Category Archives: Book of Change

The Only Way Out Is Through – IC – 123120

On December 30th, year-of-our-Lord 2020, I listened to WarRoom Pandemic host Stephen K. Bannon and guest Roger Kimball opine on the late Andrew Breitbart’s words: “Culture is downstream from politics.”

WOW. I must differ.

They may be correct – as far as it goes. But, importantly, there’s more. Interacting culture and politics both vary with the flux and flow of events on the ephemeral surface of the Life Wheel. Together, they’re offshoots of something deeper – a fundamental paradigm.

Deeper still, archetypal ideas emanate from the Center of the Life Wheel. They depend on the silent Source from which ideas arise and civilizations then follow.

It’s a jigsaw puzzle of interlocking wheels-within-wheels, with a center piece that holds the entire picture together.

Steve introduced Roger as (among others things) President of Encounter Books, publisher of books on immanent threats throughout the world. Again, there’s more.

The greatest threat – the one which drives economic/political conflict – is the limited, fragmenting, nihilistic paradigm of empirical science. So long as the underlying paradigm is corrupt and corrupting, operating invisible and uncorrected, efforts to improve matters on the surface are futile.

Yes, in the case of America, restoring fidelity to the Constitution and rule of human law is NECESSARY. But it’s not sufficient. Deeper still, we have to restore a living, breathing understanding of Natural Law and, deeper still of Divine Law. After all, the Founders saw human law in the context of the laws of nature and nature’s God.

As an unfortunate fact of history, wisdom traditions, both East and West, are subject to entropy. Over time, the religious institutions of Judaeo-Christian culture – however noble at the core – have been infiltrated and egregiously abused to political ends.

For example, Elsworth Carlson, a family friend and my professor of Asian history at Oberlin College, wrote about his experience as a missionary in Shansi, China. Stranded there during War II, he came to appreciate the nobility of their culture. The one-sided attitude of his peers appalled him. They assumed Western culture was the only correct one. They therefore had a duty to impose it on a distant land which they neither understood nor appreciated.

No wonder Westerners were hated by the ruling classes. They despised not so much the culture, mind you, but the heavy-handed, violent way in which it was superimposed on countries across the globe. Today, from some combination of pride and revenge, Asian political leaders are following historical example, intent on turning the tables.

Fortunately, political-cultural warfare is superficial. Deeper than deep, people worldwide are waking up to the values they share in common – freedom, love of life, of family, of God. And that is bringing the best of us together. A shared, complete and correct paradigm will speed the process of cooperative agreements.

In Rethinking Survival, I quoted comparative religion legend Joseph Campbell:

We don’t have a mythology for people recognizing the humanity of a person on the other side of the hemisphere. I’ve often wondered if some of the notions coming out of quantum physics, quantum interconnectedness, don’t express that.

The Quantum Paradigm answers that call. It is:

. . . an inclusive reality map, one people worldwide can easily comprehend and agree upon. It is equally compatible with scriptures and science, bridging the gap between them. It fulfills Einstein’s intuited search for the Unified Field Theory, picturing how all parts of creation are related, interwoven and interdependent.

Truth by definition is universal — eternally One and the same. All wisdom traditions are cultural expressions of the same, eternal Core, whether you call it Creator, Source, God, Great Father, Tao, Allah. . . or nothing at all.

Cultures are “great” to the extent they’re in alignment with the Center, the Source of greatness. Its expressions differ over time and by place. Their limitations are a function of (perhaps) inevitable corruption.

Fortunately, 2021 is offering humanity the opportunity to go deeper than surface differences. Today’s Fresh Start I Ching reading is perfectly timed for the New Year. It’s the beginning of the great Reset foreseen by those who watch the heavens (a term which the dark side can’t get away with co-opting in a futile attempt to bend the positive arc of history).

So. Yes, We’re in for a global Reset. It won’t happen overnight. Or in month. Or even year. A generation is more like it. But it starts NOW, with each of us, one person at a time, and from the inside out. The energies of the times are changing. We are becoming more aware. Not just of the political-cultural scene, but of the inner landscape which drives it.

The year 2021 promises to be rough, though different from 2020. The process of exposing the corruption of the old order will continue. But the clash between paradigms will intensify, imposing new hardships. Positive change doesn’t come easy. As Kuhn wrote in his classic work on paradigm shifts, entrenched power-holders with vested interests in obsolete ways will fight change however they can.

In particular, January of 2021 promises to be fraught with geographical and political events of explosive intensity. A heads up: astrological markings of January 20th, inauguration day, are strikingly similar to the date of the catastrophic 1916 San Francisco earthquake.

In sum, the year-of-our-Lord 2021 promises to be a roller-coaster ride. So buckle up. There’s no turning back. The only way out is through.

Take comfort in this. Come what may, those supported by wisdom traditions will meet our new set of challenges with the Phoenix Response, dying to be reborn better than before in the same lifetime.

We’re not taught to look to the Book of Change, the compendium of Natural Law, for answers. That’s why I’ve brought the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly posts were intended make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

TRAVEL is the initial answer to the question, “What should we be aware of on New Year’s Eve as we enter 2021?” It reads:

When you have outgrown a situation, it is time to TRAVEL on. Staying longer would prevent attainment of important goals. Commitments made now probably would not work out. In dealing with strangers exercise careful self-control. Talk little. Listen much. Learn from everyone who has information to share. Avoid dangerous exposure.

Most of us are glad to be done with a painfully challenging year. No looking back. However, it will be important to stay on high alert. More challenges lie ahead.

* * *

Advice of the fourth line reads, “Enjoy the process of growing day by day. Don’t rush.”

The future promises to be full of surprising twists and turns. Rather than try to second guess, don’t get ahead of yourself. Make the best of each day as it comes. Remain flexible.

When this advice is heeded the line changes to Stillness:

Peace within and harmony without come from STILLNESS. When immediate answers to important questions cannot be found, sometimes keeping still is the best way out. Burning desires produce chaotic thinking. This only clouds the issue and makes life painful. Meditation is a valuable method for finding stillness. Avoid useless activity.

During times of conflict and tension, inner balance must be restored with periods of quiet self-care. Conserve energy. Maintain inner focus and mental clarity. Don’t be distracted from purpose.

* * *

Advice of line five reads, “In a new situation, find the right way to make introductions.”

As we continue to forward into unknown territory, it’s important to continuously assess the situation and adjust quickly. Remember General Flynn’s comments. The Founders knew this country was an experiment. Of necessity, it must evolve. So keep an open mind. Look for new ways to accomplish worthy goals.

When this advice is heeded, it changes to Retreat:

RETREAT from negative forces which will begin to arise. Withdraw gracefully if possible. By doing this you can avoid embarrassment and thus pave the way for a safe and easy return when the time is right. Make careful arrangements to protect yourself from harm. Avoid becoming caught in hopeless situations.

Again, explosive events and hardships lie ahead. To the extent possible, stay out of harms way. Don’t provoke danger unnecessarily. Don’t engage in losing battles.

* * *

Following the advice of the original reading (avoid dangerous exposure) along with the advice of both changing lines (avoid useless activity; don’t get caught in hopeless situations) leads to the final, composite result — a Fresh Start. It reads:

Even when it seems that all has been spoiled, it is possible to make a FRESH START. Be willing to face your faults. Find out how to correct them. The situation will gradually improve if you are sincere and work hard. Be sure you know what you want. Avoid delay.

This final reading of 2020 reinforces the earlier theme of correcting mistakes and at-one-ment. No one said it would be easy. But keep the faith. It’s worth it.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Take care, all.

The Pinnacle of Peace – IC – 122820

In the wake of Christmas 2020, approaching a New Year, with civil war brewing in the midst of an unprecedented constitutional crisis, I listened for a second time to the second part of Jan Jekielek’s Epoch Times interview with Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. It’s called Will the American Republic Survive?

I urge you to listen to and carefully ponder General Flynn’s comments on the future of this country. He’s a truly honorable man of wisdom, uncommon good sense, and integrity. Here’s a direct quote, transcribed from the beginning:

What we have to understand in this country is, that this country is an experiment. Empires come and go. Nation-states fail. Are we still growing as the beacon of hope for the rest of the world? I still believe that in my heart.

But I know that there is a dimension of our experiment that is sort of in our face right now. . . We the people — the American public — have to decide what is it that they want. Because we will not last forever.

General Flynn elaborated on the degeneration of the three branches of government that each treated him with “brutal” injustice. Here, I couldn’t resist typing in a comment:

Keep perspective, Gen. Flynn. Remember the work of Kuhn on Paradigm Shifts. The dying order sees you [along with our President] — the voices of the future — as an existential threat to their survival. Temporary “power holders” with vested interest in the past historically resist change with all their might. The extent of their brutality towards you is exactly in proportion to the greatness of your light shining to expose their darkness.

Now, why is it called a paradigm shift? Technically it’s not a shift to something new. Actually, it’s a return to the perennial philosophy which wisdom traditions East and West share in common.

The honorable General is in synch with that wisdom. As he says, having read enough history, he recognizes that there are repeating cycles of history. He also recognizes the existence of levels of law and the importance of their being in alignment. The shift he represents is a return from out-of-alignment, secular fragmentation back to one of Unity. It looks like this:

General Flynn also speaks of the danger to the Republic when “so-called leaders” act as if they were above human law. He anticipates a higher accounting for those who aren’t held accountable in human law courts. Lawless officials, driven by ambition and selfish self-interests rather than being motivated by service, act as if the pinnacle of achievement were a matter of ephemeral control and dominance on the surface of the Life Wheel.

Here’s a picture worth of a book of words to show you what I mean:

For lack of space, I offer you a few bullet points. Each qualifies General Flynn’s observations:

  • Asked what might steer us in the direction of preserving the Republic, he emphasizes the importance of upgrading education, especially in civics and history. I would add, of paradigms. I would also restore the pristine definition of education, which means to lead from darkness to light.
  • Across the centuries, limited leaders repeatedly fall into the same mistake: a false paradigm which assumes that the pinnacle of power resides in a human hierarchy with a few leaders at the top, the majority beneath them at the bottom base. To correct this mistake, we need a complete and accurate paradigm, common to all, not reserved exclusively to hermits living in monastaries, caves or mountain tops.
  • The General speaks of the Bible as being foundational to the Constitution and written into America’s very DNA. I would add that 8,000 plus years of I Ching wisdom is written into the DNA of China’s culture. Just as some would rip ancestral wisdom out of America’s DNA, some have sought to rip the wisdom out of China’s DNA. It needs similar restoration. Were each culture to restore its own traditions and honor the underlying, universal truth shared in common, everyone worldwide would benefit.
  • General Flynn says All this town [DC] has done is get us and keep us in wars. He asks, What’s the aberration. Is peace the aberration or is war the aberration? In response, here are two suggestive paragraphs from Rethinking Peace:

In I Ching context, peace is an inward state of calm that manifests as outward poise. External conditions will always be in flux. Therefore, looking for peace in the world is an exercise in futility. Internal states, however, are subject to self-governance. . . .

