16.2 as an action

[jte]

I've recently seen an unusual set of circumstances arising and asked the Yi what I should do. Answer was 16.2. I'm having a bit of trouble seeing this line as an action/activity.

My own take on the significance for my specific case is to maintain my (personal, inner) purpose/loyalty through changing outer circumstances. This is based on the meanings of the component trigrams, but doesn't really seem to match well to the text for the line (per the translations I normally use).

Any thoughts?

- Jeff

 

[bradford_h]

Hi Jeff-

I have a different take on 16.2 > 40 than most.
This one is a real booger to translate.
There are clues in the Zhi Gua (40, Release) and the
Fan Yao (3 foxes and the golden arrow award,
the archery trophy). I translate:

Resolved in stone
(This) day will not end
Persistence (is) promising

A remarkable moment or deed, worth looking back on,
worth commemorating, a personal best, one for the
record books, a story for the grandkids, etc.

 

[hilary]

Hi Jeff,

An alternative take on this: your armour/ protective shell/ boundaries become rock like. This doesn't last to the end of the day. Constancy - truth to self - brings good fortune.

Seems to me to be about balance between impregnable personal boundaries, and being free enough to respond without constraint (a theme of hexagram 40). So truth to self does not necessarily mean not responding to circumstances.

The 'inspiring' line, 15,5 (the 'same' line if you approach this landscape from the reverse perspective, ie invert the hexagram), also talks about going across borders, invading to take what you need. Perhaps the sequence of events is a realisation that you're not sufficient to yourself behind your own borders - that no-one else can be expected to provide for you - and so being 'fortified' and stalwart, with distinct boundaries keeping you apart, is only of limited use.

Perhaps...

Needless to say, if you can share anything about those unusual circumstances, I'd be interested, and it should (hopefully!) make interpretation easier.

 

[demitramn]

Hi Jeff

Perhaps this is about being realistic and keeping a clear head about what can be done under the circumstances. There may be a tendency to get carried away in some way and not notice small little errors that can arise and affect the situation. Careful examination and genuine care will allow any problems that could possibly lead to failure, to be spotted and changed before they go too far.

Hard to really say if this really applies to your situation well - but sharing just the same.

Demitra

 

[pam]

Jeff,

I believe you have the correct interpretation based on the experience I have had with this line. I remember one clear example for you - shortly after my husband and I had our son, an old girlfriend of his was coming to town for a business conference. She, too, was married with children, and wrote to ask if they could get together for dinner while she was in town. She had maintained contact thru xmas and birthday cards since their breakup years before. When my husband told me, I was not terribly excited about the prospect, and asked 'what will he feel about her now after all these years?' and got 16 - 40.

Sure enough, he told her he would be happy to meet her for dinner - with his wife and child so we could meet each other - and arranged to pick her up at her hotel after the conference that evening. She called and agreed, but during the evening she exhibited signs of still being quite smitten with him and turned to me at one point and said that she thought I should have let them go out alone (rather nervy of her) because she and I really had no history and therefore, nothing to say to each other. My husband turned to her and said 'We have our memories of the way we once were, but we aren't those people any more. I wanted you to meet my wife and child and I thought you would be happy to do so." She shut up. (I laughed to myself.) Perfect picture of 16 - 40: "While others are letting themselves be dazzled by enthusiasm, he recognizes with perfect clarity the first signs of the time. Thus he neither flatters those above nor neglects those beneath him; he is as firm as a rock. When the first sign of discord appears, he knows the right moment for withdrawing and does not delay even for a day." (Wilhelm) I couldn't believe the Yi caught the whole situation so perfectly two weeks before the evening occurred.

So - maintain your loyalty through any changing outer circumstances. This will be the right path.

Pam

 

[frank]

Hi Jeff,

Perhaps 16.2 > 40 is only telling you to take comphort in your innerself and liberate from anxiety...

Hug,
Frank

 

[martin]

I think that what Hilary said about personal boundaries is very much to the point here.
It reminds me of what once happened when I was shopping in a crowded supermarket. I didn't feel very well that day (I was recovering from an illness) and the noise and chaos was too much for me, at least that's how it felt.
But at some point I realized that the problem was not all those people. It was my own resistance to them, my own defensiveness. I gave up my resistance, my boundaries, allowed everything that happened around me to flow through me, and suddenly I was calm and together. My uneasiness and irritation completely disappeared.
Surprisingly, I felt "firm as a rock" as soon as I gave up my protective armour and no longer tried to be like a rock.

 

[candid]

Rather than thinking of 16.2 as an action, I see it more as the ability to see what's coming, and to make the necessary preparations for the action (or non-action) before the arrival. Then your mind can be decided and firm, your choices known and defined, before circumstances necessitate an action. In a word: readiness.

 

[jte]

Thanks very much to all - these interpretations (and anecdotes) have helped greatly!

- Jeff

 

[luz]

I've been having a situation where I have been getting on my daughter's case to get something done. I think I'm being too tough on her, sometimes I expect her to act older than she is or to give me feedback on the advice I give her. She doesn't say much and it drives me nuts, which probably gets me more aggresive in my approach. So I asked 'what will happen if I stop pushing her so much' (in this situation, at least) and I got 16.2.6 turning to 64.
I interpret some of it as my stepping over he personal boundaries but I am unsure as to the rest. I don't see anything as to what will be the outcome if I stop getting involved, although I don understand (probably even before the reading) that I should back off...
Any insights greatly appreciated...

 

[jte]

Off the cuff, LA, I'd say that the part of her that is wise/well-adapted/doing fine (16.2) will continue doing fine. The part of her that isn't (16.6) will eventually change once she realizes that it needs to change.

When I say "part of her" I mean her attitudes, feelings, and behaviours basically - her socially-adapted self. I think most kids are part well-adjusted and part "in-progress" ;-). There are interesting variations on the in-progress part, but hey, isn't that part of what makes growing up fun and challenging? (And yes, it's still true in adulthood, too.)

All MHO, of course.

- Jeff

 

[luz]

Thanks for your input, Jeff. (My Humble Opinion?)

 

[jte]

(My Humble Opinion?) Aye. ;-)

- Jeff