Hello wonderful people!

I have been reading and benefitting from the wisdom shared by all of you for a long time, but this is my first question posed on onlineclarity. I've held back on asking questions here because I've been working hard on developing my own independent abilities to understand and interpret the I Ching.

My question is a very serious one for my progress in life, and that's why I want to reach out to get second, third, fourth, etc. opinions.

I am in a school in which the administration is cruel, unjust, and will destroy students to protect the reputation of the school. They are also academically subpar. For example, they assigned a thesis research advisor to me who has no background in my field. I wrote a private letter to the admins suggesting academic improvements to the way they administer the program, and in response the dean threatened that if I write another critical letter or show any further critical attitude toward them, they will find an excuse to expel me.

When I talk to other students about it, I hear similar stories. I heard one student was attacked by the administration in the following way: in order to ruin him, they went back through every paper he wrote trying to find something they could use to accuse him of plagiarism, and found something from 2 years before they thought they could use against him, and they expelled him although it wasn't actual plagiarism.

I believe the student and suspect this happens often, because once when I criticised an assistant director, she tried to shut me up by threatening to accuse me of plagiarism in a thesis draft. She is not a teacher but reviews thesis ideas, proposals and drafts. When I challenged her to show me the evidence, she claimed one of my original ideas was actually the idea of her fellow admin who is a teacher. When I challenged her to show me the proof of this admin's prior publication of this idea, she claimed the individual had put it forward verbally in a lecture or talk and that it doesn't have to be published to be plagiarism if I didn't give her credit. But of course I never plagiarized anyone's idea. It was my original idea. The admin made this up as a threat to shut me up when I was criticizing her and the program about another matter.

Now I'm working on a thesis proposal in a different area, but since the admins already threatened me with expulsion merely for sending them an email suggesting a possible improvement to their program structure, and since I am aware that they have successfully silenced another student by expulsion due to unjust accusation of plagiarism, I am walking on eggshells in a very hostile environment. I feel like they want me to disappear, and they have the power to ruin my attempt to successfully begin and complete a thesis because the admins control the thesis process. I feel caught between a rock and a hard place. I'm concerned they'll find a way to make me fail the thesis or prevent me from having a thesis proposal approved by the deadline.

If you haven't guessed by now, this school is low-tier. I wound up in it because a previous job I had provided the benefit of taking classes for free in that school. I thought it would be a good way to get more credentials but it has turned into a nightmare.

Now time is running out in my program and I need to decide whether to put my strongest efforts into proposing and doing a thesis in the current school or if I should delay the thesis to put efforts into applying to transfer out - such as study for the GRE (my current school didn't require it), try to get a paper published in an academic journal asap without doing a thesis on the topic first, etc. - anything to make me look good to get into a better school. In order to help me decide, I asked the Yi,

"Will I be accepted as a transfer student at (school X, my most desired school) if I apply this academic year?"

The answer was 52.3 > 23.

I am very confused about what this answer means. Does anyone know? The implication of 23, according to the commentaries, is about being generous, but I don't know what type of generous thing I should be doing that would relate to this situation.

Perhaps I should have asked about other schools in general instead of just asking about getting accepted at a particular top school.

So then I asked,

"Will I be accepted as a graduate transfer student at any school that is better than my current school if I apply during this academic year?"

The answer was:

27.3.4 > 30.

I am a bit confused. Can anyone shed some light on these two answers?

This is a very pivotal time for me. I welcome any advice to help me use my time in the wisest way and make the best decisions.

Thanks

From a simple perspective of doing a casting, I'd recommend framing your questions in terms of "what would be the consequence of..." rather than asking for a snapshot of the future. This puts you into a more objective frame of mind about the issues, and empowers you to decide how to proceed. This sounds like a minor thing, but it makes a profound difference.

Of your academic issues: document the abuses with times, dates, etc. Save all emails, letters; of conversations -- write down your recollections as soon as possible after the fact and send them back to the other party asap for "clarification." (This provides a legal documentation that the conversations took place, and takes away their excuse of "you misunderstood.") If you don't have legal counsel, you might cultivate some. Speaking from experience -- nothing clarifies the mind of an administrator like the hint of a lawsuit. Be subtle about this -- "I was talking to a friend who's a lawyer and she said..." will open up more doors than hitting them with a lawsuit -- which ends all constructive dialogue.

If the institution has a history of coercion and/or abuse of power over students, this could be brought to the attention of accrediting bodies -- assuming this is an accredited institution. Which leads to the question of transferring: if you are not attending an accredited institution, it's unlikely that any (or many) of your credits will transfer to a better school anyway. I hope this is not an expensive lesson for you...

