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The 64 Hexagrams
of the I Ching

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51: Shock

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53: A Steady Pace

52: Keeping Still

Regular periods of rest are an important aspect of personal development and evolution. The most relaxed person may not be the one who sleeps twelve hours a day but the one who knows how to grab a nap while cruising at 600 miles per hour at 35,000 feet. Learning to act when it is time to act and to be still when it is wise to be still is the key to obtaining the peace of mind that helps you stay alert when clear focus is needed.

Consider the spine, which serves as a switchboard for all the nerves of the body that mediate movement. When the spine is kept flexible and healthy through proper rest and relaxation, active movement can be undertaken without strain. When the spine is held erect in a balanced sitting posture, the inner balancing of meditation can take place.

Treat your vitality as if it were a candle in the wind: protect it as though it were the only light in a dark forest on a moonless night. Avoid external conditions that threaten to snuff out this precious flame, and be careful not to suffocate it with your ambitions or worries.

Call time out. Relax, take your shoes off, and sit a spell. Let go of thinking. Meditate on just being.

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