Day 21,710 - 2011 0110

Day 21,710 - 2011 0110
Belov-ED Days - 4,621
Monday
James Oliver Smith, Jr.
http://josjr.com/

I Ching images

Fu Hsi 24: Darkening, Injury, Repression, Brilliance Injured, Censorship
01 --- --- Earth (Ground, Soil, Earthworms, Caverns, Valleys)
02 --- --- Belly, Solar Plexus
04 --- --- The Embracing, The Creation, The Yielding, The Centering

08 -------- Fire (Sun, Hearth, Warmth, Campfire, Flames)
16 --- --- Eye
32 -------- The Clinging, The Clarity, The Divination, The Vision

no changing lines


Day 26,710 - Images from the I Ching: Earth [The Embracing] over Fire [The Clinging] (Hexagram 28 - Shock) --> no changing lines ... The outer reality is dominated by the Embracing, Covering, Smothering, Protecting Earth ... The inner reality is under the influence of the Clinging, Clarifying, Purifying, Singing, Raging Fire ... This is a fascinating image because they seem to be at odds with each other ... Earth, although it can be a protective, affirming and sustaining force, it can also smother, bury and destroy ... Fire, which is usually associated with the warmth of the Sun, the clarifying power of the attentive eye and the insight that can come from divinatory exploration, can also be destructive, blinding and overwhelming ... In this image, the clarifying nature of Fire is being held down, covered, smothered and contained by the outer Earth ... We have all been held back by events, circumstances and relationships that we encounter in the world around us ... These kinds of scenarios are frustrating and drain us of or life force ... It is easy to give up, be self-critical and pessimistic when we are faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles ...

What we need to be careful of is the volcano response ... Fire held within Earth can build up pressure that, if not handled correctly, can explode in dangerous and destructive ways ... If we spend many years, a lot of money or a lot of effort to accomplishing something we are frustrated when that work is not appreciated, kept from view or criticised ... This frustration could become the building magma of the vocano that could rupture the Earth at some point and bring unintended and undesirable repercussions into our life and the lives of others ... Let the Fire burn, but don't repress it ... Channel it ... Allow it to forge results that we, personally, enjoy and appreciate, regardless of whether or not others see it and appreciate it ... Within there Earth, there are many caverns to explore ... You never know, one of them may have treasures you never immaged and offer experiences that we never would have otherwise experienced ... Continue your journey, even in the darkness, anonimity and confusion of the dark times, obscure places and unknown passageways.

There are no aging lines here, so the path underground may be long and difficult, one thing is for sure, the sunlit exit will never be found by simply giving up and sitting in a dark corner of the cavern ... Il Matto ...

http://ichingreflections.blogspot.com/

http://www.KindleBlog.josjr.com
http://www.IlMattoblog.josjr.com
http://www.LifeBlog.josjr.com
http://www.PerlBlog.josjr.com
http://www.WritingBlog.josjr.com

http://Addewid.blogspot.com
http://CyberPoetPlace.blogspot.com
http://IlMattoVero.blogspot.com
http://josjr69.blogspot.com
http://PerlCatalyst.blogspot.com
http://CyberKindle.blogspot.com

http://www.CyberPoet.com
www.addewid.com
www.fracturedparadise.com
www.roseannlloyd.com
www.cyberkindle.com
www.perlcatalyst.com
www.ciriad.com

Day 21,708 - 2011 0108

Day 21,708 - 2011 0108
Belov-ED Days - 4,619
Saturday
James Oliver Smith, Jr.
http://josjr.com/

I Ching images

Fu Hsi 28: Shock, Thunder, Taking Action, Awakening
01 --- --- Thunder (Lightning, Electricity, Viper, Rattlesnake, Drums)
02 --- --- Foot
04 --------x The Arousal, The Movement, The Catalyst, The Shock

08 --- --- Thunder (Lightning, Electricity, Viper, Rattlesnake)
16 --- --- Foot
32 -------- The Arousal, The Movement, The Catalyst, The Shock

No changes

Day 26,708 - Images from the I Ching: Thunder [The Arousal] over Thunder [The Arousal] (Hexagram 28 - Shock) --> no changes ... This is the first working of the I Ching stalks this year for me ... It was a relief to feel the bamboo skewers between my fingers (sharp tips cut off, of course) ... Setting aside the first stalk, representing the Tai Chi ... Sifting through the four seasons across time ... Watching the images unfold ...

