Hello Friends, Yesterday I decided to cast the I-ching, and my initial hexagram, "Heaven" had an explanation that reminded me of our many discussions. Out of all the times I've cast the coins, this is the first I have ever received Heaven as my message. It especially echoed our last meeting, where we "jumped into" our new lives together, feeling renewed and excited. I've quoted the lines that spoke to me most below. And since there are so very many interpretations of this text, these are from The Living I Ching version, by Deng Ming-Dao. If you've never owned but are interested in a copy of the I Ching, this is a beautifully written and illustrated version perfect for both beginners and those more familiar with the ancient Chinese writings. One of my friends, who studied Eastern spirituality in monestaries in Japan and China, helped me pick it out, so it comes highly recommended!
Heaven (hexagram 1):
Heaven is the beginning. Heaven creates from open sky. As the calligrapher begins from white paper, heaven works from emptiness.
Many of us, deep in darkness when we cannot sleep, wonder about the stars turning above us. We think of our own aging. The clock ticks. Our holidays mark the passing years as much as they might mark celebrations or remembrances. Our own birthdays impassively tabulate the number of years we have been on this planet, reminding us that our store of health and vitality can only lessen until heaven takes us again in the ultimate transition.
Creativity is the only act that denies this undeniable constant. When we make something - whether it is a wooden spoon for our kitchen, a painting, a poem, a song, a speech- the effort we invest is stored for the future and becomes a vehicle that lets us live outside of normal time. Creativity, then, begins new cycles that spiral out and spin into the coils of heaven. Heaven, the origin. Heaven, the pervasive. Heaven, the bountiful. Heaven, the pure. If you worship heaven, then be like heaven. If you would last as long as heaven, then create like heaven. In all things, be no different than heaven and the future will be yours. We must act like heaven, which creates and acts and furthers all things but never seeks to accumulate for itself.
Have a wonderful and creative day,
Rachelle
2 comments:
Rachelle,
This is beautiful -- thank you! Not only do I enjoy reading this contribution, but also I am glad to read that Cathy continues to share her lovely voice more... still... ongoing... and to receive Elizabeth's Navaho poem. PLUS -- I love seeing Bruce's drawings... just wish I could make them bigger and explore them in more detail.
Today I'm feeling unable to keep sitting at my computer to do the work that's awaiting me that I don't at all want to do. So I just decided to log onto our blog and check things out. Reconnecting with this space, which reconnects me to our Callaway space, is anchoring and grounding. Yes, I too love the name Bruce has given our blog -- it's completely perfect!
So... a variant on Elizabeth's poem is this meditation I most recently read in Barbara Hand Clow's "Alchemy of Nine Dimensions" -- calling in the 7 sacred directions, to orient us in this 3D plane and help us to handle the 4D realm: imagine yourself as the center of a 4-directional matrix. First call in the energies of the East in front of you (creative guidance for the day); then call in the West behind you (to learn what we are to transform/what to throw away); then energies of the South to your right (spirits to support and nurture you); then the North to the left (inspiration to seek the most challenging outcome of the day); then straight down into the Earth (feeding you with unlimited powers and strengths); then up into the sky, to all higher worlds; and finally to your heart, your center.
Thank you to each and all,
Kathy Anne
Kathy Anne,
Thanks for your comments. I, too, am enjoying all of these thoughts and dialogue, and find this blog to be centering in an important way. Already some of what I learned at CPSI this year is undoubtedly fading in my immediate memory, but being able ot read all of these posts helps revive the lessons and extend them!
Thanks for posting the "Alchemy of Nine Dimensions" meditation. I had an important and stressful phone call to make yesterday, so I used this to settle myself before picking up the phone. And, all is well; the conversation went smoothly.
Be well,
Rachelle
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