Today: Lighten up.  Obsessive self-denial and regulation are contrary to your well being.” from the I Ching

Lighten up.  Obsessive self-denial and regulation are contrary to your well being.

Meditation: NM0394 – Live Above Denial

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

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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.

Six at the top means:

Self-discipline teetering toward self-destruction.
An empty martyrdom.
Turn back.
Galling limitation.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
Remorse disappears.

L'Ascète

“L’Ascète”, 1903 – Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

If one is too severe in setting up restrictions, people will not endure them. The more consistent such severity, the worse it is, for in the long run a reaction is unavoidable. In the same way, the tormented body will rebel against excessive asceticism. On the other hand, although ruthless severity is not to be applied persistently and systematically, there may be times when it is the only means of safeguarding against guilt and remorse. In such situations ruthlessness toward oneself is the only means of saving one’s soul, which otherwise would succumb to irresolution and temptation.
59 – Fifty-Nine  Huan / Dissolution

Wind carries the Mists aloft:
Sage rulers dedicated their lives to serving a Higher Power and built temples that still endure.

The King approaches his temple.
Success if you stay on course.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Walls meant to protect have instead separated and isolated.
Your defenses have kept you apart from those whom you most need to touch.
Whatever the reason for discord between you, it is time to lay down your arms.
Dispel the inflexible demands and fears of the Mind so that you may reunite in the Heart.
If you have begrudged, forgive.
If you have torn down, repair.
If you have injured, heal.
If you have judged, pardon.
If you have grasped, let go.

Today: “Any time you do not have the answer for something —anything —it doesn’t matter what the question is —hold the breath in.” – Yogi Bhajan

“Any time you do not have the answer for something —anything —it doesn’t matter what the question is —hold the breath in. The moment you hold the breath in, the body will automatically computerize to survive, and your question is heard with it. It will give you the answer. This is because the breath of life is life itself and everything is a facet of life. There is nothing beyond that.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny

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Today: Share with those who support you your experience and wisdom.  Teach them to handle the affairs that you cannot directly address.” from the I Ching

Share with those who support you your experience and wisdom.  Teach them to handle the affairs that you cannot directly address.

Meditation: LA877-19960604 – Self Realization

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 2 – When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad. Being and non-being create each other.

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19 – Nineteen  Lin / Noble Calling

The rich, loamy Earth on the banks of the Marsh provides fertile soil for exceptional progress.
The Superior Person is inexhaustible in his willingness to teach, and without limit in his tolerance and support of others.

Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
But be aware that your time is limited; your power will wane, as Summer changes to Fall.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are in a position to help another.
This is a temporary situation, because your power is cyclical, seasonal.
Knowing this, you must perform your good deed without hope of reward.
You are not furthering your own process, but another’s.
Though you may cherish this other, you will never possess.
Touch without grasping.
Take comfort in becoming a fond memory.
Nurture, then let go.

Six in the fifth place means:

Your wise approach is worthy of a prince.
Great fortune will result.
Wise approach.
This is right for a great prince.
Good fortune.

Chinese prince

Chinese prince

A prince, or anyone in a leading position, must have the wisdom to attract to himself people of ability who are expert in directing affairs. His wisdom consists both in selecting the right people and in allowing those chosen to have a free hand without interference from him. For only through such self-restraint will he find the experts needed to satisfy all of his requirements.
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.

Today: “You have a life. How are you going to fit in? How are you going to come out of your shell? ” – Yogi Bhajan

“You have a life. How are you going to fit in? How are you going to come out of your shell? How are you going to come out of your cocoon? How are you going to deal with everybody with openness of self? How can you open so much that you can embrace everything? How can you close yourself so that you can be?” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: KWTC 19970630 – For Faculty of Self Engagement

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Today: Keep yourself completely grounded and neutral.  Do not be swayed by challenge or controversy.  Practice non-reaction.” from the I Ching

Keep yourself completely grounded and neutral.  Do not be swayed by challenge or controversy.  Practice non-reaction.

Lecture: LA860 – 960131 – Increase the Flow of the Earth Within You

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 1 – The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

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2 – Two  K’un / Receptive Force

Earth above and Earth below:
The Earth contains and sustains.
In this situation, the Superior Person should not take the initiative; he should follow the initiative of another.
He should seek receptive allies in the southwest; he should break ties with immovable allies in the northeast.

