Month: July 2017

Today: Contemplate what is needed – from the I Ching

Contemplate your relationships and what is needed in your sphere of influence. Then, be that unique, independent agent that offers solutions for the chaos and disunity at hand.  Know who you are, then apply yourself.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
“
Contemplation of the divine meaning underlying the workings of the universe gives to the man who is called upon to influence others the means of producing like effects. This requires that power of inner concentration which religious contemplation develops in great men strong in faith. It enables them to apprehend the mysterious and divine laws of life, and by means of profoundest inner concentration they give expression to these laws in their own persons. Thus a hidden spiritual power emanates from them, influencing and dominating others without their being aware of how it happens.
This describes a man who understands the secrets by which a kingdom can be made to flourish. Such a man must be given an authoritative position, in which he can exert influence. He should be, so to speak, a guest – that is, he should be honoured and allowed to act independently, and should not be used as a tool.
Heaven and earth are out of communion and all things are benumbed. What is above has no relation to what is below, and on earth confusion and disorder prevail. The dark power is within, the light power is without. Weakness is within, harshness without. Within are the inferior, and without are the superior. The way of inferior people is in ascent; the way of superior people is on the decline. But the superior people do not allow themselves to be turned from their principles. If the possibility of exerting influence is closed to them, they nevertheless remain faithful to their principles and withdraw into seclusion.   “

Meditation
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Today: I Ching

Today: If you ever want to know who you are” Yogi Bhajan

If you ever want to know who you are and where you are, just keep up. The world shall bow down to you.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

 

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Today: Be vigilant with recent successes – from the I Ching

Major victories have been won.  Steadfastness has prevailed.  The light of a superior personality shines forth anew and makes its influence felt among men who have faith in it and rally around it.  The new time has arrived, and with it good fortune.
Still, new challenges will be put forth by those who have suffered defeat.     Their goal will be, for their own purposes, to undermine and destabilize what has been accomplished.  The only recourse is to hold to your principles with grace and good manners.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
“The conditions are difficult. 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. At first, however, one must move warily, like an old fox walking over ice. The caution of a fox walking over ice is proverbial in China. His ears are constantly alert to the cracking of the ice, as he carefully and circumspectly searches out the safest spots. A young fox who as yet has not acquired this caution goes ahead boldly, and it may happen that he falls in and gets his tail wet when he is almost across the water. Then of course his effort has been all in vain. Accordingly, in times “before completion,” deliberation and caution are the prerequisites of success.
The victory has been won. The power of steadfastness has not been routed. Everything has gone well. All misgivings have been overcome. Success has justified the deed. The light of a superior personality shines forth anew and makes its influence felt among men who have faith in it and rally around it. The new time has arrived, and with it good fortune. And just as the sun shines forth in redoubled beauty after rain, or as a forest grows more freshly green from charred ruins after a fire, so the new era appears all the more glorious by contrast with the misery of the old.
The situation is really difficult. That which is strongest and that which is weakest are close together. The weak follows behind the strong and worries it. The strong, however, acquiesces and does not hurt the weak, because the contact is in good humor and harmless.
In terms of a human situation, one is handling wild, intractable people. In such a case one’s purpose will be achieved if one behaves with decorum. Pleasant manners succeed even with irritable people.  “

Meditation
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Today: I Ching

Today: Your mind must be developed, artistic, and self-controlled” Yogi Bhajan

“Your mind must be developed, artistic, and self-controlled. It must gain a neutrality that lets you encounter and enjoy the constant change that is life.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

 

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Today: Where there is an opening, be prepared to engage – from the I Ching

