Purpose of the Downhill Run

[arabella]

Yes, I do know when things are vibrating at a natural state and attracting what else is on that wavelength. I'm familiar with that sensation and also what it's like to compromise because perfection isn't available. In the natural state there is no fear and also no need for aggression to accomplish anything. But that, in my experience at least, is triggered by an ultimate sense of creativity which is only partly in the air right now. If networking fills in the blanks, that could be an answer, true. At the moment I don't see that potential, but you never know. Thanks for many good ideas, much appreciated. I know nothing of formless YiChing or falling through other states of being or apprehending impurity of emotions that are clouding someone else's potential and I can't imagine how you view anything about me clearly from wherever you are, but it's interesting to imagine anyway. In the past three years there have undoubtedly been scads of unhelpful emotions to clear away and what has replaced them I can't describe. It's not emptiness. A bit of shock maybe and a reordering of priorities. The intensity of those emotions was based on fear, anger, despair, and basically not worth having. But they are gone now and there is space for something far better.

One thing that does light up my life is the hours I spend with a dear friend blasting opera music and commisserating over radio programming, which we took time for today. That was a lift, albeit a temporary one -- and at least all the snow has changed to rain for a while and it's easier to move around. He's extremely encouraging, funny, and has more faith in me than I do most of the time. We may hatch something yet.

 

[arabella]

Yang moves by expanding and contracting; just like the way our heart beats. In its extreme form, its pulsating power is explosive and destructive. It expands by pulsating lives within its vicinity. It does not network; it conquers.

Yin moves by crystallizing entities of similar quality. In its extreme form, it freezes everything within its vicinity. It expands by resonating with natural frequencies of similar range. Networking is its specialty.

I took a spiritual tour around your spiritual vicinity. It is moving, but everything is in slow motion; yin and yang elements. And Qian 15 is about the resonance power of a natural state.

Natural state is your body vibrating at its natural frequency. Natural frequency of a body is frequency at which the body will start to resonate freely. It can be found experimentally by testing it at various frequencies. But the easiest way to experience it is by inducing a free falling sensation and spiritual descending through layers of bodily states. I had to go through quite a number of layers of emotional impurities when I simulate a free fall through your energy states.

But the real techniques are in whatever you have been experiencing so far; as outlined in my previous post. In fact, the most difficult part of overcoming the inertia of learning is already over. It is an ideal time to get back into the learning process; but placing more emphasis on appreciating the powers, skills and applications of each of the yin qualities.

Yin announces its presence with its calming effect. If your presence can calm down your conflicting environment in your work place, that day will be your graduation day.

Yin networks. If you are actively networking; then yin is at work. If your network expands and helps keep streaming in, it is time to celebrate.

Yi accommodates. If you are actively giving and accepting helps, yin is at work. Most importantly, if you can accommodate spiritual helps, it is time to fly. You have to return the favor once you accept His help; but then again, it is not as if you have a choice.

Yin heals. If your physical pains suddenly disappear, yin is at work. Your present immobility is spiritually imposed; to stop you from making any yang moves and turn your full attention on your yin lessons. In fact, your degree of mobility is a good gauge of your spiritual progress; and it also a sign that you are moving in the right direction.

The qualities of yin will always remain the same. But their manifestations are very specific to individual needs. Your manifestations are to crystallize you into Princess Arabella in a feminine form.

Energy is formless. It is the power center of I Ching. It can turn a whole to a naught; and a naught to a whole; that is 1-to-0 and 0-to-1.

A formless I Ching means you are one with everything; dissolving yourself into nothing. Just as easily, you can be anything; by regrouping into any form that underlines the essence of the predominant energy state. And this is the only first step into the magical realm of I Ching world.

Yes, formless I Ching has been my dream and driving force all these struggling years. I was and still am being forced to learn about I Ching in its formless state; just like the way you have been forced to learn about yin. Worst, the teacher is invisible and the book is wordless. Wordless means making sense out of senseless words. There is no one else to turn to for clarifications and answers. HE is the only source.

I can say with a huge sigh: I understand your pains.

Why do you say that Yin can "freeze" everything? OK, I'm beginning to see what you mean by "formless" in that energy can assume various states or material forms. However, how are you "forced" to learn "formless" iChing? When you say "He" in relation to the iChing, clarification and answers, whom do you mean?

 

[wck6265]

Working with Nature

From my perspective, you are definitely going through a forced spiritual transformation process. I do not know why such an elaborate scheme to remold you by force. My best guess is that your yang has gone too extreme and turns destructive; it needs an equally extreme yin to pull you back to the center. An ingenious, albeit cruel, way to contain an extreme yang is: immobility in the midst of Nature.

