twofold mind

[tolteclogic]

"Where there is illumination darkness disappears."

Taoist I-Ching



Striving for the Gold elixir
Heaven and Humanity
work together
Shut the gates
on the winter soltice
Awaiting the return
inward thoughts do not arise
externals do not enter
nurishing correctness
Is the secret
of temporal achievement
Opening to Love
Fullness must seek emptiness
Emptiness must seek fulfillment
strong firm and irrepressible
the will is correct
fostering growth
from vageness to clarity
Stillness is ever nurturing
Illumination arises from
inner openness
Close the Door on death
the door to Life will open
The living potential
is essential
within the furnace of evolution



"When Heaven sends down calamities,
there is hope of weathering them;
when people bring them upon themselves,
there is no hope of escape."

"Integrity, wisdom, skill, intelligence -
such things are forged in adversity."

Mencius VII.A.18

~*~*~



The Crossing

Truthfulness is associated
with the Earth
the go-between
for yin and yang
from shallowness
to the depths
true intent
strong and balanced
correctly oriented
yin and yang blend
the five elements aggregate
integrated with natural principle
strength and flexibility are one
essence, feeling, vitality and spirit
return to the center
faithfulness that is firm
benevolence, justice, courtesy
and wisdom
return to the mind
illumining everything
secret of the gold elixir


~*~*~*~*~*~

"The mind of man is twofold; in one way it is true, in one
way it is false. So to look for the true mind, don't give rise
to arbitrary thoughts - then there is the true mind.

"The true mind is broad and luminous; where the true
mind abides is peace and freedom. When you manage
your affairs with the true mind, everything is integrated;
when you seek the Tao with the true mind, myraid differ-
ences are of the same root.

"But if people want to use the true mind to deal with
affairs, they need to foster it so that it is strong, and to
keep it calm and uncluttered. Then it can work without
wearness, and be responsive even while tranquil.

"The teaching of spiritual alchemy says that when the
mind runs off one should gather it in; having gathered
it in, then let go of it. After action, seek rest; finding rest,
one develops enlightenment. Who says one cannot
find tranquility in the midst of clamor and activity?"

Chang San-feng

[tolteclogic]

Put an end to mundanity
purify celestial energy
Purge all pollution
of past inflences
Allow no flaws
to remain in the heart
Like a Dragon
Ready to leap
Like the majesty
of a tiger
being always there
Where there is
certainty
without diviation
inwardly autonomous
Yang strength
correctly balanced
opening the gate of life
closing the door of death
changing without changing
all acquired influences
evaporate of themselves
but first we must
refine the self
and then await
the proper time
to molt and transmute


Yielding obedience to strength
Harmonious and submissive
Epitome of flexibility
Earth is receptive
Ultimate breadth and calm
Flexibility is
simple capacity
Nurishing sanity
The science of creating life
Obedient to natural principle
Not being constrained by things
Firmess and ready knowledge
Secure the jewel of life
Unceasing circulation
of one energy
utterly empty
Serene and sincere
The mind of Tao
Comes into being
Defending against misery
Brings about happiness
The celestial
leading the earthly
flexible but firm
receptive yet strong
Extinquishing falsehood
by reality
firmness is the master
Where sanity always remains


"There is no function within function that has function,
making effort within the effort that is effortless.
"Being and nonbeing do not stand, for and against do not
bind; knowledge is everywhere, go where you may. The Tao
is in everything; the source is encountered at every
turn."

"Only when you use strength and not be used by it can
you develope the pure unadulterated vitality in which
firm strength is properly balanced."

"Using yang means using strength; the dragon, as the
radiance of consciousness, changes unfathomably, able
to ascend and descend, able to be large or small, able
to hide or appear... Cultivating the path of strength
is like riding a dragon."

The Taoist I-Ching

[tolteclogic]

Great possession and
Sameness with others
Fire arising
Water descends
Irascibility is like fire
acting willfully
without restraint
Greed resembles water
Random thoughts arising
in profusion
The mind that is empty
produces light
Nurture virtue
When things fall apart
Rouse the vital spirit
In the palace of fire
Illumination is the energy
of open awareness unobscured
Resting in the highest good
Nothing can influence this
It can not be deceived
Strength and lucidity
remain as One
Receptive and creative
Emptiness and fullness
returning water
to its source
Fire returns to its origin
Great and small are unflawed...

