Hex. 53 (memorizing the I Ching)

meng · Feb 18, 2009

(Hoping Rosada is well, going to move this along.)

Sun the gentle, wind, wood is over
Ken, keeping still, mountain.
——
——
— —
——
— —
— —
This hexagram is made up of Sun (wood, penetration) above, i.e., without, and Ken (mountain, stillness) below, i.e., within. A tree on a mountain develops slowly according to the law of its being and consequently stands firmly rooted. This gives the idea of a development that proceeds gradually, step by step. The attributes of the trigrams also point to this: within is tranquility, which guards against precipitate actions, and without is penetration, which makes development and progress possible.

The judgment
DEVELOPMENT. The maiden
Is given in marriage.
Good fortune.
Perseverance furthers.

The development of events that leads to a girl's following a man to his home proceeds slowly. The various formalities must be disposed of before the marriage takes place. This principle of gradual development can be applied to other situations as well; it's always applicable where it's a matter of correct relationships of co-operation, as for instance in the appointment of an official. The development must be allowed to take its proper course. Hasty action wouldn't be wise. This is also true, finally, of any effort to exert influence on others, for here too the essential factor is a correct way of development through cultivation of one's own personality. No influence such as that exerted by agitators has a lasting effect.
Within the personality too, development must follow the same course if lasting results are to be achieved. Gentleness that's adaptable, but at the same time penetrating, is the outer form that should proceed from inner calm.
The very gradualness of the development makes it necessary to have perseverance, for perseverance alone prevents slow progress from dwindling to nothing.

meng · Feb 18, 2009

Use the elements to favor your progress.

meng · Feb 18, 2009

The economical architecture of these kinds of birds (geese, swans, ducks etc), to fly or float, using the supportive lift of air or water, is an easy connection with hexagram 53.

Watching and hearing a flock of wild geese fly in formation is a special thing to witness. I can't help but want to know what these birds are saying to one another. To me, it usually doesn't sound to be anything urgent, more like casual chit chat while en route to their destination, the way people might carry on small conversation on a train. I'm sure there are urgent commands as well, but they make it all appear so effortless.

It is torque rather than speed, in 53 - power which is leveraged repeatedly, the way each feather does only a little, but with many others forms a wing... and then a bird... then a collective of birds. I imagine the coefficient goes way up from their collective lift.

Tohpol · Feb 18, 2009

Ah! I like 53. I'm in a 53 year apparently. It's slow progress, sure, but it's strong and true and you can even have some fun on the way if you don't lose sight of your goal. Yes, economy of energy as you wend your graceful way through the reeds. No rush no hurry because it won't allow you to anyway - too many ripples and noise will alert predators or distractions. Just keep to your course and before you know it the destination will appear around the next bend.

LiSe's commentary is rather nice:

The waterwheel makes sure that the field will not dry out. The slow and constant supply of water makes the plants grow harmoniously, without stagnations, abundant.

The wild goose can only reach its far-away destination, and come back every year, by beating its wings second after second, never losing its strength or direction.

Every relation needs a constant supply of water, of feelings, regular love, day after day.
Starting something is usually not the most difficult part; it is harder to keep it going. Every day caring for it, feeding, repairing: every creation has to be kept alive day after day, year after year.

Swans - what great birds. Preferable to geese - at least for me.

Topal

Sparhawk · Feb 18, 2009

charly · Feb 18, 2009

topal said:
... LiSe's commentary is rather nice: ... Every relation needs a constant supply of water, of feelings, regular love, day after day...

Swans - what great birds. Preferable to geese - at least for me.

Topal:

鴻hong2 as a noun means both wild goose and swan, as an adjective means grand / great / large. The word 惊鴻jīng hóng means a beautiful woman.

1.swan goose; wild goose...
2.[Formal] a letter...
3.great; grand...

...[great]... [broad and profound]... [prosperous]... [a goose feather—something very light or insignificant]... [good luck;great blessing]...

From: http://www.uname.cn/html/dic/7/59_6367.shtml

In H.53 the subject of the statement is a MARRIED GIRL, the subjects of all lines the WILD GEESE / SWANS.

