Tag: I Ching

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 29 – Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

53 – Fifty-Three Chien / Gradual Progress

The gnarled Pine grows tenaciously off the Cliff face:
The Superior Person clings faithfully to dignity and integrity, thus elevating the Collective Spirit of Man in his own small way.
Development.
The maiden is given in marriage.
Good fortune if you stay on course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Adaptability mixed with integrity will bring a calm, steady progress.
Move from your center, always faithful to your principles, yet with the flexibility to weather any tempest.
Yours is not a meteoric rise to the top, but the solid, confident footing of one who has a clear vision of what can be, and who is willing to climb the distance to reach it.
The oracle foresees companionship along the way — a Divine comfort on any journey.

Nine in the fifth place means:

The wild geese draw near the summit.
For three years the female has borne no young; now nothing will stop her.
Deliverance.

The wild goose gradually draws near the summit.
For three years the woman has no child.
In the end nothing can hinder her.
Good fortune.

The summit is a high place. In a high position one easily becomes isolated. One is misjudged by the very person on whom one is dependent – the woman by her husband, the official by his superior. This is the work of deceitful persons who have wormed their way in. The result is that relationships remain sterile, and nothing is accomplished. But in the course of further development, such misunderstandings are cleared away, and reconciliation is achieved after all.

The wild geese draw near the summit.
For three years the female has borne no young; now nothing will stop her.
Deliverance.

23 – Twenty-Three Po / Splitting Apart

The weight of the Mountain presses down upon a weak foundation of Earth:
The Superior Person will use this time of oppression to attend to the needs of those less fortunate.

Any action would be ill-timed.
Stand fast.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a situation easily mistaken for Stagnation (Hexagram 12) or Revolution (Hexagram 49).
It just depends on which side you’re on.
During a time of Stagnation, human worms invade to feed on the decay.
During a time of Revolution, oppression is being overthrown.
But in this situation, oppressors are violently seizing power.
Pay special heed when you receive this hexagram, because the oracle is often warning you of a situation of which you are totally unaware.
You are about to be blindsided.

Today: “So, if you come for study, remember, don’t try to become a great master or a great teacher—become a royal being.” – Yogi Bhajan

“So, if you come for study, remember, don’t try to become a great master or a great teacher—become a royal being. Just become a royal being, and then you’ll become a real being. If your personality, your identity, and your mental self do not represent royalty, you will never know the reality.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0413 – Intuition and the Strength of Excellence

Today: Take victories in stride just as defeats. Realize that you are in it for the long haul.” – from the I Ching

Take victories in stride just as defeats. Realize that you are in it for the long haul.

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 28 – Know the male, yet keep to the female

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

64 – Sixty-Four Wei Chi / The End In Sight

Fire ascends above the Water:
The Superior Person examines the nature of things and keeps each in its proper place.

Too anxious the young fox gets his tail wet, just as he completes his crossing.
To attain success, be like the man and not like the fox.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Resist the rush to completion.
Anticipation of fulfillment may cause you to be careless before you have fully absorbed the lessons of the journey.
The endpoint of this Quest will only prove to be the threshold for another.
You are short steps from Mastery on this plane, yet you stride toward Ignorance of the challenges lying beyond.
Savor this accomplishment.
Fully Become.
Take full possession of your world before embarking to discover the next one.
That voyage begins soon enough, and you will reminisce about this one.
These are the Good Old Days.

Nine at the top means:

Too much wine at the victory feast can remove all cause for celebration.
Be a good winner.

There is drinking of wine
In genuine confidence. No blame.
But if one wets his head,
He loses it, in truth.

‘The Wedding Feast at Cana’
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1819
Kunsthalle, Hamburg

Before completion, at the dawning of the new time, friends foregather in an atmosphere of mutual trust, and the time of waiting is passed in conviviality. Since the new era is hard on the threshold, there is no blame in this. But one must be careful in all this to keep within proper bounds. If in his exuberance a man gets drunk, he forfeits the favorableness of the situation through his intemperance.

9 – Nine Hsiao Ch’u / Gentle Restraint

Winds of change high in the Heavens:
Air currents carry the weather.
Dense clouds blow in from the West, but still no rain.
The Superior Person fine tunes the image he presents to the world.

