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

Meditation: NM0163 – Feel God Within You, The Kindness in You

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Today: “Choose, where you can, your government to lead with enlightened clarity rather than ruling with fear.” from the I Ching

Choose, where you can, your government to lead with enlightened clarity rather than ruling with fear.

Meditation: LA021-780319 – You Will Feel Totally Conscious

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

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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.

Six in the fourth place means:

By gaining confidence, the man keeps control of the conflict, avoiding the blood that could be spilled by fear.
No mistakes.

If you’re sincere, blood vanishes and fear gives way.
No blame.

Blodd stains

If one is in the difficult and responsible position of counselor to a powerful man, one should restrain him in such a way that right may prevail. Therein lies a danger so great that the threat of actual bloodshed may arise. Nonetheless, the power of disinterested truth is greater than all these obstacles. It carries such weight that the end is achieved, and all danger of bloodshed and all fear disappear.
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.

Today: “This constant exchange between separation and union are the two basic acts that run the universe.” – Yogi Bhajan

“This constant exchange between separation and union are the two basic acts that run the universe. What do we get out of it? We get bhaag—joy and good fortune. We get out of it what is us, within us. And if we master the mind, elevate ourselves, and entwine the mind in blessing and gratitude, then we get the bliss and meet the Infinite within us.” Yogi Bhajan

Thoughts on identity and you being you

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Today: “Be steady.  Quiet your heart.  Find balance.  Merge the mind in silence.  ” from the I Ching

Be steady.  Quiet your heart.  Find balance.  Merge the mind in silence.

The masters are also in agreement today.  Read the quotes from Yogi Bhajan and Lao Tau.

Meditation: LA741 – 921125 – Dance of Shiva

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

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52 – Fifty-Two  Kên / The Mountain

Above this Mountain’s summit another more majestic rises:
The Superior Person is mindful to keep his thoughts in the here and now.

Stilling the sensations of the Ego, he roams his courtyard without moving a muscle, unencumbered by the fears and desires of his fellows.
This is no mistake.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is a higher vantage point available to you, but it is obscured by the visible peak of personal ambition.
To climb to this higher plane, you must shake off the desires and fears of the conscious, visible world around you.
To make this journey you must quiet the Ego, empty your mind of past and future, and dwell totally in the moment at hand.
Thorough mindfulness of what is before you is the only tranquility.
Be. Here. Now.

The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The male principle is at the top, because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the direction of its movement is downward. Thus there is rest because the movement has come to its normal end.
In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart. It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart. While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Yi Jing holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement. Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.

THE JUDGEMENT

KEEPING STILL. Keeping his back still
So that he no longer feels his body.
He goes into his courtyard
And does not see his people.
No blame.

True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life.
The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement. The back is named because in the back are located all the nerve fibres that mediate movement. If the movement of these spinal nerves is brought to a standstill, the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were. When a man has thus become calm, he may turn to the outside world. He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings, and therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe and for acting in harmony with them. Whoever acts from these deep levels makes no mistakes.

 
 

Still Life with Chinese Lantern flowers

 

Still Life with Chinese Lantern flowers.
Colored lithograph, H.A. Dievenbach 1

THE IMAGE

Mountains standing close together:
The image of KEEPING STILL.
Thus the superior man
Does not permit his thoughts
To go beyond his situation.

Huang Shan

The heart thinks constantly. This cannot be changed, but the movements of the heart – that is, a man’s thoughts – should restrict themselves to the immediate situation. All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.


1. Hendrikus Anthonius Dievenbach (1872 – 1946), was a Dutch artist.
In 1910 he settled in the village of Laren, North-Holland.
Henri Dievenbach was a traditional painter who was particularly inspired by his direct environment.
Apart from farmer’s interiors he made portaits of fellow-villagers. In his later life he painted especially beautiful still lifes and flower pieces, like this colored lithograph with Chinese Lanterns.

Today: “Life is in a balance. The swings in the mind are there to give you experience and to let you discover the you within you. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“Life is in a balance. The swings in the mind are there to give you experience and to let you discover the you within you. For all those who will praise and recognize you, there may be an equal number who want to slander you. You may wonder, “Why?” That balance and swing lets your standard be tested. You cannot hold to something external. You must find your own depth and test it, confirm it.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA741 – 921125 – Dance of Shiva

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Today: “Engage personally, spirit to spirit to inspire wisdom in others.” from the I Ching

Engage personally, spirit to spirit to inspire wisdom in others.

Meditation: NM091 – 19921110 – Self Emboldenment, Engagement, Vision

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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.

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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.

Nine at the top means:

Refusing to serve the conquerors of nations, he sets out to conquer hearts.

He does not serve kings and princes,
Sets himself higher goals.

Napoleon in Berlin

Entry of Napoleon into Berlin, October 27, 1806 – Charles Meynier, 1810

Not every man has an obligation to mingle in the affairs of the world. There are some who are developed to such a degree that they are justified in letting the world go its own way and in refusing to enter public life with a view to reforming it. But this does not imply a right to remain idle or to sit back and merely criticise. Such withdrawal is justified only when we strive to realize in ourselves the higher aims of mankind. For although the sage remains distant from the turmoil of daily life, he creates incomparable human values for the future.

