Across the imaginary distance of culture and borders, I honor your contribution to the Beginning Times.

~

A dying oak tree, its trunk split and branches breaking, does not in any way resemble an acorn.

The new beginning—despite growing directly out of the remains of the old—does not resemble what it replaces.

While it is imperative to recognize endings before they arrive, it is self-defeating to dwell on them:  Endings serve to direct our attention to the new beginning already starting to unfold.  The Book of Changes is not simply about the art of avoiding misfortune—its deeper intent is to instruct us in the art of arriving ahead of time at the meeting place of good fortune.

An acorn, bright and gleaming in the palm of a hand, does not in any way resemble the giant oak tree dominating the forest clearing hundreds of years later.  And this is a critical lesson of the I Ching—one of context and chance and perseverance.  For, the same acorn that falls in a level fertile field and grows to great height and prominence will grow stunted and gnarled should it fall among rocks on the crags of a cliff face.  The same acorn.

Everyone recognizes that the old is ending.  Everyone.  Worldwide.  The question of concern is, What kind of ground are we preparing for this seed of the new?

The ancients had an accurate sense of the length of time that the pendulum of change takes to swing out to its extreme and reverse the passions of human nature.  Across numerous cultures, the ancients accurately foresaw that this time, the historical epoch in which we are living, would be the turning point for civilization to realize the dream of a Golden Age of peace and prospering for all.

That these are The Beginning Times.

Among those prophesies is the Mayan calendar, whose 5,000-year Long Count of 13 baktuns comes to an end on the Winter Solstice of 2012.  Because the Mesoamerican calendar itself was not in use 5,000 years ago (it is perhaps 3,000 years old, imaginably 4,000 years old), it means that the Maya chose a symbolic starting date for their calendar that would end on a specific date.

A specific symbolic date. 

A date that would get our attention.

This accomplishment of the ancients, to accurately set their calendar to end on the Winter Solstice several thousand years in the future, is a testament to their care and concern for the future.  It is like a message in a bottle washing up on the shore of our island of the present, reminding us of the dreams that our common ancestors carried in their hearts for the coming generations.

It is a symbolic date, not one to be taken literally.  As the old saying goes, Don’t look at the finger pointing at the moon—look at the moon.  It is meant to get our attention, not to become the object of our attention.  As I have noted previously, the actual turning point began to first show itself in 1998.  The reversal of direction that the Mayan calendar points to is this space of time, wherein the old regime of conflict and competition withers and falls, collapsing under its own weight, no longer supported by the beliefs or actions of those it subjugates.  This reversal of direction is predictable because the seasons of human nature are knowable—it is not the direction of outer conditions that the 2012 date points to but, rather, the reversal of beliefs and values within human nature.  When the collective conscience of humanity can no longer be cowed into accepting the desecration of its own nature, then what emerges from the ashes of its old beliefs and values is a united humanity bent on no longer desecrating its relationship with nature and spirit.

Those who cannot believe that sudden and rapid change can, nearly overnight, reverse the course of whole nations simply do not understand the unconscious longings of the human heart.  The longer that people’s true desires are repressed by force and intimidation, the more sudden and more profound the reversal of beliefs and actions.  The dying giant is split and cracking—but what we need to focus on is finding the common ground within which to plant and nurture civilization’s new beginning.

2012 Metamorphosis

As I write here on my little hilltop in Southern Oregon, the Winter Solstice of 2010 has arrived.  It is an auspicious event because it is the first Winter Solstice in centuries to coincide with a lunar eclipse.  For those who have been trained to sense the Qi of the world, the extreme of yin is sinking to its utmost depths, just on the cusp of the turning point back toward yang.  At the apogee of the eclipse, the earth’s shadow moves on and the full moon’s light begins to wax again.  At the height of Winter’s cold and dark, Spring’s warmth and light is born.

A full season ago, on the Autumnal Equinox, I consulted the Oracle, asking this question:  What can humanity expect with the approach of 2012? In the Oracle’s answer, the events around the 2012 turning point predict a time of growing authoritarianism that, once transcended, will usher in a prolonged period of global reconciliation.

More specifically, it points to a crisis that we, as humanity, have confronted before and failed to resolve in a beneficial way for all.  With the approach of 2012, we have the opportunity to face that collective dilemma again.  Although the official reaction will reflexively try to repeat the same mistake as before, a groundswell of enlightened goodwill that transcends borders will unite people everywhere in a positive and constructive response—one that overrides the authoritarianism of religions and governments and sets in motion those metamorphic forces of nonviolence and noninterference that give rise to the harmonious and creative civilization our collective ancestors dreamed for us.

In my ongoing effort to expand on this message and present its ramifications as transparently as possible, I have executed the classic transformation of the reading’s hexagrams into their nuclear hexagrams.  This transformation produces a new pair of hexagrams that represent the underlying forces at work beneath the surface of events.  The hidden motivations, the unconscious currents, the dreams demanding expression.

The primary hexagram of the 2012 reading is #54 Repeating Test.  Its nuclear hexagram is #63 Awakening Self-Sufficiency.

This is interesting because this same hexagram appeared as the future outcome in my June 2009 reading as the answer to my question, At what crossroads does our global civilization stand now—and in what direction does good fortune lie?

For those not yet familiar with the Toltec spirit warrior, it is defined as a woman or man who trains to defeat their own enemy-within (which is in turn defined as their self-defeating habits of thought, emotion and memory).  We can see that there is a growing movement of individuals worldwide who have taken up such training—which appears under different names—in order to restore humaneness to our collective life.  It is this metamorphosis of individuals that is striking the spark to the kindling-nest so that the phoenix might arise more glorious from its ashes.

As a nuclear hexagram, #63 speaks to the unconscious desire to free ourselves from those baser instincts that divide us as a people from ourselves, nature and the sacred.  As its text illustrates, this hexagram seeks autonomy from that which trivializes human nature by seeking to restore its full creative power.  It is a nuclear hexagram that overcomes outer conflict by understanding that the instincts dividing us are universal to all people and, so, constitute the very source of our inevitable unity.

Image:  A great feathered serpent hatches out of the earth as if from an egg.  Its feathers are adorned with conch shells and it senses its surroundings with its bifurcated tongue.

Interpretation:  This hexagram represents the great forces released by the accumulated efforts of spirit warriors over the ages.  The feathered serpent symbolizes the collective intent and vision shared by spirit warriors in every time and every place.  That it hatches from the earth as if from an egg means that the community of spirit incubating within the material world emerges as a living, dynamic force of creation.  The conches adorning its feathers symbolize the call for all to join the community of spirit.  Its bifurcated tongue symbolizes the duality that is one.  That it uses its bifurcated tongue to sense its surroundings means that you are attuned to the universal presence of the masculine and feminine creative forces.  Taken together, these symbols mean that you align yourself with those whose only need is to bring benefit to their surroundings.

