In response to a recent question.

Someone asked me recently about a post done long ago about the marrying maiden. I would have to go back a ways to look this up. So I will just post here...

By the way, I got a message that my password was changed last week, and I don't remember doing that. I do not see any suspicious activity on here at this point of time however.

As far as the question about the "Marrying Maiden," any references, well, I normally do not put other people's material out here. If I do, such as in the case of the Binary Soul Doctrine, I do, unless I forgot, suggest where to look. In that case, see books by Peter Novak. Otherwise, the information out here does not come from outward sources, but rather an inner meditation, and an inner knowing. The material comes specifically from me, and my subconscious, my inner knowing.

There is a depth of the mind that most people in a given lifetime, do not know of, are not aware of, and is unreachable. It is only when the mind has developed beyond a certain point that inner truths can be accessed. That being said, it is also true that over my lifetime I have read innumerable books. I have delved into inner truths to a point most people cannot image. Not that other people do not have the capability, they just have not tapped into it at this point in time. There are many, many people who have an unimaginable grasp of 'truth.' They, as well as others, have researched and researched, and through the process have intuited many things that they are able to pass onto mankind.

As a rule, I do not do research in the sense of looking up sources and then comparing those sources and coming up with conclusion. I do research, but do not keep track of those resources. Over the years I come to understand things intuitively and write them for those who are ready. Those who are not are not likely to come to this site, and if they do they are not likely to stay. My knowledge is what I have and everyone else's knowledge is based on the research and intuitions that they have had. We are all different, and in recognizing those differences, and accepting them, we can gain every more understanding on a daily basis. Hopefully we can all share and learn.

Duality Versus Unity

In sacred scriptures and in much ancient mythologies a theme runs through everything. And that theme is the integration of opposites.

In the I Ching we see it in various ways. primarily we see it in the interaction between hexagrams one and two. These two themes express the duality that we see all around us, yet, in their own way, reveal the path toward unity. A very wise man once said, "The putting together of opposites leads to the fortunate finding of things not looked for." But that only happens when one can integrate the two equal but opposite sides. We do see this in another way too though it is not so obvious. There are two canons to the I Ching, the first being hexagrams one through thirty, and the second being thirty one through sixty four. We also see it in the integration of each odd numbered hexagram with the following even numbered hexagram. (See Steven Karcher's work on this.) We could go on and on about this.

In Biblical terms we can see the same integration of opposites by comparing the Old Testament with the new. In the Old Testament God is an angry and jealous God who goes around killing all his enemies and pursuing justice. In the New Testament, God is a God of love who never judges anybody and is only love. (This is an oversimplification but suits us well enough for our purposes here.) The key is to integrate the opposites. And that is what we have to do.

So we have to recognize the need to put opposites together to create a unified whole. One Gospel was not included in the official Canon of the Church because it is very esoteric and very, very mystical. This does not sit well with a literal oriented Church which wants a straight forward doctrine. So it was thrown out. That Gospel is the Gospel of Thomas. It is a collection of sayings and does not talk at all about whether Jesus is God, or doctrine, about the birth and life of Jesus, nor his death or resurrection. It probably predates the orthodox Gospels. So why is it important? It speaks over and over again, in almost every verse, about the need to integrate the opposites into a single, united whole. But how do you do that? That is the key to everything.

In putting together the opposites into an integrated whole, one becomes a fully realized person, and one thing that happens is that the conscious mind and the subconscious are united and work together as a whole. This is the esoteric meaning of the story of the Marriage at Cana.

The Gospel of Thomas starts out with an interesting and provocative statement. "Whoever discovers the meaning of these sayings, (the sayings of Jesus as recorded in this Gospel) will not taste death."  Well, we all know that everybody dies. So what can this possibly mean? There is a curious verse in the Book of Revelations that says, "...will not be hurt of the second death." So what is the second death? The second death, I would submit, is the death after death when soul and spirit are separated. As Jesus said, "For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" The second death is the separation of soul and spirit. Much could be said about this, books have been written. But here, just a little bit about this concept. Because it is found in all major religions, including Daoism, as well as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity.

