Hexagram 1

 Tao (The Way) that can be spoken of is not the Constant Tao’ The name that can be named is not a Constant Name. Nameless, is the origin of Heaven and Earth; The named is the Mother of all things. Thus, the constant void enables one to observe the true essence. The constant being enables one to see the outward manifestations. These two come paired from the same origin. But when the essence is manifested, It has a different name. This same origin is called “The Profound Mystery.” As profound the mystery as It can be, It is the Gate to the essence of all life.

guardians of truth and traditional wisdom

 The phrase "guardians of truth and traditional wisdom" encompasses several deeply rooted spiritual, philosophical, and cultural concepts across different global traditions. Rather than referring to a singular book or organization, looking "inside" this concept reveals a shared human lineage dedicated to preserving ancient knowledge, sacred truths, and moral foundations. [1, 2, 3, 4]

1. Indigenous Elders and Lineage Keepers

In most indigenous and tribal communities worldwide, elders are universally recognized as the central guardians of traditional wisdom. [1]

• The Living Archive: They hold oral histories, ecological practices, medicinal secrets, and cultural rituals crucial to community survival. [1, 2]
• Sacred Interconnection: Lineage bearers—such as the Hacaritama healers of Colombia or Druidic practitioners in Wales—work to anchor a reciprocal relationship between humanity and the land. [1, 2]

2. Spiritual Guides and Sacred Texts

Major religious philosophies position their leadership, avatars, and texts as active "guardians" tasked with protecting divine truth from cultural distortion. [1, 2]

• The Internal Fortress: In Eastern spiritual traditions like Buddhism, the concept shifts inward. Masters teach that the ultimate way to guard the "Dharmakaya" (the true body of wisdom) is to guard the six senses from external worldly distractions, treating the mind like a locked castle. [1]
• Ecclesiastical Accountability: In Judeo-Christian frameworks, spiritual leaders and elders are legally and morally charged to be guardians of biblical truth, strictly preserving core tenets and sacred teachings for upcoming generations. [1, 2, 3]

3. Philosophers, Librarians, and Artists

In secular society, the mantle of guarding truth transfers to institutions that foster independent thinking and historical continuity. [1]

• Librarians: Former President Barack Obama famously praised librarians as "guardians of truth and knowledge," highlighting their pivotal role as protectors of literacy, privacy, and uncensored reading.
• Artists: Renowned figures like singer Paul Robeson and filmmakers Ken Loach and Mike Leigh have long asserted that artists serve as the true guardians of truth and the ultimate conscience of human civilization during eras of political propaganda. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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To explore this further, let me know if you are researching a specific spiritual tradition, a particular literary work, or indigenous lineage preservation.

PLATO, TIMAEUS, C. 370 B.C.

 Was the world always in existence and without beginning or created, and had it a beginning? Created, I reply, being visible and tangible and therefore sensible; and all sensible things are created. . . . Which of the patterns had the Artificer in view when He made the world— the pattern of the unchangeable or of that which is created? If the world is indeed fair and the Artificer good, it is manifest that He must have looked to that which is eternal—Thus, when all things were in disorder, God created in each thing all the measures and harmonies which they could possibly receive. For in those days nothing had any proportion except by accident nor did any of the things which now have names deserve to be named at all, neither fire nor water nor the other elements. All these the Creator first set in order and out of them he constructed the universe. —PLATO, TIMAEUS, C. 370 B.C.

Vance on abortion

 Vance replied: "My view on this has been very clear and I think the question betrays a certain presumption that is wrong. It’s not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term, it’s whether a child should be allowed to live, even though the circumstances of that child’s birth are somehow inconvenient or a problem to the society. The question really, to me, is about the baby. We want women to have opportunities, we want women to have choices, but, above all, we want women and young boys in the womb to have the right to life. Right now our society doesn’t afford that and I think it's a tragedy and I think we can do better."

WHY THE BIble seems confusing

 

• Hello Timothy,

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Have you ever started reading the Bible with good intentions, only to find yourself confused a few weeks later? Maybe you were doing great in Genesis, but somewhere along the way you lost the thread and weren’t sure how the pieces fit together. I’ve had to help many people work through that struggle, and most of the time the problem isn’t a lack of devotion. It’s a lack of understanding of the story God is telling.

  
  

  So let me hand you a few things to hold onto.

  1. You’re reading one story, not sixty-six separate books. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible tells one unified story with one Author and one Hero. Once you begin reading with that perspective, passages that felt disconnected start finding their place.

  2. You’re meant to read Scripture in context. A verse carries more weight when you understand where it sits in the larger story. That’s why knowing the storyline of Scripture changes the way you approach every chapter you read.

  3. You’re not reading as an outsider. If you’ve put your faith in Jesus, you’ve been brought into God’s story. The same God who worked through Abraham, David, and the early church is still at work in your life today.

  
  

  Read the full blog here to learn the six-part storyline that ties the entire Bible together and helps Scripture make sense from beginning to end.

  Blessings,

  Vlad 

  P.S.  If you’re in Southern California, I’d love to see you at The Way World Outreach in San Bernardino on June 25. I’ll be sharing a message for their 22nd anniversary celebration.

My Life Is a Sentence” by T.A.D. November 17, 2017

 My Life Is a Sentence” by T.A.D. November 17, 2017

I had a short dream this morning. It was of a huge warrior man, kind of scruffy with black facial hair, shaved head, strong-featured face and stony eyes. I can only recall a tiny bit of the dream: someone was holding him captive and was going to give him his “sentence” for something he had supposedly done wrong. The gigantic “soldier” replied (his stone eyes sparking):

“Life is my Sentence”.

