I Ching for Personal Development

About the Future

2012-01-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

I am embarking on a mission to find out the truth about the new changes that are coming to google on March 1st. The situation is serious, very serious. I have heard rumors that it marks the end of free speech on the internet. I heard that it comes on March 1st. Then today I got info from google speaking of a change in terms and contracts starting March 1st. I am reading this to find out what I can about it. I have heard that after March 1st, and information that does not agree with official governmental policy, or what they want us to believe, will be removed from the internet. The situation is very serious here in the United States, and indeed, in the netire world. For if freedom dies here it dies everywhere. It is questionable whether I can continue to post after March 1st.

People argued with me when I said freedom was dying. They laughed when I mentioned the danger. Well, here it is. I saw an article in the Albuquerque newspaper the other day written by someone who is either a complete idiot or is posting on behalf of the global elite. He was discussing how dangerous it is to argue against scientific data. In essence he was saying it is dangerous not to believe whatever science tells us. The trouble is scientific research cannot be published unless it agrees with the official policy. The article went on to say it was dangerous to not believe humans are causing global warming, in spite of the fact that many serious scientists say that is only a small part of it. He also said it is dangerous not to believe in the Darwinian form of evolution, although many scientists have concluded Darwinian evolution cannot be possible. We are to believe whatever they say is true. We are not to believe or even know about any discussion of other possibilites. Two hundred years ago science knew nothing about quantum physics. Does that mean that it didn't exist until they found out about it? Of course not. Our science is still in its infancy, and to quell discussion is the real danger, but that is exactly what they want. They want us to believe the official story without question, even if it is a lie, if they say it, it is to be believed. People refused to see what was happening, and now we pay the price, worldwide totalitarian government, believing only what we are told to believe, and absolutely no freedom whatsoever. The light is going out.

Drinking Cheap Wine

2012-01-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

All the true masters of the world and the great mystics have told us that we are "like drunken sailors" adrift in the world. When true spiritual teaching is available, nobody wants it. Every master has had to struggle with this phenomenon, that the world wants only the exoteric message, and is only concerned about the physical. We want immediate answers to our life's problems, not mystical mumbo jumbo. But immediate answers will not work. When we try to come up with a quick fix from outside ourselves, we find we cannot change the situation. The reason is simple. We have not changed ourselves. Nothing in our world will change until we change ourselves on the inside. We will confront the same old problem over and over again, and nothing will change it.

Hexagram twenty two line three addresses this problem to a certain extent. The commentary says, "This represents a charming situation." One is under the spell of grace and the mellow mood induced by wine." This grace can adorn, but it can also swamp us. Hence the warning not to sink into convivial indolence but to remain constant in perseverance."

We remain constant in perseverance when we keep our mind fixed upon the spiritual world which is the real source of the material world anyway. The material world is but an illusion created by the mind which is under constant attack from the seeming reality of the physical world. As long as we are focused on the material world, and do not keep it in its place, we are "under the mellow mood induced by wine." We must remain constant in our meditation, we must "practice chariot driving daily, and we must persevere in the truth, remembering that the physical world is but a shadow of the real.

The "Gospel of Thomas" addresses this issue as well. In it Jesus says, "I took my place in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in flesh. I found all of them intoxicated..." The world was either of those who were looking for a physical Messiah as many Jewish groups were, or of those who like the Roman soldiers, played lots for Jesus garments, and mocked him, not having any concept of the seriousness of the situation. They were all drunk. They were foolish in their orientation and in their perception. They all were interested only in something physical. The church carried this on, not after the teachings of Jesus, but after the mental constructs that insist that there is only the physical saving that of a heaven in the far off, or a hell. They did not wake from their stupor. They did not understand the teachings of Jesus at all. It became a religion, not a way of life.

All teachers face this. They come to the world with a message, and find that they face only rejection and sorrow. It may be called sad that it is that way, but it is not sad, it is just the way it is. Only the most serious shakings, (hexagram fifty one) can break us from our stupor. When we look to the I Ching for guidance, we must allow the sage to offer to us the "secrets of the kingdom," (hexagram twenty line four) and not be satisfied with merely "a view through the crack of a door." We must allow the deeper truths in, or our lives will never truly be satisfactory, for we will be "oppressed by stone, (the physical) and "lean on thistles," (the material world cannot hold us up.) We must look for the "inner guidance," else we will stumble and fall, and not overcome the oppression of hexagrams thirty nine or forty seven. We must look deeper.

Genetically Modified Crops

2012-01-25T22:41:00.000-08:00

Monsanto is a major food distributor and producer throughout the world. They are very instrumental in distributing genetically modified foods, and intend to keep on doing so. There have been tests done in China which show genetically modified foods to be dangerous to health over a long period of time. Monsanto refuses to do any testing of its own however, saying that it is a waste of time because all food has DNA in it and it doesn't matter if they put foreign DNA in the crops.

Let's be clear about this. It is the DNA that makes the crop what it is. It is the DNA of the crop that makes it useful for fruit or other medicinal purposes. When you change the DNA of the crop you change what the crop is meant to do in the body.

It doesn't matter whether you believe in evolution or creationism, or something in between. We are a product of the earth. If you believe in evolution you know that we are the product of what came before us, all life evolved from a single cell, and we all have DNA characteristics in common. Some more than others. If you believe in creationism you know that we were created "from the dust of the ground." Once again we have the same characteristics (DNA) as the crops around us. They were created to supply us with supplements the body needs. This cannot be denied. Mankind eats because mankind has to in order to stay alive and receive nutrients. The plants that are here by nature are plants meant to sustain the higher levels of life. It is the DNA that gives them the characteristics and makes a pear a pear, a peach a peach, and a banana a banana. Each of these fruits, and all other crops have nutrients in them that help the body. Each of them have something the others don't have, and we were meant to eat them all. When you add DNA you add something that changes the nutritional value of the plants. This is by definition.

The higher ups at Monsanto cannot help but know this. Many of the rank and file I am sure do not. Who knows what - who knows? But at the top they must know. To genetically modify our crops is murder on a massive scale. Just because people don't die immediately, even if it takes forty years, it is still murder. And that is what they are doing, whether they know about it or not. Unfortunately, the big boys, and girls, who have mega money and mega power, are not brought to justice. And so many people just go along with the program thinking everything is fine, but it is not. The super elite of the world think that the planet is overpopulated, so they try to do something about it. It is not their place to do this. They think we can't understand how what they are doing is moral because it will save the planet. Well, we do understand. And we understand it is not their place to decide who lives and who dies. The planet is alive, whether anyone believes it or not. And if the planet feels there are too many people, it will react in such a way as will reduce the population. It will do this through earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, what have you. But it is the one that has the right to decide. Not the super elite. Not the one's who wish to play God and create live, modify it, (through genetics, DNA, or however), and they will reap a horrible karma for their actions. But tomorrow back to the I Ching.

The Well is Being Lined

2012-01-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hexagram forty eight line four tells us that "the well is being lined." Often in our lives when we have studied a little, or even a lot, and have gained some valuable information, and some personal capabilities, we think we are ready to teach others, and maybe we are to a certain extent, at least beginners. But we really have not made efficient use of the total teachings available to us. This often happens because as hexagram four line four teaches us, "we have a blind spot in our thinking." We do not realize the depths of the teaching still available to us, and see only as the subject in hexagram twenty line four "as through a crack in the door." As Luke Skywalker says to Yoda in *The Empire Strikes back," "But I AM ready, Ben tell him I am ready. But I have learned so much." Still he could not see himself as he really was, because as Yoda said, "All your life you have looked away, into the future, wherever, never knowing who you are or paying attention to what you were doing." Luke thought he was ready, but he was not. That did not mean he could not learn, only that he was not as adept as he thought he was.

We see this same attitude prevalent in the martial arts teachings in the west, where students studied for a while from the master, then thought they knew it all and went out and created their own style, never knowing how much they were lacking, and the west is just full of inefficient and incomplete martial arts classes, so much so that a beginning student would never know the difference between a true teacher and one who was less proficient.

When we get the line saying "The well is being lined, we may be being told that we need to practice, or train much more ourselves before we can take the teaching to the outer world. At most, we may be able to train beginners only, while we ourselves are still being trained by the master. The commentary says, "In life also there are times when a man must put himself in order. During such a time he can do nothing for others, but his work is nontheless valuable, because by enhancing his powers and abilities through inner development, he can accomplish all the more later on." If we break off and attempt to be the teacher before we are ready, we become isolated, with no one to teach us as hexagram four line four tells us. Our blind spot remains. Luke Skywalker had a 'blind spot." Luke feels danger within the cave. (In our own darkness.) He takes his weapons. Yoda tells him, "your weapons, you will not need them" Luke takes them anyway, (he has not yet come to fully trust the master) and goes into the cave. He is confronted by a Darth Vader figure, and pulls his weapon. The dark figure does the same. Luke strikes, and finds that the dark figure is himself. He was blind to his own darkness. He did not need his weapon, he only needed to confront himself, and learn about his dark side. He failed in the cave because of a "blind spot" in his thinking.

We all fail in the cave. We all fail in our darkness, because we have not yet allowed the light to shine in all parts of our own cave. We are underlings, and do not recognize it. In our ego we think we are mighty, indispensable, highly educated, smart, and cannot see our own darkness. It is only when we have done the work ourselves that we can teach others. If we think we have "arrived" we haven't. If we think we are ready, we probably aren't. If we think we understand, we probably don't. We must continue carrying on the work on our inner selves, before we can teach others. We must trust our master, if truly he or she is a master (and we must learn the difference). We think we are prepared, but we are not. Finally, the commentary on hexagram forty three line two says, "If a man develops his character, people submit to him of their own accord." You will know you are ready to be a teacher by when the students appear. The old adage is true. When the student is ready the master will appear, but it is also true, when the master is ready, the student will appear.

Expect the Unexpected

2012-01-23T11:11:00.001-08:00

We are entering a new year now. For the Western world, it was entered of course on January 1st, but for China and parts of Southeast Asia the new year approached today, or yesterday, depending on what part of the world you are in.

Ironically, the first new moon for westerners, is in Aquarius. The Chinese new year starts off with the new moon in Aquarius. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, and Uranus is known for eccentricity, and the unexpected happening. This new moon also touches off the Pluto Uranus square that has been in the sky for some time, and will be for some time to come. Expect the unexpected.

This paragraph deals a little more with conjecture, as I do not remember all the astrological rules for stock market timing. However, for the U.S. Market, especially the Dow Jones Average, if I remember right in my astrology training, when Venus has moved as far as it can ahead of the sun, and starts to go retrograde, that can mean a change in direction for the stock market as well. However, as a rule the stock market goes up from Aquarius to Leo, and down from Leo to Capricorn, (but there are several other factors as well, and it is only when they all converge that we see major changes.) Anyway, with things positioned as they are, expect major changes not just in the market, but in all aspects of life. The year 2012 is likely to be an extremely turbulent year. Now I am no prophet, but I do see certain trends, and I expect them to continue.

Sun spot activity is starting to become a major factor again, and last night, as major solar activity blasted through the protective shield of the earth, we had serious tornado activity in Alabama. Expect more. The sun is starting to get really active, and some of it is headed directly for earth.

Pluto in Capricorn, in my estimation, though I have never heard astrologers talk about this very much, is disruption, (corruption from deep within - Pluto) in the government (Capricorn) We have already seen revolutions spring around the world. Do not be surprised if we see major, and I mean major civil unrest in the U.S., especially as people become more and more aware of the true meaning of the National Defense Authorization Act, and as we start seeing people disappearing from society, and as well the civil unrest if the anti piracy laws go into effect on the internet, (which are really not just about antipiracy but also about shutting down information about what governments are really doing. The laws end free speech. We will very likely see civil unrest in the United States. It is likely to become more prevalent in many countries though, even those who are traditionally and presently locked into dictatorships. By the end of the year it is very possible too that there will be major wars, with huge losses of life on all sides.

Furthermore, 2012 if the Chinese year of the Dragon. Traditionally East is considered Dragon, west is Tiger. And the Dragon and the Tiger ultimately fight. It seems that there is all together a fear, a hatred, and a fascination one with the other. We each have our strengths and weaknesses.

But remember - the elite of this world know astrology. They teach us that it is unscientific and nonsense, yet they themselves practice it. They know the right times to create financial havoc, the right times to create wars, and the right places to create wars. Their motto is "Order out of Chaos." They create the chaos, then they submit the solutions, solutions in which they have complete control. The people are starting to wake up, and when they do, the elite will HAVE to find ways to eliminate the masses fast, or they will be destroyed. We will see at least the beginnings of this in 2012, if not more.

Rests on Something

2012-01-22T11:14:00.000-08:00

Hexagram thirty is key in our understanding of the nature of the cosmos, the nature of our inner self, and the nature of our relationships; for the commentary states, "By cultivating in himself an attitude of compliance and voluntary dependence, man acquires clarity and finds his place in the world." The key here is that everything "depends or rests upon something else." If there is no darkness the light does not appear. If there is no man it will not be long til there is no woman, and vice versa. If there is no high then there can be no low. If there is no "receptive," then there can be no "creative." The conscious mind cannot fully function correctly without the subconscious, nor can the subconscious make its mark on the world without the conscious. Just as fire clings to the wood, so life must cling to that which supports it or it will be quickly extinguished.

But humankind must decide upon what it is to cling. It can cling to the higher powers or it can cling to the lower. It can cling to the rulers (line five) or to the masses (line one). If we cling to the wrong thing, if we cling to that with which there is no or limited mutual support, (or the thorns and thistles in hexagram forty seven), just as in line four of thirty, we flare up, or rise to prominence quickly, but we cannot sustain our upward momentum. In the same way in our relationships, if we do not base them on that which endures, they soon die away and we will find our partner with another. Or in our spiritual life, if we do not cling to our higher spiritual awareness, we will soon find ourselves as equal to the "one eyed man" in hexagram fifty four, who is able to see, but not that far. We will be like the subject of hexagram four line four, who has a blind spot in his thinking. Without our proper partner, our proper correlate, (line one with four, line two with five, line three with six) we cannot function fully and with the greatest success. Our relationships become sterile, as does our businesses, our careers, or our forms of government. On any level of life this holds true.

If we wish to operate from the ego alone. If we think that is all there is, if we attempt to dominate and control, either by force or by manipulation, the end result will be the equivalent of line five in hexagram thirty that says, "Tears in floods, sighing and lamenting." We cannot control the world. We can only control ourselves. And when we learn that we become like the second part of line five, which says, "Good Fortune." It is only when we learn from our mistakes that we find good fortune. As the prodigal son who leaves his father's house, and goes out into the world of experience, so too, we must leave our mental house, go out into the world of experience, make our mistakes, until we learn the true meaning and value of what we had before, and return (hexagram twenty four) to our true spiritual home and heritage, being wiser and more self sufficient than we were before.

The commentary on hexagram thirty nine speaks of this as well, stating, "one must join forces with friends and...put himself under the leadership of a man equal to the situation." The man equal to the situation is our higher self. Without the higher self, we are like the "one eyed man," who can see only so far. We are like the subject of hexagram twenty line two, who can only see through the crack of the door. (A very limited form of awareness or understanding.) If we use just the ego, just the conscious mind, we are again like the "one eyed man." We do not have full use of our faculties, and are not taking advantage of the person in hexagram twenty line four who "understands the secrets to which a kingdom can be made to flourish." Our own personal kingdom will not flourish unless we use all of our faculties of mind, including intuition and deeper understanding, and can harmonize the two parts of ourselves. In the same way the king will not prosper, and the realm will not prosper, unless the ruler can put together the yin and the yang in harmony in all situations. In our relationships two, if we think only on the basis of how our same sex thinks, we are like the "one eyed man," who is half blind. We must think in terms of both yin and yang. We must understand the male form of mind as well as the female, or we will be crushed, (oppressed by stone, hexagram forty seven) upon the rocks that appear in our world from time to time.

more later

Inner Pressure Part II

2012-01-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

When we let go and allow the other person to come or go as they choose, we release that "inner pressure." Often, however, we are not aware of our own psychological makeup or our hangups. We travel through life always seeking for something that is never found, because by seeking it, we create this "inner pressure" not just in other people, but in the actual thing that we seek. There is a psychological pressure created within ourselves that manifests in the material world.

We are not aware of doing this however, because we all have a "blind spot" within; a blind spot in our way of thinking. We filter out the data that would tell us of our own psychological makeup. As such, hexagram ten line six tells us that "no one knows himself. It is only by the consequences of his actions...that a man can judge what he is to expect." When we receive hexagram four line four in our personal readings for wisdom, it may very well be telling you that you have a "blind spot" in your thinking. You may have a blind spot in receiving the transmitted wisdom from the I Ching, or you may have a blind spot in your way of looking at yourself and/or the world. The commentary on the line speaks of "clinging to unreal fantasies." We cling to unreal fantasies when we have a distorted image of ourselves; and almost always we see ourselves differently than others see us. (That is not to say others usually do not have a distorted image of us as well.) We all see things based on our own inner psychology, and we believe what we believe about the world due to inner road maps of the territory that distort our conclusions when new facts become available to us. We all wear rose colored glasses, it is just different parts of our environment that are colored, according to a person's own psychological makeup. As such we "cannot know ourselves, but only can weigh the results of our actions to get to know ourselves better."

The wise man knows that he is clinging to fantasies. He does all he can to attach himself to the real, but as he uncovers more and more of himself, he recognizes more and more that he is living in an "unreal" world of his own making. When we live in an unreal world, we "are oppressed by stone, and lean on thorns and thistles." (Hexagram forty seven line two.) But the wise man, in order to secure for himself a more favorable journey through life, "Treads a smooth level course." Hexagram ten line two tells us that the wise man "seeks nothing, and asks nothing of anyone else, and is not dazzled by enticing goals. He is true to himself and travels through life unassailed..." When we simply stick to our business, simply keep ourselves to the business at hand, and do not interfere with others, we find that others respond to us more easily and more relaxed, and the things that we need for our life come to us of their own accord, without "forcing the issue," (hexagram thirty four) and without an inner dependency on our part or theirs. Simply said, as in hexagram sixty one, those who have an inner accord will find each other without "forcing the issue." It simply happens.

Freed From Inner Pressure

2012-01-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

Hexagram forty one teaches us "to control our anger and restrain our instincts." But it goes much deeper than that. A major message of the I Ching is that we must give up personal will and allow things to happen. The problem is we are often not even aware of personal will and do not know that as such we are putting a lot of pressure on our friends and in our relationships. The other person may not even consciously feel it, but it is there, under the surface. Often we are "angry" at our partner because he or she does not act the way we think they should. When we have preconceived notions about how another should act we are acting from an inner anger and raging instincts that we are not totally consciously aware of. The commentary on hexagram forty one line one says in effect that we must not give with the expectation of return. Often we give and give and give, and we think that something should be returned, but when we give with the expectation of return we are creating an inner pressure in our partners. It is only when there is "delicacy of feeling that we can give ourselves freely and without hesitation."

Line four is the proper correlate of line one. And line four carries this theme even further. The commentary says, "A man's faults often prevent even well-disposed people from coming closer to him. His faults are sometimes reinforced by the environment in which he lives. But if in humlity he can bring himself to the point of giving them up, he frees his well-disposed friends from an 'inner pressure' and causes them to approach more quickly, and there is mutual joy." Our faults can be construed as a symbol for our inner "wanting" for things to be a certain way. Often men chase women who are backing away from them because they think that to be successful they must pursue their desires. But this desire leaves an inner pressure on the woman who even if well-disposed, cannot tolerate the appearance of desperation. (Women can do this too, once they have fully accepted a man and feel chemistry.) It is only when it no longer matters how a person responds, and we feel an inner letting go, and acceptance of the other person regardless, without the inner rancor or frustration at their behavior, that we free them from this "inner pressure." When we let go and no longer care, in a possessive sense, that we allow people to choose to come to us.

Hexagram eight line five teaches this same message somewhat, albeit in a different way. The analogy is the king who hunts the animals, but only the ones who have chosen, so to speak, to come into his domain, and in essence are "offering themselves" as a sacrifice to the hunter. In the same way, we can only choose those who willingly come to us of their own free accord, those who willingly sacrifice of themselves to be our friend, mentor, and/or lover. When we do this, when we allow this "acceptance" to happen, we in effect, brace the ridgepole in hexagram twenty eight, so that it no longer sags, and our relationship returns to one of harmony and love. And as the commentary on line four says, "A responsible man becomes master of the situation." "But if he uses his connections for personal power...it would lead to humiliation." We must let the relationship have its own life, and demand nothing from it for personal aggrandizement at the sake of the relationship itself. We must allow people to be who they are, without any personal motivations, but only motivations of love and harmony.

More on this later

A Strong and Good Friend

2012-01-18T10:42:00.001-08:00

Hexagram twenty four line four speaks of a person who finds themselves in an "inferior society." They do however, have a strong and good friend. In society many times we find ourselves surrounded by people who do not harmonize with us for whatever reason. As hexagram eleven line two says, we "bear with the uncultured." Not everyone was meant to be our friends. There are times in life when we have to choose who we are naturally drawn to and who we are not. Hexagram sixty one speaks of the natural tendency for those who belong together to find each other. Hexagram forty five has an element of this also. When we do not seem to fit in with our surroundings, it can be a lonely situation. We feel like the wanderer in hexagram fifty six who has no close circle of friends. We must be very accommodating and humble. Sometimes this can be a delicate situation.

But if we can only remember that we do truly have a strong and good friend, that being our own higher selves. When we recognize this, as the commentary on hexagram twenty four line four says, "We turn back alone." The world and all its comforts are not quite so meaningful to us. We realize that while we are a "wanderer" we are not truly alone. We go to that which supports us. We go to our own higher self. Therefore, though we are alone in the world, we are not concerned. While still in the world, we are no longer of it. We no longer enjoy the "lower pleasures" of hexagram fifty eight line four, but find pleasure in the higher forms of "joyousness." We no longer find ourselves "associating with inferior people in whose company we are tempted by pleasures that are inappropriate for the superior man" (hexagram fifty eight line two). But we find pleasure in the true company of our own higher self, who teaches us the way, the tao, of true life and happiness. There is no greater happiness than to know we have "unity" with the source of all wisdom and knowledge, oneness with the creator of all, our own higher selves.

Leaning on Thorns and Thistles

2012-01-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

Hexagram forty seven line three tells us that we are "leaning on thorns and thistles." We lean on thorns and thistles when we depend on things that cannot truly support us. We lean on thorns and thistles in our relationships when we are not truly in touch with what is real in the relationship. We lean on thorns and thistles when we depend on superficial matters to prop up our relationships, and do not for whatever reason get to the real root of the problem. We also lean on thorns and thistles when we are not clear on what is pertinent or not pertinent in our relationships, or our businesses, or our personal lives. We count on an illusion.

But we also lean on thorns and thistles when we depend entirely upon the material world. The material world is an illusion, and if we trust solely on it, it cannot continue to prop us up. The man "permits himself to be oppressed by stone" when he adamantly refuses to give up on the premise that there is nothing beyond the physical world. The stone is a symbol of the physical with nothing behind it. When we trust in the physical world, of necessity our ego takes over and tries to control that physical world. For if there is only a physical world, then everything exists outside of ourselves, and there is no "unity" at all within the cosmos, because everything is an independent object.

But we know that is not true. We know it is the consciousness that unites all things that is the ultimate reality. And when we recognize this unity, when we recognize the interconnectedness of all things, (hexagram thirty) then we no longer are "oppressed by stone." We have a guide in the spiritual realm that can help us, and guide us. This helper in the spiritual realm is the "forester" in hexagram three line three, without which "we lose our way in the forest." The forest is a metaphor for a land we are not familiar with, where everything looks the same and as such we cannot find our way home. Without the "spiritual" knowledge given to us by the I Ching, we can never truly find our way home. We are wanderers, as in hexagram fifty six. When we wander through the physical world we have no guideline, no teacher, no forester, who can show us the way. Without knowledge of the true spiritual teacher, our higher self, we go nowhere, and find ourselves "oppressed by stone." The way of the world invariably leads to oppression, suppression, and depression, because devoid of spirit it is cold and lifeless.

When we are oppressed by the mundanity of our physical world, it is as if we "enter our house and do not see our wife." Our wife here can be on one level a metaphor for our spiritual guide in the unseen realms. Since it is an unseen realm, naturally, we do not see our wife, unless we can comprehend and experience the unseen realm.

Entering our house can also be a metaphor for going within, to a place deep within. But if we do not understand the nature of the cosmos, if we are still beset by the commonplaces of life, we do not meet our higher self. We "do not see our wife." Our wife is a metaphor for something that we should be in a sense "married to." In other words, it is a metaphor for that which is our highest purpose. If we are caught up in the material world, we are not following our "highest purpose," and in that sense cannot be truly "married" to that which is our destiny, our purpose. We are "oppressed by stone and lean on thorns and thistles."

The Superior Man Receives a Chariot

2012-01-16T20:22:00.001-08:00

Hexagram twenty three line six shows the final hours of decay when the structure collapses upon itself. There are times in our relationships, in our businesses, in our personal lives, where, no matter how hard we have tried, we just can not shore up the structure of our lives, and things will not stand, but fall apart.

This is a law of nature. We find in hexagram eighteen that it is not simply a law of nature but the price we pay for negligence. But it is also the law of nature that everything in the universe ultimately breaks down. It does not maintain stability. Our relationships may indeed last a lifetime, and happily so, but given enough time, if we lived long enough, those too would eventually break down, unless an awful lot of care was placed in them, enough care that it would almost be a superhuman task.

But hexagrams twenty three and twenty four, as well as hexagrams sixty three and sixty four, and many other pairs, show the natural law of degeneration, regeneration, back to degeneration, then back to regeneration. The line teaches us that at the time of the greatest collapse, at the time when everything has failed, and there is nothing else we can do, we must simply trust and allow. As in hexagram forty seven line two we "overcome a disagreeable situation by patience of spirit." We understand that while when good times end they are met with bad times, so, when bad times end they are met with good times.

But it all depends ultimately on our poise and patience, our commitment, and our confidence in the higher self to work for our ultimate good. Only the superior man can do this. For this reason the superior man "receives a chariot." We is given a way out, and when the collapse is complete, he finds the good, the "fruit uneaten" in it all.

There is another reason and way the superior man receives a chariot as well. The superior man realizes through the circumstances of life that there is a deeper meaning, and is willing to work to discover that meaning, and find "purpose" out of misfortune. The chariot is a means by which the superior person finds a deeper meaning in the I Ching. The chariot is a tool whereby we can go from one place (intellectually) to another. We are given a tool whereby we can unlock deeper secrets of the I Ching. Fortune is found in misfortune, and misfortune in fortune. As well, there is no blessing without a curse, and no curse without a blessing. Have we found the chariot whereby we can unlock the secrets of the I Ching? Have we received the chariot whereby we can have a deeper understanding of our true selves, of how to make our lives work, to have more harmony in our relationships, and more power to mobilize ourselves and enrich our lives in every way?

A Few Quick Notes

2012-01-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

Primarily, it appears that the SOPA laws, the "internet kill switch" has been put on hold due to much resistance by "major web behemoths," (a quote from an article for today by Alex Jones), and free speech remains alive just a while longer, at least for the most part, (many videos have been removed from youtube by government request, despite the first amendment). There also seems to be some forward and backstepping on the possibility of war with Iran. This could be world war III, or it could be more minor for the time being. I do think something big is brewing here, it is just a matter of when the sidestepping will stop and action will begin. It may be some time down the road however.

We must take into consideration whether these events are just happening at this time in history, or whether they are really contrived. There may be those in power who wish to bring about the end times scenario predicted in the Bible. But why? Why bring about such death and destruction? The destruction caused by world war III in itself would be unimaginable. But suppose, and I submit to you there is, a group of people, who have a very slightly different genetic makeup that the common person, who for reasons we won't go into right now, absolutely hate the common man and are looking for ways to destroy mankind, making it look like it was the natural byproduct of war. If there is a war that destroys a large part of mankind in the works, in the process of that war, could not the genetically different elite on this planet use that same time to create extremely powerful superbugs to destroy our health? Destroy our crops? Use technologies such as HAARP to change our weather patterns, and wherever possible create mayhem?

There is a verse in the book of Revelations, (the most commonly used book of prophecy in the Christian Worlds Bible) that says, "hid themselves in the dens and the rocks of the mountains, And said to the rocks and mountains, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne...." Do these people plan to use the underground bunkers as shelters during this time so that they can survive while the rest of mankind suffers? It is not as far fetched as some may think, for it is well known that the governments of the world have been rapidly creating underground shelters everywhere. I will leave it to the readers to decide what they think of this.

Many Variances

2012-01-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

One of the beautiful and key things about the I Ching and the concept of yin and yang is that it can be taken on so many levels. Hence an affirmaton of the old principle, as above so below. Albeit, in many cases, on different levels the principles seem to reverse themselves. As such, while on many occasions yin would appear to be "evil" while yang is "good," this is not really the case, except as the outside observer would emotionally attach those qualities to it. For whatever is cannot exist without its opposite. And this is key to the I Ching and the Tao Teh Ching. Therefore, while it often appears in the I Ching that yang is being given positive press, in the Tao Teh Ching it would appear yin is being given positive press. Nevertheless, when we understand that nothing can exist without its opposite, we understand that neither one pole nor the other can be evil or good in and of itself. It is only when yin and yang express themselves in opposition to each other rather than in complement to one another that "evil" appears (to the observer).

Therefore the permutations between the powers of yin and yang cannot be exhausted. And on one level yin and yang can refer to space and time, on another it can refer to the interaction of the sexes, hence we get information on relationships. On yet another level it can refer to the rulers in relationship to the masses, or it can refer to conscious in relationship to subconscious, or it can relate to the higher self in relationship to the lower self, ego to spirit, spirit to matter, and on and on and on.

In many societies matter is considered to be evil, being devoid of its spiritual nature. But matter is merely the manifestation of the interactions of interference waves which are in essence spirit. So if we call matter bad in essence we are calling spirit bad as well. (This does not negate or belittle the argument that matter is bad, it is all a matter of context and understanding the real intent behind the metaphor.)

Again, yin and yang can refer to the soul of man as in contrast to the spirit of man. Unfortunately a certain website no longer exists that discussed this concept in depth. The creator of the website, Peter Novak, has decided to invest his time elsewhere. His books however, are I believe still available. They speak of the division of soul and spirit after death, the spirit being consciousness and the soul being subconsciousness, and all that these concepts intail. After death, if a person has not properly integrated these two forces, then soul and spirit separate, and the conscious mind no longer has any memory of itself, and just goes back to the universal force from which it came. In Japanese understanding, the spirit goes back to its Kami, or God. The soul, losing its conscious reason and logic, goes into a tailspin of memory and emotion, replaying its life experiences over and over again, with no rational thought on how to interpret these experiences.

