"Fate cannot be duped"

                                                          3.  Chun  /  Difficulty at the Beginning

                                 "If a man tries to hunt in a strange forest and has no guide, he loses his way .  When he finds himself in difficulties he must not try to steal out of them unthinkingly and without guidance .  Fate cannot be duped ;  premature effort, without the necessary guidance, end in failure and disgrace .  therefore the superior man, discerning the seeds of coming events, prefers to renounce a wish rather than provoke failure and humiliation by trying to force its fulfillment."  

                                 I wish that trump will stroke out -----not a wish from a Zen Master to be sure--- mercifully,,,,,  I am not a Zen Master .

Vainglory

                                                          I thought I could take the day off from Writing since I figured everyone was having a World Cup "hang-over" .   I still had to read the War Reports from Ukraine and I've done that but 'facebook' was riddled with posts showing trump with the victorious Spaniards celebrating at controlled Fever pitch .   Clearly trump wanted "IN" .   "Detestable" gets us close .

                        I was set to leave the desk and this screen when a word "arrived", it was "Vainglory" ||||| I suspected its meaning but had to consult my Webster's New World College Dictionary for confirmation .  Here's its def =  "1 extreme self-pride and boastfulness;  excessive and ostentatious vanity   2 vain show or empty pomp " .

                        I LOVE = "excessive and ostentatious vanity"  words that clothe Understanding with both pattern and texture, making "IT" (get this) suitable .   

                        One of the comments below one of the posts was this :  "He can't help himself" .   No one can deny that trump is "a driven man", but the question must be asked, What drives this asshole ?    2 words may suffice :  VANITY .

                        Thing is, we KNOW what drives trump and Vanity is too romantic a word to be all-inclusive but in the World Cup "photo-bomb" Vainglory "fits rite in" .   ...trump is --->vainglorious which carries the stench of Ego-maniacal with verve and gusto {{ poor choice but I like the way they read and sound   verve and gusto that is}} .   trump MUST BE the Center of Attention whether of not that Attention is Negative .  He's sick, REALLY fucking SICK .

Mrs. Burns

                                                           Sophomore Year I took an English course given by Mrs. Burns, a Grad Student working on her Ph.D .   Her first assignment was for us to write a brief bio so that she could "get a handle" on our Minds ---blah-blah-blah.  I gave NO thought to the assignment because I Thought it to be ridiculously E-Z .  About  week later she told us that she was exceedingly disappointed in our Efforts save for one .   She held up MY submission and then proceeded to read it to the class .   I was instantly SICKENED .   I still remember the First Line :  it was , "This is not my time", and from there I described my interest in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome where the Soldiers wielded Swords, and Scholars were REVERED .    I'm CERTAIN she had fallen in Love with me and that was corroborated when she interviewed us (me) , again, in order to know us better .   She told me that she had perceived an "Independence based on Confidence" that I was comfortable "Standing alone" .   2 words :   THAT was news to me !

                             NOW , I know that I have had MANY Lifetimes in Ancient Greece and the Far East, so I am almost grotesquely Familiar with the Ancients and turn to them to provide a Universal Perspective that has clearly withstood "The Test Of Time" .   These Ancients ARE MY FOUNDATION, they Define my Academic Ventures, my Writing and Studies .   Indeed, They Define my Existence .

                              

Legge-Wilhelm-Baynes

                                                           I have been accused of "Ancestor Worship" because of my  use of Ancient Texts and quotes from Ancient Masters and Venerable Sages .   "Worship" is such a STRONG word, and I reject its use to describe me and my Sentiments {to be  Senti-MENTAL} .   I was introduced to the I Ching via Herr Hermann Hesse and his Magister Ludi, a text that won him the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature .   Reading and then Studying the I Ching transFORMED me .    I GUARANTEE that if my Gentle Readers read the I Ching, they, too, will be transformed .  

