Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
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+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
A repeated 41 means self reduction. "There is no I in TEAM", idea. "I" am sacrificed to the collective. Or, in John's words: I must become less that He becomes more. But, there would remain a question in my mind: is Yi saying that 41 is the problem or the solution? Particularly line 6, where you no longer serve yourself but the interests of others. Such self sacrifice! Is there a price to pay for that? Might such a noble desire be a sage's dark and depressing temptation? Maya is full of tricks.
Good question. I like Richmond's comment for 41 - "The crop fails. Look what is growing". When something is diminishing it's only natural for another entity to take up the space left vacant. For that reason the dark recesses of depression and it's associated temptations can be a wonderful gateway.
Mike
Yes indeedy.
i.e. overcome evil with good. But, for every good I think I do, I create room for another evil. How to KEEP that room/bowl empty, without decreasing myself, is the trick of line 6.
A means I employ is to occupy that space with creativity. It isn't important what the outcome of creativity is, it's the process of creating, and being willing to delete the outcome, which can keep the space empty. This is sometimes called Zen. It is also why Tibetan monks destroy their meticulously created sand mandalas.
"What hexagram best advises how to use the balance of my therapy session today for the greatest possible good for all?"
Using the 16 beads, I got 41:1 & 6 . 7.
3 ) "How can I best deal with this debilitating and immobilizing depression?"
I got 41:6 > 19 !
Thanks in advance! Steve
What is interesting to me is the story you shared with us in the other thread. Make me wonder how randomly chosen was. Reading the discussion btw Mike and Meng, especially the mandala part, and having used mandalas, in a very amature way, to makes some space in my mind, I found a awesome connection between all those parts.
Maria
Nevertheless, I think I see some direction to your observation and would be interested to know what connections you see between the story and this thread and/or the mandala discussion.
Steve
Maybe is something “mine” and probably I was influenced from some random connections regarding my life, coincides that even if you try is not easy to ignore them and pass by them , so being in that mode, I felt like your story initiate a discussion that holds something useful towards the answers you are seeking. But this is just my impression. I write this will lots of hestitation but reading a few thing you told us about you it makes it a bit easier.
Regarding mandalas, I came across in a very …well, …random way too. I was in the midst of a dark period and tried to recover from a burn out. I have a blog where I vent , lol, but those times I couldn’t/ didn’t ? want to write. I was going to my page and instead of posting I was visiting a friend's blog. She is an artist and her art is some relief to me. Following some links there, I found a site about mandalas. I needed color those days , so without a second thought I printed some mandalas designs, bought color pencils and in the nights I was coloring and coloring. Later I made some of my own. Just took a paper made a cycle and played with my colors. Don’t know how to interpret them. People say that they can unveil very significant information. I used only my intuition and I believe that somehow I got their message. I friend I meet that period of time, confirmed some thoughts of mine. The founding were not always nice to see them though. I didn’t felt the need for more explanation because what I needed that specific time I had it. I created a space in my day, where I pressed the “mute” button and silenced every outside noise. A state of bliss. I needed colors and my own space. And I found it in a piece of paper.
There are people know much more about mandalas. This is just my mandala story. Maybe its doesn’t answers to your questions but this is only what I got.
Maria
hi Steve
I thought I'd add another echo of 41 here . . not really a full-fledged understanding of it, just an imaginative interpretation of its great image. These are thoughts that are still cooking inside, so they may be somewhat crude yet, but here it goes . .
I believe that 41 gives a great lesson on the ways of giving . .
It paints an image of an offering, of a mountain and of a lake. The offering is performed in two small bowls, one holds a heap of rice, the other a pool of water. But offering them does not mean just leaving them at the altar and walking away . .
What is one to do with them? What is this sacrifice for?
It looks like people give offerings for two reasons; one, to thank for whatever they own by giving up part of it but also in order to seal the good fortune of coming times, to ask for the blessing of the seeds that will bring forth increase (as in the 5th line and the following hex 42) . . but how can one do it with some water and rice?
Two bowls are enough, the image says . . pour some water into the rice but no, not all of it . . To make it a delicious plate to those you are offering you need to keep the right proportion -and besides, you don't want to end up with an empty water bowl and another one overflowing with mushy rice . . that would be an out and out decrease
and what about the somewhat emptied water bowl? It cannot produce new shoots on its own, but before cooking the rice you will give up, keep a couple of grains for that water bowl. Don't let that make you stingy with the water you're giving up, your grains won't appreciate too much water and your rice plate is better when well-cooked
how is that for an image? a full plate of rice and an almost empty bowl of water which keeps the secrets of your next harvest . . I'm sure the gods will be happy, your family too
I think 41 is all about economy (=the law of the house, even of housekeeping)
In tight, economical housekeeping the householders use the crops to feed their family and their animals and to provide offerings to the gods but keep some of it to plant anew. They kill animals for the festivals but keep those that help in farming and reproduction . . . what good is an empty farm and a barren field? what gods would be satisfied by overwhelming sacrifices that rot at the altar while people starve?
Gods and beasts live in the same temple -which ones are we summoning?
p.s.: that was just a little image I've found, thank you for giving me the opportunity to put it in writing -maybe it will be helpful in the making of your own story with it . . You should look in Bradford Hatcher's work too -it's a place of great inspiration
Thank you. It's 2yrs later from your post. I recently recieved 41 3 times. Once 2 months ago and twice in one day last week. The one 2 months ago and one of the 2 last wk were the same question. The other, same situation different question. This image helped me see the meaning in a new light and gain understanding of what it has been trying to tell me. Thank you again.
3 ) "How can I best deal with this debilitating and immobilizing depression?"
I got 41:6 > 19 !
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).