Lecture: Yogi Bhajan’s lecture on being human, living without fear in the wilderness of social convention and reversing the direction of its influence.

Advanced Class

Yogi Bhajan’s lecture on being human, living without fear in the wilderness of social convention and reversing the direction of its influence.

Date:  February 27, 1978
Location:  Los Angeles, CA

From: Yogi Bhajan’s lecture in the library of teachings.

YB: And I went to interfaith meeting and there we met people from every walk of Christian faith, people from Jewish faith, Baha’is what not, Sikh Dharma whatever it is, there was about four, five hundred people and then I went to see this Church, old orthodox Church and there was saying of Jesus, ‘If man has the whole world and loses his soul, what worth is that world to him?’

And I am asking the same question to you, if you have the whole world in the palm of your hand and the price is that you have to dump your soul for it, what worth is the life? Are you born to cater to your emotions? Or you were born to master your emotions? Are you so magnetically powerful that you can play any neurotic game and you just say, ‘I am sorry’ and get out of it, you can get out of it? Do you feel that you can betray the trust another man is bound to always trust you? What do you think you are? Don’t you have learned so shall you sow, so shall you reap? Don’t you know this is a indefinite law, you can’t deny it, action has reaction equal and opposite, law of Karma or Newton’s third law of force?

I saw those people and I see you, they admitted one thing today, I said, “One question that the very essence, the requirement of life is happiness and happiness comes from relaxation, do we know how to relax?”

And father Royal Vatican said, ‘well Yogiji knows how to give people exercises and those breathing exercises and chanting and meditation and he can relax his people, but with our sixteen cups of cough, we do not know how’ and he was very honest about it too and this time I have been mid, mid, mid-West the Bible belt of America up to Atlanta I touched and I come back in Los Angeles and I am willing to sit and confront you today. I feel we have done tons of investment in you to be what you are and you are very far-out and do the whole people, honest to God.

Other side of the mountain is very risky, very dark because it is, it is totally built and lived in a kind of a scene what is called is paranoia and I have today realized why Guru Gobind Singh said, live fearlessly, Nirbhao, why Guru Nanak said that word, Nirbhao, Nirvair, you have to be Nirbhao, you have to be fearless to become not to have vengeance, otherwise a fearful man will think of vengeance and manipulation and all those areas. Nirvair, have no vengeance against anybody.

The qualification of a human being or what is called is the basic essentials, you can look as a human being, granted, you can identify yourself as a human being, granted, you can establish yourself as a human being, granted, but do you live as a human being? Before you act do you take care of other man sentiments, his conditions, his personality into account? Does your fiber tolerate that you insult everybody you feel like, you insecure everybody you feel like, you lay your tantrums on anybody you feel like and you can get out of it just like nothing has happened? Can you be that insensitive?

This insensitivity has gone into our kind of genes, into our fiber. Why there is a insensitivity? Why there is a fear and why there is unhappiness? Because we are highly selfish and selfish person is very finite, very limited, all he and she thinks is about themself. They only want to use other people for themself, their relationship, their love, their friendship, their talking, the whole thing is based on one thing and one thing alone. How much blood I can suck out of this being? And how long I can live on this person? I can assure you that’s not a basic human character. If you want to be loved, if you want to be respected, if you want to be comfortable, you got to do one thing, you have to start living as a human being.

Difficulties, pain, misfortune all this is your paranoia, they don’t exist. Today I realized my God, this four, five hundred people are sitting here, they don’t know a thing, within ten years, they will be all shift to Miami Beach to stare out of those glass houses. But one day I can figure it out those graveyards which were sitting there in Florida or in other areas, out of those graveyards living human beings, you can see one day they were young and beautiful. They knew every lush of life, if you know every lush of life, how you end up there, I was very sad also to read that newspaper that (?) Gargo, what is her name was?

Students: (—-)

YB: Now lives alone, makes her own toast, butter it herself and sometime she takes tea because… Without milk because it is not in time and she tried to throw social parties but could not find lot of people coming so, she finally stopped it. Do you know those days, you all must be remembering when she was a actress or a heroine in any of the film, nobody will care for rest of the cost get in, queue in you know, that’s enough. What happened to these personalities? Why people built beautiful Temples after the name of the saints and worship and burn candles even after the death they have gone why? Because those could element, their element could join with the universal element and that connection between the universal element and this element today is a hope for all of you.

So whenever you meditate on that person or touch that person or relate to that person, that connection happens. That’s why, they are not, don’t call them very superior being because then that your another word you are telling God made some superior, some inferior, no that’s not true. Some people broke those walls, those barriers. All people do not love them, you can only love a man of a God, if you don’t have an ego, I can guarantee you that. You can use the word love and play the game, you can play the game to fit into your ego and your personality and your limited consciousness but you can’t swim with that person into the universal frequency and you cannot enjoy and grasp the entire whole being that beauty, that bewitching beauty and towards that end Guru Nanak started working, now I realize why ten Gurus and why ten people have to put in their whole thing into it, why not one prophet, one Guru would have been enough?

No, there are lot of facets, lot of aspects of life, which has to be completed. Seven year old child could stand and be bricked alive and say Wahe Guru, it has to happen, it has to take that many years to reach to the tenth master Guru Gobind Singh and then give birth to a child which can say, Nirbhao, I am fearless. Death can’t do anything to me, nothing can do anything to me, God is with me and that is the responsibility of you all. Can you understand how successful Guru Gobind Singhwas as a father? And how Guru Gobind Singh wife was successful as a mother? You forget about the Guru side of the whole thing but just understand them as a parent, as a institute, as a parental institution, how wonderful and successful it was that because from it came those two children, seven and nine, fourteen and sixteen perfect.

I will like to appeal to your rational, your logic human being, have you ever considered in your life that you also have the same chance? What happens is these men of God came and they told us to worship God, we forgot God and we worship it, we started worshipping these men, convenience because that give us a connection. But what we did is after worshipping them we forgot that what they said, it is funny, I was in Atlanta Georgia and I saw that God bless his life Sat Bheer Singh two year old or year and a half, three year something, I do not know exactly his age is. Little guy I mean to say he is not a big man. But you cannot find another alert child of his caliber.