This is extremely significant, and well worth our attention.

Qualifications for using the I Ching

A lot of people take up the I Ching thinking they are going to get simple answers to life's perplexing questions regarding relationships or what have you. Eventually they are going to be disappointed because the I Ching is not a cure all, so to speak. It responds to us and who we are.


We often think we grow up and go to college and we get the highest level education and then we tackle the world, and that is all there is to it. We finish college and we know it all, we are mature, and it is just a matter of making money. All fine and good up to a point. But anyone who thinks they are getting a high level education by going to college is living in a dream world. Sure, we learn a lot of facts and figures that will help us meet the world and make a living, but that is it. It never occurs to us that there is more.

But there 'is' more. Much more. And if we don't recognize it we stay stuck in an emotional rut and never truly mature. We need more than that to become well rounded citizens and mature adults. And to consult the I Ching to find out if a certain relationship will work is extremely naive. We need to learn about ourselves and why 'we' don't work. Why we don't work in our day to day lives, in our interactions with others, and we need to come to terms with how immature we are.

We make a serious, grave error, when we think we are now adults and have it all under control. Life itself is a teaching process, and we grow regardless, but we would grow faster if we would give up our arrogance, realize that we don't know, and would accept the I Ching as a teacher, and not an automatic answer machine. I cannot make this point strongly enough. We need to ask the I Ching on a regular basis about ourselves, and not about others, or relationships, or businesses. Not that we can't get some information that way, but it is not the highest and best way.

The first step is to calm the mind, and come to understand that no matter what the outer world is saying to us, it is okay. That we are okay. That the outer world can only affect us outwardly, and even then only according to our own inner mind set. The universe reacts to our thoughts, and responds to us accordingly. This is the real problem in relationships and in business ventures. It is the real problem in anything that happens to us in life. In the image of one of the hexagrams, I don't have time to look it up, it says something to the effect, "The superior man finds the problem within himself." Enough said for now.

Binary Soul Doctrine

On my front page I have listed a website called, "divisiontheory.com" I used to be able, under a previous email address, to interact in email with a group of people who were into the division theory, or binary soul doctrine. Three books were written by Peter Novak, and I recommend all three of them, especially the one on the "Gospel of Thomas." Mr Novak gave up his website a few years back as I understand it, due to what he considered the lateness of the hour, and the near arrival of the great tribulation, quit promoting this work. His books are still available though. I believe you can find them on Amazon.com. This was very disappointing. I have at times considered buying the website, but do not feel I am necessarily in a position to do so. The material was very informative. This was not about the I Ching, however, it did connect religions across the world including Taoism, and what the had to say about the soul and the spirit.

Yes, two distinct entities, both within one man, And these entities often are in conflict with one another. In other words, the conscious, and subconscious are often in conflict with each other. And as long as they are in conflict, at death, the soul and the spirit will separate, the soul being feelings, and emotions, more subconscious. The soul at death remembers who it is, but due to the loss of the spirit, no longer has reasoning power. Therefore it just dwells in its memories, feelings and emotions, which could be a heaven or a hell. Enough said about that. The spirit, the conscious mind, being disconnected from the soul, still has reasoning power, but no feeling, no emotion, and does not remember anything about its earthly life, since the soul only has memory. You may or may not find this silly. But it is something to contemplate, and more serious people, I think, will. By the way, this is coded into the Tao Teh Ching but not immediately obvious, unless one already has some advanced understanding of the Tao Teh Ching. It is a fascinating subject, and very, very important. There is much to be said about this in the Bhagavad Gita as well. Though it doesn't describe it in the exact same metaphor.

Hopefully next week I can do more I Ching. I just find it impossible to find the time for everything, and am going to have to work twenty hours a day, or let some stuff go. I can't get to it all. And as far as the I Ching goes, it is extremely difficult to decide what to write, as I do divinations to gain insight which involve the combinations of more than just one reading. Then I put the readings together to see how they work together to make a comprehensive whole. Since I am doing this on a regular basis, and so much info becomes apparent, it is very hard to decide what to write. But I was born to write, I doubt I have any other purpose in life that involves other people. Maybe I do, but we will see. Anyone, hope to have some good articles soon.

