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The Daily Yi

Friday, January 27, 2012

Deliverance!

No. 40, Deliverance  /  Relief  /  Liberation:
 
"Deliverance.  The southwest furthers.
If there is no longer anything where one has to go,
Return brings good fortune.
If there is still something where one has to go,
Hastening brings good fortune."
 
     Deliverance from a long-standing difficulty is beginning.  This Relief comes, not from an external source, but from a change in the way you look at things.
 
      Think of your difficulties as a big rock blocking your path.  As long as you claw and push at it, it continues to frustrate you.  If, however, you change your direction, a whole new world of possibilities presents itself.
 
       "This should be done without delay and with no show of emotionalism.  There is no reason to dwell petulantly upon the past or glory in your new-found Liberation. . . .  And, once you finally dispense with emotional ruts or resentments from former times, you will have an excellent opportunity for personal advancement."  [Wing]
 
        What "rock" is blocking your path?  The I Ching sends a single changing line . . .

Tomorrow:  " . . . only the superior man can deliver himself."
8:11 am mst 

Thursday, January 26, 2012

You will be separating  . . .

No. 23,  Splitting Apart:

"Splitting Apart.  It does not further one
To go anywhere."

     You will be separating from some life circumstance or relationship.  Blofeld calls this hexagram Peeling Off. Huang calls it Falling Away.
 
      Whatever.   The bottom line: This is not a situation you can hold together.

    The future, Splitting Apart, is "a time when inferior people are pushing forward." [Wilhelm]    In broader terms, "There exists now an abundance of incompetent persons in positions of authority  . . ." [Wing]
 
     Sound like where you work?  Or live?
 
     "It is quite clear that in some sphere of your life, a phase is coming to a close.  All things have their rise and fall, and this is the time when you must face the decline and the inevitable end.  This is definitely not a good moment to undertake any new venture."  [Marshall]

     What to do?  The Yi says:  "Your best course is to wait out the difficult times and protect yourself  . . . " [Wing]

8:52 am mst 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Good news! You are not "the young fool"

No. 4, Youthful Folly  /  Inexperience,  Line 2:
 
"To bear with fools in kindliness brings good fortune.
Taking a maiden as a wife:
Good fortune.
The son is able to sustain the family."

             Good newsReceiving this line suggests that you are not "the young fool" the Yi has been talking about.

         Rather, the I Ching is advising you how to deal with those around you who are Inexperienced. 

         "The message of this line is that dealing with different persons or situations requires different ways of responding."  [Huang]

         "The person in this position has indeed developed in himself a true appreciation of humanity in all of its folly and beauty.  Such a person can lead others with wisdom, compassion, and inspiration, and attain all the success attributed to the great and wise historical leaders." [Wing]

          "Be gentle with the immature." [Blofeld]

           This wisdom and compassion will serve you well in the future, which involves  . . .

Tomorrow:  "Splitting apart."
8:37 am mst 

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

"Immaturity.  Good fortune!"

No. 4,  Youthful Folly  /  Inexperience  /  Childhood:

"Youthful folly has success.
It is not I who seek the young fool;
The young fool seeks me.
At first I inform him.
If he asks two or three times, it is importunity.
If he importunes, I give him no information.
Perseverance furthers."

         We have now received the same main message two times in a row --- right before and right after the start of the lunar New Year, this year being Gung Hay Fat Choy --- the year of The Water Dragon.

          The Image of Youthful Folly/Inexperience is a spring at the foot of a mountain.  "Water is something that of necessity flows on.  When the spring gushes forth, it doesn't know at first where it will go.  But its steady flow fills the deep place, and success is attained." [Wilhelm]

          At the beginning of this new year, you don't know where you will go.  "Immaturity.  Good fortune!" [Blofeld]
               
        Are you entering a new relationship, or a new job or position of authority?  The I Ching says:  Do not insist on certainty of the outcome before you move forward.
 
         We received a different, single changing line this time  . . .

        Tomorrow:  "To bear with fools in kindliness brings good fortune." 
7:51 am mst 

Monday, January 23, 2012

Do you feel under attack?

No. 7,
  The Army / Collective Force:

"The Army.  The army needs perseverance
And a strong man.
Good fortune without blame."
   
      We received The Army  not long ago, on Jan. 16, as the main message.  Receiving it again so soon,  this time as the future of Youthful Folly/Inexperience, means there is still a need to heed its advice.

     "The Army is a guide to proper conduct in the face of adversity." [Walker]  

      
  " . . .[W]e must interpret this hexagram symbolically in the sense that life is a battle." [Blofeld]    "A person may also receive this hexagram  . . . when he is under attack by fears initiated by his own ego." [Anthony & Moog]
       
        What "adversity" is facing you right now?  Do you feel "under attack" from others?    You need to align yourself with people who share your values and goals, and face this adversity as a Collective Force.

      If the adversity is your own fears, what you need most is to be clear about what you want and where you want to go.  You need "the unity and strength of conviction that lead to victory." [Wilhelm]

      "Good fortune without blame" will follow.
9:45 am mst 

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webassets/bagua.jpg

What is the I Ching?

 

  The I Ching, also known as the Yi Jing, or (in English) Book of Changes, is an oracle; a divination device that forms a pattern reflecting the forces at work in the Universe at a particular point in time.

   The symbol you see above is the bagua, the symbol of the I Ching for thousands of years before it was "adopted" as the octagonal logo of the Dharma Iniative in the television series "Lost." 

   This pattern, when viewed in the context of a concern or question, sends a message of timeless advice and insight.

   Richard Wilhelm explained it this way in a footnote to his translation of Ta Chaun - The Great Treatise:
    
         "The way in which the Book of Changes works can best be compared to an electrical circuit reaching into all situations.

       "The circuit only affords the potentiality of lighting:  it does not give light. 

       "But when contact with a definite situation is established, the 'current' is activated, and the given situation is illumined."

Plug yourself in.

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     The great Swiss pyschiatrist C.G. Jung, who was a serious student of the I Ching, said:

   "The I Ching does not offer itself with proofs and results; it does not vaunt itself, nor is it easy to approach. Like a part of nature, it waits until it is discovered.

     "It offers neither facts nor power, but for lovers of self-knowledge, of wisdom - if there be such - it seems to be the right book.  . . . 

   "He who is not pleased by it does not have to use it, and he who is against it is not obliged to find it true.

   "Let it go forth into the world for the benefit of those who can discern its meaning." 

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