now you have everything you need
Powerful improvements
are underway.
The coming of the hexagram I signifies a period of increase when the power of heaven descends to surround and invigorate our lives. Like all phases, this too will come to an end, but if “we make hay while the sun shines,” tremendous progress can be made at this time.
It is in the nature of human beings to relax and become careless when things begin to go well. The I Ching teaches us that we should not do this if we desire the fullest blessings of the beneficial hour. Indeed, our rewards are multiplied if we increase our conscientiousness in auspicious times, rather than decrease it. There are two ways in which the I Ching especially encourages us to do this.
Our first task is to make sacrifices for others. In all of your interactions now, embody generosity in thought and action. Forgive what is inferior in others and seek out the good. By giving, encouraging, and assisting, you will draw the superior person in everyone into devoted action.
Your second task in this time of increase is to go on strengthening yourself “as thunder and wind strengthen each other.” This means that if you see something good in another, you imitate it, and when you discover something inferior in yourself, you eliminate it.
These simple practices, if continued conscientiously over time, will improve your character and fortunes immeasurably. Through service and self-improvement you assure yourself of great progress in the days ahead.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
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the proper response to conflict
The proper response
to conflict, whether it lies within or
without us, is disengagement.
Whenever we allow ourselves to be drawn off balance, away from the strength of quiet integrity, we are in conflict. It matters not whether the confrontation is between competing values in one’s own mind or with another person: it is the inner departure from clarity and equanimity that leaves us with feelings of despair and vulnerability. The only remedy is to disengage from the problem and return to quiet contemplation of what is correct.
Conflict provokes strong feelings of doubt, fear, anxiety, and impatience to resolve the situation. If you act under the influence of these inferior emotions, you will severely complicate the misfortune. By following the prescription of the Sage and returning to a position of neutrality, acceptance, and detachment, you are able to meet opposing forces halfway: not recoiling in anger and condemnation, not pressing forward for some unnatural change in things, but waiting calmly in the center until the Higher Power provides the correct solution.
The I Ching teaches us that all conflict is, in the end, inner conflict. When you see it beginning, you are obliged not to pursue it, for this only compounds your own misfortune. If you cannot regain your equanimity on your own, then seek the assistance of a just and impartial person in resolving the difficulty. The only way to live free of conflict is to hold steadfastly to proper principles in all things. Through balance, patience, and devotion to inner truth we rise above every challenge.
The I Ching, or Book of Changes
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Wei wu Wei Ching, Hua hu Ching, and
Art of War for iPad/Phone, Kindle,
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when the mind is seen for what it is
The purpose
and result of quietly
observing the self is to forget
the self. When the mind is seen for
what it is and fascination with
its activities dissipates,
reality, which was
always present,
appears.
It is at
this point that we
understand that nothing
is problematic and life
becomes thoroughly
enjoyable.
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dissolve all ideas of duality
support sheldrick wildlife trust
The teaching
of the Integral Way will go on
as long as there is a tao and someone who
wishes to embody it; what is painted in
these scrolls today will appear in
different forms in many
generations to
come.
These things,
however, will never change:
Those who wish to attain oneness must
practice undiscriminating virtue. They must
dissolve all ideas of duality: good and bad, beautiful
and ugly, high and low. They will be obliged to abandon
any mental bias born of cultural or religious belief.
Indeed, they should hold their minds free
of any thought which interferes with
their understanding of the
universe as a harmonious
oneness.
The
beginning
of these practices is
the beginning of
liberation.
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Hexagram 16 ☯️ Yü / Enthusiasm
Proper enthusiasm opens every door.
The I Ching
teaches that there are
two kinds of enthusiasm: one that
leads to misfortune, and one that leads to success.
This hexagram comes as a sign that you can
proceed with confidence now if your
enthusiasm is properly
founded.
Improper
enthusiasm is fueled
by the desires of the ego.
People often desire recognition,
wealth, power, or freedom from difficulty.
Such desires can become so great that we will do
anything to achieve them. Our energy rises as we wildly
pursue our goal, but this unruly and egotistical
enthusiasm inevitably leads us into incorrect
and imbalanced behavior and
into misfortune.
Proper enthusiasm,
on the other hand, is fueled by
a devotion to attaining and expressing
inner balance and inner truth. When your aim
is not to influence others or to satisfy your ego but to
follow the guidance of the Higher Power in all that you do,
you acquire another kind of energy: a balanced and
bottomless eagerness for living in step with
what is right and good. In this there
is true power and true
grace.
This hexagram
reminds you that striving out
of your ego now will only push you further
away from your goals. Seek instead to follow proper
principles: keep to what is innocent, correct, and
kind, and the Creative will come to your aid.
The path of truth is always the path
of least resistance.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,
Hua hu Ching, and Art of War for
You
can now buy
the I Ching as part of a
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book.