When there is excess of the great
Exercising creativity at will
misusing this light
discriminatory conciousness
handles affairs

Inner illumination
responds and embraces
with flexibile receptivity
to myriad principles
in natural reality

"Human life in the world has a mission, which alone
is important; with this direction there is life,
without it there is death. If one cannot find
happiness in this mission, this direction,
this order, everything else is empty and false."

I-Ching

[tolteclogic]

We are transient beings
As we are the
firm and fertile soil
for spiritual growth
So many seek
to fill their cup
never understanding
that emptiness and fullness
complete each other
(where) there are no familiars
we do not tarry long
adjusting to things
as they are
seeing the totality
as one organism
acting unobtrusively
free from inward obscurity

"When practioners of the Tao are among the masses, if they use
their illumination to much, they will startle the ignorant and amaze
the worldly, easily bringing on abuse and slander. Therefore they
deal with the masses by acting unobtrusively even though they are
in fact illumined."

"One is able to distinquish in every case who is wise and who is
foolish, who is aberrated and who is sane. But though one harmonize
with others, one is not influenced, and though one associates with
others, one does not become clannish. One's patterns of activity and
passivity, absence and presence, are indicernable to others; one is
like the sun, which is bright when it rises, but also bright
in secret when it has set."

So you see we are like the Sun,
which rises and sets...
according to internal patterns
of yin and yang unique
to each individual which has
little or nothing to do with the actual
turning of the earth upon its axis


"In one case, light emerges from darkness; in the other, light disap-
pears into darkness. The difference between them lies in the differ-
ence between accord with the inner and accord with the outter."

"So the gain or loss of illumination is a matter of reversal or
submission to conditioning."

Taoist I-Ching

[tolteclogic]

"Illumination that is not revealed is better than
illumination that is openly employed; this illumi-
nation has no form or trace."

"Once one has advanced to illumination, inside and
out are lucid and clear, then one can conceal one's
illumination and nurture it unbeknownst to others."

"Only then can it be said the fire returns to the
origin, a mass of harmonious energy, which has
energy but no substance, the original spirit of
innate knowledge and capacity unobscured."

Produce being
within nonbeing
spontaniously
without forced
effort
living energy
is stored within
flowing from
a deep source
the earthly
and celestial
are in mutual
harmony

"When great rivers are crossed beneficially, one enters
from striving into nonstriving: essence and life are
both realized, and one is physically and mentally
sublimated; merging with the Tao into reality."

"The gain or loss of illumination is a matter of
reversal or submission to conditioning."

"Inner accord is the path of reversal of conditioning;
outer accord is the path of submission to conditioning."

~Remember~

"Where there is illumination darkness disappears."

The Taoist I-Ching

[tolteclogic]

The process is subtle
the course of work
is long it can not
be accomplished
in a day - following
the appropriate order
returning the nonexistent
to existence
restoring the primordial
within the temporal
cautious and wary
we practice
introspection
in action
the mind is firm
the will far reaching
this is the path of striving
for the gold elixir
both nature and sense
become real
one illumination prevades
both striving and nonstriving
going slowly without hurry
we enter the realm
of unfathomable
spiritual transformation



natural innocent mind
inherent to humanity
the progenitor of life
source of yin and yang
concealed by temperment
the celestial
within the mundane
hard to gain
easy to lose
when heaven and earth
work together awakening
happens suddenly without
requiring years of effort


Joyful in the beginning
one completes
the end
Joy that always develops
requires applied effort
towards essence and life
Joy in practice of the Tao
Proper timing in action
Outward and inward commune


Path of constant recollection
Operating the true fire
power in practical application
Inwardly autonomous
Open awareness
without obscurity
The rule of
spiritual alchemy

[tolteclogic]

The standard humanistic argument is that the human intellect is
God and no other God exist... this appeals on so many levels
in a culture so filled with extremes from the clearly fanatic to the
ultra conservative blind religion killing one another for God...
so many contradictions where no one can agree in such
matters there can be no oneness of being in all things...
only judgements to be made - one against another
I call this the province of dead religions...
it is the image of God created within the box of self limiting
belief systems... some are beginning to suspect the unity of being
in all things...
the way of the way
being in inner harmony,
inside and outside are as one,
not complacent or self-satisfied,
having yet appearing to lack
fulfilled yet appearing empty
full but not over flowing
creativity balanced in receptivity
outward manifestation of harmony
inwardly strong but not arrogant
strength concealed in flexibility
strong without being excessive
stillness comes from illumination
action must be based on undertanding
when the earthly and celestial combine
being and nonbeing become one
the real gathers the false does not come
this is the work of silent operation
in spiritual practice
autonomous presence of mind
the jewel of life undamaged
becoming eternally incorruptible
when the primordial is not subject
to the injury of acquired conditioning
before nature and life can be stabilized
we must prepare the weapons of wisdom
to dissove the influence of personal history
we appropriate living energy within
the death-dealing mechanism

"If you want external influences not to come, you must be obedient
and harmonious, first overcoming your own self-improtance. If the
self is not overcome, one cannot remove the past conditioning of
the self. Being obedient and harmonious is simply a matter of
reversing the usual course of conditioning."

