Guidance Through Presence

Gene Key 7 How discernment, presence and true guidance can lead us from division towards virtue

Gene Key 7 has a global reach. Division is visible in every area of our lives and throughout most of human society. We have to remain alert to the ways in which we allow other people to take authority over us.

We see this frequently in relation to the medical profession, with many people believing that the doctor always knows best and handing over decisions about their own body and health.

People with this Gene Key are being asked to help guide humanity towards a better future.

In The Gene Keys, Richard refers to this key as ‘the power behind the throne’. People carrying its energy can pull us towards greater chaos or towards integration and wholeness.

They are not necessarily leaders themselves, but they are people with influence. When they speak, others are drawn to listen. Therefore, we need to be discerning. Is the person we are listening to honourable, or do they have an agenda of their own?

All 64 Gene Keys carry their own form of guidance.

“The ancient Chinese named this 7th hexagram of the I Ching The Army, which is extremely fitting. The army represents the real power in a country on a political level and if you don’t control the army you have no real power. This symbol of an army also represents the idea of power through force, rather than power through inspiration, which is the true nature of leadership expressed through the 7th Gift and Siddhi.” Richard Rudd, The Gene Keys

Division

The dilemma of this Shadow is concerned with boundaries. Without clear boundaries, division is more likely to occur.

“If you don’t have a strong sense of your own core stability you are at risk of being pulled along in the current of someone else’s seventh Gene Key agenda. It can sound exciting, sound captivating and filled with promise, but if you are not discerning you are very likely to fall victim to this energy in the world.”
Richard Rudd, The 64 Ways

This Gene Key is part of the Codon Ring of Union, which is concerned with our relationships with others. Therefore, when someone carrying this key operates from the energy of Division, they can create a great deal of chaos in the world.

I think we are seeing a lot of this at play at the moment, with many of the powers that be doing all they can to encourage us to be and feel divided.

This Shadow craves attention and recognition. In its reactive nature, it becomes dictatorial, whereas in its repressive nature, the person’s ability to lead remains hidden within them.

I think there are very few people who don’t see division playing out in their own lives. Hierarchy is everywhere.

I became aware of division at an early age. There was the in-crowd and the out-crowd in the school playground, those with money and those without, and children divided according to how intelligent the school system deemed them to be.

I was part of the out-crowd, one of those wearing homemade clothes, although, by some miracle, I did manage to get into the grammar stream at senior school.

Then, in the workplace, I encountered the divisions between men and women, different roles and salaries. My own health issues showed me how rarely the medical system looked at the whole person or took a holistic approach to care, preferring instead to divide the body into separate specialities.

Then there are the divisions created by religion, colour, social standing and gender, and, more recently, whether someone was vaccinated or unvaccinated. There are divisions within families too, such as my daughter wanting no contact with me.

Divisions are everywhere and are almost impossible to avoid.

There are also divisions within ourselves, often driven by social media telling us how we should look and what we should be doing, encouraging us to dislike parts of ourselves.

After years of inner work, I can say, ‘I love all parts of me’, at least most of the time. I no longer strive to be part of the in-crowd, and I stay true to my own beliefs even when those around me disapprove.

It is not always easy. We naturally want to be liked and to fit in. Yet, when I am not being true to myself, it is exhausting. I would rather curl up and read Substack or a book, or go for a walk with only my little dog, Aya, for company, enjoying what nature has to offer with no strings attached.

Guidance

The Gift of Guidance is frequently misunderstood at the Shadow frequency. A true leader wants to empower you rather than victimise you. They are willing to listen to others and set aside their own judgements and opinions.

This Gift is not about going out into the world and telling others what to do. It is about allowing people to seek you out and request your guidance, and then discerning whether it is right for you to work with that person.

“Sometimes the best guidance is not to guide. That takes a really deep strength. Most people don’t actually need guidance, they need someone to listen to them.” Richard Rudd, The 64 Ways

We all have an urge to be seen, heard and understood. When someone truly sees and listens to us, it can be easy to tumble into verbal diarrhoea. However, when we are more present in our bodies and aware of the other person, a deeper exchange can take place.

Another aspect of this Gift is knowing how to be still.

“Guidance is about being with someone. It’s about presence. It’s about resonating with them, taking them in. Drawing their energy into your cells, your blood and heart. This is the deepest form of guidance, guidance through embodiment. Guidance through non-guidance.” Richard Rudd, The 64 Ways

This reminds me of an exercise I have done several times over the years. You sit opposite another person, gazing into each other’s eyes and holding space for one another without saying a word.

It is incredibly emotional and cathartic, often resulting in tears because it is so rare to feel truly seen in this frantic world.

The Codon Ring of Union brings guidance through pausing, reflecting, being with one another and relaxing. In that space, we allow the truth to emerge.

Virtue

At the Siddhic level, the word Virtue is being used in its broadest sense. Other languages can express its many dimensions more easily, whereas the English word can feel somewhat one-dimensional.

“When we think of virtue, we need to think all that is best in us. We need to think of the qualities latent in our soul. We need to picture those aspects of our essence that are going to travel onwards when we die and give up our body. This virtue is the light inside, the illuminated dream of eternity hidden in our bones.”
Richard Rudd, The 64 Ways

Virtue exists within every one of us, even if Gene Key 7 does not appear in our profile. It is there to pull us towards a future with less chaos and division.

Richard suggests several ways we can bring more Virtue into our lives:

• Cease thinking or speaking of others in a negative light.

• Be forgiving towards others.

• Choose positive actions, thoughts and deeds.

The symbol of this Gene Key is water hidden beneath the earth.

“So like our virtue it rises to the surface in mysterious places as springs. People are naturally drawn to springs. Rivers and lakes flow from springs. Towns and settlements form around springs. A spring is a healing place for all creatures to come and be together. And virtue is something we can accumulate, just as water accumulates beneath the ground.” Richard Rudd, The 64 Ways

Like an underground spring, Virtue may remain unseen for a long time. Yet every loving thought, forgiving act and moment of true presence adds to its hidden reservoir.

When it finally rises to the surface, it does not need to demand attention or impose itself upon others. People are naturally drawn to it.

Perhaps this is the true power behind the throne: not authority through force, status or control, but the quiet influence of a person whose presence inspires others to remember the virtue within themselves.

Daughter of the Solstice, my first novel in the Gaea Remembered Series is now available on Amazon and from Book.by.

Beyond Hot and Crazy - A Radical Guide to Living Well with Menopause is available on Amazon and from Book.by.