Normally, I Ching reading pairs tell the story of a cause-effect or before-after scenario. With your reading, it is my first experience with a main-replacement pairs.

In your reading, Qian 15 appears as the replacement function of Feng 55. Feng 55, as the main oracle, is about finding the right way to get out of an imbalanced state like yours. Unfortunately, the yang element required to make Feng 55 works is absent in your case. Qian 15, the resonance power of a natural state, conveniently appears in the reading to take over as your alternative escape route. This scenario corresponds to your slow-motioned energy state I perceived spiritually. Besides, the answer makes logical senses as all those forced lessons on yin must lead to something eventually. A reading with double confirmations is seldom wrong.

Connecting to your surrounding on energy level is a basic skill of I Ching. There is other more elaborate and fanciful techniques. To be exact, there are 64 of them. However, your main concern now is how to return to your Natural State.

Whatever I say or I Ching indicates, they are only paper tips. It is like trying to teach you how to swim on paper. You will never get there by just asking questions and pondering on the answers.It is best for you to learn how to communicate directly with Nature.

The following suggestions might help:
1. Search for ways and means to stretch your limits of acceptance and tolerance; physically, mentally and spiritually.
2. Search for ways and means to expel negatives out of your system; physically, mentally and spiritually.
3. Develop skills and spend long hours to connect with the mountain-top views. Learn the art of resonating with Nature.

I do not mind to be your critic; but I should not interfere with how you interact with Nature; as the relationship is really very personal.

One last point: yin networking is done on spiritual level; and the physical action to connect is only a manifestation of what has already been done on the spiritual level. In other words, you create the opportunity on spiritual level; and collect the prize on physical level.

In short, return to your Natural State quickly to YIN your way out your woes.

 

[arabella]

To know that by Yin networking you are referring to a spiritual level is the most helpful thing you could say. That makes ultimate sense and i can see better how to proceed. On the connection with Nature I would suppose there is no clear way through, except that maybe for me Nature has something more to do with music than trees ands flowers because that is my natural element.

 

[Tohpol]

To know that by Yin networking you are referring to a spiritual level is the most helpful thing you could say. That makes ultimate sense and i can see better how to proceed. On the connection with Nature I would suppose there is no clear way through, except that maybe for me Nature has something more to do with music than trees ands flowers because that is my natural element.

One thing that has really stood out for me in wck6265's repsonses to you arabella is the idea of "enforced" period of return to Nature.

This is very interesting as in my own experience (and including my own reality right now) this kind of situation is more common than we might expect. Many folks I know are being "forced" into situations partly of their own making and partly due, perhaps to some gentle nudging from their soul or the higher self in order to clean out the vessel and thus be in a better position to anchor some more qualitative energies. It stands to reason in fact, that once folks have been put through the mill and have "survived" often the "fuel" is absent and / or the balance is off, time is needed for it to return. This can be attributed to any aspect of the body-mind: mental, emotional, physical or para-physical as you know.

Your connection with Nature at a multi-dimensional level is pretty clear I think, judging from your past experiences that you've shared with us. And by that I mean, your link to what we might call "Earth consciousness" is so strong in that your essential, deep self is so very much part of it - almost like you are a fractal messenger of Gaia for want of a better word. knowing itself through you, would perhaps be another way to describe it. I might be wrong on that of course, just an impression.

In combination with the I Ching, this forum, Nature and your physical location you are exactly where you need to be, as you know. As wck6265 mentions, clear out all that "stuff" (which may be deeper than you think) and open yourself to the environment and especially your dreams and your music - even in vitro. Resonate with nature is excellent advice for you. Very H.50.

Just as an aside, I'd recommend exploring the work of one Marko Pocagnik and employing this multi-dimensional but practical perspective during your time with the mountains. I'd start with: Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings: Working with the Intelligence in Nature: and Sacred Geography: Geomancy - Co-creating the Earth Cosmos. Just a possibility...They may sound a bit flakey, but in fact they open up enormously rich possibilities.

I can assure you for those that have a particular role and affinity with the more subtle realms that do exist beyond the physical processes in Nature this information is essential imo. And music...Music is intimately connected with these subtle realms that encompass "trees and flowers" and such things...How do you think all that sound is "weaved"? :bows:

keep us posted,

 

[bamboo]

also Ted Andrews: Animal Speak.
somewhere recently, I read something to the effect that in the other realms, trees have as solid a personality and beingness as we humans do....and that it is also true of trees on earth, but we fail to recognize it often. and I literally never look at a tree without seeing some kind of face there in the bark. trees are friendly! and kind. I hope you have many trees around you, Arabella.