Action:  The spirit warrior reverses the flow of power, channeling it inside instead of outside:  by storing up power internally rather than expending it externally, we are able to both free ourselves of habits and gain control over our actions.  This inner autonomy also extricates us from social influences that strive to mold us into obedient marionettes even as it allows us to be more tolerant of the deeper motives of those social influences.  From the spirit warrior’s perspective, the original intent of religion is to awaken the higher soul to its potential freedom while purifying the lower soul of fear, greed, envy, and hate—just as the original intent of government is to awaken the higher soul to its responsibility to others while instilling in the lower soul the capacity for self-control.  From this perspective, the fact that religion and government acquire ulterior motives over time and begin to act in their own self-interest merely demonstrates that they are managed by human beings and must be viewed accordingly.  Similarly, the fact that all religions and governments strive to awaken the higher soul and purify the lower soul—even when they have forgotten how and why—simply demonstrates that the quest for metamorphosis is a universal and irresistible force.  Just as our inner autonomy releases us from the trap of depending on social influences for our sense of self, in other words, it also releases us from the trap of not seeing how those social influences contribute, however unintentionally, to the gradual unification of humanity.  Reversing the flow of power, we gain inner autonomy and, paradoxically, become one with the universal civilizing force.

Intent:  The wise become independent even from what they revere.  Like children who are grown up and independent of the parents they love and admire, spirit warriors take their place among the community of spiritual equals.  Because you use this lifetime to bring the most benefit to others, you incubate the higher soul that is preparing to hatch from the lower soul:  joining in the collective labor shared by spirit warriors in every time and every place, you contribute directly to both the fulfillment of humanity’s destiny and the creator’s vision.  Becoming part of the universal civilizing spirit, you contribute directly to the founding of a free and harmonious world of equals right here within this world.

Summary:  Only the body marks the passage of time—for the soul, there is only this everlasting moment of growing.  Let five rivers of energy come in through the senses, let them run together into a sea of growing power.  Do not expend it on petty thoughts, moods, or goals.  Send forth your rain clouds only to water the valuable.  Condense intent into actions that foster peace and prosperity for all.  Your success is inevitable.

The derived hexagram that appears in the 2012 reading is #2 Sensing Creation.  Its nuclear hexagram is #39 Reviving Tradition.  As the future outcome, #2 Sensing Creation is profoundly inspirational.  It presages a time of worldwide reconciliation and heartfelt collaboration towards an emerging vision of what civilization might become.

As its nuclear hexagram, #39 Reviving Tradition reminds us that our common ancestors lived closer to the time of creation than we do.  It shows that the underlying forces of #2 Sensing Creation are part of the emerging reversion to values and beliefs grounded in a more traditional—and meaningful—lifeway.  This could have evolved into a time in which the reversion to traditional values and beliefs led to greater conflict and confrontation, but the movement into #2 assures us that the mistakes we have made in the past will no longer be repeated.  This is because the general amnesty and forgiveness of past wrongs is based not upon the surface differences between traditions but, rather, upon their shared foundation in the sacredness of everything.

Image:  The ancient spirit of fire takes the form of a male warrior, who is made part of the land by the roots growing like veins through his body and the earth.  His arm is raised, greeting the long line of people in shadow that approach him.  Another line of people, their torches rekindled, depart in light.

Interpretation:  This hexagram depicts the ancestors’ inheritance passing from individual to individual and from generation to generation.  The ancient spirit of fire symbolizes the universal tradition of fire-making, whose timeless ritual unites all people in a common heritage.  The male warrior symbolizes the self-discipline and training needed to stand against greed, ambition, and materialism.  That he is made part of the land means that you find your spiritual home in the site of your own lifetime.  The long line of people in shadow is a symbol of those seeking to find their way back to a balanced and harmonious way of life.  The line of people departing with torches rekindled is a symbol of those who find the light of the ancestors inside their own hearts and carry it through the darkness of their own time.  Taken together, these symbols mean that you resist spiritual erosion the way a mountain of righteousness stands against the wind of corruption and the rain of meaninglessness.

Action:  The masculine half of the spirit warrior views everything as a buried treasure left behind by the spiritual ancestors for their descendants.  It is a time for holding fast to what lasts rather than getting distracted by the novel or overwhelmed by the fleeting.  Avoid participating in the fads and fashions of the day, seeking instead to uphold the values and world view of a more spiritual time.  This means, first and foremost, respecting and honoring all that is not human:  when matter is seen as devoid of spirit, then nature can be desecrated without a second thought; when one form of nature is seen as devoid of spirit, then all forms of life can be desecrated without a second thought; when one form of life is seen as devoid of spirit, then human beings can desecrate one another without a second thought.  For this reason, the spirit warrior sees the world as the divine homeland shared by the living and the dead and those not yet born.  Recognizing that meaningfulness is hidden from those who attack it, you look into the secret heart of things and see the One Spirit of creation everywhere you look.  Recognizing that meaningfulness is an open secret to all but the greedy, ambitious, and materialistic, you bury the treasure again in your own turn so that your descendants will find their secret heart.

Intent:  Even though you feel out of step with the wounded spirit of the time, you are actively involved in healing it:  recognizing that its illness is meaninglessness, you feed it the medicine of meaningfulness day and night throughout your life.  Just as the fire of light and warmth must be fed wood and air to continue burning, the spirit of the time must be fed the joy and insights born of meaningfulness if it is to continue living:  without the tradition of meaningful consecration to feed it, the spirit of the time will eventually die and be replaced by that of meaningless desecration.  For this reason, the spirit warrior keeps alive the ancient tradition of training every thought and feeling to reflect the hidden sacredness of every moment.

Summary:  The more you put the world view of the ancients into practice, the more you have to offer others.  Be generous with what you have learned but do not stop learning:  just as people depend on a well for their water, the well depends on the invisible river below ground for its water.  Assume that you will understand matters better in the future and act with a corresponding degree of humility.

The 2012 reading, with all its associated meanings, reminds us to reject utterly the paranoiac heart-mind of this wounded age that would have us dwell in the irrational belief that unseen forces are conspiring to do us ill.  Rather, it reminds us to keep in mind the definition of the word Pronoia:  the irrational belief that unseen forces are conspiring to do us good.  It is irrational only in the sense that spirit warriors do not confine their efforts to the rational world.

It is two years exactly now until the Winter Solstice of 2012 arrives.  Priest-diviners everywhere are focusing the generative energy of their intent on plowing the field of the World Soul to receive the rain of spirit seeds already falling and taking root in the open heart of human nature.

~

Across the imaginary distance of culture and borders, I honor your contribution to the Beginning Times.

~

The Toltec I Ching, by Martha Ramirez-Oropeza and William Douglas Horden has just received a Silver Award in the 2010 Nautilus Awards.  It recasts the I Ching in the symbology of the Native Americans of ancient Mexico and includes original illustrations interpreting each of the hexagrams.  Its subtitle, 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World hints at its focus on the ethics of the emerging world culture.

Click here to go to the main site to see sample chapters, reviews and the link to Larson Publications for ordering the book.

~

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There are two overarching lessons of the I Ching.

The first is this:  Every Ending Begets A New Beginning.

Change is not conceived as an endless string of cause-and-effect events but, rather, as a cycle of repeating seasons that influence the cause-and-effect events within them.  Human actions and endeavors, in other words, are not viewed as independent of the time but, rather, are viewed in context of the season in which they occur.  In this sense, the linear progression of change is always set against the unchanging principle of cyclic change that underlies the unfolding of time.  For this reason, each of the hexagrams of the I Ching is experienced as a spatial expanse no less immediate and encompassing as Spring, let us say.  Or Autumn for that matter.

