Stand firm in your truth, resolve inner conflict, and channel that clarity into harnessing future potential.
From
43
Breakthrough
To
26
Controlled Power
One rigs the results in the hope that worrying information will disappear. taoscopy.com
Breakthrough 43
Break through obstacles with determination and clarity. Confront negativity openly while maintaining integrity and wisdom. The truth must be revealed, yet patience is required.
↓ Line 4
Struggles and difficulties are present, but following guidance can alleviate remorse.
↓ Line 5
Address problems with determination and maintain balance to avoid blame.
↓ Line 6
Ignoring warnings and failing to act can lead to misfortune.
↓ Controlled Power26
Cultivate inner strength and patience to overcome obstacles. Harness your energy wisely and focus on gradual progress.
Other titles: Break-through, The Symbol of Decision, Resolution, Determination, Parting, Removing Corruption, Eradication
Judgment
Legge: Recognizing the risks involved in criminal prosecution, justice demands a resolute proof of the culprit's guilt in the royal court. One informs one's own city that armed force is not necessary. In this way progress is assured.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Break-through. One must resolutely make the matter known at the court of the king. It must be announced truthfully. Danger. It is necessary to notify one's own city. It does not further to resort to arms. It furthers one to undertake something.
Blofeld: Resolution. When a proclamation is made at the court of the King, frankness in revealing the true state of affairs is dangerous. [In vital matters, frankness may prove dangerous.] In making announcements to the people of his own city, it is not fitting for the ruler to carry arms. [It is better to repose trust in our own people.] It is favorable to have some goal (or destination).
Liu: Determination. Someone is proud in the king's court, and the king trusts him. If one exposes the truth, danger. It must be told to one's own people. Using force does not benefit. It does benefit to do something else. [You must decide how to deal with a situation before it reaches a dangerous point, or things will take their own course and overwhelm you.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Parting, displaying tending-towards kingly chambers. Conforming, crying-out, possessing adversity. Notifying originates from the capital. Not Harvesting: approaching arms. Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of separation and diverging directions. It emphasizes that resolutely dividing your energies is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Resolution: Raised up at the royal court, returning crying out; there is danger. Announcing from the sky; not beneficial to regulate the belligerents; beneficial to have someplace to go.
Cleary (1): Parting is lauded in the royal court. The call of truth involves danger. Addressing one’s own domain, it is not beneficial to go right to war, but it is beneficial to go somewhere. [The royal court is the abode of the mind-ruler, where true and false are distinguished.]
Cleary (2): Decision is brought up in the royal court. A sincere statement involves danger, etc.
Wu:Eradication indicates a conceited pronouncement in the royal court on the one hand, and a concerted call for vigilance on the other. It is essential to make the danger known to the people, but not to resort to force now. It is advantageous to have undertakings.
The Image
Legge: The image of the waters of a marsh mounting over heaven forms Resoluteness. The superior man, in accordance with this, does not hoard his wealth, but shares it with his subordinates.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The lake has risen up to heaven: the image of Break-through. Thus the superior man dispenses riches downward and refrains from resting on his virtue.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a marshy lake being drawn (sucked) towards the sky. The Superior Man distributes his emoluments to those below; dwelling in virtue, he renounces them.
Liu: The lake ascends to heaven, symbolizing Determination. The superior man distributes wealth below him, without displaying his favors.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh with-respect-to heaven. Parting. A chun tzu uses spreading-out benefits to extend to the below. A chun tzu uses residing-in actualizing tao, by- consequence keeping-aloof. [Actualize-tao: Ability to follow the course traced by the ongoing process of the cosmos... Linked with acquire, TE: acquiring that which makes a being what it is meant to be.]
Cleary (1): Moisture ascends to heaven, which parts with it. Thus do superior people distribute blessings to reach those below, while avoiding presumption of virtue. [After people get mixed up in temporal conditioning, the discriminatory consciousness takes charge of affairs; wine and sex distract them from reality, the lure of wealth deranges their nature, emotions and desires well forth at once, thoughts and ruminations arise in a tangle, and the mind-ruler is lost in confusion. Because habituation becomes second nature over a long period of time, it cannot be abruptly removed. It is necessary to work on the matter in a serene and equanimous way, according to the time: Eventually discrimination will cease, and the original spirit will return; the human mind will sublimate and the mind of Tao will be complete – again you will see the original self.]