Responsive devotion.
Receptive influence.
Sublime Success if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a time for dealing with reality as it is, not as you would have it be.
If you realize that in this situation you are the receptor, not the transmitter of the stimulus, you will find yourself reaching goals that seemed unattainable under your own steam.
If you persist in futile efforts to be the Shaper rather than the Shaped, you will completely miss this unique opportunity.

Six in the fifth place means:

A yellow robe.
Supreme good fortune.

A yellow lower garment brings supreme good fortune.

Fresco painting of Flora

Fresco painting of Flora, or Primavera, found in the luxurious resort of Stabiae in the Bay of Naples

Yellow is the color of the earth and of the middle; it is the symbol of that which is reliable and genuine. The lower garment is inconspicuously decorated – the symbol of aristocratic reserve. When anyone is called upon to work in a prominent but not independent position, true success depends on the utmost discretion. A man’s genuineness and refinement should not reveal themselves directly; they should express themselves only indirectly as an effect from within.
39 – Thirty-Nine  Chien / Obstacle

Ominous roiling in the Crater Lake atop the Volcano:
When meeting an impasse, the Superior Person turns his gaze within, and views the obstacle from a new perspective.

Offer your opponent nothing to resist.
Let a sage guide you in this.
Good fortune lies along this course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The Obstacle lies in obstinance.
An insistence on only one way of proceeding has brought things to an impasse.
You may either continue banging your head with irresistible force against this immovable object, or you might step back and survey this situation from a fresh perspective.
Which is immobile here — the obstruction or your attitude?

Today: “The first faculty of a Teacher is to identify to one’s self that one is a Teacher.” – Yogi Bhajan

“The first faculty of a Teacher is to identify to one’s self that one is a Teacher. Then one must identify to the whole world that one is a Teacher. Third, one should know there’s nothing else but a teacher. Those three things are essential. Let yourself know once and for all that you are a Teacher. Let the whole world know once and for all that you are Teacher. Less than this you are phony, you are a ruthless liar, you are good for nothing, you are a fake, and you have no reality whatsoever. I don’t want to be more abusive than this, but if you can add something, it’s fine.” Yogi Bhajan

The Teacher

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Today: Stay the course.  Do what you can.  Stay in the flow.  Others need you.” from the I Ching

Stay the course.  Do what you can.  Stay in the flow.  Others need you.

Meditation: NM142 19940615 – Bless the Planet Earth and Let the Heavens Descend in You

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 79 – Failure is an opportunity

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3 – Three  Chun / Difficulty at the Beginning

Thunder from the Deep:
The Superior Person carefully weaves order out of confusion.

Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
Carefully consider the first move.
Seek help.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

New ventures always pack along their inherent chaos.
Though this is an annoyance at best, and can even imperil or downright doom an endeavor, it is also the friction needed to polish your project to jewel brilliance.
Learn from these early obstacles.

Six at the top means:

The horses break free.
If the need for aid goes unrecognized, tears and blood will flow.

Horse and wagon part.
Bloody tears flow.

 

Horse

The difficulties at the beginning are too great for some persons. They get stuck and never find their way out; they fold their hands and give up the struggle. Such resignation is the saddest of all things. Therefore Kongfu (Kongzi, Confucius) says of this line:
“Bloody tears flow: one should not persist in this.”

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.

Today: Answer the call to be an inspiration and agent of change.  You will  attract good people to be likewise.” from the I Ching

Answer the call to be an inspiration and agent of change.  You will  attract good people to be likewise.

Meditation: The Positive Mind

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 79 – Failure is an opportunity

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19 – Nineteen  Lin / Noble Calling

The rich, loamy Earth on the banks of the Marsh provides fertile soil for exceptional progress.
The Superior Person is inexhaustible in his willingness to teach, and without limit in his tolerance and support of others.

Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
But be aware that your time is limited; your power will wane, as Summer changes to Fall.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are in a position to help another.
This is a temporary situation, because your power is cyclical, seasonal.
Knowing this, you must perform your good deed without hope of reward.
You are not furthering your own process, but another’s.
Though you may cherish this other, you will never possess.
Touch without grasping.
Take comfort in becoming a fond memory.
Nurture, then let go.’

Nine in the second place means:

If you approach this matter together, good fortune is certain.
Joint approach.
Good fortune.
Everything furthers.

 

 

Landscape inspired by the View of Frascati, 1822
Achille Etna Michallon (1796 – 1822) – Musée du Louvre, Paris

When the stimulus to approach comes from a high place, and when a man has the inner strength and consistency that need no admonition, good fortune will ensue. Nor need the future cause any concern. He is well aware that everything earthly is transitory, and that a descent follows upon every rise, but need not be confused by this universal law of fate. Everything serves to further. Therefore he will travel the paths of life swiftly, honestly, and valiantly.
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.

