True commitment does not depend on the action of another person before we are prepared to ‘give our all’. It holds the values, beliefs and vision of our own inner leadership at its helm and puts us forward to claim our joy and success.

We can commit to any number of things: a project, a business, a relationship, a study course, a holiday, ending an addictive habit or even teaching someone who has become dependent upon us to stand on their own two feet.

Only by full commitment can we find out directly just what is most meaningful to us. We are moving with the heart and not the mind and putting our complete energy behind our move.

A conscious decision is needed; then we must act. It means shouldering responsibility for outcomes. It also means awakening to the evidence of a stagnant habit. This can spark enough of a shift to start us into the mode of commitment.

If we have become reluctant or afraid to look at our own behaviour it may be because we do not want to be under any obligation to act! There is no commitment without action.

We become attached to familiar things and ways of behaving. There is nothing wrong with that unless these patterns block us from developing ourselves further. When they do then a commitment to a new step is welcome. We tend to believe in the sense of security such familiarity can give us and we also tend to protect the status quo to save our ‘old identity’.

There is a period while we are transitioning through a change that seems like a blur, when we cannot know what is happening to us but simply have to continue moving. Once the dust has settled we get an understanding of what we were learning.

Sometimes crisis or external intervention is the only way some people can be stimulated enough to make a move. Outside commitment is not quite the same as being motivated by an inner commitment to ourselves. Pushing someone and providing them with full support may still do little to bring their inner self to the fore enough to have them commit to change.

Many people say they crave love and affection. They long for a soul mate or to be in a permanent relationship with all its ups and downs, yet they wait on the sidelines for a commitment to be shown to them from ‘out there’. We need to act first, showing the universe that we mean business. When we ask for something we need to show we truly want it by our actions.

Stepping in is a way to create major improvements. Commitment means we are acting on our principles…it is the principle of commitment in action. This is better than testing something out at the mind level only, commenting on why it will or won’t work without actually feeling our way into it by action.

The mere step of risking ourselves fully invites a response. We can refine things when we are involved with them and are more likely to gain energy from what we are doing because we are getting the actual experience of what we are up against.

We can never truly fantasize or imagine reality. Some of us who choose to wait and watch will miss the opportunity and have to wait for another and then even another if resistant to commitment. This can be the case even when the exact thing we were after has come along.

It is only by digging the dirt that we encounter the buried treasure.

We tend to enjoy things that come to us easily. Our desire for a total life of ease is one of the dreams many people share and say they would opt for if they could. Fear rises when we find ourselves in a lowly position, in a state of poverty or unable to secure symbols of a more luxurious life. Yet we can and do manage well without all the fancy things we crave.

When we get into a state of heightened emotion because something is too hard to face we may opt to avoid the work required and slip into a phase of decline. To lift ourselves out of it we need the kind of intelligence that can act from a place of compassion, not sentimentality or self-pity.

A rock or stone does not suddenly appear in the pathway of flowing water. If a rock is obstructing the flow of water then the stream has to build up enough strength to pass over it.

Our task is to do the same in relationships and other areas – build inner strength and resilience to be able to face and flow over obstructions and increase momentum.

If you find your actions seem to go in a stop/start way then look at your perception of obstacles. Perhaps they stop you dead in your tracks and you sink down and retreat.

Asking others for help when we know we are not up to a task is a good way to develop strength. As we recognise a force in another person we help the same quality to increase in ourselves. Working in pairs or in a team creates trust and can bring relief when facing an obstacle. Support of this kind can bring healthy connection.  To remain alone while hoping such obstacles will go away or wishing they weren’t there is to misunderstand the purpose of spiritual development.

Knowing that you do not ‘have what it takes’ just now is not an admission of weakness. You want to be able to help yourself but right now need to rely on the pillar of strength that comes from another. This is not dependency, but development.

