I only got to know Tori because a friend recommended her as a speaker for the Festival of Change. I started reading her blog, was smitten, and then downloaded her audio about full spectrum listening. Normally this is only available when you sign up on her site, but she’s given us this excerpt you can download for a flavour of it with no sign-up required. (Right-click the link and choose ‘save target as’ to download.)
In about the first 45 seconds, I think you’ll understand what grabbed my attention. Tori describes how come we can hear things and not get them: ‘how we can get stuck in the psychological game of acquiring fabulous insights that seem brand new and fresh, but they don’t result in us having really true, lasting transformation in our character.’
Or in other words, a game I’ve certainly played with readings in the past, and I’m reasonably sure I’m not the only one. What makes the difference is the quality of listening… and this is what Tori goes on to talk about. (In this audio it’s about communication with another human being rather than with an oracle, but the principle of listening is the same.)
When I asked what gift Tori would bring as a participant in the Festival, Yi was quite specific: Hexagram 41, Decrease or Offering, changing at line 6 to 19, Nearing. Line 6 reads –
You made me realise something about lines, the way to call them “41’s 19”, indicating 41.6. I always asked myself questions like “what is 41’s 19”. Often is does clarify the meaning, often it doesn’t.
You say “41.6 is the offering (41) to this nearing presence (19)”.
Love it.
And a little dumb question: what is the 5th word Tori says? Missing it means missing a lot of what comes afterwards. Fa… fa what?
She says, “The funny thing about thought is that it almost seems to hijack the freshness of the present moment…”
Yes, I can see how not getting that wouldn’t help!
I use the ’41’s 19′ idea a lot, too; sometimes I find I can ‘get it’ for a group of lines, and it helps and clarifies no end. But hexagrams don’t want to sit in formulas – not for me, anyway – and the meaning/direction/character of each one tends to factor in, too. Like with 28 as primary – thinking of 28.5 as ‘going far beyond the pale in creating a lasting pattern’ makes sense for me.