In the previous post, I published an oracle cast on the recent Autumnal Equinox.  In it the events around the 2012 turning point are presented as resulting in a growing authoritarianism that, once transcended, will usher in a time of global reconciliation.  More specifically, it points to a crisis that we, as humanity, have confronted before and failed to resolve in the most beneficial way for all.  With the approach of 2012, we have the opportunity to face our collective dilemma again and, although the official reaction will reflexively repeat the same mistake as before, a groundswell of enlightened goodwill that transcends borders will unite people everywhere in a positive and constructive response—one that overrides the authoritarianism of church and state and sets in motion those metamorphic forces of nonviolence and noninterference that give rise to the harmonious and creative civilization our collective ancestors dreamed for us.

Far from confronting the end times, in other words, we are on the cusp of entering the beginning times.

~

A Training Manual for the Road Ahead

The Toltec I Ching is, first and foremost, an Oracle, continuing the age-old practice of rendering the voice of the One intelligible to the contemporary mind.  By echoing the living words of the Spirit that continuously recreates the world, the Oracle manifests the universal civilizing influence caring for the entirety of creation, including humanity.  Because our thoughts and lives are part of the One, the Oracle enables us to anticipate each crossroads as it approaches and keep our feet firmly on the path of freedom.  To open our hearts to the hopes and dreams placed in us by all that has come before us is to sense the loving-kindness and  communion in the Oracle’s answers.

But, as its subtitle, 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World, implies, The Toltec I Ching is also a training manual of ethical strategies embodying the ideals and values of the emerging world culture.  The vision it presents is of a living universe in which everything is invested with spirit and, just like human beings, has a level of awareness that is constantly undergoing a process of metamorphosis.  Our transforming human nature is envisioned as the spirit warrior, defined as a woman or man who trains diligently to defeat her or his self-defeating habits of thought, emotion, and memory.  The Duality of the great creative forces that manifest the intent of the One in the form of the macrocosm, furthermore, are mirrored in the masculine and feminine halves making up the microcosm of every human being.

As said since ancient times, the metamorphosis of the whole is initiated by the metamorphosis of the individual—and it is the work of each spirit warrior that builds an ever-widening community of humaneness.  The 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World are embodied, of course, in the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, each of which incorporates the core lessons of attaining good fortune, both individually and collectively.  This individual striving to benefit the whole is seen as the open secret of personal and collective good fortune:  by letting go self-interest, the spirit warrior metamorphoses into a well of benefit that allies her or him with others likewise making positive use of the law of spiritual cause-and-effect.  Like all truly proactive measures, these lessons do not merely help us avoid coming difficulties, but establish new attitudes and behaviors that actually help shape the emerging future.

The actual means of metamorphosis is the work of harmonizing the masculine and feminine halves inherent within each individual—and inherent, therefore, in every social institution.  Understanding that our feminine and masculine halves are microcosmic reflections of the macrocosmic creative forces empowers us to marshal our energies toward constructive actions and ennoble our intentions toward ever-widening circles of harmonious unity.  In the arena of social institutions, for example, the conservative tendencies within a nation that seeks to defend itself with military strength can be thought of as its masculine half, while its progressive tendencies to channel resources into social service programs and international diplomacy can be thought of as its feminine half.  How well these two halves reach a harmonious balance of power determines the longevity of the nation and the well-being of its people.

The step-by-step training of the spirit warrior is just this exercising of the masculine and feminine halves in response to the archetypal situations making up human experience.  Specifically, it is the blending and balancing of the our feminine and masculine halves as they alternate in our outer actions and inner intentions that is formulated in the hexagram-by-hexagram progress through the sequence of 64 hexagrams.  Each of the hexagrams has it own proportion of the feminine and masculine generative energy—or, in more traditional language, its own specific mixture of yin and yang qi—and the hexagrams are arranged in a sequence that activates and harmonizes the sacred duality within us.  Working our way through the sequence of hexagrams, in other words, cultivates the creative forces within us, setting our intentions and actions on a course of self-transformation that leads to ever-widening spheres of good fortune.

~

The Storm Before The Calm

Returning to the recent 2012 oracle provides us with the opportunity to see how the lessons embodied in the hexagrams provide us with ethical strategies and ennobling values during a time of profound social transformation.  Of the numerous hexagrams relevant to this situation, we will cite just two examples—

Concerning the first part of the Oracle’s answer, in which a rising tide of reactionary authoritarianism will need to be overcome, we can look to Hexagram #41 Feigning Compliance for inspiration:

Image:  A shadowy male warrior stands upon the coils of a great serpent, forcing it to submit to his will at spear point.  He has, however, mistaken the snake’s tail for its head, which rises above and behind him, ready to strike.

Interpretation:  The shadowy male warrior symbolizes those who seek to dominate others.  The point of the spear symbolizes force, whether in the form of aggression, threat, intimidation, or subversion.  The great serpent symbolizes the energy and power of those who resist domination.  Its coils symbolize the convolutions and intricacies of the strategy of invisible defiance.  That the serpent’s tail is shaped to look like its head means that you are able to disguise your true intent behind a mask of conformity.  That the serpent’s head is poised to strike means that you remain vigilant, neither missing any real opportunity for resistance nor getting lulled into a false sense of security.  Taken together, these symbols mean that you lull your captor into a false sense of security while awaiting the right moment to reclaim your freedom.

Action:  There is no true victory in force because those overcome eventually use the moral high ground to achieve their independence.  Such a turn of events is made inevitable by the fact that the spirit of those who oppress is progressively sickened by their past actions at just the time that the spirit of those oppressed is made progressively stronger and finer by the hardship they have endured.  Force corrupts those who use it and ennobles those who endure it.  For this reason, those who use force fail because they are brutish and short-sighted while those whose spirit cannot be dominated succeed because they are humane and wise.  When those who are stronger seek to dominate and control us then we must develop a strategy that ensures we defeat our oppressors without repeating their mistakes.  In this sense, it is necessary that we commit beforehand to making no attempt to exact revenge from those who have wronged us.  In order to emerge unscathed from domination we have to recognize the indomitable nature we have inherited from our ancestors and then ally ourselves with others committed to preserving inner independence until outer independence can be openly celebrated.  Because you take the time to gather inner strength without arousing any suspicion, you succeed in freeing yourself without harming another.  Because your humaneness shines on your oppressors, you succeed in freeing them without harming yourself.

Intent:  The spirit warrior refrains from attempting to dominate anyone in any way, for fear of the inevitable and justifiable backlash it would produce.  Others are not necessarily so farsighted, however:  at a time when force and intimidation are openly used to control our actions and shape our attitudes, it is imperative that we train ourselves to resist every tendency to succumb to mental or spiritual tyranny.  By adopting a demeanor of naive complacency while making our true thoughts and feelings unreadable, we make it possible to live with oppression without being conquered by it:  using visible compliance to mask invisible defiance, we maintain our reverence toward all things so that we never wrong others the way we were wronged.

Summary:  When those who are more powerful demand you submit to their will, do not just pretend to go along with them—make a show of agreeing with them and working for their goals as if they were your own.  Keep your true feelings to yourself, work to find kindred spirits who can be trusted, and gather your strength until the moment to reclaim your independence and freedom arrives.