These individuals were domesticated in the USA:

Chinese Swan Goose
Keeping Chinese Swan Geese as Pets
Origin: China and Mongolia. Then brought to the US and domesticated (some varieties)

Facts:
... Most domesticated geese do not fly... Some geese can live to be 40 years old or more... Geese reach their mature size in just 12 weeks... Geese are RAISED BY BOTH PARENTS ... Geese can be VERY AFFECTIONATE ... Geese have GREAT MEMORIES and will remember things for quite a long period of time. Geese can be AS LOYAL to their owners AS A DOG and they like to play with toys.

Temperament
... is well imprinted (familiar with you as its parent): CALM, DOCILE, CURIOUS and GENTLE...
... The Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) tends to be the most chatty of the breed and are also considered to be great "watch dogs" because they will alarm you if anything should occur that they are not accustomed to or happy with... Teach your children to handle the animal very carefully and encourage hand feeding. This way they become close with the goose and vice versa.

from: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/pets/goosechineseswan.htm
...

Of course, the YI speaks of WILD animals, but swans or geese, the same long necked guys. SWANS are considered sacred by tibetans, they are maybe closer to nobles than geese. GEESE are maybe closer to plain people or peasants. Like almost all the «ducks» they evoke calmness, constancy, fidelity and monogamy, deciditely not for kings or higher nobility.

Geese and swans are sociable guys.

In chinese poetry geese means MARRIAGE and sufferings for being FAR from HOME and WIFE.

Yours,

Charly

ravenstar · Feb 19, 2009

And to add to Charly's great post and topal's, sparkhawk's and meng's.

"Denise Linn/The Secret Language of Signs"

Topal this should really talk to you and your '53' year and the next one as well!

The white swan is the sign of the white goddess and beauty. If this sign appears to you, plan on gliding to new heights with freedom and grace. A black swan can allude to the inner mysteries of life and to your intuition. Some have suggested that the swan is a sign of the balance of male and female energies, becasue its rounded soft body suggests femininity and its long outstretched neck suggests the phallus. Apollo, the god of music, was associated with the swan becasue of the mythic belief that the swan would sing with exquisite beauty at the point of death--the swan song.

And...

From my Medicine Card deck by Jamie Sams & David Carson

Grace. Little Swan flew through the Dreamtime, looking for the future. She rested for a moment in the coolness of the pond, looking for a way to find the entry point to the future. This was a moment of confusion for Swan, as she knew that she had happened into the Dreamtime by accident. This was her first flight alone and she was a bit concerned by the Dreamtime landscape.

As Swan looked high above Sacred Mountain, she saw the biggest swirling black hole she had ever seen. Dragonfly came flying by, and Swan stopped him to ask about the black hole. Dragonfly said, "Swan, that is the doorway to the other planes of imagination. I have been guardian of the illusion for many, many moons. If you want to enter there, you would have to ask permission and earn the right."

Swan was not so sure that she wanted to enter the black hole. She asked Dragonfly what was necessary for her to earn entry. Dragonfly replied, "You must be willing to accept whatever the future holds as it is presented, without trying to change Great Spirit's plan." Swan looked at her ugly little duckling body and then answered, "I will be happy to abide by Great Spirit's plan. I won't fight the currents of the black hole. I will surrender to the flow of the spiral and trust what I am shown." Dragonfly was very happy with Swan's answer and began to spin the magic to break the pond's illusion. Suddenly, Swan was engulfed by a whirlpool in the center of the pond.

Swan reappeared many days later, but now she was graceful and white and long-necked. Dragonfly was stunned! "Swan, what happened to you!" he exclaimed. Swan smiled and said, "Dragonfly, I learned to surrender my body to the power of Great Spirit and was taken to where the future lives. I saw many wonders high on Sacred Mountain and because of my faith and my acceptance I have been changed. I have learned to accept the state of grace." Dragonfly was very happy for Swan.

Swan told Dragonfly many of the wonders beyond the illusion. Through her healing and her acceptance of the state of grace, she was given teh rigth to enter the Dreamtime.

So it is that we learn to surrender to the grace of the rhythm of the universe, and slip from our physical bodies into the Dreamtime. Swan medicine teaches us to be at one with all planes of consciousness, and to trust in Great Spirit's protection.