 

[arabella]

Oh Bambo, I have millions of trees here, literally millions, and some of them as big around as small house. They are quite ancient I think. I know the druids stored energy in trees and especially the oaks, as well as in stones, so their density and value as a sort of outdoor "battery" is well known for that purpose. They have said that they used this energy, following the ceremonies that created it, as a means to heal people, but I really have no idea how that works. Anyway, long story short, I have discovered that apparently I live along a mammoth series of "ley lines" here and that people literally travel from round the world to walk and bicycle up and down the length of these lines. In the past, I've done some energy healing, It's not a particular method and, as said here before, I don't even know how it works myself, but it's been with me a long time. So I'm trying some of that on myself as well. Also, interesting that wck6265 mentions swimming, learning to swim "on paper". I've been told by the accupunturist swimming laps is the ideal treatment for my frustrated feelings about life on earth at this moment. I'll look for the books/references you've both mentioned, Topal and Bamboo. I'm trying to find a direction with all of this as I've never felt quite so much "at sea" with no light on the horizon. And I'm not putting that out as a desperate signal or something, I'm just aware that I don't see the way to go, not in any respect. Except that the radio wavelength is definitely in the near future -- as soon as my car will get me back and forth to the studio when the snow has cleared. It's about twelve miles from here so inaccessible on foot. Radio will, however, be in the hobby category for now -- a volunteer position. Having said that, I began that way in opera and two years later was a producer so, quien sabe, that could change too. Thanks all for your contributions and for hanging in through this enormous conversation to give your thoughts. I will definitely keep you posted on where this mystery tour goes. XO

 

[RindaR]

At least one native american tribe (the Winnebago) hold that rock-faces are windows to the spirit world, and I "see" what they mean...

I don't know much about this stuff, and I feel/sense it.

Since the beginning of December I find myself close to the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers and hope to go there sometime this spring or summer. The land all through the city has been sculpted by the rivers, and one can feel their influence even when not in sight of them. Here one can feel the energy of a powerful irresistable undeniable push/pull/flow that sculpts all the land around it.

It is a totally different feeling than living near the great lakes where one can feel the weight of an expanse of (usually) quiet, unknowable and a precariously contained reservoir subject to being stirred up dramatically by the wind; and soaking up the energy of the sun as it warms the endless waves.

...and of course different again from the ocean...

My husband laughs gently at my attachment to the Smoky Mountains - to him they are small and not comparable to real mountains, yet I love to see where the folded and broken rock has been thrust up through the ground, and I can't get enough of the little river/creek that winds along the road through the mountains to Cherokee.

rinda

 

[rodaki]

rock-faces are windows to the spirit world

that's something I've felt too . . :bows:

 

[Tohpol]

that's something I've felt too . . :bows:

I never underestimate the role women will play in what I think is a transitional point in human / earth changes.There's something particular I've found in the relationship to the Earth that goes way beyond the cliche of "Mother Earth" which humanity I think has outgrown. By that I mean humanity is not a child anymore but we have the potential to be co-creators - we are reaching puberty as it were in our understanding of the ecology of the mind and landscape - at least, a significant proportion of people. The receptacle of the woman as a vessel and receiver in this sense is quite important, in my view. The birthing of child has always been a symbolic potential for birthing worlds...

Arabella, your formless state is perfect for being where you need to be when the time is right for you to flow into that form - so to speak lol.

 

[arabella]

I never underestimate the role women will play in what I think is a transitional point in human / earth changes.There's something particular I've found in the relationship to the Earth that goes way beyond the cliche of "Mother Earth" which humanity I think has outgrown. By that I mean humanity is not a child anymore but we have the potential to be co-creators - we are reaching puberty as it were in our understanding of the ecology of the mind and landscape - at least, a significant proportion of people. The receptacle of the woman as a vessel and receiver in this sense is quite important, in my view. The birthing of child has always been a symbolic potential for birthing worlds...

Arabella, your formless state is perfect for being where you need to be when the time is right for you to flow into that form - so to speak lol.

