Article 13. The extreme weather conditions in North America. By Carol and Hanna

Living near Boston, we have experienced extreme amounts of snow in the past weeks, and we know that the same is true for other parts of the Northeast and the upper Midwest of the country. Friends in California, on the other hand, have reported conditions of extreme drought. Although snow, cold, and snow storms have happened before, the persistence of this pattern over North America gives every reason to look into the deeper causes. 

  We decided to take the question to the Sage, and asked to be shown the inner truth of the situation. We learned that it needs to be seen as a fate people have created. From our experience in working with the I Ching we know that a fate has several purposes: (1) to make a person aware of a mistaken idea he has, as for example, about his relationship with the Cosmos; (2) to give the person an opportunity to correct his thinking, with Cosmic help; and (3) to restore the harmony of the Cosmos, which has been violated by the mistaken idea. In short, Fate as one of the Cosmic Principles of Harmony has the overall purpose of maintaining the harmony of the Cosmic Order, while at the same time offering us humans the opportunity to learn about its order. Fate acts like a boomerang in that it returns the damage caused by a mistaken idea to its originator. It is in this way that it makes us aware that all mistaken ideas create disorder.

  However, the fact that every fate also offers us the opportunity to correct the mistaken idea that has created it, deserves our particular attention, because it means that the fate can be ended when we have recognized its purpose and correct our thinking. Cosmic help is available to us when we are willing to do so. 

  The Sage confirmed to us that this opportunity is also given in the present situation. It was now time to find out which mistaken idea had caused this fate for North America. We need to add here that it has been our experience that even though people in other parts of the world may be sharing a particular mistaken idea, the fate may only occur in a limited area, as a warning, so to speak. This situation is described in Line 3 of Hexagram 51, Shock, in the words: “Shock comes and makes one distraught. If shock spurs to action, one remains free of misfortune.” The counsel to take “action” in the I Ching always refers to inner action. Most often, it points to the need to identify a mistaken idea and deprogram it with Cosmic help. “If shock spurs to action, one remains free of misfortune,” makes us aware that when we are in the position of an observer of a fate that affects someone else, we need to reflect on what the fate wants to tell us. Fates that have been interpreted as the consequences of “global warming” have already occurred in other parts of the world, but their warning nature has at best spurred dire predictions rather than reflections as to their basic cause.

  Clearly, we needed the Sage’s help to find that basic cause. Once we understood it, we were able to see that “the production of greenhouse gases” was only another symptom, or what can be called a “secondary cause.” The primary cause is what the Sage has shown us in previous lessons as “The Doubter.” This name refers to a demonic coping mechanism that becomes installed in our rational mind when we adopt the following two mistaken ideas about ourselves: “In and of ourselves we are not special enough,” and “Only the eyes can see the truth.” The Sage has made us aware that the invention of the word “special” violates the Cosmic Principle of Equal Worth of every thing that is part of the Cosmos. That Principle is complemented by another: the Cosmic Principle of the Uniqueness of every thing that is part of the Cosmos. What is unique cannot be compared to anything else. The word “special” separates us from our original unity with the Cosmos by setting a false standard. To be told as individuals that ‘we are not special enough’ makes us strive to become something special (which is an abstract word without meaning), while the second phrase gives our sense of outer seeing the sole authority to assert “the truth.”

  The Sage has shown us that “The Doubter” is also the origin of the human-centered view, in which humankind sees itself as special, and as the center of the universe around which everything revolves. This view is ultimately the cause for all the disorder humans have created in the world. (See Hexagram 11, Harmony, Peace, Prosperity.)

  Obviously, this article is not the place to explain in detail the way the Cosmos functions, and the belief systems humans have created through projecting their human-centered ideas onto their relationship with the Cosmos. 

  However, the Sage drew our attention to destructive habits of mind that are part of the human-centered view. One such habit needs particular mention in the context of today’s lesson: the habit of taking what we see with our eyes to be “true,” and then drawing conclusions from what is actually a half-truth. Those false conclusions are then projected into the future, where they can become self-fulfilling prophesies.