We have not discussed this concept of the i Ching much, I hope to do much better in the future about daily getting out material that covers different aspects, including relationship analysis, spiritual analysis, and cosmic analysis with also some interpretation relating to the death experiences. The multidimensionality of the I Ching is for all practical purposes without end, and it becomes impractical to try to cover or discuss them all, but as much as possible I hope to do it.

Not Striving for Advantage

2012-01-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

The I Ching informs us in many different ways of the same subject, over and over again, so that if we are persistent we get it. One of those very important subjects, we have been contemplating consistently is that of unity. Hexagram forty five continues the subject of unity. The commentary in line four says, "Since he is not striving for any special advantages for himself but is working unselfishly to bring about general unity, his work is crowned with success, and everything becomes as it should be." Selfishness obstructs unity, selflessness embellishes it. The key here is that the subject is not working for himself alone, but is working for a higher power, in this case the king in line five; but the king so often is a symbol for the "higher self" or that part of us that is bigger than the individual self. It is only when we give up self aggrandizement, only when we give up seeking control and taking for ourselves only out of fear that there is only so much and we need to control everything to survive, that we have any real chance at self improvement. In striving for others we ultimately help ourselves as well as others because we bring about unity.

There was a time when the absolute one consciousness of the universe decided that in order to experience itself fully, it would have to splinter itself into many different parts, then forget that all those parts were all its own consciousness. So the big bang began, and each part of the universe that came to be came to believe it was separate from every other part. In order to experience itself in this way, it had to forget that all was one. But for us that leaves disaster, for in thinking we are separate, we tend to be fearful of that which is outside of us and therefore, feel the need to control everything and every one. But there was still deep within the unconscious the memory that all was one, and wise men of the ages discovered this by one means or another, and as they did, in that sense they became like the prodigal son and began their journey home. There were many pitfalls along the way, for the sense of separation does not die easily, and even when we know intellectually that we are all one, we still operate in many ways from the deeply seated belief that we are separate from everyone and everything else, so our journey is a tenuous one where, every day we must "invest in loss," in order to gain the truly deep wisdom that all is one. There is no end to this journey back home, but ironically, in many ways "The road is better than the inn," and eventually we do for all practical purposes, find our way back home.

The key though, is the unselfish aspect of the line, for unselfishness is very selfish ultimately, but only in the good sense of the word, for the key to truly helping ourselves is to help others. And we especially must help others when we can to find their way out of the darkness into the light of "unity." For there is ultimately only one sin, the sin of ignorance." Even then the sin is somewhat meaningless in terms of punishment except as we, when given the light, refuse to come to that light. Oh, that we might have that light, and have it more abundantly.

Counting the Cost Part II

2012-01-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

Part two is added here in a short paragraph because "counting the cost," is also part of the message Lao T'zu gave out when he said that 'every day he invests in loss." Every day he loses a little bit more. What is it that he loses? He loses himself. He loses his pride, his ego, and becomes more modest, knowing that there is an even bigger power than that of his little, limited selfish ego. With that knowledge he gains immeasurably in the more spiritual aspects of his nature, and as he becomes more aligned with a higher power, while at the same time remaining modest, his powerful intention (which comes from deeper within) manifests itself in the material world. Therefore Lao T'zu says, "Ever desireless, one sees the mystery, ever desiring, one sees the manifestation." The words have multiple meanings here and operate on many different levels, but on one level he appears to be saying that by eliminating the desires (of the little self) daily, (practicing chariot driving) he becomes freer and freer to behold the mystery. Through desire, (of the higher self) one manifests one's desires on the material plane. (This is just one meaning, there is a contrary meaning here as well.)

When we let go and allow the universe to flow through us, then we find that the universe accomplishes our deeper (more spiritual) desires through us, but if we focus only on the materialization of those desires, we cannot see the true mystery from which all things emanate. And that emanation is from the "Universal Subconscious Mind," or, in other words, from the Tao. Jesus said, "you cannot serve God and Mammon." in other words you cannot serve both the belief system of a material world only and at the same time, the belief system that there is spirit as well. You must recognize the two as one; that there is no difference and yet the first cause is spirit, the material is only a manifestation of the mind of the "Divine," The Tao. And it will melt away from you if you put your faith totally in it not recognizing the reality behind it.

The "pearl of great price" is the mystery of what we seek. The "pearl" is that first cause, of which the material world is only a reflection, and the "pearl of great price" is that ability to be so connected that we truly create our own reality. Our desire should only be to spirit, if our desire is to the material world, our desire is based on an illusion, and it is foolish to serve an illusion.

Counting the Cost

2012-01-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

In any study of any spiritual discipline, one must count the cost for seeking the "pearl of great price" that is to be found at the heart of all great spiritual scripture. St. Paul said, "The letter killeth, it is the spirit that giveth life." This is true in all sacred literature. If we look just at the surface meaning of a line or hexagram, we are looking as did the young person in line two of hexagram twenty. We see only from our own limited capacity, and do not realize anything more is possible.

But if we want the "large fruit still uneaten," we are going to have to pay a price for it. In western religious tradition, when Jesus said something to the effect of "if you want to be my disciple you must count the cost," the later church took this to mean that you would have to realize that you are going to be persecuted. But there is a deeper message here (there always is) It is not simply a matter of being persecuted for believing the truth, it is a matter of having to give up time, to give up energy, and to give up things that are important to us. There is no other way. To truly know the I Ching, to truly know the message of Christ, there is going to have to be a time away from the mundane things that we love in order to spend time in meditation and study. We study the words of the text then we meditate upon them to find the more esoteric meaning, and the meaning that applies to each of us in this place and time that the lesson be personalized, and becomes part of our inner being. There is no other way but through sacrifice. It does not matter which spiritual tradition you accept, the only way to find the "pearl of great price" is to do the work, "practice chariot driving daily." The real goal for each person is to "know him or herself," not just superficially, but to really know the deeper aspects of the subconscious, and to know, not just believe, not just know intellectually, but to experientially know that we are one with the cosmos, with the universe. When we know that we have taken significant steps toward knowing ourselves, experientially, and knowing that we are "one with God." Full atonement, at-one-ment. But if we choose this step, if we choose to be a discipline of the Tao, of the I Ching, of the Christ or of the Buddha, we are going to have to count the cost, and see if we are capable of paying that price, the price of the "pearl of great price," which is to know our own place in the universe, and with the Cosmic Christ.

A Large Fruit Still Uneaten

2012-01-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

Hexagram twenty three line six speaks of "a large fruit still uneaten." This line can have many meanings depending on the context. Here. let's look at this from the perspective of the speaker being the Sage, or the I Ching itself, and consider this. One way of looking at this line is that the "large fruit," represents an aspect of the line that has to do with the teaching of the Sage. When we are told that we still haven't eaten a large fruit, we may be being told that there is still a large amount of material in the I Ching that we haven't absorbed. Of course, this is always true, but here it may be saying that we are not getting the really good and nutritious teaching that is being presented us. Perhaps we have just had an "aha" breakthrough in studying the I Ching, and think we have gotten a great deal out of it. When we get this line the I Ching can be saying, that is only a fraction of the material that is meant for you to comprehend, keep digging.

All of us throughout our life are contemplating life and the meaning of it just as the young yin line in line two of hexagram twenty does; through the crack of the door. Our quest in life is to mature and become more deeply spiritual and moral beings. Each day we open the door a little farther, and we see a little bit greater view. We may think the door is now fully open, but that would be wrong. We all see, as St. Paul said, "through a glass darkly." We see as a child. Hexagram twenty three line six is simply another way of presenting this message to us that we are not finished yet. It is only when the seed falls to the ground, (is taken within the soul and nurtured) that new seed sprouts from old. We must always replenish the "water from the well," that we ever learn newer and deeper lessons. There is a depth beyond anything imaginable when we consult the I Ching and look on its pages for messages. There is always a metaphor, a meaning that points to another meaning. There are always symbols and allegories, and we must be diligent in searching them out, like the subject in hexagram fifty seven line two that employs priests and magicians in great numbers in order to seek the inner and deeper wisdom, the water of the well. We can never assumed we are finished. We can never assume we have graduated because there is always a deeper level.

Enriched Through Unfortunate Events

2012-01-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

Hexagram forty two line three tells us that "we are enriched througb unfortunate events." When we are asking a specific question and receive this message, it applies to the circumstances under which we did the reading. But there is a positive aspect to the universe, and as such, in ways that don't seem apparent, we are always "enriched through unfortunate events." The problem is we don't expect this enrichment, and therefore don't seek it out. We focus solely on our misfortune, not realizing that we are part of a "spiritual world." Of course this applies to the person who is actively seeking a relationship with the divine, or with the higher self, than the one who is not. For the one who is not perceives merely of a physical world in which things happen by accident and we must do our very best to control the world, to make sure no accidents happen to us. If we take this approach, and attempt to control everything, we find in the end that we are "mistaken in our calculations." (I will have to look up the hexagram and line where that quote is taken.) As The Emperor said in "Return of the Jedi," "Young fool, only now, at the end do you see the truth." (Actually it was the Empire who in the end found out "he was mistaken about a great many things.") The Empire controlled things up until the end, but still was "mistaken in his calculations," because one cannot ultimately maintain control over a universe that is not his or hers.

There is a key here though, that ensures whether or not we truly are enriched, though we might be anyway, but not to the same degree. The commentary says, "These persons become free of error, and by acting in harmony with truth, they gain such inner authority that they exert influence as if sanctioned by letter and seal." The key is in acting in harmony with the truth. This is what made young Jedi Luke Skywalker able to overcome his father and the Emperor, and be eventually reconciled to his father, that he remained in harmony with the truth, and was not led aside by distractions such as the promise of power and lust. Once one has turned to the dark side, (and in limited ways, we all have) they are no longer "in harmony with the truth," but have given themselves over to anger, lust and the pursuit of power. But real power only comes when one gives up his ego, gives up his quest for power, wealth, and other things, but allows himself to be influenced only by the will of heaven. Luke hinted about this to his father in "Return of the Jedi." His father said to him, "so now you have accepted the truth that I am your father." Luke said in effect that he had accepted the truth that his father was once Anakim Skywalker, a great Jedi, and had turned and become "Darth Vader." Darth says, "That name no longer has any meaning to me." Luke says, "It is your true self, you have simply forgotten who you are." We have all forgotten who we truly are. We all have been deceived by a lie. We all have forgotten our true heritage as did the prodigal son, and have been caught up in the materialism of the world, thinking that it is just dead matter. We have forgotten our true spiritual heritage, and forgotten that we are truly "sons of the creator," and are part and parcel of all there is, which is all the creator, and which all has consciousness, (spirit) Sometimes it takes a shocking event, (the Emperor shocked Luke several times intending to kill him before Luke's father sees the truth and comes to his rescue) in order to reveal to us who we truly are, and that the universe is a beneficial place, full of the riches of the "cosmic Christ," our true son and our true Father.

Clings to What is Right

2012-01-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

The commentary on the image of hexagram thirty says, "...So too the twofold clarity of the dedicated man clings to what is right and thereby shape the world. Human life on earth is conditioned and unfree, and when man recognizes this limitation and makes himself dependent upon the harmonious and beneficial forces of the cosmos, he achieves success." For the less experienced person, when he or she inquires of the I Ching, they would not be impressed by the wisdom of these words. If they think there is an exterior world, independent of the higher self, they would pass by these words and look for a more innocent, more naive, and more concrete meaning to the hexagram received. We can only receive what we are ready for. And the purpose for this site and others like it is to prepare the ground more each day, as we "die daily to self," (the ego) as we "take up our cross and follow the Christ force", or Buddha force, or the tao, as we "invest in loss," we find more and more within the pages, that earlier on we skipped over without having any clue as to the significance of the commentary.

We have to understand first of all that the physical world is a mirror image of the spiritual, that there really is a spiritual world, else, how could it be that one could make oneself dependent on "the harmonious and beneficient forces of the cosmos? Obviously, science does not recognize any "beneficient" or malignant forces of the cosmos, they only recognize physical laws, such as gravity and electromagnetism, etc.. But we wish to hold ourselves to a higher understanding. We recognize that there is a world, and there are forces beyond that which we see, even with scientific instruments, for it is foolish to think that we have discovered all there is to discover. But in the sacred texts of the world, including the I Ching, we can find a coded message about the nature of the cosmos, and its true scientific meaning. And we do find it has life. It is conscious, and it is beneficient providing we acquiesce to it as described in hexagram two. Hexagram one tells us something about the nature of the universe as a whole, and hexagram two, on one level (of many) tells us something about our relationship to that universe. (Hexagram fifteen also describes our proper attitude toward it and our relationship to it.) Hexagram thirty tells us that we must cling to the principles upon which this universe is built, and follow what is right. By our selves we are very limited in our capabilities, but if we trust, and submit ourselves, making ourselves dependent upon the harmonious and beneficient forces of the universe, we find that "behold, fate is favorable." St Paul said much the same thing when he said that "all things work together for good for them that love God (submit to the harmonious forces), that are called according to his purpose" (those that have found their true calling in life and are working not just for themselves but for the greater good. They "work for the greater good, and dependent on the benevolence of heaven."

It is only when we are "willing to follow, that we find guidance." (hexagram two). But if there is no conscious in the universe itself, what would we be following? We would be following a pipe dream. But this is not the case. We find there is a higher intelligence than that of our limited conscious minds, the ego, and this higher intelligence is what we follow. Doing what is right is doing what we were placed on earth to do. It is doing that which is natural (hexagram twenty five) to us. When we do what is right we cling to that spiritual power that guides our life, that unswerving inner purpose, (hexagram thirty two) which corresponds with our fate and destiny. When we follow the ego we follow that which is limited and illusory, for there is in reality no ego, only the appearance of such, which if we follow we fail, for it is not a part of us.

We must learn to recognize the real from the illusory, the superficial from the depths of understanding, and our true purpose from that which is artificial and egotistically inclined. It is only when we come into alignment with our true purpose that we can accomplish great things. But first,of course, to know ourselves, we must "draw up the water from the well." We must look to our true source, the spiritual world, which is the only real world. The physical is an illusion. May we ever drink more deeply from the true water which springs up to life everlasting.

A Place of Transition

2012-01-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

As we learned in studying hexagrams one and two, the third line has elements of "a place of transition." The subject discussed in the reading has reached the top of the lower trigram, and is ready to climb higher to the upper, or heavenly, trigram. This introduces the concept of "danger" in the third line because to enter the heavenly realm before the time is right can be disastrous. To properly analyze the situation, often it is necessary to recognize whether the line is "correct," a yang line in the third is normally correct, or if not correct, is it a situation where the softness of the line tempers an undue hardness of a yang place. It is also necessary to notice the neighbors and the corresponding sixth line to come to a correct determination. Finally, it is necessary to examine the overall intent of the hexagram.

In hexagram twenty line three the commentary says plainly, "The point of transition has been reached." (Here a yin line tempers the hardness of the position, so that there is some safety for the line. It also has a proper correspondence with the nine in the sixth place.) The commentary goes on to say, "We no longer look outward to receive pictures that are more or less limited and confused, but direct our contemplation upon ourselves in order to find a guideline for our decision." When a person reaches the stage where he or she is ready to take a larger view of life, (not the limited view of line two) they take a look within because it is there that they can find the truth out about at one and the same time, themselves and how they themselves are creating their own reality. The commentary goes on to say, "This self-contemplation means the overcoming of naive egotism in the person who sees everything solely from his own standpoint. He begins to reflect and in this way acquire objectivity." Almost always, people look to spiritual sources for answers only when their life is truly not working, and they are looking for answers. At first they look outside of themselves, but find only more troubles. Eventually, as they "reach the place of transition," they begin to go inside. This is because it is not until we truly understand that our problems come from within, that we have any sort of basis for making sense of life. As such, Lao Tzu spoke of "daily investing in loss." The loss that he speaks of refers to loss of ego, so that spirit may take hold. Jesus was effectively saying the same thing when he said, "If any man would be my disciple, he must take up his cross daily, and follow me." By taking up the cross, we die daily to the outside life and learn to "follow" the heart, or the messages of spirit. It is only when we let go of ego that we "begin to see things objectively, because before that everything is connected back to ourselves and how we need to "control" others and our own circumstances."

Much of eastern spirituality relates to the ability of the true masters to look at themselves from outside themselves. In other words, observe themselves as if they were not related to themselves, while at the same time observing everything else. Each day through practice, (practicing chariot driving,) we learn to do this more. In that way we are "investing in loss," and "taking up our cross daily." By observing from outside ourselves does not contradict going within. It is only by going within that we find that deeper part of ourselves that can see ourselves more objectively. But none of this can be done until "The place of transition has been reached."

Hopes for the future

2012-01-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

Even though we are living in very precarious times, and things are very much in the air, and I have been delayed a few times, I still plan to have a new computer within at least two months, and then set up a full webpage at the time. It will include "readings" options, a link to the blogspot, an interactivity board, and several other features.

Things are precarious though because of planned legislation by the federal government for an "internet kill switch" which will effectively ban free speech. How soon that will happen though I don't know because the more the government shows its hand, the more people wake up and say, "hey, something is wrong here." That is the one and only thing they fear, and that is why they are pushing hard to complete their plans by the end of 2012. Many of their plans have been slowed down or delayed because people find out about them and put up a fight. Senate Bill 1867 has passed though, which effectively ends all rights of all citizens. No more will you be allowed a lawyer if the highest levels of government suspects you of something. This will not happen right away because the more it happens, the more people wake up. But when they are ready, they will act.

Nevertheless, the I Ching as a subject is probably not too threatening to those committed to tyranny. Therefore I will go ahead with plans.

A minimal account of relationships in hexagram #33

2012-01-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been sidetracked about talking about relationships per se in terms of the hexagrams with line two and five and yin and yang respectively, partly because hexagram thirty three is so difficult to interpret relationship wise in the English version. That does not mean that wisdom cannot be gleaned from its pages in this manner, but it is more difficult for those who do not know the original Chinese.

There are, however, some lessons to be learned, depending on one's level of comprehension. The second and fifth lines show the attitude that one must have toward the other in a relationship. The second line is yin, and as such it must cling to the yang line as much as possible. In contemporary parlance, this can mean that we must do everything possible in a relationship to make it work, and we must cling together, hold together in order for the relationship to work.

On the other hand, line five appears to be about doing the opposite, but this is just the flip side of the same coin. Our attitude on the one hand must be that we make the relationship work, but on the other hand that must be done without becoming what some might call a clinging vine. There must at one and the same time be an attitude of doing whatever it takes to make the relationship work, while at the same time being totally detached from it. This on the surface does not make any sense, but lets look at it this way. If we are constantly doing things out of fear, with a view of making the relationship work, the more it slips away from us. If we work, however, to maintain it, while being at the same time totally detached from it, we are in effect showing a lack of fear, and we do not have to say the words, "The thing that I most greatly feared has come upon me." (Words of Job in the old testament.) The fifth line retreats, but it is a friendly retreat. In other words, the fifth line has no animosity nor hatred of the second line, and even considers the line a friend, but at the same time, it asks nothing of the relationship out of a lack of self confidence but simply does what it does to maintain it.

This gives us men some hint as to what women actually mean when they say they are attracted to confidence. For what women consider confidence often comes across as arrogance to men. This difference in perception makes life often difficult between men and women. From a man's point of view, excessive confidence in a woman comes across as total disinterest, and is not necessarily appealing, and yet studies show that women in general are very confident in relationships. That comes across as extreme coldness to men. The key here is to do what is right for the sake of doing only what is right, as hexagram twenty five says, "not counting on the harvest while plowing." We do what is right in our relationships only because it is right, while at the same time being totally detached in our minds as to the outcome.

In a way, this is right for women, and men too to a certain extent, for clinging vine, and acting out of fear, even if it is not totally perceived that way by the partner, will have elements within it that come across as victim thinking. It has been said that the person who cares the least in a relationship has complete control over the other person. This is true, while yet ironic. It does not seem fair, yet in a way it is. We must give the other person the right to be themselves. We must give them the right to come and go as they please. It is also somewhat ironic that showing an interest in someone too early only chases them away. The second line attaches itself and will not let go, but the fifth line is only repelled and leaves the scene. It is like line one of hexagram thirty eight that says, "If you lose your horse do not run after it, it will come back of its own accord." In this way we can have complete confidence in our relationships.

Remember the discussion about how a man is simply looking for a woman, but a woman is looking for the "right" man. It would appear that men are at a complete disadvantage when they are dating a beautiful woman because the least little slip up by the man means she can simply dump him and go out with any of the three billion other men in the world who would jump at the chance to be with her. But when she does this, she finds that the other men are not the "right" man, with whom she feels the "right" chemistry, and returns. Relationships are bizarre, and men and women think very differently about them.

A Main Principle is Unity

2012-01-02T10:07:00.000-08:00

I am struck how that in all my readings of late for personal development, the subject of unity, and gathering together keeps coming up over and over again with little in between. And that is why I keep harping on this subject in these posts. It is not that there are not other principles, but this one is important, and it affects so many levels. It affects us within ourselves and our own personality because for the most part we are all subject to moods, and have various little "I"s popping up within us, each with its own personal agenda, and it keeps us from staying on track with one united purpose, so that while we accomplish things, we do not achieve the great success we wish for. In the same way our relationships falter because our moods keep us from interacting with our partner in a consistent way and our partner does not know how to interact with us. We also must come to understand moods in our partner, and accept that in our partner, come to terms with it, and allow it. The same is true in our interactions with society as a whole. How do we interact with them. Also, unity or the lack thereof determines our success in connecting with the higher self within us.

Therefore, when I receive hexagrams such as fifty nine, though the topic is on disbursement, it really means dispersion of disparate elements which keep us from harmony and union. Often times there is nothing to be done but get out of the situation if we can. If we can't though, we are going to have to "bear with the uncultured in gentleness," (hexagram eleven line two). This often is an affront to our feelings of dignity and hurts us and we find ourselves wanting to strike back. This is not, however, the most advantageous position in the long run. If we strike back we perpetuate the situation and this leads to even greater warfare. The commentary on hexagram fifty nine line two says, "He must arouse himself inwardly, hasten to that which supports him. Such support is never found in hatred, but always in a moderate and just judgment of men, linked with good will." It is our ego which wishes to strike back. It is our ego which feels the hurt, and the immoderate judgment of us as individuals, for we know we meant well, regardless of the misperception or ill will of the person who has hurt us. We must always strive for union, whether it be union within our own personality, union with society in general, union with our partners, or union with our own higher self. Now that does not mean we have to be buddy buddy with everyone who comes down the pike, it means rather that we do not judge them harshly. It does not mean we have to make friends with everyone we meet. Some people were not meant to be together. That does not at the same time, mean they have to be enemies.

All too often we take an attitude of defense in regard to others. Hexagram thirty eight line six says, "One sees one's companion as a pig covered with dirt, As a wagon full of devils. First one draws a bow against him." So often our perception of others creates the manner in which they interact with us. When we truly see our companions as devils, they become that way for us. The old saying is, "I'll believe it when I see it." But more truly is it said, "I'll see it when I believe it." When we change our perception, when we change the way we see the world and others, in the same way, our world changes. The only way to change the world is to change ourselves, and the way we perceive the world. When we change our perception we realize that our companions are not "wagons full of devils, but are coming to us for the purpose of union. Unity is one major key in the I Ching. When we study the I Ching or the purpose of learning how to create unity, we understand ourselves in relationship to the cosmos much better. The cosmos is no longer a dangerous place, but is entirely beneficial.

In our relationships too. How often is it that we view our partner as "the enemy?" We tell ourselves that we are in love with them, and yet treat them as an enemy that is to be changed, that is not lovable "as is," but must be modified somehow, must have the rough edges knocked off, and learn how to act as we want them to act. When we create our partner as such we are "drawing the bow against them." And opposition only leads to more opposition. We are not "bearing with the uncultured in gentleness." Which really our attitude should be for we are all uncultured in relationship to the sage. We must at one and the same recognize our own weakness more so than that of others, and yet, just as we must maintain a moderate and just judgment of others, we must maintain a modest and just judgment of ourselves. For unity with others begins with unity with ourselves.

Will You Draw the Water?

2011-12-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

At this stage in our journey, we can all be classified as the youthful person full of folly. The question is, do we do anything about it? Do we seek the master as in hexagram four? The master will not seek us, for it is not appropriate for him or her to do so. (The reason for this is explain in the text.) Then hexagram forty eight line five in effect asks us, Are we willing to seek the higher level wisdom?

The reason people look for texts such as the I Ching, or the Bible, or any number of sacred literatures is not because they decide one day they want to be more spiritual. It is not because they want to explore and learn, it is because their lives are not working. When our lives do not work, when all around us things are going wrong, we start to think that maybe, just maybe, there is something more to life than what we have been taught. At that point we start looking for answers. But where can we find the answers. When we don't know where to look we can succumb to many false teachings, and teachers who claim to be, and think they are masters but they are not. We must be wary, "like an old fox, who listens carefully to the possible cracking of the ice, and cautiously traverses the great waters." We must find a source that is right for us, and will give us the truth about ourselves. No matter what we do we are going to spend a lot of time misunderstanding and misinterpreting the words of the master. That is why there are so many religious points of view, and so many teachings that seem often to contradict one another. The words of the master are misinterpreted. But they are often misinterpreted because we ourselves are not ready for "prime time." That is, we can only absorb what our present maturity level allows us to absorb. Our understanding is limited. Therefore, it is not so much what you believe, but how you believe it. The words of a master can be taken on many different levels. We need to understand that, and not think that we have found the ultimate truth.

The book of Proverbs in the Bible says something to the effect, "In all thy ways, get understanding." Understanding is the principle thing. It is of more value than gold and silver, and more to be desired than material wealth and prosperity. Yet in so many ways we cannot understand. We can only absorb so much. Even the best teacher can only give a student tidbits that are in many ways wrong, and yet necessary as a first step.

Yet, even with this. It is essential that we be willing to reach down for "the water of the well." For if it is not drawn up, it is only a potentiality, and is of no use unless we partake of it. We understand though "As through a glass darkly," (St Paul) and only accept so much as seems to help us somewhat in the material world, never realizing there is a deeper message. We do not realize there is a deeper message because we have never been willing to as hexagram fifty seven line two says, "Penetrate under the bed." In other words, we have never really truly examined what we believe or why we believe it. We have never employed the "Priests and magicians" to find out what is within our deeper psyche and how that is affecting us.

We must draw up the water from our deeper psyche. We must pay attention to the signs around us, we must pay attention to ourselves and our own inner attitudes. Do our attitudes come from a perspective of separation? Or do they come from a perspective of oneness of all things? When we come from a perspective of separation, it is our ego that is controlling us. When we come from a perspective of unity we come from a moral standpoint of "loving our neighbor as ourselves," and when we have that moral compass, we very naturally seek out a deeper understanding of the I Ching.

Until we have had at least an initial spiritual crisis in our lives, we do not seek out spiritual material such as the I Ching, but when we have we utilize tools such as the I Ching to get answers to our daily struggles, and there is nothing wrong with that, But with the passage of time we begin to see a bigger picture, at least we do if we are growing spiritually. When we begin to see that bigger picture, we find the I Ching taking on a life of its own, and begin to realize that the divinations for daily live are only a small part of the picture. We begin to realize it as a "personal study guide," that by using the divinations we find a personal wisdom meant only for us, that the I Ching is giving the individual exactly what the individual needs, and is slowly progressing us into deeper and deeper understanding. We find that it is personalized and that it is giving us direction not just for a given situation but for daily life, and for all time.

The I Ching tells us in hexagram fifty nine line one, that it will bring to us, "help with the strength of a horse." The commentary says "It is important that disunion should be overcome at the outset. In other words, we have to be approaching life from the standpoint that all is one, not from the ego standpoint that we are separate from others. If we come from the standpoint that we are separate from others, there is also the subconscious illusion that we are separate from the universal subconscious mind as well. The ego wants to be king. It will not tolerate any usurper to its throne. Therefore, the King Herod of the times of the birth of Jesus seeks to kill the young child because it is claimed he will be "King of the Jews." The reigning patriarch will tolerate no challenges to its claim to the throne. When we come from the ego we in a sense, kill all the others, including the "baby Jesus," the Christ consciousness that can be born within us, or as the easterners might say, the Buddha consciousness. The ego kills the growth of the awareness of oneness.

The commentary goes on to say, "At such times when hidden divergences in temper make themselves felt and lead to mutual misunderstandings, we must take quick and vigorous action to dissolve the misunderstandings and mutual distrust." We cannot dissolve every misunderstanding. But often we can, and we must try when there is the possibility of bringing about union. In order to do so, we must "Draw the water," or the wisdom of the divine and make it our own. Ego cannot overcome ego, and it wouldn't if it could, for it always wants to be on top. It always wants to be in control. Therefore it is likely to reject the "help that comes with the strength of the horse." It is unwilling to "look into the secret recesses of the mind," for it is unwilling to recognize any power but its own.

We must learn to look to the I Ching for more than just help with our daily problems. We must recognize the living spirit which is the true I Ching. We must draw from its depths, and not maintain just a superficial overview of its depths. We must not be as the person in line two of hexagram twenty who "has only a limited outlook." We must see the bigger picture, and look for the bigger picture, that will allow us to see more as the Sage sees, and not from our own egoistic and limited perspective. The ego sees only "through the crack of the door," and is a frightened king, frightened because it sees itself as separate, and therefore subject to uncontrollable outer circumstances that could be a danger to it. As a frightened king, it seeks out to destroy anyone or anything that could be a threat to it. As Herod, the symbol of the ego, it seeks out to destroy all the"babies under two years old," because one might grow up to be a threat to him. This comes from fear and fear alone. It is only someone who feels very small that must make himself or herself very big. They make themselves a king because it is too fearful being one of the crowd, without any power, except in the collective sense. The ego cannot know God. Therefore it cries out, "There is no God." Having a God would indicate a higher power than itself, and this is not acceptable.

Let us draw up the water of the well, from ever more deep sources. Let us accept that help from the sage that "comes with the strength of the horse." Let us "Hurry to that which supports us," (hexagram fifty nine line two) When we 'hurry to that which supports us," which brings help with the strength of a horse, then as in line three we "dissolve our self." In other words we dissolve the ego that so wants to maintain control because it is fearful due to a belief in separation and lack. The Tao Teh Ching says of the superior man, that every day he invests in loss. He invests in the loss of the little self that is fearful of losing control, and lets the true, the higher self become more prevalent in his life. In that way, he "draws the water from the well."

The Mystical Marriage

2011-12-29T08:54:00.000-08:00

The I Ching has much to say about the nature of marriage, of how to create the conditions of attraction, and how to maintain permanence in relationships. Right now we are concerned about the allegorical implications of the concept of marriage; for hexagram eleven has a close relationship with the Biblical story of the wedding at Cana.

In hexagram eleven, the yin power, although higher in rank, subordinates itself to the yang power, while the yang power, though stronger, supports and enhances the yin power.