I believe you are right, Topal, about a more balanced role for women in the future. Rather than struggling to be anything similar to, or in competition with, men, women will finally have their entire birthright. And I think that will have the added advantage of allowing men their birthright as well -- two distinct, equal, and particular, roles as human beings. It is the garb we wear in the kingdom of Names, on the material plane and an identity for this life only. All the same, it's fairly spectacular to take on the challenges of either sex and enjoy the ride. In my own case, I've always enjoyed being a female of the species, however, had men as closest friends. The best of both worlds I think. In relation to the earth itself, I can feel her pain, no doubt. And that is something much compounded by close association with the natives peoples of North America. As they have always said, the cruelties perpetrated upon the planet by commercial interests have not gone unnoticed -- not by a mile. And we are coming into that time when those outrages will be tallied and mankind presented with an enormous reckoning. Whether that has a thing to do with the position I'm in now I really can't imagine, but this time in the world was something I dreamed in great detail, and even wrote down many years ago. What I wrote about that dream, I shared with a Crow Indian Medicine Man who asked to keep it. The paper documenting my dream is in a medicine bag he owns, kept with a bundle belonging to their People. The bundle holds a "doll" given to them by their divine prophet, "Wakuntanka" and is known to be at least 25,000 years old. Why he thought it was important to store these together, I don't know. But he's a very wise shaman and I trust his judgment.

 

[arabella]

For the first time in forever,[since last October] drove down the mountain today in my car. The Spring thaw may be officially "on" since yesterday and I can make it all the way up and down without resorting to trekking poles and boots. I feel like it's a new and glamorous experience, or at least I'm seeing it with new eyes. Hard to describe how much you appreciate both sides: the natural world and abilities you have to cope without the mechanical and also the inventiveness of people that has made life far easier. Now I know every rock on that track and the scenery is extremely personal. How much of our time we waste not really seeing what is there. How much joy we miss worrying about all the wrong things. I don't know what else to say on that at the moment but the "different view" gives rise to a lot of emotion. Odd isn't it?

One story that stands out for me from the months on the mountain and struggling up and down -- something rather magical that has suddenly come to mean a lot more -- I will write out later today and share with you, but that will take a little time and for the moment it's time to do my job before i get fired! Feels weird being here on the "flat land" in normal clothes without the trekking boots after so long in my lumberjack outfit. I feel quite the dainty human being really.

 

[Tohpol]

One story that stands out for me from the months on the mountain and struggling up and down -- something rather magical that has suddenly come to mean a lot more -- I will write out later today and share with you, but that will take a little time and for the moment it's time to do my job before i get fired! Feels weird being here on the "flat land" in normal clothes without the trekking boots after so long in my lumberjack outfit. I feel quite the dainty human being really.

I see....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL7n5mEmXJo&feature=related

 

[RindaR]

 

[arabella]

Yes. All true except that part about "pressing flawrs." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

 

[arabella]

Other than my hilarious stint as a lumberjack, one particular day climbing this mountain did impress me and lingers in its effect. I was "down below" in town on a Saturday planning to meet a friend for coffee when he called and said he had been delayed. Meanwhile, a blizzard had come up and I realised my Saturday was over and it was time to start back uphill. This was late December and I'd already been through this drill so many times, was thoroughly sick of having no time with other human beings except at the office, hiking down in the dark and cold, hiking back before 3:30 pm when sunset froze the snowy track road into a brittle death trap.

This particular Saturday I quickly drove back to the foot of the mountain, skidding through the blizzard to my usual parking place at the gate of a neighboring estate. I carefully put on all the gear, covering every inch of skin I could cover, grabbed up my trekking poles and started up the steep trail. The track road has three parts. The first is a thin strip of macadam that winds up a steep grade following the shape of a small river bed below. Water is raging there all year long, roiling over successive waterfalls about fifteen or twenty feet down a rocky chasm. The verge in many places is only a foot or two wide, so easy to take a bad fall if you aren't paying attention. Beyond is a flatter area, about a quarter mile wide that crosses farm land occupied in the middle by several enormous metal silos that the locals refer to as "Cape Canaveral." Behind the "Cape" the track crosses a series of cattle guards and a small bridge, then heads unrelentingly for the sky -- straight up -- for another half mile or so to my cottage.

On this particular day the blizzard was rapidly covering pack ice at the foot of the hill and obscuring the edge of the verge overhanging the river below. It wasn't a good day to make any mistakes and yet the crampons [spikes] on my boots were quickly icing up, becoming useless. I was about halfway through the initial climb, just inches from the cascading water when I lost my footing, spun a hundred eighty degrees, and began a powerslide downhill, skiing perilously close to the cliff. Out of sheer instinct, I extended a trekking pole in front of me, crashing point-first into a large tree, then piling into the butt end of the pole ribs-first. Rolling over and over downhill, I ended up on my side, peering off the edge of the crevass into icy fog below.

