The I-Ching compares the Superior Man (Higher Self) and the Inferior Man (Lower Self). In Freudian talk, these concepts also include Super Ego and Id. When we allow ourselves to focus on the Higher Self, stepping back when tendencies of the Lower appear, it is easier to attain a higher vibration. Continuing to do this, allows us to maintain it. Meditation is probably one of the simplest ways to do this.

By working on releasing the negative habits I have, while cultivating more positive ones, I find things are beginning to slowly improve, and I am creating a reality which reflects what I want. This is a constant ongoing process. I am finding, however, that by tuning in and learning to listen (strengthened through meditation), things have a way of turning out. And I am grateful.

I recently asked a friend how to tell when a message is ego speaking, and when it is intuition.’That’s a tough one’, she said, ‘my experience is that usually, when it is ego, there’s a feeling of having to ‘do something’. ‘With actual intuition’, however, there is no sense of urgency.’ Things always turn out far better than when I try to manipulate them.

Well, today is difficult. Part of me wants to avoid saying this (because manifestation occurs from physical actions). However, I feel this way. I am trying to remain positive and focused, and finding fear trying to come through. This is when ego tries to take over. I am torn between letting go, and utilizing every tool and trick I think I have to try to make things happen. The 2nd way never works. Funny how one day things can be so up and positive, and the next day, they aren’t. I know that even a change in attitude will help. Oh well, as my dear grandmother Fran, used to say. ‘This too shall pass’…I only hope this passes quickly.

OK, so I have been so preoccupied with how bad things seem to be, I have failed to be open to the positive aspects of this. I need to keep reminding myself that things are progressing (on an inner level). According to the I-Ching, when people doubt the Sage (or Higher Wisdom which speaks to us through the I-Ching), they fail to realize that they are being helped. I am going to focus more on receptivity. Doubt can be a self-defeating habit, locking people into a cycle of no progress. Acceptance and modesty-(hexagram #15) can surely help.

has been challenging lately. Faith has been temporarily superseded by worry. The way out, for me, has been to remind myself that I am never given more than I can handle. It is during times like this, that meditation helps. It quiets the mind and lets me reconnect to my inner voice. It allows me to hear the still small voice within.

I am waiting to find what step to take next. Knowing how proactive to be is always challenging for me. I waver between self-direction and passivity. Right now I don’t have a clue about what to do next. To some, this uncertainty might be considered progress (in terms of growth). To me, however, it feels like stagnation. I like to think this attitude will enable me to be more open to the next step-whatever it is. The I Ching always says when in doubt, do nothing. We do without doing, and the rest gets done.

This week has been transformational, to put it mildly. I have changed the way I am perceiving things and this action has enabled everything around me to shift accordingly. I am amazed and delighted. I look at my life, and those individuals who touch it, as evidence that this change has resulted in increased awareness and expanded consciousness. I am excited, as the miracles I am experiencing begin to increase. The period preceding this has been challenging, to put it mildly.  However, in retrospect, without them the shift could never have manifested. As the I Ching states in ‘Difficulty at the Beginning’ (Hexagram #3): When one perseveres, all things are eventually returned to order.