Today: “You must have a command of the intuitive self to know exactly what you are” – Yogi Bhajan

“You must have a command of the intuitive self to know exactly what you are, and you must fit in with everybody. That is your surrender—to bring mutuality to any non-reality, reality, lies, and truth—without judgment.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA935-980608- Connect the subconscious and intuition

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What else Yogi Bhajan said

Today: Answer the call to be an inspiration and agent of change.  You will  attract good people to be likewise.” from the I Ching

Answer the call to be an inspiration and agent of change.  You will  attract good people to be likewise.

Meditation: The Positive Mind

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 79 – Failure is an opportunity

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19 – Nineteen  Lin / Noble Calling

The rich, loamy Earth on the banks of the Marsh provides fertile soil for exceptional progress.
The Superior Person is inexhaustible in his willingness to teach, and without limit in his tolerance and support of others.

Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
But be aware that your time is limited; your power will wane, as Summer changes to Fall.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are in a position to help another.
This is a temporary situation, because your power is cyclical, seasonal.
Knowing this, you must perform your good deed without hope of reward.
You are not furthering your own process, but another’s.
Though you may cherish this other, you will never possess.
Touch without grasping.
Take comfort in becoming a fond memory.
Nurture, then let go.’

Nine in the second place means:

If you approach this matter together, good fortune is certain.
Joint approach.
Good fortune.
Everything furthers.

 

 

Landscape inspired by the View of Frascati, 1822
Achille Etna Michallon (1796 – 1822) – Musée du Louvre, Paris

When the stimulus to approach comes from a high place, and when a man has the inner strength and consistency that need no admonition, good fortune will ensue. Nor need the future cause any concern. He is well aware that everything earthly is transitory, and that a descent follows upon every rise, but need not be confused by this universal law of fate. Everything serves to further. Therefore he will travel the paths of life swiftly, honestly, and valiantly.
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.

Today: “You are not what you think you are. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“You are not what you think you are. You are what your glands secrete and at what ratio and proportion they secrete. That is very important. Breath of Fire does it all. Thirty-one minutes of Breath of Fire every day will regulate the pituitary. Pituitary will regulate the entire glandular system. Glandular system will change the nervous system. Nervous system will tell the organic system of the blood to just recapture itself. Breath of Fire is a breath which burns away all diseases and karma. It is a conscious voluntary breath. Yogi Bhajan

Meditation:  Breath of Fire

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Today: If the fear, hatred, misinformation and other tribal instincts can be recognized and put aside, then we will experience greater prosperity than ever before.” from the I Ching

If the fear, hatred, misinformation and other tribal instincts can be recognized and put aside, then we will experience greater prosperity than ever before.

Meditation: Meditate on Nothing to Find Prosperity – 19930421

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 79 – Failure is an opportunity

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13 – Thirteen  T’ung Jên / Social Mechanism

Heaven reflects the Flame of clarity:
The Superior Person analyzes the various levels and working parts of the social structure, and uses them to advantage.

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a matter of Positioning — not only yourself, but others as well.
There are niches to be filled, potentials to be realized, right livelihoods to be found.
You are not building a new organization, but shoring up an existing infrastructure.
It’s worth the effort, because it will provide union, community, and an ironclad alliance.

Six in the second place means:

The clan holds tightly, armed against outsiders.
This inbreeds fear and cruelty, which can only give birth to strife and extinction.
Fellowship with men in the clan.
Humiliation.

Harvard Club

Harvard Club – London’s top private club

There is danger here of formation of a separate faction on the basis of personal and egotistic interests. Such factions, which are exclusive and, instead of welcoming all men, must condemn one group in order to unite the others, originate from low motives and therefore lead in the course of time to humiliation.
14 – Fourteen  Ta Yu / Great Treasures

The Fire of clarity illuminates the Heavens to those below:
The Superior Person possesses great inner treasures — compassion, economy, and modesty.
These treasures allow the benevolent will of Heaven to flow through him outward to curb evil and to further good.

Supreme success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have become an instrument of Heaven’s will, offering a balance in the world around you.
It is not swashbuckling prowess or uncanny talent that qualifies you for this office, but your simplest gifts — your modesty, your compassion, your economy.
Because you can see clearly who most needs a miracle, Heaven’s bounty is being put at your disposal.