The sage takes responsibility for attaining inner peace. Inner quiet begets the attitude of confidence, which in turn generates acts of compassion, courage and generosity. World organizations which would impose military peace upon warring nations comprised of individuals each at war internally have no hope of success.

Respecting the constitutional crisis at hand, I defer to The Laws of Change published by Jack Balkin, a Yale professor of constitutional law. Striking relevance to immediate concerns will be self-evident.

BREAKTHROUGH is the initial answer to the question, “What should we be aware of today at the current stage of the ongoing constitutional crisis?”

Balkin calls the hexagram Biting Through. Keywords he lists include: Reform, Acting decisively, Administering punishments, and Doing justice. He comments:

The obstruction represents an obstruction to harmony or unity, and a corresponding need for justice or reform. Faced with obstruction, we must proceed with energy and clarity to remedy the problem immediately.

He continues:

This is not a time to be meek and pliant. Attack the problem with energy and determination. If you do not act quickly and decisively, the problems will not go away, and it may only become worse. Nevertheless, this does not mean that you should be reckless. Prompt and efficient action is necessary, but your action should be based on clear thinking rather than emotion. And it should be the result of careful planning rather than blind instinct. The best approach now is one that is firm but reasonable, fair but resolute.

* * *

After evolving through permutations of the third and fourth lines, the final outcome is SHADOW. Balkin calls this hexagram Darkening of the Light. Key words include Eclipse, Brilliance injured, Censorship, Keeping a low profile, and Hiding your feelings. He comments:

Here an inferior person is in control. An upright minister must keep in the background and hide his brilliance during a time of darkness and adversity.

He continues:

Hostile circumstances require you to accept the situation outwardly for the time being. But you must never surrender. Hold fast to your enduring values and to your ultimate goals. Remember who you are and what you stand for. . .

When the sun descends below the horizon, is does not disappear forever. It merely goes into hiding for a time. Anyone who thinks that the sun will never rise again has lost touch with reality. The same is true in your situation. Things will eventually improve.

Deceptive, censoring, complicit corporate media giants notwithstanding, it’s not over.

Born For Such A Time As This – IC – 122420

It is said we each choose the time of our birth. We come here for a purpose with a mission to fulfill. In the Bible, for example, Queen Esther’s courageous defense of her people, risking her life to rescue them from destruction, was inspired by sage advice. “. . . who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

A brilliant commentary on this passage expands on her uncle’s words, making them relevant to each one of us, here and now:

So why did you choose to be here for 2020’s challenges? What is your mission at Christmas time’s blessed reminder of hope, overshadowed by a crisis that threatens everything George Washington and his soldiers fought for as they crossed the Delaware River in the shadow of night on Christmas Eve.

Why am I still here? In Be An Instrument of Light, I offered the answer that works for me. It started with choosing to spend every last cent in my pocket to purchase a small lamp that seemed meant for me:

I liked the guitar motif, but didn’t get the hidden message for quite a while. Then, Click! I should have known. Being a string player, it was tailor-meant for me.

During my musician-yoga years, I’d actually outlined a book, The Body as Instrument: How To Tune It. Did you know that string instruments are modeled on human anatomy? They vibrate the same way we do, which explains our resonance with music. . .

In essence, my guitar lamp was an answer to unspoken doubts about writing, confirming the call to “be an instrument of light.”

Now, let’s look further. Why do you suppose Donald J. Trump, our duly elected President, is in place right now? In a recent interview, the honorable Lin Wood describes the immediate constitutional crisis in exactly the words I’ve used to describe 2020. The nation is fragmented. We’re being “torn apart.” We’re at a crossroads. Wood believes our President is the God-appointed leader qualified to meet the challenge, born for such a time as this.

Putting things in perspective, in the repeating cycles of time, this is not the first time around the historical clock. In the introduction to Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, I wrote:

In Passage 18, Lao Tze echoes the Bhagavad Gita’s premise, confirming the widely-held belief that from time to time, at the nadir of historical cycles, God incarnates in varying places and in different forms, for the instruction and deliverance of troubled truth seekers:

On a smaller scale, closer to home, each of us has the potential to be a hero in some respect, if only by becoming victorious over one’s own negative emotions, overcoming one’s doubts and finding the courage to do what is right.

In accord with timeless wisdom traditions, our President is demonstrating the courage to choose moderation over civil war. He’s shown the wisdom to forgive unjustly harassed citizens at this blessed time of year. Lao Tze had words for such leadership:

On Christmas Eve 2020, the night celebrated as the birth of humanity’s renewed hope, let’s draw the lines clearly. In the US, it’s not about Democrats versus Republicans, nor is it about Americans versus Chinese, Russians, or any of their allies. It’s between freedom and slavery, between lovers of Truth versus treacherous slaves of the dark side. It’s between the Republic and what it stands for versus global communism and all it represents.

President Trump, who honors and serves Christ, is behaving like an epic Taoist master. Walking the tense tightrope of moderation, he’s doing what’s right to both preserve the Republic and avert the bloody, self-destructive civil war our enemies would salivate to oversee.

Wayne Allyn Root has just published a book of praise called Trump Rules: Learn the Trump Rules and Tools of Mega Success and Wealth From the Greatest Warrior and Winner in History! It’s an excellent idea — as far as it goes. But our President’s greatness goes far deeper.

For example, celebrated constitutional scholar John Yoo argues persuasively that the President, with the insight of an historian, is the Constitution’s Defender in Chief.

Yes, he’s fighting to win, but with the fewest physical casualties possible. He’s steering a steady course with the hope of preserving peace and unity, not grasping for personal power. He’s a genius, allowing true patriots come forward and take a stand, while giving sell-out cowards time to show their hands.

FORGIVENESS is the original answer to the question, “What should we be aware of on Christmas Eve of 2020?” It reads:

Through FORGIVENESS, old debts are canceled and harmony is restored. Free yourself from outgrown habits. Don’t be afraid to let go of the past. Releasing tensions will produce health. Mental blocks will be resolved. New clarity of vision will lead to important decisions. Peace of mind will follow. Avoid anxiousness.

Each sentence of this reading is a gem, worthy of a self-standing blog. It applies perfectly to the Christmas message, to 2020’s crisis as an opportunity release past mistakes, and to our hope for a better New Year.

* * *

Advice of Line 5 reads, “Respect from others must be earned. Right actions give self-confidence.”

Neither a bully nor a victim be. Others respect us when we demonstrate the self-respect to stand our ground. This applies equally to personal and political situations. However intimidating terrorist threats may be, acting in spite of fear and choosing to do what is right is the ultimate confidence builder.

When our actions demonstrate that we honor this advice, the line changes to:

ADVERSITY is a test of fortitude. When it cannot be prevented, the wisest response is acceptance. Use times of hardship as opportunities to strengthen character and focus on inner resources. Misunderstandings are likely to occur. Remain calm, take care of yourself and support those who depend on you. Avoid despair.

Again, each line is worthy of careful attention. In sum, the darkest depths of winter is a time of reversals. “Sages know that when critical mass is reached, regeneration is possible.” A light in the night sky appears.

But redemption is not instant. Christ was born when the priesthood of the temple was deeply corrupted. We are again at such a point in time. The potential of restoration has appeared. Perhaps we have been born in such a time as this to fulfill its promise.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

The Great Reset Starts Today – IC – 122120

Can it be coincidence that, hosting the Student Action Summit – Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk speaks of a Reset? Is he aware that, according to astrologers, today’s winter solstice marks the long-heralded Cosmic Reset of the Ages as Jupiter and Capricorn simultaneously join and together exit heavy-handed Capricorn to enter into the radically different, enlightened sign of Aquarius?

Does it matter? Either way, Charlie, his generation and those who support them are perfectly in synch with the incoming wave of a positive, better future.

Often, I don’t know until “day of” what the content of a post will be. Lessons of 2020 is writing itself, one day at a time. I’m just an observer, a humble instrument, waiting for messages to come through. Saturday the 19th was no exception.

I “just happened” to randomly click on the the event just in time to hear Charlie’s opening comments. As I listened to presenters, I took notes to quote them here. They voiced exactly the same messages that China’s Lao Tze gave the world centuries ago during an earlier Fourth Turning. As coincidence would have it, Passage 54 was the pre-planned content scheduled as commentary on today’s I Ching reading.

Here are a few samples, spoken as if taken directly from my earlier posts.

  • Sara Carter: We are at a crossroads, a turning point. We have a choice.
  • Kristi Noem: America is not about fear. It is about hope for the future.
  • Tucker Carlson: Never betray your conscience. Be true God, yourself and the ones you love. You are still in charge of what is going on in your head and with the people you love. . . Corporate overlords are fundamentally at war with nature. This system has run its course.
  • Jeff Meyers: Universities are misleading students with three counterfeit maps of reality: Marxism, secularism, and post-modernism. The first blames wealth, the second religions, and the third truth seekers.
  • Mike Lindell:Learn from your mistakes. It will get you where you need to go.
  • Dinesh D’Souza: Ally wisdom with courage and deep faith and we become invincible.

Speakers spanning several generations all honored Charlie’s audience as custodians of the future, recognizing challenges to be overcome. I’ve long agreed. For example, because it speaks volumes, I quote the dedication to Two Sides: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change:

DEDICATION

The 2014 edition of Two Sides is dedicated to the Millennial Generation. Though it may seem as if they’ve been economically disenfranchised by their elders, material misfortune on the surface of the Life Wheel contains within it the hidden seeds of humanity’s long-term survival.

Ours isn’t the first time in the repeating cycles of history that leaders have squandered national resources. But in the context of Lao Tze’s larger reality, material resources aren’t that significant when compared to the intelligence, inner strength and inexhaustible vitality available to those whom circumstances oblige to return to the less tangible but very real levels of inner experience.

