be in front. When it cannot, it creates problems.

"Darkening of the light" refers to our "inner light," or perhaps, it can be said as well, "inner truth." The light cannot be extinguished, it is always there, but the ego will invariably create a "covering," ("The curtain is of such fullness That the polestars can be seen at noon. Hexagram fifty five, line two.}" It attempts to cover the light because, if it does not, it will be seen for what it is. ("Progress like a hamster, Perseverance brings danger." Hexagram thirty five, line four.)

When Darkening of the light occurs, it is important not to become discouraged. At this time it is particularly important to "persevere in what is correct." (See Carol Anthony's book, "I Ching, the oracle of the cosmic way.")A person must ever hold to his/her "inner light/inner truth." The first line defines the problem a little deeper. The text says, "Darkness of the light during flight." The flight is symbolic of our spiritual passageway. We fly when we enter the heavenly realms. It is such a great temptation along the way though, when we are trying to understand spiritual matters to say, "this does not seem to help me." It may make sense, but we cannot apply it yet to our daily lives. We cannot apply it because we cannot yet put it in its proper perspective. Precisely at this point we become discouraged. When we become discouraged, we "lower our wings." In other words we give up, leave the spiritual realm, and decide the dark inert, hard matter, is all there really is after all, and the universe does not hear our prayer.

To be continued shortly

Hexagram thirty

Hexagram thirty gives us a lot of information on “how to keep going.” In other words, to stay focused, and not move away from our goals. The commentary tells us that “a luminous thing giving out light must have something that perseveres, otherwise it will in time burn itself out." Hexagram thirty is about remaining true to our inner heart and its purpose. The various lines in general describe situations that can, if we let them, make us lose heart, get discouraged, or just take our mind off our goals. The impetus of the world is to distract us, get our mind, our attention on other things of lesser worthiness. We go to work, we go to school, we do things that are necessary, yet if allowed, can get us off our spiritual path. The second and fifth lines, being central are less of a problem, but each line gives us some hint as to how to maintain our purpose and our goal amidst all the distractions and pulls of life. (Compare this hexagram with the Biblical story of the sower of the seeds.)

Line one tells us that if we are not dedicated to our purpose, the hustle and bustle of life will make us forget the path we are to take. We get distracted by day to day activities that cannot be totally avoided. They will divert our attention, so there is a need to constantly remind ourselves of our inner purpose.

Line two is not so much of a problem, but it does teach us to “hold to the mean.” In other words we must maintain mental and emotional balance in our day to day affairs. If we let daily problems and irritations detract us long term, then we lose sight of our inner purpose.

Line three warns us against inconsistency. Momentary whims and upsets can rip us away from our inner purpose, our spiritual goals and teaching. It is also easy to fall prey to various moods which can cause us to think that what we are attempting is futile or beyond our reach. Getting caught up in day to day emotions can create havoc in our long time spiritual practice, causing us to divert our attention, to be held captive by our emotions.

Line four warns us to pace ourselves, and stick to the course. It is not wise to start a long race at full speed, by attempting too much too quickly, our fire soon burns out and we are left exhausted.

Line five tells us to have a true change of heart. A momentary inclination to improve ourselves is not enough. The desire must be deep, deep enough to overcome the cares and distractions of the world. Otherwise, we will find ourselves right back in the same situation as when we started.

Line six tells us we must take ourselves in hand. We must provide discipline to stay the course. It is not necessary to worry about the little things in this context, but master the big things. When teaching Tai Chi, some teachers will try to teach the details first. This does not work. It only becomes confusing and disheartening. If the major overall movement is worked on daily, eventually the movement will be understood and the details will begin to take care of themselves. We must keep our mind on the overall course, as we walk it, talk it, work it, and practice it, we become more familiar with the inner workings of the small things, and they are important too, but take care of the big things first, then the rest will be relatively easy.