Tag: Tao Te Ching

Meditation: NM0406 – Know the Best of You – Share the Best with Others

Today: Sustained passion brings good results. Avoid burnout. – from the I Ching

Sustained passion brings good results. Avoid burnout.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 52 – In the beginning was the Tao. All things issue from it; all things return to it.

30 – Thirty Li / Igniting

He bursts into flame, dazzles with his brilliance, spends his fuel, dies out quickly and is forgotten.

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Nine in the fourth place means:

He bursts into flame, dazzles with his brilliance, spends his fuel, dies out quickly and is forgotten.

Its coming is sudden;
It flames up, dies down, is thrown away.

Meteor

Clarity of mind has the same relation to life that fire has to wood. Fire clings to wood, but also consumes it. Clarity of mind is rooted in life but can also consume it. Everything depends on how the clarity functions. Here the image used is that of a meteor or a straw fire. A man who is excitable and restless may rise quickly to prominence but produces no lasting effects. Thus matters end badly when a man spends himself too rapidly and consumes himself like a meteor.

11 – Eleven T’ai / Peace

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

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

Today: “You communicate with you. Your mind communicates with your mind.” – Yogi Bhajan

“You communicate with you. Your mind communicates with your mind. Now you have to understand which mind because your mind communicates with your mind. One mind is the mind of the intellect and senses, the other mind is that which observes what the mind of the intellect is doing. We call it consciousness.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: M061b-19901124 – Know the structure of the mind

Meditation: LA544 – 870610 – Know and Experience the Unknown

Today: Enlist yourself in public office or other service, and your good fortune will grow exponentially. – from the I Ching

Enlist yourself in public office or other service, and your good fortune will grow exponentially.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 51 – Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao

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

11 – Eleven T’ai / Peace

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Nine at the beginning [yang at bottom] means:

When the grass is pulled up the earth in which it is firmly rooted comes up with it.
You share your new wealth with loved ones, creating a conduit for even greater fortune.

When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it.
Each according to his kind.
Undertakings bring good fortune.

Ribbon grass

In times of prosperity every able man called to fill an office draws like-minded people along with him, just as in pulling up ribbon grass one always pulls up a bunch of it, because the stalks are connected by their roots. In such times, when it is possible to extend influence widely, the mind of an able man is set upon going out into life and accomplishing something.

46 – Forty-Six Shêng / Upward Mobility

Beneath the Soil, the Seedling pushes upward toward the light:
To preserve his integrity, the Superior Person contents himself with small gains that eventually lead to great accomplishment.

Supreme Success.
Have no doubts.
Seek guidance from someone you respect.
A constant move toward greater clarity will bring reward.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are progressing, rising inch-by-inch toward certain success.
What makes this assured is your refusal to tilt headlong toward your goal, slamming into obstacles and going mad with frustration.
You have a clear map before you of the steps necessary to reach your objective.
With faithful patience and a careful conservation of personal energy and resources, you will run this long, slow distance.

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

Today: If you don’t like your leaders, do something about it. Calling out those who still can be shamed will help. While there is still democracy, vote them out. – from the I Ching

If you don’t like your leaders, do something about it. Calling out those who still can be shamed will help. While there is still democracy, vote them out.

Meditation: KWTC19950725 Meditation to Balance the Tattvas

Tao Te Ching – Verse 50 – The Master gives himself up to whatever the moment brings

12 – Twelve P’i / Stagnation

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

Difficult trials as you hold to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Six in the third place means:

They bear shame.

Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI in the Garden of the Tuilerie

Inferior people who have risen to power illegitimately do not feel equal to the responsibility they have taken upon themselves. In their hearts they begin to be ashamed, although at first they do not show it outwardly. This marks a turn for the better.

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.

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

Today: “Mind is a unit energy given to you to serve you” – Yogi Bhajan

“Mind is a unit energy given to you to serve you. Be its guide and not its slave.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA041-780525- Control the Mind

Meditation: 771201 – Three Minute Meditation – For a Meditative Mind

Today: Look at all the choices you have made to this point and their perceivable consequences. If you are satisfied with current results, then expect ultimate success and good fortune. – from the I Ching

Look at all the choices you have made to this point and their perceivable consequences. If you are satisfied with current results, then expect ultimate success and good fortune.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 49 – The Master has no mind of her own. She works with the mind of the people.

