 |
|
 |
|
I Ching and the Human Body 2014 Class Seven
The Month of September
Venus.
Sept 2014 Class One - Part 1 - Venus Sequence - The Sphere of Attraction: Please study this page with Audio Lecture - ICHB7Part1.MP3
From Richard Rudd's work on the Venus Sequence:
Line 1 – Sterility/Fertility - empty/wholesome
Line 1 sets the foundation of all attraction. Is it going somewhere or is it a dead- end street? At the Shadow frequency, the 1st line is basically a bit of a caveman or cavewoman. It’s just an empty experience. This is sex to try and take away the feeling of emptiness. If your attractor field is putting that out, you will draw in the same thing. This is like going to a prostitute. It may be an experience, but it’s basically a sterile one. There is no relationship that comes from it and no heart in it. I don’t want to judge that either. It is what it is. So let’s look from the other side. Let’s say you are aligned with your Purpose, then your dharma brings you to a relationship that is fertile. By fertility we can mean lost of things – babies, maybe, creativity, enjoyment, connectedness, and above all, love. Even if it isn’t forever, it’s a wholesome experience. The 1st line is basically looking for a wholesome experience – it doesn’t have to be perfect, but it will be fulfilling.
Line 2 – Lust/Passion – inadequate/liberated
The 2nd line – Lust and passion. Lust you see is rooted in this deep feeling of inadequacy. You are not enough, so you have to have another. It’s not about the heart – it’s just naked desire. It’s about losing self consciousness. It’s important to say this is not moral. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things. They are just sexual frequencies, but the Shadow frequencies just aren’t fulfilling – not in the long run. Lust always brings you back to your basic feeling of inadequacy. What are you without it? Passion on the other hand is different. Passion is lust with the heart open, at least that is my definition here. This is tantra – when sexual desire comes up into the heart it explodes into a completely different dimension. It also takes you into a state of unself-consciousness, but instead of emptying you of your vitality, it fills you up. This is about being sexually liberated – it’s about the dance of sex, the passionate expression of sexuality in its purest form. That’s worth attracting.
Line 3 – Promiscuity/Playfulness – melodramatic/adventurous
There is that keynote of adventure again. I obviously couldn’t think of a better word. A sexual entrepreneur maybe? Anyway, this is about being promiscuous. Remember, we all carry this wound inside us, and this is how it comes out through our sexuality. The 3rd line just creates drama. At the low frequency, this is about bust-ups and fuck-ups and a steady stream of disastrous relationships. The 3rd line we have seen can have issues with commitment. And this can play in either direction – maybe you attract men or women who are promiscuous and who have commitment issues. It’s important to consider that with the sphere of Attraction. It might not be you, but the one you draw into your attractor field, and then you blame them, and all along it was your frequency calling them in so that you could deal with a deeper issue inside yourself. At the higher frequency, these are relationships that can be wonderfully playful – where sexuality is not taken so seriously – where it is enjoyed when it’s there and enjoyed when it’s not. It becomes an adventure instead of an issue.
Line 4 – Frigidity/Romance – distant/intimate
When you come to the 4th line, you are coming into Narnia. If you ever read those wonderful books by CS Lewis as a child – the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe – they describe this magical inner world that’s frozen in ice by the wicked Queen. This is how the 4th line shuts down at a low frequency. It freezes you out. It freezes when it feels threatened. But it also is very adept at concealing the wound. It can make you feel like it’s your problem, not theirs. They seem fine. They don’t appear wounded at all other than you can’t feel any warmth there. But the 4th line is so delicate they can’t let you see that, so they pretend to themselves and others that they are fine. This is the ‘I’m fine’ syndrome. So like Narnia, this is a pattern that needs melting. The 4th line responds to romance. They have to gentle themselves back into life. It’s not actually someone else’s responsibility – it’s always our own. But we can let someone else know what we respond to – then the healing can be dual. The 4th line has the capacity for incredible intimacy. An open heart and an open sexuality is an awesome thing to behold.
