Day 21,683 - 2010 1214

Day 21,683 - 2010 1214
Belov-ED Days - 4,594
Tuesday
James Oliver Smith, Jr.
http://josjr.com/

I Ching images

Fu Hsi 14: Restraint, Limitation, Restricting, Moderation
01 --- --- Water (Mist, Fog, Steam, Snow, Rain)
02 --------x Ear
04 --- --- The Abyss, The Danger, The Nourishment, The Mystery

08 --- --- Lake (River, Sea, Brook, Ocean)
16 -------- Mouth
32 --------x The Joyful, The Happiness, The Expression, The Language

changing towards

Fu Hsi 48: Army, Collective Force, Multitude, The Troops
01 --- --- Earth (Valley, Cavern, Plains, Desert, Canyon)
02 --- --- Foot
04 --- --- The Embracing, The Creation, The Yielding, The Centering

08 --- --- Water (Fog, Steam, Mud, Mist, Rain, Snow)
16 -------- Ear
32 --- --- The Abyss, The Danger, The Mystery, The Nourishment

Day 26,683 - Images from the I Ching: Water [The Abyss] over Lake [The Joyful] (Hexagram 14 - Restraint) --> changing towards [line 1,5] --> Earth [The Embracing] over Water [The Abyss] (Hexagram 48 - Multitue) ... I am constantly amazed at how the Universe and the mechanism of its Nature can teach me more about the images of the I Ching ... This image of Water over Lake is one of Water precipitating and draining into lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and seas ... This influx of new water stresses the limits of river banks, dams and reservoirs, sometimes even destroying the walls trying to contain this Water, this abyss, this great mass of mystery that descends upon us, challenging our technologies, our social systems and our creativity as we work to survive the vicissitudes of the Universe ... Our internal Lake wants to be joyful ... In the body of the I Ching this is the mouth, our mouth, our means of communication and expression ... With the mouth we want to express how we feel, but when the floods come, when the mists and fog surrounds us, do we shut down? or do we continue to _be_ ourselves and allow this inner lake to flow into those rivers, streams and babbling brooks of our emotions? Release is important ... That is why we have pressure valves on internal combustion engines, coffee pots and steam turbines ...

If we don't release this emotion, allow it to represent us as we are, we will die, perhaps alone, misunderstood and even abused ... This is a lesson I never learned ... My defense against oppressive religious perspectives, frequent moves, continuous, abusive criticism and isolation was to avoid communication, diving deep into my internal Lake, so deep that the dept of the Lake became the Abyss of water ... Eventually, i came to prefer this inner pressure over the complexities of interactions with the confusing morass of the outer Water, the fog, the mist, the blizzard of all that is out there ... It was (and is) hard to let the Joyful Lake express what had become so deeply buried ...

There are two aging lines dying in the image of Water over Lake (in the first and fifth position) taking the outer Water to the Earth and the inner lake to Water ... The Abyss takes over our internal reality, presenting a context that could be depressing, discouraging or even frightening ... but the outer reality is filled with the Earth itself with all of its centering force ... Perhaps this is why a walk in the woods or a hike to a special place works wonders for our disposition ... When that inner Water/Abyss fills us find that place within the Earth that comforts us, embraces us and sustains us ... Il Matto ...

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