“Look closely at the consequences of your actions.  That will show you what is to come.  ” – Today’s Reading

Look closely at the consequences of your actions.  That will show you what is to come.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 8 – The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.

“When you teach, you must teach with confrontation, not by stimulation.” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: Drib Dhristi Lochina Karma

Meditation: LA721-920325: for the Intuitive Intellect

Related posts

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

The teacher

Previous Readings:

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Right now it’s better to retreat a little than to move boldly forward. Aggressive behavior will prove more folly than courageous. Gather strength and wait for the right time to act.”

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Great changes are happening. It’s best to let them happen rather than resisting. This is a transformation of what is rather than a reset.”

A letter to a friend

Read the texts translated from the I Ching for today's reading

10 – Ten.  Lü / Worrying the Tiger

Heaven shines down on the Marsh which reflects it back imperfectly:
Though the Superior Man carefully discriminates between high and low, and acts in accord with the flow of the Tao, there are still situations where a risk must be taken.

You tread upon the tail of the tiger.
Not perceiving you as a threat, the startled tiger does not bite.
Success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have reached a perilous point in your journey.
This is a real gamble — not a maneuver, not a calculated risk.
The outcome is uncertain.
If it goes as you hope, you will gain — but if it turns against you it will cause serious injury, at least to your plans.
The best tack is extreme caution and a healthy respect for the danger involved.

Nine at the top means:

At your journey’s end, look back and examine the path you chose.
If you find no causes for shame, only good works that make you shine, you may take this as an omen of the certainty of great reward.

Look to your conduct and weigh the favorable signs.
When everything is fulfilled, supreme good fortune comes.

Fruit of labor

‘Enjoying the Fruit of Labor’ – Keith Martin Johns

The work is ended. If we want to know whether good fortune will follow, we must look back on our conduct and its consequences. If the effects are good, then good fortune is certain. No one knows himself. It is only by the consequences of his actions, by the fruit of his labors, that a man can judge what he is to expect.

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.

“When you teach, you must teach with confrontation, not by stimulation.” – Yogi Bhajan

“When you teach, you must teach with confrontation, not by stimulation. When you teach by stimulation, doubts keep floating. But when you teach by confrontation, it is an either/or situation. In that situation at least doubt is dispelled. That’s the advantage of confrontation.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: 760422 – Balancing Projection with Intention

See related posts

Tao Te Ching – Verse 8 – The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 8

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 8 – The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.”

“Right now it’s better to retreat a little than to move boldly forward.  Aggressive behavior will prove more folly than courageous.  Gather strength and wait for the right time to act.” – Today’s Reading

Right now it’s better to retreat a little than to move boldly forward.  Aggressive behavior will prove more folly than courageous.  Gather strength and wait for the right time to act.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 7 – The Tao is infinite, eternal.

“You know, the only thing that goes wrong with us is that we forget. ” – Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA046 – 780614 – Hari Shabad Meditation – Use the Wind to Produce Trance and Dissolve Negativity

Meditation: LA721-920325: for the Intuitive Intellect

Related posts

The teacher

Previous Readings:

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Great changes are happening. It’s best to let them happen rather than resisting. This is a transformation of what is rather than a reset.”

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “There exists an unstable equilibrium. If things fall apart, it will happen quickly. Pay close attention to your safety and wellbeing.”

A letter to a friend

Read the texts translated from the I Ching for today's reading

7 – Seven.  Shih / Recruiting Allies

Deep Water beneath the Earth’s surface:
Untapped resources are available.
The Superior Person nourishes and instructs the people, building a loyal, disciplined following.
Good fortune.
No mistakes if you follow a course led by experience.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You must gain support from others.
Find a way to make others want to see your objectives met as badly as you want it.
How can they profit from the attainment of this goal?
Can you command confidence that you are just the person that can bring this plan to fruition?

Six in the fourth place means:

It is never a mistake to retreat to a stronger position.

The army retreats. No blame.

US army retreat

US army retreat

In the face of a superior enemy, with whom it would be hopeless to engage in battle, an orderly retreat is the only correct procedure, because it will save the army from defeat and disintegration. It is by no means a sign of courage or strength to insist upon engaging in a hopeless struggle regardless of circumstances.
25 – Twenty-Five.  Wu Wang / Remaining Blameless

Thunder rolls beneath Heaven, as is its nature and place:
Sage rulers aligned themselves with the changing seasons, nurturing and guiding their subjects to do the same.

Exceptional Progress if you are mindful to keep out of the way of the natural Flow.
It would be a fatal error to try to alter its course.
This is a time of Being, not Doing.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is thoroughly a matter of the heart.
If everything you attempt, no matter how carefully planned, ends in disarray, then examine your motives.
They are the cause of your predicament.
It isn’t that your motives aren’t pure — even the best intentions will fail under these circumstances.
What stymies you in this situation is that you have a motive at all.
Free yourself of all expectations, release any tenuous grip you may have, and roll with it.
This is totally out of your control.
There are higher powers and more elements affecting the outcome of this situation than you can imagine.
Get out of their way.