Line 5 – Entrapment/Sensuality – manipulative/masterful
Line 5 – That tricky line 5. You can’t romance these people. They won’t buy it. This is a pattern that uses sexuality to maintain control. We all know this pattern from the movies. And the entrapment is actually about oneself. The 5th line gets trapped in its own web. It will use sex as a means of avoidance. This is manipulation – and you have to realize these are unconscious patterns, so it’s not like we often know we are doing this. There’s no blame either. Even though any of these patterns can be abusive. They are all abusive – the shadow is about self abuse. So with the 5th line, you have to realize when you are doing it. It takes a lot for a 5th line to ‘come out’ and be vulnerable – they often have a lot invested in their self image. But wow it’s refreshing for them when they do, and others – these are our sexual teachers and healers – when the heart is open here, we find sensuality at its most beautiful, its sweetest, its most alluring. These people can open up other people’s hearts through their deep love of the physical and emotional.
Line 6 – Disappointment/Innocence – resigned/ecstatic
Finally – what a medley! I feel like I am running a gauntlet here! The 6th line is always looking for perfection, so of course they are going to be disappointed! We all have our sexual healing. This one is an odyssey. The 6th line often gets burned early on in its life and then a part of it gives up. They resign themselves to fate. This is as good as it gets. And they can stay there their whole lives. Even if they move to new relationships, they carry this unconscious disappointment, which means that every new relationship, sexual or otherwise is doomed to disappointment. So the 6th line has to wake up. They have to take up their dreams again. It’s not about hope. That’s too facile. It’s about knowing that life is perfect and that there is value in every step along the voyage. It’s about perspective and gratitude. The 6th line needs to learn this – that life isn’t a fairy tale, but it is rich in learning. So never stop being open to the possibilities that lie ahead. Don’t make hope out of it. Just stay open and let your natural optimism swell your aura. Anything is possible. Then the 6th line one day hits their own innocence, and it’s ecstatic. Then you realize you never needed anyone else to feel this. Sexual freedom is innocence.
Venus transit the Sun, June 2004.
Sept 2014 Class One - Part 2 - Venus Sequence - The Pathway of Karma: Please study this page with Audio Lecture - ICHB7Part2.MP3
Detail of the Venus Sequence.
From Richard Rudd's teaching on the Venus Sequence:
Your dharma manifests in your life through your karma, and your karma is released by means of your Attractor Field.
The Pathway of Dharma sets the tone, the Sphere of Attraction calls in the relationship and the Pathway of Karma offers you the opportunity to take the next set of lessons along the evolutionary ladder.
Ironically, the most powerful relationships are not the easy ones but those where the karma plays out the most intensely.
Karma also plays tricks on us innocent humans. Through the power of the Attractor Field and its themes of sexual chemistry it magnetizes us towards each other giving us a tantalizing glimpse of our essence. Once we have been brought together, then like a great cosmic serpent, the karma begins to unravel and the story of our relationship begins. It doesn’t take long for the Shadows to emerge.
For the most part human relationships have never been seen as a spiritual path in their own right.
The Venus Sequence invites you to make an enormous commitment. It asks you to place your primary relationship right at the centre of your inner life. It asks you to follow the storyline of its karma and unpick the delicate weave of your own wounding from the drama. It also asks you to be fiercely honest with yourself at a level you may never have considered before.
Unconditional love places the needs of others before oneself. It is utterly unselfish and utterly humble.
You are not being asked to suddenly see your partner as a perfect sacred vessel of the Divine (even though they are). You are being asked to see the way you see your partner as nothing more than your own set of projections.
To even begin to comprehend these patterns from the inside, rather than just at a mental level, you will need at least a year and probably a good deal more.
There is a common assumption when beginning this kind of work that both partners need to be involved in the process. This is a misconception that often exacerbates even more tension in the relationship. The fact is that it only takes one person to transform a relationship.