Of publications -- you're essentially betting on winning the lottery. A publication looks good on the resume, but won't supersede a solid academic background and experience in a discipline.

Of the plagiarism question, and "When I challenged her to show me the proof of this admin's prior publication of this idea, she claimed the individual had put it forward verbally in a lecture or talk and that it doesn't have to be published to be plagiarism if I didn't give her credit," this is a grand theory but legally bullsh*t. This is no more than hearsay in the absence of publication, even only in on-line class notes or recorded lectures. In the larger view, students tend to re-invent the wheel in the course of their education; the question turns on what new spin anyone brings to the question. So dismissing an idea because an instructor mentioned it in class doesn't hold much water. (Look at all the people who "really" invented facebook, and how much legal traction they've received.)

This sounds like a tough time for you and I wish you all the best. I had to wait for one "advisor" to retire and another to die (and several deans to be replaced) before I could proceed to the dissertation stage at a state university. The reward of patience is patience.

Thanks so much Elias for sharing your wisdom on this matter. Unfortunately I already threatened to sue, which is probably why they hate me now. I forgot to mention that. If I'd had your advice and used your phrase about a lawyer friend, it would surely have been better. The only problem: lawyers are expensive.

Yes, the school is accredited and grants degrees.

Thanks for the tip regarding the plagiarism issue. It makes me upset that people lie to me like she did. And that wasn't her only lie. Being an honest person in a world of liars fills me with angst.

Despite any objections to the way I phrased the question, can anyone speak to the particular lines and hexagrams I received, in terms of when they usually arise for you and what it often correlates with?

Here is my own analysis:

Regarding hexagram 52 Wilhelm says,

"The back is named because in the back are located all the nerve fibers that mediate movement. If the movement of these spinal nerves is brought to a standstill, the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were. When a man has thus become calm, he may turn to the outside world. He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings, and therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe and for acting in harmony with them. Whoever acts from these deep levels makes no mistakes."
http://www.kufty.com/oracles/i-ching/will/wilhelm52.htm

I feel this speaks to the restlessness or negative reactive feelings I get from feeling subjected to the "struggle and tumult" of dealing with the injustices of some people to whom I gave authority over me by joining their school. The I Ching seems to be telling me to get beyond the surface struggles of the situation and find the deeper reality. If I face the situation from the perspective of calmness rooted in deep understanding, I will surely make the best decisions - and the whole point of the inquiry was to get help with decisions.

LiSe on her website says 52 is about looking back at the root of a situation, and in one comment she makes, it is inferred this could refer specifically to a situation that makes one angry:

"Many compounds have defiance or something like an angry glare in their meaning. It is interesting that meditation and leave-me-alone are both represented by this hexagram."
http://www.yijing.nl/i_ching/hex_49-64/51-52.htm

These commentaries indicate I should look backward to see the root cause, look to the source of the problem.

Then there is the changing line 3.

LiSe's commentary on line 3 says:
"Stabilize one's limits. Arrange one's ambitions. Danger of poisoning the heart. A life with too many rules, limits, dogmas and fixed values is not alive. Tao is not written down anywhere, your heart is the only one who knows –if your heart has enough freedom."
http://www.yijing.nl/i_ching/hex_49-64/hex_e_52.htm

Wilhelm says of line 3:
"fire when it is smothered changes into acrid smoke that suffocates as it spreads. Therefore, in exercises in meditation and concentration, one ought not to try to force results. Rather, calmness must develop naturally out of a state of inner composure. If one tries to induce calmness by means of artificial rigidity, meditation will lead to very unwholesome results"

It seems line 3 is guidance toward achieving the calm depth of enlightened understanding called for in the main hexagram. Too much fire is a sort of chaos that is igniting like firestorms, and may feel like the opposite of calmness. But fire is also the source of light, and without light one cannot see and penetrate to the truth. The fire should not be smothered, which would poison the heart with the acrid smoke of putting out the light. It also should not be rigidly limited, because that is similar to smothering. It should be controlled by transforming what is chaotic into something useful. It should be guided and used for its chaos, not killed for its chaos. Synchronicity is the manifestation of finding order in chaos and through the Yi Jing we can make sense of what seems like pointless chaos. Thus by finding the deeper meaning or purpose behind the outward semblance of chaos, the heart finds solace and becomes calm, and tends the fire based on understanding its cause and its uses as well as its dangers.

Line 3 leads to hexagram 23. Perhaps this will help me find the deeper meaning in this chaos.