~

Concerning the second part of the Oracle’s answer, in which a time of widespread reconciliation will lead to a new world culture, we can look to Hexagram #16 Renewing Devotion for inspiration.  Once we have surmounted our self-destructive tendencies, we need to hold fast to our new vision of harmonious unity:

Image:  On the platform of a pyramid, a group of male and female warriors greet the dawn with ceremonial fire, drum, and song.  Out among the surrounding vegetation, a bird greets the dawn with two speech glyphs, one of which represents a flower and the other a song.

Interpretation:  The pyramid is a symbol of the sacred mountain at the center of all things and means that you are part of the collective work striving to mirror the handiwork of nature and the divine.  The dawn is a symbol of the daily renewal of creation and greeting it with companions means that you have others with whom you share the song of your beliefs, the drumbeat of your passions, and the fire of your creativity.  The surrounding vegetation is a symbol of the natural order and means that you are in harmony with the spirit of the world.  The singing bird represents the winged, transcendent, essence of nature and means that you are free to spontaneously give voice to the pure joy of life.  The flower and song glyphs represent the spirit warrior’s philosophy of life and mean that you have the courage to confront the eventual passing of everything beautiful, as well as the dignity to honor each passing both before and after it occurs.  Taken together, these symbols mean that your sincerity, trustworthiness and persistence will bring you success, vindication, and contentment.

Action:  The feminine and masculine halves of the spirit warrior unite to carry out past decisions.  This is not the time for questioning the correctness of inner decisions such as your commitments to your beliefs, values, and viewpoints—nor is it the time for second guessing the wisdom of outer decisions such as your commitments to your duties, goals, and loved ones.  It is, rather, the time for honoring your sense of honor—the time for renewing your devotion to the higher purpose guiding your life.  Sometimes it is not a question of what we have faith in, but that our faith is strong and unshakable.  Likewise, it is not always a question of who or what we are faithful to, but that our faithfulness is pure and unbreakable.  Your future circumstances are created out of today’s actions, so set aside all thoughts of changing direction. Your future character is created out of today’s motives, so set aside all self-doubt.  You have taken a stand:  do not permit the opinions or actions of others to move you off center.  Keep in mind that your decisions each have a symbolic value and represent part of your relationship with the whole of creation—by daily renewing your heartfelt devotion to acting with integrity, you will achieve the kind of consistency, firmness, and clarity that brings the highest benefit into your life and the lives of those around you.

Intent:  If we look for reasons to doubt the perfection of all creation, we will find them.  Because the perfect nature with which we are born is overwhelmed by the collective self-doubt produced by human history, we come to doubt our own vision and are increasingly influenced by the prevailing viewpoint of the world as inhumane and, therefore, imperfect.  It is this social indoctrination that creates an artificial viewpoint which obscures our original vision and, much like a mask covers the real face, creates in us an artificial sense of an imperfect nature.  When we become aware that our true birthright is usurped when we are too young to defend the perfect nature we bring into the world, then we come to understand the old stories about the royal child who is hidden away until it comes of age and can reclaim its rightful place in the world:  once we recognize our true self as that part which was hidden in order to protect it until was strong enough to fend for itself, then we view the world through the eyes of our innate perfect nature and no longer remain blind to the perfection of all creation.  Renewing their devotion to perfection every day, spirit warriors are tireless in their effort to remain aware that nature is spirit—and unfaltering in their decision to rejoice in the fact that they are a vital part of that perfect unity.

Summary:  Work to continually renew your heart-felt dedication to fulfilling the first ancestor’s vision of the human spirit, especially when surrounded by others who lack the awareness and sensitivity to appreciate the presence of spirit everywhere.  Stay true to your road and destination.  At this time, influencing others is more proper than allowing them to influence you.

~

Introducing these two hexagrams into the 2012 reading allows us to derive additional information by comparing them to the original ones cast on the Autumnal Equinox .

Comparing the two hexagrams relating to the “storm” portion of the oracle, we find that there is just one line change—in the fifth place—between Hexagram #54 Repeating Test and Hexagram #41 Feigning Compliance.  The fifth line change of Hexagram #54 Repeating Test seems particularly relevant:

The situation is auspicious—you are at the vanguard of sweeping changes that will benefit all but those you replace.  The principal task for now is to brighten the emotional atmosphere and give everyone hope.  Slow down—actually implementing the new will take a long time.

Likewise, comparing the two hexagrams relating to the “calm” portion of the oracle, we find that there is just one line change—in the sixth place—between Hexagram #2 Sensing Creation and Hexagram #16 Renewing Devotion.  The sixth line change of hexagram #16 Renewing Devotion seems especially useful:

Look back at the period just passed and study it diligently, gleaning all the lessons you can from it.  Do you feel more empowered or less empowered than before?  What do you want to have continue, what do you want to have change?

Expanding a reading by consciously introducing hexagrams that amplify the meaning and intent of the Oracle’s answer like this allows us to combine the two facets of the I Ching—the Oracle and the book of wisdom—into a more comprehensive and illuminating forecast.  In this way, we can encompass more of the mood and decision points of the divination by opening up the intuitive aspect of the reading to more in-depth analysis.

~

Summary:  The Master Key to Inspired Action

The second overarching lesson of the I Ching is this:  Sooner Or Later, Everything Changes Into Its Opposite.

Nothing can maintain its status quo forever. The action of trying to maintain its status quo is the very thing that triggers its own backlash.

In point of fact, the stronger its action, the more wide-spread its action, the longer its action continues, and the stronger its resistance to change, the more profound and complete and rapid its reversal.

As the old adage goes:  No one is easier to topple than one standing on tiptoes.  When things reach their peak, they decline.  When the natural process of expansion and contraction is thwarted by unnatural means, such as force and oppression, then the decline does not follow its natural timetable but is accelerated by the pent-up energies locked within a self-destructive equilibrium.

Perhaps a universal change of heart seems unlikely to some.  Perhaps they view the politics of the moment as in control of our collective destiny.  Perhaps they are afraid to hope again.

But these are irrelevancies in the grand cycle of change, the forces of which work from the inside and outside simultaneously.  The cathartic moment arrives unbidden by conscious calling:  it answers the unconscious desperation and despair welling up from within both the personal and collective unconscious.  Just as the chick’s call from the inside the egg is answered by the hen’s pecking the shell from the outside, the anguish of the personal unconscious calls forth a complete and immediate reversal of conventional beliefs and values from humanity’s collective unconscious.

This 2012 Oracle states unequivocally that we are on the cusp of a metamorphosed civilization, one in which personal ethics are mirrored in our collective ethics and in which individual self-transformation ripples outward, contributing directly to the transformation of the Whole.

The Master Key to Inspired Action, then, is Inspired Intention—it is the diligently cultivated heart-mind that can, moment-to-moment, shift its attention to a world in which there are not only enough resources for all to live, but one in which there is enough time for all to live blissfully.

The Golden Age of Humanity is within our reach.

What shall we build together?

~

The Toltec I Ching, by Martha Ramirez-Oropeza and William Douglas Horden has just received a Silver Award in the 2010 Nautilus Awards.  It recasts the I Ching in the symbology of the Native Americans of ancient Mexico and includes original illustrations interpreting each of the hexagrams.  Its subtitle, 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World hints at its focus on the ethics of the emerging world culture.

Click here to go to the main site to see sample chapters, reviews and the link to Larson Publications for ordering the book.