In the months I've spent up here I've become very adept at talking to myself. Out loud. I read to myself out loud, sing, just to be sure I can still make noise, and some sense, if I have to. And in this case I swore a blue streak, including giving God a right telling-off. I wanted to know what was the point of this. Why come so far in life to end up falling in a waterfall and freezing to death? Why scare living hell out of somebody who is only trying to live for pete's sake and, anyway, if life is a learning experience, would God, or somebody, mind letting me know the name of THIS lesson? And I was just angry, fed up, cold. And when I rolled back toward the road to find a clearing where I might stand I realised I'd broken a rib or two. Then I was angry -- and in pain -- and just plain exhausted and scared. So I shouted out at God, "Are you ever going to tell me what this is all about?" And since there wasn't any response I set about muttering and finding the pole that had flown into a snow drift and trying to figure out how I would support myself for the remaining climb with my right side out of commission.

I'd never realised before what it felt like to breathe in ice crystals, how much it stings. My clothing, built for the weather supposedly, was already so damp and frozen it crackled. And I started to climb again gasping, OOh, OOh, with every step. I'd moved several hundred yards in fifeen or twenty minutes when it occurred to me I might not make it. I looked back downhill. My tracks were already filling where I'd just been and I knew the snow covered sheer ice. Another fall and I could be off the cliff and into far worse trouble. I gazed back uphill. In another twenty minutes I could make it to the silos and shelter a moment under one of them temporarily. But the pain in my side throbbed and breathing was a nightmare. What to do?

I headed uphill again, now exhaling after each breath: DAMN DAMN, DAMN. And worse. Peering into the blizzard for some idea of my progress, some landmark, I saw a grey figure standing at the head of the track. A man. And a dog? About the size and shape of my father, when he was alive. About the size and shape of my dog, when he was alive. Great, I thought, I'm dead. This is something to do with the afterlife. I died. Maybe I fell off the cliff and died. And now this is some illusion. And something said, "Well then why am i still so bloody cold?" Nevermind, keep walking.

I was about ten paces from this figure and still not sure of his identity when he rushed forward, grabbed my backpack, my trekking poles, and me. "I'm taking you home," he said. Well, then I am dead for sure, I thought. This is the wagon. And he put me into some kind of strange green jalopy that stood on enormous tires, high off the track. And he loaded in my stuff. When I looked around the dog, a border collie, had jumped into the back and was laughing at me.

We roared uphill, past the silos, through the farmland, over cattle guard, bridge and straight up the mountain. "Where am I taking you?" the man asked. Which surprised me, because I thought this was a done-deal and he was the one who knew the destination, not me. But I gave him the name of my cottage and he just nodded and in moments, we were there. And he reversed the procedure he'd gone through before, lifting out my stuff, then me and saying, "I'll put all of this in the house. Can you make it in yourself?" And I hobbled in. He looked around and said, "What's the purpose of struggling to come to a place you don't want to be? Anyway, it isn't even warm in here!" Somewhat enigmatic statement since he couldn't know if I wanted to be there -- or not! And it occurred to me he had known I was hurt -- but couldn't have seen me fall.

I said I'd make my own fire when he offered, and asked him why he happened to be standing along the track. He said, "Today I knew you would need help. So I waited." And all the other questions I should have asked like why he knew I might need help, and how he knew, I didn't ask, because he left.

There was just one chance to shout out the door, "Who are you?" And he said, "Gordon." And that's the last of him because I've never seen him again and the neighbors never heard of him. I've looked up the name Gordon and in Gaelic it means "the beloved." I've been thinking ever since what to make of it.

 

[Trojina]

Wow !

 

[rodaki]

Wow !

ditto!

gosh, Arabella, that alone could be your 55.4 . . :bows:

 

[arabella]

ditto!

gosh, Arabella, that alone could be your 55.4 . . :bows:

Ah yes, of course!

 

[rodaki]

Ah yes, of course!

be well dearest!

 

[arabella]

Just found this in an archive note from none less than the Spar Hawk himself:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I happen to be reading Richard Gotshalk's translation and he has this for 55.4 (and 55.5), to confuse things a little:

55.4: He meets the barbarian chief: coming splendor-and-brilliance, will have rejoicing and praise.
Auspicious.

55.5: Grand-and-full the darkness, at midday see the Dipper.
Then he has a note attached to both lines and the note reads:

There is a faulty line-division between Lines 4 and 5; I have moved the first part of Line 4 in the traditional and the Mawangdui texts to Line 5, and what was Line 5 to Line 4, to restore the text to order.

Just to add a different take on this.

Brad or Harmen: do you have this book? What do you make of it? It is quoted by Nielsen in several places and is a pretty serious book. Also there is an Appendix called "The earliest records of divination using the Zhouyi", that is full of footnote's numbers but those footnotes are nowhere in the book. Have you noticed this??