Millennials are the ones for whom the results of the materialistic, conflict-paradigm are so catastrophic that they have no vested interests to protect. They’re the ones prepared to move forward once again into the past, recovering the timeless treasure of the Quantum Paradigm buried deep within the Tao Te Ching’s wisdom.

They’ve been given the greater opportunity to dig deep, rediscover their inalienable inner resources and become the truly radical agents of substantive, positive change.

Also, because it speaks volumes, I offer one of the 81 passages for your careful, thoughtful attention.

We’re not taught to look to the Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’m bringing the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly posts are intended make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

STILLNESS is the original answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of NOW?” It reads:

Peace within and harmony without come from STILLNESS. When immediate answers to important questions cannot be found, sometimes keeping still is the best way out. Burning desires produce chaotic thinking. This only clouds the issue and makes life painful. Meditation is a valuable method for finding stillness. Avoid useless activity.

While SAS celebrates the potential of millennial leaders, the outside world remains in chaos. At the lowest-ebb of 2020, it’s important restore the balance of inner quiet.

Advice of the 2nd line reads, “If you have acted out of turn, unhappiness will follow.”

“Out of turn?” I hear you ask. “How so?”

On many levels. In the world, prematurely certifying blatantly, defiantly corrupted election results would end in widespread misery. Whether the U.S. Republic stands or falls depends on our combined wisdom, courage and faith to right egregious theft before it’s too late.

On a deeper level, people persist in seeking peace in the wrong place, in the wrong ways. Looking for it on the ever-changing surface of the Life Wheel is futile. As Lao Tze told us thousands of years ago, lasting peace starts only from within, and one person at a time. It radiates outwards with a ripple effect, first influencing close relationships, then communities, spreading to countries and then the world.

Only when one operates from a complete, accurate reality map that shows where peace begins and how it radiates from Center to the surface does the line change, making a Fresh Start leading to a better future possible:

Even when it seems that all has been spoiled, it is possible to make a FRESH START. Be willing to face your faults. Find out how to correct them. The situation will gradually improve if you are sincere and work hard. Be sure you know what you want. Avoid delay.

It’s now or never. Our endangered Republic will be rescued, redeemed, healed and restored NOW or not at all. AVOID DELAY.

Whatever comes to pass, a better future begins with committing on a personal level to achieving self-mastery. It’s the first, necessary step we can take today as the best, in fact only insurance we can have for prevailing in the face the unknowns which lie ahead.

WHAT IF, God forbid, the grid went down? WHAT IF there were no connection with endless information streaming over toxic 5G? WHAT IF you couldn’t hear the encouraging words of SAS speakers each in their own way confirming what Lao Tze taught at an earlier Fourth Turning, or what the text he worked with, the Book of Change, advises?

I know what I would choose to have close by. It would be the Book of Change itself, serving to reconnect me with angelic realms and Source, confirming the wisdom of my True Self, linking the eternal with the immediate circumstances I face, day in and out. Amen.

If this resonates, please like, share and magnify the benefit of the Reset message.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

Steady Wins the Race That Matters – IC – 121720

It strikes me as a bit odd (not to mention ironic), that as we approach the sacred season of Christ’s mass, we so often hear about Dominion in the news. There was a time when that word was used to point to the Kingdom of Heaven, seat of the Father above as ruler of our world beneath.

Perversely, ancient emperors – in China or Rome, for example –held themselves high above others, believing, like gods, they could exercise dominion over the world.

Now when we hear the word Dominion, it’s the name of a foreign-made software intentionally designed to rig elections. Its use as part of a orchestrated effort to flip votes has triggered a Constitutional crisis. Voter fraud, unchecked, would be death of the American dream.

Dominion has been instrumental in bringing a country weakened by COVID shut-downs to the boiling point of civil war. This potential self-destruction serves the world-domination ends of dark-side rulers.

Is the name Dominion mere coincidence?

On the flip side, yogis, sages and saints, consistent with the perennial philosophy of wisdom traditions, have an opposite approach to power. Rather than seeking to control others, they focus on self-mastery. Eckart Tolle, for example, honors the Center of the Life Wheel as the true source of power. Lao Tze’s famous words sum up it up this way:

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.

Here’s the long version:

Easier said than done. Described throughout as 2020’s foremost challenge, self-mastery starts with the daunting task of cleaning out one’s inner swamp.

The task is much easier when you’re working with a complete and accurate paradigm that maps the levels of energy. Basic to all versions of yoga (union) is the picture of energy anatomy. True masters link the levels by controlling the breath (psyche). In this world view, the more the merrier. Your attainment compliments mine, making the whole world greater.

Here’s a picture worth a book of words:

We’re not taught to look to the Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’ve been bringing the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly posts have served to make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

None of the four hexagrams in today’s readings are new to 2020. We’ve seen each of them before, some more than once. But the immediate context give them a whole new meaning.

Interestingly, the top and bottom lines of the original answer, GENTLENESS, flip. They trade places to create a new final outcome. The top solid line sinks to the bottom. The broken bottom line rises to the top. It looks like this:

GENTLENESS is the original answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of NOW?” It reads:

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. Find out what concerns the people you work with and speak in those terms. In this way, you can reach their minds. Avoid noisy conflict.

Gentleness is the way of self-mastery, polar opposite of political cleverness and military force. It is the way of enduring success.

* * *

Advice of bottom line reads: “Don’t act without clear purpose. Make a decision. Stick to it.” The element of wind in this case is a matter of breath control, not external weather. It is neither arbitrary nor impulsive. Whatever the outcome of political races, thoughtfulness and steady consistency wins the inner race that matters.

When advice is heeded, the changes to Frustration. This is the fourth time it has appeared, always in mid-stream, never in either the original or final position. It reads:

External factors you may not even be aware of will cause FRUSTRATION. New projects will not work out now. This cannot be avoided. Arguing will not influence those who could help. Your choice is either to wait patiently or to leave the situation. Pay attention to details. Avoid major commitments.

As of today, arguments through the legal system have, for unknown reasons, met with little response. Some are patiently waiting for their day in the court. Frustrated, Texas has other ideas and is ready to part ways with the Union.

* * *

Advice of top line reads: “Do not think so much that timely action is delayed.”

All people thirst to know the roots their ORIGIN. At one level, learning about family and cultural traditions fills this need. At another level, this quest is satisfied by seeking for deeper knowledge. The vitality of all races flows from a single source which never runs dry. Avoid narrow-mindedness.

Seeking deeper knowledge that leads to unity is the path of self-mastery. Forgetting our common origins, seeking to subordinate, exploit and eventually destroy fellow human beings is the path of separation and mutual self-destruction.

* * *

Were the warnings of both changing lines heeded, the composite final outcome is Patience. It advises us to hope that courage, light and truth will prevail, as General Flynn believes it will. Stay the course. Justice on all levels will prevail:

PATIENCE is the best friend of determination. Remain confident that everything will work out in due time and have the courage to wait. Think carefully now. Decide what you want and how to get it. Prepare so that when the time for action comes you will be ready. Avoid confusion.

Patience is not necessarily passive. This week is a time for mental action, preparing for the future ahead.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

WHAT IF? – IC – 121420

December 14th‘s New Moon is in Sagittarius — sign of wisdom, faith and optimism, ruler of careers in the judiciary, military, broadcasting and higher education. He’s a centaur — half man, half horse — pictured with an arrow pointed upwards, charging towards his destiny. In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is a healer whose wisdom links Heaven and Earth.

New Moons usually offer the opportunity to make a fresh start. But today’s is full of contradictions.

It comes at 2020’s low ebb, the darkest hour of winter. It shares space with and is marred by the unhealthy, regressive energies of a South Node – overwhelm, hopelessness, and avoidance. It magnifies unwillingness to face life. “I can’t deal with it any more.”

Still worse, this New Moon is eclipsed. The sun’s light is literally, if temporarily, hidden. Blacked out. The positive qualities of Sagittarius are blighted. Law, order, and communication are at rock bottom. Not looking good for the Electoral College’s scheduled proceedings. (We’ll see.)

That was the bad news. On the flip side, there’s good news ahead.

Eclipses are like a computer shut-down and reset. When systems come back on-line, they’re upgraded. You wake up from a temporary funk to operate at a higher level. Then you’ll find you’ve got your inner spark and spunk back. You’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This solar eclipse New Moon offers the opportunity to break free from South Node escapism. The impossible now seems possible. The power to face life with firm resolve is renewed. Your “can do” gene is switched on.

Let your heart not be troubled. This powerful eclipse is followed in short-order by an even more powerful reset. The planets which rule law and order, Jupiter and Capricorn, both move from a dark, heavy place to a more positive, enlightened location. They join (which happens only once in 20 years) to begin a fresh new cycle.

That’s a lot of jargon. Here’s the upshot. However dark and regressive events may seem right now, it’s almost over, Starting on December 21st with the winter solstice, a new era lies ahead. The archetypal pattern repeats. At the lowest, darkest point of the year, energies reverse. They start to move forward again towards the light. Wisdom, faith and optimism return.

End-stage 2020 dynamics are the last gasp of a decades-long conflict. The issues facing us now have been brewing behind the scenes, waiting for the right time to surface and be released. For example, here are two sample Essay Sketches written in the year 2000.

Sound familiar?

Here’s another:

In this context, at the time of this temporarily eclipsed New Moon, think about possible reset alternatives going forward.

WHAT IF:

  • . . . we decided to tune out distracting external conflicts long enough to calm down, clean out the inner swamp, and think carefully about what we believe, intend, and in that context, recognize who our real friends and enemies are.
  • . . . we recognized the choice between right and left-hand paths and chose wisely.
  • . . . we saw through the ancient tactic of “distract and divide in order to conquer,” and acted to reunite our country.
  • . . . we recognized that incendiary information being released is intended to set us at each other’s throats, luring us into the trap of civil war, making us easy prey for foreign overlords take over – and didn’t take the bait.
  • . . . we used this extraordinarily powerful solar reset New Moon to set a positive intention for the future, one that cancels out the decades-long dynamics that have driven us to Constitutional crisis at end-stage 2020.
  • . . . we returned to the essence of wisdom traditions embodied in the timeless I Ching and shifted away from false, fragmenting beliefs towards the complete and accurate Quantum Paradigm.

