darkness reigns in the external world

a darkness as much of the womb as the grave

Darkness reigns

in the external world now.

Disengage from negative feelings

and maintain your inner

light.

This is a time when darkness and inferior energies surround you. The image is that of the sun completely swallowed by the earth. The only light left is that inside your own heart, and you are counseled to return to it, maintain it, and quietly nourish yourself with it.

It is in dark moments that a correct attitude is most important. If we fight against the darkness, we are swallowed by it and suffer great misfortune. If we react to the lack of visible progress with despair and negativity, we extinguish our own inner light and block the aid of the Creative. If we try to persuade others that they must return to the light, we exhaust ourselves in vain now.

In a time such as this is it wise to adopt a stance of outer disengagement and inner perseverance. Do not focus on or interact with the negative influences around you; this only strengthens their grip on you. Step aside, yield, let go, allow people and events to pass without attachment. Direct your attentions inside to your inner light, your devotion to what is right, your conversation with the Higher Power.

Progress may be slow, but there will indeed by progress. Remember that much of the work of the Higher Power is hidden from us, and that we enable and assist it by remaining detached, accepting, and reserved in the face of negative influences.

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 36, Ming I / Darkening of the Light

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the work now is to become pure light

victor sillue

Darkness

has been given as

a nightshirt to sleep in.

Remember how human beings

were composed from water and dust

for blood and flesh with oily resins heated

in fire to make a skeleton. Then the soul, the divine

light, was breathed into human shapes. The work now is

to help our bodies become pure light. It may look like

this is not happening. But in a cocoon every bit

of worm-dissolving slime becomes silk.

As we take in light, each part

of us turns to

silk.

made the night

a darkness, but we bring

shining dawnlight out of that.

In the same way the mound of your

grave will bloom with resurrection. Sufis

and those on the path of the heart use darkness

to go within. During the night vigil the universe

is theirs. With all the kings and sultans and

their learned counselors asleep, everyone

is unemployed, except those wakeful

few and the divine

presence.

Bahauddin, father of Rumi

the drowned book

the source of light and darkness

ian bird, cape fear

One learns to understand

that there is a world in one’s self,

that in one’s mind there is a source of

happiness and unhappiness, the source of

health and illness, the source of light and darkness,

and that it can be awakened, either mechanically or at will,

if only one knew how to do it. Then one does not blame his

ill fortune nor complain of his fellow man. He becomes

more tolerant, more joyful, and more loving toward

his neighbor, because he knows the cause of

every thought and action, and he sees

it all as the effect of a

certain cause.

…Therefore, the work

of the mystic is to be able to read

the language of the mind. As the clerk

in the telegraph office reads letters from the

ticks, so the Sufi gets behind every word spoken to

him and discovers what has prompted the word to come out.

He therefore reads the lines which are behind man’s thought,

speech, and action. He also understands that every kind of

longing and craving in life, good or bad, has its source

in deep impression. By knowing this root of the

disease he is easily able to find out its cure.

No impression is such that it

cannot be erased.

Hazrat Inayat Khan

wahiduddin’s web

it is a dangerous hour

you are your own teacher

Darkness reappears unexpectedly.

Caution and reticence

are in order.

It is a dangerous hour. Through an eruption of our inferior nature darkness has interrupted the flow of light. The inferior can be quite seductive, and if we are not resolute in resisting it, the moment can be lost to misfortune.

In one’s self, this is a time to examine motives; those which are of questionable honor should be uprooted and discarded. Be wary of situations that engage your ego and tempt you into anger, self-righteousness, or desire. Actively employ your higher nature to test the correctness of tempting ideas and circumstances; that which seems to be suspicious almost certainly is.

In your conduct with others, practice modesty, independence, and patience with great discipline. Avoid anger or arrogance at all costs; withdraw whenever you cannot meet another in a balanced and independent way. Neither encourage another to forego his balance nor indulge him if he does so. Again, withdraw into stillness if the circumstances indicate the presence of inferior influences. Reticence and self-scrutiny are the order of the day.

The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 44, Kou / Coming to Meet

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a time for disengagement and retreat

just be still

This is a time for

disengagement and retreat.

In stillness you are out

of the reach of

danger.

It is inherent in the design of life that forces of darkness and disruption come into prominence from time to time. This hexagram indicates that this is such a time and advises you to respond by quietly retreating. To struggle or resist in anger now is to add fuel to the fire of negativity which threatens to consume you.

The superior person accepts that there is a natural ebb and flow between the forces of light and dark in the world. Wisdom lies not in resisting these movements but in responding to them appropriately. Just as a plant which sprouts in the dead of winter is doomed, and one which sprouts in spring flourishes, so it is with us. Success and prosperity accrue to those who advance in times of light and retreat in times of darkness. To retreat now is to benefit, in the end, from the changing tides.

Retreat is not the same thing as surrender, capitulation, or abandonment, which are desperate and unsatisfying measures. Neither is it characterized by a hardening into angry or punitive emotions. It is instead an acceptance and a choice: we calmly accept that the energies of the moment are against us, and we wisely choose to withdraw into the safety of stillness. In this dignified and balanced manner we protect ourselves from negative influences and arrive rested in a more beneficial hour.

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 33, Tun / Retreat

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