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.