The Concepts/Theories Of Ti And Yung

Ti and Yung are two terms that are fairly well known in Chinese metaphysics. As many other things involving metaphysics, Ti and Yung can only be considered a theory because trying to prove it in a factual way is not possible. Ti and Yung is known and considered to be a strong factor in Plum Blossom (Mei Hua) I Ching divination. Most refer to Ti as Object and Yung as Subject. Though this simplified categorization is acceptable, the true meaning of Ti and Yung runs much deeper. When it comes to the classification of Body/Spirit, some refer to the body as Ti and the Spirit as Yung.......where others say just the opposite. So it can become a little confusing. It is a bit like the Japanese Macrobiotic classification of Yin as 'expansion' and Yang as 'contraction ' where the Chinese for thousands of years have been saying the opposite. In my studies I have always given much more weight to the Chinese perspective and have always believed that George Ohsawa, the creator of modern macrobiotics was irresponsible in his yin/yang classifications, although I do believe that his dietary discoveries, though not perfect, are sound.

Ti and Yung are in everything great and small. It is in the motions of an ant to the motions of galaxies. It is also operating in the world of the senses in addition to the intangible world. There is the Ti and Yung of Heaven and of Earth. Many confuse Ti and Yung with Yin and Yang...but they are two different ideas. Ti is something that can be accessed or sensed through human perception where Yung cannot. In a person's life, the person themself is Ti and all the events that occur in their life is seen as Yung. It is not an easy concept to absorb. In terms of Qi (Chi), the interaction process is Yung and the entity it produces is Ti. Once you understand the Ti/Yung theories you can apply it to divination to enhance and give more meaning to the hexagrams, numbers, elements, etc. Many believe that Ti/Yung only applies to Plum Blossom divination, but this is not the case at all. It is applicable to Ba Zi (4 Pillars), Feng Shui, Zi Wei , Luo Shu (9 Ki), Stems/Branches, Wen Wang Ba Gua, or any other method.

Knowing the ideas and principles of Ti and Yung is one thing, but applying it as a part of your divination procedures is another. Unfortunately there isn't much written about it in detail and we must be content with what little we can find. At the present time I am not particularly inclined to write a great deal on it because of the complexities involved and for various other reasons we won't get into here. I do plan on posting a few charts in the very near future that will assist you in understanding Ti/Yung on a more intimate level.

Assigning Ti and Yung To Various Divination Methods

Ba Zi (Four Pillars) - The Day Master (Day Stem) is Ti and the rest of the stems and branches are Yung.

Luo Shu ( 9 Ki) - The center number in the natal chart is Ti and the remaining 8 numbers on the periphery are Yung.

Plum Blossom (Mei Hua) - The trigram of the present hexagram without the moving line is Ti and the remaining trigrams (Nuclear, Future) except the trigram in the future hexagram that is the same as the Ti is Yung.

Wen Wang Ba Gua - The line representing the subject is Ti and the rest of the lines are Yung.

Stems/Branches - When analyzing stems to branches, if the need arises to categorize Ti and Yung, you can assign the branches as Ti and the stems as Yung.

Comments Option Re-connected

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. The new year is approaching and though it is not the Solstice, Lunar New Year, or Li Chun, I would still nonetheless like to wish everyone a great Year in 2008. I have connected the Comments option again and am looking forward to corresponding with anyone who cares to leave a reply, opinion, suggestion or anything else they wish to discuss. I would hope that by now everyone knows that they can say whatever they care to express in their comments. I will post every reply unless it is ridiculously obscene. So again, feel free to express your views in any way you choose.........there are no formal rules here. So go ahead and Tell It Like It Is.

The Future Of Chinese Metaphysics by Eric Teoh

If you have never read a blog post before, I urge you to at least take a look at the article called The Future Of Chinese Metaphysics written by Eric Teoh who I consider a friend. Read it a few times closely. In my opinion this is a brilliant article. Thanks Eric. Click below :

http://ericklteoh.blogspot.com/

A Christmas Poem

This poem was written and given to me 20 years ago by a very good friend of mine.

