2. THE I-CHING IS PRETTY COOL AND CRAZY PEOPLE TEACH US STUFF TOO

Alex and I spent the better part of our time in Maui trying to squeeze surprisingly profound one-liners out of our meditation/music teacher at the Kahua Institute, Raphael Sharp, a real-life hippie who is probably totally insane (he thinks he caused the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco by meditating too hard). We got a lot of great advice from him, but for now I will start with the single most relevant, which is this: "The first few weeks back on the mainland are your Water Period, so remember it's imperative that you take it easy; be kind to yourself."

This sounded reasonable enough and Alex also pointed out that it sounded like it might have been derivative of a hexagram from the I-Ching, a sort of ancient Chinese oracle that Raphael and Alex had a shared passion for. Turns out he was right; Raphael's Water Period seems to correspond to the I-Ching's Hexagram 29: The Abysmal.



Here are a few quotes I really appreciated:

"If you are sincere, you have success in your heart, and whatever you do succeeds."

"Through repetition of danger we grow accustomed to it. Water sets the example for the right conduct under such circumstances. It flows on and on, and merely fills up all the places through which it flows; it does not shrink from any dangerous spot nor from any plunge, and nothing can make it lose its own essential nature. It remains true to itself under all conditions. Thus likewise, 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 a problem, it will come about naturally that the action we take will succeed. In danger all that counts is really carrying out all that has to be done – thoroughness – and going forward, in order not to perish through tarrying in the danger."

"Water reaches its goal by flowing continually. It fills up every depression before it flows on. the superior man follows its example; he is concerned that goodness should be an established attributed of character rather than an accidental and isolated occurrence. So likewise in teaching others everything depends on consistency, for it is only through repetition that the pupil makes the material his own."


WHAT I LEARNED

I thought it was a really great representation of the underlying lesson I've learned during the past few months, which is that if you are sincere, you have success in your heart. And whatever you do, also has success in it. I definitely feel that.