If you pulled Swan, it ushers in a time of altered states of awareness and of development of your intuitive abilities. Swan medicine people have the ability to see the future, to surrender to the power of Great Spirit, and to accept the healing and transformation of their lives.

The Swan card is telling you to accept your ability to know what lies ahead. If you are resisting self-transformation, relax; it will be easier if you go with the flow. Stop denying that you know who is calling when the phone rings. Pay attention to your hunches and your gut knowledge, and honor your female intuitive side.

Contrary: If you have pulled Swan in reverse, it is a warning that you must acknowledge what you know, so stop denying your feelings and clutzing up. You may be bumping into furniture or forgetting what you are saying in mid-sentence. If so, this is a sign that you are not grounded. Jump in place and hold the top of your head as you do so. This will get you back in touch with the Earth, and keep you from wandering into a dreamy reality that lessens your focus. Baths help, as does going barefooted or doing some gardening.

In any case, Swan reversed says that you need to pay some attention to your body. It can seem as if you are flying without a pilot's license if you are not aware of when you take off or land. Not recognizing the shift from left brain to right brain is common when you are eolving spiritually. This is all a part of developing the intuitive side of your nature and is a sign that you are not being conscious of your entry into other levels of awareness. In the development of higher mind, you are embarking on new territory that has rules or universal laws of its own. In the world of Spirit you need to pay close attention to the unseen. You may sense or feel in a slightly different way, but this is gradual. Sometimes this shift is lost among your normal activities until you feel "spaced out." At these moments it is time to reconnect with Mother Earth.

The solution to contrary Swan is:
1) Notice your surroundings and touch the Earth with your feet, hands, or both.
2) Focus on one reality or the other; if you are being called to visit the Dreamtime, stop what you are doing and be still. Enter the silence and empty your mind of chatter. Be receptive and open so that the message may enter your consciousness.
3) If you are just preoccupied, daydreaming, or "spacey," you need to focus on doing some physical activity. Use the reasoning side of your brain to make a list of what you need to do next, and this will stop the clutter in your mind that may be causing the confusion.

And another good book called Animal Magick by D.J. Conway

Hindu deities often interchanged the goose and the swan, which repesented breath and spirit. The swan was a mount for the goddess Sarasvati and sometimes Brahama. The heavenly nymphs, called the apsaras, were often portrayed as swans. The goddess Devi rides a swan that wears a necklace.

Ted Andrews, Animal Speak

....The neck of the wan is long and graceful. It is one of the swan's most distinguishing features. The neck is a bridge between the head (higher realms) and the body (lower worlds). In the swan totem, as you begin to realize your own true beauty, you unfold the ability to bridge to new realms and new powers. This ability to awaken to the inner beauty and bridge it to the outer world is part of what swan medicine can teach. It can show how to see the inner beauty within yourself or in others, regardless of outer appearances. When we are capable of this, we become a magnet to others. This is reflected in the familiar story by Hans Christian Anderssen, "The Ugly Duckling......

The swan fills folklore and fairy tales. Many speak of young maidens who turn into swans by putting on the magic garment of a swan's skin. If the skin were found, the beautiful maiden had to remain human and marry whoever found the skin, or do their bidding. The swan thus has come to be a link to the Faerie realm of life. Many of these tales involving swans ended tragically, hinting at the primal life-changing power of beauty when released freely. it hints of the control necessary to effectively work with such energy.

And on the Goose Ted Andrew says this in the keywords: The Call of the Quest and Travels to Legendary Places

"

ravenstar

tuckchang · Feb 19, 2009

Confucian viewpoints

Jen signifies gradualness in sequence, like a girl abiding by the formal procedure to get married. Thus, the hexagram text states: it is auspicious for a female to get married; it is advantageous (or appropriate) to persist.

Although Confucius made a commentary on the hexagram text, Confucian interpretations and paraphrases made by the later scholars are rather diverse. I quote some of representative argumentations as follows for your reference.

