Tag Archives: constitution

Resist Not Evil. Persist in the Good. – IC – 112620

As a Law of Nature, resistance within ourselves (tension and denial) is mirrored in the what we get back from others. It’s counterproductive, inside and out.

What’s the solution? Think of a Chinese finger trap.

This elegantly simple tube is woven from bamboo. Put one finger from each hand inside. It becomes a trap. The natural instinct is to struggle to get out. But the more you resist, the stucker you get.

The way out is to relax. By eliminating tension, the bamboo eases. You easily slip free.

Resist not evil. Persist in the good. is a great motto. It honors the law, Whatever you focus on, you magnify. That’s why the Bible instructs, Whatsoever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and good report, think on these things. (The flip side: Give zero attention/energy to what you don’t want in your world.) It’s another way of saying, Take the best, leave the rest.

This dynamic is perfectly captured in the Star Wars clash between Luke Skywalker and the Evil Emperor. When the young Jedi comes full force at his enemy in rage, his dark energy feeds the dark lord. “Good, good.” Luke gets free of the emotional trap by relaxing, sheathing the red saber, and escaping.

Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel published Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters are Breaking America in the last month of 2019, just in time to set the stage for 2020. Seen through the prophetic lens of Resistance, widespread election fraud and Constitutional crisis look inevitable.

Strassel argues that in its obstruction of President Trump at any cost, all-out Resistance has become dangerously reckless.In their frenzy to oppose the president, Trump haters are undermining our foundations:

From the FBI’s unlawful counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign, to bureaucratic sabotage, to media partisanship, to the character assassination of Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s foes have thrown aside norms, due process and the rule of law.

Book reviews are less neutral:

  • It ties together all the attacks on Trump since before he was even elected. Aided and abetted by a compliant, complicit, lazy media. And bureaucrats and politicians willing to ignore or overturn every rule there is. All with the aim of reversing a valid election by the American people.
  • It’s a book about why we should stop destroying American democracy to achieve partisan revenge.
  • Strassel debunks the junk that the Resistance and the media shouted at us,buzz phrases, blatant lies, attacks on persons,misdirections, etc. all of these that were used in their attempt to unseat D. J. Trump from his legally elected position as president of the U. S. A.
  • The histrionics have been mind blowing. The endless rage unfathomable. Particularly from a party that defines itself as “tolerant” and “inclusive”.
  • Petty party differences and personal animosities toward Trump are moves by short game players. If the DEMS gain power, the stakes are higher than petty dislike of Trump. . . . the RESISTANCE (the alternative to Trump) is worse than if Trump were actually guilty of all DEMS toss at him.
  • Regardless of whether you are a Democrat or Republican, you should be terrified with what’s going on under the cloak of night. It is destroying our nation and our republic.

Resistance ends with a call to action, “the only action that is left to us” – the 2020 election, and all elections after that. It’s a slow process, it will take years, or decades but in the end that’s the only means we have to affect a change for the better.

CAVEAT: Strassel’s olive branch of hope is based on a big IF. If future elections were free of rampant deception, censorship, and vote tampering. . . there would be hope of change for the better.

Fortunately, her view that there’s no other hope is only half-true. On the flip side, whatever the political outcomes on the surface of the Life Wheel, first and foremost, each of us has the option and responsibility to change 1) our beliefs and attitudes, 2) our actions and 3) the quality of our personal relationships. Change happens from the inside out, and one person at a time.

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, these bi-weekly posts are intended make what was once unfamiliar now familiar.

COMPLETION is the initial answer to the question, “What should we be aware of NOW?” The CSBOC version reads:

Perfected actions reach COMPLETION. From this balance, however, new elements spring forth which create future imbalance. In this way, the cycles of nature are continued. This is not cause for sadness. Perfection lies in the whole life process, not in the beauty of a single peak moment. Avoid rigid attachment.

We are at end-stage not only of 2020, but of the cycle of American history that began with ratification of the Constitution. Thanksgiving day gives us cause to pause and reflect. Hardships we face at this time of unraveling and reset, though very different from those the pilgrims faced, are just as intense. Yet they found reasons to celebrate and be grateful then. So should we now. As one Strassel reviewer reminds us, Instead of letting hatred define our times, we should thank God we can call America our home.

Yes, everything familiar has fallen away. We have so many losses to grieve. Freedoms. Fortunes. Confidence in leaders. Family. Friends. The American dream is dying if not already dead. Yet resistance, clinging to what is gone, would leave us stuck in the past. Wisdom calls us to focus on opportunities ahead. The future is ours to create.

* * *

In his version, Jack Balkin, a Constitutional Law Professor, lists key words describing Completion: Maintaining equilibrium / Nipping problems in the bud / Preventing deterioration / Watching carefully.

* * *

Advice of the Bottom Line reads, “ Don’t become lax when things go right. Remain constantly aware.”

We arrived at a Constitutional crisis by taking freedom, prosperity and community for granted. We fell asleep at the switch (or maybe were hypnotized).

It’s taking a train wreck to wake us up. The challenge now is to stop blindly taking the extraordinary blessings of life in America for granted. Instead, be profoundly thankful for the protections against fraud and corruption which the Founders, in their wisdom, built into the Constitution. Commit to preserving them at all costs.

* * *

When the warning is heeded, the line changes to Resistance, the subject of Strassel’s book. It reads:

Look within yourself for the cause of RESISTANCE from others. If you are closed, they will not cooperate. The situation will open up when your mind becomes open. Seek the company of people who can help you overcome mental blocks. Do not blame others for your problems. Avoid untimely actions.

Resistance is a consequence of refusing to recognize 2020 as an end-cycle year of completion.

Here, I Ching wisdom points to the quantum reality that all experience is generated from the inside out, and from smallest to largest. To understand political resistance, understand that it starts within the minds of individuals programmed to a fractured paradigm. They’ve been educated into a false reality that rules out the inner levels where emotional intelligence, compassion and conscience reside.

Here’s an added irony for you. Resisting the resistance doubles troubles which are best solved by a meditative approach to problem-solving.

* * *

In Balkin’s book, Resistance is called Obstruction. Key descriptors include: Trouble / Hardship / Looking inward / Self-reflection / Surmounting the obstacles within.

He observes:

When faced with obstacles, we should not lose courage, but remain calm, redirect our attention to our spiritual development, and wait for conditions to improve.

Not coincidentally, in the margin next to this advice I noted: “Resist not evil. Persist in the good.

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.

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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.