Cleary (2): … If they presumed on their virtue, they would be resented.
Wu: The marsh rises to heaven; this is Eradication. Thus the jun zi distributes his emolument to those below and is loath to monopolize virtues.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Resoluteness is the symbol of displacing or removing. We see the dynamic lines displacing the magnetic line. The figure displays the attributes of Strength and Cheerfulness. There is displacement, but harmony continues. The exhibition of the criminal's guilt in the royal court is shown by the magnetic line mounted on five dynamic lines. The awareness of danger and appeal for justice makes the matter clear. If he has recourse to arms, what he prefers will soon be exhausted. When the advance of the dynamic lines is complete, there will be an end to displacement.
Legge:Resoluteness represents the third month when the last vestige of winter, represented by the sixth line, is about to disappear before the advance of summer. The single yin line at the top symbolizes an inferior man, a feudal prince or high minister who is corrupting the government. The five yang lines below are the representatives of good order. The lesson of the hexagram is how to remove corruption from the kingdom. He who would do this must do so by the force of his character more than the force of arms. Never forgetting the dangerous nature of his undertaking, he must openly denounce the criminal in the court and awaken general sympathy to his cause. Among his own adherents ("In his own city") he must prevent any tendency to resort to armed conflict. As a worthy statesman he is not motivated by private feelings.
Hu Ping-wen says: "If but a single inferior man is left, he is sufficient to make the superior man anxious; if but a single inordinate desire be left in the mind, that is sufficient to disturb the harmony of the heavenly principles. The eradication in both cases must be complete, before the labor is ended."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Resoluteness involves astute discernment of what is wrong and a discreet re-establishment of order without polarizing the situation. Be clear in your own strategy, but let common sense be your guide about how much you need to disclose to others. Avoid aggression at all costs.
The Superior Man maintains equilibrium by distributing his energy equitably -- he smoothes things out.
The forty-third hexagram is an image of the eradication of an inferior force from the situation at hand: five yang lines resolutely advance on the single yin line, which is about to be pushed out of the hexagram at the top. This is a negative image of the twenty-third hexagram, Disintegration, which shows the opposite situation of five lower yin lines undermining one upper yang line. It is instructive to compare the nearly identical message for the superior man in the Images of each of these figures. The idea is one of fostering an equitable distribution of energy within the situation -- Disintegration and the Resoluteness required to rectify it are extreme situations requiring extreme measures. Such extremes must always be neutralized through a justly distributed balance of forces.
It's not the concern of law that any one class in the city fare exceptionally well, but it contrives to bring this about for the whole city, harmonizing the citizens by persuasion and compulsion, making them share with one another the benefit that each class is able to bring to the commonwealth. And it produces such men in the city not in order to let them turn whichever way each wants, but in order that it may use them in binding the city together. Plato --The Republic
Compare the nuances of meaning in each translation of the Judgment. Wilhelm's is most radical, advising a direct (albeit dangerous), expose of what is wrong. Most of the others imply room for discretion about what needs to be revealed. Diplomacy is the art of knowing when full- disclosure only prevents resolution of the problem. Ritsema/Karcher allude to the proper mind-set required to manage such situations: "[A chun tzu uses] residing-in actualizing tao, by-consequence keeping-aloof." To "reside in actualizing tao," is to live directly from one's essence, and when this is associated with "keeping-aloof" we get an image of quietly rectifying a situation without revealing our purpose or strategy.
Psychologically interpreted,Resoluteness, like Disintegration, depicts an extreme situation which must first be rectified, then prevented from re-occurring through the maintenance of a just balance of power which is administered by the ego under the will of the Self.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows one from whose buttocks the skin has been stripped, and who walks slowly and with difficulty. If he could act like a sheep led after its companions, occasion for repentance would disappear. But though he hear these words, he will not believe them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is no skin on his thighs, and walking comes hard. If a man were to let himself be led like a sheep, remorse would disappear. But if these words are heard they will not be believed.
