And the Yi said, love is more important than life...

[sooo]

Thanks for your feedback, LL. Good stuff.

As I was Lying in bed the other night, I was thinking in general terms about perceptions of Yi's answers. I surmised, though have not concluded, that about 80-90% interpret Yi's answers as being about what not to do. There's a powerful amount of self-doubt and reservation behind this, even paranoia, where only 10-20% seem to think in terms of how to proceed with doing, even with risks and dangers involved. I think this results in an extremely restrictive and conservative view of living, which has become the strong tide of influence and general consensus. I tend to view a book of changes being mostly proactive, with emphasis on good timing rather than simply on restraint and restrictions. The fox isn't told not to cross the frozen river, but to cross when the time is most favorable, and to always be mindful of the conditions.

 

[rosada]

Being negative? Gee, you say that like it's a bad thing....
I'm glad you bring this up. I'm afraid I'm one of the 80-90% who are more inclined to interpret the I Ching as being a wet blanket - to the point where I believe in the expression, "If you have to ask permission the answer is always 'No'." Maybe this stresses the importance of how one phrases the question, the importance of asking, "What's good about this?" rather than "Will it work?' or "What could go wrong?" OTOH, maybe my problem is that I wait to consult the I Ching until there really is a problem and so then of course the hexagram is negative cause the whole darn city really is falling into the moat. Meanwhile, has anyone ever made a tally of the number of negative versus positive lines and hexagrams? I sure seem to find all the "Do not act" ones....

 

[hilary]

...Meanwhile, has anyone ever made a tally of the number of negative versus positive lines and hexagrams? I sure seem to find all the "Do not act" ones....

I don't recall the exact count, but good omen-words heavily outweigh negative ones. But I have the impression that many purely neutral lines - eg 17.2 or 28.5 - are more likely to be interpreted as negative.
It can be really hard to read and understand a neutral line as neutral - it seems that human nature wants to load it one way or the other.

Then on the other hand there are all the places we mentally add an 'if' to the text to make an ill omen avoidable. Examples: 64's fox with its soaked tail, or 48's broken jug: we think of it as 'if the fox soaks his tail' or 'if the jug is broken'.

 

[sooo]

Rosada, thank you for your candor in this matter. The wet blanket is a great image for what I tried to describe. And a bit funny thinking of their useful purpose being putting out fires.

This is close to but not quite the same as Bradford's sticky on positive/negative readings. This goes to the heart of the diviner, the one who sees good or bad, or do vs don't. The "should I" or "shouldn't I" question isn't nearly as useful as the 'how do I' or 'when do I' type of questions. I don't think the Yi is intended to give or deny us permission, but instead to show us more clearly the matter in question. I've never counted the do and don't, but I do know that the don't appear only rarely, such as in 26.1, but even there we are given an explanation to teach us why this is not the time to fix something while in the state of mind we are in at that time. Therefore, it has more to do with timing, including our state of mind during that time, than it has to do with an absolute do or don't work on what has been spoiled, the relating to 26.1.

 

[rosada]

..and of course there is that line in there somewhere (anyone know which one I mean?) about how it's only when we are willing to look at things exactly as they are that we see the way out of the difficulty and thus a negative can be turned into a positive.

 

[sooo]

h5

It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any sort of self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized. This recognition must be followed by resolute and persevering action. For only the man who goes to meet his fate resolutely is equipped to deal with it adequately. Then he will be able to cross the great water--that is to say, he will be capable of making the necessary decision and of surmounting the danger.

 

[Olga Super Star]

to the point where I believe in the expression, "If you have to ask permission the answer is always 'No'."

Hey you know what? I thought about this myself a few months ago!
Is it an expression you English speaking people generally use or is it linked to the i ching?

48's broken jug: we think of it as 'if the jug is broken'.

Is it 48.2? I just got it the other day and thought it was not bad after all, as I can take fishes! I really wrote in my notes: not that bad, it's just suggesting to wait a bit

 

[Dsouza]

Do check out John Ryan Haule.. hopefully you find what your looking for...