The Taoist I-Ching

Remove the aggregate of mundanity
Extripate the root of misfortune
Do not strive for artificial joy
Bring forth the Original state
Before personal history
Detach from the mundane
Foster the celestial
Practice nonstrieving spontanity
Up hold the practice of heaven
Accomplish temporal achievement
Become an impeccable
Personification of reality
Niether obsessed nor indifferent
Incorruptible and indestructible
The mind of Tao resides
in charge of affairs
Undying and unborn

[tolteclogic]

"After a long time, the five elements will merge and
sublimate, body and mind are both refined, merging with
the Tao in reality."

"Not forgetting the fundamental, is like making a great
sacrafice to offer to heaven; it will not fail to bring
about good fortune."

"But the way to make a great sacrafice and bring about
good fortune cannot be accomplished simply by a moment
of emptiness; it is necessary to tread the ground of
reality step by step before one can achieve it. If
you know but do not act on it, it is the same as not
knowing..."

"The value of knowledge is only in its application."

"When this primal energy appears, this is what is
called the 'living midnight' in our bodies. At this
time we are merged in the qualities of heaven and earth,
joined with the light of sun and moon, harmonized with
the order of the seasons. This is the gate of yin and
yang, door of life and death, the wellspring of essence
and life, the alchemical furnace."

"The original energy of primordial true yang is herein:
Those who know it diligently cultivate it, restoring the
primordial within the temporal."

The Taoist I-Ching

[tolteclogic]

"With the spirit knowing and the mind clear, inwardly cultivating
and subtly refining, clear about action and acting with clarity,
one's illumination will grow day by day."

"When illumination and action are applied in concert, practice of
the Tao is very easy."

freedom from partiality and bias
know when to go forward
know when to withdraw
forsee peril forstale danger
with the mind of Tao
the spirit is knowing
the joy of harmony is good

imported joy delights
in externals
if one is self satisfied
finding joy only in strength
but not in yielding
strong but unhappy
one will lose out
in the end
natrual brilliance
presumes upon
talent or status
hates to hear
honest words

[tolteclogic]

Who understands the remedy?
"Kill the mind, enliven the spirit"
Action and stillness are
both functions of
The mind of Tao
No longer seduced
by the human mentality
Maintaining rectitude
in the midst of danger
By stilless danger
can be controled
By action danger
can be resolved
coming without going
before getting
mixed up in things
careful before haulting
the human mentality
does not arise
meeting danger
with rectitude
completing
the great path
auspiciously



"At the end of trouble, just when the human mind is calm and
the mind of Tao appears, if one does not understand the process
and tries to forcibly control the human mind, that will on the
contrary obscure the mind of Tao - to go on thus would mean
trouble. If one comes back to nurture the mind of Tao, without
tring to control the human mind, there is great merit in this."

"The end of trouble is percisely the gate of life, the door of death,
the point where both fortune and misfortune are possible.."

"If you do not know the gate of life and the door of death, not
only do you not know the mind of Tao, you do not even know
the human mind. If you do not know the mind of Tao, how can
you bring it to life?"

"If the mind of Tao is not brought to life and the human mind is
not dismissed, only fooling around in deviated methods, you will
bring on trouble where there was none. This is of no benefit to
essence and life, and is in fact harmful. How can we not beware?"

The Taoist I-Ching

[tolteclogic]

But this is not a perfect world
for all its innovations
some say there is
To much of everything
we are caught in
perpetual distraction
Enlightenment is not
a commodity
to be puchased or sold
upon certificate
of documentation
In an ideal world
yin follows yang
the celestial
leads the earthly
this is the Way
and its practice
all things fall
into balance
acting without effort
yet most prefer the side paths
and take misery for pleasure

[tolteclogic]

Great Power in Liberation


"When the celestial energy gets out of danger, it
starts by stirring into activity within the mundane.
When the force of mundanity is dispelled and repres-
sion of the celestial energy is relieved, being
relieved, the celestial energy is no longer damaged
by the force of mundanity, and can be used to trans-
mute accumilated mundanity."