Blofeld: His haunches have been flayed and he walks falteringly, though he could put an end to his shame by allowing himself to be dragged along like a sheep. Moreover, he puts no faith in the words of others. [Having recently suffered, we advance with hesitation and are unwilling to accept useful but rather humiliating assistance.]
Liu: He injures his thighs. He walks with difficulty. If he were to follow like a sheep, remorse would vanish. People will not believe his words when they hear them.
Ritsema/Karcher: The sacrum without flesh. One moves the resting-place moreover. Hauling-along the goat, repenting extinguished. Hearing words, not trustworthy.
Shaughnessy: The lips do not have skin; his movement is herky-jerky, pulling sheep; regret is gone; you will hear words that are not trustworthy.
Cleary (1): No flesh on the buttocks, not making progress. Leading a sheep, regret disappears. Hearing the words but not believing.
Cleary (2): With no flesh on the buttocks, one walks haltingly. Leading the sheep, regret disappears. The words heard are not believed.
Wu: His buttocks have no skin. He hobbles along. If he would lead away the sheep, there will be no regret; but he does not trust what he hears.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He is not in the place appropriate to him. He hears, but does not understand. Wilhelm/Baynes: There is no clear comprehension. Blofeld: Having no faith in the words of others shows lack of intelligence. Ritsema/ Karcher: Understanding not brightened indeed. Cleary (2): Being out of place. Not hearing clearly. Wu: His position is improper.He does not understand it.
Legge: Line four is not in the center, nor in a place appropriate for a dynamic line. He therefore will not be at rest, nor do anything to accomplish the work of the hexagram. He is symbolized as a culprit who has been whipped. Alone he can do nothing. If he could follow others, like a sheep led along, he might accomplish something, but he will not listen to advice.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is restless and wishes to enforce his will by stubbornly pushing forward. But he meets with insuperable antagonisms. Advice to desist and to follow others is ignored.
Wing: As you continue to push forward, you meet with one obstacle after the next. Your resoluteness has reached a degree where you cannot stop yourself. If you would submit to the difficult times and allow others to lead, your problems would resolve themselves. Such advice is meaningless, however, since you cannot be led.
Editor: The image here is clearly one of willful stubbornness. The harsh indictment is mitigated somewhat by Legge's Confucian commentary -- "He hears, but does not understand.” With all of the goodwill in the world, it is still possible to receive this line, and the commentary takes some of the sting out of it by saying that you simply haven't gotten the message yet. The Self is a terrible archetype -- far more like the wrathful Yahweh than the forgiving Christ, and there are phases of the Work in which no matter what you do, it seems to be wrong. One must learn to live with this fact.
The Lord leads the willing; He drags the unwilling in his wake. A. Rothberg -- The Sword of the Golem
A. You create hardship for yourself through your own stubbornness.
B. You haven't gotten the message yet. You don't understand, yet insist on pushing ahead anyway.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows the small men like a bed of purslaine, which ought to be uprooted with the utmost determination. The subject of the line having such determination, his action, in harmony with his central position, will lead to no error or blame.
Wilhelm/Baynes: In dealing with weeds, firm resolution is necessary. Walking in the middle remains free of blame.
Blofeld: With the tenacity of spinach clinging to the earth, he blamelessly steers a middle course. [That is, weak but determined.]
Liu: Clinging weeds. Determination is necessary. Taking the middle path. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Reeds, highlands: Parting, Parting. Center moving, without fault.
Shaughnessy: The amaranth burns so broken-up, in the middle of the ranks; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Wild burdock root; cut through resolutely. Balanced action is impeccable.
Cleary (2): A hill of amaranth; parting with what is to be parted with, balanced action is faultless. [Here it is appropriate to part with what the other yangs part with [i.e., the top yin line], but still preserve and nurture it; this is the path of balanced action, whereby it is possible to be faultless. However, when parting, after all one does not avoid distinguishing between developed and undeveloped people, though one still does not forget what is universally the same in everyone – therefore“balance is not yet obvious.”]