We’re not taught to look to the Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’ve been bringing the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly posts have been intended make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

ADVERSITY is the unchanging answer to the solar eclipse New Moon question, “What should we be aware of NOW?” It reads:

ADVERSITY is a test of fortitude. When it cannot be prevented, the wisest response is acceptance. Use times of hardship as opportunities to strengthen character and focus on inner resources. Misunderstandings are likely to occur. Remain calm, take care of yourself and support those who depend on you. Avoid despair.

How can we count the hardships which beset the world at end-stage 2020? In alpha order, here’s a short-list related to COVID and draconian lock-downs:

It seems as if the angel of death has been loosed. It’s out and about, stalking the land.

On December 14th, those of faith are warned to protect themselves and those they care for by keeping their minds, hearts and physical doors safely sealed, allowing the wrath of God to pass over, leaving them untouched and better for having survived the ordeal.

Eclipse season is not a time for the faint of heart. STAND TALL. STAY THE COURSE. Use this magical reset time to imagine a better future.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

Miracles We Shouldn’t Take For Granted – IC – 121020

“At times when it seems as if one’s resources are exhausted, care must be taken to soften the harmful effects of DEPRESSION.” Until today, this reading was woven into the fabric of 2020.

But we’ve finally reached a turning point. Not coincidentally, December 10th is the first day of Hanukkah. At the low-ebb of winter darkness, it begins the eight-day holiday which celebrates the miracle of light.

It’s not just an ancient holy day. It tells a timeless story that repeats over and over throughout the cycles of time, December 2020 being one of them. Humanity has been around this curve before. Wisdom traditions serve to put current events in perspective.

In this week, the inner, eternal light which miraculously sustains us during hard times is celebrated. Historically, Judah Maccabee and his group of rebel followers recaptured the stolen Temple of Jerusalem. The story goes that afterwards, when it came time to rekindle the Lamp of Eternal Light – the Menorah – there was only enough oil to last one day. But, miraculously, the flame continued to burn brightly until more arrived – a full eight days later.

The threat of oil running out and the flame going out is the essence of Depression. Resources seemed to be exhausted. But . . . with a little help from friends. . . the light endured, uninterrupted.

But that’s not the only similarity between the past and present. Once again, a center of civilization, in this case the White House, is threatened by a hostile (deeply, darkly covert) take-over. Then as now, the enemies of freedom oppress the practice of religion.

And a small, self-described “rag tag” team of protectors led by Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Michael Flynn is valiantly defending the Constitution, giving their all to reclaim their country’s mantle as a beacon of light to the world.

We’re not taught to look to the timeless Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’ve been bringing the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly posts have been intended make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

COMMUNITY is the original but dynamic answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of NOW?”

Interestingly, a pattern similar to the last reading which moved from Restraint to Determination repeats today. Again, three lines of the hexagram change, with emphasis on the mental and spiritual levels of the Life Wheel. It begins:

Commitment to COMMUNITY is a necessary part of individual growth. Choose leaders who can express common goals with clarity. They will know how to assign work according to ability so that all prosper. In the harmonious community, Creative Power expresses through the skillful work of individuals. Avoid all selfishness.

The miracle of a harmonious, prosperous community is necessary to human life. Today, divisions are enforced in the name of a health crisis weaponized to political ends. Dangerously, when social distancing and religious suppression take hold, the blessings of community can not be taken for granted.

As traditional social structures continue to fail us on many fronts, it’s natural seek out friends and form groups with common interests. Pastor Joe Fox, for example, speaks of MAGs (Mutual Assistance Groups). At Shofar Mountain, he leads an intentional community.

* * *

Advice of the 3rd line reads, “When motives become unclear, mistrust grows. Restore clarity in time.” When careful thought is given to clarify motives and reestablish trust, this line changes to Clarity:

Cultivate CLARITY. Listen to the pure and childlike voice of your inner being. Even if this results in new and unexpected experiences, you will benefit. Take joy in being true to your Self. Modified by consideration for others, this will give you creative abilities. Avoid fearful attachment to the familiar.

End-stage 2020 is a time to remember our basic values. We’re called to rethink how community is created and sustained.

And, Yes. In this uncertain time, survival will depend on following conscience wherever it leads. Attachment to the past is futile. Trusting in the promising potentials of an unknowable future is the best way to get through current confusions.

* * *

Advice of the 4th line reads, “If you have become isolated, understand why and correct yourself.” When heeded, the line changes to Family:

Inside the FAMILY one learns to play out given roles. This makes later success in roles on the job and in the larger community possible. Clearly defined relationships make communication easy. Respectful cooperation with others earns trust and acceptance from the human family. Avoid roles not suited to your nature.

Taoists and Confucians agree that well-ordered families are the basic building blocks of community. These families need not be nuclear or biology-based. Wherever people come together around common purpose, shared values and love of life, they become family.

* * *

Advice of the 6th, top line reads: “Work for a larger purpose, either alone or with others.” Once an overview of the big picture is careful considered, and purposeful plan of action is chosen, we’re read to get to work in all ways. At that point, the line transforms:

Day and night replace each other in endless cycles of CHANGE. The same Natural Law generates flux in human events. The unprepared see change as a threat, but the well-prepared face the unknown calmly. They know that after degeneration reaches critical mass, regeneration follows. Welcome the new. Avoid short-sighted fear.

Indeed, We’re At Critical Mass, as stated in the first post of this series. But the miracle of regeneration is at hand. The extraordinarily powerful eclipse season we’ve entered begins not only a new 20-year cycle, but also ushers in still longer-range changes (depending on how it’s calculated). Rick Levine, for example, says:

. . . this upcoming conjunction is part of the Great Mutation Cycle, one-quarter of the 800-year Grand Conjunction Cycle.

This is HUGE. It can’t be understated.

Now, as in during Columbus’s exhausting first voyage, there’s no turning back. But for those with the vision and spine to Stay the Course, the risk, wait and work will be worth every bit of of the effort.

* * *

The composite end result of Community’s changing lines is realistic, not rosy. A New Era is struggling to be born. We are at the earliest stage of a process which must be played out, step-by-step. There will be inevitable Problems along the way:

When a new life is struggling to emerge, there will be PROBLEMS in the beginning. Seek help from people whose ideas and methods can help to create inner and outer stability. Take an active part in the growing process. This will help you to define your own identity. Avoid helplessness.

The Idea which I urgently recommend as the foundation for a better future is the Quantum Paradigm imaged in the Life Wheel. It is the complete and accurate reality map upon which sages and scientists can agree. It embodies Einstein’s intuited Unified Field Theory, placing each the three variables of his famous formula at increasingly deeper levels of experience.

The life-altering change of this fundamental paradigm shift will move civilization away from the fragmenting, limiting empirical science, restoring original wholeness.

Change your paradigm. It changes the way you think and the way you see the world. First the shift will change your personal life. Then, on the wings of butterflies, it will affect lives clear across the globe.

In a Unified world view, each of us is inherently okay. No one can take your inborn divinity away. Simply not possible. Nor can anyone take away the God-given okayness of another fellow human being. (The challenge remains, of course, that by abusing the gift of free will, our own bad choices blight the gift of inner light.)

The Method associated with the quantum Idea is working with the Life Wheel to make our scattered lives whole again. In combination, they give us a means to heal fractures, first within, then in the larger world around us. Restoring light to the world in this practical way would be a miracle indeed. The one I live and pray for.

To make the most of this opportunity, may we each accept that we are all children of God, and choose to live our daily lives in that light.

Stay the Course or Face the Consequences – IC – 120720

Resolute Determination to stay the course is the final outcome of today’s dynamic I Ching reading. When so many of us feel lost and at sea, December 2020 is a time to muster our native true grit.

In the October 12th reading, I quoted from Columbus’s Journal of the First Voyage:

Here the people could stand it no longer and complained of the long voyage . . . The Admiral cheered them as best he could. But was useless to complain.

His mind was made up. He was determined, with God’s help, to go forward. That resolute Determination to stay the course is magnified in today’s reading.

Even though much we took for granted is falling away, hope remains. The future remains in our hands. We’re entering the powerful eclipse season long foreseen as the positive beginning of a New Era.

HOWEVER — this decisive energy shift is only an opportunity. The final outcome of 2020 is not fated or cast in stone. It remains undecided, to be shaped by both our decisions and the actions we take during this pivotal time in history.

This is NOT a time to be pessimistic, shrug our shoulders and quit. That would give victory to the regressive, dark-side forces of history.

Just ask yourself, “What if Columbus had given in to nay-sayers and turned back then.”

And now, “What would be the consequences of failing to support President Trump as he stands firm and tall in the face of the criminal, communist-driven attempt to steal his decisive and well-earned victory?”

Columbus was rewarded for his Determination with the discovery of a whole New World. Today’s call for true grit has potential consequences every bit as life-changing for everyone across the globe.

At end-stage 2020, it’s Now or Never.

RESTRAINT is the original answer of today’s question, “What do we need to be aware of NOW?”

Interestingly, the bottom three lines which represent the physical world remain static. However, the top three lines which represent mental and spiritual levels of the Life Wheel each change. So, right now, even if world events seem beyond personal control, our attitudes remain open to change. It begins:

Exercise RESTRAINT in your actions. Seek the company of people who can advise on the best way to use your resources. The skills you have learned earlier can now be used to benefit others. Multiply the benefit of what has already been done by sharing results. Avoid careless waste.

Current events threaten to peak in an explosive outcome. So it’s critically important during this waiting period to exercise self-control. Think carefully about how this advice apply to your personal circumstances.

* * *

The advice of the 4th line is, “Channel your energies constructively. Rewards will be realized later on.” This expands on Restraint. Patience is added to the mix. With that awareness kept in mind, Restraint changes to a higher form as Self-Possession:

Great leaders demonstrate the SELF-POSSESSION to remain true to what they know is right despite all hardships. They act gently but fairly with others. Because they are consciously in harmony with the source of Creative Power, they express ideas brilliantly. Avoid false pride.

Here, the element of leadership is introduced. Conscious awareness, brilliant communication and Divine Connection are supported by consistency, humility and fairness.

* * *

The advice of the 5th changing line reads, “Deal with negative forces indirectly. Open battles are too risky.” This is variation on the theme, “Resist not evil; persist in the good.” That advice being heed, the line changes to warn of Frustration:

External factors you may not even be aware of will cause FRUSTRATION. New projects will not work out now. This cannot be avoided. Arguing will not influence those who could help. Your choice is either to wait patiently or to leave the situation. Pay attention to details. Avoid major commitments.