This also helps you to keep the teaching moving inwardly instead of being caught in the common trap of always needing to process your own Shadows with your partner.
In every situation you will need to hold unconditional love as your yardstick. This is not designed to make you feel bad about yourself. Very few people on this planet are able to maintain such a heightened state of frequency. But it can be used as a constant reminder that it is possible for you to attain such a state.
In our modern world we often overlook certain traditional values which were once the mainstay of past generations. One of these is courtesy. Courtesy is about basic human respect. When we get to know another person in an intimate relationship we often forget to edit our Shadows or moods as we would if we were with a stranger.
When one person begins to undergo a transformation, the partner in the relationship must also move through their own opening. If after considerable time this does not occur, then it usually means that the relationship is coming to a natural end. When this happens it will do so in a balanced way, without ill feeling. So often karmic relationships are brought to an end prematurely because neither partner knows how to transform the Shadow patterns inwardly.
If you do not have a primary partner at your current stage in life you can use all your other relationships as your means of transformation. Being alone has its own magic and your Venus Sequence can become just as powerful an inner voyage as it is for someone in a relationship. The advantage for you is that you do not have the distraction of another person’s Shadows to continually test you. This means that your own Shadows can be easy to see.
A common thread to many of the world’s creation stories is the notion of the sacred wound. This is the idea that every human being carries an aspect of suffering on behalf of the whole, and over the course of their lives as they learn to heal this wound through the lessons of love, so they bring healing to an aspect of the whole. The Venus Sequence is a profound personal investigation into the sacred wound that you carry on behalf of the whole.
In the ancient Vedic traditions there is a mysterious doctrine known as the ‘sanskaras’. Traditionally your ‘sanskaras’ are seen as sense impressions or unconscious imprints left over from previous lives. In the Venus Sequence we might view the sanskaras as a biogenetic sequence of codes that you inherited at the point of conception. As aspects of the sacred wound your sanskaras are like a series of subtle memory slates stored inside your being, and each one refracts your view of life like a lens. Without your sanskaras you would see life as it truly is, infinite and pure. However, your sanskaras skew your view of reality making your life more challenging. Thus your sanskaras must be understood, purified and transformed over the course of your life.
Your Venus Sequence shows you the precise nature of your sanskaras as a sequence designed to be unlocked in a specific order.
From this point onwards in your Venus Sequence, you will be metaphorically travelling backwards in time through the various developmental phases of your childhood. We humans operate out of 7-year cellular cycles.
At a cosmic level the sacred wound is a rent or tear that formed right at the beginning of the universe, during the Big Bang. It is like a black hole of infinite density that can never be filled, and it is holographically encoded in every aspect of the universe. In essence the sacred wound is the reason for our existence. Life itself is a response to the sacred wound – because as life tries to fill the mystical hole at the heart of creation, so evolution occurs.
Behind both the Venus Sequence and the Gene Keys lies a mystical body of teachings known as the Corpus Christi. This particular spiritual transmission is described in the 22nd Gene Key, and it concerns the mechanics of the invisible world that lies beyond our ordinary awareness. The Corpus Christi lays out a universe of 7 dimensions, each one holographically folded up inside each other like a series of Russian dolls. These dimensional fields can be seen as two pairs of trinities with the 7th dimension enfolding them all. Mystically speaking the sacred wound occurred when the trinities divided.
The mythical fall of humankind is represented by this fundamental divide in our consciousness. Our lower nature reaches upwards through the current of evolution and our higher nature reaches down into us through the current of involution. The sacred wound therefore drives us to search for our higher nature by reuniting the trinities and experiencing our full Divine consciousness.