Share your vision with another person and they may be able to shed light on how it can be implemented. Each of us has a different skill set and perception of the way things work. When we meet someone whose vision or experience seems to be broader than ours we can ask for their view instead of feeling intimidated or overwhelmed by their accomplishments. When we create the opportunity to have a mentor then we know we are not retreating from the ‘rock’ that blocks the water from flowing but preparing to approach it more strongly next time.

Some of us may find that as we push forward we meet with one obstacle after the other. It is possible to create obstacles in order to remain in a safety zone. We may be afraid to leave people behind or to follow our dream. Clinging to obstacles is a way to never have to overcome them and mature. Yet most people who have become stronger and more powerful after overcoming an obstacle would not want to turn back again.

Simplify your life.

The fewer balls you have to juggle the more likely you are to succeed at the skill. Decide which goals to keep in play.

Obstacles can be built from the inside when we compromise our own personal values. For instance, if we try to ingratiate ourselves with someone else to get ahead, it may look like things are improving. Still, a niggling feeling underlies the arrangement and we don’t receive the recognition or respect we may have expected. This is how advance changes to decline in the I Ching – when personal values are violated.

Build up the correct strength to make a move so you don’t undermine a future advance. If you have undermined yourself with others you have a double obstacle to overcome – the first is to re-establish your own values for yourself and the second is to remind others of what those values are. That is when you may recognise your simple obstacle has become an inhibition.

If you believe you have some self-created obstacles then ask yourself what purpose they serve and what qualities they build in you. Your obstacles serve a powerful purpose and can be positive markers on the journey towards important goals.

That then is the lesson. Once we acquire what we had hoped for and find it falls short of what we imagined it would be, the lesson stares us in the face – we may have squandered what we first had by being unable to appreciate it at the time.

It is a tough lesson to live through as we invariably cannot go back for what we had before. We must keep moving in the new direction requested, the one that is now supported by the universal correspondence of energy. Perhaps the whole purpose of being thrust forward into the change is to awaken us to the lesson of appreciating what was hard, disagreeable and fixed.

At times of struggle and pain we rarely accept our conditions and receive the lesson. We become lured by temptation in which the desire for things to be made right is our driving force, whether it is in wanting healing from an illness, freedom from a particular person or place or just a sense of satisfaction. Whatever our problems are about, if we are able to accept them as stepping-stones to greater self-knowledge and care, then we do get the lesson. Thus, when we make a change from that standpoint, our change is worthwhile and brings us joy.

What happens when the change we call for is not what we want?

It illuminates us to try to be more careful about throwing things away, or being flippant and judgmental towards other people, or chasing lofty goals that may trip us up and never satisfy. Getting what we don’t want but thought we did is a gift, just as much as the gift of struggle and dissatisfaction we were trying to leave behind or overcome.

It is impossible not to believe there will be a better situation for us up ahead. This is part of the natural cycle of impetus and change that is creativity.

One safeguard in asking for change is to look into the motivation behind our need for it and the feelings that go with it. Often we do not want to be free of the person with whom we appear to have a problem – even though we think we do – but we do want to eliminate the feeling we are left with after a power struggle with them. Altering the way we communicate our needs is the starting point then. We can present this to the I Ching and be given an answer of guidance that can alter our internal approach rather than being focused on the outer world where we move out to ’find someone else’.

This type of safeguard will empower a different result. Thus the changes requested are not movements from ‘this’ to ‘that’ but from within and can cause a major shift in our personality and habits across a number of areas. This is the subtle change realm on which the I Ching works well. If we insist on continuing to ask questions that are about ‘getting this’ and ‘getting that’, we have missed the major point of its charm.

When we believe our current situation is just not right we lean out towards change, sometimes denying all we could be doing and sharing in our current state in order to improve it.

To be focused on a future condition that we think will be an improvement on what we have right now can be an escape. This action of imagination is not always in our best interest, especially if it removes us from taking responsibility for the tricky things that are occurring within our circumstances in the here and now. Face up to your realities with grace.

It is the very act of facing what is right in front of us that facilitates the changes the I Ching may suggest around our hope and dreams. We must step up our initiative to act on our own behalf so that SINCERITY is felt and we do not wait around for a kind of ‘magic wand effect’ to occur without any help from us. We ARE the action that is required. Only by our own function and acceptance of what IS can change begin to start.

