All year long I have had a certain goal in front of me that I work on daily. I have yet to achieve it. I asked the Yi, "What is blocking my ability to achieve X?" The answer seems curious bc the Yi seems to simply be saying 'You are blocked' (which I already knew!). I'd appreciate any insights into these changing lines. I've added my own bit of research below.

Hex 12.2.4.6 and hex 29
12. P'i / Standstill (Stagnation)
above Ch'ien The Creative, Heaven
below K'un The Receptive, Earth

The Judgement: Standstill. Evil people do not further
The perseverance of the superior man.
The great departs; the small approaches.

NOTE: I found some comments of Hilary's online regarding the "non-people of hexagram 12" (love that phrase btw). She pointed out that we tend to assume the Yi speaks to us as the "superior" and we assume outsiders are the "small". Small however could be me in this case -- i've become weak or slack, the small has taken over me inside (??)

The Image: Heaven and earth do not unite:
The image of Standstill.
Thus the superior man falls back upon his inner worth
In order to escape the difficulties.
He does not permit himself to be honored with revenue.

line 2: They bear and endure; This means good fortune for inferior people. The standstill serves to help the great man attain success.
("To suffer in silence is better than servility")

This line *seems* positive -- if I'm inferior, I have good fortune. But if I'm a great man, the standstill nonetheless helps me attain success. Is this just a positive line? Is it saying I am on my way *out* of the blocked phase??


line 4: He who acts at the command of the highest Remains without blame. Those of like mind partake of the blessing.("The realization that one's fate is in one's hands. [lines 1,2,3 imply outside control]. No harm in this for it introduces new possibilities in all directions." "Your spiritual or idealistic wishes move upward, as your earthly drives move downward (toward the sex chakra, you could say). This makes an interesting picture of your situation, in that you express two directions your heart is moving in. Namely, away from the center.)

Line 4, the first line in the upper trigram of heaven looks upward rather than downward for support, and finds the support it needs: "acting at the command of the highest is without blame" and others partake of the blessing. Acting at the highest command could mean following your conscience, justice, balance, or for that matter - freedom.

I take line 4 to mean (I think it was martin's post above there, do not recall) I am trying to move upward/heaven-bound, but earthly weakness keeps pulling me back down and THAT is preventing me from achieving my goal. It doesnt say how to combat it, it (the line) just acknowledges the situation. Yes?

line 6: The standstill comes to an end. First standstill, then good fortune.
("To remove oneself from the times requires action, for things do not cease on their own despite their apparent demise.")

This looks like the blockage has been removed (wish i had some timeline for this!)

29. K'an / The Abysmal (Water)
above K'an The Abysmal, Water
below K'an The Abysmal, Water

The Judgement--- The Abysmal repeated. If you are sincere, you have success in your heart, And whatever you do succeeds.

This seems to say if i persevere the blockage will go away, i will succeed?

The Image -- Water flows on uninterruptedly and reaches it goal: The image of the Abysmal repeated. Thus the superior man walks in lasting virtue And carries on the business of teaching.

Any input would be much appreciated

I asked the Yi, "What is blocking my ability to achieve X?"
Answer: Hex 12.2.4.6 and hex 29

Click to expand...

Hi Elizabeth
There seems to be a huge amount of frustration around you at the moment. It's coming at you from all sides. This is a graet peace of advice coming from th Yi that you may want to buy into to help you release some of the frustrations;

2- Situations sometimes are blocked up due to people and circumstances around you. When they do it is time to consider if you can change and adapt - but you must do it with all your heart. Think about If you had not set yourself this goal - would you be frustrated now? Do you understand why you set this particular goal? Do you really need to achieve this goal?

4 - Look for the happiness and peace in what you have rather than focusing on what you haven't got. What have you learnt / gained by not achieving it?

6 - Obstructions are temporary. They either just fade away because you do not give them any matter or you learn the name of the obstruction e.g fear, greed, discipline, selfish etc. Once you can name it it has no power over you any more and it allows you to move on.

29 - This situation has manifected itself to you before maybe not exactly like this but you will recognise the signs. This is a great opportunity for you....... Water is all around you. See if you can look to drain the swamp or start swimming in a new direction.
Love and Hugs

Mike

elizabeth said:

All year long I have had a certain goal in front of me that I work on daily. I have yet to achieve it. I asked the Yi, "What is blocking my ability to achieve X?" The answer seems curious bc the Yi seems to simply be saying 'You are blocked' (which I already knew!). I'd appreciate any insights into these changing lines. I've added my own bit of research below.