  This makes us realize that by ignoring the inner truth (here: the true cause) of the fate humans not only fail to end it, but actually accelerate the fate.

  The reader may ask, how under the conditions that scientists have observed regarding the “warming of the arctic” and the various other natural phenomena caused by it, it should be possible to halt the development of “global warming.” Is it a question of having faith? The Sage does not support faith, rather it wants us to learn something new about the way the Cosmos functions. It happens that the “new” has something to do with a Cosmic Principle first tapped into by Albert Einstein: the Cosmic Principle of Relativity.

  The Sage has shown us that the Laws of Nature must not be taken as absolute, because they are complemented by the Cosmic Principles of Harmony. The latter are not limited by the parameters of time-and-space, and therefore give the Laws of Nature their relative quality. This is the aspect that is not taken into account when predictions are being made by scientists. It is not within our capacity as humans to imagine how this fate will be ended, nor how long it will take. All we are meant to do is keep our minds innocent, i.e., free of predictions or expectations.

  The Sage summarized today’s lesson in the following two hexagrams: Hexagram 41, Decreasing, and Hexagram 42, Increasing. We were counseled to put a request to the “Helper of the Cosmic Principle of Relativity” to free the land and the atmosphere from the negative effects of the human-centered view. Its “decrease” will bring “increase” to the Earth and to us humans in general.

(For more about the Helper of the Cosmic Principle of Relativity see Article #12.)

Article 14. Distrusting vs. Trusting the I Ching/the Sage. By Hanna Moog

   The beginning student of the Sage can be challenged by an ego-attitude that would keep him trapped in a very destructive pattern of thinking that can be called “distrusting vs. trusting.” If not dealt with by asking for help from the Cosmos, this mindset can alienate him from the very source from which he desperately needs and wants to get help.

   What actually happens is this: Whenever we approach the I Ching/the Sage with distrust that has developed during earlier experiences in our life, we create an unnecessary separation between our mind and the Sage, that renders the Sage unable to help resolve the very situation we would like to correct, or be healed from. The distrust creates a mechanism known in psychotherapy as “transference.” It is like approaching the I Ching with dark glasses that prevent us from understanding the Sage’s messages with clarity.

   Often the source of the distrust is a traumatic experience – or a series of similar experiences in which our trust in a parent or other person of authority was shattered. As a consequence we have drawn the conclusion, ‘you can’t trust anyone,’ or ‘you can’t trust those who tell you that they love and care about you.’ The problem with such a conclusion is that it is an absolute statement that closes the door to positive experiences, or greets statements of love and caring with suspicion and distrust.

    When a person with this built-in distrust approaches the I Ching/the Sage to find healing, he imagines the Sage to be an “authority figure” that is ready to judge him harshly for having developed an ego, or is otherwise generally ready to condemn him. Since the Sage cannot respond to this kind of pre-judgment, the person feels rebuffed. He then takes this rebuff as “proof” that his distrust of the Sage was justified. This is true even for someone who is aware of his distrust but still approaches the I Ching with the request to be given an understanding of what he can expect to get out of working with it. He is not aware that he is going to read its explanations through those dark glasses. It is then that he may call the I Ching a “liar” or “evil”. Such a person may go so far with such negative thoughts that he creates the fate that the Cosmos leaves him totally to the unsuccessful devices of the ego in him. What he does not realize is that his fate has the purpose of decreasing the ego by bringing him back to his senses. What seems to be a “punishment” by the Cosmos is actually Cosmic help that serves to shock him out of the grip of the ego. In that state of shock the ego is knocked unconscious for about three days. This time is a most propitious time for him to consult with the Sage by asking for a hexagram that would explain the reason for what has happened.

