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Posts tagged ‘I Ching’

How High is High Enough?

Spirit’s lesson for today relates to I Ching Hexagram 47 – Exhaustion.

The yin trigram Lake is above yang Water.

 

“They say the road of love is rocky and it’s rough, but if this road

don’t start to get smooth, then I’ve traveled it long enough”

is part of an old song that I can relate to regarding my ongoing

struggle with my spirit teacher as he guides me along the way

to enlightenment. But, what if He’s just luring me down

a garden path that never ends?

 

That’s exactly what my intentions are.

 

But, why?

 

You were ready.

As in “when the student …”

 

Yes.

 

Why didn’t I know there would be so much painful,

experiential content to the lessons?

 

Struggle is necessary.

 

But, I’m exhausted. Can’t we rest a little.

 

No. To rest is to lose ground.

 

I’m losing touch with ground moving.

 

That’s not possible.

 

Why?

 

The ground beneath us will always be there.

 

Where?

 

Within you, in one form or another.

 

Please explain.

 

Matter is an expression of energy …

 

And where I’m at in my mind determines the density?

 

Yes. It’s as simple as that.

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, cause and effect, Potential consequences, Power comes from within

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Movement Has No Purpose of its Own

A spirit teacher shares His understanding of timeless wisdom

Contained within I Ching 56 – Travel.

In the order of the hexagrams, Travel follows Abundance (55)

And transforms itself into Wind (57), or has the potential to do so,

If we only travel because of restlessness.

The trigram Fire is above Mountain. Fire is Yin energy

Mountain is yang.

 

Isn’t that curious?

 

What?

 

That yin Fire moves while yang Mountain is placid.

 

Mountains are never placid. A calm exterior can contain

Dynamic energy. Now can we continue with the reading?

 

Please do.

 

Fire moves, or at least has potential to move

Mountains are generally known for their stability.

If we travel from and then return to a mountain,

We can usually be confident that it will be where we left it.

A fire may have moved on and created destruction.

 

What general message would this reading seem to suggest?

 

Travel is only movement if it has no purpose.

 

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, higher education, lifelong learning, Potential consequences

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Closeness and Triangles

A spirit teacher shares His understanding of the timeless wisdom contained within the I Ching Hexagram 8 – Closeness.

Water, a yang energy, is over Earth, a yin energy.

The vision of water spread over earth suggests flooding.

Yes, and in this context it expresses emotional flooding

My patio Hosta is now sitting in such a wet condition, but his planter pot is too heavy for me to tip over to remove the excess water.

Why did you over-water a plant you claim to care for?

I meant no harm but I generously watered hanging baskets of flowers, after having provided for the plants below, in the same manner

So, unintentional abuse?

I guess.

Now what?

I need help to undo the harm I’ve done.

Yes.

What does that mean?

It means that the plants were too close to each other for you to serve one without offence to the other.

A lovers’ triangle?

Yes.

How does that relate to real life?

It is real life.

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, cause and effect, enlightenment, Understanding life's struggles

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Time Out From Struggle

A spirit teacher shares His understanding of timeless wisdom

contained within the I Ching Hexagram 34 – Great Power.

The yang trigram Thunder is above Heaven, also yang.

Only the top two yin lines provide instability and flexibility.

Great Power follows Withdrawal (33) and leads to Advance (35).

How can any power, let alone great power, come out of

withdrawing from whatever?

Withdrawal is not necessarily acceptance of defeat. There are

times when it’s wise to step back. This can provide us with

a greater perspective and a clearer vision on how to move

forward.

A battle is only a battle if we see it as such. For some it is

no more than a challenge to our commitment to move

forward.

There is nothing personal in struggles, conflicts, or obstacles

in our path unless we believe there is.

A personal message?

Yes. What’s your greatest challenge?

To what?

Moving forward.

Resistance.

Resistance is not necessarily rejection.

The difference?

Acceptance.

Of what?

Me.

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, enlightenment, higher education, spirituality without intelligence is not intelligent spirituali5y

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Rainbows are for Dreamers

A spirit teacher shares His understanding
of timeless wisdom contained within
I Ching 12 – Obstruction.

The trigram Heaven (complete yang) is above
Earth (complete yin), providing each line
with a complement; perfect harmony.

The I Ching path through life experiences
moves from Tranquility (11) to Obstruction
and then to Association with Others (13)

Yesterday becomes today, and then tomorrow.
Past becomes present and then future.

Or, does the future become the present and
then the past?

Yes.

Looking forward we could liken that thought
to planning, creating, and then enjoying.

You seem to envision enjoyment.

The other end of the rainbow.

Rainbows are for dreamers.

Perhaps we’re all dreamers.

Yes, but not all dreamers with a vision
also possess intention, purpose, and a goal.

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, enlightenment, lifelong learning, spirituality without intelligence is not intelligent spirituali5y

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Significant Spiritual Others

A spirit teacher shares His understanding of
timeless wisdom contained within I Ching 37 –
Significant Spiritual Others.

This hexagram develops from Reduced Light (36)
and prepares the foundation for Disharmony (38).

The yin (emotional) trigram Wind is over Fire;
also yin. Together they express intense emotional
energies interacting with each other.