So, guys, I have met the Barbarian chief, probably. His name is Gordon, the Beloved. And I definitely saw stars on that occasion, if only as a result of broken ribs, whether the Big Dipper or not, I can't say.

Joking aside, this is rather hefty stuff -- no? Does anybody know what was the difference between the traditional and Mawangdui texts? Perhaps, therein, lies my answer in regard to who/what Gordon represents. Something between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea?

All day I've had this song from Squirrel Nut Zipper going through my head: "Who's kissed the Devil, who's kissed his tongue? Who has kissed the Devil on his tongue?" Not an image that usually comes to mind, but my kids have this CD and it popped out of nowhere. Maybe more like, who's faced the Devil, his own Devil, and told the story? In which case, coming to the edge of that crevass and almost rolling in with broken ribs is about as close to hell as I want to go this year. Living through it and writing down the story is something of a triumph, something auspicious I would say. But I think 55.4 is also about having to go on a while longer with no clear answer, if I've understood what others have written about that line on Clarity in the past.

 

[Trojina]

In the months I've spent up here I've become very adept at talking to myself. Out loud. I read to myself out loud, sing, just to be sure I can still make noise, and some sense, if I have to. And in this case I swore a blue streak, including giving God a right telling-off. I wanted to know what was the point of this. Why come so far in life to end up falling in a waterfall and freezing to death? Why scare living hell out of somebody who is only trying to live for pete's sake and, anyway, if life is a learning experience, would God, or somebody, mind letting me know the name of THIS lesson? And I was just angry, fed up, cold. And when I rolled back toward the road to find a clearing where I might stand I realised I'd broken a rib or two. Then I was angry -- and in pain -- and just plain exhausted and scared. So I shouted out at God, "Are you ever going to tell me what this is all about?" And since there wasn't any response I set about muttering and finding the pole that had flown into a snow drift and trying to figure out how I would support myself for the remaining climb with my right side out of commission.

I'd never realised before what it felt like to breathe in ice crystals, how much it stings. My clothing, built for the weather supposedly, was already so damp and frozen it crackled. And I started to climb again gasping, OOh, OOh, with every step. I'd moved several hundred yards in fifeen or twenty minutes when it occurred to me I might not make it. I looked back downhill. My tracks were already filling where I'd just been and I knew the snow covered sheer ice. Another fall and I could be off the cliff and into far worse trouble. I gazed back uphill. In another twenty minutes I could make it to the silos and shelter a moment under one of them temporarily. But the pain in my side throbbed and breathing was a nightmare. What to do?

I headed uphill again, now exhaling after each breath: DAMN DAMN, DAMN. And worse. Peering into the blizzard for some idea of my progress, some landmark, I saw a grey figure standing at the head of the track. A man. And a dog? About the size and shape of my father, when he was alive. About the size and shape of my dog, when he was alive. Great, I thought, I'm dead. This is something to do with the afterlife. I died. Maybe I fell off the cliff and died. And now this is some illusion. And something said, "Well then why am i still so bloody cold?" Nevermind, keep walking.

I was about ten paces from this figure and still not sure of his identity when he rushed forward, grabbed my backpack, my trekking poles, and me. "I'm taking you home," he said. Well, then I am dead for sure, I thought. This is the wagon. And he put me into some kind of strange green jalopy that stood on enormous tires, high off the track. And he loaded in my stuff. When I looked around the dog, a border collie, had jumped into the back and was laughing at me.

We roared uphill, past the silos, through the farmland, over cattle guard, bridge and straight up the mountain. "Where am I taking you?" the man asked. Which surprised me, because I thought this was a done-deal and he was the one who knew the destination, not me. But I gave him the name of my cottage and he just nodded and in moments, we were there. And he reversed the procedure he'd gone through before, lifting out my stuff, then me and saying, "I'll put all of this in the house. Can you make it in yourself?" And I hobbled in. He looked around and said, "What's the purpose of struggling to come to a place you don't want to be? Anyway, it isn't even warm in here!" Somewhat enigmatic statement since he couldn't know if I wanted to be there -- or not! And it occurred to me he had known I was hurt -- but couldn't have seen me fall.

I said I'd make my own fire when he offered, and asked him why he happened to be standing along the track. He said, "Today I knew you would need help. So I waited." And all the other questions I should have asked like why he knew I might need help, and how he knew, I didn't ask, because he left.

There was just one chance to shout out the door, "Who are you?" And he said, "Gordon." And that's the last of him because I've never seen him again and the neighbors never heard of him. I've looked up the name Gordon and in Gaelic it means "the beloved." I've been thinking ever since what to make of it.

