Today: “Now we have to understand…how we can tune our mind to Infinity. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“Now we have to understand, clearly and consciously, how we can tune our mind to Infinity. You should have started learning this when you were one day old. Now one day plus all the days you have lived, that is your handicap. It is that handicap which we have to overcome. And there is a mantra which gives us a secret power. Today I’ll tell you the secret of chanting the Ong mantra. There is a pre-condition to the mantra, because sometime you may just get into your ego and chant Ong and not come back. Whenever you chant it, you must meditate first on the primal sound “Saa-Taa-Naa-Maa” and then do it. So let me record that warning and then we are free, we can do it.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA093-790319 – Pranic Energy – the Earth Element Balanced by Ether

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Today: “You have come here to be teachers. You should understand something about life. Life is not what you think.” – Yogi Bhajan

“You have come here to be teachers. You should understand something about life. Life is not what you think. Life is not what you want. Life is not in surrender. Life is not in revolt. Life is not in disobedience. Life is not in obedience. Life is in life, which must be accepted, must be lived, must be recognized, must be organized. It must be mutual in essence. There are three stages. If there is a truth, it will be universal and mutual to all. If it is an ego, it will be mutual only to a few. If it is a neurosis, then it will be mutual only to you.” Yogi Bhajan

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

Life

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Today: “You gifts of sincerity and humility are worth far more than anything material that you could offer. – from the I Ching

You gifts of sincerity and humility are worth far more than anything material that you could offer.

Meditation: A Prayer for Peace

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 76 – Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
22 – Twenty-Two  Pi / Grace

Fire illuminates the base of the Mountain:
The Superior Person realizes he has not the wisdom to move the course of the world, except by attending to each day’s affairs as they come.

Success in small matters.
This is a good time to begin something.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The emphasis now is on form, not function — on the sizzle and not the steak.
The environment around you is not one of depth, and you are appreciated now for your image, not your essence.
You perfectly fill a role, and no one is seeing the genuine you.
Still, you are being listened to and watched.
Use this influence to further your goals as much as possible.
Even if you don’t feel understood, you can perhaps connect with a few isolated hearts.
Relax and enjoy the attention.

Six in the fifth place means:

Your small roll of silk seems a shameful offering among the splendor of his gardens, yet it is your sincerity and perseverance that are truly prized.

Grace in the hills and gardens.
The roll of silk is meagre and small.
Humiliation, but in the end good fortune.

A man withdraws from contact with people of the lowlands, who seek nothing but magnificence and luxury, into the solitude of the heights. There he finds an individual to look up to, whom he would like to have as a friend. But the gifts he has to offer are poor and few, so that he feels ashamed. However, it is not the material gifts that count, but sincerity of feeling, and so all goes well in the end.

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: “All you can do is live by your principles while the wold is in chaos.  After all conflict, ultimately, principles will prevail.” – from the I Ching

All you can do is live by your principles while the wold is in chaos.  After all conflict, ultimately, principles will prevail.

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

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 75 – When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
12 – Twelve  P’i / Stagnation

Heaven and Earth move away from each other.
In the ensuing void, the small invade where the great have departed.
There is no common meeting ground, so the Superior Person must fall back on his inner worth and decline the rewards offered by the inferior invaders.

Difficult trials as you hold to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

It is natural to assume that, if Earth above Heaven forms the hexagram for Peace and Paradise, then the opposite configuration, with Heaven over Earth would represent the antithesis of Paradise, Hell.
Not so.
This hexagram is actually the Dark side of Peace, its unsavory byproduct, Stagnation.
In a time when most of our wants are provided, there is little need for the heroes, the artists, the great thinkers and innovators.
As they recede into the shadows, Idleness, Apathy, and Lassitude come to the forefront.
Peace has become boring, bland, unchallenging — Stagnant.
Now our attention turns to the quick fix, the instant celebrity, the fad, the one-nighter, the current buzz.
There is no room for depth.
If you are a passionate soul, you must wait for a better time to find kindred spirits.
In these times, they are only curious legends, bas-relief, dead poets.