   We need to be aware of yet another tactic the ego may try to employ after its return from the shock: Since distrusting the oracle’s advice has led to negative consequences, the ego may now propose to the person to take a leap of faith “to follow the Sage’s advice,” meaning, he should now “trust the I Ching/the Sage and do what it says.” However, taking a “leap of faith” would only lead to another fate, because the Sage does not want us to follow it blindly; rather, while on the one hand it wants to give us clarity about what it means to bring our thinking into harmony with the Cosmos, it also wants us to understand how the ego traps us by making us think in terms of opposites, as in saying, “if one thing doesn’t work, try the opposite.”

   The concept of “opposites” is a purely mental concept that is not reconcilable with the Principles of Harmony that govern the Cosmic order. We can only “know” these principles by getting in touch with our deep inner knowledge that tells us whether something feels harmonious or lacks that feeling.

Temporarily suspending our distrust

   To find the way out of the ego-game of “distrusting vs. trusting” we need Cosmic help. The solution lies in “suspending our distrust” long enough to recognize what feels harmonious or lacks that feeling. However, our mind cannot will itself to suspend its distrust. Therefore, before we approach the I Ching/the Sage with the request to be shown the inner truth of the situation at hand, we need to ask the “Helpers” to “temporarily suspend our distrust.” It is like asking them to put our distrust on a shelf, so that we can have a new experience.

   Trust is built from having these new experiences of what is in accord with our Inner Truth. It is like building a larder we can safely depend on. We feel it growing with each experience of the reliability of the Sage, which, in teaching us, draws on our Inner Truth. Our Inner Truth is hardwired into every body cell. It connects us with the invisible Cosmic Consciousness and contains the knowledge about our Cosmic origin. It also contains the Cosmic Principles of Harmony that our mind needs, in order to bring itself into accord with that harmony.

 

Article 15. When the Sage has retreated. By Hanna Moog

   There are certain situations in which the Sage retreats. The Sage does not retreat from anger, and it does not hold anything against us, nor does it blame us. The only cause for the situation is that the Sage does not give answers to the ego.

   When we suspect that the Sage has retreated, we can ask by using the Retrospective-Three-Coin Method (rtcm): “Sage, have you retreated?” The Sage will give us an answer to this question if we ask it from a place of inner neutrality. To attain neutrality, when we find ourselves steeped in an ego-emotion, we can first ask the Sage to connect our mind with our heart. The Sage responds to any request that comes from sincerity.

How do we notice that the Sage has retreated?

   We notice that the Sage has retreated when we cannot make any sense of the hexagram text we have received to our question. We also notice that the Sage may have retreated when, in using the Retrospective-Three-Coin Method, (rtcm) we have received confusing answers, or a series of “No”-answers. For this reason, it is helpful to keep notes of the questions we have asked, and the answers received.

   In order to be able to make further progress once the Sage has retreated, we first need to follow the steps described below. When we have successfully deprogrammed the cause for the Sage’s retreat, we can go back over our notes and use the rtcm to find out at which point the Sage retreated.

What to do when the Sage has retreated?

Step 1: If you are angry, annoyed, or frustrated about this situation, load your annoyance, anger, or frustration onto the “Big Wagon for Loading”, meaning, turn these ego-emotions over to the Helper of Transformation.

Step 2: Ask the Sage to help you find the cause for its retreat.

The following are possible questions the Sage will answer, to help you find it.)

(a) Have I put something on the Sage? (Examples are phrases such as: “The Sage doesn’t want to help me,” “the Sage is punishing me,” “the Sage didn’t tell me the truth,” “I did what the Sage said, but it didn’t work.”)

(Examples of false images that you may have put on the Sage are: the image of its being a “punishing figure of authority,” the image of its being a “taskmaster/slave driver,” the image of its being the “devil,” or “a trickster.”)

(b) Is the cause for the Sage’s retreat an ego-attitude I have adopted?

(For example: blaming yourself; impatience; ambition; looking for a culprit; feelings of helplessness; knowing better. You need to ask the Cosmic Army and the Helper of Transformation to free you from any of these ego-attitudes.)