Confucius’s commentary specifies Jen, literally as ‘a progress of Jen’, or ‘to graduate (form one to the other)’ interpreted by some scholars according to their presumption based on ancient Chinese wordings, signifying gradual and sequential progress, or nothing but gradualness, respectively. I personally prefer the former one.

Confucius’s commentary describes the hexagram Jen as: To progress and attain the post, there will be merit obtainable in going forth. To progress with righteousness can rectify the country. The position where it stays is rigidity attaining moderation. There are also different paraphrases available: 1) Both the feminine line 2 and the masculine line 5 occupy their right positions; line 2 gradually moves forth step by step, to meet line 5 at the position full of merit, that at which line 5 stay is a position for masculinity (i.e. rigidity) and of the axle center (i.e. moderation). 2) From the viewpoint of the hexagram forming, a) lines 3 and 4 of the hexagram Pi (12) exchanges their positions to become Jen, and then line 3 and 4 obtain their right posts, b) Jen is derived from the hexagram Huan (59); Jen forms after lines 2 and 3 exchange their positions, or c) Jen comes from Iv (56), i.e. lines 4 and 5 exchange their positions. 3) Jen is the reversed hexagram of Gui Mei, the significance of which is contrary to Jen, i.e. a female’s marriage not in accordance with propriety; after Gui Mei progresses, lines 2, 3, 4 and 5 stay at their right positions, and line 5 occupies the masculine position and the axle center. I adopt item 1) as its explanation comparatively fits the text and counter proves with the texts of lines 2 and 5 as follows.

Line 2 correlated with line 5; thus it, a female, is firmly engaged with line 5, a male, like a wild goose gradually progresses (Jen) onto the rocks in the river, takes food and drink in peace and concord, i.e. to prepare itself for the journey (i.e. marriage). Line 5 is the wild goose gradually progresses (Jen) onto the hill ridge (where its goal has been fulfilled); the woman hasn’t been pregnant for three years (i.e. she passed through all of the steps with her commitment); nothing can defeat it at last, signifying the wedding can be held.

According to Confucius’s commentary, the virtue of Jen is stop and thus Shun (i.e. submissiveness), signifying its interior is still, thus it can externally behave submissively; it won’t be destitute (of movement, i.e. progress) in the era of the gradual and sequential progress.

Best regards
Tuck :bows:

rodaki · Feb 19, 2009

dear Janice,

thank you very much for the story of the Swan . . it's healing part hit the mark of a recent 53 answer I got (actually I was thinking of posting about this in the 'shared readings' but there's no need now -feels nice knowing I'm still in the pot

)

also the part of the swan's neck brings to mind 31.5 about influencing the neck and Frank's comments on it in the 31 thread (http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/showthread.php?t=4548&page=4) . .

and a question to everyone:
Charly mentioned that "the subject of the statement is a MARRIED GIRL"
ever since the discussion prompted by Maria about the entrance and exit points to 52, I was thinking about the relation of hexs to those that come after both 1st and 6th lines change (recent threads and questions also prompted me to this)
Now for 52, the corresponding hex would be 36 which made sense to me starting with my little story about entering the mountain (I know people might not agree with this, but it works nicely for me, plus I realized that I like this kind of play even if it occasionally lacks depth or universal value . . I'm not trying to pronounce deep truths, just getting to know Yi's language as best as I can)

anyway, long parenthesis over, back to my question:
for 53 the hex after both 1st and 6th lines change would be 63 . . . would you see that as shedding light in any way on 53? it does agree with Charly's comment . .
It could also point to the balance demanded for Meng's beautiful "economical architecture of flying"
Would you find such a correlation elucidating or helpful in understanding the hexagrams meanings (especially when given unchanging)?

p.s.: I took a look in Bradford's writings on various pairs that are helpful in that sense, but couldn't find anything on these pairs . .

:bows:
rodaki

meng · Feb 19, 2009

rodaki said:
I'm not trying to pronounce deep truths, just getting to know Yi's language as best as I can

I think deep truths are the simplest of understandings. They're the most obvious, even to someone who has never heard of the IC.