Hex 12.2.4.6>hex 29

Click to expand...

"The answer seems curious bc the Yi seems to simply be saying 'You are blocked' (which I already knew!)."

Wrong. The Yi is not telling you something you knew. When it provided you with Hex 12 in answer to your question, it's merely establishing the theme of the issue. So on the one hand, it's confirming your perception that Obstruction is in fact the issue you think it is (it's wonderful when the Yi endorses our personal perceptions, cuz that tells us we're not deluded or missing the real issue), and on the other hand it's giving some useful information about that issue. In this case, it's telling you something like: "As for the state of obstruction you're experiencing, please note:

1 There's no advantage while in this state to carrying out what you think is right. In other words, don't trust your own judgement.

2 In your particular case, the Obstruction has a strong element of risk that you absolutely have to go through. Remember the rules of Risk: hold to your heart, and keep moving. This will get you through it."

It's especially striking to me how your frustration with this is, in fact, obstructing you and preventing you from seeing the message the Yi's giving you and benefitting from it. Like all of us, you are your own worst enemy. When you get tired of shooting yourself in the foot with your own frustration and actually take on the Yi's advice which I've outlined above, you'll find yourself in another state. Until then, you obstruct yourself.

However, I'm going to add one disclaimer to what I've said. You said that you've had a certain goal which you work on daily. You haven't described that goal, and maybe you don't have to, but there is this possibility: it's possible that when the Yi gave you 12 in answer to your question (and please remember than 12 includes the idea that there's no advantage in carrying out what you think is right) it was telling you that the goal you've set for yourself is not a goal you ought to be pursuing right now. You see, very often when you draw 12 it's like the universe telling you that the agenda *you* have set is getting nowhere. The implication is that the smart money abandons that agenda so that it can move on and discover a condition and program and fate more in tune with what the *universe* wants. In other words, what makes you think that your goal is actually good for you? You might be spitting into the wind in this case.

Mykey - Thanks for your comments. I dont know that there is frustration coming at me from all sides, just difficulties. My life is typically like this (in fact this is a rather calm period for me, I'd say) -- but only now do I have the time to ask the Yi about various aspects so you all are getting to hear/see/read a bit too much of me I fear! I will no doubt disappear for another 11 months very soon, but I digress.

About 29 -- I've had this goal before, but never the blockage in the same way... which is why it's bothering me this time. Sort of like before it was easier to achieve. Now I think I am putting in the same effort and getting little results... But your phrasing made me think of another kind of blockage, totally unrelated (or maybe totally related, I dont know) and now I'm wondering if psychologically the two are connected. That is, in this instance, Ithink there is something I'm not doing or doing too much of that is causing the stagnation. In the "past", I think a certain person was preventing my progress. I am wondering if psychologically that person is still weighing on my mind (subconsciously) and hence no progress outwardly now. I dont know the answer.
As for the questions you posed relating to line 2 -- of course that is a subjective thought, whether or not I *need* to achieve this goal. I want to, and I set it before myself. The implication I hear from the Yi (from what you are saying) is that the goal itself doesnt NEED to be set before me, I dont need to acheive it. (That is, I think i do but the Yi says I dont). As for 4, I've learned life goes on if i dont achieve it. But it nags at me until I do.

Dobro - thank you also for your input. I am not sure what you meant by shooting myself in the foot with my frustration, as I came here to try to see/understand what the Yi is saying to me thru these hexes. From your comments and from mykey's, I think I now understand. Both of you posed the possibility that my goal is useless/unrealistic/unneeded which wasn't a point I'd considered beforehand. But I'm considering it now! This goal is for me personally difficult to give up though, as it is dear to me/near to my heart. I have to contemplate all of this.

Thank you both for your comments, I do appreciate them.

elizabeth said:

This goal is for me personally difficult to give up though, as it is dear to me/near to my heart. I have to contemplate all of this.

Click to expand...

Another thing to add Elizabeth, I don't think it's necessary that you give up your goal - just to reappraise your approach and ideas about that goal. Letting go. Sometimes when we let things go in terms of our needs, desires and wishes, the goal actually arrives much more quickly and quite unexpectedly. It may even be that when you do really let go something even better may materialise!

It's hard but it can be done.

