Stimulus from a High Place

The commentary on hexagram nineteen line two tells us that "when the stimulus to approach comes from a high place ... good fortune will ensue." This is a universal law and will always apply in the long run though sometimes it may seem not to in the short run. The key is knowing when it is coming from a high place. There is a hint here that we must receive stimuli from our higher self, and not from selfish desire. Selfish desire will get us into trouble sooner or later.

What stimulus do our actions come from? Are we trying to aggrandize ourselves at the expense of others? Sometimes this may work for us for awhile. Usually it doesn't in the long run however. It is true that some notorious gangsters, brutal as they may be, have died in their bed at a ripe old age. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is the end of the story however. There is a judgment of sorts, one way or another. But if we are striving toward the higher aims of mankind in general, we can be confident of our being and our success if we follow the "natural way," as the Taoists might call it, or the "way of the cross," as the Christians might call it. We empty ourselves of self, and allow the higher power to flow through, always being assured that we are set upon the right course, and our compass is true.

In this way we can be as in hexagram six, "So clear-headed and inwardly strong that we are able to quickly come to terms" with any enemy, in a way that is beneficial for all. Hexagram nine line two however, tells us that we "must be in harmony with the time." How do we know whether we are in harmony with the time? We know because we are acting from the stimulus of the higher self. When we are fully in accord with our Higher Self then "all things work together for good ... those who are called according to His purpose." That is, the purpose of our higher self. When we do we can follow this path good fortune comes.

Hexagram thirty seven line two tells us that "We should not follow our whims, but must attend within to our nurturance and to our Higher Self. We "must always be guided by the will of the master of the house," The house is our inner being, where we find sanctuary, where we receive guidance from the master, where we have that inner knowing that allows us to know what stimuli is the right stimuli to keep us on the path that we were meant to be on. If we do not strive to stay on this spiritual path then sooner or later, our readings of the I Ching will prove to be misinterpreted, and the "Three unexpexted guests" will not come. We will be on our own, and ashamed and embarrassed at our misfortune. Are we in harmony with the Tao, or the "way of the cross," or are we not?