There is much speculation that the marriage at Cana was actually Jesus' own wedding. The church, later, of course, didn't want females to be seen as having been allowed that much power in society, and they did not want to allow any speculation that Jesus may not have actually been "God in the flesh," as that would tend to diminish the religious aspect of their chosen dogmas, and make the story more human, that of a master teaching disciples how to pray, how to meditate, and how to become one with God. They were far more concerned with Religion and control than they were about the deeper allegorical, and very human teachings of the man called Jesus. Nevertheless, there is a very real chance that at the marriage in Cana, Jesus married Mary Magdalene. Whether or not, the real concern is whether this is truly a mystical marriage, or signifies one, and what is involved in that mysticism. It is interesting that during the marriage they ran out of wine, and Jesus did the miracle of turning the water into wine. Water here is a symbol of the ordinary, day to day experiences when we are not in touch with that higher or inner being. The wine can be a symbol of a more mystical state of being, and the drinking of wine can be a symbol for moving into a higher spiritual state where indeed miracles are possible, though perhaps not with immediate activation, but over time. The drinking of wine can in time put us into a semi drunken state that is symbolic of a spiritual state of being in which the hard physical world is seen for the illusion that it is, and the mind can open to truly spiritual influences. The marriage at Cana is a symbol, on one level of the story, for the union of high and low, inner and outer, and man with universal consciousness, which could be termed as God.

"The sovereign I gives his daughter in marriage." The universal subconscious mind gives its daughter, the physical world, to whomsoever he will as that person has drunk of the spiritual wine which allows one to go past the illusionary material world. When we unite yin and yang, "the sovereign is giving his daughter in marriage." In the same way, when a marriage is performed, and the vows are taken, a union is created that is meant to be a merging that creates one person, the union creating an individual in which the parts are greater than the whole. If we understand the concept of union, or of marriage, in its deeper state, we create a harmony that cannot be broken easily.

The idea of a mystical marriage here is further confirmed by the fact that the nuclear trigrams make up the hexagram called "The Marrying Maiden." The "Marrying Maiden" is hexagram fifty four which also happens to be the eleventh hexagram from the final hexagram. When lines two and five change, which are the central lines, the new hexagram becomes sixty three, in which all things are completed, we have only to maintain the connection that it be not lost. When we truly have a mystical marriage, then we experience "After completion," when all things are in harmony, and as the Psalmist said, "He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."

Fortifies Their Thinking

2011-12-27T12:38:00.001-08:00

The image in hexagram ten tells us that the superior man "discriminates between high and low, and fortifies the thinking of the people. When we have that connection, (hexagram eleven) between heaven and earth, the conscious and the universal subconsciousness, between ruler and subject, and between male and female, or to the others in our society, then our thinking can be fortified. For we never fully connect (their is always at least a limited connection, it is just a matter of how much we realize it) until we have learned to meditate so deeply that we come to be in touch with that inner primal being, that universal "I". That universal I is always there but it cannot contact us in any meaningful way until we are willing to recognize that there is something higher than us, (hexagram ten) and do meditate deeply enough that we come to be in touch with it. The more our inner and outer beings are connected, the more the world acquiesces to us, and the safer we are. When we are in this position, then as it says in the Tao Teh Ching, "I have heard that those who celebrate life walk safely among the wild animals. When they go into battle, they remain unharmed. The animals find no place to attack them and the weapons are unable to harm them. Why? Because they can find no place for death in them." The same concept is presented in the Biblical ninty first Psalm, which begins, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." and goes on to say, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee." (East and West are not so far apart as we might first think."

It is through meditation that our connection is made, and we "abide under the shadow of the Almighty." We must be as the superior man in hexagram fifty one who "does not let the sacrificial spoon fall." When we allow for a superior power in our lives, one who is not outside of us, but nevertheless not ego, we begin slowly, by "practicing chariot driving daily," to connect in deeper ways, until eventually we reach that point where there is no fear within us, and when there is no fear, then "no weapon will find a place to enter."

The "animals" in chapter fifty of the Tao Teh Ching, can be a symbol for negative thoughts, for fears, for emotions that are not laid to rest, not superceded, and are creating internal damage in our psyche. Their destructive vibrations create disharmony within which, in time, in the outer world, (what appears to be the outer world) open space for the "weapon to enter." The weapon too, can be a symbol of the creation within of an outer act that harms us, maybe not even physically, but emotionally, or spiritually. When we are not at peace, when we are not at harmony as in hexagram eleven, we create external conditions that eventually come back to bite us. (See hexagram twenty one).

In our relationships too, fear can disable us, can create disharmony in the relationship. It may even create a mental block of thinking which "discriminates between high and low, (image hexagram ten) in a negative way, creating tension in the relationship. We discriminate between high and low when we look down upon our partner, consider them lesser, or do not open ourselves up to true communication within. We allow "poisonous arrows" (hexagram twenty one) to enter our emotional state. We cut off communications. We "fortify our own thinking" at the expense of the other, and we "distance ourselves from our partners," not giving them the support that they so desperately need from us. We do not honor them rather than subordinating ourselves to the needs of the relationship as a whole, as taught us in hexagram eleven line five. And communication is effectively cut off. Then as in hexagram eleven line six, "The wall falls back into the moat," and yin and yang do not complement each other but instead combat each other. We must acquiesce to that connection, and let the universal Spirit take over our lives, and say as with Jesus, "Not my will, but thine be done."

More on Eleven to Thirty Nine

2011-12-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

When the first, second and fifth line change in hexagram thirty nine, the relating hexagram is hexagram thirty nine. Some of the qualities of hexagram thirty nine have already been discussed. We all have, however, times when it just does not seem that are goals are reachable, and it is futile to go on. If those goals do not accord with our inner "Tao," then it is true those goals must be abandoned. But if we know, assuredly, that that goal does pertain to our inner "Tao," and we are doing what we are destined to do, then those goals should never be abandoned. We must understand however, that to reach our goals, we must have unity within, between our conscious and subconscious minds. The second and fifth line give us some hint as to how to accomplish that. Each must be aware of the value of the other, and acquiesce to that value. In other words, there must be no hint of feelings of superiority or disdain toward our partner, (whether internal or in relationships). We must recognize at one at the same time the equality and yet the differences between our partner, both inner and outer. In the same way the conscious mind must "not neglect what is distant," (the subconscious mind with its vast repository of information). The subconscious too must recognize the logical nature of the conscious mind and respect it. When we come to agreement between conscious and subconscious vast projects are possible, defined by "crossing the great water." But the yin force must submit itself to the guidance of the yang force, and the yang force must underlie and support the yin force. In this way the great forces unite, and in union achieve such power that "one may manage to walk in the middle." When yin submits to yang and yang underlies and supports yin, as line five says, "This brings blessing and supreme good fortune." If there were ever a good "New Years resolution to make this year, it is that we will meditate to unite conscious and subconscious mind, and watch how our lives change enormously for the positive.

Turns His Attention Within

2011-12-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

When lines one, two, and five of hexagram eleven change, the result is hexagram thirty nine. The I Ching tells us, as well as all sacred literature, that our problems are of our own making. Since we are almost all of us out of touch with our deeper subconscious minds, we do not know this. We do not know how we can be responsible for it ourselves. And yet that is exactly the message born in all sacred literature, as well as the latest self help books, and psychology books on the market. We ourselves are responsible. Of course, once we realize that it is still important that we do not judge ourselves, and be too critical of ourselves because we did not consciously choose this reality. It was created within the collective unconscious. Nevertheless, we can learn to go within and find the way out. So... the the image in hexagram thirty nine says, "Thus the superior man turns his attention to himself and molds his character." The only way we can fix a problem is within. We must find the solution within ourselves. For, as is written in spiritual books, "There is nothing outside of us that can hurt us." It is only what is within. This becomes clear when we truly believe that "we are all one." Not only must we believe it, but we must experience that reality in our day to day experience, and realize that the entire universe is just an illusion created by the "one and only mind." The mind of God. We realize that we are simply a part of that overall mind, no more and no less than anyone else is, and that when we have conflict, when we have turmoil, when we are hurt by others, it is really simply ourselves doing it to ourselves. Then we progress to hexagram forty where the image says, "Thus the superior man pardons mistakes, and forgives misdeeds." He realizes that by forgiving others he is in reality forgiving himself for we are all one, and it is within ourselves that we create the problem.

Therefore, when we read line one of hexagram eleven, we find that all things are interconnected. The line says, "When ribbon grass is pulled up the sod comes with it." The sod comes with it because it is all interconnected. When we understand oneness, then we understand that the "sod and the ribbon grass are connected." In other words, everything clings to everything else in unification. (See hexagram thirty.)

We cannot think a thought without that same thought being available to everyone. We speak of the Akashic records because all thought and all activity is forever recorded in this "universal subconscious mind" and it is accessible. Those who think they can get away with something are assuming there is an "ULTIMATE" me and you, and separation between us. There is no such thing. Because we are all connected we are karmically connected and cannot hurt another without hurting ourselves. Therefore, we, as in hexagram forty, "Forgive misdeeds and pardon transgressions. Once again we can calm our minds as in hexagram fifty two, so much so that the "sacrificial spoon does not fall" as in hexagram fifty one, and not worry in the least about transgressions against us, for it is all in the plan of the one universal subconscious mind that such happen, and ultimately it is for our good alone, for their is no evil except as we make it such. "He turns his attention to himself, and molds his character."

Bearing with the Uncultured

2011-12-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

The world's elite tends to look down on the common man because he or she has not been able to generate the wealth that the elite have, and because they think of them as an inferior species. Truth be known, they do have a SLIGHTLY different genetic makeup than most of us have. And the wealth they have accumulated often was not by them themselves but an accumulation of accomplishments by their ancestors that they were simply born into. Being born into wealth and privilege, they look down on those who are "lesser beings." Now, to make this clear, this is not true of all of the elite. Some of them are highly moral beings with a great deal of passion. This is not an assault on people of wealth. It is only the recognition that some of the world's wealthiest people have a great disdain for the rest of the population. In the past this has been much more apparent than it is today, but in those days the elite did not have as much technology as they do today, and they truly had a use for the common man. He or she was good for labor, usually with pay but not always, and for other such things. We can see the actuality of this in many cultures. For example in ancient India there was a cast system where some were untouchables, and could be easily done away with at the slightest whim of those born into higher status. In Japan we had the Samurai, which for the most part were very highly moral people in many ways, but still looked upon the common people, the "eta" as inferior beings and could kill them instantly if there was any reason to believe they were not adequately subservient. In Europe you had the knights and the noblemen as well as the serfs, on peons, often little more than slaves. Ironically, it seems there is a natural born tendency within the human race to divide ourselves into classes, and the lower class as well as the higher class wish it to be so. The lower class tends to look upon the higher class with admiration, wishing to attain such status itself, while the upper classes wish to alienate any such intruders into the upper class, derisively calling it, "new money." We all seem to be comfortable with this system even if it means being stuck in a class that is looked down upon and has no real opportunity.

But hexagram eleven in a sense disparages this arrogance against the lower classes, (in some ways - the I Ching definitely discriminates between high and low) speaking of how to attain "peace on earth." The second line says, "bearing with the uncultured in gentleness." As such, the proper attitude toward the lower classes is not one of disdain, but one of understanding, and being willing to teach the lower classes a better way to live. As such the nation prospers and peace is attained upon earth.

Here the context is that in the lower trigram, all the yang lines are below, and the yin lines are above. Therefore, the stronger and "superior" people support those that are less dignified and not as highly cultured. Hierarchy is still taken into account, (see hexagram ten) and as hexagram ten teaches, there are appropriate ways to approach those above. The same is true to a certain extent in hexagrams nineteen and twenty where the inferior in nineteen approach the superior, and in twenty where the superior approach the inferior. The superior allow the approach in nineteen for the purpose of teaching them and giving them instructions, and in nineteen, the inferior readily and willingly receive those instructions, such that the superior and inferior meet in the proper manner without breaking any form of protocol. In doing so the inferior improve their lot and eventually become part of the superior, then as in hexagram fifty one, they are so enraptured by the superior beings who are willing to teach them and give them instruction, that they are in total concentration when the superior man speaks, so much so that "They do not let the sacrificial spoon fall," and are not fazed when the thunder sounds and the lightning strikes. There is a difference between high and low, that is inevitable, but the proper means of interacting is through a teacher who is wiling to teach, and a student who has the proper receptivity. (See hexagram four.) To look down disparagingly on the lower classes is a breach of propriety as much as the lower classes thinking of themselves more highly than they are.

The second line in hexagram eleven has a relationship, according to the law of correspondences, with the fifth line. The fifth line however, is yin, and therefore "weaker" than the lower second line. Although they relate, neither one is in its proper place. Nevertheless, the lower yang line, being below the upper yin, does support it. While the upper yin is higher in rank, it still subordinates itself to the stronger yang line. And since the yang line is receptive, there is "peace on earth." This hexagram, along with many others, well teaches the proper relationship between high and low. The lower classes, although being lower, and not as educated or cultured, are far more numerous than the upper classes. Therefore, if they are willing to work together, they are well able to overthrow the existing upper echelon. But if there is a proper union between high and low, if they support one another, there is peace on earth.

The taoists knew the secret of interpreting yin and yang within the body and how yin and yang interacted to create health within the body. Here to, yang must support yin and yin must defer and be receptive to yang. Yet the actual mechanics of this are known only to the most proficient and most knowledgeable of the Taoist monks, and therefore we cannot deal with it directly, or know the secrets the Taoists are unwilling to give us. However, everything that is true in the confucian model has a corresponding relationship in the taoist model, and the more we know about the confucian model, the more we can surmise about the taoist model. Nevertheless, it is not an easy task, but I challenge all who read this to contemplate and meditate upon the confucian meanings to see if the subconscious will in time give up the secrets of the taoist model. We must be like the receptive ones who approach in hexagram nineteen, and so inspired we become like the leader in hexagram fifty one who "does not let the ceremonial spoon fall."

Peace on Earth

2011-12-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

Right now it is Christmas time, at least for much of the world, and supposedly a time for peace on earth. But do we really have peace, and what is required to accomplish peace on this planet? We cannot have peace while there are those who insist on instituting absolute, complete, and total control on all peoples of the planet. These people stop at nothing to attain their goals. Why? There are run by ego. It is their own egos that control them, while they themselves think they are in control. They appear to fear nothing, yet in reality they fear everything, for they fear losing control, and loss of control would mean loss of everything that they hold dear. So they hold the reigns even tighter, they take away free speech. They destroy human rights. And why? Well, they say it is for our own good because we are a subspecies and cannot control ourselves, therefore they must do it for us. And in attempting to accomplish this they are willing to kill off billions of people if necessary to attain their goals. They think, once they are in control we (or they, not many of us left) will have peace. But they do not understand a basic principle. First, those who feel the need for control and to control, will always feel the need even more. So there is no peace because control freaks must find somebody or something to control. There is no end to their quest until they are the last person on earth. And there is still no peace because they are not in control of themselves, though they think they are. There is a passage in the I Ching, I will try to find it soon, that says something to the effect, "for when evil has fully subjugated the good, having nothing left to feed on, feeds on itself, and therefore destroys itself." It cannot endure. Even if the elite, those who wish to totally control the planet, succeed, they will begin to fight amongst themselves for control, and totally destroy themselves so that the good may once again prosper. Their case is hopeless, even if they destroy all freedom loving humans and attain their goal of total control. As the commentary on hexagram twenty three line six says, "When misfortune has spent its course, better times return. The seed of the good remains, and it is just when the fruit FALLS TO THE GROUND that good sprouts anew from its seed. The evil men may devour us. They may crush us like powder, but their own time will come. It is inevitable.

As such hexagrams twenty three and twenty four are in a sense the eastern version of Christmas. For the real Christmas story is never told. Most people think it is the day of the birth of Jesus. That is highly unlikely. At the very least we do not know that. The Christmas story was in effect borrowed from pagan sources. Those pagans, or druids, and many other groups, worshiped December twenty fifth as "the day the light returns." For just as the sun reaches its lowest point and the northern hemisphere experiences the shortest day on December 21st or 22nd, so the sun returns its upward movement into the northern hemisphere again on December twenty fifth. Thus the Christmas carol goes, "He will bring us goodness and LIGHT." The Roman Catholic church made a religion out of it and a literal story of a Son (sun) being born on this day. No matter how dark the night gets, the day returns. This happens in many ways, as a cyclic event. It happens yearly with our sun, it happens during the astrological ages when the sun goes into aquarius, where it is at its darkest, and goes back to Leo, which the sun rules. Right now we are headed for aquarius, but the sign aquarius appears monthly right after Capricorn when the sun begins its upward climb. (The symbol for Capricorn is the goat which climbs the mountain as the sun climbs in the sky, and step by step arises from lowliness into the heights of the mountain. In the same way, though Aquarius is winter time, the sun does begin to move back upward, and the light approaches. The attempts of world governments right now to really clamp down on their populations, under the context of fighting terrorism) will work for a while, and many will die in the "wars and rumours of war" and the plagues that are coming, (many man made) but their time is coming as well. We must all accept and fulfill our karma, which may not be a delightful task, but then ultimately mankind becomes the victor, and the elitists who fear lack of control will pay the price for their "rebellion." This is the true meaning of Christmas, it means the light is returning. And when the "light of the superior man is true," (hexagram sixty four line five) then we have peace on earth. This brings us back to hexagram eleven...

Changes Ocurring

2011-12-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

Right now, I will not talk about the I Ching so much, just for today, as there are so many things going on on planet earth right now that I have not had time to really come up with a plan for what I want to speak about. But I do hope to intensify my efforts as the time is drawing short. Changes of major proportions are occurring in today's world. The major news sources are still not covering a lot of it but some of it they have to cover, because it is becoming so obvious. At this point still, though, I do not recommend trusting any of the major news sources in the United States as they all cover only what they get from their sources which are closely allied with government institutions. Freedom of the press still exists in principle in the U.S. but it is being eroded more every day. With the legislation planned for an internet kill switch, freedom of speech will be a thing of the past and no one will be able to get an alternative news source.

The Bible and other ancient texts speak of things happening in the last days, and they do seem to be happening. Now I have heard all of the arguments about they have been saying that for centuries, I am well aware of that. There are things happening now though that are unprecedented. The ancient texts tell us that before that "great and terrible day" there will be signs in the sun and moon, etc. I noticed the other day that the moon seems to be shifted a little bit. But thought it couldn't be really true. Well, now I am getting reports, hearing things that say that maybe the moon and the sun have shifted on its axis. It is of a certainty, that the earth itself is experiencing a magnetic polar shift as that has been reported in mainstream newspapers, and airports have even made some shifts in the numbering of the runways due to a changing magnetic north. I have not heard if that is continuing to happen or now. As soon as we have a clear night, I am going to go out and see if I can spot the moon and see if the "man in the moon" has shifted position. You can tell because of the location of crater marks on the moon. I don't know if there is any truth to this, but I will be trying to find out all the information I can get. If the craters on the moon appear in a different spot, then one of two things must be true. Either the moon, and possibly the sun, or the earth, have experienced a polar shift that has changed the direction of north at least somewhat. I will try to get all the information as I can. There is a lot of misinformation on the web, and sources must be checked out thoroughly. I do have good sources that I trust though if they will take the time to respond to me. I think this is such a fascinating discussion that it has truly captured my attention.

On another note. There is activity in the U.S. congress, and among the global elite, attempting to make it illegal to sell vitamins, or basically anything that is truly healthy, and to force all food distributors to sell only irradiated food. If this comes about, much of humanity will die over the ensuing short years. It is a blatant attack on the lower classes of people, who are deemed unnecessary, and a blight on the health of the planet overall. According to the elite, these people must be eliminated. It will also be illegal to inform people of these situations as well. There is no more democracy on this planet. It is gone. Therefore, we are truly in the last days.

More on this later.

Various thoughts for the day

2011-12-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I had something in mind for today, the thought came to me earlier as I was out and about, but I didn't get it written down, so I am just going to have to wing it for right now, until I can compose my thoughts once again.

As far as hexagram eleven goes, we have been discussing how that hexagram teaches us various aspects of unity, and what it means when unity prevails, it leads to "peace on earth" which happens to be the theme of the holidays. Peace is not broken though, simply because people are at war with each other, and there is plenty of war to go around during this holiday season, but even wars among men are symptomatic of war within man. We as individuals are at war with ourselves. Our conscious minds are at war with our subconscious, and as a result life does not always deliver us our hopes and dreams. But we as individuals are also simply a holographic image of the overall cosmos. This is to say that each of us, as a holographic image, is a mirror image of the cosmos. Therefore everything that exists is within each of us. We are all a complete package of the whole. AS above, so below. Therefore, the heavens as well mirror image each individual and tells us our individual stories, and the stories of mankind as a whole because it is all part of one package. We and it are all one.

It goes back to what the Chinese called the Wu Chi, or the Wu Wei, I have forgotten the exact term. But in essence it means the wholeness that precedes division, and is the ultimate reality behind division. In other words, duality is just an illusion. The original unity, being consciousnes, decided that it would give itself experience by dividing into two and by that division create the "ten thousand things" as the "Tao Teh Ching" calls it. In other words, the manifestation. And just as Jesus gives us the parable of the prodigal son of the the universe itself is this prodigal son who goes out into duality in order to gain experience. When he returns, his brother is angry because the Father kills the "fatted Calf" for him in joy of his return. But the brother is really only jealous of the experience his brother has gained in his journey to the outer land. Hexagram fifty six is in some ways an eastern version of the story of the "Prodigal Son."

When the Wu Wei divides, it creates the illusion of time and space. It also creates the illusion of yin and yang with its various attributes which have no meaning without the benefit of their opposite values. When these two great forces properly interact, the universe goes back into a state of acquiescence in which the forces of light and darkness, time and space, yin and yang are no longer opposed to each other but harmonize to the point where they are no longer separate concepts part are simply one universal whole. Gary Renard, the author of "The Disappearance of the Universe," has written a masterful treatise on this subject from a westerners point of view. Another great book, which comes from a completely different perspective, but still is very useful and insightful, is a book called "Oneness" by Rasha. I highly recommend these two books, although they have no discussion of the I Ching, but come from a different perspective to the same ultimate outlook.

In other news, while the President had promised to veto senate bill 1867, it now looks like he won't. Senate bill 1867 is very likely to come into law this week if it hasn't already. There is already an executive order that does the same thing so it is not all that meaningful, but we must understand that the United States is now under martial law. It is also my understanding that the government is now posting job offers for prison guards in concentration camps. I doubt that much will happen early on, but the elite want one world government by the end of 2012, and I suspect at that point we will see the concentration camps start to fill up, but we will see.

I don't know how far along the bill is in the senate or house for an internet "kill switch," but I am sure it is coming. At that point free speech will be largely a thing of the past, but we will see. Anyway, more later.

Connection

2011-12-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the info in hexagram eleven, we must argue that the ultimate goal of the I Ching, or all spiritual readings and teachings, is that of ultimate connection and oneness among all things. Scientifically, we can explain this with the concept of the "big bang." Whether the big bang is actually a fact or not as to the original creation story, there is an element of truth in the concept. For at one time all was one - nothing more than an infinitely small point. There was no space, no time, and no object, only consciousness. This consciousness decided to create the illusion of separation in order to experience diversity. Nevertheless, this is just an illusion. There is no space nor time, no diversity, but consciousness nevertheless has created this illusion. The Chinese, if I remember right, called this original oneness, "wu chi." This "wu chi divided into yin and yang and the ten thousand things were created.

Therefore, hexagram eleven line one tells us that "when ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it. Each according to its kind." In other words, on the more esoteric level, the line is telling us that everything is connected, and when we study and analyze one thing, we are studying and analyzing all things, and that we should understand there is unity among all things. Nevertheless, due to the created illusion, there is diversity within unity. So the text also says, "each according to its kind.

On a more mundane level, getting this line can indicate that when we uncover something, we may find that there are many roots to the problem, and end up discovering more than what we were first looking for. It indicates that "birds of a feather flock together." Another way of looking at it is when we attempt to accomplish something we will attract those who are of like mind, although they are still diverse beings. When we look for problems in relationships, or within ourselves, we may find a complex of interlocking problems that all interact to create the issue we are facing.

Back to the more esoteric, we can look at hexagram thirty to discover how everything is connected together. The hexagram is called in the Wilhelm Baynes version, "The Clinging." In it we discover that everything "clings" to everything else. It is like "The web that has no weaver," (except that weaver is simply consciousness, the "wu chi").

It is important to remember this in our spiritual journey. For the conscious mind, relating to the ego, does not recognize the oneness of all things, the interconnectedness. Therefore its natural tendency is to try to control. The subconscious is aware of its interconnectedness. In fact, the deeper level of the subconscious is not specific to the individual alone, but is a part of the greater whole. In other words, it does not belong to just one person, but is interconnected with all persons and things. Therefore, the small I is just an illusion, the bigger I is the reality, and it is everything, not just the individual we think we are. When we go deeply within ourselves, we find that "the ribbon grass is connected to the sod." The sod is earth, the yin element. The earth is the protector and nurturer of all that exists, and it is "all connected." True spiritual discipline is related ultimately to this one concept, that we are all connected. That is the ultimate, and the only reality.

The Key

2011-12-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

The Key to the I Ching, and the key to life itself, is in understanding how to promote union and cooperation. In terms of the I Ching itself and yin and yang, is that yin and yang must be found in their proper places. The basic rule is that a yang line is to be found in the first, third, and fifth line, and a yin line in the second, fourth and sixth line. Thus yang is in all cases beneath yin. In that way it supports yin and they properly relate with one another. In the first two hexagrams the concepts of yang and yin are described and there is much between the lines in the commentary that is not on the surface. In studying the I Ching, we could learn more about our world than we can through scientific experimentation alone. For example, as has been mentioned many times, the concept of entropy, and evolution and devolution are built right into hexagrams sixty three and sixty four, and to a lesser extent, all the way through the book of changes. But there are various ways we can look at this interrelationship.

For example, in hexagram eleven there is an equal distribution between yin and yang lines, yet the yang are all below the yin. This means that some of them are not in their proper place, but in looking at the hexagram as a whole, and as two trigrams, we find here an even sweeter complementary relationship between yin and yang that in hexagram sixty three. It is the second and fifth line which are not in their individually proper spots, and yet, in spite of this, they work quite well together because in terms of the trigrams as a whole, yin is above yang, and therefore supported by yang. The commentary in book three on hexagram eleven says, "In terms of the human world, with special reference to two lines - the six in the fifth place representing the prince, and the nine in the second place representing the official - the result is unity between high and low, their wills being directed to a common goal." In this case, when the official is stronger than the prince it is conceivable that the stronger official could conspire to overthrow the prince in the fifth place, to gain power for himself. And that is what happens when men and women are striving for control rather than union. When people want control they do whatever they can to get it. There are those who want power, and when they get it they want more power, then they want more yet. Remember in Star Wars where Chancellor Palpetine says to Anakim Skywalker. "Go back to your early Jedi training. All who have power are afraid of losing it, and want more power, even the Jedi." The "evil" Chancellor Palpetine himself had some uncommon wisdom. It is only when we give up the mental mindset that says, "I must have control. I must control my own destiny even if that means hurting others" that we learn to cooperate, and find those who are willing to cooperate with us.

So hexagram eleven has an element within it that shows the way to union, to cooperation, to a willingness to share power and to work together for a common goal. In the same way in our relationships, if we attempt to control our partner, if we use cooercion, or manipulation, or emotional blackmail, or force, or rage, to control one another, the system may work for a while, but ultimately it will create a bitterness that sooner or later must come to a force that must be dealt with, and there will be a backlash. Cooperation does not mean just giving in, line five in hexagram eleven is greater in rank that line two, yet submits itself because it knows that the second line is supportive, not combative. It understands that the situation calls for union, and that a peaceful union and cooperation is possible, and that in submitting, not out of weakness but out of strength, it gains the support and strength of its partner. Together they can do more than each can do alone, and they submit their wills to each other to form a combined will. They same must be done in our relationships. A relationship cannot work if each partner is running on a different train track. The tracks will eventually take them away from each other. There must be a "meeting of the minds," so to speak. So that the power of each mind magnifies and intensifies the power of the other, and the whole is greater than the parts. The various lines of the hexagram show various problems and solutions to the completion of a union. This union is necessary between the conscious and the subconscious mind of man as well.

Unswerving Inner Purpose

2011-12-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

Hexagram thirty nine tells the reader about the proper method for dealing with a dangerous situation, and how to overcome it. But one thing is often missed in dealing with this hexagram. The danger comes from within. It only appears to be outside of us.

The image for the hexagram says, "Thus the superior man turns his attention to himself And molds his character." The commentary says, "While the inferior person seeks to put the blame on other persons, bewailing his or her fate, the superior man seeks the error within himself, and through this introspection the external obstacle becomes for him an occasion for inner enrichment and education." We must come to understand from this that things do not just happen to us. It is not a matter of us having to "control" all outside forces in order to get our way in life, but rather when things go wrong, find the "inner" attitude that has brought about these "dangerous" situations. The commentary in book three points out this principle to an even greater extent. The commentary on the image says, " The way of overcoming obstacles lies in turning inward and raising one's own being to a higher level."

This is true in our relationships as well. When things do not go the way we want them to we often resort to forms of manipulation to get our partner to act in a way that pleases us. We fuss and fume over slights and hurts and things gone awry in a relationship. We try to "change" our partner. We become frustrated when things do not change. But the problem really does not lie in our partner, but in our perception of our partner. In otherwords, the problem lies within our "own being."

The real key to success is to have an "unswerving inner purpose" while outwardly we are tractable and yielding. The key is what lies within ourselves. The key is the inner directive that never yields, though it appears to on the outside. Because it is only what we focus our attention on continuously that comes to bear. Hexagram thirty one line four says, "If a man is agitated in mind, his thoughts go hither and thither, and only those thoughts that are fixed will produce results." It is said, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." We cannot escape the fact that any problem is ultimately "our" responsibility. We cannot control or manipulate anyone else, and even if we can, the other will ultimately develop resentment and anger toward us. When there is a problem, we must "seek the solution within ourselves."

More on SB 1867

2011-12-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well, senate bill 1867 has passed, and with it the constitutional protections of the people of the U.S. President Obama says he will veto it, but only because he has already signed an executive order that does the same thing. In essence congress has now become non functional and is only a showcase. Most laws now are passed by executive order and the congress has little to say about it. But that is minor compared to what is happening. The bill allows the military to act as police agents within the U.S. and arrest and detain any citizen they chose to without any evidence of wrong doing on the part of the citizen, and the citizen is given no rights to counsel, an attorney, and is detained for as long as the military cares to detain them. They do not have to tell anyone anywhere that they have detained said citizen. This applies to Americans on American soil, but technical the bill applies to any citizen of any country, anywhere in the world. This is a dark day in America, but it happened because people refused to believe there was anything going on inside the U.S. that would detract from our liberties. Nevertheless, here are the fact laid bare.