Small successes.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

No matter what you do, the fruit of your labors never seems to ripen.
Your reward remains just out of reach.
Men have gone mad from such anticipation.
Don’t lose your balance lunging for the brass ring.
While the Fates continue to restrain you, go them one better and display a self-generated restraint and grace.
Look for the humor in the situation.

Today: “If you have the power to listen, you’ll become the whole universe and the entire Heavens.” – Yogi Bhajan

“If you have the power to listen, you’ll become the whole universe and the entire Heavens. Do you not feel the joy of that completion? Just listening, just developing a power to listen? Those who have listened to their teacher, their Master, they became the Masters.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA010 – 19780210 – Gobinda – Project to the Infinite

See related psots

Meditation: NM374 – 20001128 – Patience and Intuition

Today: When all seems hopeless and confused, recognize what your intuition is telling you. – from the I Ching

When all seems hopeless and confused, recognize what your intuition is telling you.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 24 – He who stands on tiptoe doesn’t stand firm

5 – Five Hsü / Calculated Waiting

Deep Waters in the Heavens:
Thunderclouds approaching from the West, but no rain yet.
The Superior Person nourishes himself and remains of good cheer to condition himself for the moment of truth.

Great Success if you sincerely keep to your course.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You must now endure this Dangling — either a carrot before your nose, or a sword above your head.
This strange mix of apprehension and anticipation is a Purgatory.
There is nothing more you can do to affect the outcome.
You must now submit to the Fates.

Six at the top means:

The showdown comes, with the opponents too evenly matched.
Just as all hopes of survival are dashed, three strangers appear.
They will tip the scales in favor of the contender who recognizes them for what they are.

One falls into the pit.
Three uninvited guests arrive.
Honor them, and in the end there will be good fortune.

Three Bogatyrs, or three knights: Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Aliosha Popovich – Victor Vasnetsov (1848-1926)

The waiting is over; the danger can no longer be averted. One falls into the pit and must yield to the inevitable. Everything seems to have been in vain. But precisely in this extremity things take an unforeseen turn. Without a move on one’s own part, there is outside intervention. At first one cannot be sure of its meaning: is it rescue or is it destruction? A person in this situation must keep his mind alert and not withdraw into himself with a sulky gesture of refusal, but must greet the new turn with respect. Thus he ultimately escapes the danger, and all goes well. Even happy turns of fortune often come in a form that at first seems strange to us.

9 – Nine Hsiao Ch’u / Gentle Restraint

Winds of change high in the Heavens:
Air currents carry the weather.
Dense clouds blow in from the West, but still no rain.
The Superior Person fine tunes the image he presents to the world.

Small successes.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “You are Teachers. You have to learn something which you will teach. What you have to teach is, “To be, to be.” – Yogi Bhajan

“You are Teachers. You have to learn something which you will teach. What you have to teach is, “To be, to be.” You cannot live and practice, “To be, not to be.” Your mood and mind are your servants; they are not your masters. If you want to be a teacher, you have to be a master. Then mood and mind are your servants, and you and your being serve the spirit. If your spirit is here in a common sense for all, then you only see soul.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA877-19960604 – Self Realization

Meditation: LA950 A00214 20000214 Develop Self-Reliance

Today: Engage, then depart. Do not become attached to any thing or place. Do what you can, then move on. – from the I Ching

Engage, then depart. Do not become attached to any thing or place. Do what you can, then move on.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 24 – He who stands on tiptoe doesn’t stand firm

56 – Fifty-Six Lu / The Wanderer

Fire on the Mountain, catastrophic to man, a passing annoyance to the Mountain:
The Superior Person waits for wisdom and clarity before exacting Justice, then lets no protest sway him.

Find satisfaction in small gains.
To move constantly forward is good fortune to a Wanderer.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are a stranger to this situation.
It is your attraction to the exotic that has led you here, but you will move on to a new vista when this one has lost its mystique.
Because much of this environment is foreign to you, you must exercise only the best judgement.
You don’t know the custom here, and it’s too easy to cross a line you don’t know is there.
Because you are the foreigner in this setting, you have no history to acquit you.
Watch, listen, study, contemplate, then step lightly but decisively on.

