Tag Archives: guidance

Soulbyte for Thursday December 5, 2019

You may not be doing exactly what you should be doing. You may not be saying exactly what you should be saying, to yourself or to others. You may not be catching all the signs that come to guide you, or noticing how infinity, the universe, tries to teach you, for you can bet that you have missed and continue to miss many calls that seek to lead you onto your path of heart. But don’t worry! There is still time for a course correction! It’s never too late! Turn off the voices in your head, that incessant internal dialogue that does you no good, and instead tune into the quiet of your heart. Sit there in its silence and wait for guidance to come, for the truth to be clearly spoken, for the right action to be revealed. It will all come, and much more.

Sending you love,

The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne

Chuck’s Place: Seeing & Being Seen

I Ching: What is the guidance for all in this time of great disarray?

Seeing the Present & the Future…
– Diagram by Chuck Ketchel

As can be readily seen, the first four throws produced highly charged Yin Lines, topped with two solid Yang lines.

The image generated is one of a large tower on a mountain that captures a wide view of the countryside. Likewise, it is easily seen from a great distance. Thus, the image urges developing a broad perspective, as well as being a good example for all to see.

The four activated building blocks of the tower’s supporting columns (represented by the X marks) offer nuanced guidance and turn into their opposites, as they become the Primal Spirit: The Creative, hexagram #1. These four lines highlight the necessary progressive changes required before one steps into directing their power effectively. Their individual guidance, in the order of their position, as follows:

  1. Contemplation hindered by immaturity. A shallow, thoughtless view of prevailing forces hinders effective leadership. Counsel encourages growing up and accepting responsibility. Contemplate the fuller picture of the interconnected whole.
  2. One looks out only through the crack of the door, a narrow one-sided point of view. This is the narcissistic perspective that relates everything to oneself. Guidance: dispassionately widen your horizon. Tolerate and strive to understand and value the views of others.
  3. Place of transition. Going to the heart center to receive guidance from the high Soul as to right action. This is ego moving beyond blame and one-sidedness, seeking inner truth.
  4. Time for action. Being in alignment with the deepest truth, ego acts in accordance with the true needs of the interconnected whole.

Once these issues are addressed, allowing one to penetrate the objective truth and take the necessary actions to support that truth, one becomes seen and experienced by others as an example to be followed, as they contemplate the truth of their own lives. The tower that affords the broadest view is the healing model for all.

With the strength afforded by surmounting the limitations to objective contemplation, one is fortified to direct the dynamic Spirit energy of the Creative, the life force itself. This is the optimal arrangement, a mature, broadminded leader who directs the life force toward the true needs of the interconnected whole.

The Creative is the active side of infinity. What’s at question is how that energy will be directed. As shamans point out, the life force can be directed toward good or evil deeds. Both can be manifested on a grand scale. Leadership that contemplates the true needs of the interconnected self, and the interconnected universe, is best fit to direct the power of the Creative.

Contemplate with humility, objectivity, and equanimity from the heart center, as you direct the creative force of your life and assess the intent of others.

Contemplating,

Chuck

 

Chuck’s Place: Guidance for Now

I actually started four blogs this week, none of which feels right at this moment. Finally, my ego turned to a higher power, the I Ching, and asked: “Guidance for the World, NOW?”

The Image: Caught between rising waters…

The result: Hexagram 29, The Abysmal or Danger. Moving lines in the 2nd, 4th and 6th places.

The future: Hexagram 12, Standstill.

Interpretation: A) The context of The Abysmal; B) The activated lines of The Abysmal; C) The future of Standstill.

A) The Abysmal is formed by the doubling of the trigram of water. The image is one of being caught in the rising water of a ravine, a dangerous, yet extraordinary position.

This week, I was standing in a dry ravine. Even in the absence of actual water its energetic current took me off balance, causing a fall into a bush that tore my face. Rather than interpret such an encounter as carelessness, I accepted it as a design of power. I clung not to victimhood nor self-pity, relegating it to a known world, but as an experience to be relished. I am open to life.

The current situation too begs objectivity, from all of us. It is not the consequence of a subjective attitude or foolishness. Do not blame the self. Do not tantrum with reason. The danger is real. And yet the danger is an encounter with power, a most educative experience. To survive and learn from the encounter one must get quiet and remain calm and observant. Be like water that fills the space thoroughly and then moves on. This is impeccability, the right attitude to escape destruction in an encounter with infinity.

B) Specifically, in line 2, instruction is given to not fight the dark forces. Don’t engage in direct conflict; it’s a trap and energy drain. Remain steady, be fully present and observant, in silence. Adapt until the right moment for movement arrives.

Line 4: The challenge is complex. Have great patience, study and wait. Be accepting of gradual change. Avoid impulsive action or attachment. Recognize that this is a learning situation of great consequence; view it from all angles. Water is thorough; it fills every nook and cranny before it moves on, and you can be safely carried on.

Line 6: Beware of getting caught in the prison of illusion. A master conjurer can ensnare one’s full attention, steal one’s energy and manipulate an outcome. Always stare down that conjurer within the self first. Sometimes the prison sentence of illusion is a lifetime. The greatest conjurer of all is the ego itself, who knows everything.

C) The future is Standstill. Do not devalue any moment in time; they are all equal. Treat standstill with reverence. In Standstill, Heaven above moves further away from Earth below. Their energies do not unite but further alienate from each other. Creative union is not possible in a time of stagnation.

Richard Wilhelm writes, in the Judgment of Standstill, “But the superior people do not allow themselves to be turned from their principles. If the possibility of exerting influence is closed to them, they nevertheless remain faithful to their principles and withdraw into seclusion.”

Here, ego and mystery separate. Rather than crown ego victorious or inadequate, recognize a time of lull as a necessary preparation for the next true encounter. Focus attention on doing the best you can, in all situations, to prepare for power’s next test.

Follow the path of heart inward, to the place of worth. Avoid being drawn into the egoic opportunism of the moment that seeks one-sided victory. Save the energy for when it counts, then act, decisively.

Be calm,

Chuck

Soulbyte for Wednesday September 18, 2019

There are no certainties in life, no guarantees, no predictable outcomes, and yet there are plenty of signs along the way to guide one’s journey, to lead one through thick and thin, to help one overcome the hardships that naturally accompany a well-lived life. For indeed, a well-lived life is just that because of the adventures taken, the issues encountered, and the uncertainties forged through. The signs and guidance that come may be ignored, may not even be noticed, for many are unaware, but once tapped into, often in a moment of despair or trauma, can be sources of comfort and great help. Remain aware. Keep your heart in alignment with the knowledge that each moment is a gift. Keep upon your path of heart, looking all around you for those signs that intersect with your energy every day. They are there. And with love and gratitude accept them and carry on.

Sending you love,

The Soul Sisters, Jan & Jeanne