Alfred Huang (noted Taoist and I Ching interpreter) describes the process this way:
The number of the Great Expansion is fifty,
Of which forty-nine are used.
Divide them into two, symbolizing the two primary forces.
Suspend one, symbolizing the three supreme powers.
Manipulate by four; symbolizing the four seasons.
Return the remainder, symbolizing the intercalary month.
In five years there is another intercalation.
Afterward the process is repeated.
Therefore four operations produce a change,
And eighteen changes yield a gua.

This first I Ching image is quite definitely a continuation of the last image worked out from the image of December 31, which was Thunder over Thunder changing towards Earth over Thunder ... Today, Thunder over Thunder is not only present, but is made up of all young lines, none of them changing ... With Thunder within both the inner and outer realities this lack of change could hardly represent stagnation, but rather a call for sustained action ... Thunder is an image of electrictity, catalyst, surprise ... I feel this image (as I have stated previously) as the presence of a viper, in particular a rattlesnake, that strikes quickly, without warning ... Even the rattlesnake that is issuing a warning that it knows you are there, is not going to let you know when or if it will strike ... There are accounts of the mongoose from India, which is a skilled killer of cobras, is totally confused by the surprising speed and agility of the rattlesnake ... As a result it is killed quickly ... Like the rattlesnake, lightning strikes powerfully and decisively, stunning those who are objects affected by this energy ...

So much of life has this quality of surprise, shock and unexpected presence ... We are fooled by our governments, religions and traditions into believing that we are somehow entitled to have a certain amount of wealth, longevity of life and good health ... But Thunder is always there with its intense power unleashed in moments that we least expect it ... Even if we are warned and expecting something to happen the actual occurrence of the expect event has its own unexpected consequences ... sideffects ... greater impact ... strange curves ... aftershocks ... This presence of Thunder both inside and all around us makes us feel like something either needs to be done or that something will happen, and if we are not carefull we can become paranoid and terrified of stepping out of the house ... But life has always been this way and to avoid the reality of what is out there will also prevent us from partaking of all that is rich, beautiful and pleasurable out there ... The universe is full experiences that we welcome and those that we fear, and often those things we fear turn out to be wonderful ... Onc thing is certain is that if we don't venture out with whatever abilities we have, we will never experience those things that can bring us joy, happiness and pleasure ... And sitting still has its own price, for we become an easy target ... Get out ... Move around ... Explore! ... Thunder within us ... Thunder around us ... Act, but be aware ... Il Matto ...

http://ichingreflections.blogspot.com/

http://www.KindleBlog.josjr.com
http://www.IlMattoblog.josjr.com
http://www.LifeBlog.josjr.com
http://www.PerlBlog.josjr.com
http://www.WritingBlog.josjr.com

http://Addewid.blogspot.com
http://CyberPoetPlace.blogspot.com
http://IlMattoVero.blogspot.com
http://josjr69.blogspot.com
http://PerlCatalyst.blogspot.com
http://CyberKindle.blogspot.com

http://www.CyberPoet.com
www.addewid.com
www.fracturedparadise.com
www.roseannlloyd.com
www.cyberkindle.com
www.perlcatalyst.com
www.ciriad.com

Day 21,700 - 2010 1231

Day 21,700 - 2010 1231
Belov-ED Days - 4,611
Friday
James Oliver Smith, Jr.
http://josjr.com/

I Ching images

Fu Hsi 28: Shock, Thunder, Taking Action, Awakening
01 --- --- Thunder (Lightning, Electricity, Viper, Rattlesnake, Drums)
02 --- --- Foot
04 --------x The Arousal, The Movement, The Catalyst, The Shock

08 --- --- Thunder (Lightning, Electricity, Viper, Rattlesnake)
16 --- --- Foot
32 -------- The Arousal, The Movement, The Catalyst, The Shock

changing towards

Fu Hsi 32: Returning, Repeating, Turning Back
01 --- --- Earth (Ground, Valley, Canyon, Earthworm, Desert)
02 --- --- Belly, Solar Plexus
04 --- --- The Embracing, The Creation, The Yielding, The Centering

08 --- --- Thunder (Lightning, Viper, Drums, Rattlesnake, Electricity)
16 --- --- Foor
32 -------- The Arousal, The Movement, The Catalyst, The Shock

Day 26,696 - Images from the I Ching: Thunder [The Arousal] over Thunder [The Arousal] (Hexagram 28 - Shock) --> changing towards [lines 4] --> Earth [The Embracing] over Thunder [The Arousal] (Hexagram 32 - Returning) ... I have been looking at these images since the last day of 2010, contemplating them as I participated in a number of events taking place to celebrate the arrival of a new year and the arrival of yet another 60th birthday for the Contessa ... I was fascinated with the presence of the double Thunder image on the last day of a rather shocking year ... There are always surprising events taking place in the course of any year, although often these events are infrequent, mild or benign ... This year, however, has been truly filled with traumatic events for me, so the double Thunder feels quite appropriate ... After the events of this year I will probably never work in a full-time permanent, full-benefits job again, my post-surgery vision profile is simply too compromised for me to work in the same way again, and my experiences at the various celebrations brought home to me and The Contessa just exactly how compromised my vision has become.