“You know, the only thing that goes wrong with us is that we forget. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“You know, the only thing that goes wrong with us is that we forget. Look at the word “forget.” “For-get. What do you mean by “get”? And what do you mean by “for”? “For” means “to.” “To get.” So you forget that Giveth is Giveth, and has been given. So, “to get” you “forget” you are divine. I’m not joking. Do you understand why you forget? What for? To get what? What happens when you are “to get?” You forget that you are getting that which you are getting, not what God is giving you. When God gives you something, you won’t forget.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA724-920328 Reorganize Your Head, Be Positive, Lose Your Inherited Anger

See related posts

Tao Te Ching – Verse 7 – The Tao is infinite, eternal.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 7

The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 7 – The Tao is infinite, eternal.”

“Great changes are happening.  It’s best to let them happen rather than resisting. This is a transformation of what is rather than a reset.” – Today’s Reading

Great changes are happening.  It’s best to let them happen rather than resisting. This is a transformation of what is rather than a reset.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 6 – The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.

Today: “What is kundalini? The energy of the glandular system combines with the nervous system to become more sensitive…” Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

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

Meditation:  NM0426 – 20011117 – Self Transformation

Related posts

The teacher

Previous Readings:

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “There exists an unstable equilibrium. If things fall apart, it will happen quickly. Pay close attention to your safety and wellbeing.”

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “We should appreciate experience as our enduring source of faith and growth and all those who have grown with us. We are the teachers now.”

A letter to a friend

Read the texts translated from the I Ching for today's reading

11 – Eleven.  T’ai / Peace

Heaven and Earth embrace, giving birth to Peace.
The Superior Person serves as midwife, presenting the newborn gift to the people.

The small depart; the great approach.
Success.
Good fortune.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

It doesn’t get any better than this.
Everything is in harmony, all obstacles are cleared from your Path, anything you could ask for is right at hand.
This is the Elysian Fields, the Garden of Eden.
The only thing wrong with Peace is that it, too, must change.
Whether you are in this state of harmony now or it is predicted for your future, recognize it as your greatest opportunity to build your resources against less harmonious times.

Six at the top means:

The wall falls back into the moat.
Use no army now.
Make your commands known within your own town.
Perseverance brings humiliation.

The change alluded to in the middle of the hexagram has begun to take place. The wall of the town sinks back into the moat from which it was dug. The hour of doom is at hand. When matters have come to this pass, we should submit to fate and not try to stave it off by violent resistance. The one recourse left us is to hold our own within our intimate circle. Should we persevere in trying to resist the evil in the usual way, our collapse would only be more complete, and humiliation would be the result.

18 – Eighteen.  Ku / Repairing the Damage

Winds sweep through the Mountain valley:
The Superior Person sweeps away corruption and stagnation by stirring up the people and strengthening their spirit.

Supreme success.
Before crossing to the far shore, consider the move for three days.
After crossing, devote three days of hard labor to damage control.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are blessed with an opportunity to resuscitate that which others have abandoned as beyond repair.
This ruin wasn’t caused by evil intention, but by indifference to decay.
Just by addressing yourself to the problem, you exhibit a new awareness, a fresh perspective.
This is a time of recovery, renewal, regeneration.

Today: “What is kundalini? The energy of the glandular system combines with the nervous system to become more sensitive…” Yogi Bhajan

“What is kundalini? The energy of the glandular system combines with the nervous system to become more sensitive so that the totality of the brain perceives signals and interprets them, so that the effect of the sequence of the cause becomes very clear to the man. In other words, man becomes totally, wholesomely aware. That is why we call it the yoga of awareness. And as the rivers end up in the same ocean, all yoga ends up by raising the kundalini in the man. What is the kundalini? The creative potential of the man.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation:  M060 901121 Awaken Kundalini

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What else Yogi Bhajan said

Tao Te Ching – Verse 6 – The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 6

The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.

It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 6 – The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.”

“There exists an unstable equilibrium.  If things fall apart, it will happen quickly.  Pay close attention to your safety and wellbeing.” – Today’s Reading

There exists an unstable equilibrium.  If things fall apart, it will happen quickly.  Pay close attention to your safety and wellbeing.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 5 – The Tao doesn’t take sides; it gives birth to both good and evil.

Today: “Man and his manners are a very basic situation which we must understand.” Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny

Meditation:  LA372 831212 Corruption and character

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The teacher

Previous Readings:

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “We should appreciate experience as our enduring source of faith and growth and all those who have grown with us. We are the teachers now.”

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – You can coexist and even ally with powerful allies and neighbors. Use discretion so that you don’t incur wrath.”