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?

Today: “When you conquer your mind you can listen to wisdom and let it find deep roots in your mind to serve you, to come to you whenever you need direction. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“When you conquer your mind you can listen to wisdom and let it find deep roots in your mind to serve you, to come to you whenever you need direction. You can also speak that wisdom simply. Such wisdom forms rules for life. If you listen carefully to simple wisdom, it enriches the mind and opens the heart to your own intuition.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: Listening to Angelic Whispers – from the Mind

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Today: “Discovering corruption in your associates, it’s better to leave than endure their descent into darkness.” from the I Ching

Discovering corruption in your associates, it’s better to leave than endure their descent into darkness.

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

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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.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
36 – Thirty-Six  Ming I / Eclipsing the Light

Warmth and Light are swallowed by Deep Darkness:
The Superior Person shows his brilliance by keeping it veiled among the masses.

Stay true to your course, despite the visible obstacles ahead.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This time calls for a saintly effort to turn the other cheek.
You have been deliberately injured.
Going blow-for-blow will only escalate this war.
Abstain from vengeance.
Show all watching that you are above it.
Sidestep your aggressor’s headlong charge, giving him the opportunity to fall on his face.

Six in the fourth place means:

The pheasant senses danger and flees the jaws of the trap.
Descending into the belly of the beast, the man beholds the true face of evil.
In revulsion and despair, he flees what he knows he can never defeat.

He penetrates the left side of the belly.
One gets at the very heart of the darkening of the light,
And leaves gate and courtyard.

Hara kiri

Hara kiri

We find ourselves close to the commander of darkness and so discover his most secret thoughts. In this way we realize that there is no longer any hope of improvement, and thus we are enabled to leave the scene of disaster before the storm breaks.
55 – Fifty-Five  Fêng / Abundance

Thunder and Lightning from the dark heart of the storm:
The Superior Person judges fairly, so that consequences are just.

The leader reaches his peak and doesn’t lament the descent before him.
Be like the noonday sun at its zenith.
This is success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are in a position of authority in this situation.
Archetypally, you are the New King, returned from your quest to claim your throne.
However, you are enlightened enough to realize that you are merely a part of a cycle, and that you must someday yield your throne to the new kid in town, the younger, faster gunslinger, the young turk, the next returning hero, the next New King.
Fretting about the inevitable descent is senseless.
For now you must play your role to the hilt and use this gift of power to govern your world as best you can.
You are the best person for the job.
That’s why you were chosen.

Today: “Each cause must have an effect, and every effect honors its cause. ” – Yogi Bhajan

“Each cause must have an effect, and every effect honors its cause. Each word is a cause. Every identity is a cause with its own effects and reality. So a teacher is a teacher, not a human. His effect is teaching, not everything else. To identify your identity and act and speak directly from that with a Neutral Mind gives you caliber, success, and happiness. It trains your mind to use its power to serve you.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA653-900612 – Self Hypnotic Trance

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Today: “The reform of the profound corruption we are witnessing is still possible.  The reformers will inevitably come under attack from the purveyors of corruption, but will still save us with wisdom that has been passed down to us.” from the I Ching

The reform of the profound corruption we are witnessing is still possible.  The reformers will inevitably come under attack from the purveyors of corruption, but will still save us with wisdom that has been passed down to us.

Meditation: NM0413 – Intuition and the Strength of Excellence

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

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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.

Six in the beginning means:

Correcting his father’s error, a son treads dangerously close to dishonor.
Yet sparing his father from blame brings good fortune in the end.

Setting right what has been spoiled by the father.
If there is a son,
No blame rests upon the departed father.
Danger. In the end good fortune.

Lost father

And When Did You Last See Your Father? – William Yeames

Rigid adherence to tradition has resulted in decay. But the decay has not yet penetrated deeply and so can still be easily remedied. It is as if a son were compensating for the decay his father allowed to creep in. Then no blame attaches to the father. However, one must not overlook the danger or take the matter too lightly. Only if one is conscious of the danger connected with every reform will everything go well in the end.
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.

Today: “Technically, the best approach is to do jappa—repeat the words and mantras we use in Kundalini Yoga and from the Shabd Guru.” – Yogi Bhajan

“Technically, the best approach is to do jappa—repeat the words and mantras we use in Kundalini Yoga and from the Shabd Guru. To some that looks insane. But we repeat those words for a purpose and a specific effect. When we repeat those sounds, the tongue touches the upper palate’s meridian points. This alerts the thalamus and hypothalamus of the brain. We can control the brain’s function and level by our use of the shabd. We can settle the function and frequency of the mental projections. Then you can relax and be factual and be present.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA159 800318 NAAD KRIYA

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Today: “Do what you can without forcing any issue.  Apply yourself with your best excellence.  Allow things to turn out as they are destined.  Give up suffering.” from the I Ching

Do what you can without forcing any issue.  Apply yourself with your best excellence.  Allow things to turn out as they are destined.  Give up suffering.