The first seven years of our life are the foundation stone of who we are. The very moment we emerge from the womb is in itself a separation from wholeness. For the rest of our lives we will unconsciously try and reconnect with this deep cellular memory of being unified with our mother. During this first 7-year cellular cycle our physical body is imprinted with the specific patterns (the sanskaras) that will unconsciously dominate much of our lives. At the Shadow frequency we each have a deep fear pattern that is layered down during this first cycle. Out of this Shadow however also emerges our SQ – our Spiritual Quotient. Your SQ is a measure of the level that you allow spiritual intelligence to animate your life. As you embrace the Shadow of this Gene Key, so you unlock the Gifts of your SQ, which will in turn guide your life.
The second 7-year cycle of our life is the phase in which we move through puberty and develop our primary emotional patterns. In esoteric terms this phase relates to the full incarnation of our astral body, that aspect of our nature that relates primarily through our emotions and desires. It is during this cycle that our astral sanskaras are imprinted as a series of emotional defense strategies designed to protect our heart from pain. These emotional Shadow patterns then follow us into adulthood where they become ingrained as repeating emotional issues that undermine our relationships. Out of these Shadow patterns emerges our EQ – our Emotional Quotient. Your EQ is a measure of the level of your emotional maturity – that is, your ability to take responsibility for your own Shadow patterns.
The third 7-year cycle of our life takes us through our teenage years into young adulthood. These are the formative years of our thinking life. In this cycle we form our primary mental views of life – our opinions, our beliefs and our basic psychology. Our mental view of the world is founded upon our earlier emotional imprinting in our second 7 year-cycle, which in turn is built upon the basic physiological patterns we developed in our first 7 year cycle. Thus our IQ emerges from our EQ, which is rooted in our SQ! The further we go back, the deeper the roots of our Shadows are found. Your IQ is a measure of your mental intelligence – your ability to use both sides of your brain and to think with flexibility and vision. At the same time, the Shadow of the Gene Key relating to your IQ gives rise to unconscious mental patterns and views rooted in a lack of self-worth.
The purpose of the Venus Sequence is to bring awareness to this complex process in which your Shadow patterns were laid down through your childhood. Because the sacred wound consists of these layers of wounding (the sanskaras) that were imprinted in a chronological sequence, by following that sequence in reverse, we can essentially unpick the weave of the wound.
Painting by Frida Kahlo
Sept 2014 Class One - Part 3 - Venus Sequence - The Sphere of Your IQ: Please study this page with Audio Lecture - ICHB7Part3.MP3
From Richard Rudd's teaching on the Venus Sequence:
When we arrive at the Sphere of your IQ we begin our journey backwards in time from young adulthood through our years as a teenager. This part of your journey concerns the cycle of imprinting between the ages of 14 and 21.
During this phase you may see patterns and aspects of behavior left over from your years as a teenager but that still remain in your psyche. Seeing yourself as a multi-layered, multi-aged human being can be very revealing. The idea that we can continually integrate our childhood even as we age is what leads to a very fulsome life. There are gifts we had as teenagers that we may have forgotten – for instance, our incredibly dextrous mind and its ability to absorb information across many dimensions.
As your contemplation moves into this cycle of your growth you may discover places in your mind where thinking has become bogged down, where the natural optimism of youthful experimental thinking has lost its crystal sheen. You should prepare yourself for a mental reckoning – for an honest laser-like scan of the way your thinking has developed over the years since you were a child.
It will be interesting for you to begin a contemplative journey into the relationships that most strongly influenced your mind between the ages of 14 and 21. You can examine the major influences in your life at this time – both from your social peer group, your family and through your education. Which subjects at school most captivated you? Which teachers caught your imagination? Which if any family members influenced your mind, either as an inspiration or a reaction? You might like to create a mental tree of the influential relationships you had during this phase of your life. When you do this in depth you may begin to see how your mind developed in a particular direction.
Example:
- Gene Key 3.5
- Shadow: Chaos
Repressive Nature: Anal
Reactive Nature: Disordered - Gift: Innovation
Siddhi: Innocence - Circuit Breaker: Forgiveness
Also: Create a lineage tree of mental influences between ages 14 - 21.