Loving ourselves as we are now is the key to a stress-free life.

Even one thought crossing our mind that states “I’m not as good as you” or “You’re not as good as me” is engagement in COMPETITION and kills off the flow of the Creative Self.

Why stifle and suffocate the strength of your being?

Recognise these thoughts as they cross your mind and monitor the situations in which they are raised. This gives you a giant clue to areas in your life where you find it hard to accept yourself. You may believe you are a non-competitive person who is very accepting of others but your thoughts are insights into vulnerabilities, habits and motives that may require change.

When your love shines through you can laugh at yourself and then laugh WITH others. Love cancels out any pressure to prove anything and appear better than someone else! These appearances are too hard to maintain and eventually wear away your ability to give to your true needs and reach fulfilment.

Fashions and fads fall away, as do influences and vanities impressed upon us by others. Can you afford to abandon yourself?

If you accept yourself unconditionally you will not put yourself down through internal dialogue nor demean yourself verbally in front of others. Sometimes people do this to get a laugh, to fit in or to rally attention. It becomes an expensive habit because it separates us from the heart and its natural flow of compassion.

Notice how often you put others down in conversation, especially when they are not present. These are the wasted moments in life that cost us the most because they build a consciousness of resistance and jealousy that cuts us off from natural abundance.

We may appear to be accepting of others in their immediate presence then allow a negative thought about them to pass through our mind unchecked after they have left the room or talk about them negatively or in jest to someone else to build up our own esteem.

Why is this accepted as a communication style that endears us to others if we engage in it? We regard these judgments as normal, acceptable and understood while we pray for a world of peace and compassion!

Evaluate the VENGEANCE that is active and all too familiar in your own little world of daily exchanges.

When others have different beliefs from you, keep calm. The minute you defend your position you are also IN A STATE OF ATTACK. We are not asked to accept what anyone else believes, especially if we know and understand that each soul is here to learn by following their own pathway, but we can revel in the distinct contrasts that arise between people without using VENGEANCE as a weapon to build ourselves up or appear more knowing than others.

Each person’s choices form part of the GRACE that is at the essence of existence. Being here is a responsibility that calls us to remember our principles. When we fear or project a LACK in ourselves or in another person we are not sharing unconditionally.

Let your identity and character have CONTINUITY. If you become side-tracked by what others say or become divisive in your own dialogue then the flow of life will be interrupted by petty squabbles and problems. The big picture will diminish and your journey will become one of overcoming small difficulties all the time rather than building the character of CONTINUITY fuelled by unconditional love.

Being in a body requires attention. Thoughts are acquired and we become attached to them. This leads to emotions that bind us to who we think we are and we ride the cycle of the bound self.

If we become locked into a thought about what someone else thinks of us then our willingness to put their opinion above our own blocks us from our inner centre. We are on the way to serving someone else’s version of living and not our own. It happens quickly and becomes a habit. We may be described as kind, thoughtful, tolerant, accepting, yet deep inside we have no peace at all.

We are born into a process of evolving our potential. It represents the essence of our soul while in a body and one of our responsibilities is to care for our body yet not be controlled by it. Another responsibility is to be true to our own nature and mature past the messages others have given to us. We need to know our own inner self.

If we become silent enough on the inside we can make contact with the Source of all things and sense a greater presence all around us. This is the healing gift we can connect to and feel flowing through us when we ask for it. Knowing we were once completely free and still are means we do not have to step out into the world to receive this energy. The contact is already there; we must remain open to allow it to be present. This energy arrives during meditation, quiet sitting or via an activity we love so much that we get lost in it and there is no person alive who is exempt from it.

The healing force of unified consciousness over-rides anxiety.

This reservoir of energy will not be felt fully if we are crowding our days with trying to make sure everything runs to plan.  We may believe plans we are trying to enact will lead to our freedom. When we look for freedom elsewhere and forget that we already have it inside we are divided against ourselves. In the Western world we have become accustomed to seeking more than we can immediately use. When we do this we are sending a message that we do not have enough.