Mr. Gable.......wherever you may be, I hope the cards are falling your way, the dogs are running box to wire, and the horses are treating you well.

*******************
Outside the wind is blowing
and the trees are full of snow,
the weatherman informs us
that it's 32 below.
But the kids are out there playing
and with frozen toes they grin,
when this you see
you must agree
It's Christmas time again.

***
The shopping malls are buzzing,
cash registers on tilt,
there are people blowing money
and spending without guilt.
I don't recall seeing such a sight
since I can't remember when,
"yes you do dear...same time last year"
It's Christmas time again.

***
And the red clothed dude with whiskers
has cloned himself ten-fold,
and been scattered 'cross the planet
wherever Santa can be sold.
And some they don't seem old enough
and some seem a bit too thin,
But there are no flaws in Santa Claus
It's Christmas time again.
***

The trees are shining brightly
and the carollers they sing,
and the families come together
with the presents that they bring.
And everywhere you hear these words,
"peace on earth........good will to men"
De ja vu, the jokes on you,
It's Christmas time again.

***
And for one day all is peaceful
and for one day all is bright,
and for one day the world is loving
from the morn all through the night.
But tomorrow won't be as wonderful
nor seem as free of sin,
And that's the way it's sure to stay,
till it's Christmas time again.

Experiencing Freedom

Freedom's just another word
for nothin' left to lose.
- Janice Joplin

As I awoke this morning I lay in bed pondering on the metaphysical side of things and wondered how free we truly are. We all seem to be bonded by knots so tight that our circulation is in jeopardy and we are either strangling ourselves or allowing others to strangle us. This certainly seems to be the case both collectively as a species and independently as individuals. As I lay there, I remembered the early days of my studies and what a long, long road it has been. I realized all the sacrifices I have made to obtain the metaphysical understanding I have always longed for. I certainly believe the sacrifices and trades were worth it, as my perception of things have dramatically changed and evolved. Things have not always been easy though. I have always hungered for various types of knowledge and this hunger ran extremely deep. I was/am insatiable in my searches and learning and I wonder if my hunger will ever be satisfied. I admit that I am a glutton for metaphysical knowledge. If an education was certain and static, things would be much easier. For example learning to become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, brain surgeon, or rocket scientist would be fairly easy because the education process is mechanical. Learning metaphysics however is a great deal intuitive and therefore the information is rarely static. That's one reason why hospitals, courtrooms, and laboratories can function or operate on computer techniques. Metaphysics has little use or value for computers. This may seem strange as I write this on a computer, but deep down I know that computers can give but a tiny glimpse of the realities of metaphysics. Sooner or later, if you haven't realized it already, you will start to see that computers are just a basic tool or instrument that has very little value in relation to divination.

I believe that the best way to penetrate the ancient and even modern ideas of astrology, divination, and other techniques is through freedom of thought and not computers, books, teachers, etc. If you remain in metaphysics long enough, there will come a time in your studies when you will realize that you have learned more in the first 6 months than you have in the last 10 years of your work. In other words, the more you study the less you seem to know. The reason is because in the very beginning of your studies your brain is a clean slate and whatever you take in is new and has not before been encountered. This gives you great confidence and even over-confidence. There is nothing to rebuttal what your mind accepts. This can be dangerous because you start to see yourself as having a power beyond the ordinary. Then...as your studies advance into years or decades you begin to absorb information from myriad sources and the information is not agreed upon because everyone has differing opinions. Then you have to battle the contradictions and this can be quite taxing I can assure you. As you try to grow in your studies you begin to see that all the 'experts' are giving you different information and you become totally confused and you start wondering if you should just give up and call it quits. This is called "growing pains" and every successful and accomplished diviner experiences it. You feel trapped because of the possibility that you have been going about it the wrong way for all those years. If you quit...you have wasted all that time, and if you go on....you will be wasting more time if you don't learn properly. You begin to lose faith in all the 'experts' you once believed were infallible. Many have suffered deep depression over this and other related issues, such as Richard Wilhelm to name just one. It is a bit like discovering after many years that your parents are not truly your parents.