Computer Crash

2011-12-04T13:55:00.002-08:00

I have apparently had an attack on my computer and there is no longer an operating system on it. I will have to post from libraries etc, for the next two to six months, which should not stop me but should slow me down temporarily. I expect to post something tomorrow if all goes well. Anyway, this is an update on the situation.

2011-12-04T13:55:00.001-08:00

An Ancient Space War

2011-12-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

Most of us, when we go to the movies, just want to be entertained, and that is what we usually end up being. There isn't for the most part a thought out analysis on the story line, and no thought is given as to how that particular story line came about. Much of the stories seem very fictional to us and are just a way to escape reality and put ourselves in a fictitious setting where we can play the hero, etc.

But might there be more to some movies than just the story line and a means of escaping into a more exciting reality? For example, the Star Wars movies? Are they really fictional or are they a means of subtly telling society there is a deeper message that will help us, if we comprehend, in a matter of spiritual growth? Or is there even more to the story that the storywriters are compelled to tell us, but only those that have ears to hear? The Bible and many other sacred scriptures tell us of a cosmic war that took place millenia ago. Now days we either pass it off as the fantasy of a not so highly evolved race, or we spiritualize it to the point that it makes no sense except in some far off place of angels and demons. Perhaps neither scenario is correct, and perhaps there really was a cosmic war, millenia ago, that was not fought by angels and demons, but by us, or at least our ancestors, maybe not exactly genetically our ancestors, but close. There has been much work done lately that reveals evidence of a cosmic war. One such piece of evidence has been around for a long time, but mainstream science has denied any claims that it could have been the results of a cosmic war. (If you go deeply into the study of this you will come to understand that what is officially told the public is almost always a lie.) That one most obvious piece of evidence is the asteroid belt. But there is more, there are gaping holes on the planet Mars, elongated scars that appear to have been created by a weapon of scalar proportions. And here is the kicker that has come up lately. The space program of this country and others seems to be constantly creating diversionary tactics to keep people from knowing what is really going on, and doing something totally different than their stated purpose. (Just so people will know, some of this most recent evidence comes from Richard C. Hoagland who wrote the book, "Monuments on Mars." I listened to him for about three hours, and relistened today, on a radion program. I know there is much controversy about him, but I have found that those who "debunk" him use very superficial arguments, and are not truly serious in their claims. There is a contingency here on planet earth that knows about this cosmic war, and is doing everything in its power to make sure the common man does not know.

The argument may come up, but why would they care who knows? The answer is, if you know, you also know there is something to the ancient texts that speak of these wars, the texts that speak of ancient flying machines, etc., and may find out the world is really a hologram, and you are not trapped in it except through your mind, your beliefs. They want mankind as slaves. It appears, and I know this is going to sound really hokie to some, but it does appear, that some of these so called asteroids, or comets, or what have you are not natural objects at all, but unmanned space ships flying around in a pattern not natural to gravitatonal pull, and just keep traveling around because there is no one left to man them, or to make them work, just war machines no different than ships and airplanes that come to rest in the bottom of the sea, or wherever but haven't yet disintegrated.

I find this whole subject fascinating. I find it fascinating because it makes sense as to why the powers that be would insist on lying to us constantly as to what is really going on on planet earth. In a way that we would never expect, this earth really is ruled by a "luciferian principle," and explains why so many really refuse to wake up, but prefer mind numbing techniques as somewhat described in the movie, "The Matrix," another movie that is meant to be more than just entertainment. The year 2012 is fascinating not because of many earth changes, and the world is not going to end, but it is fascinating because it is the time when the world wakes up out of its sleep, at least many people, who will survive, will wake up. We will find out we have been lied to. We will find out we can have free, and unlimited energy at our disposal, and that we can dream big dreams and make them real, make them come true, that we are not bound by the material plane. For the material plane is only half the equation. The other half is spirit, or quantum mechanics, or Ch'i, or universal energy, whatever we want to call it.

The war is not over, it is only in a state of temporary lull. The war was so devastating that both sides lost their technology and had to start all over again. That is more true, however, of the dark side, which is just now beginning to learn to develop the overwhelming power of scalar technology, of quantum mechanics, of electro magnetic propulsion, and of tesla energy technology. And they are not going to allow any of us to be enlightened without a fight. This fight is coming to earth, and it is coming soon. The war is returning. The dark side wanted mankind for slavery, they did not want to have us enlightened because then they could not control us. These are men, not some etherial type of angelic being, and they are here, and soon they will be in a desperate struggle to destroy as many of us as they can, before they themselves are destroyed. This may seem highly fictional, I can assure you it is not, and the war is returning soon. I find this just mind blowing, fascinating work, and am looking forward to learning a lot more.

A Fortified Heart

2011-11-29T19:06:00.000-08:00

The commentary on hexagram fifty eight one speaks of the "quiet security of a heart fortified within itself." But make no mistake about it, a heart cannot be secure unless it believes in something bigger than the little ego. As much as the ego likes to maintain control, maintain control over the environment, maintain control of others, and all things, the more it tries, the more it finds it cannot. The ego does this for one reason and one reason only. It is full of fear. It fears if it does not control everything and everybody it will not be able to get what it wants, and may lose everything. The ego can never, ever, create a "quiet heart." And for this reason, no matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, as long as we are coming from ego, we can never have a "contented joyousness." The commentary says, "A quiet, self contained joy, DESIRING NOTHING FROM WITHOUT and resting content with everything, remains free of all egoistic likes and dislikes." It is only when we recognize a power greater than our little I, a power from the "greater I, that we can have any freedom or peace of mind. The big question that Einstein asked and attempted to answer was, "is the universe benevolent, or malevolent?" As long as we believe the universe is anything but benevolent, we find it to be anything but benevolent. When we understand that the consciousness of the universe, (and realize it is conscious) is love and only love, we come to realize that the universe truly is benevolent, and we can give up our egoistic fear, and just let go and let God. (See hexagram twenty five.) It is only when we recognize that greater power that we can have a heart fortified within itself.

The same is true in our relationships or any aspect of life. When we gjve up trying to control our partner, control the relationship, control how it goes, quit trying to change our partner, quit trying to manipulate the situation, that we find true peace and contentment within that relationship. We must, as the Beetles sang in the sixties and seventies, "Let it be, let it be, there will be an answer, let it be." But we cannot find that answer unless our hearts, our minds, are at peace, calm, quietly fortified within.

When we come to the place in our lives where it seems nothing is working for us, when it seems no one knows us or respects our work, when we seem to be laboring in vain, we can take comfort in the words of hexagram fifty line three. The commentary says, "If only he will see to it that he is possessed of something truly spiritual, the time is bound to come, sooner or later, when the difficulties will be resolved, and all will go well." But we must recognize this principle, and let life be. There will be an answer.

Thanksgiving Over

2011-11-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been a little remiss over the thanksgiving holidays; not just because of the holidays and the hyped up college football games, but also because of a lot of distractions. Right now I am watching for the vote on senate bill 1867 which will if passed, effectively end "habeas corpus in the United States. In other words, our constitutional rights will be gone. The military will have the right to arrest anyone as a potential terrorist, (yes, military, not police) and you will have no right to a lawyer, to a trial, or to be released at any time from prison. This marks the end of freedom in America. Also, many websites will be shut down, any which the Federal Government does not like or is critical of the government. There will be a vote on this bill this week. The following website will give a very brief description of the situation:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/56087

You can also do a search on sb1867 and get more information.

As such, with all that is going on in the world, I have not had time, or at least taken time to prepare another article, but I will get started again right away.

By the way, new documents by the Mayans have been found in the last few days that discuss the 2012 scenario. The future will prove to be very interesting. I am also studying the astrological effects of the Uranus - Pluto square on the U.S. and the world. The exact square is not yet, not for a while, but it is coming, and the first exact square I think will be in around six months, although I am going to have to check that out for sure. But the demonstrations, and civil disobedience the world over is very much related to the energies of these two planets. Watch for things to get much deeper into civil disobedience both in the U.S. and elsewhere as we start to see the culmination of these squares, and similar astrological scenarios. We also have a full moon eclipse on about Dec 3rd, I think, and I think this will be significant as well.

2011-11-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

One thing I wish to make very clear here, as we study the I Ching, is that the I Ching is a living entity and not just words on a page. As such, it has an intelligence, it has a personality, and it is associated with each of you. Why? Because, the thing that comes most clear in the study of the I Ching is that there is a conscious mind, then there is a subconscious mind that is universal. On the deepest level our subconscious mind is universal, it does not belong to just one individual. Therefore, on the deepest strata or level of intelligence everyone, everywhere, knows everything, absolutely everything about every one else, and this is no possibility of in any way hiding our actions, or disguising ourselves. We can only do this consciously. The subconscious, on the deepest level is not fooled and is never fooled by anyone else's actions. If we understood this, and understood the relationship this reality has with karma, we would never knowingly hurt anyone else, or try to deceive anyone, because we are doing it to ourselves, and our actions are recorded. And they are known.

As such we see in each line, in each hexagram of the I Ching a message about the way the I Ching relates to us, and a reflection of ourselves in every page. There is no escape from this. In order to know the I Ching, we must come to know ourselves. And in order to help ourselves understand ourselves, we must come to understand the I Ching. This is a hard and fast rule, and will remain so eternally. The universe is alive. Yang is spirit and yin is matter, and they are one and the same thing. They are just a mirror reflection of each other. Matter is infused with spirit, and spirit is the essence behind the form. Spirit is the real form, the form is just the illusion.

Therefore, we see certain principles in the I Ching that are always true, not just true when we receive the line for a particular reading. As an example - in hexagram fifty one line three it is stated, "A hundred thousand times you lose your treasures and must climb the nine hills. Do not go in pursuit of them. After seven days you will get them back." When we do a reading, this would indicate that in this instance we do not have to worry, we will receive what is due us. However, in a spiritual pursuit of the true meaning of the I Ching we find this is a principle that is always true, providing we have the mind set that is taught us in the I Ching. The commentary says, "He must accept his loss of property without worrying too much about it." So we see that as the commentary on line four of hexagram twenty five says, "We cannot lose what really belongs to us, even if we throw it away. Therefore we need have no anxiety." Well, we have all lost things that were never returned to us, so it might be said, this is not true. But there is a key here, which if we follow makes it true. In hexagram fifty one it says, "He must accept... WITHOUT WORRYING too much about it." And in hexagram twenty five it says, "Therefore...NO ANXIETY." The key is we have to trust the universe. We must be perfectly calm and relaxed for it to work. If we are not, we interfere with and block the energy. There is one more key too, though, in twenty five it says, "WHAT REALLY BELONGS TO US." If it does not belong to us we don't need it anyway. And we should allow that property to go to its rightful owner. But the key is TRUST. Without trust, all is lost. If we try to force the issue, (hexagram thirty four) we are coming from a place of lack of trust...

A slight diversion here, but it is very much related. In the Book of Enoch, which for some mysterious reason, (actually not so mysterious if you know the truth about the orthodox church) was left out of the official canon, and never became a biblical book, a story is related about the judgment of the fallen angels. (The fallen angels are the fathers of the elite which exist on earth today, and are attempting to create a world wide government of complete control) Anyway, the story says the the Lord God, or the highest God, told the angels that as judgment they would reincarnate as men and would not remember who they are. The fallen angels said, "The judgment is not fair." But from God's perspective it is fair. Now, since we are all, as a corrupted race, at least partially related to the fallen angels, as offspring, we are all somewhere, on some level of our being, saying, the judgment isn't fair. When we lose something or someone, when things don't work out the way we want them too, when we hurt, our relationships are tearing apart, we lose our money, whatever it is, we are saying to God, "the judgment is not fair." It is only when we completely surrender, give up conscious control. It is only we give up, and allow the universe, the tao, to flow through us, and admit that the "judgment is fair," that we have any success in life. We must give up conscious control. We must allow, and trust. When we trust, we submit to fate, and only by submitting to fate do we have any ultimate success. When we submit to fate, we are accepting the judgment, and realizing that it is really a good thing, not a bad, though it appears very bad. In such a way our true treasures, those that belong to us, are restored. And this is a universal principle, not one that only works when we get these lines. Things that seem unfair really have a positive side to them, and all things are to our benefit, though it doesn't seem so to our conscious minds. "All things work together for good for those that...." We must be like hexagram two and yield, being receptive to the flow of spirit. Then we find that "Behold, fate is favorable."

The Court Ladies

2011-11-20T10:52:00.000-08:00

Hexagram twenty three line five says, "A shoal of fishes. Favor comes through the court ladies." I am sure there is far more to this than meets the eye, and someone very familiar with the Chinese would see a lot more into this. One thing I might point out here as a diversion, though I don't know the Chinese language, is that most ancient languages, especially ones in which sacred scriptures were written, are highly metaphorical langauges, and that being the case, many scholars are cast upon the rocks of doubt as to the most proper use of a word. In ancient languages, often the word has multiple meanings, all of which are meant to convey something in the meaning of the line. Therefore, many interpretations are possible. All of them being valid. Therefore, languages used in the art of interpreting oracles have a multidimensionality that allows for interpretation in a huge number of possible situations. But there is an even bigger issue, that of symbolism or allegory. And there we end the digression and get back to the point.

What is the real meaning of the court ladies? I at present am not sure of the symbolic meaning of this text. But the commentary itself does give a hint as to the meaning of the line as a whole. By the law of correspondence, the third and the fifth line both have a relationship with the yang sixth line. Therefore, the interpretation of these two lines is not in general as negative as the interpretation of the other yin lines. (Negative being a relative term.) The commentary on hexagram two gives us a hint as to the meaning of this. The commentary says of yin, "It is the perfect complement of THE CREATIVE - the complement, not its opposite, for the receptive does not combat the Creative, but completes it." It is only when yin is in improper relationship with yang that it becomes evil so to speak. None of the yin lines of hexagram twenty three are in proper relationship with the yang line in the sixth, except the third and the fifth. The fifth line especially, being close to yang, and supported by it, as the commetary says, "Inasmuch as the lower element thus voluntarily places itself under the higher, it attains happiness and the higher also receives its due. Therefore all goes well."

There is a certain relationship here with hexagram sixty four in which all the yin lines and all the yang lines are not in relationship to each other. However, the nuclear hexagram which equals hexagram sixty three, shows all the lines in their proper places, which indicates there is a possibility of perfection. There is an eternal principle here that shows that whatever is not perfect can become so, and whatever is perfect is in danger of degenerating into imperfection. This happens when yin and yang lose their proper relationship with each other. Therefore, hexagram sixty four indicates a time in which things are "unsettled." (See the "Taoist I Ching" book for more explanation) It is incumbent upon mankind to find a way to settle things back down when they have been stirred up, to calm the mind when it is unsettled (hexagram fifty two) and thereby allow the universe, the Tao, to complete its mission through us in which case "fate is favorable." Hexagram fifty one line two's commentary says, "He must accept his loss of property without worrying too much about it. When the time of shock and upheaval that have robbed him of his possessions, he will get them back again without going in pursuit of them. By not worrying, we follow the mind of "Tao," and we find that by doing so, "fate is favorable." In the same way "Favor comes through the court ladies." When yin lines up in proper relationship with yang, when stillness and calmness compliment activity and shock, all goes well. When negative things happen we must not resist, but simply look for the good in the negative occurrence. When we do, we find that the "time of shock and upheaval" comes to an end, and our possessions are returned to us. (Confer the story of Job) the Biblical literature. All "unsettled" conditions hold within them the possibility of returning to settled conditions.

A Little Bit Slow

2011-11-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

I have been a little bit slow about posting lately, please bear with me, I have had a number of shocking events occurring in my life lately that must be dealt with. I am into my new place now and enjoying it but there are still a lot of start up costs, and other unexpected events to be dealt with.

No matter how well we know the I Ching, and none of us know it well enough, nobody does, there are things that happen that are unexpected and unprepared for. We have to deal with those things as it is our karma. It is not that we have not brought them on ourselves. It is our karma. All of us, at some place in our lives play the part of the victim, not consciously, but by projection outside, we place the blame on other people or events, and think life is unfair, when in reality we orchestrate our own fate and our own karma on the inside. The I Ching is not a cure all, and it works only for the "superior person," and the more we refine ourselves and become more spiritually mature, the more it works for us, be we are all underlings, (remember the Shakespearean play where it is said, "It is not in the stars dear Brutus, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."? We do not see all or know all, actually very little, that is why we must allow the universe, the Tao to flow through us. Nevertheless, while we have a karma to fulfill, we must bear it calmly, and not allow ourselves to play the role of victim, but to accept that karma that comes to us, then "fate is favorable."

The King Approaches his Temple

2011-11-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

The judgment on hexagram forty five says, "The king approaches his temple. It furthers one to see the great man. This brings success." On a spiritual level the "king who approaches his temple" is the superior person who goes within to that deepest part of himself in order to seek answers from that divine part of us, or from the I Ching, or from the Tao. It is only when we correctly approach, with the proper decorum delineated in hexagram four and elsewhere, and reach the deepest strata within, that we find the true answers to life's questions. And only when we have reached that deepest strata, and found the true answers do we bring success.

We also approach the temple when we find that which matters to us most, and act in propriety and dignity to maintain the relationship supposed in a given situation. We approach the temple when we seek for answers about our relationships, and are willing to do whatever work is required to maintain them, and please our partners. We approach the temple when we go to a supervisor at work to get honest feedback, or information not readily available, or do whatever is necessary to maintain good communications within the company. We may also have a complaint, which needs a hearing, or a need to communicate some information of value to the company.

The judgment continues in saying, "To bring great offerings creates good fortune." When we present ourselves to our higher selves for review, and for wisdom, we must in most cases to be willing to give up something of our lower natures. We must be willing to sacrifice things that we are accustomed to and crave but are not part of our overall plan for spiritual unfoldment. We must "set aside every weight, and the sin that so easily besets us," because attachment to these things only brings suffering, and they interfere with our purpose and function on the higher levels.

In the same way, in order to make a relationship work we may have to give up the time used hanging out with our buddies, having a few drinks after work, or bowling night with our pals. Not necessarily everything, but anything that takes away prime time with the family, and is hurting members of the family. We may have to give up certain habits, spend more time talking and communicating with our spouses. We may have to give our partner more space, or less space, depending on the circumstances. At work we may have to give up a pet project, or get to bed a little earlier to be primed and ready to go the next morning. We may have to give up that late night extra drink, or a late night out. In order to make the primary matters of our life work, we often have to give up something that we like, but does not project us forward on our goal. When the king approaches his temple he realizes that "The place whereupon he standeth is holy ground." On holy ground we have to give up the profane. We have to be willing to follow the Tao, the way, consistently, daily, and permanently. That will almost certainly force us to give up some things. To offer the baser thing up for the finer. As Jesus said, "If any man would follow me, let him take up his cross daily." In other words, day by day we offer things up that are not conducive to our path. We die to the lower person, we renew our fellowship with the higher person. In this way, in approaching the temple, we see the great man.

Finally the judgment says, "It furthers one to undertake something." When we approach the temple, there is a requirement that we do something that leads to deeper spiritual involvement. We "take up our cross," or as the Tao Teh Ching says, we must invest in loss. Everyday, Lao Tzu says, he loses something. He gives us the things that are not useful, and takes up the things that are. "To bring great offerings creates good fortune." Our fortune arises because we give up something, something that is not beneficial to us anyway.

Often we must give up our activities, things we like to do, because they are not conducive to our spiritual growth. Excessive activity can lead to a mind that is very confused, and going ten thousand miles an hour. The lower trigram of hexagram forty five tells us that to have true happiness, we must learn to still the mind, to be calm within. Without that stillness, we cannot approach the temple, we cannot see the great man. When we calm the mind, when we let go of excessive activity, and limit ourselves (Hexagram sixty) to only those things that moves us along on the pathway, then "a light develops out of events that shows us the way." But we have to give up our desire to control. We have to give up our desire to be ceaselessly active in attempting to consciously create our world the way we want it. The key is to imagine the world as we would like it, then let it flow. A constant flow of activity from the conscious mind only will only lead to trouble and disaster in the long run. Stillness, and a willingness to let go of excessive activity is the only key to "seeing the great man, approaching the temple." And finally, it is necessary that as hexagram forty five, line five, the ruler, says, "If we are not yet sincerely in the work, Sublime and enduring perseverance is needed." We cannot accomplish everything all in one day. It is a matter of daily taking up our cross, dying to our lower selfish nature. We must follow the Tao daily as if "Practicing chariot driving," giving up, or bringing offerings to the higher self, in that way we "approach the temple."

Upright in Character

2011-11-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

Hexagram forty six line two tells us that "even though we are brusque and pay too little attention to form, (we are unsophisticated and unaware of the true nature of reality, of the spirit) but since we are upright in character, we are accepted." The key here really is the heart. As it is said Biblically, "For man looketh upon the outward appearance but God looketh upon the heart." It is really the heart the matters in all our interactions, for non of us are totally polished, non of us are "highly" sophisticated, and non of us know proper procedure in every instance in life.

It is the same in our relationships. Being highly sophisticated is not necessarily going to attract the person we want because attraction is a matter of the heart, and logic will not change anything. We cannot be attracted to someone because it is logical to be so. If it were, we would all be in trouble because logic without the heart is only half the equation. But the heart accepts the person when they show a certain humility, in the right way, and when they are upright and fair with us, as long as all other aspects are right as well.

It is the same with the Sage, the I Ching, the higher universal subconscious, or what have you. It accepts us when we are upright in character. We are all unpolished, but we become polished when we daily consult the I Ching, and in this way practice chariot driving, and follow its guidance and direction. We become polished by following the Tao daily, by integrating the conscious mind with the subconscious in such a way that we grow spiritually and in maturity. (For spiritual growth and maturity are in essence one and the same thing.) But if we had to wait until we were polished to be accepted, we could never be accepted because we would have no way to learn how to improve ourselves.

It is the same with an employer employee relationship. When we apply for the job we need to be as sophisticated as we can, as able to do the job as possible, but it is only by working the job we gain real sophistication in correctly doing the job. An employer expects us to be capable, but knows that the real experience and sophistication will only come once we do the job.

Once we are accepted we begin the journey. After beginning the journey we may find that things progress with remarkable ease, at least at first. But we cannot count on things always being that way. The lessons we learn intellectually will sooner or later be placed on us in such a way that we will have to learn experientially as well. Line three however, tells us that we must not give into those misgivings but simply do the work now, the test will come when it is time. In the same way, in our relationships, we learn day by day, but when things go well, we still fortify ourselves for upcoming events, for no relationship is without difficulties and we must fortify ourselves for the future. (See hexagram five line five.) Nevertheless, we must not have misgivings about the future, but simply enjoy the day for the day, while at the same time practicing following the Tao daily. (Once again, chariot driving) If we want to be successful in relationships, we must work daily on that relationship. If we want to be successful career wise we must practice our career daily, never ceasing in attempting to improve and get better. If we wish to be successful in our spiritual life we must never forget to "seek what is right." (Hexagram thirty four, the commentary)

Finally, hexagram forty five line five tells us that "there are some who are not yet sincerely in the work." We are not sincerely in the work when we do not "push upward into an empty city, but let things slide. The key to not letting things slide is to be dedicated to set aside time daily for whatever spiritual work you wish to do. Life will throw obstacles in the path, as life goes on our daily tasks impinge on us to the extent that we forget the spiritual work that is to be done, or the work on our relationships or careers, and "fall back into the moat" (hexagram eleven line six) of doing no more than what we need to do in the moment. It is what some Christians call backsliding. We get used to a rut and literally forget to get out of it. That is what hexagram sixty four teaches us. That we are not there yet. If you think you have arrived you haven't. If you think you've finished all the steps you haven't. If you think your classes are completed, you are sadly mistaken, for even if we are "upright in character," we still lack the polish that only life experiences and the teaching of the Sage, of the I Ching can give us. And we would not complete our lessons in ten thousand life times.

That Which Supports Us

2011-11-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hexagram fifty nine line two says, "He hurries to that which supports him." Everyone is like a ship that needs a home port. We need to find that which gives us refuge in the time of storm, and we need to feel a certain safety and security. As children we found this in our home, as babies, in our mother's arms, and as young people, in our social group. These things can only help so far though. When in times of trouble, we really need a reassurance that goes deeper and is more fathomable than that which a family or friends can give us. Ultimately, that security comes in the form of following the Tao, or the Buddha, or the Christ Child, or whatever you would like to call it. As the gospels story goes, while Jesus was asleep in the boat, the storm came, and the disciples became afraid. So they woke Jesus up to tell them of their predicament. Jesus chastises them a little bit, and then calms the storm. Jesus is a symbol or allegory, in this case, of the higher self, or the Christ Child within each of us that we can go into, become one with, and calm the storm. When we "wake up Jesus" we are entering that place of deep repose within the mind, and our fears are defeated. In this way we are "hurrying to that which supports us." The key is the mind itself. Jesus told his disciples not to look for the kingdom as far away, but it is to be found within, in the here and now. If we find the kingdom, we are in essence, in heaven, in the here and now, not after we die, because within the kingdom the Christ Child calms the storm. We are at peace, no matter what the outward conditions. The predicament we are in somehow miraculously fades away because we have "hurried to that which supports us.

Jesus said, "suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The little children realize they are protected by their parents, and just act innocently, and as such more readily follow the Tao. They do not worry about their food, or where there clothing comes from, they just trust that those things will be provided. There is innocence in their eyes, and as such they are enjoying the kingdom of heaven right here and now, not in some far off place after they die. The children just naturally "hurry to that which supports them." Their nature isn't fear, but trust. They just trust, and do not try to control their surroundings fearing that they must control in order to take care of themselves. They just trust. This is the key to following the tao, is to just trust, allow, and let that support be there for them. No fear. They are in the kingdom.

Disciplining the Devil's Country

2011-11-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

Hexagram sixty four, as every hexagram, and every line, speaks of overcoming our lower self, our ego, and attaining a higher level of consciousness. In hexagram sixty three line three it says, "The Illustrious Ancestor Disciplines the Devil's country. On a personal level this can indicate to us that we need to take control of ourselves in a given situation. It means that though the battle by and large has been won, there are still "sweeping up" operations that need to be done. In relationships we may need to maintain the same efforts that won the other person even after it seems like they belong to us. In business we have to continue with "sweep up" operations even after we have won the contract. It is the same in our spiritual life. After making connections with the Tao, after gaining access to our inner Buddha, Inner Christ, the universal subconscious mind, what have you, we must on a daily basis maintain that connection. The ego always wants control and to control; and time and time again we will catch ourselves reverting back to our old egoistic self, and employing the "inferior people" which should not be employed. The inferior people are our old habits, attitudes, and thought patterns that created the victimization consciousness we have felt consistently in our lives due to limiting beliefs and incorrect observations of the world leaving us to believe the world is a cold materialistic place and we have no control over it, except in personal little ways. We believe the world is outside of us, and therefore works against us unless we control it. The ego will always revert to a control mechanism, and we must be constantly on the lookout for its resurgence, which disconnects us from the Tao. By always being on the lookout for a return to old behaviors, and old attitudes that make us a victim in some way in our lives, we are, once again, this keeps coming up, practicing "chariot driving" as in hexagram twenty six line three.

Hexagram fifty nine speaks of dispersion but we must look at the context in order to see what exactly it is that is being dispersed. Is it something that we need to do without, or is it something that we need to maintain in our lives? When we receive line two we see that the situation is the beginnings of alienation in our lives. Something is being dispersed that should not be dispersed. We must, of course, be careful to discern whether this is something or someone that we should let go, or is it something that truly belongs to us. If it is the latter then we can safely and "quietly go about the removal of resistances." If it is not then we must allow it or them to go its or their own way.

When it comes to our personal lives, we must always be on the lookout for the signs of resurgence of the ego, and the beginnings of disconnection from the tao. If we search diligently, we are like line one of hexagram twenty four which says in effect, in this context, that "we return from a short distance." In other words, if we are always on guard, if we are always aware of the possibility of a breaking away from our true source, or our significant other, or from our interrelationships on the job or wherever, ultimately from the tao, we catch it immediately and immediately begin to "return from a short distance." We do not want to fall asleep, and allow the situation to get so bad that like line six of twenty four, We "miss the return" and the opportunity is gone. Then the possibility of return becomes much more difficult, although with our own higher self, the tao, the connection is never totally lost. We might lose a loved one, a job, a personal connection, but we never totally lose our connection with the tao, it may be difficult to retrieve it, but not impossible.

Finally, line five of hexagram forty five reminds us that "If there are some who are not yet sincerely in the work, Sublime and enduring perseverance is needed." It is only through continual work and conscientious activity that we recognition the path to return to the "Source," the Tao, and redevelop ourselves, bringing our ego once again into check, renewing our basis for a good relationship, for a good connection with employees and employers, and reestablish what once was established, learning to improve that connection with the source, being able to just let go and trust, and watch the source, the tao, do its work for us, and find that fate is favorable.

Excessive Force and Setting Limits

2011-11-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

With hexagram sixty and hexagram thirty four in combination we see that we must limit how far we advance until the time is right. The commentary on sixty says, "In relationship to the moral sphere it means the fixed limits that the superior man sets upon his actions. Line one of sixty tells us that "we must know when to stop." It goes on to say, "...he accumulates an energy that enables him, WHEN THE PROPER TIME COMES, to act with great force." And this is key and is enunciated time and time again in the I Ching, that we must act in accordance with the time. And how do we do this? We must attach our conscious minds to the mind of tao, or learn to follow the natural way, which is beyond any conscious control. We do not control, we allow, and in doing so, follow the tao. We follow the natural way as delineated in hexagram twenty five.

Often we are tempted, once we see the first sign of an opportunity, to immediately loosen the reigns, and allow our conscious mind to start to control once again. This is a mistake that is clearly expounded against in hexagram thirty four line two. The commentary says, "Resistance gives way and we forge ahead. This is the point at which, all too easily, we become the prey of exuberant self confidence. We see the first sign and think it is time to move. Then we find out all too quickly that we have misjudged, and the time still is not appropriate. In developing relationships too, when we think the signs are there for a sudden advancement, and to carry the relationship to the next level, we suddenly realize we have fallen victim to exuberant self confidence. The same can be true in a job interview, or any significant thing we do in life.

Hexagram sixty one sheds another light on this theme. The commentary says, "The light - giving power must work to quicken it from outside, but there must be a germ of life within, if life is to be awakened..." We cannot assume that anything is ready before its time, As is said in hexagram forty nine, line three, (the commentary) "Not every demand for change in the existing order should be heeded. On the other hand, repeated and well founded complaints should not fail of a hearing. When talk of change has come to one's ears three times..." In other words, we should not jump at the first sign, but like the wary old fox in hexagram sixty three and sixty four does, we constantly keep our ears open to the sounds of the cracking of the ice. We listen for the well founded complaints, then it comes time to act, but we must be still and go within, for the conscious mind is not well disposed to the recognition of proper timing. We follow the tao, and it works for us. The universe is favorable. As the I Ching says, "He goes out to meet his fate, and his fate is favorable," because he has followed the way of the tao, the natural way, not the way of control.