Six in the second place means:
They bear and endure;
This means good fortune for inferior people.
The standstill serves to help the great man to attain success.

Sycophants

‘Art Gallery Sycophants’, 1979 – Lance Olsen

Inferior people are ready to flatter their superiors in a servile way. They would also endure the superior man if he would put an end to their confusion. This is fortunate for them. But the great man calmly bears the consequences of the standstill. He does not mingle with the crowd of the inferior; that is not his place. By his willingness to suffer personally he insures the success of his fundamental principles.

6 – Six  Sung / Conflict

The high Heavens over a yawning Deep chasm:
An expansive void where nothing can dwell.
Even though he sincerely knows he is right, the Superior Person anticipates opposition and carefully prepares for any incident.

Good fortune if your conflict results in compromise.
Misfortune if your conflict escalates to confrontation.
Seek advice.
Postpone your crossing to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Conflict is a necessary part of life.
Tension upon the strings of a violin can make majestic music.
The critical mass of two hydrogen atoms trying to occupy the same space fuel the sun that nourishes our solar system.
Most conflicts you face in life are the result of your Path converging with another’s.
Your Path is not his, and one Path is not necessarily more right than the other.
Can you work together to remove the blockage?

Today: “We are not fools when we tell you, “Get up in the morning and have a cold shower.” – Yogi Bhajan

“We are not fools when we tell you, “Get up in the morning and have a cold shower.” All we want is the blood to circulate through the capillaries, and there’s no way to open the capillaries but to take a cold shower. There’s no other way. In the West it is called “hydrotherapy.” In the East it’s called “ishnaan.” It’s a most beautiful thing. When you take a cold shower, the blood from inside hits the outside to cover the attack. In that fast movement, it opens the capillaries. When the capillaries are open, they feed your glands, and when a glandular system is well-fed, it secretes. The chemistry of your blood becomes perfect. That gives you a capacity to act, think, know; and it gives you grit, stamina. What is so bad about that?” Yogi Bhajan

See lecture on cold showers

Meditation: M136-970930 – Reality and discipline

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Today: “Be radiant as the midday sun.  Gratitude and kindness dissolve all conflict.” – from the I Ching

Be radiant as the midday sun.  Gratitude and kindness dissolve all conflict.  Let go and leave your karma behind.

Meditation: NM0415 – 20010910 – Karma & Dharma

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 73 – The Tao is always at ease.

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

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

Six in the second place means:

Glowing yellow warmth as if from the sun.
Supreme good fortune.

Yellow light. Supreme good fortune.

Sun

Midday has come; the sun shines with a yellow light. Yellow is the color of measure and mean. Yellow light is therefore a symbol of the highest culture and art, whose consummate harmony consists in holding to the mean.
38 – Thirty-Eight  K’uei / Estrangement

Fire distances itself from its nemesis, the Lake:
No matter how large or diverse the group, the Superior Person remains uniquely himself.

Small accomplishments are possible.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are working at cross-purposes with another.
The distance between you is very wide.
The gap can be closed, however, with no compromise of your integrity.
You are not adversaries in this case — just two persons addressing individual needs.
Ask yourself: are these needs mutually exclusive?
Is there common ground here?
Must there be one winner and one loser?
Could you become partners in seeking a soluti

Today: “Once you surrender, the karma surrenders with it; and once the karma surrenders with it, you are free.” – Yogi Bhajan

“Once you surrender, the karma surrenders with it; and once the karma surrenders with it, you are free. Then you can adopt Dharma. The moment you are in Dharma, and Dharma is your priority, you will never be subject to karma—you are free, you are liberated, you are fine. You are yourself. And then you enjoy yourself. You say what you feel, you do what you feel, you are an elevated self. It’s very fine, it’s very neat.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0415 – 20010910 – Karma & Dharma

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Today: “Show your resolve and strength.  Receive hostile affronts without reaction.” – from the I Ching

Show your resolve and strength.  Receive hostile affronts without reaction.

Meditation: NM0336 – For Inner Strength

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 73 – The Tao is always at ease.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
33 – Thirty-Three  Tun / Retreat

The tranquil Mountain towers overhead, yet remains this side of Heaven:
The Superior Person avoids the petty and superficial by keeping shallow men at a distance, not in anger but with dignity.