Shouting at God often produces spectacular results..... beats praying any day IMO... so god sent Gordon who had also shapeshifted into your father and your dog, so you'd trust those distant figures...anyway then Gordon takes you home...and asks you this question above underlined.


So can you answer that question ? Seems to be the key question he left you with.

You were angry with God and shouted because of your suffering and you wanted to know why, what was it all for....and you could say his reply to you was "well whats the purpose of struggling to a place you don't want to be ? Anyway it isn't even warm here"You could say God is as baffled with your behaviour as you are with his/hers and sent Gordon along to tell you and I mean God is in Gordon if you take a few letters out.

Arabella shouts at God "are you ever going to tell me what this is all about ? "

Gods shouts at Arabella " are you ever going to tell me what this is all about ?"


Its always good to row with God



So c'mon God and I are waiting for your answer to Gordons question

 

[Trojina]

So, guys, I have met the Barbarian chief, probably. His name is Gordon, the Beloved. And I definitely saw stars on that occasion, if only as a result of broken ribs, whether the Big Dipper or not, I can't say.

Joking aside, this is rather hefty stuff -- no? Does anybody know what was the difference between the traditional and Mawangdui texts? Perhaps, therein, lies my answer in regard to who/what Gordon represents. Something between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea?

All day I've had this song from Squirrel Nut Zipper going through my head: "Who's kissed the Devil, who's kissed his tongue? Who has kissed the Devil on his tongue?" Not an image that usually comes to mind, but my kids have this CD and it popped out of nowhere. Maybe more like, who's faced the Devil, his own Devil, and told the story? In which case, coming to the edge of that crevass and almost rolling in with broken ribs is about as close to hell as I want to go this year. Living through it and writing down the story is something of a triumph, something auspicious I would say. But I think 55.4 is also about having to go on a while longer with no clear answer, if I've understood what others have written about that line on Clarity in the past.

I don't know i think 55.4 is one of the most mysterious lines in the Yi. This lord is hidden, in the dark, or in some translations 'dark lord' so i always think this helpful prescence isn't something our conscious minds can hold up to the light to get a good clear look at or scrutinize and pin down. Something from another world apart from our daily consciousness or something we might usually see as alien or irrelevant ? I don't know but I think you may reach the meaning easier by letting it gently filter through rather than try to pin it down to something very specific. Clarity is never easy with the profusion of 55, I think clarity itself is not your friend in 55.4...obscurity is. You can't shine a torch light in the face of 55.4 man I think you have to see him if at all by the light of the moon...oh its an eclipse...oh well you know




Whoever or whatever Gordon was that was a phenomenal thing to happen...yet you didn't share it with us till late in the thread. Am i right in thinking its significance sort of got buried with you for a while...almost like it was a dream only half remembered ?

 

[Trojina]

Just found this in an archive note from none less than the Spar Hawk himself:



.

("...none less than the Spar Hawk himself".......?)



Careful, referred to as such he will get ideas beyond his station...it pays to keep him in his place Arabella and I tell you that as a friend )

 

[arabella]

Incredible Trojan, all the pieces you have assembled here. First, I had started out to tell this story when I first posted, then I thought it would sound rather "silly" because there was no real context for what has been going on over these months. I didn't know how anybody but me would relate to it. In another way, it seemed rather bizarre and as you can see, I wasn't sure what to think of it myself. I've spent so much time just surviving it's as though I thanked him for the ride and built a fire to get warm and put the mystery of the occurrence to the side for later on. Now that I've told the story of what happened I STILL didn't really take account of what I was saying, it's just kind of thrown there on the page. For instance, it didn't occur to me why i would have "seen" my Father and dog on the hill, they just appeared to be like them when I first glanced ahead. But it's true, that made me calm down and drew me toward them. And it certainly never occured to me that the name Gordon contains the word God. Of course it does. I was shocked to read that just now.

Funny too, when I cast for an explanation, I was asking when I would feel any better about anything, when I'd begin to recover physically from illness, when the dust would settle, when life would improve or even clarify -- I wasn't asking about what happened on the hill that day -- although maybe I should have been.

