Hexagram 17 – Lake over Thunder – 3/25-3/29

Sui – Following

Opinion – Far-Sightedness – Omniscience .:. Codon Ring of Humanity

Lake over Thunder continues the descent of the cycle of elements from Heaven to Earth. Lake is a gentle, calm energy while Thunder is strong and shocking. In this formation the more powerful Thunder bows to the gentle presence of Lake. In this way, the more aggressive and bold energies of life can be tamed by the higher peaceful energies.

This comes as a reminder that the parts of our character which naturally express power sometimes do not work well with others. The power of thunder can be abrasive in groups, so we can learn much from staying open and receptive to those around us. To harness our full power we must begin by Following our higher nature.

In order to gain a Following we must practice Following. By committing ourselves to Following our inner truth, we make it possible for others to trust in us fully. Like forces attract, so if we attune to higher frequencies, we attract these forces into our life and into any endeavor we join. Likewise, acting out our negative tendencies invites disaster. It is the same with Following another with corrupt morals, they may lead us toward negativity and peril. What or whom we Follow is a clear indication of our spiritual maturity.

When situations in life are not in alignment, it is essential to accept how things are. We don’t need to approve of the current situation, but we must accept it as it is and Follow our higher aspirations. Acceptance is at the heart of this philosophy.

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The shadow of Opinion occurs when a person hardens their mind into certainties. This is created primarily by the logical mind, which nit-picks small details instead of looking at the whole. This may twist the mind from seeing the big picture, and therefore it serves parts of life instead of the whole. This part of our awareness looks out at the world only to see flaws. A doubtful Opinion is like a seed, which may grow to a mountain of doubt. However, an Opinion that is held playfully can be flexible and lead to inquiry from a balanced brain. A child raised with a focus on play in the first seven years of life instead of study and structure may be better suited to avoid the pitfalls of this shadow later in life 14-21. This key is rooted in the left brain with its masculine perspective of reason, pattern recognition and logic. In the new (and ancient) way emerging on the Earth, the masculine should serve the feminine, and similarly the left brain should serve the right brain.

Opinions are formed in an attempt to grasp for certainty in the mystery that is life. An Opinion is anything that must be defended, and creates the dilemma of politics. Facts are often used like weapons to build and win arguments, while concealing the facts of the other side. We cling to these certainties to protect us from the fear that life can’t be controlled. We write papers, read books, watch the news, listen to preachers, or teachers to take a stand and try to hold back the unknown. Truth lies in the middle, takes no side and needs no defending. It speaks for itself.

The repressive nature is Self Critical, and always compares itself with others. These people can’t stand up for themselves or even have an opinion. The reactive nature is Opinionated. These people are mired in dogmas, wether in science, religion, politics or any system. The way out is to see both sides of any position.  Unifying the two sides of the mind in a playful way leads out of this shadow.

The gift of Farsightedness shines light on misrepresented truth. The shadow tends towards narrow-mindedness, whereas the gift leads to open-mindedness. This gift cuts through Opinions of either side and our addiction to them. It sees how we become trapped and how to move beyond the division of duality. This triggers the opening of the third eye, which cuts through illusion and sees the inherent patterns and structures of truth behind the manifest forms of the world. There is great clarity and far reaching vision for the future of humanity and the natural steps to walk that path. This gift will lead to the evolution of the systems we rely on, and revolutionize our politics, economics, transportation, and community.

This path of seeing culminates here in the siddhi with Omniscience. It begins when the separate Opinions of the self start to see through the third eye how the self can serve the whole. This leads to the Eye opening completely and the individual self is evolved right out of our awareness. The fully awakened Eye sees spherically in all directions, dimensions and aspects of time. Consciousness itself makes up a crystalline structure of all time, space and dimensional reality as one, and the Eye perceives this totality. The being through which this siddhi activates has no Opinions and only does as the pure consciousness of creation wills. This is a siddhi of oracles and seers, portals for the mystery to peer into this realm, and for some to peer out beyond the veils.

This key is part of the second Sacred Seal, where the siddhi of Omniscience heals the second line wound of denial and illuminates the Astral body.

Keys of the iChing .:. Jesse Chesnutt