Northrop Grumman (NOC) under CEO Kathy Warden

 

 

HEXAGRAM 27 – I – The Corners of the Mouth (Providing Nourishment)

Above    KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

Below    CHEN    THE AROUSING, THUNDER

This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth;

• above and below are the firm lines of the lips, and
  
• between them the opening.
  

Starting with the mouth,

through which we take food for nourishment,

the thought leads to nourishment itself.

Nourishment

• of oneself, specifically of the body, is represented in the three lower lines,
  
• while the three upper lines represent nourishment and care of others, in a higher, spiritual sense.
  

THE JUDGMENT

THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH.

Perseverance brings good fortune.

Pay heed

• to the providing of nourishment And
  
• to what a man seeks To fill his own mouth with.
  

In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important

• that the right people should be taken care of and
  
• that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way.
  

If

• we wish to know what anyone is like,
  
• we have only to observe
  
  • on whom he bestows his care and
    
  • what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes.
    

Nature nourishes all creatures.

The great man fosters and takes care of superior men,

in order to take care of all men through them.

Mencius says about this:

If

• we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not,
  
• we need only observe what part of his being he regards as especially important.
  

The body has

• superior and inferior,
  
• important and unimportant parts.
  

We

• must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant,
  
• nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior.
  

• He who cultivates the inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man.
  
• He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man. 1
  

THE IMAGE

At the foot of the mountain, thunder:

The image of PROVIDING NOURISHMENT.

Thus the superior man is

• careful of his words And
  
• temperate in eating and drinking.
  

“God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing” 2:

when in the spring the life forces stir again,

all things come into being anew.

“He brings to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still”:

thus

in the early spring, when the seeds fall to earth,

all things are made ready.

This is an image of providing nourishment through

• movement and
  
• tranquility.
  

The superior man takes it as a pattern for the

• nourishment and
  
• cultivation of
  

his character.

• Words are a movement going from within outward.
  
• Eating and drinking are movements from without inward.
  

Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquility.

For

tranquility

• keeps the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding proper measure, and
  
• keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding its proper measure.
  

Thus character is cultivated.

THE LINES

Nine at the beginning means:

• You let your magic tortoise go, And
  
• look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping.
  

Misfortune.

The magic tortoise is a creature possessed of such supernatural powers that

it

• lives on air and
  
• needs no earthly nourishment.
  

The image means that

a man fitted by nature and position to live freely and independently

• renounces this self-reliance and instead
  
• looks with envy and discontent at others who are outwardly in better circumstances.
  

But such base envy only arouses derision and contempt in those others.

This has bad results.

MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 23 – Po – Splitting Apart

Above    KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

Below    K’UN    THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

The dark lines are about to

• mount upward and
  
• overthrow the last firm, light line
  

by exerting a disintegrating influence on it.

The inferior, dark forces overcome what is superior and strong,

• not by direct means,
  
• but by undermining it gradually and imperceptibly,
  

so that it finally collapses.

The lines of the hexagram

• present the image of a house, the top line being tile roof, and
  

  because the roof is being shattered
  

• the house collapses.
  

The hexagram belongs to the ninth month (October-November).

The yin power

• pushes up ever more powerfully and
  
• is about to supplant the yang power altogether.
  

THE JUDGMENT

SPLITTING APART.

It does not further one

To go anywhere.

This pictures a time when inferior people

• are pushing forward and
  
• are about to crowd out the few remaining strong and superior men.
  

Under these circumstances, which are due to the time,

it is not favorable for the superior man to undertake anything.

The right behavior in such adverse times is to be deduced from

• the images and
  
• their attributes.
  

• The lower trigram stands for the earth,
  
  • whose attributes are docility and devotion.
    
• The upper trigram stands for the mountain,
  
  • whose attribute is stillness.
    

This suggests that one

• should submit to the bad time and
  
• remain quiet.
  

For it is a question not of man’s doing but of time conditions,

which, according to the laws of heaven,

show an alternation of

• increase and decrease,
  
• fullness and emptiness.
  

It is impossible to counteract these conditions of the time.

Hence

it is not cowardice but wisdom to

• submit and
  
• avoid action.
  

THE IMAGE

The mountain rests on the earth: The image of SPLITTING APART.

Thus

those above can ensure their position

Only by giving generously to those below.

The mountain rests on the earth.

• When it is steep and narrow, lacking a broad base, it must topple over.
  
• Its position is strong only when it rises out of the earth
  
  • broad and great,
    
  • not proud and steep.
    

So likewise those who rule rest on the broad foundation of the people.

They too should be

• generous and
  
• benevolent,
  

  like the earth that carries all.
  

• Then they will make their position
  
  • as secure
    
  • as a mountain is in its tranquility.
    

 

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