Excessive Force

2011-11-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

There are at least two hexagrams in the I Ching which I have almost never gotten in my personal readings until lately, and lately I have gotten them regularly. The first is hexagram thirty four, about excessive force, and limiting ourselves. The second is hexagram sixty, which is about limiting oneself.

Both hexagrams relate to limits, but the former to limits of force, and the latter to limiting ourselves to doing only those things that are pertinent to our duty, and completing tasks without getting sidetracked.

The key, or at least one key, to hexagram thirty four is that one should not just use force whenever one feels like it because it leads to resistance. Even if one has the power to overcome, there are repercussions to using that power. In one respect, as hexagram six line four would tell us, "in contrast to the situation of the nine in the second place, he is dealing with a weaker opponent and might therefore succeed. But he cannot carry on the fight, because, since right is not on his side, he cannot justify the conflict to his consciousness." In this case the person does not use force because he/she realizes that right is not on his/her side. There are times when we have to look at the consequences of a win, even if we can win. As such hexagram thirty four tells us in the commentary, "For that is truly great power which does not degenerate into mere force, but remains inwardly united the fundamental principles of right and of justice." We must take into account the consequences of our actions, even if we can win.

Once again, the use of mere force automatically and naturally results in the feelings of resentment against those who are controlling. Hence the commentary on line three says, "If a man goes on quietly and perseveringly working on the removal of resistances, success comes in the end." The way to conquer another without creating resistance is to change his or her mind. And by conquer I do not mean in the cruelest way, I mean in a way that shows leadership. One shows leadership when he changes someone's mind in a way that helps the other person as well, not just for manipulation and control, and leads to a better life for everyone concerned. In this way we do not really control, but more show the way. In the age that is coming, control will be a thing of the past, at least for the most part. Control will no longer work. We must learn to "go about quietly working on the removal of resistances. We must find a common goal for which all can strive, and act as a leader showing the way.

We get a form of this as well in hexagram sixty. Line five tells us that "if we seek to impose restrictions on others only, while evading them ourselves, these restrictions will always be resented and will provoke resistance. If, however, a man in a leading position applies the limitations first to himself, demanding little from those associated with him, and with modest means manages to achieve something, good fortune is the result."

In relationships, as well as in supervisory positions, it is important that we do not try to control another, but rather, show him or her the way, not just in words, but in actions as well. If we try to control our partner, we only create resistance, and eventually the breakup of the relationship. Using coercion a boss might get good results from employees for a while, but ultimately employees will rebel in as far as they are able to without losing their jobs, and good employees may even go elsewhere. Control is demeaning to a partner. It gives them no space to breathe, and no allowance for them to express their own personality, and is ultimately doomed to failure.

When the I Ching teaches us, it does so only through example, and does not try to force us to fit into a pattern. It simply offers the waters of wisdom, (hexagram forty eight) but all are free to go to the well or not, as they are disposed to do. In this way too, hexagram four teaches us that the I Ching does not come to us to teach us, but allows us to come or not come as we might see fit. The water (wisdom) simply remains in the ground, it does not come to us. The only way we can partake of it is to draw it out. It will not attempt to force us to accept its wisdom. In the same way, we cannot afford to attempt to force anything on anyone else, for while it may work for a while, eventually there will be a backlash.

False Appearances

2011-11-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

Hexagram forty one's commentary says, "There is no need of presenting false appearances to God." After all, if it is truly God, then He/She must see our heart as it is. As the Bible says, "Man looketh upon the outer appearance, but God looketh upon the heart." As such there is no way to fool this "higher being." We attempt to do so at our own peril.

But we don't always perceive ourselves the way we really are, and since that is true, it can be said that we present false appearances of ourselves to ourselves, (and since all is one, and therefore we are all part of the same being, we are in essence, presenting false appearances to God). We need to recognize when we are doing this. We need to learn to see ourselves as God sees us. Once we understand that we are one, and that by loving you neighbor as yourself, since we are all part of the one eternal being, that by loving our neighbor we love God as well as ourselves as well as our neighbor because there is no distinction between any person.

As such it is impossible to truly lie to another person, for though you may trick the other person, on some level, that person knows that it is a lie. They may not recognize it consciously, but somewhere inside, they will recognize it. Often a lie is successful because we want to believe that lie. There is some payoff for doing so, in such a way we cheat ourselves more than having anyone else cheat us. In this way too, we are "presenting false appearances to God."

But we also present false appearances before God when we lie to ourselves. We may rationalize our actions, or we may want something to be a certain way so badly that in our own mind we make it that way whether we recognize it or not. In relationships we lie to ourselves, and make something think it will work when it won't. Or that something will not work when it will. We convince ourselves some one is cheating on us, or we refuse to believe it when they do. In this way we "present false appearances to God."

It is impossible to be honest with others until we are honest with ourselves, and it is impossible to be honest with ourselves until we are honest with others. Often we have a hidden motive, that we are not even aware of. And that hidden motive clouds our judgment, and causes us to lie to ourselves about ourselves, or about our relationships. We often tend to not trust, because of experiences we have had in the past, we become like the person in line three of hexagram thirteen, who "hides weapons in the thicket, who climbs the high hill" to spy on his neighbor. Since he/she cannot trust himself/herself, he/she cannot trust his or neighbor either, thinking they are planning the same tricks as they are.

We must learn first to trust ourselves, then be honest with ourselves, and know our own motives, to know our own inner person, then we can be free to trust even the untrustworthy for we will know their own psychology, and can accept that person as they are, without becoming entangled with their deviousness. We must be like the person in hexagram fifty seven line two who "penetrates under the bed." In otherwords we penetrate to our deepest secrets and desires, our hidden subconscious complexes, our inner beliefs, find those that conflict, and those that are based on a lie, then we employ the "magicians" to sweep them out of our inner closet, to close the gap between our conflicting beliefs, to remove the lies and the cheating from our heart. Then and only then can we no longer "present false appearances before God."

The Deeper I Ching

2011-11-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

I Just moved into my new place, and am a little bit out of synch and rythm here and don't know what to say, but I will take this time to say that I want everyone to understand well, that there is an esoteric side to all sacred literature, east or west, and it has a deeper meaning than what the conventional church or teacher will give you. As we look at the chapter and verses of the I Ching, hopefully it becomes clear from the posts I am making that there is a deeper message, and that message can only be found by looking for it in deep contemplation. We go on comparing verse to verse, line to line, looking for that deeper meaning. For the mysteries of life are not for the weak or the unsteady, nor for the immoral, or inferior person. Only the "superior person" can benefit from the deeper teachings of the I Ching, or from the Bible, or from the Tao Te Ching. They are written in such a way that the true message is far from obvious. We often have things staring us right in the eye but we totally overlook it because we are looking for a simple answer to a simple problem. As such we "use the I Ching as a tool and do not give it its proper respect and due (hexagram twenty line four) We receive counsel of the I Ching, but even the "KIng is not clearminded." The I Ching states in hexagram forty eight line three that "this is its hearts sorrow, for the well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it. If even the king were clear minded, good fortune might be enjoyed in common." But we are like a bunch of drunken sailors, home from the sea, who see nothing clearly at all, not even what is right in front of them. So we understand no symbolism, we understand no sleight of hand or blind that hides the real meaning. We look only for surface meanings, and what can help us in our immediate circumstances.

So, we often have to be left alone for a while to our own devices in order to be "taught the seriousness of life." Even when we use the I Ching, and get a good answer to a specific problem, we find that we are only confronted with more and more problems. This is because we don't take the time to find the underlying meanings which can help us in our daily lives, and become a more whole and fulfilled person, eventually becoming what the I Ching calls "The superior man." We must give up our superficial way of viewing things. We use the I Ching like the person who contemplates through the "crack of the door," (hexagram twenty line two) and does not see the broader picture that leads to a fuller and more abundant life. We are not able to contemplate well enough to "decide the choice between advance and retreat" (hexagram twenty line three) and we are not able to contemplate our lives to the point where "the superior man is without blame" (line four).

I honor and value the use of the I Ching as a tool to find out about problems in relationships, and career related choices, but it is difficult to find out we are not going beyond that point to the real heart of the I Ching. We are not "biting through," to the meat on the bone. to the point where we "receive yellow gold," (hexagram twenty one line five). We must search deeper, and look for the allegorical meanings of the words, and listen to what the sage has to say to us personally, not just our circumstances.

Non Attachment

2011-10-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

I have been moving the last three days, and should be completely finished tomorrow. However, I will not have internet service in my new place until Thursday.

In the meantime, I thought I would talk about attachment and non attachment and what it really means. To make a long story short, primarily, it means just this, as Bill Harris of Centerpointe Research would say, "Let anything that happens be okay." When something happens early in life that seriously hurts us, we often build an attachment to that particular occurrence thinking that it is what is typically our fate, and we begin to draw that experience to us more and more. We build up a pressure point around that type of occurrence in the sense that we feel it is something that naturally happens to us. When we build up an attachment, though unwittingly, to a particular negative occurrence, we are regularly drawn to that same type of experience, though we do not consciously recognize it. The key to releasing it is to let go of the attachment to it. In other words, when it happens the next time, we draw no conclusions about the goodness or badness of the situation, but simply let it go, unconcerned. If it relates to a constant rejection for example, we let it be okay. We do not emotionally involve ourselves in the outcome. It is perfectly okay. In regards to non attachment, I recommend a book called "Oneness." The author's name skips me at the moment, and the book is at my new place, but I will get it. One thing in that book that I think is very pertinent is a statement in chapter eighteen regarding emotions. Men often feel that emotions should be controlled, women often feel they should be expressed, but as this book brings out, the emotion should be "transcended." In other words, it should be felt, but moved beyond, in a sort of total acceptance. It is not necessary to yell and scream in order to release emotions, or express them in any undignified manner, but it is also wise to not just hold them in. The key is to transcend, and we do that once again, by releasing our attachment to the outcome or to the trauma experienced. We go beyond. We feel it, but it still okay, absolutely okay.

Hexagram one and two have many, many different meanings. In and of themselves, there are no positive or negative attachments to either yin or yang, except in the way they relate to each other. There is true yang and false yang, and there is also true yin and false yin. However, in some respects yin is evil in relationship to yang, and yang is evil in relationship to yin. Do not get caught up in thinking yang is this and yin is that. Yang is only yang in relationship to something else, and yin is only yin in relationship to something else. Of themselves they have no constituency. The do not exist except in relationship to something. Of themselves they have no quality. So in one respect, neither yin nor yang is good or bad, in other respects, one is good and one is bad in relationship to each other. So one of the things that is going on in hexagram one and two is that yang is light and yin is dark. That in itself has no connotation of good or evil, except in certain relationships with one another. So don't think I am saying yang is good and yin is bad or vice versa. It is only in this context that they take on these meanings, in that in one respect yang refers to that part of us that is in the open and can easily be seen, yin is that darkness within us, and relates to the dark side of us that does not want to be seen. That dark side of us often sabotages us and works against us. It is our dark side that causes us to slip up. Now before we get into the rightness or wrongness of this remember that this is just the way it works, it does not necessarily have the intention of evil, but when we do evil, it is often that part of us that unconsciously leaves a blueprint of our actions so that we later "pay for our crimes." It can be considered evil, but it can also be considered that part of us that wants to balance out the equation, (remember the movie the Matrix? Mr Smith was the dark side of Neal, and one cannot exist without the other) and will create our karma as necessary, but our karma is also our salvation. It is a dual edged sword, and cannot be considered good nor evil except as our perception of it reports it. It is just there, and must be brought to the light so that we can understand and know ourselves. In Eric Van Lustbader's book "The Ninja," the master says, "In order to be a true champion we must explore the darkside as well." Without that we do not know ourselves, and do not know why we keep attracting the same negative situations and sorrows to ourselves. But we will learn if we allow the outcome to be what it may with no attachment, allowing everything that happens to be okay. And it is okay.

Developing the Personality

2011-10-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

The commentary on the image of hexagram fifty three says, "...it is necessary for the personality to acquire influence and weight." In other words, before a person can become really effective in the world, and make his or her mark upon the world, there must be a "gradual development" of character and integrity. We develop ourselves by "practicing chariot driving daily" (hexagram twenty six). The difficulty comes through the natural sequences of life that there are always actualities in our sphere of influence which would tend to make us get off the path. There are things thrown in our direction which make it difficult to maintain our direction and intention over long periods of time. Sometimes very short diversions might be unavoidable, but the commentary on hexagram twenty four line one says, "Slight digressions from the good cannot be avoided, but one must turn back in time, before going too far." If we let these diversions take hold, we find ourselves never getting back to, and even forgetting our own original purpose and intention. We start off on a project and never finish it, then we start off on another and never finish it, and we find at the end of our lives that nothing of an enduring nature was ever accomplished. We must stay true to our original intention. The commentary on line three of twenty four says, "There are people of a certain inner instability who feel a constant urge to reverse themselves. There is danger of continually deserting the good, (our true purpose and intention) because of uncontrolled desires, (things that catch our attention and divert us from our true purpose due to temporary desire) then turning back to it again because of a better resolution." If we keep returning to our true purpose that is good, but best not to let uncontrolled desires rule us at any time. Even if we are effective in the world, we are not as effective as we truly could be if we did not constantly get off the path.

it is the nature of the beast to be able to attain our true intention and purpose in this world, providing we keep working at it, and providing it truly is the purpose we came into this life to accomplish. But we must continue practicing chariot driving daily. We must have a purpose. We must remain true to the path on which our purpose lies, and not deviate from the path. Lao Tzu said he only had one fear. That fear was leaving the path that was meant for him to follow, his own personal tao. As long as we are on the path, he says that those who follow the tao can "walk safely among the animals. When they go into battle they remain unharmed. The animals find no place to attack them, and the weapons are unable to harm them. Why? because they can find no place for death to enter." As long as we are true to our own personal tao, to the purpose for which we were born, there is no place for death to enter. But we must remain true to our own person, to our own personal tao.

No Physical Reality

2011-10-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

There is no physical reality. That is why the I Ching works, as well as Tarot cards, or Runes, or what have you. There is no physical reality. And as soon as our scientists figure that out our world and our technology will improve by leaps and bounds. Actually, some scientists HAVE figured this out, and are writing about it; but there is a contingency, a large contingency of science that will nay say anything that smacks of a higher reality. This is true with some because they just refuse to believe it, others do believe it but are determined that the common man of the human race will never know this.

What we perceive as physical reality is really nothing more than the mind using the brain to interpret frequencies and vibrations in the spiritual world. Those frequencies and vibrations are real, and as such create the appearance of a "real" physical world, and in that sense it is real, but only through interpretation. And since everyone's mind and brain works somewhat the same and somewhat differently, we have a shared reality as well as one that is not shared. That which is not shared depends on the belief systems and attitudes people have in their heart.

Those frequencies and vibrations are the result or the residue, or the function or the equivalent of a universal subconscious mind. Therefore, all frequencies and vibrations have an awareness that cannot be described. As such Lao Tzu said, "The Tao (Way - universal mind) that can be described is not the eternal Tao. But it is through the tao that all things are created and come into being. Nevertheless, the created is not the creator, not in the sense we are referring to here. Actually it is the creator, because all things exist as one and the same. The principle of oneness. But it is not in itself the creator, it is that which is created by vibration, which is ultimately thought. And when we come to understand that, truly understand it, we realize that all that really exists is thought. There is nothing else. It is thought which creates the universe as we know it. The universe as we know it is really just thought. Therefore, when we contact the I Ching, when we read, when we ask of the I Ching, we are getting in touch with this "universal subconscious mind" which knows all and sees all.

As Lao Tzu says, "Looked for, it cannot be seen, Listened for, it cannot be heard," yet it is there. We don't see the vibration itself, we see the manifestation of the vibration. Hexagram one is the vibration, the frequency, and as such corresponds to time and energy. Hexagram two is the manifestation of the vibration, and therefore is the correlation of space and form (matter). They are one and the same thing. I want people to really get what I am saying here more than anything else I have ever written, that the physical world, including the manifestation of our bodies, is nothing more than the mind interpreting thought vibrations that makes the spiritual seem physical. When we understand this, we can slowly but surely start creating our own world. There will come a time when we can start manifesting our own thoughts into the physical dimension as if it really existed. But ultimately it is all energy, and all consciousness; perfect awareness. Even we ourselves are just a form imagined into the world by the Tao. As such Lao Tzu says, "The five colors blind the eye," because we see the manifestation not the source. The I Ching, slowly, as time passes and we consult it more and more, gives us eyes into the spiritual world, that we may see how we ourselves are creating our own reality, although we are not consciously aware of it.

The commentaries on hexagrams one and two tell us that neither yin nor yang can exist without the other, and are actually only a part of the whole. But they must understand their place, and how they relate to one another. If they operate harmoniously, in conjunction with one another, there is wholeness, and completeness, and peace of mind. If they do not, we see a fractured world, and our fractured perception creates a fractured environment, and imbalance in our activities and in our path. We must understand the deeper aspects of the I Ching and not just how to do readings. Therein lies the deeper meaning which will inspire us to heights previously unheard of. First let us calm the mind, (hexagram fifty two) and out of calmness, inaction, will come the actions that are proper and bring success.

Success in Your Heart

2011-10-24T08:36:00.001-07:00

Before starting on this let it be said right away that there is a big difference in asking the I Ching a specific question for a specific situation during a specific time, and asking the I Ching for wisdom and guidance in your daily affairs. If we get hexagram twenty nine for example, The judgment says, "If you are sincere, you have success in your heart and whatever you do succeeds." In answer to a specific question, this would mean that in this particular instance you can be successful providing you follow the advice given in the decision.

But when we are asking for wisdom from the I Ching, we read this differently. The judgment is saying, "If you are sincere, you have success in your heart," ALWAYS. Now that seems kind of strange since we all know we are not successful at everything we want to do, but that is because we are still trying to control situations with our conscious minds. We are not allowing things to flow. Now, I am not saying that we should always be successful even when our goals interfere with someone else's. No, that is not the point. The point is that if we are sincerely following our heart. If we are sincerely following the good, the most positive, and following the prompting of our heart's strings, we are always successful in accomplishing that which we are put on earth to do. But it doesn't just happen. It happens only when we follow the guidance given to us. It happens only when we are sincere in the good.

Another principle in relating to permanent success. Success does not always appear as such. Therefore, line three of hexagram forty two tells us that "we are enriched through unfortunate events." The problem is we experience things as negative and positive from our limited perspective, and think that what has happened is disastrous. But as the old saying goes, God (the universal subconscious mind) works in mysterious ways. Often, when things seem the gloomiest, when we "sit under a bare tree in a gloomy valley," and it seems that all is lost, that is when the most significantly unexpected thing happens, and all is changed for the good. But we cannot force this good, and it will not happen unless we possess the right attitudes and moral values while we go through this process. Hexagram five line six tells us that having "fallen into a pit all seems lost." And it is lost if we do not maintain the correct perspective." We must "resolutely go out to meet our fate," and to be accepting of it. In the midst of all we keep an inner calm, and a trusting heart. We are "sincere in our hearts." And despite having "fallen into the pit," we find that "fate is favorable." The commentary on line six of hexagram five says, "We must yield to the inevitable." But in doing so in the right manner, in full acceptance; in calmness and inner trusting, something unexpected happens. "Three uninvited guests arrive." At first we do not know the meaning of this, but once again we remain calm, fully accepting our fate, our destiny, we "greet the new turn with respect." When we wait in the calm assurance that while we consciously have no clue what is happening, yet we allow the universe to do its work, we find that we ultimately "escape the danger, and all goes well." If you are sincere, you have success in your heart; not just in this particular instance, but as a natural part of life. For the heart is the center of our being, it is the reflection of the love of God for all beings, and as such, cannot be wrong. If we follow the principles enclosed for us within the pages of the I Ching, we find that we merely follow our heart and all goes well. For it is the nature and principle of the universe, which gives us our destiny and our way, and that way, when we are sincere in the good, and calm and peaceful, our minds are at rest, we find we are successful in achieving our goals.

Consequences of Our Actions

2011-10-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the spirit of the previous theme, hexagram sixty four line one teaches us that sometimes we do not perceive the consequences of our actions. This is an unfortunate fact for human beings and is true because we are disconnected at least partially from our higher selves, and can only see what is immediately before us.

Another part of the commentary on hexagram sixty four line one is that there is often a temptation to "advance oneself as quickly as possible." This happens once again because we do not perceive the consequences of our actions. All too often we are ready to approach another, develop a relationship, or build a business before the time is ripe. When we come to this position, and we have failed, we have like the little fox gotten our tail in the water, we realize that although "the time of transition has arrived, we are too weak to complete the transition (line three). This is because we have not properly prepared the foundations before we attempted the crossings. In any aspect of life, whether it be relationships, business, sporting, the foundations must be built before we can create the walls and ceiling of the building so to speak.

When things go wrong, as would happen when we push too hard too fast, often we must create a whole new situation. In other words, we must rebuild and do it correctly the next time around. If a relationship is damaged, but not completely destroyed, we may have to recreate the original magic that sparked the chemistry in the first place. That is hard to do, but sometimes it can be done.

Often, in cases like this, it seems to us that "everything is conspiring against us." (hexagram thirty eight line three) This is typical human psychology, and believe me, I have experienced that feeling many times in my own life. But once again, we come back to the same position that we experience this because our conscious minds do not have access to full knowledge, and we are limited in how much of our world we can perceive at any one time. So the answer is to use a tool such as the I Ching to understand the signs of the times, and to find the "hidden dragon" of line one hexagram one, that would spoil our attempts to create that which we wish to create. The universe does not conspire against us. When we do the things that duty commands us to do, and live in harmony with nature and humanity, we find that "fate is favorable." The universe is benevolent, not malevolent. We see things conspiring against us because we want things to be a certain way, and we expect them to be a certain way, and we expect that we should be able to accomplish our goals, often, even at the expense of someone else's goals and dreams. If we don't get our way, we feel the "universe is conspiring against us."

The commentary on thirty eight line three goes on to say, "However, he must not let himself be misled, despite this opposition he must cling to the man whom he knows he belongs. Thus notwithstanding the bad beginning, the matter ends well." We are misled when we continue to insist that the universe is conspiring against us, when we rail against circumstances, and as forty seven line three says, "he butts his head against a wall and in consequence feels himself oppressed by the wall." The only disasters we experience are created simply by our perception of the experience, nothing more. When we give up the feeling that the universe is conspiring against us, we find everlasting peace in the knowledge that we just have to let go and go with the flow, and in time, all things right themselves. Then the start that seemed to go so badly ends up being good after all. We need to simply relax and let the universe flow through us. The more we trust it, the more it works in our favor.

Dispersion

2011-10-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

There are times in our lives where, no matter how deeply we understand our spiritual live and nature, no matter how attuned to the tao we are, we make mistakes in dealing with other people. If those people are important to us then we can only hope that the mistake was not so bad as to preclude any further mutual response. Sometimes that is the case and a person must just walk away. Other times the mistake may be rectified, but only by giving the other person lots of time, and paying particular attention to the passages of the I Ching that speak of waiting for the right time, and making little efforts continuously that eventually add up to something big. When relationships are just beginning we often become entangled in our folly (hexagram four line) and the teacher, our higher selves can do nothing but allow us to go through the opprobrium that the situation entails. After all, experience is the ultimate teacher. We have violated the rules of hexagram fifty three which teaches us that progress in any relationship that is of value progresses very slowly as the partners get used to each other, and come to know whether they truly belong together or not.

Hexagram fifty nine speaks of situations in which it is imperative that we dissolve or disperse obstructions that keep us from other people.
The commentary on line two says that "When an individual discovers within himself the beginnings of alienation from others, of misanthropy and ill humor, he must set about dissolving these obstructions." The commentary on the third line says, "He must set aside all personal desires and disperse whatever the self gathers about it to serve as a barrier against others." But sometimes the only thing that can be done is to give time. We cannot force our way into someone's heart lest we drive them even further away. As such it says in line one of hexagram thirty eight, "If you lose your horse, do not run after it, it will come back of its own accord." If we have acted precipitously and have created a barrier between ourselves and others it is often the case that the only recourse is to leave the situation alone at least for the time being. Hexagram twenty five line four says, "We cannot lose that which truly belong to us, even if we throw it away." If the horse comes back, we know it is truly our own horse. If it does not, it never was. Sometimes by pressuring someone else for a relationship, or to take the relationship to the next level, we push them away, and the only thing to do is to relieve the pressure.

A Time of Transition

2011-10-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

The third line of the I Ching is the line that bespeaks a type of transition. In terms of the concepts behind the I Ching, the third line indicates a person who is transitioning from the earthly realm to the higher realm. The fourth line also is a type of transition, but it refers to the completion of the transition rather than the beginning.

Often in life there are two different directions we can go, and we have a hard time deciding which direction we had best take. Line four of hexagram one says, "A place of transition has been reached, and free choice can come in. A twofold possibility is presented to the great man: he can soar to the heights and play an important role in the world, or he can withdraw into solitude and develop himself...There is no general law to say which of the two is the right way. Each one must make a free choice according to the inner law of his being." Here either possibility is a valid one; we can explore the outer world or the inner world. Either direction will help us to explore our soul, and come to a deeper yet understanding that will help us move into higher realms.

Line three of hexagram one though, at the beginning of transition does speak of a certain danger. The danger lies in attempting to make the transition itself, for in order to properly accomplish it we must be the "right person." If we are not the right person the transition will fail us just as the little fox in hexagram gets his tail in the water before his transition "across the great waters" is accomplished, and all is in vain. A great deal of care must be taken at the beginning of any transition. (It is hexagram sixty four, "Before Completion" in which the judgment speaks of the fox getting his tail in the water.) The commentary says, "ambition has destroyed his integrity." We must always look at our motivations and mental state of being before we attempt to "cross the great water." Also we must make sure the "time is right." For if we have not taken into consideration the signs before us, but just egotistically try to force the issue, then "our tail gets in the water." In such a case "The water goes over our head," (hexagram twenty eight line six). This happens because as in hexagram thirty four we have "forgotten to ask what is right." We cannot reach the heavenly realms until we have been "practicing chariot driving daily," and our power is so ample that we can in a sense "storm heaven's gates." But once we do make the transition, we are first like the dragon "waivering in flight over the depths," and later like the "flying dragon in the heavens." We soar into the heights as the wild goose in hexagram fifty three line six. Our task then is accomplished.

This is all conditional on the following. We have "not forgotten to ask what is right," to "wait for the right time," and have the proper virtue. We must not only be able to "feel the force," as Obe Wan Kenobe would say, but also to "be able to control it." The way of the cross (force) leads home, but we must know how to follow it. (Obe Wan Kenobe equals Oh, be one, with the force.)

A New Plan

2011-10-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

A while back I said I hope to have a full website by August, and of course that never happened. However, I do plan to move into a new place at the end of this month, that within three months should start freeing up a lot of cash, and then I will make further plans on a full website. I also still intend to set up the genesichinginsequentialorder.blogspot.com aspect at that time too. So, although I don't always followup on plans when expected, I usually try to get it done eventually, anyway, time for next post...

Electrically Charged Energy

2011-10-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

Hexagram one line one speaks of the hidden dragon, and when the dragon is hidden we do not act. The very first line of the very first hexagram teaches us of cycles. When we get this line we understand that there is an unseen element that can upset the situation if we act. We do not have enough information to be able to make an informed choice about our actions.

But there is another aspect to the content of this line. The commentary says, "In winter this energy withdraws into the earth. in the early summer it becomes active again. The universal energy is a constant outpouring and inpouring, returning once again to its starting point. When our personal energy is within, we cannot be as effective in the outer world. But our personal energy has to cycle in and out in order to maintain balance in the overall physical and psychic body. This circling in and out is a constant thing, just as an ebb and flow of the ocean tides is cyclic. The key is to learn how to recognize it in ourselves, and begin to feel within this universal "ch'i" energy. This universal energy is connected intimately and in truth IS our own personal energy. When the energy is flowing well, we feel this energy and it enlivens us and strengthens us and gives our muscles greater tone - even more it give us a strength beyond muscular strength, which was the focus of all original asiatic martial arts - the ability to enhance the flow of chi and make oneself an "immortal chuang tzu."

So, if we continue to "practice chariot driving daily" with this universal energy, we begin to understand the cycles within our own bodies. This flow is the same as the flow of the universe, as universal "ch'i" is constantly flowing in and out from the center of the galaxies, and even more from the center of the universe and back out. It is the same thing as breathing in a universal context. The entire universe breathes, and when it breathes in the "dragon is hidden." When it breathes out, it enlivens all things. This again is a matter of involution and evolution. It corresponds with the concepts of life and death, darkness and light, inner and outer.

In order to be effective in the world we must understand that we ourselves cannot force the issue. (Hexagram thirty four). We must allow for 'timing." In this way, recognizing there is a power greater than ourselves, and humbling ourselves with this knowledge, (hexagram fifteen) we "practice chariot driving" until the time is ripe for true action. We must allow the universe to do its work for us, and then in "allowing" the universe to work through us, we recognize that the work is not ours alone, (hexagram two line three) and do not take credit for the work. "He does not seek to have credited to himself things that stand accomplished." If he does he is stealing the credit from the universe, and giving it to his own limited conscious self. The commentary goes on to say, "...but hopes to release active forces." In other words the work that he does is meant to unleash the power of the universe - a power that is greater than his own. In so doing he recognizes that the credit is not truly his, but gives credit where credit is due.

If we really want to be successful in the fullest extent in the world. If we want to accomplish something that will last, and be of unlimited value, we must be able to connect into universal circuits and ALLOW them to flow through is. They are not our own, in the limited egoistic sense, but belongs to all and everything. Luke Skywalker's teacher in "Starwars" was constantly telling Luke, "You must feel the force." When we do that we know whether it is hidden or not, and possible to be used in the way we want. When the dragon is hidden, i.e., when we cannot feel it, we cannot properly use it to our own advantage.

Real Versus Unreal

2011-10-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hexagram four line four speaks of a situation in which the teacher has to leave us alone for a while as experience is the only real teacher. This line hints to us that we have a blind spot in our thinking. When this happens we often unwittingly cling to this blind spot and will not let it go, and even when our teacher tells us it is not so, we tend to realign the teaching to fit our way of thinking. Therefore, there is only one thing left that the teacher can do, and that is to let us go our own way. The teacher knows that life itself will bring us into conditions and circumstances in which we bump up against our concept of reality in such a way that it shakes us out of our illusion. The nature of the universe is to force us to grow, and it will do that one way or another. It may take us a short time or a long time to learn, but we will be forced eventually to shake loose of our illusions.