Good luck,

Topal

hi Topal,

I know what you mean -- intellectually -- but doing it is such another story!! Part of me does hold onto the idea, which is in fact a pattern in my life, that if I do not *do* something, nothing happens. For the most part I find that to be true. Things don't just happen and materialize (at least not for me) -- you have to work at them, put in time/effort/thought and *then* many moons later something will happen, or you will see that it can't happen for some reason. However, the creative part of me knows you're absolutely right, that if I let go, the muse will come so to speak (that's the way it is with some of my creative endeavors at least -- She strikes when least expected and usually when I'm calm, relaxed, and doing something totally different!) So that could be applied here except that this goal is such that I dont know if it would work. It's worth a try though! Thanks for your help .

-Elizabeth

elizabeth said:

hi Topal,

I know what you mean -- intellectually -- but doing it is such another story!! Part of me does hold onto the idea, which is in fact a pattern in my life, that if I do not *do* something, nothing happens. For the most part I find that to be true. Things don't just happen and materialize (at least not for me) -- you have to work at them, put in time/effort/thought and *then* many moons later something will happen, or you will see that it can't happen for some reason. However, the creative part of me knows you're absolutely right, that if I let go, the muse will come so to speak (that's the way it is with some of my creative endeavors at least -- She strikes when least expected and usually when I'm calm, relaxed, and doing something totally different!) So that could be applied here except that this goal is such that I dont know if it would work. It's worth a try though! Thanks for your help .

-Elizabeth

Click to expand...

Well, you got me thinking some more on this as it's something I battle with...

But maybe you've misunderstood the idea of "letting go" here. I don't mean some New Age philosophy of just sitting back and letting everything come to you, (though is a half-truth in that). I mean more in the sense of putting the effort in where the real effort is needed - the inner to the outer so to speak. Yes, I think the doing is hugely important, but the quality and effectiveness of that doing stems from our own self-analysis and what is really required. There's a blind spot we all have...At the same time 12 can also be about cycles and where it just isn't the right the time for an activity to manifest as it should. But it needn't be that way forever.

Personally, I'm trying to do it in a way that doesn't require the 34 effort to be bouncing off a brick wall. If my attention is placed firmly in the future then it inevitably restricts the pathways of possibilities in that future. It's almost like a kind cerebral "rape" of the right brain which houses all those intuitive receptors that can lock into the signal you are putting out, (though I think it goes well beyond our notion of neurology). Our anticipation and attachment to the outcome constantly blocks (12) the responses that could naturally "lock-in" and take us to where are natural place is.

Hence letting go and re-evaluating and re-grouping.

You certainly seem quite driven which is something I recognise in myself. That's a good thing but it sure can be a real pain in the butt if it's not a strong part of one's nature to let things flow in this way. And that pain goes around and around and of course, by default, creates nothing more than a repeating pattern. So, by "flow" I would see that as doing what you have to do and want to do but not attaching any anticipation to the result. The process is important and yes, there are obviously practical things to be aware of. However. enjoying the creativity for it's own sake is vital for the correct result to arrive.

But you're right - it does depend on exactly what this creative task is.

Are you able to say a little more on exactly what form of creativity this is? I completely understand if you'd rather not - just thought I'd ask on the off chance.

Anyhow, more thoughts for the crucible.

Topal

my_key said:

Hi Elizabeth
There seems to be a huge amount of frustration around you at the moment. It's coming at you from all sides. This is a graet peace of advice coming from th Yi that you may want to buy into to help you release some of the frustrations;

2- Situations sometimes are blocked up due to people and circumstances around you. When they do it is time to consider if you can change and adapt - but you must do it with all your heart. Think about If you had not set yourself this goal - would you be frustrated now? Do you understand why you set this particular goal? Do you really need to achieve this goal?

4 - Look for the happiness and peace in what you have rather than focusing on what you haven't got. What have you learnt / gained by not achieving it?

6 - Obstructions are temporary. They either just fade away because you do not give them any matter or you learn the name of the obstruction e.g fear, greed, discipline, selfish etc. Once you can name it it has no power over you any more and it allows you to move on.

29 - This situation has manifected itself to you before maybe not exactly like this but you will recognise the signs. This is a great opportunity for you....... Water is all around you. See if you can look to drain the swamp or start swimming in a new direction.
Love and Hugs

Mike

Click to expand...

Amazing answer. Suits my question more than perfectly. Thank you!!

Alert. This is a 15 year old thread!

By replying rather than use the thanks button it brings it to the surface and then people often will come along thinking it's current and start answering Elizabeth from 15 years ago.....

It's always worth looking at the date before replying