Future of General Electric (GE) under CEO John Flannery

Future of General Electric (GE) under CEO John Flannery

 

 

HEXAGRAM 20 – Kuan – Contemplation (View)

Above    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND

Below    K’UN    THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

A slight variation of tonal stress gives the Chinese name for this hexagram a double meaning.

It means both

• contemplating and
  
• being seen, in the sense of being an example.
  

These ideas are suggested by the fact that the hexagram can be understood as picturing a type of tower characteristic of ancient China.

• A tower of this kind commanded a wide view of the country;
  

  at the same time, when situated on a mountain,
  

• it became a landmark that could be seen for miles around.
  

Thus the hexagram shows a ruler

• who contemplates the law of heaven above him and the ways of the people below, and
  
• who, by means of good government, sets a lofty example to the masses.
  

This hexagram is linked with the eighth month (September – October).

• The light-giving power retreats and
  
• the dark power is again on the increase.
  

However, this aspect is not material in the interpretation of the hexagram as a whole.

THE JUDGMENT

CONTEMPLATION.

• The ablution has been made,
  

But

• not yet the offering.
  

Full of trust they look up to him.

The sacrificial ritual in China began with

• an ablution and
  
• a libation by which the Deity was invoked,
  

after which the sacrifice was offered.

The moment of time between these two ceremonies is the most sacred of all,

the moment of deepest inner concentration.

If piety is

• sincere and
  
• expressive of real faith,
  

the contemplation of it has a transforming and awe-inspiring effect

on those who witness it.

Thus also in nature

a holy seriousness is to be seen in the fact that

natural occurrences are uniformly subject to law.

Contemplation of the divine meaning underlying the workings of the universe gives

to the man who is called upon to influence others

the means of producing like effects.

This requires that power of inner concentration which religious contemplation

develops in great men strong in faith.

• It enables them to apprehend the mysterious and divine laws of life, and
  

  by means of profoundest inner concentration
  

• they give expression to these laws in their own persons.
  

Thus

a hidden spiritual power emanates from them,

influencing and dominating others

without their being aware of how it happens.

THE IMAGE

The wind blows over the earth: The image of CONTEMPLATION.

Thus the kings of old

• visited the regions of the world,
  
• Contemplated the people, And
  
• gave them instruction.
  

When the wind blows over the earth it

• goes far and wide and
  
• the grass must bend to its power.
  

These two occurrences find confirmation in the hexagram.

The two images are used to symbolize a practice of the kings of old;

1. in making regular journeys the ruler could, in the first place,
   

   survey his realm and
   

   make certain that none of the existing usages of the people escaped notice;
   

2. in the second,
   

   he could exert influence through which such customs as were unsuitable
   

   could be changed.
   

All of this points to the power possessed by a superior personality.

• On the one hand, such a man
  
  • will have a view of the real sentiments of the great mass of humanity and therefore
    
  • cannot be deceived;
    
• on the other, he
  
  • will impress the people so profoundly,
    
    • by his mere existence and
      
    • by the impact of his personality,
      

    that they will be swayed by him as the grass by the wind.
    

THE LINES

Six in the third place means:

Contemplation of my life

Decides the choice Between

• advance and
  
• retreat.
  

This is the place of transition.

We

• no longer look outward to receive pictures that are more or less limited and confused,
  
• but direct our contemplation upon ourselves in order to find a guideline for our decisions.
  

This self-contemplation means the overcoming of naive egotism

in the person who sees everything solely from his own standpoint.

He begins to reflect and in this way acquires objectivity.

However,

• self-knowledge does not mean preoccupation with one’s own thoughts; rather,
  
• it means concern about the effects one creates.
  

It is only the effects our lives produce that give us the right to judge

whether what we have done means progress or regression.

0 Nine at the top means:

Contemplation of his life.

The superior man is without blame.

• While the preceding line represents a man who contemplates himself,
  
• here in the highest place everything that is personal, related to the ego, is excluded.
  

The picture is that of a sage who stands outside the affairs of the world.

Liberated from his ego, he

• contemplates the laws of life and so
  
• realizes that knowing how to become free of blame is the highest good.
  

MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 39 – Chien – Obstruction

Above     K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below     KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

The hexagram pictures

• a dangerous abyss lying before us and
  
• a steep, inaccessible mountain rising behind us.
  

We are surrounded by obstacles;

at the same time,

since the mountain has the attribute of keeping still,

there is implicit a hint as to how we can extricate ourselves.

The hexagram represents obstructions

that appear in the course of time but

that can and should be overcome.

Therefore

all the instruction given is directed to overcoming them.

THE JUDGMENT

OBSTRUCCION.

• The southwest furthers.
  
• The northeast does not further.
  
• It furthers one to see the great man.
  

Perseverance brings good fortune.

The southwest is the region of retreat,

the northeast that of advance.

Here

an individual is confronted by obstacles that

cannot be overcome directly.

In such a situation

it is wise

• to pause in view of the danger and
  
• to retreat.
  

However,

this is merely a preparation for overcoming the obstructions.

One must

• join forces with friends of like mind and
  
• put himself under the leadership of a man equal to the situation:
  

then

one will succeed in removing the obstacles.

This requires the will to persevere

just when

one apparently must do something that leads away from his goal.

This unswerving inner purpose brings good fortune in the end.

An obstruction that lasts only for a time is useful for self-development.

This is the value of adversity.

THE IMAGE

Water on the mountain:

The image of OBSTRUCTION.

Thus the superior man

• turns his attention to himself And
  
• molds his character.
  

Difficulties and obstructions throw a man back upon himself.

While

• the inferior man
  
  • seeks to put the blame on other persons, bewailing his fate,
    
• the superior man
  
  • seeks the error within himself, and
    

  through this introspection
  

• the external obstacle becomes for him an occasion for
  
  • inner enrichment and
    
  • education.
    

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