Chinese Fortune Stick Reading of the Day
~ Stick # 45 ~
The meek will overcome the violent;
The kind-hearted will receive infinite rewards.
Their deeds of kindness bestow to such great merit,
That heavenly ambrosia will quench their thirst.
TRADITIONAL INTERPRETATION
Your best chance to gain the favor of fortune is to be kind and tender
towards others. If you perform good deeds, your reputation will improve,
and others will be more likely to aid you. Autumn will be your most
prosperous season, although you will remain peaceful and safe throughout
the year. You should be the victor in any outstanding disputes, because
you are most likely in the right.
REFLECTION
The Tao Te Ching stresses how water wears away huge rocks, and the weak
wear down the strong. The Taoist way is not to confront but simply to
be, to flow round and under obstacles rather than try to overwhelm them.
Be natural. Be considerate. Be thoughtful. Hurdles will fall, melt
away, or after a while, will cease to be important.
~ Stick # 33 ~
You do not see the valuables within your grasp,
So you turn around and around in a vain search.
Relax and wait for the arrival of another,
For they can tell you where the treasure is hidden.
TRADITIONAL INTERPRETATION
Better prospects are much closer than you realize, and fortune will aid
you in finding them, so you do not need to spend so much time looking
for new opportunities yourself. Personally, you have very little to
worry about, and your family will also be blessed with good luck if you
take the time to care for them. It is not a good time to move against
others, to travel, or to invest in risky enterprises - maintain your
current position instead.
REFLECTION
Sometimes we are too close to things to see their true value. We become
myopic. So we spend time looking for what we already have, searching for
that which is not lost.
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Each day I sit down, take up the cup of sticks and ask the same
question, “What does the Keen community need to know or hear today?” I
shake the cup until a stick (or 2 or 3…) falls out. I then post the
stick number and the meanings for you to get what you can out of them.
The sticks themselves are a form of I-Ching. There are a total of 64
sticks in the set that I use* with a poem and small interpretation/story
to go along with each stick. The poems, meanings and reflections are
meant to be read and (as a good friend of mine once said) marinated in.
In our culture, we’ve grown accustomed to getting instant
gratification. In other words, we’re used to everything being given to
us with little or no work on our parts. These readings are the exact
opposite of that type of attitude.
Chinese Fortune sticks are meant to make us slow down and reflect on
what is being said. As each sticks’ meaning can be profoundly personal
to each person who reads them, it’s more important for you to read them
rather than have someone give you a watered down version. These
readings are meant to sing to a level of your consciousness and bring
you a measure of peace, or at least enlightenment.
The best way to get the most you can out of these readings is to
approach them with an open mind. Before sitting down to read that
morning’s reading, make some quiet time for yourself. Sit still for a
moment and clear your mind. Silence the chatter in your head and take a
few deep breaths, letting them out slowly. Once you feel yourself slow
down a little (or a lot), read through the reading of the day. Go over
it a few times if you feel the need. Then take a moment, sit back and
think about what that reading means for you. Some will be very
straightforward; others require a bit more thinking. Either way, let
the reading from the sticks guide you that day on the decisions or
experiences you have. These aren’t meant to tell you what to think, but
rather to help you look at things in a different way or to allow you to
access truths you already have.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me!!
* written by Zhao Xiaomin & Martin Palmer