Don’t waste your prana worrying about the future.  Wait to see the promise of generations of commitment and devotion fulfilled.  However, there is a real danger of everything coming apart.  Where there is an opening, be prepared to engage without hesitation in resolute and persevering action to preserve, and be in harmony with,  all that has gone before that nourishes us, and promises to do so going forward.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
“WAITING is not mere empty hoping. It has the inner certainty of reaching the goal. Such certainty alone gives that light which leads to success. This leads to the perseverance that brings good fortune and bestows power to cross the great water. One is faced with a danger that has to be overcome. Weakness and impatience can do nothing. Only a strong man can stand up to his fate, for his inner security enables him to endure to the end. This strength shows itself in uncompromising truthfulness [with himself]. 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 recognised. This recognition must be followed by resolute and persevering action. For only the man who goes to meet his fate resolutely is equipped to deal with it adequately. Then he will be able to cross the great water – that is to say, he will be capable of making the necessary decision and of surmounting the danger.
THE DANGER is not yet close. One is still waiting on the open plain. Conditions are still simple, yet there is a feeling of something impending. One must continue to lead a regular life as long as possible. Only in this way does one guard against a premature waste of strength, keep free of blame and error that would become a source of weakness later on.
Political structures change, as do nations, but the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same-this cannot be changed. Life is also inexhaustible. It grows neither less nor more; it exists for one and for all. The generations come and go, and all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance.
However, there are two prerequisites for a satisfactory political or social organisation of mankind. We must go down to the very foundations of life. For any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made. Carelessness-by which the jug is broken-is also disastrous. If for instance the military defence of a state is carried to such excess that it provokes wars by which the power of the state is annihilated, this is a breaking of the jug.
However men may differ in disposition and in education, the foundations of human nature are the same in everyone. And every human being can draw in the course of his education from the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in man’s nature. But here likewise two dangers threaten: a man may fail in his education to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and remain fixed in convention-a partial education of this sort is as bad as none- or he may suddenly collapse and neglect his self-development.  “

Meditation
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Today: I Ching

Today: When you wake up in the morning, that first second…” Yogi Bhajan

“When you wake up in the morning, that first second when you open your eyes to be yourself sets the whole frequency of the day. The frequency of your psyche and the frequency of the psyche of the day must connect.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

 

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Today: contemplate the most subtle aspects of the divine – from the I Ching

We must contemplate the most subtle aspects of the divine.  It is not OK to have a shallow understanding of the universe.  The fact that we are reading this demonstrates our responsibility to inquire beyond the mundane.  If we can grow our intuition our influence will expand and benefit everyone whom we encounter.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
“The sacrificial ritual in China began with an ablution and a libation by which the Deity was invoked, after which the sacrifice was offered. The moment of time between these two ceremonies is the most sacred of all, the moment of deepest inner concentration. If piety is sincere and expressive of real faith, the contemplation of it has a transforming awe-inspiring effect on those who witness it.
Thus also in nature a holy seriousness is to be seen in the fact that natural occurrences are uniformly subject to law. Contemplation of the divine meaning underlying the workings of the universe gives to the man who is called upon to influence others the means of producing like effects. This requires that power of inner concentration which religious contemplation develops in great men strong in faith. It enables them to apprehend the mysterious and divine laws of life, and by means of profoundest inner concentration they give expression to these laws in their own persons. Thus a hidden spiritual power emanates from them, influencing and dominating others without their being aware of how it happens.
This means contemplation from a distance, without comprehension. A man of influence is at hand, but his influence is not understood by the common people. This matters little in the case of the masses, for they benefit by the actions of the ruling sage whether they understand them or not. But for a superior man it is a disgrace. He must not content himself with a shallow, thoughtless view of prevailing forces; he must contemplate them as a connected whole and try to understand them.
A man can note the way to self-increase and self-improvement. When he discovers good in others, he should imitate it and thus make everything on earth his own. If he perceives something bad in himself, let him rid himself of it. In this way he becomes free of evil. This ethical change represents the most important increase of personality.  “

Meditation
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Today: I Ching

Today: You can see the hand of God working only through intuition” Yogi Bhajan

“You can see the hand of God working only through intuition, then you do not fear. Intuition is the knowledge you see behind the Creator’s hand. Otherwise you only see time and space working, and that is very annoying. That is the difference between a man with intuition and without intuition.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

 

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Today: In a time of increase everyone benefits – from the I Ching

