Author: Posts

Meditation is the only activity that doesn’t add anything to the picture.  It is a totally nonviolent, nonaggressive practice.  Not filling the space, allowing for the possibility of connecting with unconditional openness; this provides the basis for real change.

We see activities as obligations and strain against our fate, but there is joy to working in harmony with the proper time.  When we do things at just the right occasion, those efforts will bear fruit later and the gratification is tremendous. 

True growth comes from meeting and solving the problems of life in a way that is harmonizing to yourself and others.  Serve others and cultivate yourself simultaneously.  If you can do this, you will be continually renewed.

Only collective moral force can unite the world.  Such times of unification will leave great achievements behind them.  Human woes usually come as a result of unexpected events against which we are not forewarned.  We should prepare ourselves for unforeseen events or unexpected change. This will lessen our worry.

Quote: We have all the power we need to create all the changes we choose.

The cause of confusion, pollution and violence are not someone else’s problems, it’s something we can come to know in ourselves. To do this, make friends with ourselves and rid ourselves of the mistaken idea that the way to be happy is to blame someone else.

We can all benefit from living according to seasonal circumstances.  Whether it’s the time or the action, living is half initiative and half knowing how to let things proceed on their own according to the times. 

There is nothing more futile and frustrating than relying on the mind.  We need to quiet our thinking, stop analyzing and making distinctions between one thing and another.  Simply see that you are one with the universe and accept all things as being part of you.

We must understand the demands of the times to find the necessary offset for its deficiencies and damages.  Fixing your eyes more closely on your responsibilities may appear petty to the outside world, but if you are conscientious in your actions and simple in your expenditures, you will be successful.

Quote: Without an understanding of who we are, we cannot truly advance.

When you fear something, rather than deal with it, you do whatever it tells you to do.  To defeat fear, don’t do what it tells you to do; then it has no power.  You can listen to it, even respect it and even be convinced of it.  But, if you don’t do what it tells you to do, it has no power over you.

If you are true to your inner nature, you will withstand the vicissitudes and adornment of life.  We may have great fortune or bad, but we should patiently bear both.  No matter what, we must be true to our inner selves.

We know that the manipulations of the mind are dreams, delusions and shadows.  This causes your life to become chatter and contradiction.  Hold one idea, another competes with it and soon these two will be in conflict with a third.  Instead keep your mind undivided and let ideas go; just be.

If one is sincere when confronted with difficulties the heart can penetrate the meaning of the situation and once we have gained inner mastery of the problem, it will come naturally that the action you take will succeed.

Quote: If the only prayer you say in your whole life is “Thank you,” that would suffice. —Meister Eckhart

Patience implies willingness to be alive, rather than trying to seek harmony.  Patience is not learned when everything is going well, but when things do not go our way.  Patience is learned when our expectations collide with the reality of the situation.

Winter storms may destroy some things, but they also prepare the way for new life.  If things are swept away, this makes room for new living things to emerge and begin their own cycle.  Things cannot remain in stillness, everything changes.

It is a universal law that what you say and do determines what happens in your life.  If you think this law is external to you, your desires will trouble your mind and you will be in constant turmoil.  Recognize that you and this law are one, therefore cultivate yourself, bring moderation to your life and clarity to your mind.

It is important not to get intoxicated by success.  Do not skip any stages in your progress; go slowly step by step as though hesitant.  It is important to remain mindful, conscientious and consistent, this frees one of blind impulse.  Only such calm steady progress, overleaping nothing, leads you to your goals.

Quote: You cannot build a reputation on what you are going to do. Henry Ford

Life is glorious, but also wretched.  Gloriousness, we feel inspired and connected.  We get arrogant and look down on others. Wretchedness softens us up. When we know pain, we can be there for others.  Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other; one inspires us, the other softens us. 

Contemplative stillness turns us away from everyday clamor, allowing us to hear the subtle in our lives.  When you don’t listen with your ears, you enter into a subtle sound of pure purity.  The deepest sound you can experience is silence. 

When we are in harmony with the natural laws we flourish together.  Being content with the way things are, brings us constant renewal.  View all things with compassion, while practicing humility; this will bring you energy and wisdom and help all sentient beings find peace.

In a highly developed society, every good person will succeed.  No matter how lowly you feel, if you are ready to purify yourself, you will be accepted by all.  You will attain a station where you will have fruitful accomplishments and gain recognition.