The greatest gift bestowed on us by the Source is our life itself. We have been given the opportunity to grow our wisdom no matter what type of family situation we were born into and regardless of how controlling or abusive our parents may have been. Each person belongs to themselves and not to a mother or father figure who may have misunderstood their role as a parent and dominated our being. We are made up of both a body and soul that is independent of any parental projection and the guide for seeing does not come from them. When we make a commitment to forgive them and move past any ignorant messages we can revive our own inner voice to be louder than theirs.

It is the life path of all Spirit to conduct the energy of the heart. Our body is visible and through it we perform human activities but it is the invisible unity of the heart energy that comes through us unimpeded when we are aligned with the Creator. If we are able to acknowledge the freedom with which we have started out then we can find a way to restore that unity and influence our journey.

To be ‘free as a bird’ may involve returning to the path that you knew was right for you all along but that you may have been talked out of by others. If you have been unable to dispel the influence of others and find you are moving in the wrong direction for your spirit then contemplate a way forward without that programming. Identify it and then ask yourself – Who would I be if I didn’t do this…think this…act like this…continue this…complete this….? What would truly work for my heart?

The duties of our heart can only be made manifest if we give their actions room. To be ‘free as a bird’ we need to be living from the place inside of us that best reflects and acknowledges unity – the body and soul working as one. This does not have to occur as a great step we take into a new career but can be done in small acts and admissions that allow others to see more of who we really mean to be. If we have hidden our true nature from others then we have also hidden it from ourselves and that is the hardest nut to crack. It can give a shock to those around us when we start ‘emerging’.

To be ‘free as a bird’ you will need to have some wings. Think of what gives you wings and elevates you above the common aspects of your own life so you are able to be in tune with greater forces.

Witness your own thoughts for awhile. Watch them going past you as if they belong to someone else and you are studying them. Rather than being in them you may be able to recognise that some of these thoughts started in childhood. Just repeating a program that has been given to you or handed along from family members is a mechanical use of the mind; and we are here to express the spirit.

“Any piece of coal which does not burn at the required time will never burn” is an old Jewish proverb. It reminds us that what does not come alight at the moment when it is called upon to be of service will be rendered useless and is wasted. We are here to be useful and not miss the moment of ‘being ourselves’.

Life will flit past us if we forfeit our own character to be pleasing to another. A life of freedom is not one where we are repeating another’s story or interpretation. It is a life in which we evolve with the flow and feel our conditioning falling away.

We are born to come alight and be the flame of freedom – fuel for one another – with not one piece of coal being the same. Look up at the sky and stars tonight and remember you are part of all existence. Freedom is responsibility too – the responsibility of unfolding what is natural in you.

Light your flame of freedom and allow it to be enough. When you are ‘free as a bird’ you simply are and that is always enough.

“No decision is a decision too.”

People tend to say they are poor at making decisions. It is more likely they are quite capable of doing so yet unwilling to follow through on them. Action brings a decision to life and incurs responsibility. We move from a vague position of comfort and non-accountability to one of commitment.

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I am sorry to all those people who come to this website and find some ideas being repeated. This theme of inertia has been raised in previous articles but many site visitors keep getting stuck around issues of when to act on their ideas and why they feel so overloaded if they let the time for action pass. Inertia develops when we disconnect from taking action, as if another aspect of ourselves or someone else would be gracious enough to step in and do that part for us.

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Let’s assume it is easy to come to a decision and that we can even get excited about the action we need to take. However, the fear of experiencing the fallout from taking that step is too much. If we repeatedly think about taking that action, a part of us can almost become convinced that we have actually done so because we have practiced it in our minds so often that it almost feels real. Yet it is a false reality, a fantasy, and we are left with a divided self – the part that senses the action to be carried out and the part being left to eventually fulfil that action – but there is no communication or connection between the two.

“Wouldn’t it be great to deal with a particular concern and then be able to say – Next?”

