In late October, 2020’s cosmic symphony is building to a mighty crescendo. Whack! Crash! Bang!

Strident brass and pounding percussion sound off against wailing strings. Mars in martial Aires opposes Sun, then squares Pluto. Windy Mercury opposes moody Uranus, then turns retrograde.

But . . . Let your heart not be troubled. By year’s end, the noise settles down. Dissonance eases back into harmony. There’s a light at the end of 2020’s dark tunnel.

That’s how classic astrologers read the musical score in the sky. So does today’s I Ching reading.

Not that we can take returning peace and prosperity for granted. But it is a possibility IF we have the common sense and courage to admit past mistakes and correct them.

Getting ahead of the story, SHADOW represents the current situation. The sun of our hopes is covered over by clouds. But then . . . dynamic lines change first to PEACE and then PROSPERITY. They combine, however, to issue a challenge.

SUPPORT, the final outcome, warns of hidden risks inherent in abundance. Abuse. Were we to carry forward false, fragmenting beliefs, we would recreate the same old selfish patterns of prejudice and hatred. Repeating inequitable distribution of resources — discrimination along the lines of race, religion, age, gender or whatever – would cause another downward spiral of alienation, separation and conflict.

At end-stage 2020, we face a choice. We can decide to use abundance wisely, with gratitude. Or we can forget 2020’s lessons and squander future hope. To unify or fragment, that is the question. Will we survive or perish from the face of the earth?

What will make the difference? Einstein had the key to the new way of thinking. It was under his nose. For lack of yoga training, he missed it. But now we’ve got the Unified Field Theory. It’s embodied in the Life Wheel, consciousness factor included. Today, we can choose whether to use his formula to build bombs of destruction OR . . shift gears to the quantum paradigm of wholeness.

Hard as it may seem right now, the return of PEACE and PROSPERITY could be lie ahead — with an all-important qualifier.

The I CHING READING

We’re not trained to come 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 bi-weekly blogs. Through the end of 2020, they’re intended to serve as an introduction, to make what was unfamiliar now familiar.

SHADOW is the initial answer to today’s question, “What should we be aware of today?”

Like the sun covered over by clouds, your hopes may fall under a SHADOW for awhile. You may feel cut off from others,who will not show sympathy for what you have to say. Even when it is best to remain silent, do not give up your ideals. Avoid anger.

A meditative attitude of Stillness, calmly keeping the faith, begins the process of positive change.

Then, line 2 advises: “Turn misfortunes to advantage. Outgrow obstacles that block your path.”

When this is done, the outcome is PEACE, a dynamic we saw earlier on the holy day of Atonement. We’ll see again in December:

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

For those who say, “I don’t know how to cultivate inner peace,” or argue, “I have too much on my plate. Maybe later, after . . . ,” I recommend watching Eckhart Tolle’s YouTube video Finding Inner Peace During Stressful Times.

Though of different in national origin, gender, and temperament, he speaks in the same terms as do I. The Life Wheel is implicit in his teachings. Tolle contrasts living an incomplete, unhappy life on the surface with the fulfillment of going deep. The goal of his teaching is to heighten AWARENESS and awaken us to the eternal, True Self.

Next, changing line #4 advises, “If you understand your situation clearly, mishaps can be avoided.”

With more clarity, mistakes can be overcome. As Peace promises, the end result is an increase of abundance:

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.

Rather than holding tight to possessions, our ability to sustain prosperity depends on using it wisely. Don’t hoard, knowing that unjust abuses of wealth change to opposite and equal poverty. We’re living with the proof of this right now. Let’s not go back to the past, make the future a repeat of past mistakes.

How do we prevent past mistakes? Make it a practice to work with AWARENESS tools so we make better choices in the future. Continue to work with the I Ching, which one astrologer rightly calls a “spiritual GPS.”

There’s also enduring wisdom in the Tao Te Ching. This familiar, world-loved book sets principles of the relatively unfamiliar Book of Change (its foundation) into motion.

It wasn’t easy to choose among relevant examples. Here, just one must stand for the rest. Other (highly recommended) passages offer ways out of madness. Passage 53 speaks to the price paid in 2020 for past mistakes:

Sound familiar?

So. Throughout repeating cycles of history, humanity has been at low-ebb many times before. The bad news is, we forget and repeat the same the same mistakes, over and over. The good news is, there’s a track-record kept by sages who know and can show us the way out of madness.

Deep into 2020’s dark tunnel, we would do well return to this priceless resource of Wisdom. Respect those whose purpose was, is and always will be to lead us into the LIGHT.

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 CSBOC, 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.