In a time of increase everyone benefits.  If you are sincere and promote truth, all will go well.  If everyone treats everyone as family the effect is multiplicative.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
“Sacrifice on the part of those above for the increase of those below fills the people with a sense of joy and gratitude that is extremely valuable for the flowering of the commonwealth. When people are thus devoted to their leaders, undertakings are possible, and even difficult and dangerous enterprises will succeed. Therefore in such times of progress and successful development it is necessary to work and make the best use of the time. This time resembles that of the marriage of heaven and earth, when the earth partakes of the creative power of heaven, forming and bringing forth living beings.
A time of blessing and enrichment has such powerful effects that even events ordinarily unfortunate must turn out to the advantage of those affected by them. 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 family is society in embryo; it is the native soil on which performance of moral duty is made easy through natural affection, so that within a small circle a basis of moral practice is created, and this is later widened to include human relationships in general. “

Meditation
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Today: I Ching

Today: The strength of the man does not lie in what he has” Yogi Bhajan

“The strength of the man does not lie in what he has, but what he can give. Only those can give who have the capacity to tap into the Universe. If the Universe is not in your mind, your heart cannot give.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

 

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Today: Recognize and fully appreciate your wealth – from the I Ching

Recognize and fully appreciate your wealth.  Recognize the power and influence that it brings.  Good and evil are now brought into the light of day.  In gratitude, throw your support behind the good.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
“The time is favorable – a time of strength within, clarity and culture without. Power is expressing itself in a graceful and controlled way. This brings supreme success and wealth.
The sun in heaven above, shedding light over everything on earth, is the image of possession on a grand scale. But a possession of this sort must be administered properly. The sun brings both evil and good into the light of day. Man must combat and curb the evil, and must favor and promote the good. Only in this way does he fulfil the benevolent will of God, who desires only good and not evil.“

Meditation
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Today: I Ching

Today: If we take judging ourselves and others out of our life” Yogi Bhajan

“If we take judging ourselves and others out of our life, we will mostly be living in paradise.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

 

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Today: keep your grace and manners – from the I Ching

While increasing your sphere of acquaintance and influence keep your grace and manners.  People will respond positively and want to help.  What begins as a new venture will then mature into an enduring enterprise.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
“WHEN A man is a wanderer and stranger, he should not be gruff nor overbearing. He has no large circle of acquaintances, therefore he should not give himself airs. He must be cautious and reserved; in this way he protects himself from evil. If he is obliging toward others, he wins success.
A wanderer has no fixed abode; his home is the road. Therefore he must take care to remain upright and steadfast, so that he sojourns only in the proper places, associating only with good people. Then he has good fortune and can go his way unmolested.
The wanderer here described is modest and reserved. He does not lose touch with his inner being, hence he finds a resting place. In the outside world he does not lose the liking of other people, hence all persons further him, so that he can acquire property. Moreover, he wins the allegiance of a faithful and trustworthy servant – a thing of inestimable value to a wanderer.
The dedicated man embodies an enduring meaning in his way of life, and thereby the world is formed. In that which gives things their duration, we can come to understand the nature of all beings in heaven and on earth.    “

Meditation
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Today: I Ching

Today: A spiritual man is the one who lives for Infinity” Yogi Bhajan

“A spiritual man is the one who lives for Infinity and whose presence creates peace.” Yogi  Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

 

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Today: The currents of this time are flowing in your favor – from the I Ching

The currents of this time are flowing in your favor.  Make good use of it.  Success is assured.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's translation of the I Ching
“The hexagram as a whole points to a time of joyous, hopeful progress.  Joy and forbearance bring high and low nearer together. Success is certain. But we must work with determination and perseverance to make full use of the propitiousness of the time.   “

Meditation
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Today: I Ching

Today: Mind is the only power you have which is positive” Yogi Bhajan

“Mind is the only power you have which is positive, and can be definitely finite or definitely positively Infinite. It can reach both ends of the pendulum.” Yogi Bhajan
(via Ram Anand)

 

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