Today, Friday, June 14th of the year 2024, my early morning process of Pause and Pivot spoke to me in a way that, upon reflection, was speaking to you as well.

For that reason, I’m sharing the outcome with you here.

I came across concept of “pause and pivot,” by the way, in an uncharacteristically small, concise and immediately useful little book, The Art of Contemplation: Gentle Path to Wholeness and Prosperity.

Its amazon book description sums the concept up well:

An exquisite gem of a book, this deceptively simple technique of contemplation can be learned in a single day, and yet it will change your life forever. Taking us through the three levels of contemplation – pausing, pivoting and merging, Richard Rudd invites us to hone the art of contemplation in our everyday lives, to gain insight into any issue or problem, to heal deep-seated trauma and ultimately to find peace and clarity.

In my own case, morning contemplation begins with consulting the Book of Change.

This morning, after lighting a white candle, I paused and then wrote at the top of a new page in my journal:

BHF. OA & MDF. I’m out of sorts. Can’t breathe deeply. Fragmented. Scattered. Without clear direction. Please advise what to be aware of NOW. With humble thanks, Amen.

The answer to this query was Hexagram 48 with changing lines in the fifth and sixth places, resulting in (yet again, from a new direction) the frequently received outcome of Hexagram 18: FRESH START.

In the Common Sense Book of Change, Hexagram 48 looks like this:

In several versions of the I Ching, Hexagram 48 is translated as The Well, referring to the traditional center of rural communities where all gather to meet their basic survival need for water.

In poetic terms, the Well represents our universal, endless and unlimited connection with infinite Source. The vitality of all races represented by water is associated with the basic life force, the chi exchanged, whether knowingly or unknowingly, by every living being on the planet with every in- and out-breath.

To my mind, this reading spoke to my unasked question — a deep frustration. The excruciating conflict between Israel and Iranian surrogates, including Hamas, feels to my heart like two sides of the same coin warring with each other.

The exclusion of patriots Steve Bannon and Alex Jones from the camp of another patriot, RFK Jr,. over apparently superficial personality differences, seems equally unnatural and short-sighted.

What my despairing heart wanted to know was, “What, if anything, could induce humanity to wake up? To end the mutually self-destructive dynamics of judgmental conflict — “othering.”

The I Ching answer’s was this. It will happen when we finally learn to see deeper than cultural identifications, remember and respect our common origin, which the mindful are made aware of with every breath they take.

In my own scattered case, I was being called back to the basics which sustain me. Stop. Pause and pivot away from culturally conditioned pessimism, the grinding sense of the futility of any effort. Return back to the basics. Breathe. Deeply.

But the changing lines directed me to continue further.

The changing line in the fifth place reads, “If you refuse to serve others, your gifts are wasted.”

Ouch! Caught in the act.

I’ve been flirting with undermining ideas about both the futility and risks of writing. Who am I to openly confront the forces which drive the deep state and its globalist objectives — depopulation and subjugation?

Would this not just expose me to the same destructive tactics which frontline patriots endure? Or to simply being ignored. Ridiculed. Relegated to oblivion.

The advice of this line, which heeded, changes to Hexagram 46, PROMOTION. The method and result of accepting responsibility to dedicate my gifts, however modest, to serving humanity are described as: Quiet, persistent self–discipline wins the confidence of others.

Moving on, the changing line in the top, sixth place reflects the opposite side of the coin. It reinforces the value of committing to service, regardless of the consequences.

It reads, “Sharing your gifts will bring blessings and prosperity to many.”

Sigh. Back to the drawing board.

I could speculate on the levels and layers of possible potential. But will let this line speak for itself, sparking imagination about the waves generated by the butterfly effect even one person’s commitment to service sets in motion. And by extension, the combined effect generated by each one of the rest of us as well.

When its advice is heed, this line changes to Hexagram 57, GENTLENESS.

Ah. Coincidentally, The Art of Contemplation is described as the GENTLE path to wholeness and prosperity.

Hexagram 57 reads in part: As the wind moves clouds, shapes mountains, and stirs the trees, so Gentleness has a powerful influence. Quiet, steady gradual actions win respect and cooperation. Avoid noisy conflict.

There it is again. Quiet persistent action seems key.

The combined outcome, Hexagram18, FRESH START, suggests the hopeful potential of returning to universal awareness of humanity’s original origins in Source, releasing short-sighted rationalizations for refusing to serve the whole, and instead dedicating one’s life to that goal.

It offers the hope of a fresh start, first for individuals. Then for the civilization. And, ultimately, for human survival.

I would be remiss were I not to mention that Fresh Start is the subject of the concluding chapter of The Quantum Solution. Chapter Five, It’s Time for a Fresh Start is still writing itself as information new to me comes to attention.

But in the meantime, you’re welcome to pause, pivot and take a look, if you’re so inclined.