Confucianism or Daoism

Often there is talk of how people wish that we could get more Taoism in our translations of the I Ching and less of the Confucianism. They base this on the apparent morality signature of the Confucian model. This is a misunderstanding. Taoism and Confucianism are based on exactly the same principle, so that when we read the commentary on a given portion of the I Ching we are getting both the Taoist and the Confucianist model.

Now, that being said, it is my contention that Taoism goes much deeper, in a sense anyway. But that still does not take away the value of the Confucian model. The Wilhelm/Baynes interpretation of the I Ching has been accepted generally as a Confucianist model of interpretation, yet the W/B version is very, very, esoteric.

One way of looking at it is that within each chapter and each line, there are multiple levels of interpretation. This is more true in the original language, but is also true to a certain extent in English. For example, the third line of hexagram thirty two, a yang line, states that, 'He who does not give duration to his character meets with disgrace." Well, since most of us are totally into the divination aspect of the I Ching, the meaning of this line makes us scratch our head and wonder, "How can this possibly apply to my question?" Well, if you received that answer, it most likely does, but how? Often we are subject to moods and mood swings, which brings us up to another topic to be discussed later, about emotions, and the importance of them and the role they play in our lives. The viewpoint on the meaning and importance of emotions varies greatly between men and women, and causes a great deal of confusion and anxiety between partners of the two sexes. There is a reason for this and it relates to our view of reality, which is different. In the case of a divination, mood swings may be affecting our capacity to see the truth and the reality of the situation. Our mental attitude becomes different and that in itself changes the reality which we experience.

But if we want to look beyond the simple explanation in relation to our question presented to the I Ching, we begin to see the reading in a new context. The new context is not just specific to the question asked, but is specific to how we best live our lives in the present world. Therefore, the answer, in a sense, becomes more "taoist" in nature, and we perceive it as guidance for our lives as a whole, not just an answer to a specific question. The commentary says, "Inconsistency invariably leads to distressing experiences." But why? And this is key, absolutely key, if you want to understand the I Ching. Many will balk at this, and discount it, but the reason it consistently works that way because there are certain laws in the universe that are universal, and they always apply. It is our attitude that is getting us into trouble. Let go of the attitude, and the reality that we experience actually changes. This is hard to understand, it is hard to accept, but it is real, and many have proven in their own lives the veracity of these statements. And the rest of the commentary establishes this fact well, It says, "Such experiences are not merely effects produced by the external world, but logical consequences evoked BY HIS OWN NATURE!" (Capitals mine)

Think about this. This is crucial. This is of utmost crucial importance. We create our own reality!!! If that is true, then how should we live? If we get this line, or any line, in the I Ching, we must stop and think not only how the I Ching is replying in regards to the nature of our future, but how it is replying in relationship to our own thoughts, our own attitudes, and our own moral rectitude. This is reality. This is the ultimate reality. So to  ask simply to find out what our future is is simplistic. We must ask in order to find out how we are contributing to that future. If we are subject to moods, we are subject to whatever the universe brings us, which will BE in accordance with our moods.

And finally, let me ask, which is more correct here? The Confucian model or the Taoist? I would submit we do not know one from the other, because we have no framework for deciding? A moralistic viewpoint might be, it is wrong to do such and such. A Confucian and Taoist viewpoint might be, reality flows where attention goes. Are they two different things? Or in reality are they one and the same?

Waiting

It is only natural for humans to be anxiety stricken. At least at times. It is not so terrible for us to be that way, but it does work against us. When we become anxiety stricken we actually limit the work that the subconscious mind can do to produce the results we want. Hexagram five gives us some insights into the way the universe works. Of course, if you believe that we are here by a random accident, then nothing that is said henceforth will have any real meaning for you. But if you think otherwise, then the following message may make sense to you.