A letter to a friend

Read the texts translated from the I Ching for today's reading
63 – Sixty-Three.  Chi Chi / Aftermath

Boiling Water over open Flame, one might extinguish The other:
The Superior Person takes a 360 degree view of the situation and prepares for any contingency.

Success in small matters if you stay on course.
Early good fortune can end in disorder.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Victory at the expense of another is a merciless taskmaster.
The precarious balance here is reflected in the lines of the hexagram: each of the yin lines rests upon a strong yang line — a seemingly perfect arrangement.
But the scales will be tipped with the change of any one line.
And there WILL be change.
Tireless vigilance and an answer to every challenge — that is the uneasy Seat of Power occupied by the conqueror.

Six in the fourth place means:

The finest clothes turn to rags.
Be careful all day long.

Rags

In a time of flowering culture, an occasional convulsion is bound to occur, uncovering a hidden evil within society and at first causing a great sensation. But since the situation is favorable on the whole, such evils can easily be glossed over and concealed from the public. Then everything is forgotten and peace apparently reigns complacently once more. However, to the thoughtful man, such occurrences are grave omens that he does not neglect. This is the only way of averting evil consequences.
49 – Forty-Nine.  Ko / Revolution

Fire ignites within the Lake, defying conditions that would deny it birth or survival:
The Superior Person reads the Signs of the Times and makes the Season apparent to all.

The support you need will come only after the deed is done.
Renewed forces, however, will provide fresh energy for exceptional progress.
Persevere.
All differences vanish.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

A revolutionary Change must be made forcibly.
There is no negotiating with the Established Order.
Perfect timing is essential.
Let the abuse of power become apparent and oppressive to those around you before making your move.
Lay the groundwork, sow the seeds for Revolution without tipping your hand prematurely.
You will need a strong foundation, because you will have to bring about this necessary change alone.
You cannot count on popular support, so you must wait until there is massive dissent.
Then the avenue for your assault will be cleared.

Today: “Man and his manners are a very basic situation which we must understand.” Yogi Bhajan

Man and his manners are a very basic situation which we must understand. We must look at things the way God is looking at things. Our purity lies in our originality. Our intuition lies in our innocence.
Yogi Bhajan

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

See related posts

Tao Te Ching – Verse 5 – The Tao doesn’t take sides; it gives birth to both good and evil.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 5

The Tao doesn’t take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn’t take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the center. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 5 – The Tao doesn’t take sides; it gives birth to both good and evil.”

“We should appreciate experience as our enduring source of faith and growth and all those who have grown with us.  We are the teachers now.” – Today’s Reading

We should appreciate experience as our enduring source of faith and growth and all those who have grown with us.  We are the teachers now.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 4 – The Tao is like a well: used but never used up.

Today: “It is the first thankless job of the teacher to create environments which the student cannot understand right away. If the student understands right away, he will just go through it.” Yogi Bhajan

Try these meditations:

Meditation: NM0364-20001023-On Communication I

Meditation: NM0365-20001024-On Communication II

The teacher

Previous Readings:

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “You can coexist and even ally with powerful allies and neighbors. Use discretion so that you don’t incur wrath.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Be careful not to be caught up in destructive winds of chaos, often crafted by unseen agents of evil. Instead, follow your intuitive intellect. Listen to your heart. Be clear in your own path and identity. Shape your own destiny.”

See Meditation: NM0364-20001023-On Communication I.

A letter to a friend

Read the texts translated from the I Ching for today's reading
26 – Twenty-Six.  Ta Ch’u / Recharging Power

Heaven’s motherlode waits within the Mountain:
The Superior Person mines deep into history’s wealth of wisdom and deeds, charging his character with timeless strength.

Persevere.
Drawing sustenance from these sources creates good fortune.
Then you may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There are important precedents in this situation.
Others have trodden this Path before you, overcoming the same obstacles facing you now, and making crucial decisions at the same crossroads.
Study their journals, watch for their trail markings.
Gain inspiration and wisdom from the heroes and learn from the mistakes of those who chose a sidepath.
All were Seekers, explorers whose daring mapped a course you can follow.
The words and deeds of the finest can imbue you with the courage necessary to face what lies before you.

Nine in the third place means:
A good horse that follows others.
Awareness of danger,
With perseverance, furthers.
Practice chariot driving and armed defense daily.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.

Scene form Ben Hur

Scene form Ben Hur, the movie

The way opens; the hindrance has been cleared away. A man is in contact with a strong will acting in the same direction as his own, and goes forward like one good horse following another. But danger still threatens, and he must remain aware of it, or he will be robbed of his firmness. Thus he must acquire skill on the one hand in what will take him forward, and on the other in what will protect him against unforeseen attacks. It is good in such a pass to have a goal toward which to strive.

