The I Ching or Book of Changes
August 28, 2006 | 10:23 pm
I’ve been reading the I Ching or Book of Changes, the ancient Chinese oracle (in particular the version by Brian Browne Walker, published by St. Martin’s). Basically, you toss three coins, and by plotting them out in a certain way, you come up with a hexagram. The book then interprets the hexagrams for you. What’s interesting is that the advice of many of the hexagrams is extremely similar to the advice of New Thought, Science of the Mind, etc.
For example:
p. 12: Lastly, we are required to unstructured our attitude. By abandoning strategies about people and situations, we let the past and the future go and meet the present with an open mind. To be unstructured and open is to allow the Sage to guide us safely and joyfully through life.
p. 38: What is needed in the moment comes out of the one’s allegiance to the Sage. If this is constant and steadfast, then there is no lack.
p. 43: A fundamental fact of consciousness is that we take on the attributes and energy of that upon which we focus our attention.
p. 53: The nature of the ego is that when we exercise it, it takes us out of the present. When we engage in ambitions, anxieties, or anticipations, our ego is skipping ahead, and we miss the guidance of the Creative in the present moment. When we engage in anger, judgment, and condemnation – whether toward ourselves or others—our ego is looking backward, and we cannot see the Sage’s clear solution to the present situation.
p. 79: The simple truth is that every moment in every person’s life contains the teaching he or she most needs at that time.
p. 83: Truly, the only way to dispel trouble and regain peace of mind is to change our attitude.
Now I must go toss some coins….
Posted by: I Ching — Meg
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More on The World’s Religions
August 17, 2006 | 9:41 pm
I think I mentioned that this was a particularly weighty book, but well worth the read. It is fascinating to see how the concepts that we call “New Thought” stem from ancient Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist beliefs. The idea that our thoughts control our destinies is certainly not new. Nor is the idea that we should go with the flow of universal energy, a Taoist belief. Up to the chapter on Islam, the various beliefs covered focused on how individuals are all connected to one another, their responsibility to society, and so forth. Islam, apparently, is very much focused on the individual and the individual’s beliefs and actions. As Houston Smith puts it:
“Coming to Islam (as we do in this book) from the ‘no-self’ of Buddhism and the social self of Confuciansim, we are struck by the stress the Koran places on the self’s individuality; its uniqueness and the responsibility that devolves on it alone. In India, the all-pervading cosmic spirit comes close to swallowing the individual self, and in China the self is so ecological that where it beings and ends is hard to determine. Islam and its Semitic allies reverse this drift, regarding individuality as not only real but good in in principle. Value, virtue, and spiritual fulfillment come through realizing the potentialities that are uniquely one’s own; in ways that are not inconsquential, those possibilites differ from those of every other soul that ever has lived, or ever will live in the future.”
Now…tell me again why so many Americans, who generally believe so strongly in the significance of the individual, can’t find anything in common with Muslims?
Posted by: Smith, Huston — Meg
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And now for an update on DreamTime’s books!
August 1, 2006 | 11:20 pm
A lot has been happening, and our first four titles are right on schedule. We have an in-store date of January 15, 2007 planned, and we’ll be taking prepublication orders by mid September.
The subjects for our first four books include winter fitness, basketball, bicycling, and art. Future titles include singing and tennis, as well as a second, new, series. For periodic updates, please send an email to updates@dreamtimepublishing.com. We promise not to abuse the privilege of having your email, and we promise not to sell your information.
And, our search continues for good writers who can share inspiring stories about their favorite activities. Please see our submissions page for more information.
Posted by: — Meg
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