Wu: Like the lead sheep of a flock, he is determined to lead the charge against the little man. His approach from the center results in no error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His standing in the due mean is not yet clearly displayed. Wilhelm/Baynes: The middle is not yet in the light. Blofeld: Yes, blamelessly but not brilliantly! [In this situation, we can do well enough, but not very well.]Ritsema/Karcher: Center not-yet shining indeed. Cleary (2): Balanced action is faultless, but balance is not yet obvious. Wu: Though central, his action is not enlightening.
Legge: Purslaine grows in shady places, and hence we find it here in close contiguity to the topmost line, which is yin. Line five's proximity to line six is supposed to have a bad effect on him, so that while he does what his central position requires, it is not without an effort. Ch'eng-Tzu says: "If a man cherishes a single illicit desire in his mind, he has left the right way." Since five is the ruler's seat, evil may come to him, and strenuous efforts must be made to prevent such an evil.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Uprooting corruption from high offices requires the utmost determination.
Wing: When attempting to overthrow adversaries or obstacles in powerful positions, great Resolution and determination are necessary. The roots of this opposition run wide and deep and, unless completely eradicated, it may spring back to power. A calm thoroughness will see you through.
Editor: Wilhelm and Liu render the other translators’ wide range of specific plants as "weeds,” which is a much more evocative image of the inferior forces symbolized in this line. Psychologically, the idea is clear enough: unless one uproots (brings under control) every remnant of independent (habitual) affect within the psyche, it will eventually return to harm the Work. Sometimes the majority Confucian commentary does not seem to apply, in which case Cleary’s minority Buddhist interpretation (above) may be more apt.
Now 'tis the spring, and weeds are shallow-rooted;
Suffer them now and they'll o'ergrow the garden.
Shakespeare -- Henry VI
A. Succumbing to neither despair nor overconfidence, one resolutely eliminates every trace of inferior perception and feeling associated with the matter at hand.
B. A balanced viewpoint roots out error.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows its subject without any helpers on whom to call. Her end will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: No cry. In the end misfortune comes.
Blofeld: In the end, misfortune will come without warning.
Liu: Without a cry. Misfortune in the end. [If you get this line you will have difficulty in a new undertaking.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Without crying-out. Completing: possessing a pitfall.
Shaughnessy: There is no crying out; in the winter there is inauspiciousness.
Cleary (1): No call; in the end there is misfortune.
Wu: He has no one to call for help. It will be foreboding in the end.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: There is the misery of having none on whom to call-- the end will be that she cannot continue any longer. Wilhelm/Baynes: The misfortune of not crying out should in the end not be allowed to persist. Blofeld: This unheralded misfortune will be due to our failure to persist to the end. Ritsema/ Karcher: Without crying-out's pitfall. Completing not permitting long-living indeed. [Cry- out/outcry: HAO: call out, proclaim; signal, order, command; mark, label, sign.] Cleary (2): There cannot be growth at the end. [The five lines below epitomize the exhortations and admonitions of sages to the strong who gather together. Here one who is weak is at the top and even though correct is unable to call forth caution for preparedness, so in the end cannot grow.] Wu: The foreboding of having no one to call for help will come before long.
Legge: The subject of the sixth line, standing above, may be easily disposed of.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Just as victory is at hand, the man finds no helpers to eradicate the remaining evil. The evil conceals itself, only to spring up again at a later time.
Wing: Danger comes from a seed of evil in your own Self, perhaps a self-delusion or conceit that blinds you. Just when you feel you may relax your resolve and continue without helpers, it will cause you to err. Misfortune.
Anthony: We need not harbor anger or hold onto bad memories to remind ourself that the situation is unresolved… We must leave correction or punishment of the evil inferiors to the Sage as this is not our province of action…
Editor: Despite Legge's one-sentence dismissal of this line in his annotation, there is a great deal of ambiguity here. Notice the range of interpretations for the Confucian commentary: none of them say the same thing in English and Wilhelm's is so labored as to be virtually meaningless. These are strong clues that the text may be ambiguous in the original Chinese. Because Blofeld's translation of HAO (out-cry) as "warning" makes plausible sense, at its most neutral the line can depict an unexpected catastrophe. Also note that although blame is implied for line six via the symbolic structure of the hexagram, its actual text contains no value judgment, and as a magnetic line it remains correctly placed at the top. To complicate things even further, the message can be interpreted as either the elimination or the escape of an inferior force and, depending on the context of the question, one can meditate for hours to ascertain what exactly is meant. In a differentiated multiverse, there will always be forces requiring reconciliation and synthesis: nothing is ever "eradicated.” If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram becomes The Dynamic, with a corresponding line depicting the consequences of arrogance.