I have learned that to overcome the situation you have to eventually believe in yourself. It isn't easy because we are all programed to believe that others know better and more than us...especially if they have a "master", "guru", or "teacher" title. This is the furthest thing from the truth and if you begin to put your faith and energy in others, you will simultaneously be taking faith and energy away from yourself. You strengthen them and weaken you.......and this is absolutely no good. There is nothing wrong with learning from someone at the early stages of your education, but you will eventually be forced to discover that you cannot stay at that level if you are to advance. You will soon discover that the ones you once thought were mighty dragons have turned into paper dolls. Persevere...don't despair, as this is your greatest opportunity. This is when you yourself can take matters into your own hands and create your own successes. Successes that are uniquely yours and not tainted by anyone else. It is something beyond description when you begin to make progress on your own without having to rely on masters, gurus, and other ignorant titles people bestow on themselves. You will then experience true freedom and every moment is a blissful adventure. Then you don't need masters talking to you because nature becomes your teacher and will speak to you any time, night or day, always giving you signs and assisting you along in your discoveries. This is the truest joy your heart can experience.

In The Zone

This is the third day of a mini-fast I have been on. Not a complete fast , just a short one with very little food. I didn't intend it, it just worked out that way. I feel physically weak but very much alert mentally. Have you ever heard sports athletes talking about "being in the zone', well that's what it feels like. It is the most incredible feeling, like you can sense every little thing that's going to happen...from the smallest seemingly unimportant situations to the largest and most crucial ones. My mind is extremely 'hazy' but super-sharp right now. I thought I would write a post and leave it on the blog regardless how it turns out. Many may not understand it or may think it makes no sense.......but if they read it a few times they may see something in it. Right now to me it makes all the sense in the world even if later on I don't even understand it myself. Fasting is greater than any drug in the world...beats alcohol hands down...and something all the money in the world can't buy. This is what Osho calls being aware and in the moment...this is bliss. Join me for a few moments on my journey won't you.

MONEY SUCKS !!! How's that for a starter. Money is the greatest controller of humankind and whoever doesn't believe that is probably not human. Pink Floyd wrote, "Money...it's a hit, don't give me that do-goody-good bullshit". Much can be said of those words. Neil Diamond states, " Money talks, but it can't sing and dance and it don't walk", then concludes that he would much rather be forever in blue jeans. Money is a funny thing. Religions have tried to tell us for eons that money doesn't fit well with their sects and then proceed to pass the money basket to collect...well...money of course. Catholics are the greatest basket cases if you don't mind the term. Christian's on the other hand go straight for your throat, they demand at least 10% of your total income. They call it tithing or something like that. If you don't become a victim for their extortion schemes they convince you that you'll go to hell. Grown people actually believe them...they don't believe in Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny but they believe in the gods and hells that their religions created and cram down their throats. No wonder half the world is messed up in the head and the other half is doped up on depression medication and other drugs. Right now I have probably pissed off a few folks.......so far, so good. Keep reading.