I woke up wondering where did that come from? Who was that man?

It wasn’t the man so much that captivated my thought. It was what he said: “Life is my sentence.”

Most of us think of life sentence as time done in prison for crimes committed. What if our actual life is a life sentence? A punishment from the Universe for some interstellar crime we’ve committed.

Sentenced to Life on Earth, to be born just to get a death sentence, none of us get out alive. The pains we must endure, the lessons we either learn or don’t, even though the opportunities to learn are there. The relationships we build and either neglect or nurture, the trials and tribulations, all part of our punishment.

Life, a big mind game. We think the longer you live the better. Putting our bodies through torture trying to stay young, to rid the body of sickness and pain; only extending our sentence. Think of all those out there prolonging their agony with chemo, radiation, all the drugs the pharmaceuticals can come up with to “cure whatever ails you”. All the while those drugs are adversely affecting some other part of your body that will be a problem a little later down the road. All of those putting themselves through dialysis, suffering daily. For what? A longer life sentence? The ones that die young are the fortunate ones; they’ve served their sentences in no time, while others just pray for this day to be their last.

Observe other’s live: the hurts, pains, bad luck stories, suffering, and the torture they put themselves through not even realizing. Then others seemingly float through life without much problem at all. Oh, yes, we all have issues of one kind or another periodically. How you deal with the adversity may affect the length of your stay here on Prison Earth. And the comforts that it has to offer, just like a prison. With good behavior prisoners can have a pretty lax life. Or maybe the crime committed was not so bad, so you’re given a pretty good life, as far as lives go.

Perhaps we should be shouting praises of celebration each time we lose a loved one; their sentence is over. They get to go back home, out of prison Earth - back to being a celestial being.

We would view death in a whole new light if Life were a Sentence.

Reminder: Two Rabbi’s who said “(Gulp) … I guess that’s me!”

• Two Rabbi’s who said “(Gulp) … ... I guess that’s me!” y … A statement can be very wrong, and very right, at the same time. For example, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." Shakespeare, of course, in his Twelfth Night. It’s spoken by the pompous fool Malvolio, who is so full of himself, he’s easily duped into thinking his noble employer (Olivia) is madly in love with him. What he said wasn’t wrong. It was just wrong when he applied it to himself.  Some people really do have greatness thrust upon them. (And usually tragedy and pain are linked with it.) Case in point? Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon. Also known either as Maimonides, or the Rambam (RMBM - the acronym of his name). Born 1135 CE in then-Muslim-ruled Spain, he flees for his life (and faith) when Jews are given a choice between death, conversion to Islam, or exile. Not an ideal start. He winds up in Morocco, then Israel, then Eqypt. But he’s maddeningly smart, and well schooled in Torah by his rabbi father. He’s also successful in business, as well-Torah-schooled Jews often are. It would be easy to be wildly jealous of him if he wasn’t also so likeable. Then tragedy hits again. The family decides to concentrate their wealth in Moshe’s brother David, who goes on a big investment trip, but drowns at sea. Moshe loses savings and cherished brother in one fell swoop. Grief-stricken, he’s barely able to function for a year. But he hasn’t stopped being maddeningly smart. Unlike many of his rabbinical peers, he’s not afraid to learn from ancient Greek (e.g. Aristotle) and then-modern Islamic thinkers (this was the golden age of Islamic intellectualism). He applies their thought principles to Torah and Talmud, and quickly pivots to becoming a physician. Successfully treats a number of common ailments (pneumonia, asthma, diabetes).  Not keeping his knowledge to himself, he publishes his learning and methods. Word gets around. Before long, he’s appointed physician to the Sultan’s secretary, then the Sultan himself.  When he finally leaves the palace every day, he’s besieged by the ill, Jew and Gentile alike, and he treats them all. And somewhere in all this … he finds time to think, and write. Prolifically. Works on law, philosophy, logic, medicine … If you’ve ever studied law to any extent, you’ve probably heard this line: “Better a thousand guilty people acquitted than one innocent person convicted.” That’s the Rambam. And he gets frustrated trying to decide legal matters. The Talmud exists, but it’s not organised around specific problems. And it’s been over a millennium since the Mishna was penned. He realises … somebody’s got to pull all this stuff together and make it accessible.  Who’s going to do that? (Gulp) I guess that’s me. (Rabbi Steinsaltz would have recognised that feeling.) Which is why today we have the Mishneh Torah. One Jew’s attempt to pull together all the previous works … … (and by all, I mean all of halakha, not only the laws that apply today, but also Temple service, kingship, purity, sacrifices, agriculture, courts, Shabbat, prayer, ethics, repentance, Torah study, forbidden foods, marriage, and society) … … and make it easy for the average then-everyday Jew to make decisions. Now fast forward eight centuries, and those then-everyday Jews are long gone (as is the language they used). We’ve got 21st-Century-everyday Jews now, with 21st Century problems, experiences, habits, etc. Who’s going to pull the Rambam’s stuff together for them? Gulp. I guess that’s me, thought Rabbi Steinsaltz. And it’s all done now, as Rabbi Steinsaltz’ grandson explains in this video. The Rambam translated into modern English, with the Rav’s commentary on it.  And it’s all in the Steinsaltz Daily Study App, downloadable for free. -    Rabbi Meni Even-Israel P.S. Already downloaded the Steinsaltz Daily Study App? And would like to stop receiving emails about it? Click here. (The App page will reopen, but take no action. Your address will automatically be added to our list of our app users, and you'll stop receiving emails about it.

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