~

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The cycle of change carries matter, energy, and spirit along its course of natural unfolding.  Time is spatial:  autumn follows summer just as a time of consolidation follows a time of expansion.  The Current, the Way, the Tao, is organic in the way it develops, moving the individual and civilization both according to the seasons of generative energy.

The Seasons of Generative Energy

The Oracle can speak to the way present trends are developing into future situations because it gives voice to the principles underlying all change.  The seeds of winter are sown at the Summer Solstice, just as the seeds of summer are planted at the Winter solstice.  Because they are seeds of generative energy, however, and not phenomena directly perceptible to our senses, their sowing and fruition generally occur long before—or sometimes after—we imagine.

The structure of the hexagram’s six lines is traditionally divided into three levels, of old called, Heaven, Man, and Earth.

Three Dimensions of the Hexagram

The top two lines represent heaven, or spirit.  The lower two lines represent earth, or matter.  The middle two lines represent mankind, or human awareness.  Humankind, embodying so perfectly the conjunction of spirit and matter, is thought of as the bridge connecting the sacred and the mundane, the invisible and the visible, the formless and form.

The Oracle is able to communicate with us because we bring human awareness into the divinatory moment, bridging the physical mechanism of divination (such as coins, yarrow stalks, cards, dice, random number generator) and the oracular awareness permeating time and space.  The Oracle gives voice to the One based on the relationship it has sustained with human beings for many thousands of years now.  The divinatory moment, then, is the very embodiment of the ancient saying:  Just as there is only One Mind, so is there only One Body.

Three Dimensions of the Divinatory Moment

Is this not the same Oracle that takes different forms in ancient cultures throughout the world?  Will we continue to hold ourselves apart from nature and spirit by relying on a crippling kind of reason that does not recognize its own limitations, even as the Great Mystery stares it in the face every moment?  Will we continue to believe, against all evidence to the contrary, that materialistic reason and religious zealotry are the only two poles of human participation in the world?  Will we dare to return to the ancients’ worldview of everyday unity with the Living Whole?  Can we abandon our histories of wrongs and establish a time of amnesty in which we might address our common problems?  Will we find our way back to a lifeway of nature mysticism that bequeaths to our descendants a civilization in harmony with itself and nature and the sacred?

With the above in mind, I take up the coins this morning of the seasons’ pivot and throw my question into the Beyond—

~

What Can Humanity Expect with the Approach of 2012?

The divinations I have cast on the subject of 2012 have been unanimously positive in the long run but have hinted at obstacles to be overcome in the short run.  The Oracle I received on the Autumnal Equinox 2010, regarding the events swirling around the turning point of the Winter Solstice of 2012, is the most detailed yet about the storm we will have to pass through before we achieve the calm of the New Dynasty of peace and prospering for all.

The first hexagram, representing the near-term events, is called Repeating Test.  Following is its illustration and interpretation—

Image:  A male warrior wearing the emblem of the smoking mirror pauses in his tracks.  The true road runs straight ahead but the warrior’s footprints show that he has doubled back on himself, circling around a pool of water.  The day sky overhead is filled with sunlight but the pool reflects the full moon in the night sky, indicating that the warrior made that past part of his journey in the dark of night.  As he prepares to undertake this leg of his journey for the second time, the warrior must face the additional danger of a jaguar who now crouches beside the pool.

Interpretation:  This hexagram depicts someone facing a dilemma for the second time.  The male warrior symbolizes the challenges and self-discipline that make us stronger and more adaptable than we imagined.  The smoking mirror symbolizes the penetrating insight, introspection, and self-knowledge required if we are to achieve a vision of the true self.  That he pauses in his tracks means that you take the opportunity to slow down your decisions in order to consider your circumstances carefully and discern how they resemble a past experience you have long wished to rectify.  That he has stepped off the true road to circle around the pool means that your true destiny must wait while you return to a previous stage in order to complete its task.  That it is light now but the pool reflects the night sky means that you are more aware and capable now than you were when you first encountered this test.  That this part of the journey is complicated by the additional danger of a jaguar lying in wait means that you clearly perceive this to be a new situation even as you use it to change your spiritual history.  Taken together, these symbols mean that you heal wounds left from a past stage of development.

Action:  The masculine half of the spirit warrior gazes into the smoking mirror of the true self without blinking.  It is a time for exhibiting the character traits you believe you should have exhibited when facing a similar dilemma in the past:  because you take advantage of this second chance to prove yourself to yourself, you erase past regrets and reveal your true self to the unseen forces.  By turning our perception upon ourselves, we are able to sense the lessons we have learned from past mistakes.  Until we have had the opportunity to act on those lessons and put them into effect, however, part of us remains frozen at that stage of our development.  For that reason, there are few more fortuitous times than those in which we can prove we are stronger and wiser than in the past:  by discerning our own patterns of behavior that run consistently beneath the surface of appearances, we are able to stop repeating past mistakes and emerge victorious over our own self-defeating attitudes and behaviors.  Because you intuitively know that turning points periodically return until they are finally resolved, you are fully prepared to act when the time comes:  because you wait vigilantly for the opportunity to revisit a period of darkness, you do not fail to use the present turning point to extend the continuity of your light further back into the past.

Intent:  Now is the time to strengthen the ladder of your evolution by descending it in order to repair a lower rung.  Actions and decisions that have haunted us must be laid to rest if we are to advance further toward our rightful destiny.  Within the inner landscape of our soul there are hurdles we failed to clear, pitfalls we failed to avoid, on our first encounter—where we first reacted with weakness we can now react with strength, where we first acted naively we can now act wisely, where we first reacted with fear we can now react with confidence, where we first acted selfishly we can now act lovingly.  Because you do not allow this opportunity to correct the past to slip through your hands, you break the chains holding you and your allies back from ascending to the next rung of success.

Summary:  Don’t make the same mistake again.  Some fears are false fears, some hopes are false hopes:  stop and consider how you are reverting to a way of thinking, feeling, and acting that did not work before.  You are stronger and wiser now—act as you wish you had acted the first time.  Seize this opportunity to heal the past and you will create the future you long for.

The Oracle appears to be saying that we—humanity—are going to have to pass through a crisis with all the dynamics of one we mismanaged the first time.  The exact nature of this crisis remains veiled by time, of course, but the transformation of our collective response is mapped out in the lines of change.

In other words, the specific transition points between the short-term and long-term are marked out by the line changes that produce a second hexagram out of the first.  In the present case, it is the first, second, and sixth lines that change.

Line Changes—

1st:  Many are in denial of the growing trend toward oppression—all you can do is join with those of like mind and prepare for what lies ahead.  Avoid controversial positions and don’t call attention to your efforts.  Make yourselves useful but anonymous.

2nd:  Many cannot get past the first hurdle—all you can do is appreciate the cunning of those above and go along with it for now.  There will be time to fight for principles later but the priority now must be just surviving this time.  Do not provoke envy or resentment by flaunting your little success.

6th:  The dam breaks—the last vestiges of oppression dissolve, the will of its leadership broken, and the waters of free-thinking and creativity rush forward again.  Celebrate with those around you.  Spend your time training the next generation, for without continuity of principles it will all happen again.

From the above we can surmise that our collective response to the first crisis was a knee-jerk reaction toward the use of force and intimidation—and that our first tendency in the second crisis is to revert to our previous response.

