Beginner's question

[rickmatz]

Hello, My name is Rick Matz and I've been interested in Daoism for a long time. The I Ching has been something that I've looked at from time to time, decided that it was over my head, then set is aside. Having stumbled upon the sensible approach towards studying the I Ching here, I'm finding myself drawn towards it once again.



Here's a beginner's question for you. I hope I'm posting this in the correct forum. I guess several questions actually. What if you ask the I Ching a question, get the interpretation, then ask it the same question immediately again? Will you get further insight into the situation, or would you just be creating chaos? Is the very compulsion to ask the question again an indicator that perhaps one's mind wasn't settled enough to ask sincerely in the first place?

 

[mudpie]

why would you ask the same question immediately again? were you dissatisfied with the answer? It seems to be a common experience that if you ask the I Ching a question repeatedly, it responds by questioning your impunity.
There have been times for me that I have been unhappy with a response and then ask again to see if I can wrangle a more pleasing answer. I find the Yi has integrity though, for the most part. and , in my own experience, it can and does argue a point with me, for instance:

Me : "that can't be right! I need this to work out."

Yi: Nope, it's a not a good idea, and here's why...."

Me: Are you SURE? Please tell me some good news about this!"

Yi: Nope, sorry. and here's further clarification why....."

Me: (asking with supreme impunity again.)

Yi: 21.6 I cant talk to you if you won't listen.

 

[maremaria]

Me : "that can't be right! I need this to work out."

Yi: Nope, it's a not a good idea, and here's why...."

Me: Are you SURE? Please tell me some good news about this!"

Yi: Nope, sorry. and here's further clarification why....."

Me: (asking with supreme impunity again.)

Yi: 21.6 I cant talk to you if you won't listen.

LOL, Listener. Very funny !!!
(though it remind me some similar conversations I had with Yi :bag

 

[mudpie]

lol. you might be an Aries too?

oh well, at least Yi doesnt bend under pressure. would lose my respect, otherwise

 

[dobro p]

There are lots of stories about times (I've experienced them myself) when the Yi gives you exactly the same result two or three times in a row. I don't ask the same question repeatedly, but sometimes I'll ask different questions about the same situation, and occasionally I get the same result as an answer to different questions. (To get exactly the same result three times in a row defies the laws of probability. It's greater than 1 in 450 X 450 X 450) It's awesome when it happens. However, more often, I get a different answer to each question I ask, even if it's about the same situation. How do I explain this?

Well, when I get the same result two or three times in a row, I think it's the Yi's way of saying to me: Listen up, pay real good attention to this cuz it's important, and you're not giving it the attention it deserves. And when I get different results to different questions, I think it's the Yi's way of hoping I'll get the message through the accumulation of different impacts, but it's not crucial that I focus on just the one hexagram.

There's this other thing that happens too: I do a toss every morning. Sometimes I'll get exactly the same toss two days in a row. It emphasizes the importance of dealing with the situation, I think, or highlights my stuckness.

However, if somebody is putting the Yi to the test in a sceptical way ("Okay, if this oracle is reliable then it ought to give me the same result every time I ask the same question" - in the sort of scientific-laboratory-repeated-experiment-that-produces-the-same-outcome-evey-time approach, then it's a power trip and Yi stops working for the person along the lines they're trying to impose on the oracle.

 

[maremaria]

lol. you might be an Aries too?

oh well, at least Yi doesnt bend under pressure. would lose my respect, otherwise

no, Scorpio
As for the Yi "behavior" I agree.