THE MOUNTAIN, Kên, stands still; above it fire, Li, flames up and does not tarry. Therefore the two trigrams do not stay together. Strange lands and separation are the wanderer’s lot.

THE JUDGEMENT

The Wanderer. Success through smallness.
Perseverance brings good fortune
To the wanderer.

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 IMAGE

Fire on the mountain:
The image of THE WANDERER.
Thus the superior man
Is clear-minded and cautious
In imposing penalties,
And protracts no lawsuits.

Fire on Sugarloaf mountain, in Chiricahua National Monument, 2011

When grass on a mountain takes fire, there is bright light. However, the fire does not linger in one place, but travels on to new fuel. It is a phenomenon of short duration. This is what penalties and lawsuits should be like. They should be a quickly passing matter, and must not be dragged out indefinitely. Prisons ought to be places where people are lodged only temporarily, as guests are. They must not become dwelling places.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “How prosperous and how great you can become depends on what opportunities come to you, and the ability of your intuition to bring the intelligence.” – Yogi Bhajan

“How prosperous and how great you can become depends on what opportunities come to you, and the ability of your intuition to bring the intelligence. Intelligence will give you substance, so that you have character, and you have Dharma. Then there’s no action and reaction—you are a victor, you are winning; there’s no way you can lose. Not at all. You don’t have to sell your consciousness, you don’t have to come down onto your knees, you don’t have to beg for peace and tranquility. No, everything from A to Z, whatever your needs are, shall be yours.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA721-920325: for the Intuitive Intellect

Meditation: TCH20 02 960722 – Increase the Power of the Infinite Within

Today: You are in a position of power. Hold to you chosen path with integrity and perseverance. – from the I Ching

You are in a position of power. Hold to you chosen path with integrity and perseverance.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 24 – He who stands on tiptoe doesn’t stand firm

34 – Thirty-Four Ta Chuang / Awesome Power

Thunder fills the Heavens with its awful roar, not out of pride, but with integrity; if it did less, it would not be Thunder:
Because of his Great Power, the Superior Person takes pains not to overstep his position, so that he will not seem intimidating or threatening to the Established Order.
Opportunity will arise along this course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The Awesome Power available in this hexagram stems from what the Taoists call your Te, a term not perfectly translated into English.
Roughly, it is your Integrity — not in the Western sense of honor — but more in the psychological definition of a full integration of Who You Are.
This Awesome Power is achieved only by fully embracing both the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, the masculine and the feminine — all polarities within you.
Such self-knowledge spawns a Mastery tempered with the humility necessary to rein in and harness this Awesome Power.

The great lines, that is, the light, strong lines, are powerful. Four light lines have entered the hexagram from below and are about to ascend higher. The upper trigram is Chên, the Arousing; the lower is Ch’ien, the Creative. Ch’ien is strong, Chên produces movement. The union of movement and strength gives the meaning of THE POWER OF THE GREAT. The hexagram is linked with the second month (March-April).

THE JUDGEMENT

THE POWER OF THE GREAT. Perseverance furthers.

The hexagram points to a time when inner worth mounts with great force and comes to power. But its strength has already passed beyond the median line, hence there is danger that one may rely entirely on one’s own power and forget to ask what is right. There is danger too that, being intent on movement, we may not wait for the right time. Therefore the added statement that perseverance furthers. For that is truly great power which does not degenerate into mere force but remains inwardly united with the fundamental principles of right and of justice. When we understand this point – namely, that greatness and justice must be indissolubly united – we understand the true meaning of all that happens in heaven and on earth.

The Tao of Power:
Lao Tzu’s Classic Guide to Leadership, Influence, and Excellence [A new translation of the Tao Te Ching] by R.L. Wing

I Ching Online

Moon in thunder sky

THE IMAGE

Thunder in heaven above:
The image of THE POWER OF THE GREAT.
Thus the superior man does not tread on paths
That do not accord with established order.