"When the force of mundanity has been thoroughly
repelled and the celestial energy completely restored,
only then is this genuine liberation."

"When one is free of the human mentality, the mutual
sensing of the of the earthly and celestial is swift;
when one is mindful of the Tao, effective practice
endures. Swiftness of sensing comes about spontaniously,
without cultivation, without striving; long pereverance
comes about through effort, and involves action and
striving. Striving and nonstriving each has its secret..."

tranquil and unstirring
yet sensitive and effective
inwardly still
outwardly joyous
joyfulness that is
based on stillness
being joyful
one is capable
of action

~*~*~*~*~


where the force of mundaity
inhabits the celestial
it is most important
to be still in danger

"If you try to forcibly free it from danger, not
only will you not be able to free it from danger,
you will in fact bring on danger and be in even
more difficulty. So it is important to be still in
danger, applying the method of guarding, temporarily
using passivity to preserve the creative."

"Repelling mundanity and guarding against mundanity
each has its own process; if you apply them with
proper timing, then and only will you avoid going wrong."

"To understand when to proceed and when to withdraw,
to know when to stop at sufficiency, is not something
the ignorant are capable."

"Just as thunder ascends into the sky in season it
can vivify beings, so can people develop character
when they carry out their activities according to
reason."

"When ordinary people follow their impulses and do
whatever comes to mind, perhaps greedily pursuing
idle imaginations, indulging in emotions and giving
free rein to desire, this is all improper."

"Doing what is improper is not conducive to growth
or empowerment. Even if one becomes powerful, this
is power that abandons the real and enters the
false, empowering that which should not be powerful.
This is really not power."

Preventing negative mundanity
with proper balance
preserving yang by yin
expelling intellectualism
concealing illumination
borrow yin to preserve yang
mundanity cann't get near

"In the beginning of great power, one should empty
oneself and seek people to learn from, thoroughly
clarify the principles of essence and life and only
after that act. When the powerful rest on their
strength and go forth impetuously, imagining that
they will climb to the heights, in a hurry for
accomplishment, this is 'power in the feet'."

"Advancing impetuously, without a care, not inwardly
strong but outwardly vigorous - inferior people may
hope for fame and gain in this way, but if superior
people who practice the Tao persist in using outward
power when it is appropriate to realize all is empty,
that power is useless."

"People of great power have extraordinary direction
in life; they observe all things with detachment, and
may let them go or take them up. Having powerful will,
they can carry out powerful affairs, do what others
cannot do, be what others cannot be. Transcending the
ordinary and entering into sagehood, they do what is
rare in the world. Like a movement of thunder rising
from the earth to the sky, they startle the ignorant
and amaze the worldly, shaking up all."

The Taoist I Ching

[tolteclogic]

the firing process
sixty-four hexagrams
the medicinal substances
firm and flexible
simple and ready
knowledge and capacity
alchemical classics
principles of the I Ching
return to innate innocence
reverse the overtaking
of the celestial
by the mundane
the path back
to the primordial

[tolteclogic]

a little more about Yin and Yang - sigh - again
magick has it's place for those so interested
in space aligns, little leprecauns from the
7th dimension and higher intellect not
of this world… however for the more simple
minded among us…

{note: the above remark is in response to one of my
more vocal sparring partners from another site.}


The I Ching is a teaching tool designed to support the
process of awakening.


Process and Procedure

“Practice of the Tao should not be hasty, for when one
rushes one indulges in arbitrary guesswork and person-
alistic interpretations, recklessly forcing the issue
without thouroughly investigating the true principle of
the Tao, seeking to attain it all at once.”

“This is incorrect communion of yin and yang; eventually
there is failure, and one winds up alone in solitary
quietism.”

“In practicing the Tao it is important to go gradually,
without hurry, so as to rest in the proper place, calmly,
without compulsion, proceeding step by step in an orderly
fashion, refining the self and awaiting the proper timing.”

“This is correct union of yin and yang; eventually there
is success, sense and nature are as one, the earthly and
the celestial combine.”

“If you rush, eager for attainment, setting about impetu-
ously, you may proceed quickly, but will regress rapidly.
How then can you corral the the earthly and celestial
energies into the center of your being, unite sense, nature,
and intent in the original state?”

“If you want to attain the Tao, there is no other way to do
so save by the achievement of gradual progress.”