Feel the freedom that enters and is right there the moment something that we have been carrying around for a long time leaves us. There is a space to welcome the ‘next’ thing we are ready for and to start to deal with that as well. This is how truly successful people make their way. They do not allow themselves to get bogged down in the ‘what if’s’ or remain buried in how, what, when and why scenarios. A successful decision-maker is too busy handling what comes up and dealing with it quickly to ever notice being buried in ‘stuff’. This ‘stuff’ can be an acute state of stress build up for some people. Here is some symbolism to point out why it is unhealthy to hold onto that ‘stuff’.

Imagine if each problem you had to face were a block of wood and you could only let go of it after you had dealt with the issue it represented. You may be so busy getting in touch with how that block feels and what type of flame it will create and whether your chimney is properly designed for the way it might burn – before you know it you have another problem looming and you’re holding the next block of wood as well. You would just keep piling blocks up without ever using them to start a fire. If you physically had to hold onto them they would be piled up above your head. Once you could no longer see in front of you there would most likely be a great toppling over. Surrounded by blocks of wood – all your problems – now in disarray and out of order in a heap around you – it would become a guessing game as to what order of importance they came in, how relevant they are to this moment now and just what you ought to pick up and start to set on fire first. No wonder people feel helpless, hopeless and INERT in the accumulation stage of a crisis. It is not simply a balancing or juggling act but a waste of good present moment energy fuel that never gets realised.

“Do you choose to live by dead wood or by a beautiful flame?”

If we hold onto a decision to act upon in the future it starts to accumulate a bank of stagnant energy. Anticipation for the action remains on a mental level only but starts to leak into our emotions too. This is when people start to feel ‘sick and ill’ about their responsibilities and get tired all the time. The flow on effect is that others around them pick up this gloomy energy and are repelled.

A person who can set their mind to something and focus on action is going to be attractive.

In order to keep a continuous flow in life and implement our decisions in the right timing, we need to fuel the steps to their accomplishment without second-guessing ourselves. To doubt a decision that has already been made creates an impediment. Sooner rather than later, once doubt has set in, we may abandon the spontaneous and natural decision that first came to us. A chance is missed.

A blockage from over-thinking and the heaviness that fear dictates start to depress our energy. Instead of enjoying the free flowing action that comes from taking a spontaneous step we are left in ‘the dead zone’ of not knowing what to do. Yet right at the start we had that absolute feeling of trust that we knew exactly what we wanted and were excited by the idea! And even if we didn’t know we were prepared to take a risk and see what came of it.

Spontaneous thinking doesn’t easily return once we have allowed our rational mind to be the guide.

“Living well means making mistakes.”

Next time you make a mistake or the outcome of a decision you act upon is less than ideal, congratulate yourself that you have stepped into life with all its twists and turns. You are trying things out, you are seeing how things fit and you are getting involved! Allow mistakes to fuel your passion and make you more determined to ‘come unstuck’.

The worst thing that can happen in following through on a decision is that you could be wrong. So what? That is how you find your way to what will work. Even a backwards way of working has its opportunities and gives you life experience that you can cherish.

“Be too busy to be proud.”

Become so involved and so unheeding of any gossip around you that you can actually move forward for yourself.

Until next time,
Karen Cohen

Advice received in a reading must be considered according to our strength or vulnerability. We must take our own personal capacity into account and not just run on ahead with what is written on the page as if the book knows more about us than we do. It takes a series of deeper questions to find out if we really have the ability and tools to change at a particular time or if that is even really necessary. Sometimes it is just nice to know that the hexagram drawn is one possibility.

Our success can be hampered by the level of our own personal development but our stage of progress must be respected. If we know an action is just too much for us then pushing ourselves according to the outcome of a reading is not going to be correct.

We must take all the time we need to arrive at readiness for any action and this is where matching thoughts with feelings can bring better alignment to move.