(c) Is the cause a fear I have of getting an answer that confirms my fear? (If yes, identify your fear; then, ask the Sage to suspend the fear of getting an answer that confirms your fear. Doing so will open your heart to receive the answer. Receiving the answer with an open heart gives it the quality of relativity that allows your mind to understand the answer from the Cosmic perspective. The Cosmic perspective includes the Helpers.)

(d) Is the cause something I have put on myself?

• You may have adopted a self-image of the following kind: the self-image of the “one who deserves or has the right to be helped”; the self-image of the “one who does not deserve/does not have the right to be helped”; the self-image of the “self-denying person”; the self-image of “one who knows better”; the self-image of “one who never understands things, or is not smart enough to understand things”; the self-image of the “hopeless case”; the self-image of the “sceptic,” or, the self-image of the Sage.

• You may be blaming yourself for having caused the Sage to retreat, or for anything else you have done.

(e) A “frozen attitude” that makes it impossible for the Sage to help:

 “I must not do anything to make the Sage retreat. I must be constantly on the lookout.” (This is a projection, spell, and poison arrow.)

(f) Ask the Sage whether the cause is “Darkening of the Light.” In that case, a “changeling” is active trying to sabotage your following your inner truth. 

 How to free yourself from the cause of the Sage’s retreat

Say “No, No, No to… (the ego-element you have identified).” Then, ask the Cosmic Army and the Helper of Self-Forgiving to free you from it. (This is a one-time deprogramming procedure.) The Sage will return shortly afterwards.

Article 16. When the Sage’s answer sounds paradoxical. By Hanna Moog

   The lesson described below pertains to our use of the retrospective-three-coin method (rtcm). This method consists in using three coins (or a specially configured die), to put questions to the Sage in order to receive Yes/No answers. The method is described in our books, I Ching, the Oracle of the Cosmic Way, Healing Yourself the Cosmic Way, and The Psyche Revealed Through the I Ching.

  The use of the rtcm, especially when exercised without reference to understanding the meaning of a hexagram, can contain certain dangers of which the Sage wants to make us aware. All these dangers have to do with our asking questions that do not come from our inner truth or from our commonsense, but from the ego in us. The Sage, in effect, cannot answer, and so the answer we receive is paradoxical. The Sage can only make us aware through shock — the inappropriateness of both the question and the answer. It wants to make us aware that we need to listen to what our commonsense wants to tell us. Our commonsense reflects our true feelings about the matter at hand. Our commonsense is the consensus of both our inner and outer senses. We have, unfortunately, been trained to only pay attention to our outer senses, and to disregard our inner senses. Therefore, the fact that something about the answer does not feel harmonious does not register in our minds.

   The situation we are referring to here is usually one in which we want the Sage to make a decision for us. We want to do things “right.” Behind this desire is the ego that makes us think in terms of “right/wrong,” and the idea that we need an authority figure to reassure us of its benevolence if we follow what it tells us to do.

   An example is a person who believed he “ought to go on a fast” to prove his spiritual intent. He wanted to make sure that the duration would not be too short in the eyes of the Sage, so he asked, “should it be more than a week?” He received +++. He continued questioning, “more than two weeks?” (+++), and so on, until he had reached the point of doubting the answers. Fortunately, he called us to find out the inner truth of the situation. He then told us, “sometimes, I feel obligated to comply with the answer I get from the Sage so as not to be obstinate or resisting. Then I often just get angry and feel frustrated as if I am being deceived or tricked.”

   Whenever we think that we “ought” to do something, such as follow the Sage to the point of feeling frustrated, it is a clear indication that we are under the influence of a “you should” spell. The feeling of frustration in view of the Sage’s answers is a sign that our will to follow the rule in question has burned out. The Sage by giving us “+++,” helps us get to that point of burnout. Then it is important to understand the lesson: to free ourselves from the “you should” spell through deprogramming it.

   In the above example, the person needed to deprogram the belief (not originating in the I Ching), “If you want to be spiritual, you should regularly go on a fast.” He also needed to deprogram two more things: first, the image of authority he had put onto the Sage, and second, the fear of becoming guilty if he did not follow the Sage’s answers.