(I know there is a lot of repetition here, but that is only
so that you might be receptive to the following.)


Prgress of Illumination

“Producing illumination by way of accord, where there is
illumination darkness disappears.”

“Inner accord is the path of reversal of conditioning;
outer accord is the path of submission to conditioning.
By reversal, illumination is produced, and that illumi-
nation is penetrating and effective. By submission,
illumination is destroyed, and thus illumination is
obscured. So the gain or loss of illumination is a matter
of revresal or submission to conditioning. Therefore
practioners of the Tao should know how to apply the path
of reversal in the midst of the flow of conditioning.”

~*~*~*~

“Finding out truth means find out the principle of commu-
nion of yin and yang.”

“By finding out truth and fulfilling one's nature, one
arrives at the meaning of life.”

“If practioners of the Tao want to persist to the end, they
must first know what is wrong; if they know what is wrong,
they will not be deluded by the depraved words of false
teachings.”

“The quality of enlightenment is the spiritual nature of
innate knowledge and innate capacity that is fundamental
to humankind. This nature is originally truly open, subtly
existing, radiantly bright, without obscurity; but once it
is mixed with acquired temperment, it goes from clarity to
obscurity and loses its basic nature.”

'What is Enlightenment?' Maybe not what you think.



The Taoist I Ching

The more we work with the I Ching - as our understanding
grows - the more positive our results will become. One
must keep in mind, however, that these results constantly
change from day to day, just as the earth spins and the
seasons changes so too we progress through our own
internal progessions through the yin and yang. If we never
begin this journey how will we ever arrive? That is why the
I Ching is referred to as 'the little book that tells the
truth'. Unfortunately most people will never understnd the
real purpose for which it was designed and will continue
to look at it as some simple yet unfatomable system for
mundane diviniations. The above results were attained for
my own specific instruction along this path according to my
own individual development, but the interesting thing
we begin to notice once things begin to fall into balance
patterns of progressions will emerge beyond the realm
of probability as we are more connected with our own
true source of being.

in spirit

of course there is much more that could be said
but with out practice in the undertanding of
true principle such words have no meaning
and only serve to fuel more contention… and yet
there is always hope

[tolteclogic]

and yet to be more specific:

“The alchemical classics and writings of the adepts, amonting
to thousands of volumes, do not go beyond the principles of
the I Ching, and the principles of the IChing, its sixty-four hexa-
grams and three hundred and eighty-four lines, do not go
beyond this path of firm and flexible, simple and ready know-
ledge and capacity which are innate.”

The Taoist I- Ching

What we see in essence is a lot of lip service being paid to this
idea or notion of 'enlightenment', but when it comes right down
to doing the work so few are willing to put forth the effort. Being
swept along by our temporal conditioning is no excuse for not
being awakened. And on that same note the awakened state is
seldom if ever what we think. All one needs to do to gather a
notion of this is to watch either of the movies “Baraka” or the
Philip Glass collabortion “Powaqqatsi” a Hopi word meaning
'Life in Transformation' to get a very good idea of what it means
to be swept along within the sea of the mundane tempoarlly
conditioned continuity as opposed to standing outside the flow
with free will to choose as in the examples of the various mystic
traditions that are represented. I'd say that anyone not moved
to inspiration by either of these two films is simply fast asleep
in the mundane. Picture the sihouette of a buddhist monk
against a mountain sunset holding his staff with a bird perched
on top of it perfectly in harmony and at peace with suchness
as is. But the modern day enthusiast insist on more complicated
systems of being and sing the praises of enlightened ego as
if this had any real and true meaning at the true heart of being.
Being a slave to ego is far different from being its master as is
the Taoist or even Sufi way for that matter etc. Regardless of what
all the modern reconstructions such as Robert Anton Wilson might
purport to impart as the gods honest truth.

[tolteclogic]

Quiesence

Essence of consciousness
ineffable ungraspable
true sense and
true feeling
real knowledge
the mind of Tao
threshold of the dawn
awakening of the oringinal mind
acquired mentality is silenced

~*~*~*~*~

Notes (personal) on mental healing....

this one is a work in progress
i hope you are feeling better
still i know how daunting
and boring this whole idea of
actual spiritual practice must
seem but even masters continue
the process through out their
lives in the form of active
meditation - We simply need
to allow the space where
this expanded awareness can
come in, honestly i see no point
in idle meditation except when there
are times when we are experiencing
certain difficult within the clarity
of our own thoughts it is called a
'small vehicle' quiescent detachment
that is practiced alone, it serves only
as a means of personal comfort and release
and lacks the dynamic capable of benefiting
others - whereas stabilized awareness,
consciousness without volatility is the
true essence of being in association with
the yang fire capable of working with the
seven-times restored elixir within this
living midnight; quiesence combined with
keen awareeness using the forces of im-
premanence and our own mortality positively
to motivate transcendence to employ
all the hardships and troubles of life in
the world to develop enlightenment.

