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"...A Chinese poem I saw at the Pearl River market yesterday,
it was printed on a long cloth panel, meant for adorning a wall.
I didn't .. buy it, nor .. the space to display it,
but I reap so many rewards from reading it over and over again.
i wrote it twice in my planner cuz the first time,
I didn't place the words in the right places,
I added more lines than were originally there.
It's such a simple quote that the placement and
capitalization of each word make a difference
in its overall meaning:
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Strive to always do what is right--not in
The eyes of others, but in your own heart.
Others' thoughts are transitory-- one moment
They will love you, the next they will not.
Act on what is right in your own heart,
     And there will be victory.
 
 
Love,
V"

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A question arose recently about spiritual 'practice' and what that meant for me.

I am inclined to believe that we are as spiritual as our life story reveals it to be. Spiritual intentions, thoughts, ideas, understanding mean very little if  they are not  in action.

At the end of the day it comes down to how well we've lived our lives and how present we are within that process.

And the measure of ‘how well' is not necessarily something others can see or measure (yet they can!) but ultimately the point is to know that we know when we are *not doing so.

We are constantly given flags when we go 'astray'. .. through our relationships with others. engagement with family, friends strangers. Worldviews. Citizenry. through our jobs or interests or school. through art and music and books.

The constant hallmark is how we respond. We begin seeing that in essence, life doesn't change but our relationship to is does. We don't have to be perfect at anything .. but it is essential we view our relationship to the elements life reveal to us and how we respond. Choice is more about responding than observing. It's an action.

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A conversation with a friend lead me to want to do an exercise of listing out some insights that came together after the I Ching entered my life.

To understand that spiritual development and light-bearing has no end point and is by nature in constant evolution, answers questions of:

1) Who am I?
- a manifestation of god/consciousness in material form

2) Why am I here?
- to know myself as consciousness through my material being. i recently heard someone say "we are god having a human experience, not man haveing a god experience". how does that change our framework?

3) What must I do? & why was I placed in a cognitive, acting, feeling, moving mind-body organism?
- to live life knowing my nature and tune in to my evolving nature & creative impulse as i participate in life. (in whatever form that manifests).

4) Where am I going?
- have no clue and it doesn't matter. :-).  if I stay at the edge of that awake, aware, open place of constant development and awareness, I know I am at the edge of that forward momentum.

And that space of ‘constant development' is not burdensome or heavy or concrete. It is ever-new. It is liberating. It is not hyper - just expansive and 'light'.  It is equally still and silent as it is active or sound.

5) How do I know when I am not in alignment with my truest nature?
- The signals of life indicate it clearly. Our ‘emotional' responses indicate it clearly.

The very nature of consciousness is ‘positive', ‘regenerative' and 'good' - (not about being happy ..or peaceful - see the difference?). It is abundant and awake and aware. It is unceasing humility yet deeply open to infusing all of life with movement and energy. (even in perfect stillness).

We have all tasted what this is like, mistaking that moment of perfect knowing with the activity we were engaging in at the time we recognized it.. then becoming disappointed when that moment no longer provided that high.

To know who we are and why we are here adds an important framework to relating to life.

The I Ching helps me refine my relationship to that framework each day. Meditation & contemplation are tools I use to connect my relationship to my nature (pure consciousness). But to know my nature is but one step in a huge symphony still in process.

To then infuse all of life (the mundane and extraordinary, the sacred and secular) with this. To stay true to it, is a birthright. Why else are we here as sentient beings in manifest form?

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I found myself overwhelmed when I faced the reality that I had an exam in a few days and had not mastered anything or even gotten close to being prepared. I started off four weeks ago with a strategy and visions for success & correct balance (work, school home, fun, friends, health..) , but instead saw myself treating my tasks in a half-assed way. ...and struggling through the consequences of procrastination, numbness, and inefficiency.

The ultimate goal for surviving grad school in my mind is --how to be an efficient, effective student (and well rounded practically engaged 'light-bearer' human). To make the best of a choice I made to be in grad school part-time for X amount of time.. and fully engage in that choice.

