{"id":25,"date":"2009-06-26T15:29:20","date_gmt":"2009-06-26T22:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thetolteciching.com\/blog\/?p=25"},"modified":"2021-01-30T23:04:41","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T06:04:41","slug":"inspired-action-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/inspired-action-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspired Action [1]"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am part of a Living Whole that wants the best for me and all others at the same time.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the lesson I’ve learned in my sixty years.\u00a0 It’s the lesson I repeat to myself constantly.<\/p>\n

Like a favorite song you hum to yourself all the time.\u00a0 Or the heart of a story you don’t want to forget.<\/p>\n

I am part of a Living Whole that wants the best for me and all others at the same time.<\/em><\/p>\n

We don’t have to go far or look hard to see this lesson at work.\u00a0 The sun shines everywhere and on everyone equally.\u00a0 Water nourishes everything and everyone it touches equally.\u00a0 The soil nourishes every seed equally.\u00a0 Air breathes life into all equally.<\/p>\n

The lessons we repeat to ourselves, like the songs and stories we identify with, become part of us.\u00a0 They color our moods and influence how we see things.\u00a0 They are like a filter on a camera that changes the whole tone of light before it is ever recorded\u2014they form a predisposition<\/em> toward interpreting our experiences in a certain light.\u00a0 We are open or closed to things, ready to be excited or irritated by things, primed to encourage or criticize others, already leaning forward or holding back, already wanting to smile or scowl\u2014all before the experience has even begun.<\/p>\n

In this sense, the lessons we learn determine ahead of time<\/em> how we will react to whatever comes our way.<\/p>\n

The problem, of course, is that the early lessons of life are learned without our consent.\u00a0 We are too young and lack the independent sense of self needed to reject lessons that will prove self-defeating later.\u00a0 In fact, we lack the criteria by which to make such judgments\u2014and even the awareness that such rejection is possible\u2014until we reach a certain level of maturity.\u00a0 By that time, such lessons have become ingrained, part of our unconscious disposition, habits coloring every thought, emotion, memory, and reaction.<\/p>\n

Such habits are the opposite of Inspired Action.\u00a0 They result in thinking the same thoughts, feeling the same feelings, reliving the same memories, responding with the same reactions, over and over and over.\u00a0 Rather than inspiring us to new and surprising insights, demeanor, and behavior, they lock us into a rigid and routinized way of interacting with the world.\u00a0 Rather than sparking our spontaneity and creativity, they make us predictable and, therefore, prone to manipulation.<\/p>\n

But not all lessons lead to self-defeating attitudes and behavior.\u00a0 Those we learn voluntarily and accept consciously can lead to thoughts, emotions, and actions that are better adapted to life and therefore bring us greater happiness and success.<\/p>\n

Since habits are kept alive by repeated reinforcement, trying to eliminate them by focusing on them merely reinforces them all the more.\u00a0 For this reason, they have to be replaced<\/em>, not eliminated.<\/p>\n

We replace old self-defeating habits by focusing our attention on new lessons\u2014lessons that we consciously choose<\/em> to learn.\u00a0 By focusing attention on these new lessons, repeating them to ourselves all the time, we find our feelings changing and our reactions to events surprising us.\u00a0 Like musicians and athletes training to peak performance, we train ourselves through repeated practice to see the world in a different light and participate in it with a greater sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

We unlearn self-defeating lessons by holding our attention on new ones that bring us into closer harmony with people, nature, and spirit.\u00a0 All<\/em> people, not just those it is convenient or easy to get along with.\u00a0 All<\/em> nature, not just those parts it is convenient to care for while ignoring the harm done to the rest.\u00a0 All<\/em> spirit, not just the conventional idea<\/em> of spirit but the living presence<\/em> of the sacred everywhere at hand.<\/p>\n

I am part of a Living Whole that wants the best for me and all others at the same time.<\/em><\/p>\n

We live in a time when intense competition and self-interest is promoted as the greatest good.\u00a0 A time when natural resources are not protected by the governments who should be stewarding the land.\u00a0 A time when religious ideology spreads hatred instead of love and factionalism instead of universality.\u00a0 Not precisely a time promoting harmony with all<\/em> people, all<\/em> nature, and all<\/em> spirit.<\/p>\n

After more than 5,000 years, the Mayan Calendar is coming to an end and starting anew on the Winter Solstice of 2012.\u00a0 People everywhere know that things cannot continue as they are.\u00a0 The future doesn’t exist yet.\u00a0 There are more than six billion of us.\u00a0 We can create whatever we collectively choose.\u00a0 We do not have to let governments, religions, corporations, or the media choose for us.\u00a0 We are a world of peers and we can decide our destiny.\u00a0 We can<\/em> learn new lessons.<\/p>\n

We can<\/em> create the Golden Age of Humanity if we choose.<\/p>\n

I am part of a Living Whole that wants the best for me and all others at the same time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Inspired Action transcends self-interest and benefits the whole.\u00a0 It arises from a sense of trust in the world and reveals itself in acts of generosity.\u00a0 It is fascinated with how accurately it can discern others’ needs and how well it can benefit others.\u00a0 It is self-sacrificing in the sense that it places the needs of the whole ahead of self-interest.<\/p>\n

Inspired Action arises from a sense that all things, including human beings, are sacred.\u00a0 It is based on the lesson that all matter is<\/em> spirit.\u00a0 It reveals itself in the personal experience of all spirit being immediately<\/em> present.\u00a0 It is self-transcending in the sense that it draws us into ever-closer communion with all spirit, all nature, and all people.<\/p>\n