Line 1 - The Contemplative mind (hidden)
The foundation of all mental genius is the ability to contemplate. You may well think that contemplation is something that anyone can do, but this is not always the case. Contemplation takes discipline and open-mindedness. The contemplative mind also underpins a contemplative lifestyle, so if you have a 1st line IQ then this kind of lifestyle will suit you very well. You need plenty of time to peruse. You need regular breaks throughout your day in order for insight to percolate. Contemplation is a way of being. It is easy-going and rhythmical, and enjoys a kind of meandering lifestyle in which there is a consistent blend of interior focus and exploration. A person with a 1st line IQ will be one of the most fascinating people you will ever encounter.
The 1st line has a natural tendency towards turning inwards. As a teenager, you may well have dealt with pain and intense emotion by turning inwards and withdrawing into your mind. This is the hidden mind. No one ever knows what is going on inside a child like this. They may physically lock themselves in their bedroom, or they may just clam up and tell you nothing. If you have a 1st line IQ then you need to learn to find a way to safely express what is going on inside you. This does not always have to be through spoken words. There are many levels of communication available to the contemplative mind. Sometimes a poem, a picture, a smile, a touch or a clear action can say far more about our inner state than any spoken word.
Line 2 - The Brilliant mind (provocative)
When our IQ is refracted through the 2nd line theme it literally shines out with the beauty of its genius. This is a mind that is always surprising as it is always making quantum leaps. The brilliance of the 2nd line truly comes alive in this Sphere. These kinds of minds are the great voyagers of the mental plane. They will take human thinking right to the edge of its capability. This is thinking that combines both left brain logic with right brain vision. Such minds are often seen as far ahead of the age they live through. These are inventive minds that often lead pioneering breakthroughs. They may appear in almost any domain of human endeavor from the sciences to the arts and music. The 2nd line mind is not just about thinking – it presupposes a highly expressive and creative life. These are people designed to catch the limelight.
At the Shadow frequency, the 2nd line is all provocation. It is simply unable to hold back its anger and resentment. These are the kinds of teenagers who are often seen as highly rebellious and even obnoxious. They will strike out when they feel threatened or vulnerable, or if they do not strike out at another, they will take it out on themselves in some way. They rail against the fates and are often deeply misunderstood by others. Of all the lines the 2nd line IQ is most likely to be unjustly punished for their behavior.
Line 3 - The Flexible mind (evasive)
The 3rd line pattern is founded upon its flexibility. This is a mindset that thinks on its feet. The beauty of the 3rd line is the sheer scope of its knowledge. We should remember that we are looking here at mental belief systems that affect our relationships. The 3rd line pattern is a mind that explores all kinds of belief systems and mental structures. This is what makes it so versatile and eventually can lead to a real gift for communicating with and listening to others. If you have a 3rd line IQ then others will always feel understood and accepted by you. You will have the ability to think sympathetically, which can lead to all kinds of possibilities. The 3rd line mind is also invaluable in strategic thinking – because it is so absorbent it can help others in all kinds of ways.
The Shadow of the 3rd line pattern is about being evasive. These can be people who never give a straight answer to a question. This is a mental pattern that has learned to avoid the real issue by becoming adept at deflecting attention away from itself. Being evasive can also take many forms. During the teenage years this is often a tendency to get easily bored and lose interest in things, for instance in school work. It can be a painful thing for a parent to witness their child seemingly throwing away the golden opportunity of their potential during this challenging cycle of life. One must remember that there is no fault in these kinds of patterns. The 3rd line always bounces back so long as it is given the right mix of firm boundaries and creative understanding.