The most beautiful alertness which he represented was perfect and one when his mother said, I said, “But do you use some special technical” and when I was told by my secretary that she is exactly have totally followed the teachings which has been laid down in the past so many years. I said, “Can you ask her to sum them up to just make a consolidated effort so that everybody know what we are talking about?” Because there sits a living intelligent child, God bless him and worse may not happen to him at all ever.

Such a sweet and alert mind because her mother has thought it’s a gift of God and he must be made as a human being of God, that’s all and she has worked, she has not thought, she has to make this piglet, so that she maybe known she was a human pig but gave only two leg piglet out of the, out of a womb and she raised it exactly like that, so that there will be nuisance to the neighbors, nuisance to the home he lives, nuisance to the whole area and when they grow up they become nuisance to the law and order, nuisance to the country, nuisance to the whole world. And when I looked at that skinny woman and I, I just couldn’t say a thing, I mean I was, I mean to say to tell him to not come with us. She said, “Siri Singh Sahib, I want to go with you on this very plane, why don’t you take me, I won’t give you any trouble.”

(Students’ laughter)

It was far-out I couldn’t believe but this what you can say, what you can say, I told Sat Simran, I said, “Let us run otherwise we are going to get emotionally involved and we will get in trouble.”

(Students’ laughter)

Because he knows which button to press and look at me, I mean to say, he can press my button, what he can do for somebody else and we watched him and he was playing with a girl and I watched him and she punched him and he defended himself and punched back and what they, when he got hurt, he wanted to go in a room to cry, he doesn’t want to stand in hallway and shed his tears.

Sat Simran told me a funny thing, Sat Simran gave him a almond or something to eat and it was not the right time and her mother said, “I don’t think he can eat.”

She said, “Yes I know.” And he gave it back. Why not the child should lie down, ‘no mama, why not to I have a cookie, am I not a good Jew, Ibrahim told us to multiply.’

(Students’ laughter)

Couldn’t she lay all those tantrum those sick things, which make the basic culture? I think we are the worst animal race on this planet, we do not do anything, we spoil our own children because we are emotionally insecure, we are mentally corrupt and we have a bankruptcy of moral and we cannot give our children that strength which they need, I think that is why, Guru Gobind Singh came to prove this miracle that there is no miracle, man can evaluate himself, assess himself and can come out with every perfection. Guru Nanak talked to God and Guru Gobind Singh lived in the very spirit of God and proved and I think you all who has to follow that path.

I, I wonder sometime really do you understand sometime when you emotionally misbehave with your children, overprotect them, overfeed them, give them over lease to do wrong. What you actually do? You actually confirm on them a honoring degree of stupidity you want them to be stupid and there is nobody who can be punished for that, you don’t get punished because you old idiots you get away somewhere and you know you already have made up your money and some pension and other things will come through but those people suffer through the steps of walking the way of life. I think we are not in a position to create a superior human being but we are very conveniently we can, we can be perfect human being.

Today it is my experience that any man who can put it a just a honest effort can become graceful human being. I used to have a doubt that perhaps some people are mentally not capable today I am convinced everybody is mentally capable but emotionally not and why not? Because in the culture where we live, we feel if we do not commit mistake, we do not commit blunders, we do not create chaos, nobody will care for us. We are not convinced that righteousness, truth and decency has any value. I think our motivation is because Mafianos are very powerful, let us be a Mafiano, so we start our little Mafia, wherever we are and this ego and power struggle and in our power control, we end up as a mess.

Look to the reality of Godhood and watch in you, how much divine is near you, I was answering a question and they asked a question, “What best thing can happen to you today, which can be very pleasant, what best?”

And I said, “The best thing today which is happening to me is I am alive. Today there is nothing better happening to me than alive, today I am alive, I have lived today, it’s wonderful.”

“And how your children and you can love somebody, who can tell you God is omnipresent, omniscient, omni-powerful and then you tell him look but you can only find Him in such and such place through such and such way only.”

You will say, “What this man is talking about? I mean to say can you be not more stupid than that, you can do some better stupidity than this.” On one side, you say, God is omniscient, omnipresent, God is beautiful, God is life, God is experience. On the other hand you say, but this but is the main problem of human life. It is my very deep and sincere request that all of us who are trying to be something, let us understand that this game cannot continue.

3HO will serve people, it will continue way of life because it guarantees people to be healthy, happy and holy but those who are in 3HO and are continuously playing games, I think they should better think of themself. Because they are bleeding us, they are not allowing us to expand they are creating a situation, which is very saturated. I am not saying they are not beautiful people, I am not saying they are not beautiful people created by God, I am not saying they are not wonderful people, whom we don’t need but for the time being, we can’t use them. I think this shuttle service has no value and in your very life this shuttle service has no shuttle service has any kind of life. This you cannot create emotions to commotions and create a pattern and neurosis, it’s not healthy. You got to learn one thing, you got to be intelligent and intelligence doesn’t come near that man, who is not faithful.

The very essence, the very lay out of intelligence is you can faithfully present yourself and if you don’t have faith, if you have not lived it, it is not right out of you, how can you present it? That’s why your words are phony they are shallow, they are powerless, they are spiritless that’s why they don’t work at all. That’s why your prayers are not answered. Whole cosmos guarantees one thing, entire vibrant life guarantees one thing, entire happening guarantees one thing, that life is happiness. But this dragging down the situation is that is what the problem is. If this is true in scriptures, now I am using the word if, though I know it is true because you have shaken me so well by repeating the blunders, that in seven years by word of God consciousness changes, that means your patterns of life must change and if you are crossing that seven year limit, it means you love your pattern so deeply, you have loaded yourself so deeply with them that you have forgotten that there is a possibility that you can give yourself a chance and I believe and so the scriptures confirm it that every person can give himself and herself a chance.

I sincerely believe in the very core of my heart that even most misfortune person can become the most fortunate person provided, there is a very big provision, provided you desire to be so. The very desirelessness we talk about, here we are urging and longing for a desire, we need to desire, we want a desire.

I remember about three years ago a woman came to me and she said, “I have come to see you to hear from you the truth, give me some truth so that I can know and fulfill my soul. My soul is hungry for the truth.”

And I said, “Lady, you are not ready.”

She said, “No, no, no, no, don’t misunderstand me, I am so eager.”

I said, “Is that so, you have come in search of truth.” And then I started talking to her and in ten minutes I knew she wanted to runaway. I have talked to many people, when I talk to them and I talk to them the truth. They don’t want to hear, they feel trapped, but dear friends in 8.4 million life cycles at the rate of millions of year of the what you call it ray years, you have blessed yourself with the possibility to be a human being and what it matters, if you have the entire world in the palm of your hand at the cost of your soul.