The light of understanding is reduced when our focus
is too narrow, too shallow, too broad, or too deep
for underdeveloped intellectual awareness to absorb
in a meaningful way.

Significant spiritual others refer to family; not
necessarily related by birth but by sharing our way
of life and a desire to serve Life by learning and
living a deeper knowing.

A deeper knowing of what?

A deeper knowing of each other’s truth and acceptance
of the reality that different so-called truths are
not necessarily mutually exclusive.

We each see from a unique perspective, and if we can
learn to accept and respect this reality, we will
discover a greater truth that each is part of.

Is there a personal message for me in this reading?

Yes, try not to care so much about what others think,
and allow yourself to be simply you.

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, higher education, I Ching as a path to enlightenment, Inspirational reading, mystery schools, Power comes from within

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Moving Forward

A spirit teacher shares His understanding of timeless wisdom
concealed within the I Ching Hexagram 35 – Advance.

Hexagram 35 is composed of two trigrams; Fire and Earth.
Fire is over Earth. Fire and Earth each possess yin energy.

Advance develops from Great Power (34) and contributes to
the emergence of Damage to Illumination (36).

We create greater power by exercising lesser power.

The power to do what?

Yes. Without purpose, even great power is vulnerable.

To what?

To inspire others with power and purpose to use their power
to reduce our own.

The message?

Hold on to the power of thought that you have as long as
it makes sense to you.

But, there are times when your ideas seem to make at least
as much sense to me as my own do. What then?

Let them work it out.

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, higher education, Universal laws apply even today

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Awareness of Potential Danger

A spirit teacher shares His understanding of timeless wisdom
expressed within the I Ching hexagram 41 – Reduction.

Reduction emerges from Solution (40) and develops into
Increase (42).

Mountain is above Lake. Mountain is Yang and Lake is Yin.

Mountains have height while lakes have depth, and yet
we measure deep and high from our own unique perspectives.
That’s curious.

Why?

One mile or kilometer up or down is still the same distance.

It can make all the difference if you applied the same
measure to progress along the way; any way.

Our life as a way?

Yes, a chosen, more or less, way to live. And as mountains
and lakes, the ground beneath is rarely even. It dips and
climbs in irregular intervals and to irregular degrees.

But, in a boat on top of the lake?

I think you know from personal experience how an ocean
surface can become dangerously unpredictable.

Yes, terrifying so.

So it is with mountains. There is always a risk of uncertainty.
Landslides, mudslides, rock slides, and avalanches, to name
a few possible dangers that may present themselves with little
or no warning.

You’re going to relate all of this talk to Reduction. How?

Knowing possible risks and still choosing to follow a path,
any path through life, is only foolish if you do not first
prepare for whatever you might have to face along the way.

How can I know?

What?

How to possibly prepare for what hasn’t yet happened?

Awareness.

Of what?

Awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses, based on …

study and experience?

Yes, and that awareness will reduce the potential danger
along the Way of Life..

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, Potential consequences, spirituality without intelligence is not intelligent spirituali5y

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Manufactured Need

A spirit teacher shares His understanding of timeless wisdom
contained within I Ching 43 – Removal.

Lake is over Heaven. Lake is Yin and Heaven is Yang.

Yin, in this instance, is as a butterfly on a rock. What
interaction or common ground can the two possibly share;
frail over solid?

A rock is not easily crushed nor moved, but neither can it
move itself; while a butterfly is easily crushed, but it has
power to move itself out of the way of danger – lightness
and mobility over weight and immobility.

Removal follows Increase (42) and develops into Meeting (44).

That’s a curious sequential order.

How so?

I can understand that increase can become clutter and requiring
downsizing, or removal of whatever no longer serves us well, but
how does this lead to Meeting?

Meeting is coming together.

With whom or what?

Awareness.

Of what?

Of whatever is necessary or desirable and useful, and what
is manufactured need.

How can need be manufactured?

Unethical advertising.

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, enlightenment, higher education, spirituality without intelligence is not intelligent spirituali5y

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We Choose the Rules

A spirit teacher shares His understanding of timeless wisdom
concealed within the I Ching hexagram 7 – The Army.

The Army necessarily develops out of Contention (6) and then
establishes a foundation for Closeness (8). Earth is above
and water is below.

Why is Water yang when Lake is yin?

Is feminism rising?

Perhaps, but it is curious, since in essence they each are
water.

Lake is usually more submissive and receptive than is the
free-flowing water of rivers. Now, can we return to discussing
The Army?

Please do.

As today follows yesterday into the past, so The Army follows
Contention; and as today reaches toward tomorrow, so does
The Army reach toward Closeness.

I can understand The Army and Contention acting on each other,
but what possible relationship can The Army have with Closeness?

When reason alone fails to solve contention, then power is a
necessary organizing force. It serves a good purpose if it can
bring together contentious groups of people. Then it contributes
to a sense of closeness.

Okay, I can accept that, but how does it relate to me?

Who is contentious?

Perhaps I justifiably am, at times.

Who is The Army?

I don’t know.

Is The Army as a referee in this instance?

That’s possible, but not all referees play by the same rules.

What rules do I play by?

You seem to play by rules of your own choosing.

Yes, and so do you.

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A spirit teacher shares His I Ching Wisdom, applied philosophy to live by, higher education, I Ching as a path to enlightenment, initiation

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