Such a retreat sweeps the path clear to Success.
Occupy yourself with minute detail.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Retreat in this instance is not a desperate flight in disarray, but a conscious choice to distance yourself from forces that would rob you of your peace.
It is not a surrender, but a regrouping.
Retreat from this conflict is actually an advance toward your own center.
You move toward balance, and thus a much stronger position.

The power of the dark is ascending. The light retreats to security, so that the dark cannot encroach upon it. This retreat is a matter not of man’s will but of natural law. Therefore in this case withdrawal is proper; it is the correct way to behave in order not to exhaust one’s forces.1
In the calendar this hexagram is linked with the sixth month (July-August), in which the forces of winter are already showing their influence.THE JUDGEMENT

RETREAT. Success.
In what is small, perseverance furthers.

Conditions are such that the hostile forces favored by the time are advancing. In this case retreat is the right course, and it is through retreat that success is achieved. But success consists in being able to carry out retreat correctly. Retreat is not to be confused with flight. Flight means saving oneself under any circumstances, whereas retreat is a sign of strength. We must be careful not to miss the right moment while we’re in full possession of power and position. Then we shall be able to interpret the signs of the time before it is too late and to prepare for provisional retreat instead of being drawn into a desperate life-and-death struggle. Thus we do not simply abandon the field to the opponent; we make it difficult for him to advance by showing perseverance in single acts of resistance. In this way we prepare, while retreating, for the counter- movement. Understanding the laws of a constructive retreat of this sort is not easy. The meaning that lies hidden in such a time is important.

 

A Peaceful Retreat - Thomas Kinkade

 

‘A Peaceful Retreat’ by Thomas Kinkade

THE IMAGE

Mountain under heaven: the image of RETREAT.
Thus the superior man keeps the inferior man at a distance,
Not angrily but with reserve.

The mountain rises up under heaven, but owing to its nature it finally comes to a stop. Heaven on the other hand retreats upward before it into the distance and remains out of reach. This symbolises the behavior of the superior man toward a climbing inferior; he retreats into his own thoughts as the inferior man comes forward. He does not hate him, for hatred is a form of subjective involvement by which we are bound to the hated object. The superior man shows strength (heaven) in that he brings the inferior man to a standstill (mountain) by his dignified reserve.


1. The idea expressed by this hexagram is similar to that in the saying of Jesus: “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil” (Matt.  5:39).

Today:”One breath per minute optimizes the cooperation between the left and right brain hemispheres.” Yogi Bhajan

“One breath per minute optimizes the cooperation between the left and right brain hemispheres. There is an experience of great calmness and openness to spiritual experience. Intuition is developed. The whole brain works, especially the brain stem and frontal lobes.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny

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Today: “Hold an attitude of gratitude.  No expectations, envy or regrets.  It will catch on with others.” – from the I Ching

Hold an attitude of gratitude.  No expectations, envy or regrets.  It will catch on with others.

Musings on Grace and Gratitude

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 71 – Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease.

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

Six in the third place means:

An innocent man is unjustly accused of the theft of an ox taken by a drifter.
His very simplicity will acquit him.
Undeserved misfortune.
The cow that was tethered by someone
Is the wanderer’s gain, the citizen’s loss.

Tethered cow

Sometimes undeserved misfortune befalls a man at the hands of another, as for instance when someone passes by and takes a tethered cow along with him. His gain is the owner’s loss. In all transactions, no matter how innocent, we must accommodate ourselves to the demands of the time, otherwise unexpected misfortune overtakes us.

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.

Today: “Some people waste their entire life showing off that they are somebody.” – Yogi Bhajan

“Some people waste their entire life showing off that they are somebody. Some people waste their entire life rebelling. Some people are egomaniac neurotics; they will build themselves into a millionaire, and then destroy it. What a drama! What is this? Have you seen some people? With all that God has given to them, they are very ungrateful. They will plead poor, they will plead miserable.” Yogi Bhajan

Yogi Bhajan’s Seven Steps to Happiness

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