LiSe says,

"The high ones make their house peaceful by generosity to the low ones. (...) Lay bare what is in or behind things. It is dangerous when on the outside it seems all quiet and fine, and one does not know the inside. And when things do not work the way they should, then find out if there is something rotten behind the scene."
http://www.yijing.nl/i_ching/hex_17-32/hex_e_23.htm

This is so perfect, because it reminds me of the admins putting on the outward facade of being a great school but behind the scenes something is rotten. Maybe they have more to hide than just the things I have noticed.

Who is the high and who is the low? Having the powers over the school and students, the admins appear to be the high ones. But in terms of their actual behavior they are low ones, hiding behind the mask of their fancy titles. No wonder we don't see generosity from them, and dealing with them is war, not peace. The high one is the generous one. In generosity the true high one bubbles up above the false high ones.

Perhaps this means that if the admins of the other school are worthy to be "high" - worthy for me to give them academic authority over me - they will show it with generosity, and their generosity will manifest in admitting me and giving me financial aid. I don't know if it is my personal desire clouding my judgement or not that is causing me to interpret this to mean that I will be accepted.

Wilhelm says of 23,
"The dark lines are about to mount upward and overthrow the last firm, light line by exerting a disintegrating influence on it. The inferior, dark forces overcome what is superior and strong, not by direct means, but by undermining it gradually and imperceptibly, so that it finally collapses. The lines of the hexagram present the image of a house, the top line being the roof, and because the roof is being shattered the house collapses. (...) It is impossible to counteract these conditions of the time. Hence it is not cowardice but wisdom to submit and avoid action."
http://www.kufty.com/oracles/i-ching/will/wilhelm23.htm

This is such a perfect description of the way the admins work behind the scenes in their darkness to destroy students. Since it says the dark lines are about to mount and overtake the last firm line, and cause the house to collapse, I take this as a warning that they already have fomented plans to take me down when/if I attempt the thesis, and staying will not possibly lead to successful graduation. This is a battle I cannot win.

It is not cowardly fear of failure but wisdom that leads to the decision to escape the burning house before the roof falls down upon me. There is no future for me in this school, no reason to stay. An attempt to fight fire with fire by attempting to fight back, gain justice, etc will fail. Maybe in a different school or a different time, under a different ser of circumstances, there would be a chance. But hexagram 23 says the dark influences are destined to win. Whether I am accepted elsewhere or not, I have nothing to lose by trying to transfer out, and everything to lose by not trying.

But I should be wary of where I transfer to. The root cause of my problem is joining an unworthy school to begin with. The reason is lack of sufficient self-esteem to apply to better schools and lack of faith in finding ways to pay tuition at more expensive schools. But my GPA is enough to graduate with honors and I have many talents and skills and experiences that other schools will factor into the admissions decisions.

My insufficient self-esteem caused me to stay in this bad school until it reached this point. I allowed these inferior people to have power over me, and that was folly. Is my original top choice school really the best choice, or is it based on a similar folly? Have I been deluded by the image the school projects, while the true nature behind the scenes is as rotten as in my current school, albeit in a different way?

The Yi Ching challenges me to assess the root cause. If I fail to see it, and go forward making future decisions with this understanding, then transferring from this school to another school may only lead to repeating the karma if I choose poorly again. Perhaps my first choice for the transfer school isn't the best choice, but the best choice school will accept me if I apply.

Is it a school where they care more about their own reputation than about how they treat students? Did I think it should be my top choice based on its name brand popularity, or did I examine what goes on behind the scenes - how they administer the programs. Unfortunately I think I chose it based on the name brand popularity without looking into the administrative structure of the student experience there. So maybe I chose the wrong school to attempt to transfer to.

The next question, which was about transferring to ANY school that is better, yielded 27.3.4 > 30.

For 27 Wilhelm reports:
"THE JUDGMENT: THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with. In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes."
http://www.kufty.com/oracles/i-ching/will/wilhelm27.htm

And. LiSe says:
"From all sides we absorb many kinds of things, they all enter our inner space. Be careful what you allow to enter your mind. Watch the food you eat (yes, it enters your mind too!), the information you accept, the thoughts you think, the facts you see, the fantasies you imagine. They all together fill your soul, they shape your intuition, and they decide what you emanate. If you eat inferior food, entertain ugly thoughts, believe distorted information, then you will never be able to live a valuable life. It will have no value for you and not for those around you. On the other hand, if you keep a sharp eye on all your food, you will develop an infallible intuition, a reliable guide for everything you do."
http://www.yijing.nl/i_ching/hex_17-32/hex_e_27.htm

This is a message about choosing proper nourishment and giving nourishment to cultivate the higher faculties. It is an appropriate message because a school feeds the mind and cultivates the student. Choosing the school is choosing the nourishment.