Thunder – electrical energy – mounts upward in the spring. The direction of this movement is in harmony with that of the movement of heaven. It is therefore a movement in accord with heaven, producing great power. However, true greatness depends on being in harmony with what is right. Therefore in times of great power the superior man avoids doing anything that is not in harmony with the established order.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: In a time of adversity, if nothing is working for you, give up trying to change circumstances. Instead, look inside yourself to find what you need to change in order to attract good things. – from the I Ching

In a time of adversity, if nothing is working for you, give up trying to change circumstances. Instead, look inside yourself to find what you need to change in order to attract good things.

Meditation: LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change

Tao Te Ching – Verse 24 – He who stands on tiptoe doesn’t stand firm

47 – Forty-Seven K’un / Exhaustion

A Dead Sea, its Waters spent eons ago, more deadly than the desert surrounding it:
The Superior Person will stake his life and fortune on what he deeply believes.

Triumph belongs to those who endure.
Trial and tribulation can hone exceptional character to a razor edge that slices deftly through every challenge.
Action prevails where words will fail.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is the realm of the Shaman.
You have exhausted every alternative, spent yourself completely, taxed body and mind beyond your former limits.
Survival and salvation lie beyond your reach now.
Only transcendence to a new existence — a higher plane of being — will see you through.
The Old You is just a dry husk.
You can’t return to it.
Metamorphosis is the only grace offered.
You can only return to your homeland as a New You.

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

He rests beneath a dead tree, trying to make sense of this dark, desolate valley he has strayed into.
These lost wanderings will last three years.

One sits oppressed under a bare tree
And strays into a gloomy valley.
For three years one sees nothing.

‘Bare Tree in Moonlight’ – Dottie Briggs

When adversity befalls a man, it is important above all things for him to be strong and to overcome the trouble inwardly. If he is weak, the trouble overwhelms him. Instead of proceeding on his way, he remains sitting under a bare tree and falls ever more deeply into gloom and melancholy. This makes the situation only more and more hopeless. Such an attitude comes from an inner delusion that he must by all means overcome.

17 – Seventeen Sui / Following

Thunder beneath the Lake’s surface.
The Superior Person allows himself plenty of sheltered rest and recuperation while awaiting a clear sign to follow.

Supreme success.
No mistakes if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Thunder from the Lake — the lulling, rhythmic roar of the faithful tide, eternally wearing away the stone of the shoreline, forever obedient to the phases of the moon.
The pull of the moon on the tide is the Following called for now.
As mighty as the tide is in its own right, it is ever the puppet of the invisible, irresistible gravity of the moon.
What cyclical forces pull you along?
Are you futilely attempting to resist a natural attraction?

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “Regardless of your history of abuses or kindness, opportunity, or challenge, it is within you to direct your mind” – Yogi Bhajan

“Regardless of your history of abuses or kindness, opportunity, or challenge, it is within you to direct your mind. You can be a saint, you can be a human, or you can be a demon. You can act as an animal at the altitude of impulse and ground; as an earthling human at the altitude of feelings and horizon; or as an angel at the altitude of essence, Infinity, and the Cosmos. It is your choice.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA041-780525- Control the Mind

Meditation: LA779 – 19930916 – Kriya to Create a Miracle for Yourself

Today: Just learn to be yourself. Do not imitate others who assume to be superior. It takes practice. – from the I Ching

Just learn to be yourself. Do not imitate others who assume to be superior. It takes practice.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 22 – If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked.

8 – Eight Pi / Bonding

Deep Waters on the face of the Earth:
Surface waters flow together.
The Superior Person recognizes the situation calls for joining together.
Thus he cultivates friendly relations with all.

Good fortune is possible.
Cast the coins again to discover if you have the qualities needed to lead such a group.
Then there will be no error.
Those uncertain will gradually join.
Those who join too late will meet with misfortune.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a time of connection with another or others — not just an alliance, but a melding of parts into a new whole.
Such a connection may be too close, too intense for some.
Consult the oracle again to see if you have the qualities needed to strengthen and withstand such an intense synthesis

Six in the second place means:

Devotion comes from deep inside you.
Good fortune if you keep to your course.

Hold to him inwardly.
Perseverance brings good fortune.

If a person responds perseveringly and in the right way to the behests from above that summon him to action, his relations with others are intrinsic and he does not lose himself. But if a man seeks association with others as if he were an obsequious office hunter, he throws himself away. He does not follow the path of the superior man, who never loses his dignity.