For instance, if we are struggling in a relationship that is one-up/one-down it takes time to master feeling equal. In some relationships this may never occur.  There may be friends who tell us we need to be free of a particular person or situation but our attachment level is based on security needs or comfort and we are not ready.

These deeper issues need to be dealt with first and possibly discussed with professional help as they are the steps that navigate the path towards our release. If we do not take progressive steps we are expecting too much of ourselves. We are the only ones who can determine when to make a change and honour the instinct that tells us we are not ready, working slowly and quietly at our own process of self-care.

The best questions to ask of the I Ching then relate to how to handle our own identity and have a voice that is respected. It starts with respecting our own voice and finding   ways to enable individuation. We can ask questions related to strengthening our assertiveness and re-discovering our own values.

It is easier to blame another person than to own the fact that we have ‘gone missing’ from our own life.

People tend to consult the I Ching when they have a question about the meaning of their life or its direction. They ask the same broad question repeatedly. This defeats the purpose of the overview or bigger picture and brings confusion from then on.

The hexagram drawn from a broad life question is only the starting point of deeper questions to highlight steps. By continually consulting the I Ching over a broad life issue we can draw up more problems than solutions.

Issues are dissolved only after we have developed key skills within the bigger picture, starting the walk step by step and being proud of ourselves along the way. This keeps us connected to present moment living and daily practice builds towards a big picture.

If we consult the I Ching on a major issue in our life we need to trust the first element drawn is the most powerful view. From there we can ask questions that will uncover why we want certain things to happen or what is lacking in a particular situation.

It is never wise to ask questions about another person or their behaviour. The starting point is always within us and not in the pattern or person affecting us. The questioner finds out more about their own contract with the other person and how it may be altered by a suggested change in their own behaviour. If we formulate the questions from our own intention then we are taking responsibility.

A question (plea) such as:

“Why does (name) always try to control the course of my life?” can be reframed to –

“Why do I allow others to dictate the course of my life?”

I am using the August Energy Tips sent out in the Members newsletter to outline a reading about this, using a hexagram that has been discussed before. It is an example only and not a personal account transacted between anyone from this current site.

A life purpose movement of consciousness is taking place with mind trainers and life coaches helping people discover their true calling. The promise seems to be focused on helping people catch up with what they were ‘meant’ to be doing and to ease out of any dead ends. This can be positive when approached in a practical and mindful way but it can also be based around ideals that are unrealistic and grandiose.

When the urge to find new life purpose has become overwhelming we may start to panic under the pressure and doubt choices we have made. Did we follow the wrong career? Did we marry the right partner? Will we ever gain independence or be wealthy?

The I Ching suggests there are no mistakes, only energy responses, signposts that we have become sidetracked or that we are on course, reflected back to us through changes in our world or through blockages that indicate change is needed.

When we lose friends, money or direction it is common to feel the pressure to want to know what we did ‘wrong’. Instead of riding out the storm we tend to try to fix it and search for something to make our way easier or avoid the change that is taking place. We want things to return to how they were before and we wait for things to go ‘wrong’ before we look. When things are going well we don’t doubt our focus or life path. These patterns are part of the natural cycle of adjustment.

For some of us there are hidden ‘dreams’ that were buried in order to make way for other needs to be met. We are unable to act on every whim and interest that comes before us. If we did then our life would be overcome by desire and carelessness, corrupted by trying to satisfy our personal will. There are dreams we may have promised ourselves we would fulfil ‘one day’ but the passage of time and conditions take their toll.

If real life is in the present moment and spiritual in nature no matter what our job or pathway looks like, then we have not ‘missed the boat’ or spent our life in a wrong choice. There are no wrong choices, only lessons repeated as we resist learning. This is how it becomes possible to find an emotional pattern or habit running through an entire family.

Some lives may appear more exciting to our wandering eyes but lessons are the same for all people; it is a matter of whether we are willing to go through challenges. If we use an external monitor of fame and fortune as our map we will probably be disappointed with our achievements and start ‘the hunger’.

If we give power to another person’s notion of what is good for us then we may seek the ideal of another life purpose.

