And so we invoke
the power of the Yang—
the generative power of beginnings,
the potentia—the potent—
in the moment.
And through its pollen,
a new conception.
And through its force,
an impetus to create.
And through its energy,
a way of persevering.
And the mystery is
in the bloom of perseverance.
Through this fierce
wrestling of our angels—
new wine, new words,
new birth, new spirit.
Benjamin H. Martin
On the path of fire,
a combustion of joy
to be alive just one day more.
Benjamin Martin
All of the 64 hexagrams in the I-Ching, the Book of Changes, are based on the right actions of the Creative (yang, male) and the Receptive (Yin, female). If either yang or yin are so much as a hair’s width from where they belong at a particular time, the I-Ching describes this moment as a “great misfortune.” However, when Yang and Yin are precisely where they belong, the I-Ching describes this moment as their being “complete.” How important is this moment for yang AND yin? The I-Ching tells us that if either the Creative or the Receptive “…were destroyed, there would be nothing by which the changes could be perceived. If there were no more changes to be seen, the effects of the Creative and the Receptive would also gradually cease.” Quite simply, without the right actions of the Creative and the Receptive, life would cease….Christuman means to become the greatest human you can be, man or woman, remembering that we each carry both. To be less than this is a great misfortune to the Universe which will only know you once.
Earl Behnke
On This Day…
Tisha B’av: Jewish day of mourning and repentance recalling the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem
It’s all Yang in the garden! Even the plants that are concave and voluptuous, with folds and secret crevices. A riot of shape and color and scent proclaiming God’s thrusting upwards to the heavens; God’s exuberant and riotous joy in life; the plants’ exuberant joy in having this brief season to proclaim, “I am alive. I am splendid. I am joy.”
How boldly they proclaim. Proud to Be; proud to be makers of a new world – even if only for a brief season.
Ben Leichtling
Then he came to me. Siva came to me. The body of Siva was pure white light—the body of the Nataraj dancing pure white light. And between his thumb and forefinger, he held a pure red rose petal. He held a ruby bursting forth, the red light of a star—into my eyes.
William M. Boast
Stanley Kunitz born 1905 in Massachusetts, died 2006: Poet and twice American Poet Laureate
Works: The Wild Braid, Passing Through, The Wellfleet Whale
Quotes: “The whole universe is a continuous web. Touch it at any point and the whole web quivers.” “Be what you are. Give what is yours. Have style. Dare.” “Deftly they opened the brain of a child and it was full of flying dreams.”