[btw. I already tried 'not doing' the grad school thing and after a lot of contemplation I concluded that inevitably that is a choice I am compelled toward.  I sense it is an added tool that refines whatever it is I was specifically brought into this world to fulfill.

It became clear that we do have inclinations and an instinct that points us to activities or commitments that may be good tools for our development though, it's a matter of recognizing them and then honoring them. This grad school choice seemed to keep showing up for me and so I decided to go for it - so why then would I be half-assed in doing the work it takes to get through it?]

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Each experience we have is an opportunity for being a 'light-bearer' and 'superior-man' (as the iching describes it.)To be present in the life process as it unravels. 

I found myself asking --do I need grad school to life a fully engaged life? - likely not lol.. but I am convinced it has little to do with the actual thing we are experiencing as much as the position we choose to take in doing the 'thing' once we venture into it.  (i.e. half-assed or fully present?).

For instance -- One can be a Harvard graduate and a quantum physicist or a high-school graduate and not quantum physicist, but if the engagement in life is half-assed, does it really make a difference?

When considering lines of development, a fully engaged entry level office assistant who shares light and present awareness with all he meets may be far more developed than a half-assed quantum physicist.;-)

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I am learning that ‘Perfectionist idealism' also takes us away from the reality at hand and can be equally debilitating. One can create huge blocks waiting to be a ‘specific' way -- rather than engaging in the small tasks at hand that lead to the next best choice.

I-Ching:

So...I was not surprised that this hexagram below showed up in my 'time' for the day - affirming that which I innately know and also reminding me to breathe and yield and build energy and set my priorities so I can efficiently handle what is in front of me. This hexagram tells me that while goals-ideals can be useful, the way in which we approach them and the way we develop through life is the wise place to focus on.

Baby steps at a time..in clear, precise steps we get to the end point.  (not to be cliché but.. -- it's the journey not the destination..)

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In a moment of asking for an answer, the universe replies and reminds us of the ultimate goal in living a life in this moment, doing the best we can in this moment. We create blocks for ourselves and also have the capacity to let them dissolve through to what is actually real. It all links back to the position we choose to take in relation to life. Are we victims? Or light-bearers? What is our responsibility at any given moment when faced with a task or opportunity? De we hide under the covers and focus on what isn't or do we understand the nature of things and face it through its natural process?

We know deep in our hearts when we are being either ‘half-assed' or too idealist about life.. and we always have the opportunity to yield to a different action. i.e. what is the next best move now! this moment?

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"53. Chien / Development (Gradual Progress)

A tree on a mountain develops slowly according to the law of its being and consequently stands firmly rooted. This gives the idea of a development that proceeds gradually, step by step. The attributes of the trigrams also point to this: within is tranquility, which guards against precipitate actions, and without is penetration, which makes development and progress possible.

...Principle of gradual development:

..The development must be allowed to take its proper course. Hasty action would not be wise.

A correct way of development through cultivation of one's own personality. No influence such as that exerted by agitators has A lasting effect. Within the personality too, development must follow the same course if lasting results are to be achieved. Gentleness that is adaptable, but at the same time penetrating, is the outer form that should proceed from inner calm. The very gradualness of the development makes it necessary to have perseverance, for perseverance alone prevents slow progress from dwindling to nothing.

THE IMAGE

On the mountain, a tree:

The image of DEVELOPMENT.

Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue,

In order to improve the mores.

The tree on the mountain is visible from afar, and its development influences the landscape of the entire region. It does not shoot up like a swamp plant; its growth proceeds gradually. Thus also the work of influencing people can be only gradual. No sudden influence or awakening is of lasting effect. Progress must be quite gradual, and in order to obtain such progress in public opinion and in the mores of the people, it is necessary for the personality to acquire influence and weight. This comes about through careful and constant work on one's own moral development."

[Excerpt from the Wilhelm/Baynes version of the iching.]