                           There are problems, of course, but there are ALWAYS Problems and these must be addressed if Understanding is to be planted and its fruits harvested .   I have two Translations of the I Ching, one by James Legge and the other by the German Scholar Richard Wilhelm and the PHENOMENAL American Translator, Cary F. Baynes .   Of these Two the translation by Wilhelm/Baynes is TRUEST to the Ancient Chinese [the I Ching was written and compiled between the 10th and 9th centuries BCE] .   Legge's Version is INTENSE as it provides DYNAMIC Scholarship that is sometimes {most times} esoteric and therefore requires an EXTENSIVE amount of Background Familiarity .   However, make no mistake, the Wilhelm/Baynes Translation is CLASSIC Chinese oriented, the use of Images and (get this) POETRY can be deemed inscrutable, and it IS --> Inscrutable until you commit to its Understanding by TAKING TIME to let the texts "Sink In" to your Sub-conscious and then your UN-Conscious where it will find AFFINITY as a Manifestation of the "Collective Unconscious" .  

Unremitting Vigilance

                                                        57.  Sun  /  The Gentle  (The Penetrating,  Wind)

                              "At times one has to deal with hidden enemies, intangible influences that slink into dark corners and from this hiding affect people by suggestion .   In instances like this, it is  necessary to trace these things back to their most secret recesses, in order to determine the nature of the influences to be dealt with .   This is the task of the priests; removing the influences is the task of the magicians .   The very anonymity of such plotting requires an especially vigorous and indefatigable effort, but this is well worth while .   For when such elusive influences are brought into the light and branded, they lose power over people ."

                  

                        Propaganda is hardly "hidden", however the EFFECTS of propaganda are 'felt' by one's Psyche =  the Unconscious, and ITS response has GREAT POWER although the POWER may have a NEGATIVE Aspect .   This Negative Power MUST BE addressed if one is to guarantee The TRUTH of Reality .   

                      It is written, "When there is lack of Faith, there is lack of GOOD Faith"  and so it is with Trust .   When there is lack of Trust, there is lack of GOOD Trust .  We must not Trust propaganda, and further, those that generate propaganda .  

                      How many times have we been defeated when we "Let our guard down" ?   Here it is where Unremitting Vigilance is necessary for our COMPLETE Defense .  

Miss Handled

                                                           I must connect one more dot .   Here it is where Frog equals Toad and a Plague of Frogs equals a Plague of Toads, or Toadies, fitting, because trump's "toadies" ARE a Plague upon America .   

                           I know that the trope I have used is incomplete, I must account for Hail, Locusts, true Darkness and the "Death of the first born" ---- please forgive an old man .  Oh yeah, BOILS  --- .

                           I will leave this here, I've been up since 3:00, my ribs are beginning to ache and I am famished .

                           Dr. Moynihan wrote me that the Job of a Modern Writer is to review the Past and Modernize what has been written before and deemed unquestionably Valuable, ESPECIALLY those Myths, Stories, Fables and Tales that have resonated as TRUTH throughout the History(ies) of Civilization .   GEESUS FUCKING KRISS DOC,  ANYHING ELSE ???  

                          2 words  WOW .

                    

                          "Tare Forward" and  "Keep the Faith"       

The End is FEAR

                                                           It is imperative to note that all the Plagues have yet to manifest, that the List is partial, but it still represents the Condition of being under Divine Affliction .   Still more important is the necessity to acknowledge Pharoah's parochial stubborn-ness, meaning, after every Affliction Pharoah had the Chance to Release the Israelis---to give the Freedom and Self-Sovereignty but he declined to do so until the very END when his first born was slain by God ........only THEN did he submit to the Will of The Divine Almighty :   BUT  even THEN he continued to chase-down HIS Slaves and had his entire army PERISH on the floor of the Red Sea, we MUST view trump as if HE is Pharoah ; a Stubborn-ness built on CRIMINAL ARROGANCE and a complete dys-regard* for Israeli Life , that is HUMAN  LIFE .   

                           Pharoah was NOT given the option to RESIGN, to "step down" and away from his Reign of Cruelty .   We've yet to see ANY Request / Demand for trump to Resign, to step down and walk away .   I insist that it is NECESSARY to give trump the Option to Resign and do so IMMEDIATELY .   The democrats have all but ASSURED trump that he will be Tried and Convicted, resulting in his Imprison- ment .   I ASSUME that his entire Wealth will be confiscated and the Monies returned to the Treasury, leaving him and his OTHERS also POVERTY STRICKEN .