Is it the new life purpose that is actually calling us from our vivid buried dreams and desires, or is it the need to take back some element of control over our own choices and act from our own initiative that we are really missing?

In the ego world of self-aggrandizement and one-upmanship, where the focus is on becoming the best you can be, using all you have, getting all you ever dreamed of and never losing it, object consciousness prevails and the target is up ahead, out there, someplace in the future.

A true life is a simple life. If we build from that premise and keep returning to that as our central base, we will not lose our way. If you have been a victim of other people’s opinions, the challenge is not necessarily to escape to where they can no longer get at you, but to overcome that demon within yourself that has you faltering when they judge you.

We have no control over what other people say and do but we can control how we respond to it. Part of our life purpose needs to be in building these inner resources that can carry us through whatever challenges come our way. Then ‘life purpose’ becomes how you handle this moment and what follows.

When we consult the I Ching it is to receive help with motivation, timing, conditions, suitability and to detect any pretence or ‘false god’ that may be taking us down a pathway that is misleading. Flashes of inspiration enter when we leave a space for the greater knowledge to reach us.

When we trust ‘experts’ and put them on a pedestal to make decisions on our behalf we weaken our own inner resolve. If we find mentors and run with their stories of accomplishment or how they attracted their money and follow their pledges of ‘You can do it too – let me show you how’, we may be denying our own ‘life purpose’ and falling for theirs. Are we looking for a missing parent? If so, then it is time to start parenting ourselves and gently leading the undeveloped part of our nature forward step by step.

There are many great teachers and business people in whom we can trust. Their role is often bountiful, to the extent that we may remember what they have said to us for as long as we live. They have truly made a difference to us on the inside.

But when we are concerned that our ‘life purpose’ is not exciting enough or does not seem to be netting us any rewards we can be susceptible to being misled by another’s suggestion.

We are all wired differently and need to create our own design. That design does not amount to ‘one big thing’ we do in order to put our stamp on the world. It is the composite of many small acts of trust, kindness and expression that build our character and give our life purpose every single day.

Once we are capable of calling ourselves adults we also need to be capable of owning our choices. Yet we fall for someone else’s interpretation of what is best and it could be just another grand seduction. We naturally crave to find hidden potentials for artistic expression or follow the non-traditional formula so we can think of ourselves as unique and different; yet harnessing our creativity is not so difficult.

It begins from here, whether we are washing dishes, changing nappies or writing an engineering blueprint. Creative living is as much an attitude as it is a ‘destination’. Those who believe it is the latter run the risk of never being able to ‘find it’ or ‘get there’. They may be dissatisfied with what they have now and that can spark unhealthy or unnecessary ambition for change. If we work our way forward with an open heart from our present point, things fall into place.

Karen Cohen
www.iching.com.au
Karen@iching.com.au © Copyright 2010 One Publishing

Too much holding back damages the spontaneous spirit of joy that courses through our veins when we are open to new ideas. Messages are received best when we are relaxed and flowing, living with our guard down and not crippled by justifications, blame or repetition.

It doesn’t matter whether we are rich or poor, old or young, vibrant or frail, contact with the Super Conscious force of the universe comes from our willingness to ask the ‘personal’ self to step aside. When we move away from ‘personal’ there is access to a power greater than we are, the all-knowing mind or consciousness of all things.

We live within the intelligence of the universe but may only be accessing the known parts we have personally achieved – our personal work, our level of academic intelligence and the circumstances within which we love and have attained our network of experience. Though we know there is more we may have difficulty manifesting aspects of the subtle realm, preferring to maintain the known rhythm of our limited wheel of worldly attainment – the small picture – a better job, house, car, clothes, holidays and relationships – finite realities that we use as signposts of growth.

There is nothing wrong with this and we all chase these things, but when attention to these false conditions dominates our thinking and renders us insecure if we don’t have them, we are on the wheel of restraint, even though we seem to be moving ahead!

