Hi again, would love some insight into my reading
34.6 to 14

I asked the Yi "how do i heal from a past painful experience.

(one that I believe is blocking my self-growth and causing me to repeat unhealthy patterns), and one that involves self-forgivness that has been hard to come to terms with.

34 The Power of the Great
Line 6 changes

The sixth line, divided, shows one who may be compared to the ram butting against the fence and unable either to retreat, or to advance as he would fain do. There will not be advantage in any respect; but if he realize the difficulty of his position, there will be good fortune.

or, translated "He is unable either to retreat or to advance: this is owing to his want of care. If he realize the difficulty of his position, there will be good fortune: his error will not be prolonged."


seems to be a matter of unraveling things slowly???

moving to 14 Possession in Great Measure

The great image says:
Fire high in Heaven: great assets.
The noble one by terminating evil raises good,
by yielding to Heaven relaxes in fate.

The trigram for heaven and that of fire above it form Ta Yu. The superior man, in accordance with this, represses what is evil and gives distinction to what is good, in sympathy with the excellent Heaven-conferred nature.

Thanks you!

openheartsf said:

34.6 to 14

I asked the Yi "how do i heal from a past painful experience.

Click to expand...

34.6 is the perfect image of being stuck in something, not able to pull out, and not able to proceed. So basically, right now you're stuck in the painfulness of the experience. Not necessarily a bad thing, though, because as you know, life gives us pain when it wants us to pay attention to something. And the more attention you give something, the more energy flows into that thing, and if it's a painful thing, that means the quicker it heals. So pay attention to the pain, in other words, and you'll heal faster.

The text for this line also says as much: it says that although this is hard, in the end it means good fortune. The good fortune is freedom from being stuck, of course. But if you're smart, it's more - it can also be freedom from the sort of illusions, delusions, assumptions and mistakes that got you into the painful experience in the first place. It's not saying 'don't get involved again'; it's saying 'keep your eyes open next time'. Pay attention. Pay attention to the pain now. Pay attention to what's happening next time you get into a similar situation.

And by the way... you'll notice that in 34.6, it's a goat that's stuck in the hedge. Not a dog, not a cat, not a horse, not a cow. A goat. Why a goat? Well, they're famous for impulsiveness, for acting without thinking. That's how the goat got stuck in the hedge. It butted the damn thing without thinking about consequences. There's a hint in that image.

dobro

And the more attention you give something, the more energy flows into that thing, and if it's a painful thing, that means the quicker it heals.

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Hmmm...I never thought about it this way. The experience was quite traumatic and life changing so I guess it makes sense that I tried to forget it as soon as possible and just move on.

What does it mean though to pay attention to it, exactly? Just acknowledge it, and feel the pain?

I asked the Yi "how do i heal from a past painful experience.

The line 34.6 says that you are stuck at the moment in your efforts to get past the experience, the more you try the more difficult it becomes. The solution to your dilemma calls for you to stop struggling with it, think instead of pushing ahead regardless, there is a need for you to analyze this problem quite dispassionately.

Hex 14 is about changing your life for the better, being able to bring the good to the surface, you will see what to do to overcome and heal.

openheartsf said:

What does it mean though to pay attention to it, exactly? Just acknowledge it, and feel the pain?

Click to expand...

Just about everybody cringes away from pain, whether it's physical or emotional, and tries to get back to the comfort zone as quickly as possible - that's the way we're built. The problem with this, especially the big, painful emotional stuff is that when you don't give it the attention it deserves (big stuff deserves attention and needs attention) it doesn't get processed, it doesn't get psychologically digested, and it hides out up in the unconscious mind and influences us in all sorts of ways, mostly negative. So, for instance, imagine you get hurt in a relationship with someone and then before you've processed all that hurt and anger and insecurity and self-disesteem, you run into another relationship right away, chances are you'll just repeat the whole thing. But if you give it your attention, if you really look at it, really hold those feelings in the light of your attention when they come up, and if you journal them and write them down and ask good questions about them and wait for the answers, then they'll get processed and THAT'S A LEARNING EXPERIENCE and chances are you won't have to repeat it. Ta-daaaaaa!

Dobro

The problem with this, especially the big, painful emotional stuff is that when you don't give it the attention it deserves (big stuff deserves attention and needs attention) it doesn't get processed, it doesn't get psychologically digested, and it hides out up in the unconscious mind and influences us in all sorts of ways, mostly negative.

Click to expand...

Thanks Dobro. I definitely processed the hoo-ha out of this situation during and shortly after. But I have resisted coming back to it, so maybe that is what the yi is telling me.

I have been thinking a lot about forgivness and I came upon this quote in a book I'm reading.

"Forgiveness is more of a process than an event, and more of an ongoing practice than a particular occasion...forgiveness must be coaxed...woo'd naturally out of it's slumber."

and "don't confuse forgiveness with repression and denial"

i don't see anything in 34.6 that speeks specifically of forgivness, however, it was definitely the reckless ram that got me into that situation (my rising sign is aries, so this happens often).

and as i meditate upon it I realize how my weak boundaries played in, and i think of how i wasn't protecting myself, etc.

So...being with the feelings (34.6) will hopefully help me to channel the pain in to making a deeper commitment to myself.

All good stuff!

About the goat thing, it sounds like the message is that by thinking things through, this pain can be avoided in the future. ie. Go slowly.

Also, it may be that processing the pain initially is a different kind of processing that you can manage when you go back to it later. At the time, feelings/emotions are all tangled up. As time passes and the situation becomes more "ïn the past", you gain perspective and so dealing with it comes in a more thoughtful frame of mind. Maybe that is what the Yi means when it says forgive. I get the general sense of a calmness around the reading versus the impulsiveness of the goat/heat of the moment type processing (which would accompany any big issue).

Just thoughts for what they're worth

Dearest Elizabeth,

I enjoyed your thoughts