Quote:  Opportunities multiply as they are seized – Sunzi

When you start to get angry pause, stop thinking and connect to that soft spot, but at the same time be honest with yourself to how you are feeling, you’re not suppressing anything.  That means relaxing with that hot energy-knowing.  It is the only way to find peace with ourselves and the world.

True stillness comes naturally from moments of solitude where we allow our minds to settle.  We must take those moments throughout our day of activities and involvements.  Like turbulent water, the mind will become clear if allowed to be still.

The truth is always right there in front of you, it vibrates in everything and every nothing.  You cannot see it by gaining more knowledge, knowledge creates doubts.  You can find the truth inside yourself and become completely content. 

The time has not yet come to begin new measures, but we may be able, to a limited extent, to act as a restraining and subduing influence.  To do this we need determination within and gentleness with external relations.

Quote: Take the breath of the new dawn and make it part of you.  It will give you strength. – Hopi Nation

When we are treated as something special, we think we are a big deal.  The same person or group treats someone else special and ignores you, you feel insulted and humiliated.  The idea is to live humbly and, if rewarded, accept it and when not treated special, accept things the same way.

If we see our path clearly there is no distinction between our outer world and inner one.  To attain this clarity, our hearts and our spirits must be totally concentrated on what we want.  This way there is nothing that we can’t achieve.

Accept the responsibility for the energy you manifest, both actively and in the subtle realm.  Looking at yourself and others you see the same thing.  Then you will understand that caring for yourself is caring for all things.

Joy rests on firmness and strength within, manifesting itself outwardly as yielding and gentle, resting content with everything, remaining free of likes and dislikes.  This will bring you good fortune because the heart is quiet and fortified within itself.

Quote: It does not require many words to speak the truth. – Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

To relate to others compassionately is a challenge, it means not shutting down on that person and, first of all, not shutting down on ourselves.  To do this requires openness, not fixating or holding on to anything, communicating from the heart and being present for that person.

We all project different meanings towards life.  This is a habit we must try to rid ourselves of.  If we can look in and expel all anxieties and illusions, this can help us heal. To do this, make a connection with your inner self by committing yourself to a daily practice of self-cultivation.

We all encounter difficulties in our life, meet them calmly, openly and joyfully.  When suppressed or ignored they continue.  Allow them to become part of your awareness and they eventually wither away.

It is an incentive for you when good starts to prevail to join the upward trend, but don’t be carried away by the current of the time. We must adhere to what is right, this brings us good fortune.

Quote: All dreams fall from the same sky. – Hopi saying

A day to reflect on the year just past and make plans for the year ahead.  Making resolutions and promises to yourself to do better things for your well-being, the well-being of others and the planet.

We might want to write down promises we have made and put them in a place we can look at them every day to enjoy the success of the previous day or to remind yourself of the goals you have set.  Maybe you will have very specific goals or time goals, so you can daily check your progress or lack thereof.  Remember to write down your progress in a special diary that you keep for this purpose only.

If you start to drift back into your old habitual ways for a day, don’t be upset with yourself. Just start again and again if necessary, remembering even a little progress will give you a sense of accomplishment. Help others on their path and the promises they made to themselves, give them encouragement. Maybe you have a common goal, so make a friendly competition out of it.  If you appear to be doing better than your friend, never boast.  If you are doing better, just keep giving encouragement to the other.

One promise at Proceeding Until Apprehended is to finish all 64 hexagrams of the I Ching this year so you can have instant guidance always at your fingertips. The I Ching will give you answers to your questions about all things pertaining to your life. We will give you some words of guidance each day this year to help you and ourselves stay on the paths we have chosen.   

 Quote: Certain things catch your eye but pursue only those that capture the heart. – Ancient Indian Proverb

We are different from each other; our ideas of social etiquette are different from culture to culture.  Rather than criticize each other’s ways or fight over our differences, be curious and strive to understand the other.  Doing this we can achieve peace and harmony in the world.

Always finish what you start, this alone is discipline and wisdom enough.  If you follow this rule, you will be well ahead of most people.  Completion of something means fulfillment, that you have achieved self-knowledge, discipline and a new way of understanding the world around you.

When you are centered and harmonious with all things you will find peace in your heart and then the world will be attracted to you.  Intellectual knowledge exists in and of the brain, insight however is a function of the spirit and, over time, it becomes pure constant and unwavering.

By contemplating the forms that exist in nature, we come to understand the times and its changing demands.  Through contemplation of the forms existing in society it becomes possible to shape the world.  Contemplation is clarity within, quiet without, desire is silenced and the will is put to rest. Thus, the world as ideas become manifest.

Quote:  Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. —Schopenhauer