The first line change points out the insidious nature of fear that is generated by shock:  it is easy to convince people that the worst has only begun and that they must protect themselves by taking up a defensive posture that makes life more miserable everywhere.  This kind of lashing out against enemies real and imagined, internal and external, can be masked as necessary for only so long—eventually, there is a growing recognition that no amount of rationalization or justification changes the fact that irrational oppression is irrational oppression.

The second line change points out that there are many who remain fixed in a fear and aggression specifically propagated by those in power.  This is the most difficult time, when the fever is at it pitch.  It can be a dangerous time for those who dissent, one in which it is necessary to avoid attracting the attention of those with the power to crush dissent in the name of the greater good.  At the same time, this line change reminds those who manage to thrive during this time not to distance themselves from those less fortunate.

And finally, in the sixth line change, we see that the fever has broken.  The mass delusion passes like a nightmare evaporating with the dawn.  Even those perpetuating the self-destruction lose the will to go on.  People of good will and innovative solutions to the crisis come to the fore.  It is a time of widespread celebration and an overwhelming sense of relief.  Most of all, however, it is a time of establishing the new worldview for the next generations, because the forces of self-destruction are forever like a seed ready to sprout even in the loveliest garden.

~

The second hexagram, which grows out of the first by virtue of these three line changes, represents the long-term repercussions of the events associated with 2012.  Titled Sensing Creation, its image and interpretation follows—

Image:  A female warrior is naked, immersed in water and surrounded by flowers.  A wellspring of water rises from between her hands.  The water drops are drawn as beads of jade in order to portray the precious nature of that which sustains life.

Interpretation:  This hexagram represents the great courage essential to creating a meaningful life.  The female warrior symbolizes the way of nurturing and encouraging human nature that increases its sensitivity and loving-kindness.  Being naked means that nothing stands between you and the world.  Being immersed in water means that you plunge whole-heartedly into the spirit of that which nurtures all.  Being surrounded by flowers means that you perceive the perfection of the world as it truly is:  each moment blossoms perfect and whole, then passes like a fading flower—each perfection born into the world must die.  The wellspring of water symbolizes the inexhaustible source of courage that allows you to use your awareness of mortality to more profoundly experience the joy and sorrow inherent within every encounter.  In this sense, the flowers and the water signify not only the wisdom attained through experience, but the aesthetic sensibilities to be moved by a beauty and truth not always apparent to others.  Taken together, these symbols mean that you open your spirit to the overwhelming perfection of the world and share your vision with all you touch.

Action:  The feminine half of the spirit warrior collects the movement and energy of the unseen forces, calming them and bringing them together in harmony, making a place for them to gather strength and then making that source of benefit open and available to all.  Where past injustices and resentments survive to poison the well of benefit, true need goes unmet and people suffer unnecessarily:  the spirit warrior fosters a climate of forgiveness and reconciliation, reuniting those whose hearts have become estranged and dissolving the tensions and insecurities that have prevented people from coexisting in harmony and mutual understanding.  Before action, the passions breeding distrust and discord appear too strong and too deeply entrenched to be overcome.  After action, the benefit you help cultivate results in a greater union of good will, hope, and creativity.  You succeed where others fail because you rely on the warrior’s refined sensibilities to guide you rather than past experiences.  You succeed where others fail because you reflect generosity in every thought, word, and deed rather than demanding that others first prove their worth.  You succeed where others fail because you cleanse yourself of all ill will rather than harboring any spiritual intent that might poison the well of benefit that you are become.

Intent:  Whether the struggle is internal or external, work to increase your sensitivity to the realms of nature, human nature, and spirit.  Because people differ only in the degree of their sensitivity to the One Spirit, continue to open your perceptions to more and more sublime thoughts, feelings, memories, and sensations.  By recognizing that you are filled with the source of nurturance, you can calmly let all your adaptations arise from it.  By giving form to the source of nurturance, you can respond to things with dignity, patience, joy, and appreciation.  Because your sensitivity to the world is your strength, you can find the way to restore harmony and progress where others find only opposition and antagonism.  Make the well-being of others your goal right now and you can build a coalition of allies to undertake even greater endeavors in the future.  Avoid taking sides, work to bring them together.  Cultivate trust in the early stages of discord, rely on your lack of self-interest in its later stages.  You succeed because you bring future benefit to those separated by the past.

Summary:  The beauty and loving-kindness you seek are within your reach.  Let go of obsolete opinions and dogma handed down to you from others.  Find that which allows you to share happiness with others and you will achieve greater freedom and creativity.  Focus on the healing of old wounds, promote the forgiving of old wrongs.  Set aside personal ambition, act for the common good.

Surely one of the most beautiful and promising of times, Sensing Creation is the opening up of forgiveness and reconciliation.  It is a time of universal trust and mutual goodwill.  Past differences dissolve in an atmosphere of shared hope and a collective vision of a greater future for all.

With this, the Oracle appears to reiterate its prognosis for the era beginning with the changes surrounding the 2012 landmark:  following a period in which the self-destructive forces in humanity start to reassert their authority, a new wave of humaneness emerges to guide us into the Golden Age of Humanity.

The Oracle sees, in sum, a tempestuous storm before the long calm.

What shall we build together?

~

The Toltec I Ching, by Martha Ramirez-Oropeza and William Douglas Horden has just received a Silver Award in the 2010 Nautilus Awards.  It recasts the I Ching in the symbology of the Native Americans of ancient Mexico and includes original illustrations interpreting each of the hexagrams.  Its subtitle, 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World hints at its focus on the ethics of the emerging world culture.

Click here to go to the main site to see sample chapters, reviews and the link to Larson Publications for ordering the book.

~

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Such is the script inscribed on the memory stone of my dying.

Some six years ago, I was fortunate enough to die, fully conscious, for the two or three minutes it took the emergency room staff to revive me.  And, as validated in The Tibetan Book of the Dead, I experienced those few moments in the after-life state as a much longer period of time.  As it happened to me, I catapulted out of my body into a sphere of conscious light, a single radiant presence within which everything that exists, had existed, or ever will exist, was present at the same time.  Each of us was likewise a sphere of conscious light, a microcosm of the greater sphere of which we were a part.

Each of us was, in fact, an Idea within the One Mind.  This constituted our true self or essential identity, our meaning as established in relation to all the other Ideas in reality.  We were constantly coming into contact with other Ideas in both intentional and accidental ways.  And “contact” there was of a very specific kind, for the act of one sphere touching another meant that all that those Ideas held instantaneously passed between them without friction or resistance.  I learned much more in that brief stay there than I could in many lifetimes here.

I mention my personal experience to make it clear that I am not constructing a mental framework for intellectual amusement.  What happened to me went straight to my heart, only later to be sorted out and given words.  Which has made me realize that we Ideas are not cold fragments of rationality and reason but, rather, warm reflections of passion and compassion.

It is this profoundly moving emotional aspect of the nature of Ideas that has most greatly impacted me in the time since I returned to my body.

I understand One Mind to mean that everything, material and immaterial, is of one substance, is of one unitary indivisible nature.  One Being.  One Presence, Alive and Aware throughout all Creation.

Likewise, I understand Idea to refer to each and every thing, material or immaterial, animate or inanimate, as an elemental and intrinsic Thought in the Living Awareness of the One Mind.  Each stone.  Each star.  Each molecule.  Each electron.  Each plant.  Each animal.  Each person.