Once again the point must be made that the universe is a consciousness that points us to it. We do not see this through many lifetimes. We have allowed ourselves to be deluded to such an extent that we cannot accept this premise no matter what. And yet, sooner or later we end up having to admit that is an intelligence of a higher nature than our own conscious minds. That universal consciousness is the force that sets us up into situations where we are forced to shed our illusions. It is a school master that eventually gets us in touch with our own inner Christ, or Buddha, or Natural Way, (tao)

Hexagram two line three says that there are "hidden lines." In other words there is a much greater aspect of reality which we cannot see, hear, feel, touch, or smell. And yet it is there. And if we do not appreciate its existence, it will eventually in some way make its presence felt. Chapter fourteen of the "Tao Teh Ching" says of the tao, (the force, the natural way, the universal subconscious) "Look for it, and it cannot be seen. Listen for it, and it cannot be heard. Grasp for it, and it cannot be caught. These three things cannot be further described, so we treat them as the one." Universal mind cannot be seen, it cannot be heard, and it cannot be caught, and yet it is there, as real as anything else. And being real, will if need be, make its presence felt, so that, as painful as it might be, it chastises us into an understanding of its ways. It is the ultimate teacher, which our earthly teachers can merely mimic, knowing that the real teacher is unsubstantial yet real, has form yet cannot be seen, speaks to us yet cannot be heard, and forces us to recognize, sooner or later that there really are hidden lines, that can bite us in unimaginable places if we arrogantly assume that our conscious minds are all that exist, and insist on remaining trapped in our illusions, they biggest illusion of which is that we are separate beings.

On the other hand, chapter sixteen of the Tao Teh Ching says, "If you empty your mind of all thoughts your heart will embrace the tranquility of peace." We must quiet the conscious mind. It does have its place, but it also needs to recognize a greater power than itself, which can only be found in the "tranquility of peace." "Look for it, it cannot be seen." Yet it is there, but only in the tranquility of peace. Because when our minds are calm, relaxed, and open, the "inner truth" (hexagram sixty one) pours in. We don't hear it, we don't see it, we don't feel it, and yet we know. May the tao (the Lord, the Buddha) grant us that "peace that passes all understanding."

Not a Robber

2011-10-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

When men and women first come into contact there is normally a certain standoffishness because we do not know what the other person is like. There are other reasons too, such as there is no context for any type of social involvement, or no need for social involvement. However, assuming that is not the case there is still the issue of trust. The sixth line of hexagram thirty eight says, "One sees one's companion as a pig covered with dirt, As a wagon full of devils. First one draws a bow against him, Then one lays the bow aside. He is not a robber; he will woo at the right time. As one goes, rain falls; the good fortune comes." Our natural tendency is distrust. We cannot simply approach unless a certain protocol is in place. If we do we will be greeted with suspicion and mistrust. Therefore, it is necessary for the man especially to be very cautious in first approach, and make sure there is absolutely no pressure placed on the woman to respond in any particular way. This is not naturally, generally for men, unless they are well versed in social interaction at that level. There must always be a gradual process (hexagram fifty three) of interaction based on the gradual development of trust. The man, (or woman) may be truly sincere, but it takes time to allow the other person to recognize that. As time goes on we begin to judge a person as they really are, and possibly rid ourselves of the mistaken image of the other person, and realize their intentions are good. To allow this process to happen, we must wait for the "right time" to woo. When we act accordingly, and reserve ourselves and maintain personally integrity and dignity in the mean time, we gradually "bite through the wrappings," as mentioned in line five. It is only when we have "bitten through the wrappings that we can approach with sincerity in our hearts. We cannot do it until the time has come when the "weapons have been lain down." Then, even though we are isolated, we then come to meet a "like minded person" (line four) with whom we can associate. And, "though the beginning was not good," (line three) all ends well. It is like "meeting our Lord in a narrow street." In other words, we find someone in an unlikely place, it appears as if by magic, and we realize we have found the one that is right for us. As hexagram forty five line two says, "there are secret forces at work, bringing those together who belong together." We must trust this universal principle, yet almost no one does. So we meet the wrong people, we get involved where we should not. It would have been better to leave the arrows out of the quiver, but we try to do everything with the limited resources of the conscious mind, without just trusting. We are like those in hexagram forty five line five, who "are not yet sincerely in the work." We give no credence to the deeper levels of mind, and try consciously to force every issue, which often turns against us. Not being in the work means we are not trusting the deeper self, the Sage, The sacred teachings. We leave half of ourselves out of the equation, but when we have "sublime enduring perseverance, (also hexagram forty five line five) Then remorse disappears. When we allow our higher self to take over, not only do we "make even our enemies to be at peace with us," we find that "we cannot lose that which truly belongs to us." (hexagram twenty five line four) four it is brought to us by "those secret forces bringing those together who belong together."

Where to Go Next

2011-10-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

I've missed a few days in posting here as I try to think of where to go next. I am very interested in continuing to go in the relationship direction, but the material I give out must be given out through a very accurate understanding of what the I Ching is really saying about it, and realizing that I am not an expert in relationships. I do however, know people that I think are. They are not I Ching experts, so I have to listen to both. And I am going to be very upfront about where I go to hear the experts talk about relationships. It's not what you might think, in terms of some psychologist or counselor who has school learning, but at the same time their relationships fail as fast as those of the people they counsel. I would rather go to those with real world experience, and as such I learn things about the difference between the way women think and men think in social context. I get emails from two sources, the first is the one I like the best, as his material relates more to "long term" relationships, not overnight situations. Well, I won't even mention the second one, nothing against him, but the first is the one I like to listen to. His name is Michael Marks. He is not a so called spiritually evolved person in the sense that he reads sacred books or anything, but in a way he does have a certain maturity I think is very spiritual. I listen to him not so much so I can win women's hearts as it is just interesting to me to know as much about life as i can and understand the way life is. So much relates not only to relationships, but as well to how we relate to our inner self. And as much as I can put out here, I still have much to learn.

I would recommend that women as well look up Michael Marks and listen to what he is saying to men. Maybe even read his emails and give a little feedback to him. Some do. Part of the problem in communications between men and women is that our life experiences turns out to be very different once we become interested in the opposite sex. Each has very different experiences, experiences (and not always, in every case with everyone, just as a general rule) in attempting to meet the opposite sex due to the different orientation we have toward relationships and such matters. Why would I say that? Well, let me preamble with this. Both men and women get rejected. Both sexes feel rejected quite often. But the difference is this. Men, being naturally aggressive, and knowing they have to interact with lots of women to find one that will stay with them, create an atmosphere in which a woman can feel like a "hunted" species. She goes out and eyes are on her everywhere. Then it seems that men start tripping all over themselves to get to know her, and that it isn't just her, but the opportunity she presents to them. She is not so concerned about finding a man, but the right man. She meets men that are giving her compliments, trying to make conversation with her, doing what they can to the extent that they come across as desperate. And since the man doesn't know how he is coming across, he feels rejected, and as time goes on, he gets more and more desperate. And it shows. And that is a major turn off to women. So some man comes along, acts like a jerk, doesn't care in the least and she is attracted. At first glance, this might seem odd, but it is not when you consider that women are being approached all the time, just about everywhere, and men are trying harder and harder, trying new pick up lines, doing what ever they can to make themselves more appealing, and finding just the opposite effect.

It is not that jerks get along better with women. It is that while they may not care, they come across as more sure of themselves, and do not "throw themselves" at the woman. They leave a women with the feeling that he is not needy or desperate, which most guys are both, because they don't know how to approach women.

Let me tell you men, to play a game to act non needy does not usually work. It has to be real. The problem is, how can you be that way when all the time you see women back away from you? If there are any games to be played, it is to be played with yourself until you can convince your subconscious mind that there is really not a problem. When you feel worthy deep down inside, below the level of awareness, you start to act like it. Some may call you a jerk, but women see things we don't see about ourselves. They are excellent at feedback so we can come to see ourselves more as we truly are. In truth, both sexes can learn from each other. We are mirrors to each other. In fact we are all mirrors to each other male or female in all aspects of life. When we have trouble with people we are getting a mirror feedback image of ourselves. Most people never realize it though, and male or female, go through life with a form of "quiet desperation."

The interesting thing about hexagram thirty eight is it tells us ways to overcome isolation or opposition, or polarity. But it can only become overcome when things have not gotten to the point where there is no hope of reconciliation. Let us hope things never go that far. Let us be sure we can understand when they have and when they have not. The hexagram, though speaking of a negative situation, offers hope because through understanding, we can slowly but surely change the situation from negative to positive. The hexagram speaks of overcoming misunderstandings.

More on this later

Outer Form and Inner Calm

2011-10-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hexagram fifty four speaks of "The ways that work" in both a relationship and in personal growth. The commentary says, "Within the personality too, development must follow the same course if lasting results are to be achieved. Gentleness that is adaptable, but at the same time penetrating, is the outer form that should proceed from inner calm." The key to everything, and I mean everything, is "inner calm." It works in our relationships, it works in our dealings with others. It works when we are being challenged or bullied. That inner calm works on the psyche of the other, as we see in hexagram sixty one to the point where it influences "even pigs and fishes." Without that inner calm there is no penetration into the psyche of the other." Without that inner calm we can not effectively deal with our spouses and our significant others. But with it our gentleness is no longer coming from a place of weakness, but of strength. So often kindness is mistaken for weakness, but it depends on what kind of kindness it is. Does it come from the inner being? From a heart that is strong and yet soft?

We ourselves, when we recognize the difference, recognize it by being gentle yet strong within. By maintaining an inner calm. The commentary goes on to say, "The very gradualness of the development makes it necessary to have persistence, for persistence alone prevents slow progress from dwindling to nothing." Most things cannot be done over night. And if in applying a gentle spirit we give up after a few tries then that penetration will not occur and we will have accomplished nothing. We will have little if any influence on anyone. One of the major lessons of the I Ching is that we cannot accomplish everything at once. We must build big successes by the accumulation of little successes. And we can only have those little successes by applying the proper principles and continue to apply them. We must have a goal that we do not deviate from. We must be slow to give up, but we must build little by little. This concept is brought out a little bit in hexagram forty five and forty six, where things are gradually gathered together, and as they are, a vertical ascent happens as well. When we follow the dictates of our higher self, when we apply spiritual principles daily, always applying the correct techniques, we gather spiritual forces to our side, and they help us to maintain both an inner and an outer equilibrium, which integrates our lives and develops our spiritual world within. As line two of forty five says, "There are spiritual forces at work, bringing those together who belong together." This happens not only with people meant for us to have relationships with, but also, for events in our lives to teach us and guide us into a deeper spiritual understanding.

Finally, in developing relationships, the same principle of gradualness must apply. We can have short term relationships that, as in hexagram thirty line four, "flame up, die down, and are thrown away." We can have those types of short term relationships if we so choose, but in doing so we never develop a lasting partnership upon which society is based. The commentary on hexagram thirty one says, "...for it is perseverance that makes the difference between seduction and courtship..." We cannot develop lasting relationships over night. Even if the chemistry is very strong, it will wear off over time, and if the proper basis for a relationship has not been developed, it will not last. We may fall in chemistry at first glance, but not true love. Not spiritual, unconditional love." Only the heart in its deepest part knows the true one meant for us.

Influencing (or Wooing) and Being Influenced

2011-10-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

In the commentary on line five of hexagram thirty one it says, "It is true that if we cannot be influenced ourselves, we cannot influence the outside world." If we are so cold hearted as to not allow anyone into our lives, we too, will be rejected when we try to influence others. But that is because for a cold hearted person the attempt to influence is based on the desires of the conscious mind and not on "that which is called forth from the unconscious."

Taoists might call the information upwelling from the unconscious the mind of the Tao. It comes from the deeper levels of the universe. See, they knew about the unconscious millenia before we discovered it in the west. But they had a deeper understanding of it as well, deeper than we understand even yet. They weren't hung up on religious dogma, or blind materialism, they just recognized the world and the cosmos for what it was, and is. The mind of Tao. When we follow this deeper mind, we are also following what the taoists would call "the natural way."

This is described a little bit differently in line four, where it is said, "If a man is agitated in mind, And his thoughts go hither and thither, Only those friends On whom he fixes his conscious thoughts will follow." This is a very esoteric way of saying, "if you are agitated, you will attract to you the things that occupy your predominate mind set, and not the things you want. What you think about over and over again begin to take root and hold in your daily life. The key is to let agitation go. As Mariko said in the novel, Shogun, "you must be able to drink tea out of an empty cup." In otherwords, nothing disturbs you. When nothing disturbs you, and you do not let your thoughts wonder, then you enter the "mind of tao" and all things proceed as they should. Then one can "go out and resolutely meet one's fate." The commentary on the fifth line also says, "What takes place in the depths of one's being, in the unconscious, can neither be called forth nor prevented by the conscious mind." That is why it is so important not to be arrogant, (the Greek gods hated arrogance) and humbly recognized there is a bigger I than the little I of the conscious mind, and that it is really in control over all things. When we recognize this, and enter into the "mind of tao," things unfold naturally as they should, and the "secret forces bring together those who belong together." But we worry and we fret, and we try to control everything in our lives, and those around us, but find out we cannot do it, that the ship sets a course we did not intend. Then we become even more agitated in mind. When we try to force issues in our lives, control our partners, control our relationships, make them work the way we want them to, we are acting against the advice in line three which says that when we are not in the mind of tao, we hold to that (agitation) which follows us, and to continue is humiliating. We must let go. We must enter the 'mind of tao." Lao Tzu said in effect that the way to victory, or gain, is through loss. Every day, little by little, we let go of our conscious mental striving, and enter a little bit more the mind of tao. By practicing daily, we are "practicing chariot driving" as in hexagram twenty six.

The commentary on line four tells us, "the impulse that springs from this source is the most important of all." The impulse that springs from the mind of tao and not from the conscious mind so full of desires and cravings, is the most important, and it is utterly essential that we recognize this impulse and that it is the true impulse from the mind of tao. Then "there will be no cause for remorse."

Our relationships must follow these same principles. When we try to get our partner to act the way we want them to, we lose the mind of tao. When we think they should change, we are not responding from our higher selves. When we nag, cajole, give the cold shoulder, act in any unbecoming way, we are not entering "the mind of tao." The mind of tao is only peace (hexagram eleven). It is only through the way of peace that we can enter the tao. It is only when we give up the struggle, and utilize what Lao Tzu calls "nonaction," that we can enter the mind of tao. When line two and five change in hexagram thirty one, the result is hexagram thirty two. The way of the tao is eternal, nothing else is.

Relationship Between High and Low

2011-09-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

In the I Ching there is always considered to be existing a relationship between that which is above, and that which is below: between heaven and earth, and between male and female. Each person in a relationship of any kind must determine his or her proper role for him or her self, and the proper role in relationship to the other. There is also throughout the I Ching incorporated the concept of service. But who is serving who? It is always assumed that the servant serves the master, and so it is, but that is only part the story, because any relationship voluntarily formed between two people or a group of people is formed with the understanding that it is to be mutually beneficial. Therefore, while the servant serves the master, the master also in a different way, serves the servant. It is the duty of the master to only allow the servant to do only as much for the master as he can without diminishing the servant. As well it is the duty of the servant to serve only so far that it does not diminish self. Hexagram forty one line one's commentary says, "But the man in a superior position who is thus aided must weigh carefully how much he can accept without doing the helpful servant or friend any real harm."

As such in all our voluntary relationships, of any type, we must understand that there is a mutual reception within the relationship, making it a delicate issue that there be a relatively fair give and take. This should not be done by counting the tally and fretting or becoming enraged when it does not equal. Rather it should be a recognition within ourselves whether we are giving too little or too much. We do not need to focus on the other person, we need to focus on ourselves and how we ourselves are interacting.

In the same way, a relationship is formed between our lower selves and our higher selves. The higher self is not indentured to us in such a way that he/she gives us everything thing we need. We do the work we need to do, but the outcome is the gift of the higher self. Only it sees the greater picture and knows perfectly the path we are meant to take. We simply do the work. We work in the service of the higher self, but at the same time we work in service of ourselves. We do what must be done, without "counting on the harvest while plowing." We leave that to the higher self. When we are obedient to our ruler, here speaking of the higher self, which is enlightened, then as the commentary on hexagram thirty five says, "An enlightened ruler and an obedient servant -- this is the condition on which great progress depends."

In every relationship, we must understand our own role, and complete it. Sometimes we may fall into relationships, at least temporarily, where more is demanded from us than is given, but when we are in relationship with our higher selves, there is no possibility of being deceived or treated unfairly. We know that as we complete the tasks given to us, and when our questions are answered, that we will be rewarded, and given to fully. The way of the superior man is the way of recognizing and following the true higher self. We must recognize the higher self for what it is, and not be deceived by imposters, (parts of our own self that lead us astray, wishing as the ego does to be in control and run our lives for us, though it does not have adequate overall perception to do so.

When we choose our teachers, when we choose our gurus, our masters, who have gone before us on the spiritual path, we do so because we can see clearly that they have true capabilities that we do not have. Otherwise there is no point in accepting them into our lives or qualifying them as masters. They are only a master if they have truly mastered something, and that is something that can be demonstrable. We choose a master to follow because we know the master knows the way, and can help us improve. But the highest master of all, is that which is inside of us, waiting to come out and reveal him and her self to us, so that we can be "obedient servants," and like the dragon in hexagram one, "he completes the six steps at the right time, as though on six dragons." The higher self will never demand to much of us. it will teach us fairly, as we follow its lead, and become obedient to the enlightened master. But it does expect us to do our part, which is to follow its lead.

Seeds Falling to the Ground

2011-09-27T13:22:00.001-07:00

In keeping with the concept of cycles we find a very blatant passage that discusses cycles clearly and with commitment. The commentary on hexagram twenty three tells us, "The light principle is invincible because in its sinking it creates new life." The dark forces, as always, tend to undermine the light force, not confronting the light force directly, but discreetly, until it splits it apart. However, the commentary on hexagram twenty three also tells us that "The light principle cannot be wholly split apart." While the dark undermines it, it cannot fully subjugate it because just as fruit must decay before new seed can develop, so to, the light principle as it sinks, like fruit, renews itself. This is an eternal principle. It can never be changed. (See hexagram thirty two.) The same principle is discussed Biblically with the story of a grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying. It is also said that the early Church flourished by the blood of its martyrs. This is important to understand, that there is always a cycling of light and dark, high and low, prosperity and scantiness, good and evil. And we, when approaching the I Ching for our spiritual growth must decipher just where we are on the sine wave curve, and our proper action or non action based on the wavelength height and broadness that we are placed on. In this case it is said that "The superior man does nothing because the time has not yet come." In order to accomplish our will, or our duty, it is essential to understand when something can be undertaken and when it cannot. It is hubris and foolishness to at all times try to enforce our will.

In hexagram one we are told that "time is no longer a hindrance but the means of making actual what is potential." When we understand the signs of the times we can prepare properly, either with non action if it is called for, or action. But action must be based on what is right. Hexagram thirty four tells us that, "being intent on movement, we may not wait for the right time." If we act consciously and willfully, we act without the benefit of the highest principles. Hexagram twelve line four says, "He who acts at the command of the Highest remains without blame." In other words we must dispense with conscious will and forced action based on motives that are not pure, and do not come from the sanctity of a heart filled with love for the universe. We can make a lot happen for a while with conscious effort, but when we do so we become in synch with the dark force of hexagram twenty three that eventually undermines the light principle. We do not act at the command of the highest but from our own impure motives. Therefore, like the inferior man of hexagram twenty three line six, "Our house is split apart."

Sometimes we have to "wait for the rain" as in hexagram five. We are the small force of hexagram nine which can not produce the rain of its own, but when the six stages pass the rain comes in its own due time, not ours, and there is rest. If we try to force the issue we are "not plowing the field for its own sake," and we are "counting on the harvest" in contrast to the council given us in hexagram twenty five line two.

Finally, it is often when things seem their worst, when we "fall into the pit," as in hexagram five line six, or we "stray into a gloomy valley" that the "three uninvited guests arrive." (We receive help from spiritual sources.) Or "the man with the scarlet knee bands suddenly arrives." Things are not as they appear. It is only when we have full confidence in a power greater than ourselves, and yield (hexagram two) to that power that a light develops out of events, and we suddenly see the way. First comes the darkness, then the light,and as that is so, we should never despair.

It Always Cycles Around

2011-09-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

The whole key to understanding the I Ching ultimately is to understand cycles. The I Ching is replete with warnings that one must wait for the right timing to attempt anything. It's way of saying it is to "cross the great water." Secondly, one must understand the principle of balance. One must ultimately balance the principles of yin and yang and incorporate them into one's way of life. Hexagram five is a great example of the first principle in that the message comes through loud and clear that we must wait for the right time. The commentary on the Image says, "Fate comes when it will, and thus we are ready." But the second principle is incorporated into the hexagram as well. While it is important to understand that we can only wait for the rain, we must also work while waiting for the rain. In this way we use action in conformity with the principle of non action, as describe by Lao Tzu. The principle of non action does not mean that we do nothing, we must prepare, but we do not presume upon the actions that we perform to create the rain, it comes in its own time. In this way we balance yin and yang naturally and harmoniously.

And here is a third principle. While it is true that all things are performed through non action, (although we prepare the ground) it is our own inner attitude that ensures success when we apply these principles. Man cannot make it rain, he can only prepare the ground so that when the rain does fall he receives its harvest. But he cannot presume upon the results. He can only make sure his inner attitude is correct. "The commentary says, "It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any sort of self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized." It is only when we have this light that we can perform "actions" which are in accord with the principles of the universe, and that when the cycle peaks we will be ready and be "fortified" (line five). When we produce the right kind of actions, based on inner truth, (hexagram sixty one) when the cycle comes around we will be ready to receive (hexagram two and non action) the fruits of our labors. Actions are merely in harmony with the inner light of understanding that is only given us when our inner attitude is correct. We cannot tempt fate, we must "go out resolutely to meet it."

The commentary on the image says, "We should not worry and seek to shape the future by interfering in things before the time is ripe." Worrying and actions contrary to the signs of the time (Hexagram two line one) would result in failure. We must understand the cycles and properly balance yin (non action) with yang (action) Hexagram one speaks of the great man climbing the stairway to heaven by doing the right thing during the right cycle of time, and thereby becoming a "Chuang Tzu" or a "self realized" person. Non action does not simply mean doing nothing, but doing the right thing at the right time in accord with the cycles of heaven. One reaches success in this way. One cannot fight the flow but merely go with the flow. By going with the flow he or she is doing actions that are in conformity with the principle of non action.

Correction, and New Info

2011-09-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

I made a mistake in my math in one place yesterday. I feel very foolish. I checked it maybe three times, but it seems if I don't set something a side for a short time, I make the same mistake each time I check. Begotten Son does not come up to 132. It comes up to 136. However, his only son comes up to 150 which is the gematric equivalent of 151.

Now, that being said, this subject is too vast and too deep to give it any kind of substance. Just a few things in passing and we can move on. If any one has the original version of "City of Revelation" by John Michell, (it has long been out of print) they will see how we used phrases in the original Greek in the verses in Revelations 12:18, ("Here is wisdom, Let him who hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. and his number is Six hundred, three score and six.") that in the Greek Gematria, the number of the beast is the equivalent for the number of Jesus Christ. It works differently in English, but you can get a slightly variant version of this same message in the English, But we can see it even more in Revelations 17:5. So to make a long story short, and save time, lets just look at the variant meaning of the verse by the rules of Gematria. There are many translations possible, all giving a very similar message, But here is the translation I wish to convey today in the interest of time.

"The number of his name Jesus(or his son), the mother of Jesus's, an image of the best, of the devil."

Now, one might say, how does this make sense? Well, the book of Revelations was written on one level, and only one, it has many meanings, as an attack on what became the official Christian Church, the Catholic and all the protestants. Mother of harlots refers to the mother church, the Catholic, and the harlots are the protestant churches that come out of her. Now, that is not to totally impune the present Christian churches, but the message is that the truth truly is a "mystery Temple;" that it is not for the common person to know the truth, the common folk cannot understand it, it is unfathomable to them. The exoteric version of Christianity is like a "beast? that consumes itself in anger toward everything that would disagree with it. The history of the church is one of torture and horrendous acts of cruelty against any and all that would threaten it. This actually has some truth regarding all religions. The exoteric version of religion creates a fanaticism that is undiminished in its hotility toward all that is opposed to it. The esoteric does not have this quality, but includes a universal understanding of the meaning of all as brother. Doctrine does not matter, only love matters. But most people must pass through the exoteric in order to get to the esoteric. Just don't get stuck there. We will talk more about this on occasion.

Gematria and Mystery Bablyon

2011-09-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

There have been a few books out lately about Biblical codes and electronic space sequencing to find revelations in Biblical writings which have caused controversy. Many people just do not believe they are there because it boggles their mind. Many people do not believe many things simply because it boggles their mind and that is not a valid reason for not believing something. When we see evidence of something that shakes our world view it is wise to question our world view, not just throw the evidence away. And many, many people are guilty of this very thing. It can be very scary to see our world view shaken.

But we must allow our world view to be shaken; we all, all of us have a limited world view. We see life through rose colored glasses, and this is true because we underestimate the reality of "Spirit" in our world. The ancient Jewish Scribes knew centuries ago of many types of codes in their sacred literature. The Kabbalists even today write of many such codes, although the deeper ones are kept secret. The thing that really blows me away, is that we can find at least some codes even today in the English language Biblical text as long as we use the King James version. For example, letters can be changed to corresponding numbers and words with the same number correspondent can be substituted for each other. There are two variations in this in English, each of which can serve a purpose. Today, I will only be utilizing one of them. The first is that each letter in the alphabet corresponds to a number with a equaling one, b equaling two and so on up to z which would equal twenty six. The second version would consist of a equaling one, j equaling 10 and k equaling twenty, then s equaling 100 t equaling 200 up to z equaling 800. I will concern myself only with the former here.

There is not time to give detailed explanations. You can do the math for yourself if you wish to see if I am correct, and I am certainly capable of making addition mistakes while I hastily do this to try to prepare, but the overall system is correct. And since time does not allow, I will simply use a very famous quotation in the book of Revelations to show how this works. That verse is found in Revelations chapter seventeen, (seventeen and multiples of seventeen) is a number that comes up consistently in Revelations. The exact verse is five. Revelations 17:5. the words are capitalized in the king James version, showing that it is extremely significant in its implications. And I quote: "And upon her forehead was a name written. "MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." You can do the math yourself or just believe me that the numbers are correct. In transferring letters to numbers we have the following, starting with the capitalized letters only. 125+71+33+51+33+79+21+93+19+132+21+33+52.

No, we will break these down into phrases,starting with "Mystery Babylon." Mystery equals 125 and Babylon equals 71. 125 is 5 to the third power. (squares and above are extremely significant numbers in the code, but we won't concern ourselves too much with that right now.) 125+71 equals 196 which is fourteen squared, or seven squared times two squared. Now, it just so happens that 71 is also the number for temple. So in gematria codes we could substitute, then we have mystery temple. Next appears the words the Great. The great together equals 84, By the rules of gematira we can change one digit by one, (on rare occasions two) so we can change it to seventy four which is the equivalent of Jesus. The equivalent of harlot is 74, and the number for Jesus is also seventy four. So now we have mystery temple Jesus, mother of Jesus's. Next we have and abominations the combined words and abominations comes out to 151 which is the numerical equivalent of Jesus Christ. So now we have, "Mystery temple Jesus, mother of Jesus's Jesus Christ. Finally we have "of the earth." Of the earth is the numerical equivalent of "of the Devil." So we have "Mystery temple Jesus, mother of Jesus's Jesus Christ of the Devil. But there is another way we can read it too. Begotten Son equals 132 which is the numerical equivalent of abominations. So we could read it as "Mystery temple Jesus, mother of Jesus's and begotten son of the devil." But 74 is also the number for energy. So we could read this as "Mystery temple energy, Mother of energy and begotten son of the devil." This could go on, but it is meaningless unless we find a way to apply it. That will have to come later. This post is getting too long.

More later.

A Side Post

2011-09-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to several, many talk shows lately, and reading as much as I can, and have received information recently that is blowing me away, when I thought I knew pretty much everything. I cannot even begin to pass much of this information on. Most of the material is not new to me but has been put in such a light I have to redigest and regurgitate this material on a regular basis to fully understand it. So many people automatically assume that when you talk about 2012, conspiracies, weather patterns, etc., you are just trying to instill fear or reacting fearfully yourself. Nothing could be less true. There is a golden new age coming and it is going to be unbelievable. It is appearing more and more that in this new age people are going to become fairly adept at CREATING THEIR OWN REALITY. Yes, I mean exactly that. This is coming. But the world rulers, the elite, who operate from behind the scenes do not want mankind to know this or be able to put it into practice because it marks the end of their rule. That is why we see in mainstream news daily more and more information that those in the know would understand as a financial rape of the world's economy for the sake of the elite. The hum that many people are reporting hearing in their cities is caused by the creation of underground bunkers as those who are elite, and have a technology that is not available to the common man, to be used to protect themselves from the mayhem that is coming. At the same time, they are forcing inoculations on people presumably to protect us from flues and viruses, but really have cancer causing ingredients in them, as well as other dangerous substances. See the story about inoculations in Texas where young women are being brain damaged by drugs in vaccines. Of course the drug companies dispute it, but it is being reported all over Texas.

There is too much to talk about. Who knows what comet Elenin is all about? There is much speculation on it. I don't know what to think. So many things happen that those in the know realize have deep connections in the human psyche, but don't create any disturbances big enough for the who are strictly on the literal level to notice. This is an exciting time in many ways. We are gaining so much knowledge so very rapidly, yet the majority of the world still concerns themselves with such things as "Dancing With the Stars" or college football, at the expense of any real education. Education does not end at the senior year, it is a lifelong challenge. And there is far more to the world than what we learn in college.

As I digest these things, and come to understand them better, I will try to pass on all the information that I think is really valid. As the apostle Paul said, "Wake up, thou that sleepest." And as Jesus said, "When you see these things happen, look up, for your redemption draweth nigh." These things are not to be taken necessarily literal, although sometimes there are literal aspects to the story, but the real story, in all sacred literature, is allegorical and symbolic, and not to be taken literally. The trouble is there is no end of learning the meanings, and will we ever get to the bottom of it? Well, the book of Daniel says of the last days, "Many shall run to and fro, (traveling from place to place regularly) and knowledge shall be greatly increased." We are living in the last days, (of the Piscean age) and knowledge is beginning to be greatly increased, more so than we can imagine, even about the allegorical meanings of the books. A new age is coming. There is much destruction in the meantime, but we will survive overall, and face a glorious age more than anyone can imagine.

Continuing with "Involuntary Relationships"

2011-09-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Finishing up with the individual lines aspect of hexagram thirty one, the commentary on line five says, "What takes place in the depths of one's own being, in the unconscious, can neither be called forth nor prevented by the conscious mind." Here we have further discussion revealing that there is a deeper part of ourselves, and that deeper part is a connection with the universal subconscious, or what some might define as God. Universal attraction works to "bring those together who belong together." (See hexagram forty five line two, and hexagram sixty one.) True relationships, ones that are meant to be, are natural and develop without conscious manipulation or plotting. They truly come from the primal depths of the universe. Hexagram sixty one gives us further information on the meaning of this where the commentary says, "This force is not identical with simple intimacy or a secret bond. Close ties may also exist among thieves; it is true that such a bond acts as a force but, since it is not invincible, it does not bring good fortune. (And the next part is paramount) All association on the basis of common interests holds only up to a certain point. When the community of interest ceases, the holding together ceases also, and the closest friendship often changes into hate."