And I tell you a story, there was a man and very beautiful con intelligent man and he conned somebody and conned so well that he took away the wealth of a person and totally legalized it. So having establishing himself, he took the money and wanted to go to a holy man and give him a present and this man of God said, “Thank you very much and for this present may that soul be blessed, which has retained and sustained itself through the total pain of deceit.”

He said, “Sir, I don’t do any deceit my soul is very free.”

He said, “No, no, no, I am not blessing your soul, I am blessing the soul of the person whom this present belongs to.”

He said, “This present belongs to me.”

He said, “You are a carrier, it doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to the someone who earned it.”

“Sir I earned it.”

He said, “No you only deceived it to your side, you didn’t earn it. You have not earned it and I can’t bless you for this, I am blessing the one.”

He said, “You are blessing him?”

He said, “Look my child, he is victorious and you are a loser because you took away from his, his Earth and he turned himself to ether. I see him in the realm of God consciousness sitting much higher than me and as he through you has send me this present, I want to thank him.”

It opened up his heart he realized that these Earthly games have to have a balance with ether also. This Earthly desires are good, I am not against it but you have to have a desire of God also, you have a desire to be kind also, you have a desire to be gentleman also, those are also desires. Not how can you con somebody, how you can strip somebody, how you can just make a person totally dead, these are not the desires, which will make you happy.

You have to learn in your life to relax. Because the source of happiness is based on relaxation and relaxation must come to you through your inner strength and it is my deep understanding that now I can say it with a clear consciousness that how sick a person maybe, if he has desire to earn Godhood, he can earn but also it is my deepest understanding, if you just give somebody Godhood, he may not be in a position to retain it. Because a foolish person may not value the diamond and may think it is a piece of glass but if you take that piece of glass to a jeweler who has the feeling that this is a diamond, he may pay you lot of money just for, just looking at that beautiful piece.

And that is exactly the story at the time of Guru Nanak. Mardana was very hungry, he said, “Lord, look now the pain not only has come to the heart but it has gone to the head and hunger pain those who know to suffer with hunger pain, they know what it is.”

So Guru Nanak gave him a big ruby and said, “Mardane, just go in the town few miles from here there’s a town, make it there and this piece of stone beautiful, you just show it to people and perhaps somebody can give you some food and you can enjoy yourself.”

So Mardana said, “Thank you Lord.” He picked up that stone, tight in his hand ran. So he first he went to a person, who was selling these white daikon radishes, eggplants those kind of goodies, vegetables, very good stall and other side there was beautiful fruit. So he said, “I have got this beautiful precious stone, if you can give food in turn for me.”

He looked at the stone and he said, “Yeah, hah those leafs of daikon radishes are sitting there you can get them.”

He said, “No daikon radish, no fruit?”

He said, “Oh no, no, no, fruit this side, you don’t look at, this side totally ban.”

He said, “No, no, no that’s not, give my stone to me.”

So he took the stone, he went to a place of a person of a Halwahe one who sell sweetmeats and channi and all that eatables perfect, you who those who have gone to India you know that what halwai is, so he showed him the stone, he said, “Yeah, look good I can use him in balancing the weigh, what do you want out of it?”

He said, “Just anything.”

He said, “I can give you few sweetmeats, just few.”

He said, “Nothing more?”

He said, “You can just have few pooris and I think that is maximum. Don’t ask me more or take your stone back, I don’t want to deal with you.”

He said, “My God Guru Nanak told me it is very precious, when these guys are not even giving me one full man meal what precious is this.” So he said, “Let me go to the jeweler and show him whether the stone is real or precious or not.” So he get to this jeweler shop and he said, “I have got this stone and I want to ask you, can you tell me what can be the price of it.”

The jeweler looked at it and he looked at it and he looked at it and he looked at it and he said, “Oh, nobody can buy it, it is priceless.”

He said, “But what you can give to me?”

He said, “I can give you hundred rupees just for showing it to me. You keep this stone with you, I don’t need the stone, I can’t buy it but I will give you one hundred rupees.” And in those days in one hundred rupee you can buy a one shop of fruit, another shop of halwahi, plus other shop of a vegetable, man all total. In three shops may not be worth eighty rupees. He said, “No, I will give you one hundred rupee because in my lifetime I always thought I can see that kind of stone who is the owner of it?”

He said, “My master.”

He said, “Where he lives?”

He said, “Outside.”

He said, “Don’t worry, are you hungry?”

He said, “Yes.”

He said, “Come with me.” He fed him, he clothed him, he gave him a bath, he did all the service and then he said, “Let us go and see I like to see your master, who has that kind of stones.”

So when he came out and he saw a saintly man sitting in a deep meditation he knew what he is. Learned knows the value of life and ignorant ignores the very value of life for which one has come to the Earth. What is ignorant? Ignorant ignores the very value of life, but the learned knows and lives it, experiences, enjoys it, fulfill himself. This aspect of life in reality we see it in our daily chores but we need the strength. It is that strength which can change ourself and there is no way, there is no miracle that you can have that strength without your Sadhana. These three lines are precious, you may not take care of them but I will repeat them for you, Sadhana Aradhana and Prabhupati, they don’t need explanation.

Sadhana, Aradhana whatever your Sadhana has been given to you do that, Aradhana mean doing the Sadhana and Prabhupati, Prabhu means God, Pati means the master, the swami of God. Therefore, whenever in your life you want to become great then you will take that path which reaches the greatness and the first symptom is that you will adapt your characteristic and your behavior, your personality and your environments to do Sadhana and once you determine yourself that Sadhana is my way of life, then Aradhana is complete and then God must fulfill the very promise.

‘Jho Simare Gobind, Gobind Sev Kamaye. Jho Simrae Gobind, Gobind Sev Kamaye Tein Khe Ghar Lakshmi Neith Neithyaye.’

That’s a very beautiful simple couplet those who meditate and chant and repeat the name of God, God serves them and in their house the Goddess of wealth comes again and again because to such people, opportunities, prosperity, happiness, value, completion of desire become meaningful and to the others all fulfillment becomes meaningless.

