Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
a line says something "was fated."
It is the interaction of our human agency and the Divine that determines our fate
The Yi itself says that you cannot always determine what is to be by any oracle
If he knows how to meet fate with an attitude of acceptance, he is sure to find the right guidance. The superior man lets himself be guided; he does not go ahead blindly, but learns from the situation what is demanded of him and then follows this intimation from fate.
If a man tries to hunt in a strange forest and has no guide, he loses his way. When he finds himself in difficulties he must not try to steal out of them unthinkingly and without guidance. Fate cannot be duped; premature effort, without the necessary guidance, ends in failure and disgrace.
Only a strong man can stand up to his fate, for his inner security enables him to endure to the end. This strength shows itself in uncompromising truthfulness [with himself]. It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any sort of self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized. This recognition must be followed by resolute and persevering action. For only the man who goes to meet his fate resolutely is equipped to deal with it adequately.
It is the same in life when destiny is at work. We should not worry and seek to shape the future by interfering in things before the time is ripe. We should quietly fortify the body with food and drink and the mind with gladness and good cheer. Fate comes when it will, and thus we are ready.
Fire over wood:
The image of THE CALDRON.
Thus the superior man consolidates his fate
By making his position correct.
The fate of fire depends on wood; as long as there is wood below, the fire burns above. It is the same in human life; there is in man likewise a fate that lends power to his life. And if he succeeds in assigning the right place to life and to fate, thus bringing the two into harmony, he puts his fate on a firm
footing.
But a superior man should never create troubles for other people..
Death is our eternal companion. It is always to our left, an arm's length behind us. Death is the only wise adviser that a warrior has. Whenever he feels that everything is going wrong and he's about to be annihilated, he can turn to his death and ask if that is so. His death will tell him that he is wrong, that nothing really matters outside its touch. His death will tell him, 'I haven't touched you yet.'
Carlos Castaneda (1931) Journey to Ixtlan
sooo, If someone troubles you - of course you take defensive measures!
When people become ideological I have observed a certain inflexibility can result. It's a side effect of experience to view things through one's left brain filters - which could be how one understands the Yi's hexes and lines - rather than apprehending things as they are. And one thing that has bothered me sometimes is how people can try to avoid personal responsibility for situations because a line says something "was fated." I say, we make our fate together with the help of God - we make the lines, they do not make us. If that ended because it "was fated", it is because you said that was so.
It's in the book. The Yi itself says that you cannot always determine what is to be by any oracle. In 42.2 "Someone's increase. Ten pairs of tortoise shells cannot oppose it...The king presents an offering to the Supreme Being. Auspicious." I think that means that sometimes what is to be or not to be cannot be determined by fortune telling. Here Oracles can tell you you are dead wrong 10 times, ye it doesn't matter, the oracle cannot prevail over your fortune. It is the interaction of our human agency and the Divine that determines our fate - not a line drawn in an oracle reading that speaks of difficulty or misfortune.
We create our fate, we create the lines. They do not create us. We have to master and own our fate, and the Yi is a tool towards that end of exercising our human, divine responsibility and potential.
Ok, tell me how I am wrong!
- LL
Parsing what fate is vs destiny is really only avoiding the question, why would the oracle challenge us 10 times with predictions of ill fortune? So is quoting all the places in the Yi that talk about yielding to authority, or the universe, or the time. As if that proves we do not "make the lines?"
What I am trying to address is a certain fatalistic way of looking at the Yi. It is similar to the problem created by Hinduism's view of reincarnation. Why bother working for social justice, it's all Karma, it's all a result of the past and therefore as it should be one might say. So yield to fate - and end up with a great deal of injustice, a caste system, homeless children with aids all over the streets, there is no way to change anything anyway.
if we look at ourselves as co creators, we make the lines. We create fate, are not just looking to see what it is so we can harmonize best with it, but are creating the reality we desire, creating love and justice of our own selves. And of course as Bono has pointed out, "grace trumps karma." If there is a a higher cause we serve, of we have a real cause, we are certainly going to be opposed by more than a few lines in an oracle...
But if we look at ourselves as co creators, we make the lines (...) creating the reality we desire
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).