Spiritual development is something other than this; it is the awakening of the whole self and does not have a finite measurement that can be displayed for others to see. It can be a spine tingling realisation that without all the material things and personal successes we can still exist fully and have a purpose. Security comes from the peace of knowing we are part of the invisible plane of existence.

If we abandon our story – who we think we are, what we do for a living, the situations that have brought us to where we are now, where we live, where we’ve been, who we’ve known and what has ‘happened’ to us, we are free and available to contact the precious realm of the spirit within – the nameless, all-knowing power of existence.

This all-knowing plane of existence does not have a personality or know what stains or stamps of worthiness are on our character. It is a channel of power that streams through us directly when we allow ourselves to ‘get out of the way’ and become open to its healing.

Sometimes it is just nice to simply call on that energy to take our place, as if we are moving out of our own way to allow the greater consciousness to step in and be in contact through us. This is the Divine Will that knows no bounds, the font of all knowledge available to every man.

When we set aside the ego level of our personality – the achievements, the self-doubt, the worry and fear, the needs we think we want satisfied and the obligations we carry – in that moment of clearance there is a pure space for the energy of the subtle realm to come in and be received through us, unblocking our restraint.

All our cells respond to this pure essence of life that is always available.

If we have intentionally come to a standstill for fear of where to go next then restraint is a natural rest stop along the way, until we have the courage to make a decision.

Our mental thoughts create an atmosphere around us that is felt by others. These thoughts also send messages to the Universal Sub-Conscious Mind, indicating whether we are open to receive new information or are in lockdown, living with the brakes on, responding only to our own intelligence and conditioned perceptions.

It may be easier to recognise a habit of denial in a friend, colleague or family member rather than in ourselves, but denial is real for each of us. No one is immune from getting stuck in a denial pattern and defending ourselves to hide a pain we feel unable to deal with or an experience we are not safe enough to heal. It is unfair to judge another or ourselves for this blindness of spirit.

If denial patterns linger and become a lifetime fixture – which does happen – then we will always be living with the brakes on. When it feels as if the brakes are on it may be necessary to ask within for what it is that we are denying in ourselves; this will unlock the energy again.

Find time to access the part of yourself that protects, denies and finds restraint comfortable. Give that unawakened part the safety needed to find expression. This can happen simply by acknowledging there has been denial even if you are unclear what that denial has been about. In doing so, a window opens up.

Karen Cohen
© Copyright 2010 www.iching.com.au

One definition of POWER in the controlling lines of I Ching Hexagram 8 refers to it being a result of “constancy in the use of proper principles”. We are asked to “review our allegiances” because “to unite with improper influences would bring misfortune”.

Refusing to align with improper influences results in personal inner leadership and that alone is power. The improper element is not the people we align with but the emotions that govern our decisions. To be tempted to improper actions by foregoing the step by step process of development and rushing things is an act of inferiority.

Internal strength brings a certainty to our aura that can be felt by others. We may not need to attain a position, rank or affirmation from outside us to prove our power. It comes naturally once our internal ability to respect power has been established. If we seek power before inner development of it is evident, there will be a gap in our understanding that will be exposed over time. We will be left open to humiliation and learn it would have been better to take time to grow and rise naturally.

Make power tangible now. Be at one within. Form allegiances based on proper principles. Do not rush development. Then you will be ready to hold power.

Make WISDOM tangible – “by exercising your knowledge in difficult situations.” If you develop and grow your wisdom by standing up for what you know to be true, then you will be in true possession of your wisdom. Abandoning this opportunity and aligning with the pack – the easy way out – degrades the self and you lose a little bit of your own wisdom each time you act this way. To put forward your beliefs may leave you open to attack but if you are not using your wisdom in life then you are not in ownership of it. Face opposition in a calm way or walk away, but still hold to your position. Silence can become an agreement with evil or prove you are weak-willed.

When you formulate your own opinion it does not mean you are trying to change someone else. You can respect all people but to respect yourself first and own your wisdom is to be guaranteed the right to keep it. Make wisdom tangible now. Own what you already know. Remain open to what you don’t. Receive openly. Wisdom is free.

Karen Cohen