Tonight in this series where I am trying to take you that you can enrich yourself, you can be a living human being with a living human experience. You all can do one thing and it is same thing that you stop looking at your past, if you go on the side of the mountain and you look on the deeper side the very fact of your looking at the deeper side may pull you right deep into it and lot of accidents have happened that way but if you look to the top and you know the mark and you make it that is what life is about.

Dear folks, life won’t come again and again, these games you are playing, they will play you out. To become adult in your spiritual life, not in your physical life, you have to one day decide, that’s it. I am, I am, the day you decide this, that is the most fortunate day of your life and of your spiritual (?). Let us do this meditation.

… Inhale, Hari, Hari, Hari, Hari…

(YB & Students chanting, ‘Hari Hari Hari Hari…’)

(Chanting stops)

Don’t become very fast, now listen. Patience pays. Listen to the note and the tune which I am meditating and chanting and then you can create that sound yourself, first is a higher powerful tone, second is female soft sophisticated tone, both are very important. Hari Hari Hari Hari…

(YB & Students chanting, ‘Hari Hari Hari Hari…’)

Side B

(Chanting continues)

(Chanting stops)

Inhale, stretch your hands up please, stretch, stretch powerfully and exhale. Inhale again and please stretch, give your spine a chance, exhale. Inhale again and open your fingers wide and stretch as powerfully as you can and relax. Relax, relax, relax, you did it for eleven minutes, you can recognize if you can do it for a very longtime, it can bring swift and powerful change, mantra is very powerful, so is the possibility. May the longtime…

(Students singing, ‘May the longtime sunshine upon you…’)

(Song stops)

Creator, this congregation has been created by you through all these creatures whom you have directed to come. Those who have found Thy will have come, others couldn’t and you have blessed the ways of these creatures, oh Unknown one through this known action, fulfill their heart, give them health, happiness, wealth, prosperity. So that out of their radiance they can glow and shine in Thy name, may this day bring us to Thee forever, ever and ever. Sat Nam.

Students: Sat Nam.

(Students singing, ‘When things are down and darkest…’)

(Song stops)

Today: “Exercise your duty, even if it is perceived that you are not up to the task.”- from the I Ching

Exercise your duty, even if it is perceived that you are not up to the task.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 35 – She who is centered in the Tao can go where she wishes, without danger.

Meditation:  LA588 890411 Silver Grain Meditation 

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Be patient. Continue to work on yourself. What you sacrifice is not in vain.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “You can serve the greater good without compromising your well-being. It is not necessary to give beyond what is sustainable.”

See related posts.

See on healing with Yogi Bhjan

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
21 – Twenty-One.  Shih Ho / Biting Through

The merciless, searing judgement of Lightning fulfills the warning prophecies of distant Thunder.
Sage rulers preserved Justice by clearly defining the laws, and by delivering the penalties decreed.

Though unpleasant, it is best to let justice have its due.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

A terrible reckoning is due.
A wrong will be righted — and even if it has been you who has been wronged, you will tremble at the terrible power of Justice untempered by Mercy.
Pray for your oppressor, that his punishment will fit his crime.

Six in the third place means:

Biting into dried meat And striking something spoiled.
Uncomfortable, but no harm.

Bites on old dried meat
And strikes on something poisonous.
Slight humiliation. No blame.

Salted and dried meat

Salted and dried meat

Punishment is to be carried out by someone who lacks the power and authority to do so. Therefore the culprits do not submit. The matter at issue is an old one — as symbolized by salted game — and in dealing with it difficulties arise. This old meat is spoiled: by taking up the problem the punisher arouses poisonous hatred against himself, and in this way is put in a somewhat humiliating position. But since punishment was required by the time, he remains free of blame.

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.

Today: “Be patient. Continue to work on yourself.  What you sacrifice is not in vain.”- from the I Ching

Be patient. Continue to work on yourself.  What you sacrifice is not in vain.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 34 – The great Tao flows everywhere

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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “You can serve the greater good without compromising your well-being. It is not necessary to give beyond what is sustainable.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “We must remain alert for images and communications that are designed to misrepresent reality. Wise up! Look to see where intentions are leading rather than what is shown or said.”

See related posts.

See on healing with Yogi Bhjan

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
48 – Forty-Eight.  Ching / The Well

Deep Waters Penetrated and drawn to the surface:
The Superior Person refreshes the people with constant encouragement to help one another.

Encampments, settlements, walled cities, whole empires may rise and fall, yet the Well at the center endures, never drying to dust, never overflowing.
It served those before and will serve those after.
Again and again you may draw from the Well, but if the bucket breaks or the rope is too short there will be misfortune.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is a Source common to us all.
Jung named it the Collective Unconscious.
Others hail it as God within.
Inside each of us are dreamlike symbols and archetypes, emotions and instincts that we share with every other human being.
When we feel a lonely separateness from others, it is not because this Well within has dried up, but because we have lost the means to reach its waters.
You need to reclaim the tools necessary to penetrate to the depths of your fellows.
Then the bonds you build will be as timeless and inexhaustible as the Well that nourishes them.

Six in the fourth place means:

The well is carefully retiled, and in time made pure again.

The well is being lined. No blame.

Stone-lined well

True, if a well is being lined with stone, it cannot be used while the work is going on. But the work is not in vain; the result is that the water stays clear. In life also there are times when a man must put himself in order. During such a time he can do nothing for others, but his work is nonetheless valuable, because by enhancing his powers and abilities through inner development, he can accomplish all the more later on.

28 – Twenty-Eight.  Ta Kuo / Critical Mass

The Flood rises above the tallest Tree:
Amidst a rising tide of human folly, the Superior Person retires to higher ground, renouncing his world without looking back.

Any direction is better than where you now stand.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Several high-priority concerns demand immediate attention.
All are crucial.
None will be denied.
Yet some demand the denial of others.
Like two atoms seeking to occupy the same space, these irresistible forces and immovable objects threaten to ignite a cataclysm that could irreversibly alter your world.
This is no time for fatal heroics.
You are at Ground Point Zero.
Remove yourself from this situation without delay.
Find sanctuary.
Later you may deal with these concerns on your own terms, from a position of strength.

Today: “You can serve the greater good without compromising your well-being.  It is not necessary to give beyond what is sustainable.”- from the I Ching

You can serve the greater good without compromising your well-being.  It is not necessary to give beyond what is sustainable.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 33 – Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.