60 – Sixty Chieh / Limitations

Waters difficult to keep within the Lake’s banks:
The Superior Person examines the nature of virtue and makes himself a standard that can be followed.

Self-discipline brings success; but restraints too binding bring self-defeat.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Cultivating the proper disciplines and the proper degree of discipline are the concerns of this hexagram.
By limiting options, you may give more attention to priorities.
One who is all over the map is no less lost than one without a map.
Avoid asceticism, however.
Deprivation is not wise discipline.
The key here is regulation, not restriction.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: Contemplate your life to know the impact you have had. It will guide you and inform you so that there are no new surprises. – from the I Ching

Contemplate your life to know the impact you have had. It will guide you and inform you so that there are no new surprises.

Meditation: NM0406 – Know the Best of You – Share the Best with Others

Tao Te Ching – Verse 22 – If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked.

Recite The Magical Story of Mushkil Gusha over a meal with friends.

20 – Twenty Kuan / Contemplation

The gentle Wind roams the Earth:
The Superior Person expands his sphere of influence as he expands his awareness.
Deeply devoted to his pursuit of clarity and wisdom, he is unconscious of the inspiring, positive example he is setting for others to emulate.

You have cleansed yourself; now stand ready to make your humble, devout offering.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The situation marks a rising to new heights.
As you climb for a better view of the panorama, you make yourself more conspicuous to those below.
This hexagram is also known as the Watchtower, because the shape formed by its lines resembles the ancient guardposts manned by Chinese soldiers.
These towers were placed on mountainsides to give a better vantage point.
To those below, the watchtowers served as landmarks to help them find their way.
The quality of your search for clarity in this situation serves as such a guidepost for others along the Way.

Nine in the fifth place means:

His future is shaped by the quality of his influence on others in the past.
Be blameless.

Contemplation of my life.
The superior man is without blame.

Contemplation

A man in an authoritative position to whom others look up must always be ready for self-examination. The right sort of self-examination, however, consists not in idle brooding over oneself but in examining the effects one produces. Only when these effects are good, and when one’s influence on others is good, will the contemplation of one’s own life bring the satisfaction of knowing oneself to be free of mistakes.

23 – Twenty-Three Po / Splitting Apart

The weight of the Mountain presses down upon a weak foundation of Earth:
The Superior Person will use this time of oppression to attend to the needs of those less fortunate.

Any action would be ill-timed.
Stand fast.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: Uphold your commitment to integrity. Your subtle impact will grow beyond conscious intentions. – from the I Ching

Uphold your commitment to integrity. Your subtle impact will grow beyond conscious intentions.

Meditation: NM345- Strengthen and enhance the radiant body

Tao Te Ching – Verse 21 – The Master keeps her mind always at one with the Tao; that is what gives her her radiance.

43 – Forty-Three Kuai / Breakthrough

A Deluge from Heaven:
The Superior Person rains fortune upon those in need, then moves on with no thought of the good he does.

The issue must be raised before an impartial authority.
Be sincere and earnest, despite the danger.
Do not try to force the outcome, but seek support where needed.
Set a clear goal.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Your iron will must come to the forefront now.
It will take great personal determination to resolve the situation in question.
Your adversary would love to force you into an angry display.
That would legitimize his opposition to you.
Such a berserker rage would drag you down to his level.
You must resolutely take a public stand against what he represents, but refuse to engage him.
Without compromise, you show others the way to higher ground.

Nine in the third place means:

Keep a tight lock on your mouth.
It takes resolve to face the insults silently, but they will prove harmless, and others will gradually warm to your sense of dignity.

To be powerful in the cheekbones
Brings misfortune.
The superior man is firmly resolved.
He walks alone and is caught in the rain.
He is bespattered,
And people murmur against him.
No blame.

Walk in rain

Here we have a man in an ambiguous situation. While all others are engaged in a resolute fight against all that is inferior, he alone has a certain relationship with an inferior man. If he were to show strength outwardly and turn against this man before the time is ripe, he would only endanger the entire situation, because the inferior man would too quickly have recourse to countermeasures. The task of the superior man becomes extremely difficult here. He must be firmly resolved within himself and, while maintaining association with the inferior man, avoid any participation in his vileness. He will of course be misjudged. It will be thought that he belongs to the party of the inferior man. He will be lonely because no one will understand him. His relations with the inferior man will sully him in the eyes of the multitude, and they will turn against him, grumbling. But he can endure this lack of appreciation and makes no mistake, because he remains true to himself.