The Toltec I Ching<\/em> incorporates the common lessons of the ancient cultures of Asia and the Americas.\u00a0 The sum of these lessons embodies a worldview in which humanity stands precariously balanced between nature and spirit\u2014a worldview that forever balances between (1) the guilt of having to take other lives in order to live and (2) the awe of being consciously alive in the maze of matter.\u00a0 These roots of the indigenous cultures produced a brand of moral ethics based on personal responsibility for (1) genuine sorrow and remorse for taking the lives of plants and animals and, consequently, taking no more than absolutely necessary, and (2) making this life as meaningful and as rewarding as possible by treating everyone and everything honorably and nobly.<\/p>\n

With this introduction to the concept of Inspired Action under our belts, let’s consider the worldview in which people can communicate with spirit through the practice of divination.\u00a0 In ancient Mesoamerica, divination was conducted using the Sacred Calendar, or Tonalpoalli, while in ancient China, it was accomplished through the Oracle of the I Ching.\u00a0 The logic of that worldview can be seen as we follow the line of reasoning outlined in the book’s Glossary<\/em>\u2014<\/p>\n

Oracle<\/strong> The means by which the One Spirit<\/strong> gives voice to the essence<\/strong> of situations and the trends developing out of them.\u00a0 The natural, appropriate, and spontaneous response of the One Spirit<\/strong> to an individual\u2019s act of divination<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Divination<\/strong> The art and practice of interpreting signs and symbols to see into the essence<\/strong> of things.<\/p>\n

Essence<\/strong> The living presence of the One Spirit<\/strong> manifesting itself in every creation at every moment.\u00a0 The unchanging background of all change that makes up the underlying harmony of all creation.\u00a0 The timeless perfection of all things underlying their apparent imperfection.<\/p>\n

One Spirit<\/strong> The single immaterial living awareness of the material universe.\u00a0 The origin and destination of every individual soul<\/strong> and, thereby, the eternal repository of all the memories and experiences of all who ever lived.\u00a0 The marriage of the masculine creative force<\/strong> and the feminine creative force<\/strong>, whose union of Light and Love creates and sustains all of creation.<\/p>\n

Soul<\/strong> The personal aspect of spirit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Spirit<\/strong> The invisible half of nature<\/strong>.\u00a0 The living awareness within all matter.<\/p>\n

Nature<\/strong> The visible half of spirit<\/strong>.\u00a0 The single body of the One Spirit<\/strong>.\u00a0 The living and aware form of the sacred.<\/p>\n

Masculine Creative Force<\/strong> The creating half of the One Spirit<\/strong>.\u00a0 The natural, appropriate, and spontaneous catalyst of all creation, whereby all things are inspired to take form and strive toward continual metamorphosis<\/strong>.\u00a0 The universal principle of fire, which ignites all it touches and, within the individual, manifests as the masculine half of the spirit warrior<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Feminine Creative Force<\/strong> The sustaining half of the One Spirit<\/strong>.\u00a0 The natural, appropriate, and spontaneous benevolence of all creation, whereby all things are accorded an equal measure of essential benefit<\/strong>.\u00a0 The universal principle of water, which nurtures all it touches and, within the individual, manifests as the feminine half of the spirit warrior<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Spirit Warrior<\/strong> A man or woman engaged in consciously defeating the enemy-within<\/strong>.\u00a0 Women or men consciously training<\/strong> themselves to unite their feminine and masculine halves in order to promote and share in the good fortune of all.<\/p>\n

Enemy-Within<\/strong> The conditioned and artificial aspect of every individual\u2019s personality that is acquired unconsciously from their surroundings and must be consciously extinguished through training in order for each to return to their essential nature.\u00a0 The set of self-defeating behaviors and perceptions that the spirit warrior<\/strong> defeats.<\/p>\n

Metamorphosis<\/strong> The natural, appropriate, and spontaneous return to essence<\/strong>, understood as the result of self-liberation, which does not imply liberating the self but, rather, that liberation can only be achieved by oneself.<\/p>\n

Benefit<\/strong> The natural, appropriate, and spontaneous response to need<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Need<\/strong> A temporary blockage in the free flow of benefit<\/strong> among all things.<\/p>\n

Training<\/strong> Consciously working to eradicate the thinking errors based on self-interest by concentrating on thoughts and feelings based on good will toward all.\u00a0 Consciously working to quiet the inner monolog and experience each moment of life just as it is, without interpreting it in reference to oneself.<\/p>\n

The Toltec I Ching<\/em><\/a>, by Martha Ramirez-Oropeza and William Douglas Horden has just been released by Larson Publications.\u00a0 It recasts the I Ching in the symbology of the Native Americans of ancient Mexico and includes original illustrations interpreting each of the hexagrams.\u00a0\u00a0 Its subtitle, 64 Keys to Inspired Action in the New World<\/em> hints at its focus on the ethics of the emerging world culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am part of a Living Whole that wants the best for me and all others at the same time. This is the lesson I’ve learned in my sixty years.\u00a0 It’s the lesson I repeat to myself constantly. Like a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[335,10,7,12,6,13,8,9,5],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-toltec-i-ching","tag-335","tag-animism","tag-divination","tag-global-community","tag-i-ching","tag-new-world","tag-oracle","tag-shamanism","tag-toltec"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1312,"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions\/1312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thetolteciching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}