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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “We must remain alert for images and communications that are designed to misrepresent reality. Wise up! Look to see where intentions are leading rather than what is shown or said.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “We are due for sweeping change. Not violent or destructive action, rather a compassionate, thoughtful and measured reformation of established institutions.”

See related posts.

See on healing with Yogi Bhjan

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
41 – Forty-one.  Sun / Decrease

The stoic Mountain drains its excess waters to the Lake below:
The Superior Person curbs his anger and sheds his desires.

To be frugal and content is to possess immeasurable wealth within.
Nothing of value could be refused such a person.
Make a portion of each meal a share of your offering.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is an occasion for downsizing to fighting trim.
Simplicity and economy are strong defenses against the slings and arrows of Outrageous Fortune.
Whether this is a time of want or a time of plenty, it is an auspicious time to shed a dependency.

Nine in the second place means:

You are able to provide what others need without depriving yourself.
Keep to this humble course of aid, but do not attempt a heroic rescue, or unforeseen calamities will fall.

Perseverance furthers.
To undertake something brings misfortune.
Without decreasing oneself,
One is able to bring increase to others.

American Dignity

‘American Dignity’ – Tomas Lasansky

A high-minded self-awareness and a consistent seriousness with no forfeit of dignity are necessary if a man wants to be of service to others. He who throws himself away in order to do the bidding of a superior diminishes his own position without thereby giving lasting benefit to the other. This is wrong. To render true service of lasting value to another, one must serve him without relinquishing oneself.

27 – Twenty-Seven   I / Providing Nourishment

Beneath the immobile Mountain the arousing Thunder stirs:
The Superior Person preserves his freedom under oppressive conditions by watching what comes out of his mouth, as well as what goes in.

Endure and good fortune will come.
Nurture others in need, as if you were feeding yourself.
Take care not to provide sustenance for those who feed off others.
Stay as high as possible on the food chain.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are a conduit in this instance, able to provide the sustenance needed by others.
Position yourself to nourish the truly needy and worthy.
Avoid situations where you might be coerced into supporting the parasites and vermin who deprive your true charges.
Your own nourishment is an issue here, too.
Remember Lao Tzu’s three Great Treasures:
Only the person possessed of Compassion, Modesty and Frugality can remain fit enough to stay free of desperation and keep control of the situation.

Today: “We are due for sweeping change.  Not violent or destructive action, rather a compassionate, thoughtful and measured reformation of established institutions.”- from the I Ching

We are due for sweeping change.  Not violent or destructive action, rather a compassionate, thoughtful and measured reformation of established institutions.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 31 – Weapons are the tools of violence; all decent men detest them.

Meditation:  LA015 780227 – To Bring Swift and Powerful Change

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “We must come to understand the psyche of the other in order to heal ourselves and others. Relating only to oneself leads to narcissism, which is dangerous for everyone.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “The true leader is allowed her oversized zeal for providing nourishment for the masses. The leader is also a healer.”

See related posts.

See on healing with Yogi Bhjan

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

Nine in the third place means:

Premature action would prove disastrous.
Let the talk of revolution ferment among the people.

When the rumors have reached your ear three times, that is your signal to strike.

Starting brings misfortune.
Perseverance brings danger.
When talk of revolution has gone the rounds three times,
One may commit himself,
And men will believe him.

Goethe

Goethe by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein

When change is necessary, there are two mistakes to be avoided. One lies in excessive haste and ruthlessness, which bring disaster. The other lies in excessive hesitation and conservatism, which are also dangerous. Not every demand for change in the existing order should be heeded. On the other hand, repeated and well-founded complaints should not fail of a hearing. When talk of change has come to one’s ears three times, and has been pondered well, he may believe and acquiesce in it. Then he will meet with belief and will accomplish something.1

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.


1. Cf. Goethe’s tale, “Das Märchen,” in which the phrase, “The hour has come!” is repeated three times before the great transformation begins.

Today: “We must come to understand the psyche of the other in order to heal ourselves and others.  Relating only to oneself leads to narcissism, which is dangerous for everyone.”- from the I Ching

We must come to understand the psyche of the other in order to heal ourselves and others.  Relating only to oneself leads to narcissism, which is dangerous for everyone.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 30 – Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men doesn’t try to force issues or defeat enemies by force of arms

Meditation: Know the Psyche of the Other

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “The true leader is allowed her oversized zeal for providing nourishment for the masses. The leader is also a healer.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Be careful not to trust too quickly nor too deeply. Discern your own strength in relation with negative influences in your relations.”

See related posts.

See on healing with Yogi Bhjan

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
20 – Twenty.  Kuan / Contemplation

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Six in the second place means:

Peeking from behind a screen may ensure your privacy, but it offers you only a partial view.

Contemplation through the crack of the door.
Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.

Curtains

Through the crack of the door one has a limited outlook; one looks outward from within. Contemplation is subjectively limited. One tends to relate everything to oneself and cannot put oneself in another’s place and understand his motives. This is appropriate for a good housewife. It is not necessary for her to be conversant with the affairs of the world. But for a man who must take active part in public life, such a narrow, egotistic way of contemplating things is of course harmful.

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.

Today: “The true leader is allowed her oversized zeal for providing nourishment for the masses. The leader is also a healer.”- from the I Ching

The true leader is allowed her oversized zeal for providing nourishment for the masses.  The leader is also a healer.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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

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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Be careful not to trust too quickly nor too deeply. Discern your own strength in relation with negative influences in your relations.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “When you are feeling trapped under a mountain of difficulties, do not trust offers of relief from dubious or unknown sources so as not to become obligated to perform acts supporting their agenda. Beware of cult and mob mentality.”

See related posts.

See on healing with Yogi Bhjan

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
27 – Twenty-Seven. I / Providing Nourishment

Beneath the immobile Mountain the arousing Thunder stirs:
The Superior Person preserves his freedom under oppressive conditions by watching what comes out of his mouth, as well as what goes in.

Endure and good fortune will come.
Nurture others in need, as if you were feeding yourself.
Take care not to provide sustenance for those who feed off others.
Stay as high as possible on the food chain.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are a conduit in this instance, able to provide the sustenance needed by others.
Position yourself to nourish the truly needy and worthy.
Avoid situations where you might be coerced into supporting the parasites and vermin who deprive your true charges.
Your own nourishment is an issue here, too.
Remember Lao Tzu’s three Great Treasures:
Only the person possessed of Compassion, Modesty and Frugality can remain fit enough to stay free of desperation and keep control of the situation.