I know you can do this.

Still we must begin somewhere - to go within
i begain in highschool and by the age of 21
i had attained this inital awakening where
the past simple falls away in the present
moment and all things are brought into a
state of crystal clarity unattached to
anything nothing pulling at you thoughts
no longer litter the mind with their poison
but this does require some concerted effort
yes in the cycles of yin and yang such things
occur as a natural process great moments of
clarity that are most often wasted on trivilous
ventures or ignored completely. You have noticed
this in your own awareness that is where knowing
the timing for action and stillness for being
large or being excessively small, where we are
able to apply the path of reversal in the the
very midst of of our own conditioning.

"Change and renewal, the false departing and the real
arriving, is the uniting of nature and sense, returning
to the origin and going back to the fundamental. However,
it is necessaty first to change the old (which is repre-
sented by Hexagram 49), in the sense of refining the self,
emptying the mind, and biding the time. After that, the
caldron obtains the new (represented by Hexagram 50), in
the sense of susequently gathering the medicine and filling
the belly, so as to form the elixir... In the hexagram
'change' (49), illumination (fire) is inside, in the hexagram
'the caldron' (50), illumination is outside; nature and sense
both become real, and one illumination pervades both striving
and nonstriving."

These are not things to struggle with because they are the
reflections of change that are meant to be put into practice
upon a certain timing, only you can know at what point you
are in the evolution along this enlightened path through
observation of the firing process. What is this firing
process you may ask, it is the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching
proper. Take your time one day the big light will switch
on but do not attempt to rationalize the experience as
something to hold on to within the conditioned mind. It is
beyond all definition and knowing - our innate state of
being. Typically we will go through this process many
times before we are able to grasp the significance of this
process in our own development and how to manage it
correctly. Find three old copper coins and begin.


Quiesence

Essence of consciousness
ineffable ungraspable
true sense and
true feeling
real knowledge
the mind of Tao
threshold of the dawn
awakening of the oringinal mind
acquired mentality is silenced

One day at a time, step by step observe, then ask you-
self who is this observer? It is none other than your
original self, but it is also so much more than that
it is a reflection of this infinite well of wisdom
always available to you. It is good to feel you
again close in my heart... see that wasn't so
hard these emotions are like strom clouds
that rise and fall with the prevailing winds,
we do not do away with them but neither
do we become a slave to them either. Allow
yourself this space to breath and see,
many people seek wisdom but so few are
willing to stick with one source long enough
to realize the deep and refreshing and cleasing
restorative waters that must be drawn forth. But
rather they dig here and there without success
going from one idea to next never allowing their
dust to settle or the clouds of emotions to part.
Give yourself permission to own all of your
hurt, then let it all go. Not that some scares
won't remain, but that you can get beyond the
pain. At least you are aware of the peaks
and valleys of your roller coaster ride
now make the choice to step outside
of yourself into a much expanded reality.
All religions refer to this as the oneness of being.

[tolteclogic]

producing being in the midst of nothingness
seeking life within death
getting through an exhasuting impasse
there is a life
that is the meaning of the Tao
and there is the life that is
a known quantity of energy
Tao creates the universe
all that the universe
creates is conditioned
just as a lake without water
is empty - when people lack purpose
their path is at an end
this is the image of exhastion



yesterday


“If we can study widely with serious intent, questioning
earnestly and think for ourselves, then we come face to
face with sages, saying what the ancients said doing what
the ancients did.”

“When speach and action are free from defect, one's virtue
accumulates and grows day by day. Only then can one fulfill
nature and reach the meaning of life. When both nature and
life are comprehended, one is as permanent as heaven, as
stable as the mountain. What can compare to the greatness
of that accumulation?”