But also, it says this hexagram is auspicious. I interpret that to mean that if you are wondering if you will receive good nourishment, the answer is you will. So for my question, I think it means I will be accepted at a place that will provide good nourishment to cultivate my mind and also perhaps a fellowship or other financial aid to ensure I will have good physical provisions as well.

Next are the lines 3 and 4.

"Six in the third place means: (...) He who seeks nourishment that does not nourish reels from desire to gratification and in gratification craves desire. (...). One should never (...) follow this path, for nothing good can come of it.

Six in the fourth place means: Turning to the summit for provision of nourishment brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame. (...) this line refers to one occupying a high position and striving to let his light shine forth. To do this he needs helpers, because he cannot attain his lofty aim alone. With the greed of a hungry tiger he is on the lookout for the right people. Since he is not working for himself but for the good of all, there is no wrong in such zeal."
http://www.kufty.com/oracles/i-ching/will/wilhelm27.htm

LiSe says for line 3,
"the spirit. Don't turn it to a dogma. Only eating what is 'right' or only eating what tastes nice are both wrong. Food should be healthy as well as tasty, feeding body and mind."

And for line 4,
"If one is always intent on finding nourishment, one will find food where-ever one is. Unseemly, improbable or even impossible things and places carry values. They are seen by eyes intent to see, ears wanting to hear, a nose catching scents of trails."

The gist of line 3 seems to be a warning to avoid false nourishment that lures you with superficial benefits such as pretty looking sweets full of tasty sugar but which lack true nourishment inside.

In terms of schools it seems to be a warning to avoid schools that are more about false appearances, brand names, showiness, than about true nourishment/teaching of students. They want to make money by selling their facade and may be more interesting in making a profit off of students than in helping and teaching them.

Line 4 seems to indicate it is fine to be on the lookout for new schools, and it should be done like a tiger seeking food: survey all the options, and make the move to pounce at just the right time. Timing is important in admissions decisions. Then surely this tiger will catch its prey.

Finally there is hexagram 30.

Wilhelm says:
"THE IMAGE: That which is bright rises twice: The image of FIRE. Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness, illumines the four quarters of the world. Each of the two trigrams represents the sun in the course of a day. The two together represent the repeated movement of the sun, the function of light with respect to time. The great man continues the work of nature in the human world. Through the clarity of his nature he causes the light to spread farther and farther and to penetrate the nature of man ever more deeply."
http://www.kufty.com/oracles/i-ching/will/wilhelm30.htm

Hilary calls #30 "Clarity" and says,

"Clarity. Harvest in constancy. Creating success. Rear female cattle, good fortune.’ The Chinese character for ‘Clarity’ shows a bird and a net: the bird of omen, and the moment when you capture it and ‘get the message’. But the hexagram’s theme is not just the flash of insight, but also the sustained light of awareness, and the capacity to sustain it. It’s constancy that bears fruit, not just the ‘aha!’ moment itself. There are cattle to be reared, cared for or accumulated (this verb is the same as in the names of Hexagrams 9 and 26). They deserve our attention for exactly the same reason that the cattle of Nepal receive yearly thank-offerings: they give their strength for our farming, and they give food. They represent the willing resource that gives us the space even to think about cultivating our awareness or vision. This meaning’s come over very clearly on the occasions when I’ve seen this hexagram as advice for exams. It’s not enough just to be naturally ‘bright’ in the exam room -not if you’re passing out from lack of sleep or food. Yi’s advice to care for your reserves is an absolute practical necessity."
http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/learn/gua/hexagrams/hexagram30.php

And who would know better about the hexagram Clarity than the creator of OnlineClarity?

I find it awesome that Hilary specifically mentions exams in her commentary. Besides the relationship of exams to school in general, the best chance I have to transfer out to a better school is to do well on the GRE. Isn't it interesting Yi often gives this hexagram when an exam is a key factor?

I think the message is that if I prepare properly for the GRE and take it while well-fed and well-rested/alert, I will do well enough to get admitted into a better school. In the past I took standardized tests without sufficient preparation, falling back on my natural high IQ alone. But if I also take a prep course (mental nourishment) and make sure I have good nutrition/physical nourishment (probably include Gingko) and be well-rested, I will ace the test so triumphantly that it will get me accepted.

Another message in 30 seems to be about continuing to look for signs, consult the Yi Jing, etc., to pull through successfully every step of the way. And in this way I will transfer from this master's program to a PhD program and come out qualified to teach others and my work will be published - hence, as Wilhelm says, illuminate the four corners of the world.

Now through this analysis I meditated and reached the core of the situation, and it transformed me from a state of being distraught to a state of being calm (#52).

Comments?

Gettin Jingy With It