Six in the fourth place means:

Climbing to the summit to obtain nourishment for others, you are as alert as a tiger ready to spring.
This is the correct path.

Turning to the summit
For provision of nourishment
Brings good fortune.
Spying about with sharp eyes
Like a tiger with insatiable craving.
No blame.

Tiger

In contrast to the six in the second place, which refers to a man bent exclusively on his own advantage, this line refers to one occupying a high position and striving to let his light shine forth. To do this he needs helpers, because he cannot attain his lofty aim alone. With the greed of a hungry tiger he is on the lookout for the right people. Since he is not working for himself but for the good of all, there is no wrong in such zeal.
21 – Twenty-One.  Shih Ho / Biting Through

The merciless, searing judgement of Lightning fulfills the warning prophecies of distant Thunder.
Sage rulers preserved Justice by clearly defining the laws, and by delivering the penalties decreed.

Though unpleasant, it is best to let justice have its due.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

A terrible reckoning is due.
A wrong will be righted — and even if it has been you who has been wronged, you will tremble at the terrible power of Justice untempered by Mercy.
Pray for your oppressor, that his punishment will fit his crime.

Today: “Be careful not to trust too quickly nor too deeply.  Discern your own strength in relation with negative influences in your relations.”- from the I Ching

Be careful not to trust too quickly nor too deeply.  Discern your own strength in relation with negative influences in your relations.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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

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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “When you are feeling trapped under a mountain of difficulties, do not trust offers of relief from dubious or unknown sources so as not to become obligated to perform acts supporting their agenda. Beware of cult and mob mentality.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Nothing is working. Work on your inner development and start from there rather than try to fix anything all at once. This moment of stagnation will pass.”

See related posts.

Recap: Healing and Meditation Class at Yoga West with Hari Nam Singh 2018-09-18 – Inner Projection

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
58 – Fifty-Eight.  Tui / Empowering

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

Success if you stay on course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Nine in the fifth place means:

You place your trust in an unworthy ally.

Sincerity toward disintegrating influences is dangerous.

Disintegration of Persistence of Memory

‘The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory’ – Salvador Dalí

Dangerous elements approach even the best of men. If a man permits himself to have anything to do with them, their disintegrating influence acts slowly but surely, and inevitably brings dangers in its train. But if he recognizes the situation and can comprehend the danger, he knows how to protect himself and remains unharmed.

Salvador Dalí

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.

Today: “When you are feeling trapped under a mountain of difficulties, do not trust offers of relief from dubious or unknown sources so as not to become obligated to perform acts supporting their agenda.  Beware of cult and mob mentality.”- from the I Ching

When you are feeling trapped under a mountain of difficulties, do not trust offers of relief from dubious or unknown sources so as not to become obligated to perform acts supporting their agenda.  Beware of cult and mob mentality.

Yogi Bhajan told us ” trust no one, not even me” in the context of urging us to be self reliant.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 27 – A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving

Meditation: LA950 A00214 20000214 Develop Self-Reliance

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Nothing is working. Work on your inner development and start from there rather than try to fix anything all at once. This moment of stagnation will pass.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “In this and every moment, let go of everything you think you know. Be still as you witness the world and the cosmos unfolding. Engage. You are the healer.”

See related posts.

Recap: Healing and Meditation Class at Yoga West with Hari Nam Singh 2018-09-18 – Inner Projection

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
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 in the second place means:

Her horses rear in fright; but the highwayman means no harm.
He seeks only the hand of the maiden.
She must refuse him, for she fears a very long journey lies ahead before she can marry.

Difficulties pile up.
Horse and wagon part.
He is not a robber;
He wants to woo when the time comes.
The maiden is chaste,
She does not pledge herself.
Ten years – then she pledges herself.

The Hay Wain

‘The Hay Wain’, 1821 – John Constable

We find ourselves beset by difficulties and hindrances. Suddenly there is a turn of affairs, as if someone were coming up with a horse and wagon and unhitching them. This event comes so unexpectedly that we assume the newcomer to be a robber. Gradually it becomes clear that he has no evil intentions but seeks to be friendly and to offer help. But this offer is not to be accepted, because it does not come from the right quarter. We must wait until the time is fulfilled; ten years is a fulfilled cycle of time. Then normal conditions return of themselves, and we can join forces with the friend intended for us.
Using the image of a betrothed girl who remains true to her lover in face of grave conflicts, the hexagram gives counsel for a special situation. When in times of difficulty a hindrance is encountered and unexpected relief is offered from a source unrelated to us, we must be careful and not take upon ourselves any obligations entailed by such help; otherwise our freedom of decision is impaired. If we bide our time, things will quiet down again, and we shall attain what we have hoped for.1

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.


1. A different translation is possible here, which would result in a different interpretation:

Difficulties pile up
Horse and wagon turn about.
If the robber were not there,
The wooer would come.
The maiden is faithful, she does not pledge herself.
Ten years – then she pledges herself.

Today: “Nothing is working.  Work on your inner development and start from there rather than try to fix anything all at once.  This moment of stagnation will pass.”- from the I Ching

Nothing is working.  Work on your inner development and start from there rather than try to fix anything all at once.  This moment of stagnation will pass.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 26 – The heavy is the root of the light. The unmoved is the source of all movement.

Meditation: M043-19890623 See Your Soul Within Your Third Eye

Meditation: NM345- Strengthen and enhance the radiant body

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – In this and every moment, let go of everything you think you know. Be still as you witness the world and the cosmos unfolding. Engage. You are the healer.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “You are a source of inexhaustible support and wisdom. Realize the benefit you give simply with your presence.”

See related posts.

Recap: Healing and Meditation Class at Yoga West with Hari Nam Singh 2018-09-18 – Inner Projection

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.

yang
yang above: Ch’ien / The Creative, Heaven
yang
yin
yin below: K’un / The Receptive, Earth
yin

 

This hexagram is the opposite of the preceding one (11). Heaven is above, drawing farther and farther away, while the earth below sinks farther into the depths. The creative powers are not in relation. It is a time of standstill and decline. This hexagram is linked with the seventh month (August – September), when the year has passed its zenith and autumnal decay is setting in.

THE JUDGEMENT

STANDSTILL. Evil people do not further
The perseverance of the superior man.
The great departs; the small approaches.

