Welcome to your I Ching meditation for the month of August 2025.
This month we look at hexagram number 27 entitled Nourishment,
Also known as Providing Nourishment or the Corners of the Mouth and it asks us a simple but profound question.
What are you feeding on physically,
Mentally,
Emotionally and spiritually?
As well as what are you offering to others in return?
So in this contemplation together we're going to explore nourishment in its truest form beyond food,
Beyond distractions.
Let's look to the inner nourishment that sustains our spirit.
Please take a moment to pause,
Relaxing the body,
Softening the breath and settling in to your time of nourishment right now.
Let your breath become your anchor,
Inhaling softly through the nose,
Exhaling lightly through the mouth.
And may you arrive more and more in the here and the now,
With every breath draw your awareness inward,
Releasing the tension of the day,
Letting the outer world melt into the background as you come home to your center.
Now bring your attention to your whole body,
The temple that carries you through time,
Starting at the crown of your head.
Relax down through your skull,
Through your jaw,
Your forehead,
Your neck,
Your shoulders and feel your chest expand gently with each breath.
Let your belly rise and fall like a calm tide,
Down through your hips and sending the rivers of peace through your legs,
Through your arms,
Into your hands and feet.
Now with awareness connect with the earth and its soil,
Feeling the depths,
Being receptive to its nourishment for you.
Once again returning to the breath,
Feeling the body heavier and the mind lighter.
As you take your imagination to a table,
A quiet table that you are seated at and this is the table of your life.
And in front of you is a plate,
Not of food,
Of your daily intake.
Look at it and notice what you have consumed today with your body,
With your mind,
With your heart.
Let an honest reflection arise as you notice the kind of energy you are allowing in.
Is it gentle,
Uplifting,
True?
Is it draining,
Harsh,
Scattered?
Now move your focus to another plate and this plate in front of you holds what you have offered to the world today in terms of nourishment,
Your words,
Your energy,
Your presence.
What have you fed others with?
And there is no judgment here,
It's just noticing.
Relax into this awareness,
Allowing clarity to surface.
And as you gently release that observation,
Turn your focus to the breath as we now contemplate further sharings from hexagram 27,
Which reminds us that to speak with care is nourishment,
To listen with compassion is nourishment,
And to choose what uplifts the soul is also nourishment.
Now the energy of this month of August 2025 calls us to refine our intake,
Not only of food,
Also of information,
Of thoughts,
Of relationships,
Of media.
This is a month to simplify,
To choose consciously,
To feed on what makes you alive,
Centered and true to your essence.
Ask yourself what do I truly need to be nourished this month?
And then what do I long to nourish in others?
Just let the answers arise gently,
Like mist over still water and now let's quietly repeat together as invitations for the days ahead.
I nourish my body with awareness.
I nourish my mind with clarity.
I nourish my heart with compassion.
I nourish others with my presence.
I feed only what leads me toward wholeness.
Begin to return once again to your breath,
To your body in space,
In this moment in time,
Bringing gentle movement to the body and perhaps placing your hands over your heart in mindfulness.
As we now hear the words directly from the I Ching which says,
Being temperate and thoughtful in what you say and in the nourishment you take and your consideration for yourself and others will bring you to wisdom.
As you move through August of 2025,
May you walk with awareness,
Choosing with care what you take in and generously what you give out.
May your words be kind and your choices wise and trust you are nourished and you are enough to nourish others.
May you carry this message deep within every cell of your being as you move with clarity through this auspicious month of August.
Blessings to you dear fellow earth travelers and until we meet again,
Do take care.