58 – Fifty-Eight Tui / Empowering

The joyous Lake spans on and on to the horizon:
The Superior Person renews and expands his Spirit through heart-to-heart exchanges with others.

Success if you stay on course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is the sign of true companionship.
The principals in this situation exchange energy, ideas and feelings, constantly invigorating and encouraging each other to new heights of Spiritual achievement and Self-discovery.
This exchange is not for the glory of the Team, but for furthering the process of each individual’s ‘Te’, or pure potentiality.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: Your needs are coming into harmony with the requirements of the Cosmos. – from the I Ching

Your needs are coming into harmony with the requirements of the Cosmos.
Blending brilliantly with the Dance of Life, you are becoming an actual element of Cosmic Law.

Meditation: M136-970930 – Work on Shashara, Balance Earth and Heavens

Tao Te Ching – Verse 19 – Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier.

50 – Fifty Ting / The Caldron

Fire rises hot and bright from the Wood beneath the sacrificial caldron:
The Superior Person positions himself correctly within the flow of Cosmic forces.

Supreme Accomplishment.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Your needs are coming into harmony with the requirements of the Cosmos.
Blending brilliantly with the Dance of Life, you are becoming an actual element of Cosmic Law.
Your goals will now be realized because you no longer cut against the Cosmic grain; you are no longer swimming against the flow of the Tao.
You are acquiring an intuitive sense of what can and cannot be, and aligning your efforts accordingly.

The six lines construct the image of Ting, THE CAULDRON; at the bottom are the legs, over them the belly, then come the ears (handles), and at the top the carrying rings. At the same time, the image suggests the idea of nourishment. The ting, cast of bronze, was the vessel that held the cooked viands in the temple of the ancestors and at banquets. The head of the family served the food from the ting into the bowls of the guests.¹
THE WELL (48) likewise has the secondary meaning of giving nourishment, but rather more in relation to the people. The ting, as a utensil pertaining to a refined civilisation, suggests the fostering and nourishing of able men, which redounded to the benefit of the state.²
This hexagram and THE WELL are the only two in the Yi Jing that represent concrete, man-made objects. Yet here too the thought has its abstract connotation.
Sun, below, is wood and wind; Li, above, is flame. Thus together they stand for the flame kindled by wood and wind, which likewise suggests the idea of preparing food.

THE JUDGEMENT

THE CALDRON. Supreme good fortune.
Success.

While THE WELL relates to the social foundation of our life, and this foundation is likened to the water that serves to nourish growing wood, the present hexagram refers to the cultural superstructure of society. Here it is the wood that serves as nourishment for the flame, the spirit. All that is visible must grow beyond itself, extend into the realm of the invisible. Thereby it receives its true consecration and clarity and takes firm root in the cosmic order.
Here we see civilisation as it reaches its culmination in religion. The ting serves in offering sacrifice to God. The highest earthly values must be sacrificed to the divine. But the truly divine does not manifest itself apart from man. The supreme revelation of God appears in prophets and holy men. To venerate them is true veneration of God. The will of God, as revealed through them, should be accepted in humility; this brings inner enlightenment and true understanding of the world, and this leads to great good fortune and success.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching

Today: “As a man there are three faculties that you must have: wisdom, humility, and the desire to serve.” – Yogi Bhajan

“As a man there are three faculties that you must have: wisdom, humility, and the desire to serve. In any walk of life, if you cannot establish that you are a man of wisdom, you cannot win the game 100%. Your wife, your child, your partner, your spiritual teacher, your city, your county, your country—all look to you to be a man of wisdom. The second qualification is humility: that you are social and humble, approachable. Humble means approachable. You need to be approachable, easy to communicate and talk with. That is the second faculty. And the third is that you have the desire to serve, that you are sincere in your purpose of service.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0420-20011015 – The Power of Memories – Remember the Saint Within