I have no comment on your (or Maria's?) line 1 and 6 question. Other than to say, relevance and correlations within the IC are more difficult to avoid than to discover. With a little imagination, a correlative line(s) can be drawn from anywhere to anywhere. The mind just needs to stay fluid, as with any creative thought process.

rodaki · Feb 19, 2009

thank you :bows:

rodaki

maremaria · Feb 19, 2009

Hi Dora,
Hope I didn’t cause you a headache with that post

I’m not sure what happened in the background. Maybe it was my previous reading with 1&6 lines changing. The discussion in the 52 thread and those lines told a story to me.
Usually , apart from the fan yao, I don’t use other patterns to read the lines. But sometimes patterns appear, Yi related or not Yi related.
The way I trust more to read the lines is dance with them. Its like you hear a music and you try to remember which steps are the right one to dance it. So , in a way , you forget ( don’t hear ) the music and your mind is preoccupied with the right steps.

The Pollock’s quote, I post in the other thread, fits also to me , as a good way to read Yi. Its not easy to master that, its not easy to trust what you can’t explain but every time I have manage that ( few times) I said WOW !!!

It needs persistence and continuous work (53 ?) to resist rationalize the thing is beyond explanation.

Maria

meng · Feb 19, 2009

rodaki said:
thank you :bows:

rodaki

welcome :bows:

We can even give it a name if we want to. I Ching String theory.

maremaria · Feb 19, 2009

meng said:
I Ching String theory.

rodaki · Feb 19, 2009

meng said:
We can even give it a name if we want to. I Ching String theory.

yes, let's do that, sounds great

now i can visualize creating all kinds of patterns with my fingers (you know that game where one kid holds a rubber string with tied ends and then the other makes patterns by twisting and turning it . . we used to play that in Greece but I think I've seen it also in a japanese movie)

don't worry about headaches Maria, I actually like twisting my brain like that :blush:

that's very nice what you wrote about dancing, it plays a big part in how I understand things, but then there's another side of me that deeply enjoys intellectualizing and trying to find how discourse can be like dancing . . (ehmm that's actually what I'm trying to formulate as my next big project). In a way it is the realization that things go beyond explanations that allows me to go ahead and try to find new ways of moving . . it is really a game, sometimes utterly useless but still fun (to me at least)

ok, sometimes I might take it too far :rant:

lol! . . but on a second thought I feel comfortable to do it because i know people will stop me short if I take it too far, there is a safety net provided by all the people here, and i hope I'm not offending anyone with my kind of approach

so again thanks to everyone out there
:bows:

ravenstar · Feb 19, 2009

rodaki said:
dear Janice,

thank you very much for the story of the Swan . . it's healing part hit the mark of a recent 53 answer I got (actually I was thinking of posting about this in the 'shared readings' but there's no need now -feels nice knowing I'm still in the pot )

You are very welcome rodaki!

And personally,I don't see you in the pot but gracefully gliding in formation with wild swans/geese and ONE with the Creative Spirit.

ravenstar :bows:

rodaki · Feb 20, 2009

Janice, you are always very kind, thank you

not sure if I'm gracefully following the formation, my maneuvers can be erratic sometimes (I am trying to digress as gracefully as i can though

. . )
I hope I'm being true to my spirit, even if I can't always understand it myself!

:bows:
rodaki

rodaki · Feb 20, 2009

where's that mama-goose Rosada, by the way??
hope she's doing alright whatever terrain she's crossing

rodaki

my_key · Feb 22, 2009

The swan is such a beautiful bird.
So we are gliding serenely into the new Hex 53.
The attributes of the trigrams also point to this: within is tranquility, which guards against precipitate actions, and without is penetration, which makes development and progress possible.
So within we see our tranquility,the swan gliding across the water, while without is the chaos that we have to contend with on a daily basis, the webbed feet penetrating the water, and the chaos provides us with the inertia for us to work with that makes the gradual progress possible.

The Swan - Mary Oliver

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

Mike

charly · Feb 22, 2009

rodaki said:
... In a way it is the realization that things go beyond explanations that allows me to go ahead and try to find new ways of moving . . it is really a game, sometimes utterly useless but still fun (to me at least)
ok, sometimes I might take it too far lol! . . ...

