...life can be translucent

Menu

Creative quality and 51 unchanging

precision grace

visitor
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
1,121
Reaction score
59
Hello lovely people

I have been lurking for ages and would have continued to lurk were it not for this response from Yi which has me completely stumped. I'd very much appreciate your input and will obviously make effort to reciprocate now that I've re-registered and de-cloaked (as it were).

My question was in relation to the creative outputs, I like to do a bit of photography and writing and whatnot and recently I have started to share more of what I produce with the world (world being a blog that hardly anyone visits and Facebook). As it is incredibly hard to get honest feedback, especially from family and friends (noone will tell you if your work is rubbish, will they?), I decided to ask Yi: What is the quality of my creative outputs?

Yi said: 51 unchanging.

Now, that sounds like 'shocking' to me. Except I wouldn't say that anything I produce is particularly shocking. Or risque.
The other alternative is that Yi is saying 'it's shockingly bad'. If this is indeed the case, then I won't stop doing what I'm doing creatively but I will reduce the amount I try to share with other people.

I really would appreciate muchly any thoughts on this.
 

greekgoddess

visitor
Joined
Sep 27, 2011
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
thunder over thunder

Wing has some great stuff about static hexagrams

hold on the end result will be nothing you could have imagined! :cool:
 
P

padma

Guest
Are you planning any changes to your work or style? Or maybe some aspects of your work could bring about dramatic changes to your life or mood... In any case, it sounds encouraging to me.
 

bradford

(deceased)
Clarity Supporter
Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
2,626
Reaction score
410
I think one of the strongest meanings of 51 is maturity, got by life experience. We live and learn, and get better with the bumps and shocks. 51 is also motivation and drive and ultimately the need to be proactive rather than reactive, to be creative out of a need to be creative. You can't do art for the feedback - that will destroy your art. You can't do it to please others. At the same time, trying to see no further than "I'm just expressing myself" and just doing your own creative thing, will almost certainly provide you with no food. You may need to go long periods of time without happy and encouraging echoes and praise for your work, but that's as much about the self-absorption of others as anything else. So if you need to be creative, push on, and take what little feedback you can get to learn how to please others with it, or make a living at it. But you can't look to others for your encouragement. You can look to them for education, though - Greek for art is techne and techne is passed through culture.
 

rodaki

visitor
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
2,176
Reaction score
78
hi PG,

I think the word techne as mentioned by Brad can be a good word for 51 in this case. Techne though is not just technique -it is both the mysterious and unpredictable surge of creative energy and the knowledge and training to channel that into a given shape or form, like 51 is both the lightening and knowing how to hold one's own ladle thru the thick of it . .

being a fellow amateur of expression, I wish you all the best!!
 

precision grace

visitor
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
1,121
Reaction score
59
Thank you

Thank you all so much for all your insightful responses. They are a huge help.

I have been mulling over what to say in reply, and did a reading just to check where I'm at and got 18.3.6. ha!

It's definitely true that one cannot do art for feedback or approval - it doesn't work (thank you bradford!) and I will admit I considered trying to make a living that involves a heavy dose of creativity but somehow I never quite manage to get there.

pocossin, thank you for ferreting out my blog (red face), I am happy that you enjoyed the funny parts :)

greekgoddess, you are probably right in that the end results of anything we do are hardly ever what we might imagine, especially so when it comes to anything creative

padma, I have been looking at my photographs and how to make them better, as bradford and rodaki point out, the technique/skill is important and this is something I have to work on. I've been photographing things my whole life but I still cannot figure out how the settings on my camera work! It's so embarrassing, I've read about it and asked for advice about it but for some reason it just won't stick in my head!

And also, at the end of the day, the reason I photograph things or write is so that I can show it to someone else, to share. Otherwise, what is the point? It's not really about approval, it's more about sharing, making a connection, like when I look at a photograph I like or read a book or an article or a blog that touches something inside me and it's a great feeling. So, I guess, what I really want is to be able to do something that makes other people experience that great feeling too.

Practice...and more practice... :)

Thank you again all for your kindness and generosity.
 
S

sooo

Guest
While I like Brad's thoughtful commentary on 51, I'm seeing (interpreting) a more rudimentary application for your 51 reading, PG, and please don't take this as criticism, just observation, as I interpret Yi's answer was intended. After reading a few of your blog entries, you do appear to utilize shock to punctuate your otherwise easy going strolls through your documented travels and stories.

I'll admit, it is tempting to play analyst with why this appears to be so, mainly because you seem so apologetic and doubtful as to its value. Yet it's also true that so many great artists' work are replete with shock value. Who would criticize Salvador Dali ("Democratic societies are unfit for the publication of such thunderous revelations as I am in the habit of making."), Jimi Hendrix (playing with his teeth, and "s'cuse me while I kiss the sky!"), Hieronymus Bosch, and countless others. I think only you can know if your shocks are what you truly want to say (what wants to be said), or if you use them to compensate for a sense of inadequacy of the rest of your words and images. Or, as Brad hinted at, if maturity will further refine when and how shock is used.