Which is why the ancient indigenous lifeways feel so natural to me.  And why I choose the lifeway of an animist.

It is that singular word Spirit that combines the twin concepts of heart and mind—of profound emotion and identifying thought—into a single harmonious symbol.  It is in the ancient lifeways that we find an un-self-conscious participation in the natural world based on the sense of self-knowing:  Since everything is Spirit, then everything shares a common way of being.  And since I am half form and half formless—which is to say, half body and half spirit—then other things are likewise half form and half formless.

Every other thing in creation, in other words,  is likewise alive and aware, just as I am, each of us sacred vessels of the One Spirit.

Every other thing in creation, therefore, is likewise a person, whether a human being or not, and is to be treated with all the respect and purity of intent with which one would address the One Spirit itself.

Such a lifeway arises from a deep-seated love of Nature.  A constant sense of awe in the face of Creation.  A sincere appreciation of the sacredness of everything.

And it leads to spontaneous and natural intimacy between Ideas.  Immediate communion between the individual and the One.  Universal loving-kindness among all Creation.

Everything arises from the same font of Spirit.  Form Itself is Spirit.  There is no other from which we must protect ourselves or which we ought to fear.  The material universe and all its stones and rivers and trees and animals and people arise from the same origin.  Belong to the same family.  Deserve the same peace and prospering.  When we treat nature and humanity and all our creations as The Sacred, as the living awareness of the One Mind, all the walls around us crumble, our hearts open in gratitude, and our every thought, word, and deed manifests good will.

I repeat here what I learned there when I came into contact with other spheres of conscious light:  This road—the road of treating everything as a sacred person, including other people and including ourselves—this road is the shortcut to peace of mind, bliss, and self-liberation.  It is a straight-forward discipline that trains us to see through the surface of appearances and into the living meaning of whatever has engaged our attention.  It is a wide open gateway to awakening here in this lifetime to our own individual and timeless Idea.  It is the well-worn path of freedom in every sense.

It is, in a word, the path of the spirit warrior, of men and women who sincerely undertake the task of defeating their enemy-within by moving away from self-defeating thoughts, feelings, and memories and towards a self-liberating presence within the ongoing universal Act of Creation.

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The concept of a world soul arose among ancient philosophers and endures in the heart-mind of many modern people. It was expounded by Plato for one, and can be found in many other belief systems throughout history, up to the present where it appears as the Gaia principle.

In this sense, the physical world is perceived to have a soul or spirit no less than we human beings have.  In the same way, moreover, that “the world” is actually all the things within it, including human beings, “the world soul” is actually all the individual souls within it, including human beings.  But where does this concept come from—and what does it have to do with a world butterfly?

As to the first point:  The world soul does not originate as a thought but, rather, as a sensation.  It is the inevitable result of nature mysticism, of lives so thoroughly immersed in the natural world that they can sense the one soul of which they are a part and experience their unity with it consciously.  This unifying experience of the underlying reality is what gives rise to the spiritual perceptions and practices known as animism and shamanism.

In The Toltec I Ching, Martha Ramirez-Oropeza and I make the point that people differ only in the degree of their sensitivity to the one soul.  Here is an excerpt from Hexagram 2, Sensing Creation—

Image:  A female warrior is naked, immersed in water and surrounded by flowers.  A wellspring of water rises from between her hands.  The water drops are drawn as beads of jade in order to portray the precious nature of that which sustains life.

Interpretation:  This hexagram represents the great courage essential to creating a meaningful life.  The female warrior symbolizes the way of nurturing and encouraging human nature that increases its sensitivity and loving-kindness.  Being naked means that nothing stands between you and the world.  Being immersed in water means that you plunge whole-heartedly into the spirit of that which nurtures all.  Being surrounded by flowers means that you perceive the perfection of the world as it truly is:  each moment blossoms perfect and whole, then passes like a fading flower—each perfection born into the world must die.  The wellspring of water symbolizes the inexhaustible source of courage that allows you to use your awareness of mortality to more profoundly experience the joy and sorrow inherent within every encounter.  In this sense, the flowers and the water signify not only the wisdom attained through experience, but the aesthetic sensibilities to be moved by a beauty and truth not always apparent to others.  Taken together, these symbols mean that you open your spirit to the overwhelming perfection of the world and share your vision with all you touch.

Keeping in mind that every individual is a spirit warrior with a feminine and masculine half, the formula for increasing our sensitivity to the unseen world soul can be phrased like this:  The feminine half of the spirit warrior collects the movement and energy of the unseen forces, calming them and bringing them together in harmony, making a place for them to gather strength and then making that source of benefit open and available to all.

This calming of the spirit in order to make a place, much like a womb, for the world soul to gestate in stillness and then be born in acts of benefit is an age-old formula by which men and women across cultures have attained states of profound bliss and meaningful success.

As to the second point:  The world psyche, like the individual human psyche, grows and evolves without limit.  Its only constant is one of change, always seeking further refinement and a higher order of universal benevolence.  Its only unchanging law is that of unending metamorphosis—what better symbol of our collective spiritual metamorphosis than the world butterfly?

~

The Toltec I Ching, by Martha Ramirez-Oropeza and William Douglas Horden has just been released by Larson Publications.  It recasts the I Ching in the symbology of the Native Americans of ancient Mexico and includes original illustrations interpreting each of the hexagrams.  Its subtitle, 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World hints at its focus on the ethics of the emerging world culture.

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Inspired action flows spontaneously from an inspired mind.

When we replace trivial and undignified thoughts with substantial and ennobling ones, we are focused ahead of time on perceiving and interpreting events in the best possible light.  In this way, we take the energy we previously devoted to the pursuit of self-interest and channel it into acts that benefit all.

I am part of a Living Whole that wants the best for me and all others at the same time.

An inspired mind flows spontaneously from an inspired heart.

When we replace selfish and self-important feelings with generous and all-embracing ones, we are positioning ourselves ahead of time to respond to events with loving-kindness and goodwill toward all.  In this way, we take the energy we previously devoted to self-defeating attitudes and channel it into creative acts that benefit all.

I am part of a Living Whole that wants the best for me and all others at the same time.

An inspired heart flows spontaneously from being attuned to this single wish of the Living Whole:  that all benefit as one.

But how are we to give up our separate sense of self-importance and open our heart to this living wish when so many around us are acting out of greed, superstition and fear?  How are we to refine our thoughts and emotions when we are bombarded from every quarter with ever more sophisticated attempts to capture our attention?

It is one of the oldest lessons:  If your intention is clear of ulterior motives, then even distractions and confusion are The Way.

Self-defeating thoughts and emotions, from this point of view, are viewed as the enemy-within, the constellation of habit attitudes and habit behaviors that constantly throw up stumbling blocks to the spirit warrior’s progress.  Indeed, the spirit warrior is best defined as a woman or man who clarifies their intention by consciously training to (1) recognize Spirit within all matter and, (2) defeat the self-defeating habits of the enemy-within.

Freeing our intention of ulterior motives by focusing on these two goals, we find that confronting the distractions and confusion thrown up by the enemy-within becomes more like practicing with a sparring partner than an out-and-out battle.  More and more, the enemy-within is experienced as an artificial sense of self that was formed by the conditioning it received from family and culture.  As we get to know it better, it seems most like a recurring dream opponent trying to awaken us to our true potential.