“When positive strength is balanced correctly, but one does
not meet an enlightened ruler who will employ one, one has
great ability but not the opportunity to use it; (tied up
with petty people here and at work) it is difficult to
carry out both spiritual and temporal work, and cannot do as
one wishes, (for the greater good) like having one's 'nose and
feet cut off, at an impasse in minister's garb.' This is the
great impasse of those who embrace Tao. Once in an impasse,
they cannot foribly seek a way out; they should dress them-
selves in humility and hide their treasure, suffer alone and
work alone. Then gradually there will be joy. The benefit of
gradual joy is like making ceremonial oferings, (if we can
hold to this vision) entering with sinceity. After a long
time of deepening one's attainment, a time will naturally
come when the great Tao is fulfilled…”


i ching

[tolteclogic]

Written in the hope of opening a window
within the cycles of dark dispair of mental
strife - to a dear friend in tremendous pain.

Just reading what is given to me through this
process is not the same as finding one's own
results.

The firing process of alchemical science…
as represented through the 64 hexagrams and
the three hundred eighty-four (changing) lines
which are meant to teach people how to know
when they are not 'simple and ready' and to
modify this so that they may eventually
achieve this state of inner being.


“Modification to simplicity and readiness means that
'knowledge and capacity' are in their innate condition
of innocence, and one is a superior person. If one does
not change to simplicity and readiness, then knowledge
and capacity are faulty, and one is an inferior person.
The difference between the two is simply a matter of
whether or not they know how to make the change.”


And that is what the i ching was designed to teach you.
Just as it has been my own guide in charting the eternity
of the path… each person who is serious about this
process of awakening would be well advised to begin this
work in earnest on their own… I had no guides to in-
struct me other than this relation to spirit that has
developed through the gradual process of observing the
changes in my own inner process… that is what i am
trying to tell you - you must do this for yourself as a
means to understanding what is going on inside
your own life.


“When you recover the primordial reality, then you compre-
hend nature and realize the meaning of life, and so enter
the road of life; this is the eternity of the path. If you
follow conditioned artificialities, you obscure nature and
damage life, and so enter the road of death; this is the
misery of the path.”


And yet as you know there are a lot of people who presume
to be spiritual teachers withholding much and capable of
giving very little and then there is the great mass of
humanity a great many of them seraching but led astray by
the depraved words of false teachings or by simple well
intended ignorance never truly capable of getting beyond
the superficial appearance of things, who mean to do well
but by the nature of their own addiction to pain and suffering
refuse to move beyond the past which binds them.


All these things are within our power and capacity to
change if we would but put forth the effort. How long have
you been resisting this process… seeing the truth in the
teachings i have shared through this firing process in my
own experience as reflected in 'real time' through the
living teaching of the I Ching. However the hard truth
is in point of fact, the I Ching was not designed for the
considation of people in the world who obey conditioned
artificialities that obscure their celestial roots and bring
destruction upon themselves. By reversing the overtaking
of the celestial by the mundane, through the cultivation
of firm and flexible simplicity and readiness practioners
of the Tao are able to restore the original innate know-
ledge and innate capacity which is eternal.


Joyfulness and harmony
when human dsires
sublimate
true yin is manifest
when irritability
vanishes
true yang comes back
when the earthly
and the celestial
combine
sane energy masses
and the gold elixir
compond of vitality
energy and spirit
symbol of enlightenment
the product of
spiritual alchemy
is formed


Rising is ascending
gradually advancing
in the Tao
outwardly harmonious
inwardly obedient
respectfully careful
without going
to excess in yielding
external influences
do not come
firmness and flexibility
balance each other
the gold elixir
can be preserved


“By appropriating living energy, one can gather; by
reversing the course of conditioning, one can rise.”

I Ching

[tolteclogic]

Hey every thing happens for a reason
in every hardship there is a lesson
even if we must pull this up out of
ourself(s) …


There is a word popularized in the early
toltec teachings from the work of Castaneda,
'recapitulation'. It means to recollect
everything that is our personal history
as it defines who we are in this western
culture reality… or any culture for that
matter because this is a common thread that
tends to run through all spiritual traditions
and belief systems… eastern religions from
india to china tend to have a better grasp
of this actual practice that is intended to
produce awakening… usually through a variety
of meditative or physical disciplines… by
setting silent we are able to silence what
has been refered to as monkey mind - unruly
and out of control. In Taoism it is called
simply 'the human mind' or 'metality' the
product of personal history that is a reflection
of discriminatory consciousness. Which upon the
surface seems counter intuitive - why would we
not want to discriminate but it should be pointed
out that this in nowhere the same as reasonable
discernment or discretion… this is the root cause
of all judgements and how we remain unconscious
all out lives without ever knowing it.