4 – Four.  Mêng / Inexperience

A fresh Spring at the foot of the Mountain:
The Superior Person refines his character by being thorough in every activity.
The Sage does not recruit students; the students seek him.
He asks nothing but a sincere desire to learn.
If the student doubts or challenges his authority, the Sage regretfully cuts his losses.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a time of interchange between a mentor and pupil.
Whether you are the teacher or the student, it is a time of companionship along a mutual path.
This hexagram also emphasizes the eternal, cyclical nature of the mentor/student relationship — a mentor is merely a more seasoned pupil, further along on the journey.
A pupil holds within himself the seed of a future Master.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 4 – The Tao is like a well: used but never used up.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 4

The Tao is like a well:
used but never used up.
It is like the eternal void:
filled with infinite possibilities.

It is hidden but always present.
I don’t know who gave birth to it.
It is older than God. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 4 – The Tao is like a well: used but never used up.”

Today: “It is the first thankless job of the teacher to create environments which the student cannot understand right away. If the student understands right away, he will just go through it.” Yogi Bhajan

“It is the first thankless job of the teacher to create environments which the student cannot understand right away. If the student understands right away, he will just go through it. The teacher should be intelligent enough to create a problem which the student does not understand and then he should push the student through it and that will bring faith. This faith will move mountains and those mountains will move God. The formless will fade behind form the way cats fade behind cows.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA589-890412-GoldenGrain

Related Posts

What else Yogi Bhajan said

“You can coexist and even ally with powerful allies and neighbors.  Use discretion so that you don’t incur wrath.” – Today’s Reading

You can coexist and even ally with powerful allies and neighbors.  Use discretion so that you don’t incur wrath.

Today: “The difference between you and an animal is that the animal has limited compassion and you can have unlimited compassion.” Yogi Bhajan

Tao Te Ching – Verse 3 – The Master leads by emptying people’s minds and filling their cores

Try these meditations:

Meditation: LA046 – 780614 – Hari Shabad Meditation – Use the Wind to Produce Trance and Dissolve Negativity

Meditation: TCH2012 960727 – Warrior’s Exercise for Opening the Energy into the Shushmana & Balancing the Hemispheres of the Brain

Previous Readings:

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Be careful not to be caught up in destructive winds of chaos, often crafted by unseen agents of evil. Instead, follow your intuitive intellect. Listen to your heart. Be clear in your own path and identity. Shape your own destiny.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “What seem to be unsurmountable obstacles are coming from without. Keep a steady course and you will prevail.”

See related posts.

A letter to a friend

Read the texts translated from the I Ching for today's reading
10 – Ten.  Lü / Worrying the Tiger

Heaven shines down on the Marsh which reflects it back imperfectly:
Though the Superior Man carefully discriminates between high and low, and acts in accord with the flow of the Tao, there are still situations where a risk must be taken.

You tread upon the tail of the tiger.
Not perceiving you as a threat, the startled tiger does not bite.
Success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have reached a perilous point in your journey.
This is a real gamble — not a maneuver, not a calculated risk.
The outcome is uncertain.
If it goes as you hope, you will gain — but if it turns against you it will cause serious injury, at least to your plans.
The best tack is extreme caution and a healthy respect for the danger involved.

yang
yang above: Ch’ien / The Creative, Heaven
yang
yin
yang below: Tui / The Joyous, Lake
yang

 

The name of the hexagram means on the one hand the right way of conducting oneself. Heaven, the father, is above, and the lake, the youngest daughter, is below. This shows the difference between high and low, upon which composure, correct social conduct, depends. On the other hand, the word for the name of the hexagram, TREADING,1 means literally treading upon something. The small and cheerful [Tui] treads on the large and strong [Ch’ien]. The direction of movement of the two primary trigrams is upward. The fact that the strong treads on the weak is not mentioned in the Yi Jing, because it is taken for granted. For the weak to take a stand against the strong is not dangerous here, because it happened in good humor [Tui] and without presumption, so that the strong man is not irritated but takes it all in good part.

THE JUDGEMENT

TREADING. Treading upon the tail of the tiger.
It does not bite the man. Success.

Worrying the Tiger

Yin and Yang

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.

THE IMAGE

Heaven above, the lake below:
The image of TREADING.
Thus the superior man discriminates between high and low,
And thereby fortifies the thinking of the people.

Tiger in water

Heaven and the lake show a difference of elevation that inheres in the natures of the two, hence no envy arises. Among mankind also there are necessarily differences of elevation; it is impossible to bring about universal equality. But it is important that differences in social rank should not be arbitrary and unjust, for if this occurs, envy and class struggle are the inevitable consequences. If, on the other hand, external differences in rank correspond with differences in inner worth, and if inner worth forms the criterion of external rank, people acquiesce and order reigns in society.


1. [Auftreten, the German word used for the name of the hexagram, means both “treading” and “conduct.”]