Today: “You were alive (in the womb) by the navel point. So now you combine the navel with the breath. If you can combine that, you can conquer death.” – Yogi Bhajan

“You were alive (in the womb) by the navel point. So now you combine the navel with the breath. If you can combine that, you can conquer death. It is a very simple yogic rule. Five, ten minutes of Breath of Fire is all you need. If you do Breath of Fire, it will cleanse your lungs and make them strong. You will have deep breathing all day, you will have good oxygen in your bloodstream, and you will be young and healthy for a long time. If you do it five to fifteen minutes every day, it is the best way to keep the blood purified, it doesn’t matter what. It’s a direct blood purification system.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation:  Breath of Fire

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Today: Realizing that you cannot control external events, give up all expectations of others and rely on yourself.” from the I Ching

Realizing that you cannot control external events, give up all expectations of others and rely on yourself.

Meditation: LA950 A00214 20000214 Develop Self-Reliance

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 78 – “Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it.”

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40 – Forty  Hsieh / Liberation

A Thunderous Cloudburst shatters the oppressive humidity:
The Superior Person knows the release in forgiveness, pardoning the faults of others and dealing gently with those who sin against him.

It pays to accept things as they are for now.
If there is nothing else to be gained, a return brings good fortune.
If there is something yet to be gained, act on it at once.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The relief you experience here is not your own personal pardon, but the release of others from your rigid expectations.
Like a hot air balloon, you will rise to new heights as you cast the heavy sandbags of resentments and restrictions away from you.
Feel the lightness of being that results from forgiving others and accepting them as they are.
Free yourself of the endless vigil of policing the behavior of others.
See them for who they are, not what they can or can’t do for you.

Six in the fifth place means:

He escapes the traps set by inferior men, then treats the conspirators as comrades.
By making them friends, he rids himself of enemies.

If only the superior man can deliver himself,
It brings good fortune.
Thus he proves to inferior men that he is in earnest.

Times of deliverance demand inner resolve. Inferior people cannot be driven off by prohibitions or any external means. If one desires to be rid of them, he must first break completely with them in his own mind; they will see for themselves that he is in earnest and will withdraw.

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.

Today: “The navel point is sometimes misunderstood, but it is the most active point in the entire body.” – Yogi Bhajan

“The navel point is sometimes misunderstood, but it is the most active point in the entire body. This is what the scriptures say. Human grows to life (in the womb) without the breath of life (because the praana comes from the mother) through the navel point. The only energy you had was at the navel point. That is why we stimulate the navel. In Kundalini Yoga there are two points that we stir up: one is the pituitary and the other is the navel point.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM249 971230 theorem of the Kundalini Yoga; control your micro & macro consciousness

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Today: “With support, what began as a promising dream has become a passionate cause.- from the I Ching

With support, what began as a promising dream has become a passionate cause.

Meditation: The Alchemist

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 77 – As it acts in the world, the Tao is like the bending of a bow.

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35 – Thirty-Five  Chin / Aspiration

The Sun shines down upon the Earth:
Constantly honing and refining his brilliance, the Superior Person is a Godsend to his people.
They repay his benevolence with a herd of horses, and he is granted audience three times in a single day.

Promotion.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a time of reward for good works.
Those you have helped want to show their gratitude.
Benefits come both from on high and from the humble you uplifted.
Accept all gifts graciously, though the reward may not be what you truly need or hoped for.
Some may bestow more than they can afford to give, but you must realize that they need to feel that they have repaid you.

Six in the third place means:

He is chosen unanimously to carry out the will of the people.
All self-doubt vanishes.

All are in accord. Remorse disappears.

Blackbeard battle

Blackbeard battle

A man strives onward, in association with others whose backing encourages him. This dispels any cause for regret over the fact that he does not have enough independence to triumph unaided over every hostile turn of fate.
30 – Thirty  Li / Igniting

Fire sparks more Flames:
The Superior Person holds an inner Fire that ignites passion in every heart it touches, until all the world is enlightened and aflame.

With so searing a flame, success will not be denied you.
Take care to be as peaceful and nurturing as the cow in the meadow; you are strong enough to be gentle.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

A Promethean flame is delivering light and heat to the situation at hand.
This radiance will cause such an alchemical transformation of circumstances that the changes will seem magical, miraculous.
Yet they are only shifts of perspective and attitude that bring clarity.
The passions kindled by this fire must be harnessed and used judiciously, or they threaten to consume your hopes and dreams.