It makes perfect sense that a significant mystery of the iChing in 55.4 coincides with events that have no real explanation, but certainly did happen. This is actually the third time in my life I've encountered something like this; but the first time it's come in physical form. The other two times involved "voices." The others came as voices, first via radio when I'd just left University; then years later when my life was in a major transition, via the television. The first one was in a foreign language I'd just spent seven years learning to translate; yet it was from an impossible distance and came through the loudspeakers of my stereo, which had no radio transmitter. It told me about things that had happened in a foreign country to friends of mine who were quite well known and whose deaths would shock everyone and change life for many. Because they were in such a remote location in the jungle [the person reporting on "radio," it turned out, was also killed instantly] the actual news reports followed days later, but I'd already informed authorities what was to come. And, for some reason, they took me seriously and planned ahead just in case. The second instance like this was via music, singing, and left an impression that changed my life for years. This last event, although it was personal and direct contact with someone, was almost more unreal than the other two events, and so direct, I can't absorb it. Maybe it will dawn on me at some point just what has happened.

Until you explained all of this Trojan, and your explanation brings utter clarity to the events, I really didn't "get it" at all, and wouldn't have coupled this with those other two occurences. Now I can see it. And I have to wonder why God sends any message to a person who is so utterly dense as i seem to be. And, beyond that, I wonder what to do with the message which should strike me as a clear answer to my question, and a direct response to the confusion that surrounds my life -- once again.

About Mr. Sparhawk. I know he says little on the forum with great effect. I see him as the opposite of what I do, talking in circles until somebody hits me on the head and tells me what i just said. So I'm in awe of that ability and intrigued by what he posted before on 55.4. As I am in awe of how you've just hit me on the head and told me what I'm talking about. XO Arabella

 

[Trojina]

:bows:

I wonder if you will ever meet Gordon again

 

[arabella]

:bows:

I wonder if you will ever meet Gordon again

I somehow doubt it. But, if I did, this time i would hope to have the presence of mind to be more inquisitive about his visit and his comments on my circumstances, since I am not satisfied with life as it is. The odd thing is, I can't remember anything of what he looked like, except that he was decidedly elderly to be lifting me so many feet off the ground and into a vehicle like I was a bag of feathers.

 

[arabella]

What would be interesting is if wck6265 has any comments on the appearance of "Gordon" and how or where that fits in relation to yin-yang balance issues -- if it does.

 

[wck6265]

A Guiding Light

Gordon is your guiding light. He symbolizes your lost soul, long buried under the daily mundane affairs; and the potential you, if you can return to your Natural State successfully. He carries the messages that explain the purpose for this awakening fall.

The Awakening Fall

It was Nature’s last resort to get you to change, after you stubbornly refused to follow its prescriptions. The fall was to put you out of action suddenly, causing an overflow of emotions. The overflow released the suppressed yin energy temporarily; triggering off a long term spiritual recovery process to restore any deformity within your energy body.

There was a hidden danger of an excessive overflow of emotions that could drown. Luckily that did not happen; and how you would have been drowned remained now as a mystery.

A Guiding Light

A guiding light is the spiritual assistance offered by Nature in a forced transformation process. It carries the messages for the forced transformation. However, these messages can only be picked up with a periscopic vision; an oblique or all round vision instead of a straight line vision. This is the vision of a Natural State. This creates a catch-22 situation: Natural State or lessons first?

The answer is a temporary Natural State. Even if you cannot decode on the spot; everything will be recorded on a mental level. In other words, the details as captured by you carry the messages that you have to decode later on.

Most importantly, the messages are attached to a messenger that has made a deep impression on you. His words carry more weight than anybody; including me, your decoder. The point is you must hold on to these messages dearly, as they are your roadmap to realize your fullest potentials.

The Lost Soul

HOME jumps straight out of your story; shouting for attention. Your direction to home led to “a cold place you don’t want to be”. Gordon has offered to take you home. Please take his offer seriously.

Home means destiny, spiritually speaking. The limits stretching and humbling experiences are to open up your spiritual capacity to detect and accept a new pulsation of life; that is already slowly taking shape.

The Potential You

The potential you are able to write the script of your own life; when you have returned to Natural State successfully.

This ability was manifested in how you staged your own rescue by soul-connecting with Gordon. What was amazing is that the connection was done even before the fall occurred. This is a good illustration of how yin-networking is done on spiritual level; and executed on physical level.

Another good illustration is how you orchestrated the answers to your predicament in this thread; and you are not even at your Natural State yet! You just seem to know where and when to press the right buttons. I am not complaining as I have been richly rewarded for my participation.

I urge you strongly to device some methods to hasten your transformation process. I can’t wait to see what you can do when you are running in full capacity.

 

[arabella]

Thank you wck; I have to read this over again a number of times as it's not entirely clear to me, the language you use, and how to follow along. But I appreciate all the obvious effort you are making to explain, so I'll read this many times to try to understand what you have "decoded" from this experience. Yes, thanks very much for your participation. I'm not sure that, as you say, I know what buttons to push and when. If I do, I'm not aware of that-- wish I were!