We’ve seen Frustration already. It supports the view that early December is a time when unknowns are at work behind the scenes. Right now, election outcomes are, for the most part, in the hands of legislators, courts and politicians. Once again, Patience is recommended.

* * *

Advice of the changing line in the top, 6th place reads, “Listen to the voice of conscience. You will be guided.”

“Be still and know, I AM GOD.” Trust that the leaders who have your interests at heart will be guided through the thickets of corruption, as will all who pray for them and hope for the best. With this advice heeded, the outcome is Peace:

When the forces of nature unite in profound harmony, heavenly PEACE fills the earth. Lives blossom. Prosperity increases. Easy communication makes it possible to under-stand one another. This leads to cooperative efforts that will be fruitful. Tranquility follows fulfillment of life goals. Accept life’s blessings gratefully. Avoid disorder.

No matter what immediate earthquakes lie ahead, the hope of Peace remains, first within and perhaps, eventually, in the world.

* * *

The composite of the upper three changing lines of initial Restraint results in Determination, the same virtue demonstrated by Columbus at an equally critical point in history:

If you approach the situation with DETERMINATION, you can now overcome problems that have held you back in the past. First be sure you do not contain the external problem you are working to eliminate within yourself. Then sincerity, cheerfulness and self-confidence will bring success. Avoid solving problems by force.

In other versions, this hexagram is called Resoluteness. It draws on the Inner Strength integral to the last reading. Even though hard to see, in fact December 2020 is a time of rare opportunity. We are challenged to overcome past problems, first by cleaning out our inner swamps and then by mustering the courage to end corruption of the political swamp.

Criminals at every level put their faith in their false assumption of collective cowardice and willful blindness. December 2020 offers the rest of us the golden opportunity to prove them forever WRONG.

They will prevail only if we give in to intimidation and passively surrender, handing over to them the inalienable power which belongs to we the people and, ultimately, to the Source of Creative Power which abides eternal at the center of the Life Wheel within each of us.

Don’t let criminal elements fool us ever again. Now is the time to wake up! Know to whom true power belongs. Be willing to reclaim it and use it responsibly during the all-new twenty-year cycle that begins on December 14th. (Stay tuned!)

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

Cleaning Out the Inner Swamp – IC – 113020

NEWS FLASH!

Astrologers agree, the next three weeks are a wide-open window of opportunity. Pam Gregory says, It feels like the Reset of the Ages because it is exactly that. Be aware: during this time, every emotion you feel, positive or negative, will be enormously magnified.

BOOM!

Choices made during this period will launch you on your life path going forward. They’ll also have a ripple effect, influencing the world around you. So, Be careful. Choose wisely.

Glenn Beck say we’re in a holding pattern right now. As we wait for the courts to decide the outcome of U.S. elections, we feel like we’re in the eye of a hurricane. Politically that may be true. But it isn’t just empty space. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go inwards. Rethink beliefs. Reset attitudes, emotions, and intentions for the future.

Pam says:

This is our homework. Don’t just nap and cruise on Netflix. Take time out to meditate. STAY IN YOUR CENTER. Don’t be caught up in the hubbub.

She continues:

. . . through all of this unraveling of the old, there will be a lot of confusion out there. So I would very very VERY much encourage you to ground as often as you can. Be in nature. Play with a pet. Walk bare foot on the grass if weather permits.

Don’t go outwards to the scattering news and drama. Turn inwards. Create coherence. Breathe in and out through your heart — anything you can do to create coherence.

The great reset begins with Cleaning Out the Swamp. The process is essential. It is enormously beneficial. But no one said it would be easy. As OA warned, It’s hard to clean out the swamp when you’re up to your ass in alligators.

Nevertheless, as quantum fact, positive change happens from the inside out, and from smallest to largest. So there’s only one effective and enduring way clean out 2020’s political and institutional swamps. It’s this. Today. Starting right now and going forward, take full responsibility to clean out your own personal inner swamp.

Here’s a good way to begin.

Find a piece of paper and your favorite writing supplies. Settle down in a quiet place. Focus on your breathing until it becomes steady, calm and slow — quiet, deep and even.

Then, on that clean page, draw a vertical line down the center. On the left-hand side, list every negative emotion you’ve been feeling. Self-pity, blame, anger, hatred, fear, insecurity, sadness, envy, jealousy, shame, doubt, despair, confusion . . .whatever. Don’t leave anything out.

On the right-hand side, make a complete list of every positive emotion you’d like to feel in the future. Peace, joy, love, trust, compassion, gratitude, appreciation, patience, confidence, hope, happiness. Whatever you choose.

Next, draw a black line through each of the negative emotions. Then X-out the entire left-side column. After that, pick up your colored pens or pencils. Underscore, circle and draw happy faces around each of the positive feelings. Enjoy the process.

For the next three weeks, return to this list every day. Reinforce your intention to change for the better every morning and again each evening before bed.

During the day, be the observer. Whenever uninvited emotions pop up – annoyance, irritation, impatience, whatever — interrupt them. Snap your fingers to flip a switch in your brain. Turn off dark despair. Turn on the light of a brilliant new day.

Be aware that identifying the next three weeks as a rare opportunity to make positive personal changes is NOT arbitrary. Right on schedule, this Shift of the Ages has long been foreseen. It’s marked by a full moon lunar eclipse on November 30th, followed by a new moon total solar eclipse (the only one of 2020) on December 14th, and finally the winter solstice on December 21st.

Because each of these extraordinary events happens to fall on a Monday, I’ll speak to each in turn as the date arrives. I especially look forward to December 14th, the date of the Electoral College’s decision in the U.S.

DEPRESSION is the unchanging answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of NOW?” It reads:

At times when it seems as if one’s resources are exhausted, care must be taken to soften the harmful effects of DEPRESSION. Whether the cause of depression is mental, emotional or economic, do not despair. The time will pass. Use hardship to develop inner strength and calm. Avoid negative thoughts.

The advice to avoid negative thoughts resonates with todays theme, cleaning out one’s personal inner swamp.

Especially in times of Depression, a complete and accurate paradigm is a lifeline. It supports awareness of the e=energy middle level of the Life Wheel where emotional alligators lurk, the deeper levels of intuition and light, was well as the Core CENTER. This unchanging Center is the stable bedrock of sanity. It’s our inalienable, enduring Source of prosperity in all things, on every level.

Those brainwashed into a paradigm that rules out the inner levels of quantum reality fall apart when the going gets rough. In contrast, even in the worst of times, timeless wisdom sustains those of faith. When it “SEEMS as if” our resources are exhausted, they’re not fooled by surface illusions. They trust in the Creator as their unfailing source of inner strength and abundance.

In 2020’s hour of extreme suffering, keep in mind the hope at the heart of Job’s story. Even during imaginable loss, Job steadfastly kept the faith. Trusting that alternating cycles of loss and gain are in the Creator’s hands, he repeated: The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Because of his faith, in God’s time, Job was restored to prosperity even greater than before. This is the positive intention to hold in mind during the coming three to four weeks as an unprecedented, powerful eclipse season brings in The Shift of the Ages.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To orderTwo Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

Take the Best, Leave the Rest – IC -112320

Unlike any kind of fortune-telling, prophecy, or magic, the I Ching does not tell the future, it can only analyze the present. Its use does not allow one to make forecasts, only diagnoses. If there were a comparison possible with a Western equivalent, it would not be to the crystal ball but to a chess playing computer program that analyzes the current situation in order to choose one of a number of options.

Cyrille Javary’s description of the Book of Change is my favorite. It spells out exactly why, in 2020’s year of challenging choices, the book is so potentially valuable.

Working with it offers a meditative approach to problem-solving. Take a deep breath. Step back from the fray. Be the observer. Instead of getting caught up in one side or another, see how they dance together. Then consciously, carefully choose the best course of action.

That’s far better than getting sucked into conflict, engaging in blame, anger or despair, or being confused to the point of paralysis.

With I Ching wisdom, you won’t be fooled by false either/or choices. You’ll know that in duality, there are two sides to every coin. “Whatever has a front has a back.” Further, “the larger the front, the larger the back.”

Thousands of years experience confirm that nothing is only what it seems. Even more, as a Law of Nature, every extreme changes into its opposite. That’s why sages warn us to avoid extremes; 2020’s year of extremes is painful proof of the Law in action.

In Take the Best, I wrote.

In reading opinion and even “how to” pieces, I recommend the 30/70 principle. With careful attention and a little bit of luck, it’s possible to extract the 30% value from the 70% rubbish in which its embedded.

Ferreting out fact from falsehood takes Sherlock-like attention to detail. It requires conscious discrimination, in the positive sense. It demands active investigation, not passive acceptance of what appears on the front-side of the coin.

So which will it be? Do you want to be a conscious player in the chess-game of life, or simply a pawn moved around the board at the whim of others?

We’re not taught to look to the Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’ve chosen to bring the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly posts are intended make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

Today’s reading is the most dynamic and perhaps challenging of 2020. GAIN, the original outcome, changes four times – moving through FAMILY, CLARITY, GROWTH, and PROBLEMS — before arriving at its final outcome, PROSPERITY.

At the beginning of Thanksgiving week, the deeply desired return of Prosperity come only after patiently going through the step-by-step process it takes to get from here to there. And at each step along the way, a consistent theme emerges:

GAIN is the initial answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of NOW?” It reads:

GAINS can be made after analyzing the situation correctly. When a person’s life goals are kept firmly in mind, no time is wasted. A way can be found to use whatever resources are at hand to serve one’s purpose. Serving others can be compatible with personal gain. Avoid smug self-satisfaction.

During conflict-filled, end-stage 2020, it’s important to step back and take a deep breath. Analyze what’s going on, define our goals and how best to meet them. Accept that personal gain is inseparably connected with showing respect for others needs.

* * *

The advice of Line 3 represents a flip side of today’s theme. It reads, “Sometimes insincere people can help others without meaning to.”

Often selfish people who don’t respect others “coincidentally” fulfill nature’s plan. Ironically, in this season, power abusers have grown so bold that they’ve shown their hand. Pay attention to reap the unintended benefits. When this advice is taken to heart, the 3rd line changes to:

Inside the FAMILY one learns to play out given roles. This makes later success in roles on the job and in the larger community possible. Clearly defined relationships make communication easy. Respectful cooperation with others earns trust and acceptance from the human family. Avoid roles not suited to your nature.

Respect, trust and acceptance are integral to today’s consistent theme.