Then a group comes along and calls themselves "Spiritualists". They are the ones who talk about angels, fairies, karma, and all the other stuff that the religions discredit or don't talk about. The Spiritualists are basically the rivals of the Religions...on the surface anyways. One branch of the Spiritualists is the "New Age Movement". The New Agers sensed that part of the world would eventually become wise to the worn out and jaded dogmatic ways of the religions and so these New Agers were quick to establish their own set of ideas to 'save' the world. In other words, they found a new way to 'hook' the world in a different way than the religions. Again, humanity went for the bait and then a new cycle began. Around the 1970's or so when the I Ching and other Oriental ideas were gaining popularity in the Western world, the new charlatans were called 'Gurus'. Fast-forward a couple decades to the 90's and Feng Shui became a trend that was gaining popularity and the world started sprouting "Feng Shui Masters" at will. At the turn of the 21st century there seemed to be more Feng Shui Masters than drug addicts. The great philosophical and astrological ideas of ancient China were (and are) being watered down and mass-marketed in the west.......mostly under the guise of Feng Shui. Today everyone seems to be a Feng Shui master from young men and women in their early 20's to the elders in their 70's and 80's and beyond. Perhaps the biggest mistake these Feng Shui master wanna-be's made was to announce that they are promoting Oriental metaphysics for the betterment of the world rather than for the money. This statement is what has made hypocritical asses of the 'masters' and has tainted Feng Shui at the same time.

The techniques 'masters' use are crimes against humanity. I see more honor in what society calls criminals than I see in Feng Shui masters...and this is not an exaggeration. Simply put, there is more honor in crime than in spirituality...much more. Larry Sang is a Vietnamese who runs a Feng Shui Institute and he uses the word American in the name of his business. He has most likely felt intimidated by American culture and so by using the term in his business name and by sitting in front of the American flag as he does on his website, he seems to feel more protected by kissing the right asses. I have a strong suspicion that Larry doesn't give two licks about American values other than the fast buck, but he knows that by 'aligning' with the almighty USA his chances of success are improved. Larry personally and through his students promotes himself as a master and the "keeper" of the Iron Plate secrets. He claims to be one of only five people on the planet who has access to the great secrets of the mysterious Iron Plate methods. I have heard from many people that Larry doesn't read or write a word of English and that is the reason he doesn't teach at his institute...he pays others to teach there. There could be truth to this because I have noticed that his books lack information that a master would write. I have heard that he has others write his books for him but takes full credit himself. This is but one example of a person taking full financial advantage of a truly misinformed and gullible public. This is his way of promoting Chinese ancient metaphysics. It is not only a shame but also a crime.

Some self-proclaimed 'masters' when exposed will twist and alter facts and lie until they achieve their desired results. The reason they can get away with this is because of their Chinese name. Joseph Yu from Canada is a prime example. In September of 2006 Joseph Yu read a post I wrote on a Chinese astrology list that describes a flaw in Plum Blossom I Ching that has been overlooked for 1,000 years. Less than 3 days after he read my post he announced on his own list that he himself had discovered the information. This is not something I could easily conjure up and you can verify these statements by checking the dates. He then had the information copy written so that he could actually sue me if I tried to take credit for my own discoveries. He then tried to financially promote the work. Now take a moment and try to understand the implications involved here. This is a man who is well-known in Chinese metaphysics and has convinced the world of his 'impeccable' character and honorable traits. People have put some trust in this man and regardless if that trust is blind or not...it is trust nonetheless. Then he flat out lies when he got caught and expects the world to believe him. I ask you, what honor is there in this. He would rather have lied than to admit that someone other than him had made the discovery.......especially if that person was a non-Chinese. Joseph has gotten away with many things in the past and he was evidently fairly certain that he could get away with the Sep.2006 incident. Unfortunately for Joseph it didn't turn out as he hoped and to this day he tries to discredit me for trying to defend my work. Everyone pretty much knows what happened although those loyal to him act as though they believe his every word. When he looks his students in the eye they know exactly what they are looking at...or I should say, what they are not looking at. They'll tell him they believe him, but I know better.......and so does he. Every time someone writes about him and his inadequacies, Joseph tells everyone that he likes it and thanks them because it creates more money for him. The money issue again ! Why would a person who claims to teach others out of the goodness of his heart be thanking me or others for making him money. Another contradiction on his part. If it were true that he were making money when I tell the truth about him.......so be it.......I'll try to make him a billionaire. Joseph Yu is one of the biggest disappointments in all that I have seen in Chinese metaphysics. I can only hope and pray that future generations, both Chinese and otherwise, do not follow in his footsteps and tarnish and diminish the beauty of what the ancient Chinese have created.