Dora:

See what the Cheshire Cat said:

'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where...' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'... so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'

Luis Carroll´s Alice in Wonderland
at: http://www.ebbemunk.dk/alice/alice2.html

In H.53 the Gradual Goose, little by little goes long enough.

Yours,

Charly

meng · Feb 22, 2009

gentle nudge

The image
On the mountain, a tree:
The image of DEVELOPMENT.
Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue,
In order to improve the mores.

The tree on the mountain is visible from afar, and its development influences the landscape of the entire region. It doesn't shoot up like a swamp plant; its growth proceeds gradually. Thus also the work of influencing people can be only gradual. No sudden influence or awakening is of lasting effect. Progress must be quite gradual, and in order to obtain such progress in public opinion and in the mores of the people, it's necessary for the personality to acquire influence and weight. This comes about through careful and constant work on one's own moral development.

maremaria · Feb 24, 2009

meng said:
Progress must be quite gradual, and in order to obtain such progress in public opinion and in the mores of the people, it's necessary for the personality to acquire influence and weight. This comes about through careful and constant work on one's own moral development.

Thats why no one hasn't post yet....

meng · Feb 24, 2009

Yes, it sure is g r a d u a l. Wonder if this hexagram doesn't stir up many thoughts, or if people feel out of place posting since it's Rosada's baby? Hope she's ok.

ravenstar · Feb 25, 2009

meng said:
Yes, it sure is g r a d u a l. Wonder if this hexagram doesn't stir up many thoughts, or if people feel out of place posting since it's Rosada's baby? Hope she's ok.

Yes, I hope Rosada is okay too!

Originally posted by meng - The image
On the mountain, a tree:
The image of DEVELOPMENT.
Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue,
In order to improve the mores.

The tree on the mountain is visible from afar, and its development influences the landscape of the entire region. It doesn't shoot up like a swamp plant; its growth proceeds gradually. Thus also the work of influencing people can be only gradual. No sudden influence or awakening is of lasting effect. Progress must be quite gradual, and in order to obtain such progress in public opinion and in the mores of the people, it's necessary for the personality to acquire influence and weight. This comes about through careful and constant work on one's own moral development.

In Hexagram 52, I mentioned that changing one's consciousness is similar to a marraige where we desire to join in union with the higher element of life.

One of the biggest mistakes we make as humans, is that when we want to create change in our lives, we want to know the outcome before we even start...probably because we want to avoid making mistakes, we don't want to waste our time on something that's not fruitful, we don't want to face fear and we don't want to look foolish to others.

When a seedling begins to root, its intention, its purpose is to burst open and burrow its roots through the soil. The roots could be like probing sensitive fingers that move around obstructions, rocks and stones until they find soft earth and penetrate it like a corkscrew. Roots therefore anchor a tree and they branch off in different directions pushing through the soil, thickening and supporting the tree as it takes years to slowly progress upward, top heavy with a multitude of branches.

Like the gradual growth of a tree, it can take many steps of preparation before we acutally manifest a goal. Like seeking to 'make' a marriage, we must first desire it, pursue it, date it, think about it, meditate upon it and marry it into our imagination until it becomes a living, working reality in our lives.

We must trust that what we need will be provided. During this process, we may feel the urge to go back to school, learn a new trade.....we need to do everything we can to get the process going and trust the flow of the universe, endure and have fun in the process.

ravenstar

my_key · Feb 26, 2009

Yes - let's hope Rosada is well. I get sense since the end of 52 that she is being missed.Perhaps the best way to honour her absence is to keep things moving......even if they are only gradual.

Janice - very nice post. I cann associate a lot with what you have written here. It's almost like if you take small enough steps the fear never gets a chance to become a FEAR.

I'd also see it as a comment on gradual development of yourself...... the superior man has a hard job to do at times. It is saying look at how you are behaving/reacting to other people - what they say and what they do. If you spot something that you don't like, don't go trying to change them, look at how you are behaving and see if there is a need to change yourself. Don't expect to spot what you have to do to change quickly or expect the change to happen quickly (but it can do). The new growth will be best if it is slow and gradual, after all the foundations have been properly laid. Take a snooze, relax, chill out, grab a beer while you have the spring clean, and make sure you keep moving forward ....... life will catch you up when it is ready.