Meeting with a poet, performance artist friend this past week at Sebastian Joe's another poet and performance artist friend, one who is well known and quite visually distinctive in presence came in and greeted me. I stared at him in total confusion, not recognizing him. I had to ask who was greeting me and was totally surprised at how completely incapable I was of recognizing him. At another party last night another friend came into the room entirely undetected by me. Suddenly, she appeared as though Scotty had just transported her into the middle of the room, a phenomenon I have had to become accostomed to.

With a lot of tools, techniques and many years of experience I have been finding ways to work with my computers, web sites and Kindles. Fortunately, the Kindle allows me to read and study. But the double Thunder wasn't satisfied with just taking my vision into the realm of impressionist art. It determined that my job should also disappear in much the same manner that the loss of my stereoscopic vision, my acuity and my ability to dilate my one functioning eye has made the world around me disappear, reappear, morph and pixelate ... But the inner and outer Thunder, despite its clammer and shock and awe is not all about high winds, lightning strikes, floods and driving rain, it is also about a heightened awareness of the world, the physical world, the world that we walk on, touch and hear as it churns through its cyclic paths in time and space ... In spite of how much we like to _see_ the world, and tend not to believe the world until we can see it, we do have bodies that are moving our heads, eyes, legs and hands through physical space ... We have lungs that breath in very physical air and we drink very physical water to lubricate everything we do.

The double Thunder has, in some ways/way, electrified, activated and set in motion a more visceral process of connecting with that which co-occupies my world, without the precarious visual burden of evaluating the world and all that is in it _before_ I touch it, taste it, smell it or even hear it ... I have become increasingly aware of how our prejudices are triggered by our _visual_ response to the world around us and all that is in it ... If you can't _see_ something, how can you react to its color, its shape or its movement? We actually have to engage the world when vision is not present of compromised. With sight we make judgements on whether or not we _want_ to interact with something or someone _before_ we get close enough to do so.

When I was in high school and still enthralled with the idea of being a herpetologist (one who studies reptiles and amphibians) I encountered a rattlesnake den at the foot of a cliff in Washington state. The rattlesnakes where hidden deep in the volcanic rubble beneath my feet, so I couldn't see them, but I could hear them quite clearly. Every step I took gave rise to more rattlers sounding off. Terror rippled within every muscle in my body. I was caught by the need to make a decision to either move quickly or stand still ... Within the I Ching, Thunder is movement, a catalyst, an electrically charged context. Ultimately, I moved. I moved quickly. Because of this experience I think of that rattlesnake den everytime I see Thunder forming within the I Ching stalks.

There is one changing line in this image. It is moving the outer Thunder to Earth. This new image is exactly at the midpoint of the 64 permutations within the I Ching sequence. This is a sign if returning, starting over. The end of the year is the beginning of another year. This is also the time when the sun starts its journey back into the sky. Within the outer Earth there is a centering, stabilising and centering force that enters the world around us, yet the catalyst of Thunder is still pulsing within, rumbling, impatient to act, but this time tempered by the presence of Earth.

Although I am fully aware that there are always more earthquakes, storms and floods that the Universe can (and will) bring my way, I find comfort in this substantive presence of the Earth embracing me, offering its valleys, canyons and even deserts to reveal new paths to explore ... Another year, new paths, new visions ... buon capodanno a tutti! ... Il Matto ...

http://ichingreflections.blogspot.com/

http://www.KindleBlog.josjr.com
http://www.IlMattoblog.josjr.com
http://www.LifeBlog.josjr.com
http://www.PerlBlog.josjr.com
http://www.WritingBlog.josjr.com

http://Addewid.blogspot.com
http://CyberPoetPlace.blogspot.com
http://IlMattoVero.blogspot.com
http://josjr69.blogspot.com
http://PerlCatalyst.blogspot.com
http://CyberKindle.blogspot.com

http://www.CyberPoet.com
www.addewid.com
www.fracturedparadise.com
www.roseannlloyd.com
www.cyberkindle.com
www.perlcatalyst.com
www.ciriad.com