Line 4 - The Influential mind (inflexible)
If you have a 4th line IQ then you are born to be influential. Unlike the 3rd line with its changing viewpoint, the 4th line tends to pursue things in a straight line, with unwavering focus and dedication. These are people who often find a single arena that they love and then they become masters of that arena. The 4th line also has the skill of communication. They not only have a great idea, they also have the means to convey it clearly to others. You can see the recipe for influence here.
In the shadow aspect of the 4th line, we see inflexibility – the inability or unwillingness to bend our viewpoint to accommodate another person’s views or feelings. As a pattern developed during our teenage cycle, this can become an entrenched belief or set of opinions about others or the world that attempts to keep us from feeling a deeper pain. Often with the 4th line the opinion is projected onto another (usually a parent). This can make it very difficult to communicate with the child or young adult.
Line 5 - The Practical mind (defensive)
In our journey along the Golden Path we have seen the 5th line as a great problem solver, a fixer and a self-empowered leader. If you have a 5th line IQ then you are a catalyst for dynamic change and transformation. This is the kind of mind that can always sift through the haystack and within seconds locate the needle. The 5th line has an inherent ability to organise information in such a way that it is understood by anyone and everyone. Because of the above qualities the 5th line has always been sought out by others for guidance or looked to for leadership and inspiration.
The 5th line undermines itself by becoming a victim of its own self-pity. These are teenagers who fall into such a deep funk inside themselves, often convincing themselves that everyone is against them. This belief puts them constantly on the defense, making it very difficult for them to trust anyone who comes close. Once again, later in life this is a pattern that will persist whenever one feels under threat, emotionally or otherwise. And once again, this pattern can only be broken by self awareness. In the case of the 5th line, the self awareness must be taken in very deeply because their mind can be so clever. The 5th line IQ can also be overly intellectual and can slide easily into a cynical arrogance.
Line 6 - The Objective mind (absent)
The 6th line IQ is the only one of the 6 lines that can call itself wholly objective. Each of the other lines carries an agenda. At the higher frequencies, an agenda can be beneficial, for example like an urge to be of service, whereas at the low frequencies it is always self-serving. The 6th line however, is designed to surf the mental plane without agenda, although getting to this stage may be a drawn-out process. On the way to achieving no agenda, the 6th line mind may well develop various viewpoints. Each view in turn will be dropped or transcended until a higher view arises that can see things for what they are, without adding anything on top. The mind that sees in this way is rare indeed. To see things for what they are is the hallmark of a truly enlightened mind. It is the sign of a silent mind.
The Shadow version of the 6th line IQ is expressed through a sense of absence. There is a sense in some teenagers of a a vital aspect of their self-expression simply being absent. The eyes lose their lustre, a kind of torpor seems to have a hold of their minds. In some respects they appear to be disincarnate, disinterested and disrespectful of everything. When this pattern persists in our relationships later on in life, then at times it may seem as though you become completely numb to emotions. The 6th line often thinks it has something wrong with it.
VTY Class Materials and
Other Information:
1. I Ching and the Human Body: Introduction
2. TRIBE (Class Roster)
3. Hexagram Titles Etymology
4. The Hexagram
5. Table of Contents of all classes
The classic "Wilhelm/Baynes" I Ching, the foundational text of our course.
This class is based primarily on the I Ching, as both an ancient and contemporary system of wisdom that is found within the human body. (See last year's class, I Ching and the Human Body, for more illustrations and information.)
Use of the I Ching and practices of yoga and meditation are all ways of "invoking drala" or the spirit of guidance. Cultivating both courage and sensitivity to life attracts the drala or blessing that is universally available.
Texts
Over the course of the year, along with the Wilhelm/Baynes I Ching, these texts and others will be introduced. Purchasing them is optional, based on the degree of study you wish to pursue and your own predilection for translations you are drawn to.
The Taoist I Ching, translated by Thomas Cleary.
Tiger and Dragon I Ching, by Rowena Patee Kryder.
I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change. Translated by Rudolf Ritsema and Stephen Karcher.
Gene Keys by Richard Rudd.