The shadow cannot be eliminated. It is the ever-present dark brother or sister. Whenever we fail to see where it stands, there is likely to be trouble afoot. For then it is certain to be standing behind us. The adequate question therefore never is: Have I a shadow problem? Have I a negative side? But rather: Where does it happen to be right now? When we cannot see it, it is time to beware! E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
A. The image suggests the disempowerment of an inferior force. [Quarantine without allies results in elimination of authority or influence. A negative, inferior force is terminated due to lack of support.]
B. The image suggests a sudden, unexpected misfortune of some sort.
C. The image suggests a demonically stubborn force which escapes rectification.
D. You are alone without allies in a vulnerable position or questionable endeavor.
Other titles: The Taming Power of the Great, The Great Nourisher, Taming the Great Powers, Great Accumulating, Great Accumulation, Great Storage, Nurturance of the Great, Great Buildup, Restraint of the Great, Restraint by the Strong, Potential Energy, The Great Taming Force, Energy Under Control, Power Restrained, Sublimation, Latent Power
Judgment
Legge: Controlled Power means being firm and correct. If its subject doesn't enjoy his family revenues at the expense of public service, there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Taming Power of the Great. Perseverance furthers. Not eating at home brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Blofeld: The Great Nourisher favors righteous persistence. Good fortune results from not eating at home. It is a favorable time for crossing the great river (sea). [I.e. going on a long journey, perhaps abroad.]
Liu: Taming the Great Powers. Persistence benefits. Not to eat at home is good fortune. It is of benefit to cross the great water.
Ritsema/Karcher: Great Accumulating. Harvesting Trial. Not dwelling, taking-in. Significant. Harvesting: wading the Great River. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an overriding concern that defines what is valuable. It emphasizes that bringing the variety of things under the control of this central idea is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Great Storage: Beneficial to determine; not eating at home is auspicious; beneficial to ford the great river.
Cleary (1): In Nurturance of the Great it is beneficial to be chaste. It is good not to eat at home; it is beneficial to cross great rivers. [This hexagram represents incubation nurturing the spiritual embryo. On this path, it is beneficial to still strength, not to use strength. Therefore it says: “it is beneficial to be chaste.” Chastity here means quietude. Stilling strength is nurturing strength. It is good to be still, not active – if one is still, this preserves strength; if one is active, this damages strength. This is the work referred to as “nine years facing a wall.”]
Cleary (2): Great Buildup is beneficial if correct, etc.
Wu: Restraint of the Great indicates prosperity and perseverance. It will be auspicious not to have meals at home. It will be advantageous to cross the big river. [The character chu in the present context has two meanings: one is to accumulate and the other to restrain.]
The Image
Legge: Heaven in the midst of the mountain -- the image of Controlled Power. Thus, the superior man studies the words and deeds of ancient men in order to build his virtue.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Heaven within the mountain: the image of the Taming Power of the Great. Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes the sky visible amidst the mountain peaks. The Superior Man, acting from his profound knowledge of the words and conduct of the wise men of old, nourishes his virtue. [The arrangement of the component trigrams suggests glimpses of the sky among the peaks of the mountains. This points to something very far off and thereby indicates the advisability of setting out for some distant place. This is a time for going from home and giving concrete expression to our appreciation of what others have done for us or for the public good.]
Liu: Heaven within the mountain symbolizes Taming the Great Powers. The wise man studies ancient knowledge to improve his character.
Ritsema/Karcher: Heaven located-in mountain center. Great
Accumulating. A chun tzu uses the numerous recorded preceding words going to move. [A chun tzu] uses accumulating one's actualizing-tao. [Actualize-tao: ...ability to follow the course traced by the ongoing process of the cosmos... Linked with acquire, TE: acquiring that which makes a being become what it is meant to be.]