Heaven and earth are out of communion and all things are benumbed. What is above has no relation to what is below, and on earth confusion and disorder prevail. The dark power is within, the light power is without. Weakness is within, harshness without. Within are the inferior, and without are the superior. The way of inferior people is in ascent; the way of superior people is on the decline. But the superior people do not allow themselves to be turned from their principles. If the possibility of exerting influence is closed to them, they nevertheless remain faithful to their principles and withdraw into seclusion.

 

 

Heaven and earth

THE IMAGE

Heaven and earth do not unite:
The image of STANDSTILL.
Thus the superior man falls back upon his inner worth
In order to escape the difficulties.
He does not permit himself to be honored with revenue.

When, owing to the influence of inferior men, mutual mistrust prevails in public life, fruitful activity is rendered impossible, because the fundamentals are wrong. Therefore the superior man knows what he must do under such circumstances; he does not allow himself to be tempted by dazzling offers to take part in public activities. This would only expose him to danger, since he cannot assent to the meanness of the others. He therefore hides his worth and withdraws into seclusion.

Today: “In this and every moment, let go of everything you think you know.  Be still as you witness the world and the cosmos unfolding. Engage.  You are the healer.”- from the I Ching

In this and every moment, let go of everything you think you know.  Be still as you witness the world and the cosmos unfolding.  Engage.  You are the healer.

Stay tuned.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 25 – There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born.

Meditation: M043-19890623 See Your Soul Within Your Third Eye

Meditation: NM345- Strengthen and enhance the radiant body

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “You are a source of inexhaustible support and wisdom. Realize the benefit you give simply with your presence.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Wherever you lack the power to be effective, be open to receiving help that comes to you.”

See related posts.

Recap: Healing and Meditation Class at Yoga West with Hari Nam Singh 2018-09-18 – Inner Projection

Share  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
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.

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

Not even moving a toe.
No mistakes.
Hold to this course.

Keeping his toes still.
No blame.
Continued perseverance furthers.

Mule from Kritsa

Typical mule from Kritsa, Crete Greece

Keeping the toes still means halting before one has even begun to move. The beginning is the time of few mistakes. At that time one is still in harmony with primal innocence. Not yet influenced by obscuring interests and desires, one sees things intuitively as they really are. A man who halts at the beginning, so long as he has not yet abandoned the truth, finds the right way. But persisting firmness is needed to keep one from drifting irresolutely.
27 – Twenty-Seven. I / Providing Nourishment

Beneath the immobile Mountain the arousing Thunder stirs:
The Superior Person preserves his freedom under oppressive conditions by watching what comes out of his mouth, as well as what goes in.

Endure and good fortune will come.
Nurture others in need, as if you were feeding yourself.
Take care not to provide sustenance for those who feed off others.
Stay as high as possible on the food chain.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are a conduit in this instance, able to provide the sustenance needed by others.
Position yourself to nourish the truly needy and worthy.
Avoid situations where you might be coerced into supporting the parasites and vermin who deprive your true charges.
Your own nourishment is an issue here, too.
Remember Lao Tzu’s three Great Treasures:
Only the person possessed of Compassion, Modesty and Frugality can remain fit enough to stay free of desperation and keep control of the situation.

Today: “You are a source of inexhaustible support and wisdom.  Realize the benefit you give simply with your presence.”- from the I Ching

You are a source of inexhaustible support and wisdom.  Realize the benefit you give simply with your presence.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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

Recap: Healing and Meditation Class at Yoga West with Hari Nam Singh 2018-09-18 – Inner Projection

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Wherever you lack the power to be effective, be open to receiving help that comes to you.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “You are at the mercy of the flow of events. Any changes or improvement of your situation must come from change within you.”

See related posts.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
48 – Forty-Eight.  Ching / The Well

Deep Waters Penetrated and drawn to the surface:
The Superior Person refreshes the people with constant encouragement to help one another.

Encampments, settlements, walled cities, whole empires may rise and fall, yet the Well at the center endures, never drying to dust, never overflowing.
It served those before and will serve those after.
Again and again you may draw from the Well, but if the bucket breaks or the rope is too short there will be misfortune.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is a Source common to us all.
Jung named it the Collective Unconscious.
Others hail it as God within.
Inside each of us are dreamlike symbols and archetypes, emotions and instincts that we share with every other human being.
When we feel a lonely separateness from others, it is not because this Well within has dried up, but because we have lost the means to reach its waters.
You need to reclaim the tools necessary to penetrate to the depths of your fellows.
Then the bonds you build will be as timeless and inexhaustible as the Well that nourishes them.

Six at the top means:

This well is dependable and available to all.
Supreme good fortune.

One draws from the well
Without hindrance.
It is dependable.
Supreme good fortune.

Swimming pool at sea

The well is there for all. No one is forbidden to take water from it. No matter how many come, all find what they need, for the well is dependable. It has a spring and never runs dry. Therefore it is a great blessing to the whole land. The same is true of the really great man, whose inner wealth is inexhaustible; the more that people draw from him, the greater his wealth becomes.

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: “Wherever you lack the power to be effective, be open to receiving help that comes to you.”- from the I Ching

Wherever you lack the power to be effective, be open to receiving help that comes to you.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 23 – Express yourself completely, then keep quiet

Meditation: Meditate on Nothing to Find Prosperity – 19930421

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “You are at the mercy of the flow of events. Any changes or improvement of your situation must come from change within you.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Use all that you have to for the greatest good. Channel your abundance to where it is needed.”

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Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
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 in the fourth place means:

Her horses break away.
Turning back, she must learn to trust, and accept the escort of her spurned highwayman.
What seemed at first misfortune will lead to marriage.

Horse and wagon part.
Strive for union.
To go brings good fortune.
Everything acts to further.

 

 

‘The Hay Wain’ – John Constable, 1821, The National Gallery, London

We are in a situation in which it is our duty to act, but we lack sufficient power. However, an opportunity to make connections offers itself. It must be seized. Neither false pride nor false reserve should deter us. Bringing oneself to take the first step, even when it involves a certain degree of self-abnegation, is a sign of inner clarity. To accept help in a difficult situation is not a disgrace. If the right helper is found, all goes well.
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.
Give it your personal best.

Today: “You are at the mercy of the flow of events.  Any changes or improvement of your situation must come from change within you.”- from the I Ching

You are at the mercy of the flow of events.  Any changes or improvement of your situation must come from change within you.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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.