We must, review our motives and definitions of the relationship which we hold close to us. Is it one based on true universal attraction, or is there a hidden motive within us that drives us to maintain the relationship; perhaps for the sake of status, or financial gain, or lust, or fear of loss?" Only we can answer those questions within the depth of our being. But we must be honest with ourselves. If the motive isn't pure, and it isn't love, the relationship cannot hold as we cross the wildernesses and trials of life. The sixth line carries on the same theme. It speaks of "superficial ways of trying to influence others." Mental exercises designed to manipulate or coerce will not work in the long run, and will in fact backfire eventually. Talk that has nothing behind it does not truly influence those that are really meant to be with us.

When the second and fifth line changes, the resulting hexagram is thirty two, which in some ways carries on the same theme although in a slightly different context, but more on that later.

Involuntary Attraction

2011-09-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

We think we make conscious decisions on who we re attracted to and why. But do we? The commentary in book three on hexagram thirty one says, "...hence it represents an influence that is unconscious and involuntary, not one that is conscious and willed. Relationships that are conscious and willed are more likely to be based on baser desires, not true spiritual love. The commentary in book three for line four says, "Thereby it limits its influence, everything is shifted to the conscious plane, and the inner light darkens. As soon as we use manipulation, as soon as we use force, as soon as we contemplate, we lose the inner light. We know longer have the feeling for who we really should be involved with. We know longer allow that inner "secret force" to operate. We operate in darkness, not in light. The conscious mind, the ego, thinks it knows all. It thinks it can manipulate and control everything to its advantage, but it ultimately fails because it does not have that "inner light."

It is not easy to let go of conscious manipulation. It is difficult to understand, even more so to maintain that "inner light." What is it? When we allow the "secret forces" to work, then things come out as they should. The commentary on the decision says, "The holy man stimulates the hearts of men, and the world attains peace and rest." It is to be understood that the holy man has no conscious intention of creating effects within the common man that would be beneficial strictly to the holy man. We affects others, and stimulates them because of the nature of his being, and exudes an energy that others can at least unconsciously recognize as of a superior quality. Thus they naturally want to be like him. In such a case the superior man creates an effect not even known to himself necessarily that creates peace on earth. It creates peace on earth because he has already created peace within himself.

In our relationships it is necessary to that we create peace within ourselves,for that peace will also affect our partner, who in turn will feel more peace. This is the real confidence that should be attractive to women. All too often, we are attracted to a superficial kind of confidence that really amounts more to arrogance, and is surface only. When we are the right person, we are attracted to and attract the right person. When we are not, we don't. Everything depends on letting go and trusting. Everything depends on letting that "inner light" shine in our lives. Everything depends on following the natural way. The more we can follow the natural way, the more our lives are enhanced and we live in harmony with the universe.

The Quiet Force of Character

2011-09-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

Many lines of the I Ching are based on explaining the "natural way" of attracting, and how it must be truly natural, not forced. Hexagram twenty five especially depicts the power of the natural way. Conscious effort is limited, and sometimes destructive if not combined with the power of the heart. As the Japanese would say, "Pen and sword in accord," so we might say, "Head and heart in accord." Both must be present and utilized, but it is the trust in that deeper aspect of ourselves that keeps us free of hubris, humble, and free from the wrath of the universe.

Therefore, the commentary on hexagram thirty one line four says, "Here the place of the heart is reached. The impulse that springs from this source is the most important of all." In our relationships it is the heart that matters. We cannot logically induce a relationship to be effective. It must be a matter of feeling. But that feeling cannot be simply consciously induced. It must spring from a deeper source. If it does not come from that deeper source it is an act of lust and not love. The commentary goes on to say, "When the quiet power of a man's own character is at work, the effects produced are right." That quiet power comes from following the "natural way" (hexagram twenty five). It cannot be merely a conscious effort. Woman intuitively understand this. It is just their nature. Men are more inclined to be cerebral and consciously act. But when we follow the "natural way" the universe produces the right effects for us at the right time. We can trust this "natural selection." For it corresponds to a higher truth spoken of in hexagram sixty one. "Its young answer it." In other words, there is an inner affinity which the conscious mind knows nothing about, but the heart strings are pulled and there is an inner knowing beyond the consciousness that makes us realize that this relationship is natural and approved by heaven itself. Then we understand the truth of hexagram forty five line two where the commentary says, " There are secret forces at work, leading those together who belong together. We must yield to this attraction, then we make no mistakes." We do not try to force things. We let them flow of their own nature. We must follow the inner promptings without conditions spelled out by the conscious mind.

The use of force leads us to conditions spelled out in hexagram thirty four, where the commentary says, "But its strength has already passed beyond the median line." The median line is the balance between our conscious and subconscious minds. When we go beyond that point, we start to try forcing things to fulfill our personal desires. The commentary says, "Hence there is danger that one may rely totally on one's own power (soley on the conscious mind) and forget to ask what is right" (forget the power of the universe and its willingness to guide our lives, hexagram two) The conscious mind knows nothing of the "secret forces that are at work." It sees only its own needs and the conscious way of forcing the issue. The conscious mind does not know about the timing of the universe, and therefore, by not asking, "being intent on movement, (fulfilling our desires) we may not wait for the right time." We cannot force an issue. it just doesn't work, because it goes against the flow and the timing of the universe, and disrupts the "secret forces at work that bring together those who belong together." Hexagram thirty one and forty five have a similarity of message in this respect. The commentary on line four says, "All those who are receptive to the vibrations of such a spirit will then be influenced." They are influenced because of the nature of the universe to complete all matters in the time frame prescribed by the inner workings of the universe, not our conscious efforts to manipulate.

Encouraging Others to Approach (More on Thrity One)

2011-09-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

The image of hexagram thirty one says, "Thus the superior man encourages people to approach him By his readiness to receive them." But in order to be ready to receive others who approach us we must make ourselves available. We make ourselves available by going out into the world and accomplishing something that others can take notice of. To throw ourselves at people never works. It doesn't work for either sex. To throw ourselves at others almost insures a reaction of abhorrence and backing away. Attraction is very slow. (See hexagram fifty four.) Line one tells us that the movement or attraction is first just an impulse and in the beginning is not even noticeable to others. We should do nothing to make it known before it is time. Line two tells us that "tarrying brings good fortune." In other words, we should not make our desires known too quickly. Even after the earliest stages, it is advisable to keep our desires in bounds and not let them become noticeable. The commentary says, "One should wait quietly until one is impelled to action by a real influence." In other words, we should wait until the attraction becomes apparent and obvious, meaning, we should be able to see it in the other person as well as within ourselves. We must be sure that the attraction is real and not a mirage or one sided.

Even then it is wise to be careful. Line three tells us in the commentary that "he should never ignore the possibility of inhibition, for this is the basis of human freedom." We should never show our hand too quickly. We should never do anything that is going to put pressure on the other partner to make a premature decision about the depths of their feeling for the other. It has been said that "the one who cares the least in a relationship has the upper hand." This seems cruel in a way but it is true. Oddly enough, not caring translates into caring because it relieves the other partner of all burden of responding. It leaves the other person free to become their own self and choose their own path. It seems senseless and yet is very sensible, and not caring is caring.

The upper lines will be discussed later.

A Little About relationships in Thirty One

2011-09-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

I know some people came here to hear about relationships and not the more esoteric portion of the I Ching, and I want to try to please everyone as much as possible. My big thing, and my greatest knowledge lies in areas regarding our "personal relationship" with the I Ching, and the way the I Ching speaks of itself in every line, and every comment. Nevertheless, most people are more mundane in their desires and understanding and I will try to accommodate that.

Relationships are tricky, because men and women do not understand each other. Some men understand women quite well, and are successful with them because of that, but even they, in the long run, will run into difficulties that they cannot understand or control. Even in Ni Hua Ching's book of the I Ching, he states that his own mother told him that even highly advanced spiritual men have trouble with women. How smart she was. When I was younger, I sometimes heard first the man speak of his problems with his wife, and later hear the woman state the problems with the husband, and upon hearing their arguments, I would come to the conclusion they are not even talking about the same spouse, it was as if they were married to too different people. The arguments weren't relating to each other at all, and it seemed as if there was a complete disconnect. Because of that, I came to be under the illusion that I understood women fairly well. Well, no, I didn't, and I paid a high price for my lack of knowledge. I had no idea, in many cases, how I was coming across or what the other person was thinking. It was a language foreign to me.

Here is a problem some men have with women. Hexagram thirty one line three says, "Every mood of the heart influences us to movement. What the heart desires, the thighs run after without a moment's notice." When men see something they want, they go after it. There is really not a lot of thought put into it, they just go after it. This is what they have been taught. In a football game you keep slugging away until the competition folds. A shoe salesman doesn't give up on a sale the first time he receives a no. Men tend to go directly to the goal. This is their upbringing and their nature, and what makes them successful; which is ironic because women want men who are successful, but the very means of becoming successful are the very means that so often turn a woman off.

So what is the solution for men? Well, first of all, it is necessary that we hold back. Too much interest too early can drive a woman away fast and can have really negative effects on his social life, which he is not likely to understand. His initial reaction to the rejection is to think, "women don't like me." He is totally unaware of his own participation in bringing about the rejection that he receives. The line goes on to say, "In the life of a man, however, acting on the spur of every caprice is wrong and if continued leads to humiliation." It is essential for men especially that they learn to hold back their own desires and cravings, whether it's love or lust, and let things flow normally. Women are more in tune with the natural flow, men are more in tune with "making things happen." It works in the outside world, although even there with many qualifications, it does not work with women.

But women too can be guilty of this. It has been said that too many women wear their wedding dress on the first date. It is different with women, and it is only likely with someone they are really, really attracted too, but it can happen. If we show our eagerness too much it puts a pressure on the other person. They other person is pushed into deciding right away how much they like someone, how well it will work, and is it what we really want.

The commentary goes on to say, "First, a man should not run precipitously after all the persons whom he would like to influence. but must be able to hold back under certain circumstances." This comes in the hexagram called, "Attraction" or "Influence," or "wooing." It is one thing to hear these words, it is another to be socially experienced and learn how to skillfully put them into practice. That is the difficult part.

A Short Note on "The Matrix"

2011-09-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

In reference to the popular movie: I watched the first one of the series last Friday, and I was struck by a couple of things I might discuss right now very shortly. First of all, we should not take many of the screenwriters of Hollywood lightly. This people often get their story lines from something that is going on behind the scenes that we know nothing about. Or at least most of us don't. It is questionable whether these people get the ideas for their movies based on their own inside knowledge as being part of the "elite" or whether they have information about the "elite" that we do not have. Some have suggested that the elite have this notion that they should always tell their "victims" what they plan to do in story form, or some secretive way, making the "victims" responsible for their own demise because they did not listen. I think in some cases this is true. Another film coming out of Hollywood I have heard about is about some mysterious disease that wipes out much of humanity. In actuality, this is planned by some of the elite in order to reduce the population of the earth. So the question remains, "Where do the Hollywood writers and producers get their story lines? Will we ever know? Before I sound too conspiratorial, let it be said that there are those elite also who are on mankind's side, and are trying to help us as much as they can, and they may be writing these stories as well in order to help mankind in the dangers they are facing in the near future.

All of that being said, back to the Matrix. If you have seen the movie, perhaps you remember the part where Morpheus is captured, and being raked over the coals for being human, so to speak. The evil personality, Mr. Smith tells Morpheus that mankind is an evil "taker" who destroys what ever there is to consume, and moves on to greener pastures where all other mammals tend to strike a balance with their environment. He says something to the effect that humanity is a "cancer" that needs to be eradicated. He considers them useless, spineless, and a rash upon the face of the earth. His intention is to do his part in wiping humanity out. This is not unlike the thinking of the elite who wish to decimate the earth's population through whatever means necessary. Some even go farther and wish to wipe out all mankind, except themselves of course, and a few totally crazy ones wish to wipe out "ALL" of humanity, including themselves. This is well documented in their own written statements. (No, I can't produce them, but they do exist.)

Now, here is another reason the elite wish to wipe out humanity now. The elite have always existed as the extreme upper class of society, and have always used the lower class as peon's and peasants, paying them with little more than the opportunity to exist. They cannot stand a middle class, and they cannot stand a super knowledgeable, highly educated society. For this reason they lie to us continually in our educational system, and they are doing everything right now to destroy the middle class. The world's economies are presently in serious danger of collapsing. But here is the biggest reason it is happening now, and it is discussed in the movie Matrix. What Mr. Smith is concerned about is a coming time when there will be "a world without boundaries or rules: a world where anything is possible." He does not want this. His existence, and the very existence of the elite on this planet is to make sure that there is order (which comes out of the chaos they themselves create) and there are boundaries, and mankind knows nothing of the technology which could truly set him free so that nothing at all is impossible. Mr. Smith cannot tolerate a world without boundaries. Mankind must be held in check. This is exactly what is happening on earth right now, and the writers and producers of this show and several others are telling us in a way that for most people only the subconscious picks up on, but most people do not want to think, they only want to be entertained, and see nothing serious in this movie. Yet we know the truth, and as such will eventually take the world to another level where "anything is possible," and they cannot stop it, thought they can create a lot of destruction in the meantime. World without end. The new age is upon us, if we will only respond, and allow it to overtake us.

When Ribbon Grass is Pulled Up

2011-09-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hexagram twelve line one tells us that "When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it. Each according to his kind." Whenever we discover a truth, there are almost always other truths that come with it. When we uncover a truth about another person, someone we are related to, or a business partner, or when we uncover a truth about a given situation, we also uncover the things that cling to it. When we find one thing we find everything that is attached to it, at least if we are open to it. And in the I Ching, when we open one door, other doors come open as well.

Therefore, and we will make this real short today, when we learn the meaning of a given line in the I Ching, we learn the meaning of many lines, for they are all connected, they cling to one another (hexagram thirty). But everything must be in a given context. Without a context, nothing has any real meaning. If we are trying to find direction, and look at a given object to help us get that direction, we must of necessity have a second object or point of departure to make any sense out of it. It we look at one object, without any second point, if even that second point is just the way the walls are facing of that one object, then we are as lost as we always were.

Therefore, in studying the I Ching, it is extremely, and I mean extremely, important to recognize that there is no one meaning to the lines. The lines mean nothing except in relationship to the context we give it, even if that context is nothing more than our own inner perception. As such none of the lines have any meaning. They are just out there and have no value until a value is given it by a perception. Therefore, while the lines of themselves have no meaning, since the means of perceptions are infinite, so is the meaning of the lines, and the only way to ferret out the meaning for ourselves is to understand the context in which we are placing those lines. As we do this, we grasp the meaning by the "sod that comes up with the ribbon grass." In other words, what clings to the question that is posed? Even if that question is one of mere spiritual guidance. What clings to this line? What clings to our answer? And we can only develop that within ourselves, and no one can do it for us, for if someone else is giving us the second point of departure, it is not according to our own kind. I do not mean that to mean no one can do a reading for you, I mean that in the sense that the point of departure must be clear in your own mind. When we allow the answer to infiltrate into our deeper mind, and then surface, (see hexagram sixty one) then we understand it in a way that has meaning to us. Therefore, the value of a blogsite like this is to only point to the moon but cannot be the moon itself. And the meaning I ascribe to the lines is only true in a certain context, and should not be taken as the gospel truth, only as a second point of departure, so that when the answer does come up, the sod comes with it. Always look within. Others can be a guide, put they can only point the way. They cannot take you there, because they do not have your point of departure.

Inner Attitude

2011-09-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hexagram forty nine line two speaks of the need to have a proper "inner attitude." The exact quote is, "The first thing that must be considered is our inner attitude toward the new conditions." It is a truism to say that inner attitude is everything. That is not necessarily the outer attitude, or the attitude we show to others, but the real feeling deep down inside that creates our reality. Hexagram thirty gives us a slight hint of this when it speaks of "The Clinging." There can be no yin without yang and vice versa. There can also be no yang without yin. Yin cleaves to yang and yang to yin, because, while they represent two equal and opposite forces, they are really one. The commentary on hexagram thirty says, "So too the twofold clarity of the dedicated man clings to what is right and thereby can shape the world." Our inner attitude must be one of 'clinging to what is right." When we do this we are in harmony with the "Source of all things," that great universal subconsciousness, and create the reality that is right for us. Before we can do this we must have a transformation of, (revolution in) character. Hexagram thirty five tells us that "The real nature of man is likewise originally good, but it becomes clouded by contact with earthly things and therefore needs purification before it can shine forth in its native clarity." That transformation,revolution, purification, are one and the same things. When we transform ourselves, creating a revolution within, and purify ourselves, then we are able to "shape the world."

But let not a person think that he or she can do this by him or herself. One must have contact with, and cling to the 'bright" and allow that action to work within. One must "retreat" (hexagram thirty three) from the lowly and the mundane, and put his sights on a much higher goal. In this way he does not serve "kings and princes, but sets himself higher goals" (hexagram eighteen line six). The key to becoming a "superior person" is to "develop oneself to such a high degree that they are justified in letting the world go its own way..."

Hexagram forty nine line two also says, "When one's own day comes, one may create revolution." One's own day comes, when he "brightens his bright virtue, and becomes the "superior man." We have "revolutionized ourselves, and created a person who can let the world go by. When we become the superior person then we can create "revolution" in our world. But the "inner attitude" must be correct. We must recognize the "Source" of our power, and not think that we, in our "little" selves can create great changes in our world. We only do so by creating change in ourselves and then change in the outer world comes automatically, with us realizing nothing, except noting the changes within ourselves. Attitude is everything. Our inner attitude creates. We must "practice chariot driving daily" until we forge within ourselves the understanding of the true nature of the universe. When we have changed ourselves, then as line four of forty nine says, "Remorse disappears. Men believe him. Changing ... brings good fortune. We create our own reality.

Alchemy and Other Things

2011-09-06T12:15:00.001-07:00

Well, President Obama is going to give a speech on Thursday about his new plan for the economy, and he has already given a hint about it. Of course his hint had nothing to do with his actual plan but his request that congress stop stalling. This is a very serious matter and can lead to a lot of speculation as to what is going on. I am more curious about this than anything in the past since I know the signs of the times, and we are seeing unusual things happen. Political leaders, and I think Obama included, have called the tea party part of congress economic terrorists, and his speech may, and I am only saying may, be a preclude to the installment of martial law which is going to happen within the next couple of years. This is almost guaranteed. Even presidential candidate Ron Paul recently said this is the plan, that they are getting us ready for this. For those of you out there who don't believe this, when you see it happen, it may be a wake up call and will make you realize then that there is a bigger story on this planet. Enough said for now. We will see what his speech entails.

A new book is coming out that supposedly debunks all the conspiracy theories about the destruction of the twin towers. I look forward to it happening. It is time someone debated this instead of just laughing at the people who question the official story. Years ago there was a debunking of sorts in the "Popular Mechanics" magazine, the debunking was superficial, it had a lot of incorrect data in it, and the author is by all appearances a disinformation specialist. I suspect the same thing of this author, but we will see. I will try to read the book.

For those who like books, there is one on alchemy, and the means of creating long life, available on a website called, sacredmysteries.com. The book is free. Go to the site and click on "The golden age has begun" to download the book for free. I think people will find it quite interesting.

The earth is heating up; I am not talking about heat wise as in global warming, although there is an aspect of that too, but activity is getting very serious. Earthquakes are, while not in the news, happening all over the globe. Volcanoes are set to go off everywhere. This can no longer be denied, but you will see very little of it in the daily news. We are about to implode. I am not talking end of the world, but I am talking about a desperate attempt by the global elite to elicit final and full control over all humanity. They will not hesitate to kill billions in order to achieve their goals. This will happen soon because they know we soon will have the technology, thanks to books like mentioned above, to live very long lives. We are going to advance immensely soon in technology as well, and if they do not act now, they will not be able to control us any longer.

There is a new movie out about the Apollo eighteen mission. For the public, there was no such mission, but secretly there was. I look forward to seeing the movie, as soon as possible. The story line is about something very strange on the dark side of the moon. I have known about this for years, and do not see it as fiction. Those who care to see the movie can make up their own minds, is it fiction or not. I suggest it is not!

An Available Man

2011-09-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well, this post may not be exactly what it sounds like, but there is a connection. A play on words, there, connection, because as I have so often harped on, there is the need for a connection with a "superior man," in other words, with the higher self. Hexagram forty nine line two discusses this a bit. The commentary says, "There must be available a man who has the requisite abilities and who possesses public confidence." In receiving this line we must again determine who the speaker is, and then the subject. If the subject is we ourselves, then we are being described as the person who can bring order out of chaos; the one who "creates the new conditions, forms the revolution." Otherwise we are looking for someone we can follow who will do this for us, whom we can support. We find many hexagrams that describe to us the rules of following and leading. It is a main characteristic of the book.

In relationships we must find our place and how we interact with our partner. Do we want to be a leader? Or do we want to follow our partner's lead? If we are not a leader, will we lose the respect of our partner? Remember as in the last post, that hexagram eight teaches us that people have a natural desire to unite. But we must discover within ourselves whether it is our place to lead or to follow. If we are to follow have we found the right leader? If in our relationships we have a tendency to follow, is it the right person to lead us? All of these questions must be answered and we must discover our place in the whole.

But there is a case here where the higher self is the speaker, and it is speaking to us of itself. The commentary says, "To such a man we may well turn." In the same way, it is well that we turn to the I Ching, which is synonymous with the 'higher self." When we turn to the I Ching we are to get proper guidance. Whether we understand it or not is another thing, and the more we use it, the more we are likely to "properly divide the word." We are going to make mistakes. The I Ching cannot give us a point by point exact description of the actions we need to take. We need to divinely intuit it and work with it. When the I Ching says we must take action, we should take action, but the question is, What action? That we can only learn with experience. The I Ching is not a cure all for the average person. Only the "superior person" is able to consult the I Ching and get valuable, understandable information from it; and to do that we must first have "the proper inner attitude toward the new condition," (from the commentary on forty nine two). The text says, "To such a man we may well turn." To so many, it would never cross their mind to think that the I Ching would ever speak of itself. For them the idea of a real intelligence behind the I Ching is preposterous. Yet in every line, we hear it speaking of itself. And in terms of relationships, the exact same principles apply in a relationship with another as does a relationship with the I Ching itself. But, as the commentary says, "We have to go out and meet it, as it were. Only in this way can it be prepared for." In this way, we practice chariot driving daily.

There are only a few people that read these posts, but those that do, I think, are blessed, not because I am so great, but that they are willing to move up to the next spiritual level. If we can get this spiritual understanding, that there truly is a subconscious intelligence behind the I Ching, and that it is the force of the I Ching, the value, and that we should treat it with respect, then we can gain a wisdom far above those of the everyday crowd. Our lives will be blessed. We can see within its pages, truly the words of the "superior person," and be intrigued by the personalness of the message presented to us, so that we can grow in our daily lives. Most people do not want this, do not see this, or see any need for it, they simply call out for temporary answers in their anguish, never knowing that their anguish comes from an inner emptiness, not an outer unfairness, but my readers know, and are much happier as a consequence of understanding this. As the commentary says, "To such a man, we may well turn."

Odds and Ends

2011-09-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well, the first week of college football is over and it was an exciting one for me. Boise State won their game against Georgia, and is hopefully finally gaining some national respect but we will see.

National weather continues to be a problem, and international as well, as there are two serious tropical storms, one in the Atlantic and one in the Gulf that could cause problems. The one in the gulf, called Lee is already causing problems with massive amounts of rainfall, and we will see how serious it gets. Japan has been hit by a typhoon in the last twenty four hours, and has had some damage. There have been some earthquakes and volcanoes in spots, serious, but not enough so to get much national news coverage. However, it seems apparent that we are being at least a little besieged by natural calamities and such, and will monitor it to see how serious it gets. We are in a period of turbulence around the globe. It doesn't mean end of world, but it will be serious for a while.

In the meantime we check in with the story of the global elite, and for the present it seems that not much new is happening, except that the story of the fast and furious project gets more serious. Nevertheless, many of the people involved are likely to go scot free because that is the nature of the way things are these days. Some may ask, why aren't people being arrested like you predicted. The answer is, they don't need to be yet. Not everything is yet put into place by the global elite so that they can do anything they want. This is the way they work, very slowly. If they worked fast the would alarm people, and the world would wake up to their activities and fight back. But it is coming. Ron Paul, in answer to some questions while on the campaign trail stated that the government is getting ready to invoke martial law and clamp down as American's become more aware, and realize how serious the economy and other factors are. We might have riots in the streets here. Not tomorrow, not the next day but it is coming. Once again, they mover very slowly.

The I Ching, and other sacred texts are a master mind of information that people could use to understand what is going on. Yet so few people use these books. If so, it could wake up people much faster. If we only understood where the global elite come from, and that they have been around since the beginning of modern man. So much info is lost because the global elite insist that sacred books are just books written by cave men and are not to be taken seriously. Before they taught us that they taught us to take them literally so that in time we would find out they are not reliable, then they could put together the next phase of their plan which is to belittle the sacred texts and make them out to be a joke written by cave men. So much wisdom is written into these books that I wish I could get a lot more people to listen and comprehend why I keep preaching about unity and higher selves. We could literally change our lives and then our societies if we understood this one basic concept.

Hexagram eight teaches us that unity is the natural way. Just as water that comes down as rain finds its way back to the oceans and collects into a unified whole, so is it the nature of mankind to do the same socially. But the unity has to be for the right reasons. The right reason is not by force as in hexagram seven unless it is necessary to create a collective force to protect a country. The right way is to let those who belong together come together as in hexagram eight. Each person finds his or her right place in the collective as he or she sees fit. And though they choose one group over another, still the groups fit into the collective whole. The same needs to be true within ourselves. We need to find the collective center, (lines two and five) and allow the center to draw all personality fragments into one collective whole. The only way to do this is to understand that there is a greater part of ourselves than the conscious mind, and we need to recognize this and integrate all parts of us into one collective whole. Then we become chuang tzu's or the "superior man."

The Near Future

2011-09-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

There is always speculation about the future, and what is going to happen. This comes a great deal in the western world I think because of the original Christian perspective and the Biblical book of Revelations, Daniel, and a few other prophets. In today's world however, we have a more secular viewpoint, and such prophecies are looked upon as a curiosity without any meaning. There is also a look askance at the prophecies of various ancient cultures with the thought that they were simply savages and did not know much about the real world.

To make things worse, there have been nut case prophecies throughout the ages based on inadequate and even bizarre interpretations of Biblical texts or other reasons that make all prophetic material very suspect. How can you tell the future anyway?

Well, apparently there is some case for it, not with absolute certainty, but there does seem to be some agreement in sacred texts from many different traditions that all say pretty much the same thing, even though the cultures were scattered over various parts of the earth and presumably had no contact with each other.

A big problem though, is correctly interpreting these texts. There has been much attention paid to the Mayan Calendar by people who interpret it to mean the end of the world. Therefore, it gets put into the nutcase variety of belief system by many and is not taken seriously by the population as a whole. It is apparently not the case though, that this is what they meant. It also is highly unlikely that any sacred texts around the world were speaking of the end of the world. It is apparent though, that the texts speak of an end of an age. December 2012 is apparently not a time for the end of the world but the end of the piscean age. As such the old way has to be eliminated. We can see that this is starting to happen now as the old financial system is unraveling, as nations are being engulfed in war and internal strife. Whenever we enter a new age the old gods must be discarded or they will be forcefully removed. When we entered the age of Pisces the gods of the old age, including the animal sacrifices, especially of sheep had to end. When the leaders refused to let go, the nation of Israel for example, was scattered throughout the world. The more we hang on the more things are forced on us so that we worship the new gods and reject the old. This is universal law and cannot be changed.

We are about at that time now. Those who refuse to let go of the old ways will be discarded, one way or another. It is not the result of an angry God punishing mankind but universal law and will always be so. Established religions,especially the protestant version of Christianity, often thinks of natural disasters as punishment from an angry God on an evil humanity. This is a superficial view. God does not get angry, he does not decide to punish mankind. In traditional Christianity it is thought that God makes the laws. This is not so. The laws by there very nature are God, and God is by very nature law, and there is no distinction between the two. God does not make the laws and the laws do not make God. They simply are the same thing. For this reason universal law is always operating, and it operates through karma. There is no wrath in karma, simply the grinding out of universal law. As hexagram fifty six says, "Prisons ought to be places where people are lodged only temporarily." In other words, karma operates until it is over. We need fear no angry God,we simply need to come to understand universal law. Therefore, when natural disasters occur, they are not punishment, but the natural effect of universal law, and when it is over it is over.

This brings me to a side note I think is important. A lot of people who do not believe in God will say things like, "If God exists, why does he allow evil? This God who supposedly can do anything couldn't stop the terrorists from blowing up our buildings, or millions of people dying in wars, etc. Let's be clear about this. There is no God out there. There is only God, everywhere, including you. God does not come down from heaven with an army with AK-47s, tanks and missles and tell people they cannot do something. It is said God can do anything. Not true, God cannot do anything. He can only act through the energy of his own being, and therefore, in a sense is responsible for the good and the evil. He does not stop anything from happening. He does not use force to rule. He simply is universal law and what goes around will come around eventually. When people really grasp this, when they understand it perfectly, there will be no further crime. I do believe that time is coming, as the new age will be a uniquely wonderful time for all of humanity.

Of course, there will be difficulties and disasters before that time comes, and while I don't believe anyone can predict everything, I think there have been some fairly accurate people over the last few years, and in contradistinction to past predictions that did not come true, the people doing the predicting are not basing it on soley ancient texts, but on science itself. Many of these people are very qualified scientists. But to make a long story short, just a note to say, here are some predictions from Dr. Turi, (you can google him), who uses "dragons head astrology" for most of his predictions. I do not deny nor affirm these, I have simply found him to be fairly accurate in the past. He is predictive some death and destruction on or near the following dates, one being tomorrow, Sept 2nd, the others the 18th, and the 26th. He is predicting hurricanes and or earthquakes on Sept 9, and Sept 24. (Today the news came out that Tropical Storm Katia has become a hurricane and is heading across the Atlantic, and could likely be on the East coast by Sept 9th. There is also a tropical wave trying to form into a storm in the Carribean. Dr. Turi also claims Sept 24th as another date. He is also predicting serious trouble in the Middle East on the 12th, and the 26th. We will see what happens.

