Welcome.
We are contemplating together today the experience of growth,
Of moving up towards the Sun,
Towards the heavens.
And in the I Ching it is described as ascending.
This connects to the reading from hexagram 46.
So as we move into this transmission,
Give yourself the opportunity to be really comfortable in your body,
With your breath and in your mind.
So make space where you need to.
Settle down.
Find that really relaxed position and exhale.
Let the breath soften throughout your systems,
Feeling its gentleness through your face,
Through your hands,
Your feet.
And as you relax further,
Connect with a feeling of sinking down,
Of growing heavier,
Feeling the complete support of the earth,
The ground beneath you.
And then slowly moving your awareness into your heart center,
Breathing into your heart.
And as we set our intention,
You can take your hands to heart center and let's repeat.
I trust the wisdom I am receiving from this ancient teaching,
Along with my own insights,
Is aligned with my highest good.
And for the greater good of all.
Breathing into that and then affirming with the words,
I trust.
Exhale all expectations,
Relaxing the hands,
Keeping the body calm,
Mind open.
Just noticing very gently your responses to the guidelines and the various symbols,
Messages from this teaching.
If we look at the symbol of the hexagram,
It is representing a tree with the yin line at the bottom as roots,
The two solid yang lines representing the tree trunk.
And then the three yin lines above that are the branches and the leaves opening into the sky.
Looking at the elemental symbols,
We see that wind is below earth and wind representing the wind through the trees is connected to the wood element.
So wood or the tree is deep in the earth and is ascending upwards.
And it's at this point where it is strong and stable.
It's grounded and rooted in the earth and it's on its pathway of journeying to the sun.
Words from the I Ching's interpretation say,
The trigrams signify earth and wood,
Specifically a tree growing ever upwards,
Straight and true from the earth to the heavens.
From a small beginning as a sapling,
The tree slowly persisted and grew beyond its initial obstacles into free unhindered growth.
Your slow steady growth will emulate the tree's eventual spectacular success.
As you now consider this interpretation in relation to your life,
Where is the tree showing up for you?
Is it representing your whole life?
Or is it talking about a particular area,
A particular relationship,
A particular experience?
Further words and commentary from the I Ching's say,
The wise man pays careful attention to his virtue and accumulates the small developments of it till it is high and great.
From small acorns great oaks grow.
You must persist in your slow steady growth like the tree and you will be become remarkably favoured.
And to ensure that we get the balance of this message,
We see from line five,
The Empress line,
A very powerful line as it is in the process of changing,
Just as life is in the process of changing.
And it says,
Although you are near your goal,
Don't get excited or overconfident.
Continue in the same calm steady way until you reach your goal.
Don't do anything different or anything impetuous.
Considering all this imagery,
This wisdom along with your insights,
Ask of yourself now,
Your all-knowing wise self,
What is the overarching message for you,
For your life right now?
And once you've received that,
Breathe in,
In acknowledgement,
Exhale.
As you release any attachment or grasping to it,
Just gently allowing it to unfold naturally.
And as you continue through your days,
Notice how the tree and trees show up for you in your life.
How do they make you feel?
What do they make you think of?
Maybe there's certain parts of the trees that talk to you.
Is it the trunk,
The roots,
The leaves,
Or maybe the nests in the trees?
So as your connection and relationships with trees of nature and your own tree of life continues to deepen and strengthen,
May your essence be grounded and aligned with your highest good.
And for the greater good of all.