~*~*~*~


So how does one achieve this “meaningful
recapitualtion” - vision quest - some might
call it… Thoreau i think sums it up best
in his little book called “Walden”. And it
was this that i would use as my model long
before i knew anything about Taoist teaching,
other than i was a big fan of Bruce Lee and the
David Caradine character in the Kung Fu
tv series. And yet what could compel a
person to abandon everything like a hermit
for the promise of something so entangible
as wisdom of the unknown. Yet there i was,
ready willing and eager to take my life to
this next level and it worked better than
anything i could have ever imagined or
expected - i was 21 - but most people
are not willing or able to put forth this
sort of effort and far fewer would be likely
to attempt this outside the safty of some
known belief system.. some cult or religion
ready to claim possession of the experience.
So we meditate in an effort to calm our
automatic thought reflexs and to gain deeper
insight or perspective… the more we are
willing to practice this in our own lives
the less worried or anxious we naturally
will become… actual awakening can happen
at anytime - but without spiritual practice
and awareness it is less likely to have
any real or lasting impact and might actual
on the surface of things appear to do more
apparent harm than good… awakening is only
the beginning of learning…




all we need in life is to find our own
center and all things will fall into
balance - all these words are pretty
on paper but without this inner certitude
that provides us with complete discernment
we will always fall victim to our own
misplaced perceptions… We are good to
people who are good - we are also good
to people who are not good - the point is
we must recognize the differencce and act
from our center of strength with flexiblity
earth is receptive bearing all burdens without
complaint, Heaven is strong the epitome of
strength nothing can deceive it, these are the
forces and energies of yin and yang which is
the cause of all creation - when we awaken
we naturally transcend all such mundane
concerns and embrace the re-emergence of
innate knowledge and innate capacity which
is our original spirit or being - the primal
identity the mind of an infant innocent at
first but over time capable of acting in the
world without risk of danger or difficult through
long years of practice… waking up is the
easiest and must simple thing, putting it into
practice in a world where others would not
rather be reminded of how truly lost in
their minds they are - that is the real
challenge where we can end up getting
hurt - we must learn how to lead without
being offensive to others - all of this
is what we learn through our daily


practice ~ actions speak


louder than words

[tolteclogic]

"Life has no meaning the moment you loose the illusion
of being eternal." Jean-Paul Sartre



Isn't that the whole trouble
with existential thinking?
Being and Nothingness
live for pleasure
endure the rest
man reduced to
no more than
autonomic responses
unable to see beyond
his own conditioning
misery that loves company
the ralley call against blind faith
negates the possibility
for living / existing in the moment
of transcendence
beyond the concerns of all
habitual repetitious petty responses
surprised by joy

[tolteclogic]

Situation of toil and trouble

capable of joyfulness

even in danger or difficulty

travail is that whereby

character is tested

it is a matter of encounter


~*~*~*~



“Only when there is development in both comfort and adversity
can one be called a true practioner of the Tao.”



“Those who can develop others when they reach mastery
will be able to develop themselves in times of travail;
those who are able to develop themselves in times of
travail will be able to develop others when they reach
mastery, as the time changes development also changes.”

I Ching

[tolteclogic]

Dispersing the crowd
of negative forces
awaiting the return
of positive energy
refining the self
mastering the mind
reaching utter emptiness
and single mined calm
dispersing false yin
what has been
scattered is gather
after great dispersal
is great integration
gathering true yang
true yin and true yang unite
the five elements aggregate
the four signs combine
return to nonfragmentation
after dispersal
all things move in cycles
not conceivable to the ordinary

[tolteclogic]

"When a great man makes a mistake
he realizes it, having realized it
he admits it, having admitted it
he corrects it...
He sees those who point out his
faults as his most benevolent
teachers."

"The Tao is the center of the universe,
the good man's treasure and the bad man's
refuge."

"Honors can be bought with fine words,
respect can be won with good deeds,
but the Tao is beyond all value and
no one can achieve it."

"Why did the anchient masters esteem
the Tao? Because being one with the
Tao, when you seek you find and when
you make a mistake you are forgiven.
That is why everybody loves it."

"The ancient masters didn't try to
educate the people, but kindly taught
them not to know."

"Reminds people of who they have always
been."

Tao te Ching

[tolteclogic]

Incubating the spiritual embryo
Once one is strong
A single energy circulates
Strength held within stillness
Twin cultivation of essence and life
Ultimate good without evil
In the beginning
there is striving
which no-one sees
But in the end
there is nonstriving
which is apparent to everyone
Carrying the crossroads of heaven

[anirbas]

Good one, TL...Soothing and strengthening...