For example, even if we were born to the same parents on the same day, it is obvious that were we then raised in a completely different culture, say the Mbuti of central Africa or the Inuit of the Arctic tundra, we would have a completely different personality, a completely different sense of self in relationship to the world-at-large.  Once the hollowness of this illusory, conditioned, self is fully experienced—like recognizing that the distorted image in a funhouse mirror is not our true reflection—we stop reacting automatically to events around us.  Our actions become more creative, more spontaneous, and meet with greater success.

In this sense, inspired action, an inspired mind, an inspired heart, and attunement to the wish of the Living Whole all spring from living each moment with an intention free of ulterior motives.

I am part of a Living Whole that wants the best for me and all others at the same time.

Spirit, like nature, abhors a vacuum.

When we clear our intention of ulterior motives, we are no longer beleaguered by our inner talk—Spirit rushes in to fill the clearing we have made for it.  Our heart-mind becomes its nest.

And of what is this nest constructed?

Lessons:  the accrued wisdom of the ancients, who first learned to stop their inner talk and then recorded what Spirit whispered to them in that shining silence.

By taking Spirit’s voice to heart, we, like the ancients, replace unworthy and self-destructive thoughts and emotions with ennobling and beneficial ones.

An Oracle is the voice of Spirit, speaking to us across the ages in the language of lessons.

Lessons are wisdom teachings, a body of ethical principles that can be adapted to the ever-changing circumstances of life.  As in sailing, you don’t set your sails to go with the wind in the same way you do to tack against the wind—nor do you drop anchor in the open sea just because it works when you are in port.  Lessons and their ethics guide our responses to change. Lessons make us better adapted to events, more competent, more improvisational, less predictable, and more creative.  Their ethics make us more generous, more compassionate, less competitive, more collaborative, and more successful.

The Toltec I Ching incorporates the lessons and ethics of the Oracles of two of the world’s great civilizations.  From ancient Mesoamerica, comes the Oracle of the Tonalpoalli, or Sacred Calendar, with its lessons inspired by the great civilizing spirit of the Toltec sages.  From ancient China, comes the Oracle of the I Ching, or Book of Change, with its lessons inspired by the great civilizing spirit of the Taoist sages.  We invite you to explore further your own inner path—and to carry the timeless wisdom of the ancients back into these troubled times.

This article appeared originally in Volume 8, Number 4 of Evolve! magazine.

The Toltec I Ching, by Martha Ramirez-Oropeza and William Douglas Horden has just been released by Larson Publications.  It recasts the I Ching in the symbology of the Native Americans of ancient Mexico and includes original illustrations interpreting each of the hexagrams.  Its subtitle, 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World hints at its focus on the ethics of the emerging world culture.

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Cyclical in the sense that history is divided into a series of Ages (sometimes called Suns), each of which led to a better, more humane, world.

Spiritually potent in the sense that the creative forces governing certain time periods (sometimes called gods in Western thinking) have sacrificed and invested themselves in the creation and sustaining of the world.

We moderns tend to view time as linear, forgetting that, as one Taoist sage put it, Everything we know about spirit we learn by analogy from nature.  The seasons of the year correspond to the times of day, both of which correlate to the four directions of the compass in what has been termed the Spatializaton Of Time—

The Map of Inner Change

By analogy, we know that Spring symbolizes the sowing of seeds, that Summer symbolizes the cultivation and care of what we are growing, that Autumn symbolizes the gathering in and harvesting of our efforts, that Winter symbolizes the resting and saving up of energy for the next creative effort.  This is the cyclical aspect of time:  starting something new, nurturing and developing it, sharing the benefit with others, and consolidating resources for the next endeavor.

But the spiritually potent aspect.  That is something else.  It requires that we sensitize ourselves to the Livingness of Space.  It means leaving behind the view of matter as dead and directly experiencing stone and tree and animal and weather and the sun and stars as Alive and Aware, with no less a spiritual half of their body than ours possesses.  It means standing in Spring and feeling the mood and intention of the creative force governing that season.  It requires, in a word, returning to the world view of indigenous people everywhere who hold every thing in creation as sacred persons, each with a lifetime and heart-mind of its own.  It is only our lack of sensitivity to the mood and intention of the creative forces invested in, and emanating out of, each thing that keeps us bound up in isolation and alienation from the loving embrace of Spirit-Nature.

It will seem strange to some to think of a stone as a sacred person.  But then again, have they ever thought of themselves as a sacred person?  They may know that indigenous people ask the plant for permission to take its leaves or ask the stone for permission to carve it but do they understand that the plant or stone are being treated as a sacred person?  One thing we can see as utter fact is the equality with which the universe treats all things:  the eagle may take the hare, but it dies touching the high-voltage wires around its nest, dooming the rabbits offspring as well as its own.  Any hierarchy we imagine to exist is leveled by death and accident.  The electrons making up my body come from stone and tree and sun and stars and, when this body disintegrates, its electrons will fly off into billions of directions to help constitute other persons, many of whom will not be human beings.  The webwork of subatomic particles forming the space-time continuum has no “holes”.  It is simply one unbroken interwoven Livingness of Space.

Every practical person in the world knows that things cannot go on like they have been any longer.  Only blindfolded ideologues and self-serving demagogues continue to push civilization closer and closer to self-destruction.  The rest of us know—or are rapidly coming to recognize—that we cannot simply go on propagating the same old dead worldview that allows the most brutish among us to continue desecrating Nature and Humanity.

The ancient Mayans and their counterparts throughout ancient Mesoamerica—as well as other indigenous peoples around the world, such as the visionaries who constructed the ancient Chinese oracle, the I Ching—were well aware of the patterns of human behavior, both individual and collective.  Intrinsic to such worldviews is the concept of a universal duality that makes up the universal unity of the world.  While this has many cosmological significances in term of the creation and sustaining of the world, it plays itself out in the patterning of human perception and behavior through the rule of action and backlash.

The future, in other words, becomes predictable simply by understanding that sooner or later, everything changes into its opposite.  The art of such predictions lies in being able to recognize when things are getting to be either “too much” or “too little”, states which call forth their opposites.  This requires a sensitivity to the underlying mood and intent of things, which manifests itself as a keen sense of timing.  The greater the historical shifts from one opposite to another, the longer the time frame.

December 21, 2012 marks the end of a 5,128-year cyle.  The Mayan Long Count calendar is established as beginning on a purely mythological date of August 11, 3114 BC in order that its end date would occur in our time.  The Mayan mathematicians went so far as to drop the date directly on a Winter Solstice, just to get our attention.  Aware of the patterns of human perception and behavior, the Mayan priest-scribes foresaw this time, our time, as the one in which the dead worldview would give way to the Living Worldview.

Let us honor their sensitivity to the changing Ages of human nature and their keen sense of timing.

Let us honor our own sacred nature by ending this Dark Age of inhumanity and joyfully advancing in the next, more humane, Golden Age of Humanity.

.

The Toltec I Ching, by Martha Ramirez-Oropeza and William Douglas Horden has just been released by Larson Publications.  It recasts the I Ching in the symbology of the Native Americans of ancient Mexico and includes original illustrations interpreting each of the hexagrams.  Its subtitle, 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World hints at its focus on the ethics of the emerging world culture.

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