10 – Ten Lü / Worrying the Tiger

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Nine at the top means:

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

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

‘Enjoying the Fruit of Labor’ – Keith Martin Johns

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

47 – Forty-Seven K’un / Exhaustion

A Dead Sea, its Waters spent eons ago, more deadly than the desert surrounding it:
The Superior Person will stake his life and fortune on what he deeply believes.

Triumph belongs to those who endure.
Trial and tribulation can hone exceptional character to a razor edge that slices deftly through every challenge.
Action prevails where words will fail.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is the realm of the Shaman.
You have exhausted every alternative, spent yourself completely, taxed body and mind beyond your former limits.
Survival and salvation lie beyond your reach now.
Only transcendence to a new existence — a higher plane of being — will see you through.
The Old You is just a dry husk.
You can’t return to it.
Metamorphosis is the only grace offered.
You can only return to your homeland as a New You.

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

Today: “When we feel we are limited, we become limited” – Yogi Bhajan

“When we feel we are limited, we become limited. When we feel we are unlimited, we become unlimited.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA571 890214 Let Go of Your Limitations

Meditation: TCH36-8I-2000724-You and Thou

Today: You will be victorious in struggle after struggle, knowing it is the right thing to do for all concerned.- from the I Ching

You will be victorious in struggle after struggle, knowing it is the right thing to do for all concerned.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 48 – In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Tao, every day something is dropped.

39 – Thirty-Nine Chien / Obstacle

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Six in the second place means:

He stoically faces trial after trial, knowing his loyal labors will benefit another.
The King’s servant is beset by obstruction upon obstruction,
But it is not his own fault.

‘The parable of The Unmerciful Servant’ (Matthew 18:28) – Harold Copping

Ordinarily it is best to go around an obstacle and try to overcome it along the line of least resistance. But there is one instance in which a man must go out to meet the trouble, even though difficulty piles upon difficulty: this is when the path of duty leads directly to it – in other words, when he cannot act of his own volition but is duty bound to go and seek out danger in the service of a higher cause. Then he may do it without compunction, because it is not through any fault of his that he is putting himself in this difficult situation.

43 – Forty-Three Kuai / Breakthrough

A Deluge from Heaven:
The Superior Person rains fortune upon those in need, then moves on with no thought of the good he does.

The issue must be raised before an impartial authority.
Be sincere and earnest, despite the danger.
Do not try to force the outcome, but seek support where needed.
Set a clear goal.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Your iron will must come to the forefront now.
It will take great personal determination to resolve the situation in question.
Your adversary would love to force you into an angry display.
That would legitimize his opposition to you.
Such a berserker rage would drag you down to his level.
You must resolutely take a public stand against what he represents, but refuse to engage him.
Without compromise, you show others the way to higher ground.

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

Today: Though you have completely become yourself, there is still work to do, if you choose. Others are fortunate to know you, yet they do not yet realize it.- from the I Ching

Though you have completely become yourself, there is still work to do, if you choose. Others are fortunate to know you, yet they do not yet realize it.

Meditation: M136-970930 – Work on Shashara, Balance Earth and Heavens

Tao Te Ching – Verse 47 – Without opening your door, you can open your heart to the world

19 – Nineteen Lin / Noble Calling

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

Six at the top means:

You approach with humble honesty and generosity.
This is a superior act.

Greathearted approach.
Good fortune. No blame.

‘Supper at Emmaus’ (Luke 24) – Caravaggio

A sage who has put the world behind him and who in spirit has already withdrawn from life may, under certain circumstances, decide to return once more to the here and now and to approach other men. This means great good fortune for the men whom he teaches and helps. And for him this greathearted humbling of himself is blameless.