Hexagram five gives us some interesting feedback on how the universe works, and some of the metaphysical laws that apply. The hexagram carries the connotation both of 'waiting,' and 'nourishing.' But nourishing is something we do while we wait. And waiting is something we do while we nourish. Other hexagrams explain to us the importance of nourishing ourselves until we are ready to complete a project. Here we nourish ourselves while waiting to complete a project.

 But there is something novel here. There is something that is a key to how we handle our own destiny, and how we compose ourselves while we re waiting for our destiny to be revealed. Perhaps the simplest way of expressing that key is 'confidence.' But confidence has to be built on something. It cannot be just there without anything to back it up, otherwise we delude ourselves.

So where does this confidence come from? It comes from a plain and simple understanding of the nature and the laws of the universe and how they work. It is not a simple matter of blind confidence, but an inner knowing that we are in alignment with universal principles, and law. We know that we receive that which we greatly desire as long as it is in alignment with our destiny. The universe bends its will to ours when we bend our will to it. And when we do bend our will to the will of the universe, and follow the T'ao, so to speak, we find that "fate is favorable." When we are in alignment with the will of the universe we cannot be stopped, not because we are so great, but because the universe itself is. The T'ao is favorable. All great religions have taught this, but the idea has been glossed over and lost sight of through the centuries. The text says, "If we are sincere, we have light and success." Do we really believe this? /It also says we have "the inner certainty of reaching the goal." If this is true then we can be calm and relaxed regardless of our outer conditions. For we know that although the sea seems mighty rough at the moment, things are exactly as they need to be, and nothing can stop us from reaching the ultimate goal.

Hopefully more on this later.

In Keeping With the Theme...

In keeping with the theme of hexagram twenty one, we have talked about the hexagram as a description of punishment as well as keeping unity, but there is more to be said about this. In Carol Anthony's book she talks about being careful to not engage with those who have wronged us. I may disagree with this, depending on how well I have understood her. Because whenever we read someone else's words, we always interpret them according to the understanding that we have. And words and language are to a certain extent, inappropriate. At the very least they cannot communicate specifics but are always prone to be misinterpreted.

While Carol Anthony's statement is probably meant as just a way to protect ourselves, and to stay non committed, if taken in the wrong way, it could be interpreted as saying, "that as long as someone has wronged us, we have to punish them until the situation is corrected." No. And even Carol Anthony herself says that punishment should be left up to the Cosmos. My take on it is it is perfectly okay to engage with someone who has wronged us, as long as we do not become in anyway attached. The engagement in discussion can be neutral and in no way intended to hurt or to strike back at the other individual. Nor is it a way to strike back at others. It is only a means of allowing the universe and karma to guide the nature of the interaction and the relationship. For one of the first principles of life is that, "everything is okay just the way it is." We have been hurt and wronged, but that is okay just the way it is. And while that might seem like a trite and a belittling way of looking at things, it actually, if one looks deeply, becomes a very profound statement. And if everything is just the way it should be, why is there any need for 'hurt feelings" or any feeling of 'being maligned.' Here is where the power of detachment comes into play, We are not only detached from the person we have had the interaction with, (not in a negative way though) but we are also detached from any judgments that we might make from our experience. As Coronal Kurtz says in "Apocalypse now," It is our judgments that get us into trouble. We should not judge the situation we are in anymore than judging the person that put us in that situation. (Although, that in itself is a judgment.) If we judge a situation, or if we judge a person, we are not accepting things just the way they are. And guess what, when we take this attitude, not only does our own hurt go away, but we are able to interact with the other with detachment, (and yet love at the same time) and as such help them as well to no longer judge the situation and accept it for what it is. We do not indulge in or encourage others bad behavior, but at the same time we do not react to it with injured retort. That is what I think Carol Anthony is really trying to say as well, although in some statements it might appear otherwise. But then we all see through rose colored glasses, and we tend to 'judge' situations according to our own perceptions. When we judge, we are setting up ourselves as the highest authority, and are acting out of ego and pain, rather than "accepting things just the way they are."