As for roles, although I greatly respect Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorke, and am profoundly grateful to President Trump’s legal supporters (Rudy Giuliani and Genna Ellis, as well as the noble Sidney Powell), I’m neither by temperament nor training a street fighter.

As they fulfill their destined roles in the human family’s critical war for truth and justice, I accept a modest, complimentary role. My part is fulfilled by adding a book of wisdom to the mix.

It’s my job to urge humans to remember our common humanity. Don’t continue down the divide-and-conquer path of conflict which serves only the dark-side Evil Emperor. Instead of going at each others throats, we must join forces to cut off the head of the snake that plays us against each other — to our mutual destruction.

Similarly, all of us need to step back and decide how as individuals we’re best qualified and able to contribute.

* * *

Repeating the common theme, advice of Line 4 reads, “Conflict between helping yourself and helping others is not necessary.” This advice being thoughtfully applied to one’s own life, the fourth line changes to Clarity:

Cultivate CLARITY. Listen to the pure and childlike voice of your inner being. Even if this results in new and unexpected experiences, you will benefit. Take joy in being true to your Self. Modified by consideration for others, this will give you creative abilities. Avoid fearful attachment to the familiar.

According to theme, consideration for others tempers personal joy and enhances effectiveness.

* * *

Again on theme, advice of Line 5 reads, “Worthwhile goals and practical purposes can be linked. Be sincere.” It reinforces the wisdom of the original reading, Gain. “Serving others can be compatible with personal gain.”

No either/ors! Here’s the shadow side of our theme: Taking advantage of others is a super bad idea. One way or another, it will backfire, big time. When we internalize this advice, putting it into action, the 5th line changes to Growth.

People seek help according to what they need for their own GROWTH. Unless hunger is fed with the right food, no amount of input will satisfy. To understand others, watch how they nourish themselves. Nature provides for all. Leaders promote those who have the ability to serve many. Avoid greed.

The resonant theme repeats: “Nature provides for all.” For thousands of years, the Book of Change has taught what psychologists now say. Humanity is starved for wisdom. Lacking awareness of our inalienable, inborn okayness, people fall prey to every imaginable disease, addiction and vice. Violence, over-eating, drugs and indiscriminate sex don’t feed the real hunger. Wisdom, self-compassion and human kindness do.

***

Advice of the Top Line reads, “Laziness and greed repel people. Don’t take advantage of others.” It’s part of the theme’s flip side. When taken to heart, the line changes to:

When a new life is struggling to emerge, there will be PROBLEMS in the beginning. Seek help from people whose ideas and methods can help to create inner and outer stability. Take an active part in the growing process. This will help you to define your own identity. Avoid helplessness.

This reading reinforces the need for positive, fulfilling Growth. Like it or not, 2020 has been a watershed year of 2020 and of reset. After enduring extremes of loss and chaos, we need to bring ourselves back to balance, redefine ourselves and make a Fresh Start. Again,

Choose to be

an active chess player,

not a passive pawn.

***

After the changing lines are honored, each in turn, in combination they lead to in a final outcome, Prosperity:

Use the time of PROSPERITY as the opportunity to benefit as many as possible. Hoarding wealth of any kind hastens loss. Nature acts to distribute resources equally. Therefore, the way to prevent poverty is to live modestly in the present. Share wisely, without prejudice. This secures continued well-being. Avoid possessiveness.

Prosperity is the end result of mastering the lessons of family, clear thinking, nurturing the best in ourselves and others, and seeking wisdom when faced with problems. True to the consistent theme, it emphasizes the wisdom of acting like nature. Going forward, benefiting as many as possible without prejudice will be the way to secure good fortune.

For most of us, 2020 has been intense and harsh. But it also brought important lessons – blessings in disguise. From now to mid-December, when we’re slated to see major reversals, the wisest use of down time is to sort out the best of 2020. Leave the rest behind as we prepare to enter 2021 with its promise of a new set of interesting challenges/opportunities.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

Thou Shalt Not Adulterate My Language

The Ten Commandments Moses brought down from Mount Horeb tell us, among other things, not to adulterate. It’s seventh in the line-up. But in reviewing the list just now, it was hard not to conclude that the radical left violates them all . . . systematically.

Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t covet what’s not yours. Don’t bear false witness? The year 2020 has seen a pandemic of law breaking, as if virtuosity in brazenly flaunting the law is the latest fad.

In this increasing corrupt world, monuments of the Ten Commandments are banned from public property. Narcissists are giving themselves free rein and encouraging others to openly do what they’ve been doing behind closed doors for centuries. Lie, steal, covet, commit adultery.

But today, I’m focusing on just one glaring sin. Adultery. (As you’ll recall, I earlier defined sin as “mistake.” It’s simply missing the mark.)

And in the Yoga Dictionary, as you’ll also recall, words take on new meanings as one moves up the ladder of energy centers.

At the root chakra, which governs the physical foundations of life, there’s systemic adulteration (pollution, if you will) across the board. Air, water, soil, food. Every element of nature that sustains human life is being poisoned. The problem is so pervasive it can’t be accidental.

And there’s more. In his remarkable book, The 9 Steps to Keep the Doctor Away, Dr. Rashid Buttar shines a laser light on a multitude of health risks.

He also tells the deeply personal story of his pact with the Creator. He promised to give anything in return for learning how to return a beloved son, rendered autistic by toxic vaccinations, back to health. His prayer was answered and the good doctor upheld his end of the bargain . . . this book is the result.

I have to draw from memory in describing it. My personal copy went to the building’s caretaker, who has two autistic sons, both damaged by vaccine poisoning. If you, your family or friends have similar concerns, check out Dr. Buttar’s book. Some find it intense, but with good cause.

But wait, there’s more. The second energy center focuses on sexual concerns and the capacity for empathy. It concerns not only traditional marital fidelity, but matters of reproduction (abortion), gender identity, promiscuous sex and related disease transmission.

The third energy center is related to leadership and control issues. Lust for and abuse of power originate within this center. Contamination of 2020 election results by adulterating valid votes with fraudulent, even computer-altered ones, is lodged here.

The fourth energy center is related to matters of the heart and feelings of compassion. The epidemic of heart disease – caused by poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, oxygen deprivation and/or emotional stress — afflicts this energy center.

The fifth center is related to speech and language. That’s the primary concern I’m focused on here. I’ve called it the Tower of Babel Dilemma. The English language is so badly abused that it’s often not worth talking.

Spencer Klavan calls 2020 an Orwellian Nightmare. He details the ways the Left abuses language to manipulate the culture. They’ve weaponized psychology, loading the language with incendiary trigger-words planted into the subconscious. Say, “racist,” for example, and a programmed mind registers it as a command. “Riot.”

Public figures routinely “plagiarize” meaning “steal” other’s words and ideas to confuse the public. We’re left to sort out who is genuine when speaking of Unity or quotes from the Bible. And who’s a sordid hypocrite.

Dynamics get increasingly more complex. Words can be inverted, perverted or simply misused to the extent that they become meaningless.

Further, in It Was All A Distraction, Max Igan explains, “You’ve been fooled. Everything is a lie.”

. . . the depths of this lie is quite literally, so profound and so all pervasive, that it’s almost impossible for most people to even see because its so big that it covers virtually everything single aspect of our lives.

. . . that’s why it’s so difficult to ever really discover the truth and to wake up the people around us. Most of the information we’ve been researching has been falsified. That is why people are locked into different belief systems, why they continue to argue with each other, and why they continue to perpetuate their divide and conquer programming.

Because he says it so well, I continue to quote. He says, as a starting point:

. . . we have to understand that we’ve been manipulated and controlled, and trained to argue with each other about our differences.

He concludes:

. . . what we need to do is focus on stopping this system in its tracks right now and giving ourselves a chance to regroup, to find out what the truth is. This is not going to happen unless we can put our differences down, stop trolling each other, stop attacking each other, stop spreading mistrust and division . . .

The solution is within. All you have to do is look within and remember yourself.

Igan speaks of a “solution,” in synch with David Icke’s most recent book, The Solution. Both recommend disengaging from a vampiric system. Don’t feed it with your energy. Don’t acquiesce. If enough of us refuse to supply the dark-side with undeserved attention, it’s toast.

How do we get from here to there?

It starts with paying attention, first to what’s going on inside, then to the immediate world around us. From personal experience, I assure you that working with the Book of Change can be an indispensable aid in this effort.

It will lead, as it did me, to replacing the fracturing paradigm of empirical science with the complete and accurate, yoga-compatible quantum paradigm — the one which operates on the variables of Einstein’s unified field formula.

The year 2020 is the time to wake up! Like Lambert the Sheepish Lion, remember who you truly are.

Don’t be fooled. Don’t be distracted or engage in conflict. Trust in God and in yourself. Then find trustworthy friends. Build safe, intentional communities.

And – of course — speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Bottom line: don’t stop half way. For those with ears to hear, there’s massive proof of pervasive election fraud. But take the next step. Political corruption and the media’s double-speak bluff are symptomatic of deeper trouble.

But don’t stop there. Language is just a mental software program. Still deeper, the fundamental paradigm — the operating system itself — has been corrupted and urgently needs a reboot.

End-stage 2020 challenges us to step back, take stock, and prepare to make a Fresh Start. This is, literally, in the I Ching readings for late December. In alignment with the heavens, they promise major shifts in human events.

Half-Brained Is Half-Assed

Have you ever taken the time to think carefully about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s often quoted words of wisdom? If not, it’s worth doing so now:

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall.

Here’s the standing joke. Anyone who’s always consistent is consistently wrong half the time. As archers know, if you’re left of center, aim right. When right of center, adjust by aiming left. Otherwise, you miss the mark.

In any case, inspired by Emerson’s words, Henry David Thoreau chose to live like a sage, in seclusion, simply, close to nature, engaging in carpentry and other manual work to survive. He felt the same powerful need we have today . . . to get free of cultural-conditioning which suppresses awareness and full expression of our true nature.

In the year 2000, I outlined a set of essay sketches. This one, to the point of “No Either-Ors,” is a favorite:

Divisions go wide on the surface of the Life Wheel, but also go deep. A common excuse for bureaucratic incompetence is, “The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.” On a personal level, the right brain doesn’t talk to left. Head and heart are out of synch.

We also say, “She’s all in the head, out of touch with her (e=energy level) emotions.” Deeper still, we observe, “He acts without conscience.”

Folks in biblical times lived closer to nature than most do today. That’s why their teachings often mirror the same wisdom found in the Book of Change. For example, according to King Solomon:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Ecclesiastes continues:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.

