Well hey, hi and howdy,

Leonard here, requesting any assistance possible with this throw. I have reached a plateau recently with my musical development, and after much soul-searching, decided to ask the Yi the following question,"What action might I take towards attaining my goal concerning the advancement of my musical knowledge?" Got Hex 6, changing lines 2nd and 6th places, corresponding Hex 45.

Hex 45 seems to me to be saying that I should be attempting to involve myself with a musical group of seekers such as myself, but Hex 6 is a total intuitive puzzlement. In the normal course of things I always have been able to relate intuitively to 'something' in the Hexagrams I throw, but Conflict with regards to my question has left me totally baffled.

Additional background... Recently have been considering posting a "Situations Wanted' advert proposing I trade caretaking/maintenance duties in exchange for tutoring by keyboard instructor. For the life of me, I can intuit nothing in Hex 6 regarding this possibility(should that be what its refering to)!

Any input on this situation would be greatly appreciated!

Namaste,
Leonard

Leonard - That is a little puzzling. All I can skew is that you may be approaching your musical interests in a manipulative way rather than just allowing music to flow through you. Its a stretch, admittedly, but its all I can come up with at the moment.

Speaking for my own blocks and dry spells with music, I find that I must sometimes leave it alone for awhile. Then when I pick up the instrument, there are fresh ideas which have grown in the compost of life experiences, and fresh musical life seems to flow freely again. Then, its a matter of working on my chops so that the fine motor skills can catch up with what I'm hearing in my head. After a couple days of hard playing, the ideas manifest, polished.

There's an old motivational book called: Release Your Breaks. It describes the experience of driving in a car, and something doesn't feel right. The car feels somehow sluggish. So you lean on the accelerator, maybe even downshift into a lower gear. The motor revs, but it still feels sluggish. You tromp on the peddle now, forcing the engine to kick all its horsepower into action. The car accelerates, but its still lagging badly. Your heart races and your mind wonders how much a new motor or transmission is going to cost you? You look down and notice that your emergency break is up. Flushed and embarrassed, you release the break. Your car glides happily into high gear with no resistance. You feel a little foolish at the way in which you dealt with the problem. Release your break and let it fly.

Music, the more you wrestle with it, the harder it is to play.

Does this resonate with you?

Candid

Hi Candid,

Yes, resonating loud and clear, especially that part about putting it down for a spell, and when I return, its true, usually great strides have been accomplished. In fact, some of my greatest strides forward musically, have been after a period of not thinking about music at all. Loved the metaphor about 'experiences growing out of life's compost'! grins

Still, I don't know what to do with regards to Hex 6. I mean, speaking of resonation, not one thing resonates out of 6 for me with respect to the question. I keep thinking that there is something important there and I'm just missing the intuitive bus. I asked a similar question about a year ago regarding the same subject; although I can't remember the exact Hex I received in answer, I distinctly remember that the advice I intuited from Yi that time was(in essence), 'Stick to the traditional', which I interpreted as practice, practice, practice. So, I did that, and my fingering techniques have advanced more than considerably, but I still seem to be stuck in, for lack of a better word/s, a 'dead zone' as far as creative chord progression is concerned. I am totally self-taught and that was the reason for thinking perhaps a good tutor might be needed at this point.(I have read about 35 plus/minus books on the subject). Do you have any views on that?

Anyone else out there care to give me some input on this Hex 6 thing? I would certainly be grateful for ANY input.

Thanks Candid, for reminding me of the 'dry spell, put it down thing', its just, when you reach my age, waiting for something this important becomes especially painful. ...and I am such an impulsive, impatient beast.

Namaste,
Leonard

Hi Leonard, does your music involve conflict with any other area of your life that demands attention ? ie, does it take time/resources you don't have ? Does it intefere with any other duties/relationships etc. If it does then this answer could be interpreted as saying 'You may think musical development is important right now, but you will need to back down from that stance because theres other things needing doing'. If you love music this isn't a welcome message, hence the conflict. Line 2 talks of retreat, backing down and thereby saving others ? (You're still happy with the move I hope ?)Line 6 says, yes you can advance your musical development, but for whatever reason its not going to be worth the effort at the moment. Is there a warring part of yourself thats drawn in another direction ? I suppose whatever we give time to takes time away from something else.

Alternatively could be this hexagram is addressing another more pressing situation in your life and not the music at all ?

I don't feel 45 is urging you to join a group here. 45 can mean gathering your resources and making ready can't it - someone can correct me there. My feeling is this casting is asking you to take a look at any conflicting motivations within you and also conflicts of time and energy on an external level too. Hope you get some more feedback.

Okay I'm new here but let me give this a shot. I think I can understand your intentions with your question and the little insight you gave to your current place with music helps. The place you are at right now is one of tension and indecision. Two things have different views and each side feels it is correct. If this conflict can be resolved it is leading to a gathering together of the elements to further the situation. This conflict is most likely an inner self conflict considering the subject in question. The ego creates pressure through doubt and fear. We need to disengage from the problem to cease the inner conflict. The solution will come of itself, at the right time. The moving lines confirm this conflict. Look at all the elements of the situation. Examine all the fears and doubts and if the resolution is not found then waiting for the situation to change is necessary. Moving ahead before the conflict is resolved will not be beneficial. Line two also infers removing oneself from the source of the conflict. Line six says to me that you are receiving adulation for your skill but until the situation at two is resolved it won't move on. I wouldn't be able to personalize it anymore than that unless I knew you as a person and knew where you are on this journey. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Louise;

Veeerrry interesting indeed! Your certainly right about the unwelcome part! And, if your feeling about 45 is closer to the truth than my intuition about it then I guess I might be doing a highwire act over the deep doodoo pit here.

As it stands at present, I haven't been aware of any conflicts between my job and the music. I have had lots of slack time between orders and phone calls to practice and since the keyboard sits right next to the cpu, the commute certainly hasn't been a problem. Your post has opened the door a crack on the conflict aspect though. You see, I view the job as a means to pay the bills and tend to view the music from a much more spiritual standpoint. While the music enriches my soul, the job definitely puts food in the fridge and a roof over my head....hmmm....and lately I have been viewing the job as a distraction from all spiritual pursuits. When I shift perspective slightly, I can appreciate the job more for its sustenance contributions and less for its distractions. Like, without the house I live in, where would I find the electricity for the synth and reference monitors? And, since its been significantly below freezing here for the better part of 6 weeks I guess it would be an uncomfortable existence for the keyboard and I out on the street. Could this be yet another test?

Your post also reminded me of another closet packed with demons that I manage to keep the lid on(except for the dreams, 4 or 5 nites a week); and has generated more conflict in my life over the last two years than anything previous. I believe its time to ante up the bucks and send for Supergirl. Hilary, where are you?

Namaste,
Leonard

Wow David,

Excellent, simply excellent. Your post has definitely helped in my decision to take this thing to a professional.

Candid, Louise and David; thank you from the bottom of my heart for the input, it really has helped immensely. Each of you has contributed a piece of the puzzle and now I believe I'm beginning to see the whole, real picture and its like that old saying, "We have seen the enemy, and it is us!" Or something like that.

Namaste,
Leonard

Hex.6 can mean the fight for what you need as an individual(or the way of accomplishing it not- fighting).
Hex.45 is a picture of a soldiers' or servants' uniform.
Maybe the job you are thinking about?

Namaste,
LiSe