Advice on reading-Losing Weight-Hex 61

[higherplane79]

Hello friends! Any advice, input would be greatly appreciated!

Question asked was : How will I lose weight successfully?

Answer was hexagram 61: Inner Truth No changing lines

The wind blows over the lake and stirs the surface of the water. This visible effects of the invisible manifest themselves. The hexagram consists of firm lines above and below, while it is open in the center. This indicates a heart free of prejudices and therefore open to the truth. On the other hand, each of the two trigrams has a firm line in the middle; this indicates the force of inner truth in the influences they represent.

The attributes of the two trigrams are: above, gentleness, forbearance toward inferiors; below, joyousness in obeying superiors. Such conditions crete the basis of mutual confidence that makes achievements possible.

The character fu (“truth”) is actually the picture of a bird’s foot over a fledgling. it suggests the idea of brooding. An egg is hollow. The light-giving power must work to quicken it from outside, but there must be a germ of life within, if life is to be awakened. Far-reaching speculations can be linked with these ideas.

THE JUDGEMENT

INNER TRUTH. Pigs and fishes.
Good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
Perseverance furthers.

Pigs and fishes are the least intelligent of all animals and therefore the most difficult to influence. The force of inner truth must grow great indeed before its influence can extend to such creatures. In dealing with persons as intractable and as difficult to influence as a pig or a fish, the whole secret of success depends on finding the right way of approach. One must first rid oneself of all prejudice and, so to speak, let the psyche of the other person act on one without restraint. Then one will establish contact with him, understand and gain power over him. When a door has thus been opened, the force of one’s personality will influence him. If in this way one finds no obstacles insurmountable, one can undertake even the most dangerous things, such as crossing the great water, and succeed.

But it is important to understand upon what the force of inner truth depends. This force is not identical with simple intimacy or a secret bond. Close ties may exist also among thieves; it is true that such a bond acts as a force but, since it is not invincible, it does not bring good fortune. All association on the basis of common interests holds only up to a certain point. Where the community of interest ceases, the holding together ceases also, and the closest friendship often changes into hate. Only when the bond is based on what is right, on seadfastness, will it remain so firm that it triumphs over everything.

THE IMAGE

Wind over lake: the image of INNER TRUTH.
Thus the superior man discusses criminal cases
In order to delay executions.

Wind stirs water by penetrating it. Thus the superior man, when obliged to judge the mistakes of men, tries to penetrate their minds with understanding, in order to gain a sympathetic appreciation of the circumstances. In ancient China, the entire administration of justice was guided by this principle. A deep understanding that knows how to pardon was considered the highest form of justice. This system was not without success, for its aim was to make so strong a moral impression that there was no reason to fear abuse of such mildness. For it sprang not from weakness but from a superior clarity.


What do you think? I have always found a low-carb diet to work for me, which means primarily meat ("Pigs and fishes. Good fortune.")???

Also, I had started to enjoy making runs over the Williamsburg bridge as cardio (It furthers one to cross the great water) ???

Also curious as to what the rest of the hexagram's meanings could be saying?

 

[mryou1]

I prefer the idea that "pigs and fishes" translates to "dolphins", because this fits nicely with the idea of a ship crossing the water. Dolphins often lead sailors to shore, they're benevolent creatures who help the lost and ask nothing in return. Plus they're cute. The metaphor of a ship crossing the great water, in 61, is (out of all the hexagrams that employ this metaphor) probably the most auspicious. Of course because of the dolphins, but also because the ship (trigram Wood) does not sink at all (does not share any lines with Lake). Plus the great water in this case is still and easy to cross (as opposed to the abysmal Water).

All this is a long way to say: the way you will lose weight successfully is by making the big, committed move to lose weight. There's probably a reference to regular exercise in all this, and possibly a trainer or nutritionist (indicated by the dolphin) who will guide you through it.

I also find that when the I Ching gives you an unchanging hexagram it's a way of being perfectly blunt. Like, "THIS is the answer, no if, ands, or buts. No complications. It's this simple.". Of course, others might disagree.

edit: oh and btw, if the pigs and fishes reference to the diet works for you, I don't mean to say that's not it due to a difference in translation. So maybe it could mean both.

 

[jbutler]

Hello,

Last year, on Dec. 2nd 2011, I weighed 290 lbs. Today, I weight 195. I lost almost 100 pounds. After a long and extensive study on weight loss, the only way to lose weight is to exercise vigorously for at least 45 min, 4 to 5 times a week. Vigorously means to walk fast for five miles, bike for ten miles, or jog for three miles. This translate into about 45 minutes of work out. Your diet doesn't need to change, but if you are interested in a more energetic life style, cut out most of your meat and dairy, which I did, and eat lots and lots of fruit and vegetables.

Pigs and fishes means, the answer is simple -- exercise and diet together, your inner guide will affirm this to be true. I like what mryou1 said, I Ching gives you an unchanging hexagram it's a way of being perfectly blunt. Like, "THIS is the answer, no if, ands, or buts. No complications. It's this simple.

Now to the hard part -- commitment and dedication to the task. To tell you the truth, it took me almost a month before I could walk a mile -- just a mile! It took me several months before I could jog. I did jog, and the weight flew off me. I also have to admit that I was hungry -- all the time! But I had so much energy and my vitality returned and I to gain some rewards. I fit into 34 waist pants and into a L sweat shirt. Before, I wore size 54! pants and XXXL shirts! to accommodate my fat belly.

One last note. What changed my paradigm was the day I realized that if I took all the fat on my body and melted in down into 1/4 pound cubes, like butter cubes, and stacked them on the table, there would be 100 one pound cubes of butter sitting there. What really grossed me out was what if I take that 100 pounds of fat and smoothed it back on my 190 pound body. Basically that is what I would be doing except the butter would be distributed over the top of my skin instead of under it.

I wish you the best in your adventure in weight loss. It is well worth the effort. Be well.

 

[higherplane79]

Thanks for your replies!

Jbutler, your story was very inspiring! Thank you for sharing

 

[diamanda]

I'm actually wondering if the answer means that you need to introduce more protein (pigs and fishes) to your diet so as to regulate better your inner chemical metabolic balance. If the diet is dominated by carbohydrates, no matter what form they're in, then sugar in the blood goes up, and that makes you more hungry, and so on. So, surprisingly, a bowl of pasta with vegetables is much worse for slimming than a bowl of pasta with pig or fish Vegetables of course are the best for dieting, but try to always combine them with some form of protein.

 

[pocossin]

Pigs and fishes are gregarious creatures. You might benefit from joining a weight-loss group.

 

[higherplane79]

Diamanda:

That was also my first impression, since a high-protein, very low carb diet has always been the most effective way for me to lose weight