Mike

meng · Feb 26, 2009

ravenstar said:
Like seeking to 'make' a marriage, we must first desire it, pursue it, date it, think about it, meditate upon it and marry it into our imagination until it becomes a living, working reality in our lives.

I see this view as being foundational in the Yi - this active relational duality, and the goal of marrying them.

charly · Feb 26, 2009

meng said:
I see this view as being foundational in the Yi - this active relational duality, and the goal of marrying them.

Bruce:

I don't understand why is it fundational.

I believe that the YI speaks much of marriage but not always of the now TRADITIONAL CHINESE MARRIAGE, which is arranged by the parents accordingly with fixed customs with little freedom for girls and boys.

I believe that the YI speaks mainly about earlier forms of marriage, where boys and girls have more freedom, where sometimes the bride is kidnapped, where affection and pregnancy are decissive, maybe not so important the economical aspects.

The Vol 4, No 1 (1987) of TRUMPETER had an article «Love, Sacred and Profane» by Joseph Needham.

Maybe you can get the PDF here:

http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/index.php/trumpet/issue/view/67/showToc

or here:

http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/index.php/trumpet/article/view/587/958

You will see that the logo of The Trumpeter was a flying goose. Maybe the same of H.53.

Yours,

Charly

ravenstar · Feb 27, 2009

my_key;85925I'd also see it as a comment on gradual development of yourself...... the superior man has a hard job to do at times. It i[COLOR=black said:
s saying look at how you are behaving/reacting to other people - what they say and what they do. If you spot something that you don't like, don't go trying to change them, look at how you are behaving and see if there is a need to change yourself. Don't expect to spot what you have to do to change quickly or expect the change to happen quickly (but it can do). The new growth will be best if it is slow and gradual, after all the foundations have been properly laid. Take a snooze, relax, chill out, grab a beer while you have the spring clean, and make sure you keep moving forward ....... life will catch you up when it is ready.
Mike

Hmm thanks for the different perspective Mike.

So could we say this is a gradual integration of the past with the present so that the potential of the future will be able to be seen and felt? Do other people enter our lives because of some unconcious chemical attraction that is connected to our past, our childhood. Are these connections offering an open window for us to look at our past and to see what went wrong....to see into issues, wounds and conflicts so we can make better choices? Are you saying that under the material world we are all joined in an energetic dance?

"we with our lives are like islands in the sea. Like the trees in the forest. The maple and the pine may whisper to each other with their leaves.......But the trees also commingle their roots in the darkest underground, and the islands also hang together through the ocean's bottom. Just so there is a continuum of cosmic consciiousness, against which our individuality builds but accidental fences.....Our normal consciousness is circumscribed for adaptation to our external environment, but the fence is weak in spots and fitful influences from beyond leak in, showing the otherwise unverifiable human connection" William James

ravenstar

rosada · Feb 27, 2009

Greetings All!
Thank you so much for your kind interest in my well being. I am here in Pasadena without access to a computer but today I just couldn't go on without checking in with the family here at onlineclarity so tonight while my sister is out of the house I've dared to log in on hers. And here you are asking about me! We are definitely all connected and psychic - which probably also means my sister will also know I'm touching her stuff but hopefully I wont jam it up this time.
Gradual Progress is manifesting here with sister and I once again tackling the dreaded garage which stores three generations of nonsense. But this time I really do have hope. Perseverance furthers.
I have not yet had a chance to catch up on all the comments I've missed so I'm going to go back and read some before posting the next line.
Rosada

rosada · Feb 27, 2009

The Image cont..
The tree on the mountain grows larger slowly and imperceptibly. It spreads and gives shade, and thus through its nature influences its surroundings. Thus it is an example of the active power by which an individual improves the mores of his environment through consistent cultivation of his own moral qualities. The tree on the mountain, like the tree on the earth in Kuan, VIEW (20), represents influence by example. The keeping still of the mountain is a symbol for abiding in dignity and virtue. The penetrating attribute of wood
(or wind) is a symbol of the positive influence emanating from a good example.
-Wilhelm

Hex. 53 (memorizing the I Ching)

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