Sages of every time and place observe this dance of duality. The pairs of opposites sometimes balance and blend, other times clash or separate.

With their wisdom, it’s possible to steer nature’s energies. Sailors, for example, harnessed shifting winds to safely reach their destination.

Today, however, lacking natural common sense, political elites have led the world dangerously adrift. Divided between extremes, all sides clash mindlessly against perceived enemies. Partisans defend group members, right or wrong.

We seem hopelessly polarized. Any superficial excuse will do. Gender. Race. Religion. National origin. Class. Political affiliation. The list expands into trivia. Favorite sports teams. Fashion preferences.

I’ve already told you what I think of this suicidal, genocidal madness. The only one who benefits from unnatural warfare is the Evil Emperor. Hidden in the invisible realms which science tells us don’t exist, this dark-side entity manipulates us like powerless pawns to our mutual destruction.

Now don’t get me wrong. As Solomon said, there IS a time for war. There’s also a time for the breakdown of institutions which no longer serve their intended purpose. The year 2020 is such a time.

But let there be some balance, some common sense, even in the midst of orchestrated chaos.

I have a major problem with people who sit passively on the sidelines, as if they were helpless victims, unable to make a difference in political outcomes.

I admit I was once of them. But OA set me straight.

I believed, thanks to Sunday school, that Jesus was sweet and nice, as I should be too. He loved little girls and boys (and probably puppies). He was exclusively kind and gentle . . . well-mannered, you might say.

WRONG. Jesus fully lived all sides of Natural Law. OA reminded me of the best known example: overturning the money-changers’ tables in front of the Temple at Jerusalem. He had harsh words for hypocrites.

Bottom line: Jesus wasn’t a wimp. Neither were I Ching-savvy Shaolin monks, who protected their monasteries with Kung Fu.

I’ll also confess, I was brainwashed in university to believe in self-righteous non-violence. Taking up arms to defend myself and protect those I care for would be immoral – not to mention impolite. (That’s someone else’s dirty job.)

Now, I’ve already written half of the story in Gandhi’s Way Out of Madness. Here’s the other half.

Yes, non-violence was a brilliant strategy. It mobilized the masses. Natives succeeded in driving the hated British enemy out.

But then it backfired. Indians brothers and sisters turned that same hatred on each other. Muslims battled Hindus in civil war. They split a unified country in two. Relocation took an unspeakable toll in death, pain and suffering.

WHY?

The yogic principle of non-violence (satyagraha) was a great idea in Gandhi’s head. Weaponized, it was a powerful political tool.

BUT – –

Non-violence was only an idea. An empty, pretty thought. It wasn’t understood by the people. Like pawns, they followed instructions. But commitment wasn’t alive in their hearts. It wasn’t internalized at the deeper, e=energy level of the Life Wheel.

So after Gandhi’s mission to oust an external enemy was accomplished, natives didn’t practice non-violence at home. The country exploded.

The blessing hidden within 2020’s hard lessons is the opportunity to fully recognize the horrific consequences of wide-spread, half-assed behavior, along with the option to heal ourselves. Make ourselves and our country whole again. Unified.

Yes, there are significant wars to be fought. The deep and abiding war between good and evil is the best example. HOWEVER, irrelevant distractions — surface-level differences — aren’t among them.

For the sake of human survival, know the real enemy and pick your battles wisely, guys!

To Think Like a Genius, Link the Levels – IC – 111920

Q. Why the interest in genius at this time of chaos and confusion?

A. America’s divisive state is testimony to the crying need for creative problem-solvers.

We need to educate ourselves and then bring up a next generation able to SEE what’s gone so terribly wrong, and what to do about it.

So what is genius? Is creative brilliance a rare gift granted only to a special few?

Or is genius, as I believe, an inborn, God-given potential equally available to everyone. Every-one, that is, willing to do the work and make the sacrifices needed to fulfill their innate potentials.

Q. Okay. If I’m a potential genius, how do I get from here to there?

A. Yogis have long known the way. Breathing is the simple answer.

Breath is the vehicle of the soul, the psyche. It animates us at birth. It’s the single constant always with us right up to our last minute on earth. We can breathe unconsciously. Automatically. Or we can do it consciously, and in the process link the levels of the Life Wheel — mind, body and spirit. Breath unifies the quantum field.

Yoga in a nutshell.

Einstein’s New Way of Thinking explains:

The secret to thinking like a genius has been known for thousands of years. Yogis call it Raja Yoga . . .

Modern medical researchers correlate ancient teachings with brain science. Breath control balances, harmonizes and stimulates both hemispheres of the brain. It unites artistic with mathematical abilities.

Now Einstein was a “natural.”

On rare occasions, it’s possible to get the same results naturally, without needing to understand the dynamics that explain genius. Both sides of Einstein’s brain . . worked together.

He was an accomplished violinist and philosopher as well as a physicist. Pipe smoking probably gave him some of the benefits of deep breathing, though to the best of our knowledge (at least in this lifetime), he never took yoga classes.

Two recent books explain yoga’s magic in the familiar language of science. One is Patrick McKeown’s The Oxygen Advantage: Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques. Even better is James Nestor’s 2020 bestseller, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.

Thinking like a genius, “journalist James Nestor traveled the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.” He says:

There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences.

Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head.

Disturbed breathing and the image of a fragmented Life Wheel go hand-in-glove. Cognitive dissonance, the narcissist’s signature, is the frequent mark of public figures. Their words and actions don’t match. Not even close.

Here’s a basic test of whom to trust. Who is consistent, word and deed? Who is not? I’ll have more to say about this in future posts. Look for Half-Brained Is Half-Assed.

We’re not trained to look to the Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’ve chosen to bring the book to you. Through the end of 2020, bi-weekly blogs are intended to serve as an introduction, to make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

INSPIRATION is the initial answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of now?” The Common Sense Book of Change version reads:

When minds are moved by INSPIRATION, nothing is impossible. Misunderstandings can be cleared up, problems solved and hardships overcome. Inspired speakers can move others to acts of heroism by well-chosen words. Reminding people of their common goals and deepest desires gives them the courage to continue. Avoid unkindness.

In-spire means to breathe in. When we’re tense and hold the breath, we cut ourselves off from Source. Relaxing and taking a deep breath reconnects us with the Force.

Inspiration is the signature of genius – the crying need — the critically missing piece — in today’s public arena. All sides seem stimulated by conflict. “Game on!”

While engaging in battle for a just cause is vitally important, in equal measure — to keep ourselves and the Union together – we also need to honor the opposite of side of the coin. Take time to pause, reflect and be grateful for the blessings we too often take for granted, which everyone on all sides are risk at risk of losing forever.

***

Constitutional Law Professor Jack Balkin’s version of the I Ching calls Hexagram 58 Joy. These are its key attributes: Giving and receiving / Communication / Integrity/ Inner stability / Inner Peace.

He comments:

When people take joy in each other’s company, they are willing to make sacrifices for each other. Difficulties seem to melt away. Troubles seem smaller and less threatening. When people feel supported and encouraged, they are willing to take on even the most difficult tasks. Thus, joy has enormous power. It brings people together, moves them to do great things and bestows success on their efforts.

***

In the CSBOC, advice of the bottom line reads: “Maintain an attitude of joyful self-confidence. This will attract success.” When the advice is heeded, the line changes to Depression:

At times when it seems as if one’s resources are exhausted, care must be taken to soften the harmful effects of DEPRESSION. Whether the cause of depression is mental, emotional or economic, do not despair. The time will pass. Use hardship to develop inner strength and calm. Avoid negative thoughts.

Stress, fear, and anger disrupt natural breathing, making us sick. And basic breathing practices — in-spiration — are known to heal (drug free) countless diseases, including depression. This relief alone makes economic hardships more tolerable and creative solutions easier to find.

***

Balkin’s version calls Hexagram 47 Oppression. Its key attributes include: Exhaustion / Being restricted / Hardship / Adversity / Inner affliction / Dried up / Impasse.

He comments:

Kun is indeed a difficult hexagram, but the law of change is always in operation. Periods of oppression and exhaustion contain the seeds of regeneration and renewal. At the very darkest moment the light is almost ready to shine again. Even so, it is not easy for people who are in the midst of oppression to understand and believe in this enduring truth. Dealing with oppression is a great test of a person’s character.

It’s almost as if presumptive leaders assume us deplorable Hobbits exist to be oppressed and drained, are so stupid that we’re fooled by the lies they spin, and so weak that we’ll cave under intimidation. But we’re neither stupid nor weak. And by Natural Law, they’ll inevitably reap the ugly consequences of their presumptions.

In sum, at end-stage 2020, those who would survive looming oppression must draw upon the inner resources of latent genius. By intentionally linking the levels of the Life Wheel, we’ll prevail by restoring the common sense which is everyone’s birthright.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

Keep to the Core to Keep It Together – IC – 111620

My relationship with DANGER, today’s unchanging I Ching reading, goes way back. It’s close and familiar.

Here’s one example. Whenever I asked for advice about a former roommate (cruel “Kas”), the book was strangely consistent. Whatever the immediate situation, the lines changed to produce the same outcome: DANGER.

Yes. However physically attractive, she was, beyond a doubt, damaged, self-serving and deeply dangerous.

In Kas, life gifted me with a powerful teacher. To keep my sanity, I was forced to find words for the unspeakably crazy things she did. I had to admit that her cruelty got to me and find out why. In the process, I discovered how to protect myself, both inside and out.

An early article I found listed ways to recognize a narcissist. It said, If your person demonstrates eight or more of twelve listed behaviors, you’re in deep trouble. Kas demonstrated all twelve. Danger!

Making matters worse, her cohorts were narcissists too. One was overt – the abrasive, vulgar and bold-faced type. The other was covert — the sneaky, snake-in-the-grass, two-faced kind.

In combination, I learned from direct experience how energy vampires operate to paralyze and drain their intended victims.

But I also found out I’m not alone. In fact, a psychiatrist who specializes in this disorder warns that the plague of narcissism has grown to pandemic proportions. (An interesting parallel, don’t you think?)

Here’s what I learned about their communication style. The signature of rampant narcissism is COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. Narcissists present a false front to the world. But their Life Wheels are fractured. They’re frauds, and self-deceived ones at that.

Inside, they’re sniveling. insecure cowards driven by demon-spawned negative emotions: fear, anger, hatred, greed, and lust. The Bible-quoting jerks who made my life miserable operated absent any hint of connection with conscience.