An End to their Confusion

2011-08-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

The commentary on hexagram twelve line two says, "They would endure the superior man if he put an end to their confusion." In the same way, we pursue an answer from the I Ching in order to "put an end to our confusion." We do not bother with it beyond that. We do not understand that our confusion is due to a lack of understanding of true spiritual principles. We consult the I Ching in our time of need and of frustration, but when things are going well, we do not bother with it. We do not recognize the need for the "superior person" in our lives except when things are going poorly. For this reason then third line of hexagram forty eight says, "The well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it. This is my heart's sorrow, For one might drink from it." We only drink from the well when we feel a need in our lives.

Often that need is felt when we find ourselves in "untenable relationships." Untenable relationships develop when we do not accept proper protocol and tend to supplant the authority of those in charge of us. In relationships we can develop an untenable situation when we do not accept our proper role and place within the relationship. The same can be said in our relationship with the "Superior person," or the Sage. Just as we have relationships in our personal and physical lives we also have a relationship with our higher self. But we do not recognize the higher self in our lives unless something happens that creates havoc in our lives which then causes us to look for answers. As soon as the answer is resolved, we forget all about the Sage who answered our question until we find it cycling back around in our lives on a higher level. Then we "bear and endure" the superior man once again until once again the problem is temporarily solved.

When we begin to understand the proper role of the Sage in our lives, when we start to honor him, and "not treat him as a tool, (hexagram twenty line four) we realize in hexagram twelve line three that we "bear shame." This is good, for it brings us to our senses. It makes us realize that as described in hexagram fifty six, we are wonderers and strangers on this planet. We have no fixed abode. Our home is the road, that is to say, our home is the spiritual path which we follow. When we start to see ourselves as pilgrims on a spiritual journey, we realize that we must take life seriously and not just play with it (hexagram four line one). We begin to honor the Sage and give him a place in our hearts. We realize that our own, limited conscious mind is not enough to see us through the pitfalls us life. And only when we realize that there is a higher power that we can align with (hexagram fifteen) then we can start to make real progress. We must understand however, that we can only align with the mind of the cosmos; we cannot expect it to align with us. We do not bend it to our will, we bend to its will, but in doing so become aligned with it, and find a great power in our lives.

When we find that great power and align with it, not vice versa, we find we are accepted (hexagram twenty two line five) by the universe. Though are gifts are small, our hearts are now in the right place. We must give up our concept of the I Ching as an unemotional, unfeeling tool that we can just use to get answers to our questions, but we can find out what it is within us that causes us to have those questions in the first place. As such we have "penetration under the bed" (hexagram fifty seven line two). The bed is a symbol for the things that we rest upon in our lives, and by extension, our beliefs, our thoughts,our emotions, and our subconscious complexes. Our subconscious complexes are the very thing that keeps us where we are, that create the problems that we find in our lives. It comes from within, and so does the Sage, who answers those problems.

Hexagram twelve line two tells us in the commentary that "the great man bears the consequences of the standstill." This is because the great man knows that the "standstill" is caused by something within himself. But he bears the circumstances calmly because he knows that "all things work together for good." And though we cannot see the good in the situation presently, by calmly enduring, we recreate circumstances in such a way that they actually work for our benefit. So often, we ask questions of the I Ching because we think life is not being fair to us. We think it somehow should be different, whereas the great man simply accepts his fate, and by doing so puts himself on a firm footing for the future. The very fact that when we understand this and "bear shame," (line three) we by this very attitude "mark a turn for the better. "Through thorny ways, leads to a joyous end."

Update on the End of August

2011-08-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

I misunderstood Mitch Battros when he was talking about the end of August. He was not talking about the beginning of calamities, but a ten day window during the last ten days of August when there would be some disasters. Of course, we have already seen some of this with hurricane Irene and the significant damage it did. As sad as this is it can also be said it could have been much worse. Mitch is saying he doesn't think this is the end of it, however. He thinks, emphasis THINKS, there could be another significant event during this time frame. The huge displacement of water could create one large or a series of small earthquakes in the New England area. There has already been one significant one on the east coast. We will see whether there will be or not. But so that people will be aware, there is another significant tropical wave coming across the Atlantic. There is a good chance it will turn northward and miss the East Coast this time, but it may not. It is expected to arrive, if it does not turn North, in about ten days, maybe nine now. It may be a good idea to visualize this thing turning north as so many people could be effected. But we will see what our karma is. Forewarned is preparation. I wish the best for everybody.

Gene

Football Season Starts Again

2011-08-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for this madness even though technically I am not a sports fan. However, I do love to root for the home team. In the NFL therefore I root for the Tampa Bay Bucanneers and in college I root for my home town school, Boise State University. I went there off and on for several years. So I do watch those games even if other teams bore me. I hope to keep it in perspective in that the prime directive is my own spiritual growth, which I am so desperately in need of. But one or two days out of the week I can watch a game or two; especially since I have no wife to alienate as soon as I turn on the TV. This is a great time of year for me as I truly look forward to the season, although, I am well aware of the winter that is coming. Boise State plays Georgia at 8 pm eastern on Saturday Sept 3. As much as I would like to see a play off system in college football, I love the controversy that swirls every year when teams are picked for their respective positions by an AP pole and by the BCS rating system. Since not every team plays every other team the country argues for the rest of the year about who really should be the number one team and it is fun. Boise State plays into that well since they are kind of new to the big leagues, and some people just can't believe they should be ranked as high as they are. But this season should be a good season. Nevertheless, I will try to stay focused on the subject at hand; the I Ching, and spiritual growth and development.

Gene

Feeling Isolated Part Two

2011-08-28T08:50:00.002-07:00

Hexagram forty five line six also depicts a time when we can feel isolated. The commentary says, "It may happen that an individual would like to ally himself with another, but his good intentions are misunderstood." Most of us have probably felt that way once in a while. the text goes on to say that signing and lamenting may solve the problem. This appears to me to be inadequate however, as is in the English translation. There must be more than this in the original language that would give us some clues as to other possibilities in this scenario. In some cases though it might be true that "sorrow and lamenting" would have a relieving affect if it makes the other person realize the problem truly was due to a misunderstanding. I doubt however, that this would ever be possible in personal relationships, but may be possible in business relationships. Hexagram three gives us a little information on how to penetrate into the social sphere (since that too is a "difficult beginning"). The commentary in book three says, "To rule by serving is the secret of success." In other words, when we feel isolated, when we seem to not be able to break into the group, when we feel like an outsider, the requisite action is that of finding a way to service the group. We must find a way in which we can be of value. When we can be of service, we can fulfill our wishes, and break into a closed group.

Line five of hexagram three, however, speaks of a time when even the ruler, (who rules by serving, has limited influence. When the first and the fifth line move, the two rulers of the hexagram, then hexagram two is depicted, in which it is necessary to be very receptive to our surroundings. We must follow, we cannot lead. But who do we follow, when we ourselves are leaders? When our influence is limited we must follow the guidance of the superior man, or the Sage, our Higher Selves, which speaks to us through the I Ching. We must learn its principles and its precepts.Only then will we truly be qualified to influence others. We can only influence others as much as we can be influenced ourselves. We can only expect as leaders for people to follow us in as much as we ourselves are willing to follow our own leaders. We must make ourselves receptive to the "will of heaven."

It may be that for the time our influence is limited, and we can only keep our rivals in check with friendly persuasion (hexagram nine) But it we truly keep to our spiritual source, the time is "bound to come, sooner or later, when the difficulties will be resolved and all will go well." (See hexagram fifty line two.) When we understand this principle, which is also mentioned by Jesus when he said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you," then we attain peace of mind, "the peace that passes all understanding," because we understand this principle, that we can "go out and meet our destiny" without fear or anxiety knowing that all is well in the spiritual realm; that our lives are totally guided, and often the thing that seemed the worst for us turned out for the best because we just let go and let it happen.

2011-08-28T08:50:00.001-07:00

Feeling Isolated

2011-08-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

There comes times in most people's lives when for one reason or another we feel isolated. This might happen for a while after we move to a new location but sometimes things change and old friends are gone and new friends seem scarce. Isolation can be a very hard garden to hoe. Sometimes we may be isolated because people have perceived us in a bad light, or misunderstood us in some way. it is incumbent upon all of us to try our best to see the best in everyone around us. Some people can be hard to deal with, but it will help if we see the good side of them.

The commentary on hexagram eight tells us that if we come to a group too late we might find the doors closed. The people in the group already know each other and feel comfortable with each other and new comers understandably can not be accorded the same luxury. We just don't know the new person.

Hexagrams thirty eight and forty five can also give us hints about how to deal with the feeling of isolation. The commentary on line two of hexagram thirty eight says, "As a result of misunderstandings, it has become impossible for people who by nature belong together to meet in the correct way." The key here is that the people by nature belong to each other's social group. The commentary goes on to say that perhaps a chance meeting will resolve the difficulty. The key is that if they belong together, they will meet, and the problem will be resolved, even though seemingly by accident. Hexagram forty five line two's commentary says, "There are secret forces at work, bringing together those who belong together." I hope that people do not take this lightly. There really are secret forces at work in the universe. There is a "universal subconscious mind," possibly called God, that draws together those who belong together. This is because our lives have a destiny and a plan. Things do not happen by accident. There are no coincidences. There is a divine plan. We see this as well in hexagram sixty one which I have brought up over and over again. If we understand that our lives are guided. If we understand that there is a secret plan, and that we need not strive to attain it, we greatly increase our peace of mind and can relax to a much greater extent. Then life becomes more cheerful and less fearful. We can "let go and let God..."

Hexagram thirty eight line four also has a few words to say of this. "Isolated through opposition, one meets a like minded man, with whom one can associate in good faith." As long as we stand in "good faith" with our fellow man, our destined meetings, whether accidental or not, will be accomplished. Once again, knowing this, there is no need for fear or anxiety as it is all planned out for us. The person we meet is a "like-minded man. In other words, the accidental meeting brings us to someone with whom we have an inner affinity. Hexagram forty five line three carries on this theme with a little bit of a twist. The line says, "Gathering together amid sighs. Our search for friendship, for business relationships, or for meaningful relationships seems fruitless. What to do? Once again we have to let go and just go with the flow. We like someone but they don't like us. We fret,and feel bad about ourselves, but we don't have to, because "there are secret forces at work." Therefore we can just relax. The commentary says that when we are locked out of a group that one possible opportunity to break in is by aligning ourselves with the center of the group. In order to do that it is often important to have a skill that the group needs, or make ourselves useful in some way. Throwing ourselves away in an undignified manner will not work. Neither will throwing ourselves at some one in a subservient manner. They key is to be valuable in some way.

But there is another idea implicit here that can also help us. We ourselves have a group of personalities within us that often fight each other and get in each other's way. We are not an integrated individual, but different parts of us battle each other. In that case we much reach our center. We must reach that deepest part of us that knows and that can unite the opposing forces. Only then can we integrate ourselves within our being. In the same way, only when we can integrate ourselves within our society, and become a fully functioning part of the unit do we really find success in our friendships, business relations and personal relations.

What Does 2012 Mean?

2011-08-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

I just heard a most fascinating discussion of the meaning of the Mayan Calendar and 2012 on coasttocoastam.com. U strongly recommend it, but it does oost for a membership. There are monthly, quarterly, semiannual and annual plans available. The monthly plan I think is %6.95. I recommend this particular program. It is about four hours long, the first hour is on a different subject however. But this show is excellent. The guest is David Wilcock, and his work is fascinating. This is not a typical end of the world discussion, It is not about cataclysm. The thing that is important is that it is the end of an age, and there are unbelievable changes coming about, very positive ones indeed. That does not mean there will not be cataclysms along the way. We are already starting to see those. They will not destroy the earth, however. There is a contingency on the earth that is going to fight this in every way possible, because they are absolutely dedicated to making sure mankind never finds out the truth, and they will try to kill as many as they can, but ultimately they will fail. (This last sentence does not reflect David's statements, they are my own.) Part of these changes will be technological, and part will be in the mind. We are going to start finding out how powerful we really are, and our technology will prove unbelievable by today's standards. As much as some will try to stop us from having this, it will come about. This information on the program is invaluable. If you can, listen to it. Coast to Coast is also on the air in many localities late at night, but you can not get archives that way, only live radio. They have many guests, some are quite interesting, some not so much, at least not to me, they all have something of interest however. You might want to find out when it plays in your area, listen up for the ones that are interesting to you, but the one last night was excellent.

Dignity in Relationships Part Two

2011-08-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

In followup to the previous message, where we discussed the commentary on hexagram sixty two may it be added that in exhibiting modesty we must make sure that it is not just empty form. The commentary says, "...however, if a man is not to throw himself away, it is important they they should not become empty form and subservience but be combined with a correct dignity in personal behavior." In hexagram fifteen we find that we must be modest even about our modesty. In other words, it can be carried too far. Modesty must come out of a good self image, not a poor one. And believe me men, more mature women can tell the difference and they can tell it quickly. It is as if they have a social radar not understood by men. It is also said they can read body language ten times better than men. We have a lot to learn from women. (There are things they can learn from us too, by the way.)

Men, many of you have heard from women, "You are too much like big brother." What are women really trying to say. Well, often they are saying you don't have that charisma or charm that is display by men who go out and get what they want. It often means, "you are too nice." This is a mystery to men because they think, "how can you be too nice." Well that niceness comes out of a lack of dignity in the way you display your modesty. It is empty form. It doesn't seem so to us men, but remember, women see things differently than men do and they are very socially aware. Their awareness comes from a different perspective on social relationships than we have. Niceness must come from strength, not from weakness. The trouble is we men do not often see ourselves as we really are, so we do not know how we are coming across, and we come across different to men than we do to women.

The opposite can be true too, however, we can become overly arrogant, and this will appeal to some women, but not the more mature women. It is a fine line, and most of us men do not know where that line lies, and it can be different with different women. The ultimate key is a good self image residing in the subconscious mind. But how do we know what is in the subconscious? Well, that is why we read and study the I Ching. To know ourselves, because most of us do not, and if we think we do we are fooling ourselves. The subconscious is a deep well (hexagram forty eight), and if we do not draw from it we remain blind to who we really are. Thus the ancient mystics all said, "(man, know thyself."

A Correct Dignity in Relationships

2011-08-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Many men who at one time were not successful in meeting women, then figured out the strategy and became successful have said that in realizing what it took, that women must be nuts. And it does seem that way at first glance because men and women view relationships from a personal perspective. I won't go into this very deeply. I, at my age, do not have any significant interaction with women. I am too old, and find that the present socio political climate leaves both men and women in significant danger when trying to meet and attract the opposite sex. I just don't have the stomach for it. That being said, I will say what some of the experts have been trying to say lately, (I am not qualified to say anything on my own) that women tend to want it to "just happen." As if it were an act of God, or an act of serendipity. Because of that, they are very wary of men who have pick up lines, or appear to have a polished approach that they likely use on most of the women they meet. Therefore, men who smile a lot, who appear to be too friendly can be a major turn off to women. Ironically, when a woman is interested in a man, she often acts in exactly the same way that if a man approached her she would run. She is friendly, flirtatious, and smiles. One more thing I might say before we move on is that what men and women consciously think they are interested in in a mate is totally different than what they are subconsciously looking for. Therefore, if someone says something about how a man or a woman acts, there can be a violent reaction because consciously we do not think we are that way, but subconsciously we are, which creates a whole slew of problems.

Now, let's take a look at hexagram sixty two and something about personal behavior. The commentary says, "Exceptional modesty and conscientiousness are sure to be rewarded with success; however, if a man is not to throw himself away, it is important that they should not become empty form and subservience but be combined with a correct dignity in personal behavior. This information can help us if we apply it correctly in our lives but the problem is, what constitutes correct dignity? How we interpret that tells us a lot about how we perceive the opposite sex. Women seem to be attracted at least subconsciously to men who are strong and have manly traits. They may not consciously look for that. But since they do, a problem arises. What constitutes strength? We are not talking about physical strength, but a way of being. So much depends on the maturity of the people being attracted. A less mature woman might have a subconscious image of a criminal being strong. He has swagger, he doesn't fear the law, so, even if she consciously hates him, there is a strange fatal attraction. A more mature woman might see through this. One thing I might interject before I go on with this is that often what women see as "confidence" is what men see as arrogance. Our total social view is entirely different. So men complain that it seems that only total jerks are successful with women. Women say, it isn't because they are jerks, it is because they have a backbone. But do they? It may appear that way, and sometimes it might be that way, but often it is not, and jerkiness comes out of weakness, not strength. It is one thing to be nice because you are weak, and another to be nice because you are strong. Truly mature women can see the difference, less mature women cannot. The kind of person mentioned in the commentary in hexagram sixty two is likely to attract a more mature person, not a less mature.

The desire that women seem to have, and there are probably some women who wouldn't agree with this, and some who wouldn't consciously but would subconsciously, or vice versa, for serendipity seems to align with hexagram thirty eight line two. The commentary says, "This being so, an accidental meeting under informal circumstances may serve the purpose." As has been said so many times before, conscious intent can spoil the party. In otherwords, as in hexagram twenty five line two we must "not count on the harvest while plowing." If it happens it happens, and if it doesn't, it doesn't. And again, line two in hexagram thirty eight says, "an accidental meeting under informal circumstances may serve the purpose, providing there is an inner affinity between them." If there is an inner affinity between two people, they are likely to meet somehow. Hexagram forty five line two's commentary says, "We should make no arbitrary choice of the way, (Do not count on the harvest while plowing) There are secret forces at work, drawing together those who belong together, We must yield to this attraction, then we make no mistakes."

Men do not understand women. Men tend to try to "make" things work. They try to make things happen, knowing if they don't "make" it happen, it never happens. In some respects this is true. In other respects it is not. All we can do is set our intentions, and allow the universe to "bring those together who belong together." There is something to be said for "the crane who calls in the shade." Subconsciously she brings her own together with her. Both men and women should learn to understand the other's point of view when it comes to social interactions. It will greatly increase harmony and understanding on the planet, and also make us more prosperous and content.

Another video

2011-08-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

This one is lengthy. It is about the psychiatric profession. It is something people need to consider though. I will make no comments about it positive or negative. If anyone wants to watch it, here is the address.

http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/bad-medicine/the-marketing-of-madness-2009full-length-documentary.html

Binary Star Systems

2011-08-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

The following video relates the latest scientific knowledge about binary star systems and now it might be an alternate explanation of the precession of the equinoxes. It also ties in with the idea of great ages, or yugas, or whatever you might call them. I find it fascinating. Hopefully the video will remain available indefinitely. If you wish to watch:

http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/astronomy/lost-star-of-myth-and-time-is-our-sunin-a-binary-orbit.html

Hexagram Sixty Four Line Two

2011-08-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

In light of all that we have been discussing, that of developing a deeper and more spiritual mindset that will create unity with our own higher selves and with others, the commentary on line two says, "An individual must develop within himself the strength that will enable him to go forward." The only way to do this is to study the sayings of the Sages of the past, study the I Ching, study all the sacred scriptures, and find within them the nuggets of truth that enrich our lives and make us better persons. The commentary goes on to say, "He must have a vehicle, as it were, to affect the crossing." The vehicle which will help us cross the great waters in the I Ching itself, or any holy book." It is only by taking hold, and discovering the secret truths within it that we improve ourselves, and become a Sage. In this way we "set our life in order and examine ourselves" (hexagram fifty one, the image). And the image of hexagram twenty six says, "Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby." How much time do we really spend, with the TV off, the radio off, in relative silence, or even strict silence, and contemplate what we have read in the book of changes, or the particular sacred book of our choosing? How much time do we spend in quiet meditation, making our minds receptive to the council of the universe? If we do not do these things we create more disorder and disharmony in our lives, and it doesn't matter how many times we ask about our relationships or our career we get no where. We must know the source. We must be receptive to the source, and we must "practice chariot driving daily." We need to allow ourselves to be "guided by the forester" in hexagram three. We can not do it alone. If we think so we only deceive ourselves, and we will find ourselves in a "gloomy valley." Our minds will become more and more disoriented, until we find ourselves sick and alone, and desperate. We need to make use of the vehicle that will lead us across the waters, (see the Tarot card six of swords for a meditation on crossing the water). Then it will be said of us, that "we do not fall asleep and lose sight of the goal. We are strong and steadfast in our resolve."

More on Hexagram Sixty Four

2011-08-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

It is interesting, at least to me, that the commentary on hexagram sixty four is somewhat similar to the commentary in hexagram three. Sixty three's commentary says, "The conditions are difficult, The task is great and full of responsibility. It is nothing less than leading the world out of confusion and back to order." The commentary in three says, "Times of growth are beset with difficulties. They resemble a first birth. But these difficulties arise from the the very profusion of all that is struggling to take form." The reason for these similarities is that the book of changes is never completed. The lessons we are to learn from it are never completed. When we have gone through each hexagram and learn the lessons from that hexagram, we start over again on a higher level of understanding. This is a never ending process. This is a hard concept for us in the west to swallow. We tend to go to school, then to college, then maybe reach for a master's or even a doctor's degree, but then we think we are done. We think we have it all. Actually learning never begins until the formalities of a classroom and passed beyond. Then we get the real learning, the real life learning. That is a truer form of learning. In any true martial art, in any true form of qigong, in any true spiritual disciple, there is never an end of the levels in which we can learn. It is true that everything is based on the first level. Therefore, the very first lesson, that the dragon is hidden, in hexagram one line one, is true at all times and in all situations within the context with which the lesson is to be received. We are always on that first level. We must remember at all times that there truly is a "hidden dragon." And that dragon will burn us if we do not take the proper steps.

In the second lesson the dragon always "appears in the field." We must understand this, that the dragon is there. Whenever we first prepare, on any lesson, on any level, that the dragon is going to appear in the field. The field is the space part of the space time continuum, and the dragon is the fohatic energy that impregnates that space. I know these just seem like words without any meaning. But as we go deeper into the book we come to understand the meaning of those words. Without space there can be no time. Without the field there can be no dragon. Without yin there can be no yang. He who truly understands this could potentially rule the world. The commentary says, "Such a man is destined to gain great influence and to set the world in order." Since we see no meaning in these words we tend to pass them over, and find some way they can apply in a divination, but they never seem to apply to us. Yet we are the focus in every way in the book of changes. The Sage is the speaker who speaks to us. When the Sage speaks to us one way, then the Sage becomes "The great man who makes his appearance in his chosen field of activity. When we have learned our lessons fairly well, then the Sage is telling us that we ourselves are making our appearance. Our chosen field of activity is our own spiritual development. When we concern ourselves with this we imitate the Sage. Thus the image of hexagram forty two says, "When he sees good, (sees the Sage, hexagrams nineteen and twenty) he imitates it; If he has faults, he rids himself of them."

There is an ultimate goal here, that is the goal of all mankind, though most of us do not know it and therefore do not work toward it. The commentary on hexagram sixty four again tells us of the goal. "The task is great and full of responsibility. It is nothing less than that of leading the world out of confusion back to order. But it is a task that promises success. because there is a goal that can unite the forces now tending in different directions." And here is the ultimate goal of all humanity, that of bringing order out of confusion. There is an element on the earth now that is working to create confusion in order to bring order, their order, out of chaos. These people will not stop at anything to gain complete control over humanity. This is not what I am talking about. I am talking about first bringing order in our own lives, When we bring order into our own lives we bring order into our world and then into the entire cosmos. This is the highest use of the I Ching. To create unity within ourselves, within our relationships, and within society. When we do this, society is effective, and as the commentary on hexagram fifty line three says, "If he would only see to it that he is possessed of something spiritual, the time will come, sooner or later, when the difficulties will be resolved, and all will go well."

A Short Note on Hexagrams Sixty Three and Sixty Four

2011-08-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Just as hexagrams one and two are prototypes for all the hexagrams that follow, so too are hexagrams sixty three and sixty four and they give us an overview of all that is given previously. In that sense they are outside the main body of the book of the I Ching. As such the story really begins with hexagram three (difficult beginnings) and ends with hexagram sixty two (Preponderance of the Small). In contradistinction to hexagrams one and two which have only yang lines and only yin lines respectively, hexagrams sixty three and sixty four have an equal amount of yin and yang lines and they all relate to each other. The only difference between the two is that in hexagram sixty three all the lines are in their proper place while in hexagram sixty four none of the lines are in their positions of correspondence. It would seem thusly that hexagram sixty three would be very favorable while hexagram sixty four would not; but that is not the case. The reason for that is is based on the second law of thermodynamics which says that "all things left to themselves will deteriorate." This however is only half the law. If it were not, evolution as taught in our science classes would be totally impossible. (As it is they continue stubbornly to teach variations of the evolutionary theory in schools as fact which in reality are totally indefensible based on the latest scientific date. That is not to say there is no evolution - but that is a subject of a different matter.) The flip side of the second law of thermodynamics is that when things have completely deteriorated, they take on the form of energy, and energy, being conscious, regroups itself into a higher form of matter that is better able to handle the stress that created the original deterioration. This is a process that goes on eternally.

So, in hexagram sixty three we have a condition of perfection that cannot last. Line four says, "The finest clothes turn to rags. Be careful all day long." Here, thousands of years ago in this book the second law of thermodynamics was already delineated, and we think we are so smart today! But since in hexagram sixty four, even though non of the lines are in their correct places, they do relate to each other, and therefore are able to reconnect, and create new balance and harmony. Therefore hexagrams sixty three and sixty four together do have some affinity with hexagram three,"Difficult Beginnings."

The crux of the situation for these two hexagrams together is that there is the need for the careful delineation of things. The commentary on the image of hexagram sixty four says, "If we wish to achieve an effect, we must first investigate the nature of the forces in question and ascertain their proper place." It is possible for this to be done in hexagram sixty four because all of the lines relate. The problem with all commentary and all written treatises on the Book of Changes is that we don't know how to do that. And that is why there is such a need to study the book and "listen to the master" rather than just trying to divine our relationships and our careers.

From the Taoist position, the need to "investigate the forces in question and ascertain their proper place" refers more to the integration of energy within the human body and develop a right balance of yin and yang which keeps the body ageless and in perfect health. Unfortunately, the very few people who understand this in the modern age are not talking about it, and you can't expect them to as the vast population of people on earth do not have the necessary moral integrity to effect such a change in their bodies, and even if they could, they could become very dangerous to society. So such things are best left secret. From the Confucian point of view, the differentiation and ascertaining relate more to the nature of society and how ruler and subject, father and son, mother and daughter, and man and wife should interact with each other. Hexagram thirty seven deals with this very directly. However, the societal viewpoint proclaimed in hexagram thirty seven is not very popular, at least in western society due to views of "equal rights" between men and women. Therefore we will not get into that aspect too much either.

We can, however, look at it this way. Line two of hexagram thirty seven says, "She should not follow her whims. She must attend within to the food." If we substitute the term yin for she, which is certainly permissible in understanding the I Ching, we have something that is a little more along taoist lines of though, and shows that yin energy should be within. Therefore, the inside of a body is considered yin, and the outside yang. If yin energy just follows its "whims" and goes where it pleases, the inner organs do not get fed the proper energy and the integrated energy needed to keep the organs healthy. Yin and yang must interact with each other in the proper way. If they do not, we have the problem discussed in the sixth line of each of the first two hexagrams where in one it says,"Arrogant dragon wll have cause to repent." and in hexagram two it says, "Dragons fight in the meadows." Remember that in the commentary on hexagram two it says, "But strictly speaking there is no real dualism here, because there is a clearly defined hierarchical relationship between the two principles." The key here, in terms of our relationships, in terms of our interactions with employees and employers, in terms of our interactions with authority figures, is to figure out the right relationship between these two energies, and be able to integrate them into their proper places where they can harmonize with each other. Only then do we gain true wisdom. Only then do we have the chance of becoming a "Chuang Tzu." But the point of integration is not easy to ascertain, and take years and years of study. I as well as everyone else am on a quest to understand the proper integration of these two energies, in order to make my and our lives work, and to be happy and productive in a society full of individuals with their own personal energies. This is the ultimate goal. It is described in hexagram sixty four. (Here the book comes to a close, only to find that at the end of the road is a new beginning, and "we will come to the place where we started, and know it for the first time.") The image says, "Thus the superior man is careful In the differentiation of things, So that each finds its place."

The Last Quarter of This Year

2011-08-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

My best sources,who have been very accurate in the past, and there are several of them, are telling me that the end of August marks the beginning of very serious trouble on this planet. This involves not only the economy, including the stock market, but the weather, and war. Comet Elenin is expected to have its closest approach to the earth around Sept 11th, and some people think it may be the "blue star" predicted by the Hopis. Whether it is or not, it does seem to portend some very serious stuff. My mind has been caught up in contemplation of this for a few days, and I can't do anything else. Sun spot activity is heating up,and is going to get serious. This is scientific, it is not some prophecy. There have been a few coronal mass ejections lately, that if directed straight at earth would literally burn the ground where it hit. I recommend to everyone that they do not take this prediction lightly. I mean the end of August is the start, not the high point, but we are coming close to some really serious calamities. I just ask everyone to prepare as best they can, and pay attention to what is going on in the news and elsewhere.

Hexagram Fifty Lines Two and Five

2011-08-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

When lines two and five of hexagram fifty change, the resulting hexagram is thirty three. At first glance there seems to be no relationship in themes between these two hexagrams, and yet there is in each at least one thread that corresponds. The second line in hexagram fifty retreats from those who are envious of him. They are envious of him because of his special relationship with the ruler in line five. Since the ruler protects line two however, those who wish him or her harm are not able to perpetrate their acts of disharmony upon him or her. The second line protects him or her self by remaining in the company of those who are close to him or her. The line says, "There is food in the Ting." Food is shared only with those who are close to us. After transformation, and the disarming of "the huns in the northern borderland, the territory won at such bitter cost," (hexagram sixty three line three and sixty four line four) we are able to return home (hexagram twenty four and thirty seven) to be with our families. As such we retreat from the outside world.

But the second line in thirty three has one person he does not retreat from. The second line does not retreat from the ruler in the fifth. The line says, "No one can tear him loose." We must have that kind of an attitude at one level in regards to maintaining that connection with the universal spiritual force. We must maintain that attitude in relationship to the Sage, the I Ching, and demand of it its messages to us, (in a respectful manner of course) not allowing any external agent, (those who are envious of us) from disrupting our communication with the I Ching (the food in the ting). In the same way in our relationships we must hold tight to those who love us and maintain in every way possible a good relationship to them. As it says in hexagram thirty seven, line five, "As a king he approaches his family." Those we share food with, the food in the ting, are those we should foster special relationships with and not let them go. They are of utmost importance to us. The commentary on live five in hexagram fifty says, "A man who is modest and approachable in nature." Naturally we are approachable in nature to our family. They are of the utmost importance to us and come before everything. Husband and wife much treat each other that way, so too an employee and employer, and so too our relationship to the sage, who feeds us spiritually from the I Ching. Notice that the fifth line of fifty is noted as holding on to something, just as the second line of hexagram thirty three. The fifth line of thirty three retreats however, in all friendliness just as the second line of fifty retreats from those who are not of his family, not out of anger, but simply because he knows those who are his own and those who are not. Once transformation has been completed in our lives, we know who we belong to and who we do not. We retreat from the latter, and cling to the former.