38 – Thirty-Eight K’uei / Estrangement

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

Small accomplishments are possible.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

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

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

Today: “Asking for self-reliance and obtaining self-reliance is not only great, it is the answer to every problem of life.” – Yogi Bhajan

“Asking for self-reliance and obtaining self-reliance is not only great, it is the answer to every problem of life. No one is so small that he cannot be great.” Yogi Bhajan

Meditation: LA950 A00214 20000214 Develop Self-Reliance

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

Today: Be generous, sharing your well-being with those less fortunate. It is the way to strengthen bonds among people.- from the I Ching

Be generous, sharing your well-being with those less fortunate. It is the way to strengthen bonds among people.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 46 – When the world has the Tao Fast horses are retired to till the soil. When the world lacks the Tao Warhorses give birth on the battlefield

11 – Eleven T’ai / Peace

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

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

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Six in the fifth place means:

The emperor gives his blessing to his daughter’s marriage to a commoner.
All ranks of life benefit from this.

The sovereign I
Gives his daughter in marriage.
And supreme good fortune.

The sovereign I is T’ang the Completer.¹ By his decree the imperial princesses, although higher in rank than their husbands, had to obey them like all other wives. Here too we are shown a truly modest union of high and low that brings happiness and blessings.

23 – Twenty-Three Po / Splitting Apart

The weight of the Mountain presses down upon a weak foundation of Earth:
The Superior Person will use this time of oppression to attend to the needs of those less fortunate.

Any action would be ill-timed.
Stand fast.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a situation easily mistaken for Stagnation (Hexagram 12) or Revolution (Hexagram 49).
It just depends on which side you’re on.
During a time of Stagnation, human worms invade to feed on the decay.
During a time of Revolution, oppression is being overthrown.
But in this situation, oppressors are violently seizing power.
Pay special heed when you receive this hexagram, because the oracle is often warning you of a situation of which you are totally unaware.
You are about to be blindsided.

1. [This refers to Ch’êng T’ang, the first of the Shang rulers, whose reign is thought to have begun in 1766 B.C. However, modern Chinese scholarship no longer accepts the identification of the Emperor I (1191 – 1155 B.C., according to tradition) with T’ang, and holds that the daughter mentioned was given to King Wên’s father, or perhaps to King Wên himself.]

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

Today: “the highest state of the yogic mind ” – Yogi Bhajan

“When the one-pointed, infinite beam of the mind starts sending the signal into the infinity and the infinity relates to the finite, the unit becomes united and this is called the highest state of the yogic mind.” Yogi Bhajan

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

Meditation: Shobogenzo Genjo Koan

Today: Regardless of your unrest or impatience, recognize and follow your duty as you take care of those who depend on you.- from the I Ching

Regardless of your unrest or impatience, recognize and follow your duty as you take care of those who depend on you.

Tao Te Ching – Verse 45 – True perfection seems imperfect, yet it is perfectly itself

37 – Thirty-Seven Chia Jên / Family Duties

Warming Air Currents rise and spread from the Hearthfire:
The Superior Person weighs his words carefully and is consistent in his behavior.

Be as faithful as a good wife.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

One in this situation must be keenly aware of his influence on others.
Maintain a healthy respect for the ripple effect of your words and deeds.
To some you serve as a role model.
You can either help shape their world or tilt them into chaos.
Show temperance and consideration to all.

Six in the second place means:

She should not follow her whims.
She must attend within to the food.
Perseverance brings good fortune.

‘The milkmaid’ – Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675)
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam – Holland

The wife must always be guided by the will of the master of the house, be he father, husband, or grown son. Her place is within the house. There, without having to look for them, she has great and important duties. She must attend to the nourishment of her family and to the food for the sacrifice. In this way she becomes the centre of the social and religious life of the family, and her perseverance in this position brings good fortune to the whole house.
In relation to general conditions, the counsel given here is to seek nothing by means of force, but quietly to confine oneself to the duties at hand.

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.

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

Today: “The difference between you and an animal is… ” – Yogi Bhajan

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

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

Meditation: NM0336 – For Inner Strength

Today: When support disappears among associates, go to the source of your strength and endurance for your endeavors – from the I Ching

When support disappears among associates, go to the source of your strength and endurance for your endeavors.