I know very well that I will be attacked for writing this post, but I can live with that because it is the truth. I'm getting on in age...I'll be 50 in a few years and I have not the time nor the inclination to apologize or explain myself anymore for the things I believe in. People constantly tell me to this day that I can only hurt myself by writing and speaking the truth about charlatans like Joseph Yu. They say it would be better to remain quite. Truth is, I'm overly quiet in every aspect of my life other than Chinese metaphysics. I have lost friends because I will not open up and express myself, people are not always comfortable around me because of what they call "quiet stoicism". Who on earth reading this blog would believe that? Well it is true. If people stop talking to me because of what I write, I can surly see this as a benefit both for them and for me. For them because they don't have to listen to me, and to me because I don't have to explain myself. I've spent my whole life explaining myself in one way or another, and I can see that it would be a tremendous relief to become as "quiet as a winter's night". I long for the days when I can reside in my future country cottage as an old silent man with eyes half-closed, body half-dead, mind half-crazed listening to the ideas of the new generation of ancient Chinese philosophy and astrology enthusiasts. Perhaps I can even lend them a hand in their studies ........Heaven knows I can't do that today...no one is interested in learning. I can tell them stories of how it used to be back in the 2,000's , the stories of the Larry Sang's, the Joseph Yu's, the Joey Yaps, and all the other marketeers. There could even be a chance of having some beneficial influence in their lives. If that happens I can leave this world with a little dignity and I can leave knowing that I didn't have to promote myself like a metaphysical prostitute and sell myself for a few bucks to every potential buyer who happens along. Not that I have anything against prostitutes.......I have more respect for them than the metaphysical marketeers. If I can leave the world under those circumstances I'll know my life has not be wasted. That is my dream.

Thank You Lord

Now I lay me down to sleep
hopin' I don't hear a peep
If I get clipped before I wake
bury me with carrot cake (sugar-free please).

Thank you Lord for giving me another night to pray to you. Thank you Lord for letting me call you Tao instead of God. Thank you Lord for being with me through my studies. Thank you Lord for blessing me with a wonderful family and many wonderful friends.......please give me the chance to live long enough to show them how much I truly appreciate them. Thank you Lord for giving me a healthy existence. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be as ignorant and silly as I want to be. Thank you Lord for not judging me too harsh after I became an adult. Thank you Lord for giving me the knowledge to understand that you don't give a shit what people do. Thank you Lord for letting me have faith in knowing that you will eventually put the metaphysical charlatans exactly where they belong. Thank you Lord for putting me in jail only once in my life...well, physical jail not the imprisonment society impinges on us. Thank you Lord for not making me over-ambitious.......alright, alright, thank you for making me lazy. Thank you Lord for so many other things too numerous to mention.

and while we're at it...let me mention a few other things ........

Lord, what in the world we're you thinkin when you created all this new age bullshit. Lord, what's with all the drugs and drug addicts you're creating. Lord, how many more killings must there be before you get off your ass and put an end to it. Lord, how much did the politicians put in your pocket to allow them get away with all they do. And how about the Medical profession and Petroleum companies Lord, how much did you sell out to them for. And by the way Lord, what's the deal with gas at well over $3 a gallon...how much higher must gas prices rise before your enormous greed is satisfied. Lord, may I ask if you are ever going to make food fit for human consumption...without all the poisons and chemicals...or is your sadistic little game gonna continue indefinitely. Lord, there are many more questions I have that are also too numerous to mention.........even more numerous than the things to be thankful for. Lord, you have created a true mess, but I am just as grateful for your many blunders as I am for your beauties. I just hope to heaven that no one judges you the way the religious freaks say you judge everyone else. If they do.......you're in a whole heap'o trouble dude.

Good Night Lord.