Ancient
Wisdom
“The
Changes is a book from which one cannot hold aloof.
It's tao
is forever changing—alternation, movement without rest,
following
through with the six empty places; rising and sinking without fixed
law,
firm and
yielding transform each other. They cannot be confined within a rule;
it is only
change that is at work here.”
I Ching
The I Ching dates back to
the 1st century B.C., and entered western mainstream with
the New Age. From time to time I consult the I Ching as a guide when
I am trying to make a knotty decision, or looking for some insight
into a “situation.” I have always found it helpful, though I
don't always like what it tells me. My favorite translation is a
modern one by Jack M. Balkin, titled The Law of Change, which
is far more accessible to my limited intelligence than the older
versions. I have never leaned to throw and read the yarrow sticks in
the traditional way, so I use Chinese coins to come up with a
pattern.
I have been wrestling
with the question of whether to attempt publishing a book—either a
day book of these posts, or a collection of stories from “old crazy
town,” where I grew up. I go back and forth, and back and forth—get
closer to doing it only to back away. So I put this question to the I
Ching this morning and threw the “Deliverance” hexagram—which
is all about moving forward, with obstacles being removed. It tells
me that though I have been frustrated for a long time, things will
now begin to get better. There is new hope. And then it instructs me
to spend some time thinking about why things went wrong, did my
attitudes hold me back, did I keep the cycle of frustration going by
my thoughts and actions? Then it states: “There is no better
time for this than the present.” See what I mean by finding its
guidance helpful?
There are many ways to
divine answers and guidance. It may sound like a “new age” notion
to consult an oracle, but we must remind ourselves that this
particular one, I Ching, has been continuously in use for more than
three thousand years. If we understand that we live in a cosmic web
of energy, it will seem less “la-la” that someone would randomly
throw a pattern that would speak directly to their question. The
reason, after all, that scientists came up with the research method
of random blind clinical trials was because they saw that the
intention of the researcher affected the outcome—not because the
researcher rigs the experiment, but because his/her intentions
energetically affect the results. That's not la-la land, it's the
scientific method.
Some folks consult the
stars, some throw the runes or the bones, some record and parse their
dreams. All of the ancient cultures still living today have means of
divining guidance. Perhaps we carry ancient wisdom in our genetic
code, and can tap into it in under certain conditions—that's what
Edgar Casey did, and it's what many visionaries and artists do.
Looking to ancient wisdom for answers is not wrong—droves of people
consult the Bible in exactly the same way. We will find answers where
we look for them, because the energy of our searching minds finds
what we are looking for. It's all part of the vast and wonderful
mystery of creation.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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