Cleary (1): Heaven is in the mountains, great accumulation. Thus do superior people become acquainted with many precedents of speech and action, in order to accumulate virtue.
Cleary (2): …Leaders build up their virtues by abundant knowledge of past words and deeds.
Wu: Heaven is within the mountain; this is Restraint of the Great. Thus the jun zi accumulates his virtue by remembering past words and deeds.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The trigrams that compose Controlled Power show the intelligence of Strength and Mass renewing their virtue every day. A dynamic line is in the highest place, displaying the worth of talent and virtue -- his is the power that keeps Strength in restraint and displays the will necessary to the hexagram. Talents and virtue are nourished because he refuses to confine his power within his immediate family. Heaven in the second line responds to the ruler in the fifth, thus it is favorable to cross the great stream.
Legge: Controlled Power symbolizes both restraint and the accumulation of virtue. What is restrained accumulates its strength and increases its volume to become a great reservoir of force. The Judgment teaches that if one is firm and correct in this endeavor he may then engage in public service and enjoy the king's grace.
The dynamic line in the highest place is line six who is above the ruler and has all of heaven in which to move. This, plus the power to suppress the strongest opposition, shows how he is supported by all that is correct.
Concerning the Image, Chu Hsi says: "Heaven is the greatest of all things, and its being in the midst of a mountain gives us the idea of a very large accumulation. This is analogous to the labor of the superior man in learning, acquiring and remembering, to accumulate his virtue."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Controlled Power is willpower. The ego renounces selfish indulgences to work for the good of the whole. With such a spirit, great transformations are possible.
The Superior Man studies the precepts of the Work to increase his comprehension and fortitude.
The essential image to remember in this hexagram is that of Mount Everest holding down Heaven itself: raw power is controlled by the sheer mass of Keeping Still. Thus we see that Controlled Power is Willpower -- arguably the most potentially creative force in the universe, because used correctly it can accomplish anything.
The will is, curiously, not recognized as the central and fundamental function of the ego. It has often been depreciated as being ineffective against the various drives and the power of the imagination, or it has been considered with suspicion as leading to self-assertion (will-to-power). But the latter is only a perverted use of the will, while the apparent futility of the will is due only to a faulty and unintelligent use. The will is ineffective only when it attempts to act in opposition to the imagination and to the other psychological functions, while its skilful and consequently successful use consists in regulating and directing all other functions toward a deliberately chosen and affirmed aim. Roberto Assagioli –Psychosynthesis
An extreme example of this is illustrated by Cleary’s commentary on the Judgment where he says: “This is the work referred to as “nine years facing a wall.” The reference is to Bodhidharma (the patriarch who brought Zen Buddhism to China), who meditated facing a wall for nine continuous years until he attained enlightenment.
"If its subject doesn't enjoy his family revenues at the expense of public service, there will be good fortune” is an image of the ego renouncing its illusions of free choice. Psychologically, inner complexes will drain energy from the situation unless the ego has the will to control their manifestation. Every line except the sixth depicts some kind of restraint of power -- only in the top line is the energy available for use. It is significant that the superior man is advised to study the ancient wisdom, for it is in the Mysteries, the Perennial Philosophy, that one discovers the secrets and applications of the will. In other contexts (for example, a question about business matters), this can refer to making connection with sound and established practices.
In the larger philosophical sense, we see that the evolving illusions of every age insure that the masses will remain attached to the wheel of birth and death -- continuously repeating endless variations of the same basic lessons. When each individual is finally ready to escape from these cycles, it is only within the ancient and eternal template of the Work that transcendence can be found.
The analogies between religious ideas in Jewish mysticism that are hundreds of years old and the scientific findings of modern psychology can be explained only by the archetypal structure of the psyche. Man's images and ideas concerning the mysteries of being fall into the timeless patterns arranged by the archetypes of the unconscious; his meditations are determined by them. Within the setting of his culture and his time, he creates new forms for the expression of age-old truths. A. Jaffe -- The Myth of Meaning
Through contact with the Self, negative cycles can be broken and positive cycles begun, but it always requires a mountain's worth of Controlled Powerto make it happen.