From first-hand experience, I can tell you this:

And here are the survival lessons they taught me. At root, these decisions are simply common sense.

Now, why is it important for me to share this with you?

Because the dynamic of DANGER isn’t just about me.

It’s about you, as well as the rest of us.

As a Law of Nature, what I learned up close and personal, the painfully hard way, translates true to form on every increasingly larger scale of magnitude. Because I recognize the dynamics of danger operating on the micro level, I easily recognize them writ large on today’s political canvas.

The reason for detailing the dangers of narcissism is that the same remedies and protections that worked for me at the personal level will work, not only for anyone else in similar trouble, but also for business organizations, government agencies and even whole nations plagued by the worldwide pandemic of narcissism.

Put plain and simple, the solution is this. Let each one of us hold fast to the unifying central core of the Life Wheel, whether you choose to call it God, Source, Conscience, the Creator, Allah, or Nothing at all. It keeps all levels of the Unified Field together – the Light of intuition, Energy of action, and Mass of tangible, measurable results.

The slang advice, “Keep it together” sums the solution up perfectly. When things seem to be falling apart, it’s exactly the time when we most urgently need to keep it together.

  • When dark, painful emotions tear us apart, it’s the time to take a deep breath, stand back, and keep calm distance.
  • When friendships, families and organizations seem to be unraveling, it’s time to demonstrate the wisdom to keep them together.
  • When liars, cheaters and thugs seem to be tearing nations apart, let those with cool heads keep their states together by focusing on the core values humanity share in common, the ones which which transcend time, space. . . and even politics.

NB: For the record, narcissists of every stripe have tried to diminish President Trump by projecting onto him all their own faults. Again, the MAGA-millions who sense and return his love aren’t fooled. The rest of us shouldn’t be either. Though some find his style abrasive, he keeps his promises. His words and actions match. He’s consistent across the board. He’s not the one with a problem. It’s the feeble-minded, fork-tongued, zombie-like pretender along with his handlers and those they’ve fooled who are in deep dark trouble.

We’re not trained to look to the Book of Change for answers to our deepest questions. That’s why I’ve chosen to bring the book to you in this series of blogs. Through the end of 2020, they serve as an introduction, to make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

DANGER is the single answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of now?” The Common Sense Book of Change version reads:

DANGER is the true test of character. Be as careful of negative emotions which cloud inner clarity as you are of external dangers. Face all challenges with fearless grace. Hold fast to the goals and ideas which guide you. Act according to what you know to be right. Avoid cowardice.

It took me a while to recognize that the greatest danger is the risk of giving in to negative emotions. In the end, it doesn’t matter if other people’s negativity is infectious. Or if economic losses and/or political events are upsetting. Of if. . . you name it.

Ultimately, as Viktor Frankl demonstrated, even in a halocaust world, the option to respond wisely and responsibly remains open. Holding fast to core values — love of life and faith in God — is the enduring anchor which keeps us as individuals and as nations together.

Because the U.S. is in the constitutional crisis of its lifetime, I look to the version of the I Ching published by a Yale Professor of Constitutional Law. Jack Balkin lists these descriptors of DANGER.

He observes:

When faced with danger from without, one can escape unharmed if one maintains an attitude of devotion. To survive through a period of danger, one must preserve faith in one’s self and in the possibility that one will get through.

The Book of Change teaches that even in the times of greatest distress one must never lose hope that one can still turn circumstances to one’s advantage. One must have faith of ultimate success. It is only through having such faith the one can have a chance at ultimate success.

To despair is to fall into the abyss. . . . one must follow one’s heart to ride out a time of danger. To lose heart during such a time means that one does not hold one’s self together. This leads to danger.

In sum, Balkin’s advice confirms mine: Right now we must keep to core to keep it together.

Collected posts will be published as The Lessons of 2020: Using the Wisdom of CHANGE to Build a Better Future. Look for it on amazon in January of 2021.

If you’d like a copy of the Common Sense Book of Change, or extras to give others, click here.

To order Two Sides of a Coin: Lao Tze’s Common Sense Way of Change, click here.

Okay, then. That’s all for now. Talk with you again soon. Take care, all.

It’s NOT a Game, Man! – 111520

The focus of today’s post, originally dedicated to a positive super New Moon, has changed, superseded by equally positive political events. It was originally called There’s No Ending Without a New Beginning.

I intended to pick up where I left off in The Choice Ahead. There, the I Ching reading FINISH says just this. Today’s implication: although radical operatives have the gall to claim the presidential race is a over — a done deal, President Trump and team are just getting started.

My second choice for a title was Chutzpah. That’s part of today’s message, but just one piece. (I’ll get back to Camp Biden’s gall in a bit.)

The title I finally settled on comes from one of a several prescient posts. To Tell the Truth describes a game show. It speaks so directly to 2020’s current events that I quote from it verbatim.

The point here: Trump is the current and future President. Biden’s cabal can posture and pretend all they like, but Don’t Be Fooled. With Mike Pompeo, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Sebastian Gorka, Steve Bannon, Dan Bonjino, Charlie Kirk and a whole host of other loyal patriots on high alert, the steal isn’t happening. No way.

Bogus claims . . . remind me of the long-running TV game show, “To Tell the Truth.” In this format, three challengers are introduced to a celebrity panel, each claiming to be the featured guest.

Impostors can lie and pretend to be the central character. Only the real one is sworn to tell the truth. Panelists are challenged to ask penetrating questions, see through deceptions, and correctly identify the truth teller.

In this game reality, the best liars are rewarded. But that’s not how it works in the real world. There’s nothing entertaining or ultimately rewarding about deceiving the public. Yet, at this stage of history, it’s nigh unto impossible for all but the most discriminating (in the positive sense) tell the difference between imitators and the “real deal.” Shameless parodies . . . abound.

Hucksters out to make a quick fortune while basking in their 15-minutes of fame misrepresent both their intentions and abilities. The sure-fire get-rich formula . . . is to tap into people’s deepest desires and fears. . . .

Offer gullible marks whatever it is they want on the one hand, and guarantee protection from the consequences of stupidity on the other.

In a crowded market place full of unscrupulous pretenders, how do messengers of substance and integrity stand out from the noisy crowd? Even screaming isn’t heard over the ruckus. Their only option is to play by the rules – quietly, persistently Tell the Truth.

Further down, it continues:

Still more ridiculous is the assumption that we as individual drops of water can make the tidal waves of history change direction – as if puny humans had the superior wisdom and power to influence the forces of nature and nature’s God. . .

A basic premise of New Age distortions is that superior humans, if they don’t like the current course of history, can just rewrite history, avoiding the consequences of past action. That is not positive change. The attempt is a delusional waste of precious time.

Today’s place in history is the cumulative consequence of thousands of years of poor choices. To continue an earlier thread, keep in mind the Old Testament prophet Daniel. He foresaw an end time followed by a new beginning. There is no short-cut from here to there that by-passes the tough part of the process he envisioned.

Those who intend to survive to partake of that new beginning would be far better off to heed what is written and align themselves with the tides of Titanic times, rather than resisting or presuming to circumvent them.

. . replace the unsustainable, corrupted foundation of false paradigms (feet of clay) with a complete and correct paradigm. Like childbirth, the process isn’t necessarily fun, but the outcome is worth it.

* * *

Daniel 2:44. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed . . it shall stand for ever.

Daniel’s vision of this basic truth was written long ago. (Daniel 2:45. . . The dream is certain; and the interpretation thereof sure.) He’s a central character who told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but.

* * *

In combination, the carefully planned, highly organized attempt to steal an election, preemptively set a dispensable traitor up under the false flag of “President Elect,” and self-righteously plagiarize Gorke’s War for the Soul America language, represent a cascading tide of unmitigated gall.

I was hard put to find a word strong enough to describe it, but Chutzpah includes them all.

It comes from the Hebrew word ḥutspâ (חֻצְפָּה), meaning “insolence,” “cheek” or “audacity.”

The superlative form, chutzpadik, means impudent, impertinent, brazen, and not showing due respect. Now, that’s key. Radical operatives have no due respect for the will of the people, not for the will God, nor for law on any level:

  • Divine Law – truth, conscience
  • Natural Law – human nature, timing (evil will be outed & routed)
  • Human Law – constitutional fair election rules

And, consistent to form, insolent dems point the finger at the “Orange Man,” accusing him of exactly the crimes against civilization that they’re in fact perpetrating.

But let not your heart be troubled. In the last post, I shared the Chinese legend of the wise old fox who treads lightly across a frozen lake to safely reach the far side. I laughed long out loud over the orange fox image I found. It suits our President well.

Backed by seasoned advisors, he’s let foreseen corruption play out so Americans can finally see and appreciate what he’s been up against from the beginning. Way over-confident, depending on deplorables’ timidity, dems have brazenly over-stepped the limits of what we’ll ignore and acquiesce to.

Let chutzpadiks be ware. Some things can’t be stolen. As the President knows and depends on, LOVE is one of them.

  • Love of God
  • Love of Life
  • Love of Family and Country.

At end-stage 2020, here’s another basic choice we must face. What is the purpose of language? Is it:

For those who scan through blogs, I’ve created an image to catch your attention. This list is just a hint. Feel free to edit, elaborate and expand on it however you like.

So. I’ve used up my allotted space for today. I’ll conclude by supplying links for those who’d like to see more. A first set includes other prescient posts. A second set includes links to videos describing the alignment of today’s New Moon energies. (BTW, Traditionally new moons are regarded as the best time to release the old and set your intentions for a new beginning.)

NB. For those who by programming dismiss the I Ching and other unfamiliar forms of e=energy information: knowledge is power. Yes. In the hands of Mickey Mouse apprentices, magic has its dangers. But this is no excuse to ban it. In right form, used right way, for the right reasons, it is a way to return power (which elites hoard for themselves) to the people.

RETHINKING SURVIVAL BLOGS

To Tell the Truth

Who Is Qualified to Know What – and How?

Two Out of Three Ain’t Enough

What You See Is What You Get

Let’s Get It Right!

NEW MOON VIDEOS

Pam Gregory. New SuperMoon in Scorpio 14th 15th November 2020

Molly McDord. November 14/15 Scorpio ♏ New Moon – Rising Power And New Commitments

Kelley Rosano. Scorpio New Moon Step Into The New Reality 11.15.20

Roland Legrand ABLAS. The New Moon of November 15, 2020