Meditation: NM0413 – Intuition and the Strength of Excellence

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 20 – Stop thinking, and end your problems.

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62 – Sixty-Two  Hsiao Kuo / Lying Low

Thunder high on the Mountain, active passivity:
The Superior Person is unsurpassed in his ability to remain small.
In a time for humility, he is supremely modest.
In a time of mourning, he uplifts with somber reverence.
In a time of want, he is resourcefully frugal.

When a bird flies too high, its song is lost.
Rather than push upward now, it is best to remain below.
This will bring surprising good fortune, if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is no profit to striving here.
To be content with oneself is the greatest success imaginable.
The enlightened person has nothing to prove to himself or others, and thus may always operate from a position of sincerity, with no pretense or posturing.
His humility is guileless simplicity.
His mourning is selfless compassion.
His frugality is an unshakeable faith that he is but a conduit, letting what is needed flow through him to others, with no loss to himself.

Six in the second place means:

She invokes the spirit of her ancestor, but is visited by her ancestress.
He heads straight for the Prince but is intercepted by the Minister.
It is best.

She passes by her ancestor
And meets her ancestress.
He does not reach his prince
And meets the official.
No blame.

Two exceptional situations are instanced here. In the temple of ancestors, where alternation of generations prevails, the grandson stands on the same side as the grandfather. Hence his closest relations are with the grandfather. The present line designates the grandson’s wife, who during the sacrifice passes by the ancestor and goes toward the ancestress. This unusual behavior is, however, an expression of her modesty. She ventures rather to approach the ancestress, for she feels related to her by their common sex. Hence here deviation from the rule is not a mistake.

Another image is that of the official who, in compliance with regulation, first seeks an audience with his prince. If he is not successful in this, he does not try to force anything but goes about conscientious fulfilment of his duty, taking his place among the other officials. This extraordinary restraint is likewise not a mistake in exceptional times.
(The rule is that every official should first have an audience with the prince by whom he is appointed. Here the appointment is made by the minister.)
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.

Today: “To win the game of life you must have caliber. To have caliber you must have an Applied Mind.” – Yogi Bhajan

“To win the game of life you must have caliber. To have caliber you must have an Applied Mind. An Applied Mind is a mind that processes everything positive and negative then acts from the Neutral Mind to express you. The Applied Mind uses the Neutral Mind to assess all positive and negative, but does not react on that basis. It acts to cause a cause that leads to the fulfillment of you and your destiny, you andyour highest identity.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: The Neutral Mind

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Today: “Treat your relations with respect.  Behave with dignity.  Do not squander your goodwill.” from the I Ching

Treat your relations with respect.  Behave with dignity.  Do not squander your goodwill.

Meditation: KWTC 19970630 – For Faculty of Self Engagement

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Tao Te Ching – Verse 18 – When the great Tao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear.

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

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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.

Nine in the third place means:

The traveler causes a fire that burns down the inn.
He loses the trust of his servant and traveling companions.

Danger.

The wanderer’s inn burns down.
He loses the steadfastness of his young servant.
Danger.

Burning house

A truculent stranger does not know how to behave properly. He meddles in affairs and controversies that do not concern him; thus he loses his resting place. He treats his servant with aloofness and arrogance; thus he loses the man’s loyalty. When a stranger in a strange land has no one left on whom he can rely, the situation becomes very dangerous.

51 – Fifty-One  Chên / Thunder

Thunder echoes upon Thunder, commanding reverence for its father Heaven:
In awe of Heaven’s majestic power, the Superior Person looks within and sets his life in order.
Thunder mingles with startled screams of terror for a hundred miles around.
As the people nervously laugh at their own fright, the devout presents the sacrificial chalice with nary a drop of wine spilt.
Deliverance

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

A thunderbolt of Cosmic judgement crashes to earth.
For the common person, it’s just a momentary fright soon forgotten, its warning unfathomed and unheeded.
But to one who understands its significance, this thunder is a signal to awaken.
Centering the Self, seeking balance, the enlightened person will respect and align himself with this Higher Power, while his fellows remain subject to the whims of every passing storm.

Today: “I want to share with you the beauty, the wonders of the human mind. I want you to understand that your mental faculty is not only a power, it is the greatest power, and it is at your call.” – Yogi Bhajan

“I want to share with you the beauty, the wonders of the human mind. I want you to understand that your mental faculty is not only a power, it is the greatest power, and it is at your call. I am not sharing this to be a professional lecturer or even to start some industry. I want to share some simple truths, which are timeless, and which let you live wonderfully as a human being under all the challenges we have to face. I know for all my best efforts, many of you will not understand the depth and effectiveness of these truths now. You were trained to prefer emotions and your own fears above simple truth. When you clear your mind and come to the state of fearlessness, then you will understand these truths, their applications, and implications.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: NM0380 – Ecstasy and Joy

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