Meditation: LA057 780928 Change your frequency

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Broaden your view. Include everything. Feel everything from the inside, merging with the outside.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Enjoy what has been accomplished by many small measures and its ensuing peace. Any further action may disrupt it.”

See related posts.

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

yin
yang above: Tui / The Joyous, Lake
yang
yin
yang below: K’an / The Abysmal, Water
yin

 

The lake is above, water below; the lake is empty, dried up.1
Exhaustion is expressed in yet another way: at the top, a dark line is holding down two light lines; below, a light line is hemmed in between two dark ones. The upper trigram belongs to the principle of darkness, the lower to the principle of light. Thus everywhere superior men are oppressed and held in restraint by inferior men.THE JUDGEMENT

OPPRESSION. Success. Perseverance.
The great man brings about good fortune.
No blame.
When one has something to say,
It is not believed.

Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right man. When a strong man meets with adversity, he remains cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. He who lets his spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly has no success. But if adversity only bends a man, it creates in him a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself. No inferior man is capable of this. Only the great man brings about good fortune and remains blameless. It is true that for the time being outward influence is denied him, because his words have no effect. Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.

Dry lake

THE IMAGE

There is no water in the lake:
The image of EXHAUSTION.
Thus the superior man stakes his life
On following his will.

When the water has flowed out below, the lake must dry up and become exhausted. That is fate. This symbolises an adverse fate in human life. In such times there is nothing a man can do but acquiesce in his fate and remain true to himself. This concerns the deepest stratum of his being, for this alone is superior to all external fate.


1. [Literally, “exhausted”.]

Today: “Use all that you have to for the greatest good.  Channel your abundance to where it is needed.”- from the I Ching

Use all that you have to for the greatest good.  Channel your abundance to where it is needed.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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

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

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Broaden your view. Include everything. Feel everything from the inside, merging with the outside.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “Enjoy what has been accomplished by many small measures and its ensuing peace. Any further action may disrupt it.”

See related posts.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
15 – Fifteen.  Ch’ien / Modesty

The Mountain does not overshadow the Plain surrounding it:
Such modest consideration in a Superior Person creates a channel through which excess flows to the needy.

Success if you carry things through.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The Cosmos is moving toward equilibrium.
Extremes are being tempered, excess is beginning to shift toward the empty.
You can use these moderating influences to strike a balance in the world around you.
Remember, though, that this Leveling will not come about through an arrogant confiscation of excess, but through subtler persuasions.
Modesty and moderation are the keys.

yin
yin above: K’un / The Receptive, Earth
yin
yang
yin below: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain
yin

 

This hexagram is made up of the trigrams Kên, Keeping Still, mountain, and K’un. The mountain is the youngest son of the Creative (1), the representative of heaven and earth. It dispenses the blessings of heaven, the clouds and rain that gather round its summit, and thereafter shines forth radiant with heavenly light. This shows what modesty is and how it functions in great and strong men. K’un, the earth, stands above. Lowliness is a quality of the earth: this is the very reason why it appears in this hexagram as exalted, by being placed above the mountain. This shows how modesty functions in lowly, simple people: they are lifted up by it.

THE JUDGEMENT

MODESTY creates success.
The superior man carries things through.

It is the law of heaven to make fullness empty and to make full what is modest; when the sun is at its zenith, it must, according to the law of heaven, turn toward its setting, and at its nadir it rises toward a new dawn. In obedience to the same law, the moon when it is full begins to wane, and when empty of light it waxes again. This heavenly law works itself out in the fates of men also. It is the law of earth to alter the full and to contribute to the modest. High mountains are worn down by the waters, and the valleys are filled up. It is the law of fate to undermine what is full and to prosper the modest. And men also hate fullness and love the modest.
The destinies of men are subject to immutable laws that must fulfil themselves. But man has it in his power to shape his fate, according as his behavior exposes him to the influence of benevolent or of destructive forces. When a man holds a high position and is nevertheless modest, he shines with the light of wisdom; if he is in a lowly position and is modest, he cannot be passed by. Thus the superior man can carry out his work to the end without boasting of what he has achieved.

 

THE IMAGE

Within the earth, a mountain:
The image of MODESTY.
Thus the superior man reduces that which is too much,
And augments that which is too little.
He weighs things and makes them equal.

The wealth of the earth in which a mountain is hidden is not visible to the eye, because the depths are offset by the height of the mountain. Thus high and low complement each other and the result is the plain. Here an effect that it took a long time to achieve, but that in the end seems easy of accomplishment and self-evident, is used as the image of modesty. The superior man does the same thing when he establishes order in the world; he equalises the extremes that are the source of social discontent and thereby creates just and equable conditions.1 2


1. This hexagram offers a number of parallels to the teachings of the Old and the New Testament, e.g., “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” [Matt. 23:12]; “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” [Isa. 40: 4]; “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” [Jas. 4: 6]. The concept of the Last Judgment in the Parsee religion shows similar features. The Greek notion of the jealousy of the gods might be mentioned in connection with the third of the biblical passages here cited.

2. There are not many hexagrams in the Book of Changes in which all the lines have an exclusive favorable meaning, as in the hexagram of MODESTY. This shows how great a value Chinese wisdom places on this virtue.

Today: “Broaden your view. Include everything.  Feel everything from the inside, merging with the outside.”- from the I Ching

Broaden your view. Include everything.  Feel everything from the inside, merging with the outside.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

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

Meditation: Know the Psyche of the Other

Today: I Ching – Previous Reading – “Enjoy what has been accomplished by many small measures and its ensuing peace. Any further action may disrupt it.”

Today: I Ching – Previous previous reading – “If you live simply without social ambition and do your work to your satisfaction, you will be free to live as you will and unencumbered by social pressures.”

See related posts.

Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
20 – Twenty.  Kuan / Contemplation

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Six in the second place means:

Peeking from behind a screen may ensure your privacy, but it offers you only a partial view.

Contemplation through the crack of the door.
Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.

Curtains

Through the crack of the door one has a limited outlook; one looks outward from within. Contemplation is subjectively limited. One tends to relate everything to oneself and cannot put oneself in another’s place and understand his motives. This is appropriate for a good housewife. It is not necessary for her to be conversant with the affairs of the world. But for a man who must take active part in public life, such a narrow, egotistic way of contemplating things is of course harmful.

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.