I personally really enjoy this one:

Ben: Are you really going to publish this?


Me: Yes.


Ben: Why?


Me: Because I want them to ponder the deeper meaning behind the words.


Ben: But there is no deeper meaning.


Me: Yes, but they don't know that.
 

bradford

(deceased)
Clarity Supporter
Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
2,626
Reaction score
410
Jimi Hendrix (playing with his teeth, and "s'cuse me while I kiss the sky!")

All this time I thought it was "s'cuse me while I kiss this guy."
Now I have to rethink everything.
 

rosada

visitor
Joined
Jun 3, 2006
Messages
9,889
Reaction score
3,169
I suggest I Ching is telling you you want your art work to be noticed. Perhaps you have avoided recognizing this and the I Ching is encouraging you that there is nothing good or bad about wanting one's work to be seen, it just is what it is and perhaps now that you realize that's what you want and that it's okay you, you will more consciously seek out ways to get your work displayed instead of just passively hoping your genius will be discovered.

How much fame are we talking here? Could you handle the attention? Better "set your life in order and examine yourself" least there's anything you wouldn't want brodcast on the evening news!

-rosada
 

precision grace

visitor
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
1,121
Reaction score
59
oh er

thank you sooo and rosada

Well, let's see now, one man's shock is another man's everyday occurrence..with that in mind, you cannot really describe the Quality of something as shocking (to whom? when? every time? or just this one time?) When I posed my question to Yi, I had thought it in terms of some universal measure of quality (foolish, I should have realised that such a thing doesn't exist), as in, "this stuff, I do, is it any good", basically. Of course I want my work to be seen but don't make me laugh and insult the good memory of actual geniuses by putting us all in the same metaphor. :rofl:

but, fair dues, it's always sensible to set one's life in order an examine oneself

Thank you
 
S

sooo

Guest
Even an infant can use shock to make their point, as well as revered geniuses. 51 is one of only 64, therefore it has to cover an enormous territory.

I'm a guitar hack, and Hendrix is one of my heroes. Yet the same 64 principles within the IC could as easily apply to my playing approach as to his.

The Zen master Daisetz Suzuki once narrated an interesting story. A young student said to his master, "Am I in possession of Buddha consciousness?" The master said, "No." The student said, "Well, I've been told that all things are in possession of Buddha consciousness. The rocks, the trees, the butterflies, the birds, the animals, all beings." The master said, "You are correct. All things are in possession of Buddha consciousness. The rocks, the trees, the butterflies, the bees, the birds, the animals, all beings-but not you." "Not me? Why not?" "Because you are asking this question."

According to legend, Buddha was born from the right side of his mother. Immediately upon his birth, he stood up and took seven steps, and wherever his feet touched the earth lotuses sprang up. Raising his finger he said: "Worlds above, worlds below, there's no one in the world like me."

Finally, Suzuki elaborated. "They tell me that when a baby is born, it cries. What does the baby say when it cries? The baby says 'Worlds above, worlds below, there's no one in the world like me!' All babies are Buddha babies." So what was the distinguishing characteristic of Queen Maya's baby? He knew that he was a Buddha baby. According to Joseph Campbell, "The whole thing of Buddha consciousness means getting to know you are it. That takes a lot of work, principally because society keeps telling you that you are not it."

worlds_above_and_worlds_below_theres_no_one_like_zu61.jpg
 

precision grace

visitor
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
1,121
Reaction score
59
That's lovely sooo.

So, ok, let's say I accept that the answer to my question was, indeed, "shocking". What should the follow up question be?
 

rosada

visitor
Joined
Jun 3, 2006
Messages
9,889
Reaction score
3,169
Still playing around with the meaning of your 51 response. Perhaps the I Ching was telling you your work is an honest form of self expression. I say this because I think of the previous hexagram 50. The Ting as symbolizing all the different experiences, all the different people, all together in this giant cosmic soup and then 51. Shock as representing one person, one experience, one point of view standing out from all the rest. I compare it to looking at your class photo - 50 - where there are so many faces you don't even see yourself right off, then suddenly - 51 Shock! - you recognize that funny little kid third from the left is actually you! So in response to your question, "What is the quality of my work?" I think the I Ching is saying "It's so You!"
( I guess that's why 51 says it's important to have your house in order - if your work is going to be seen as an expression of yourself, you want it to be your best self!)

My first thought when you asked what would be a good follow up question was to suggest you ask how you could improve. But then I thought, if your work is a true expression of yourself, how could it be improved?! So I suggest you ask for inspiration for your next creative effort.

rosada
 
Last edited:

tigerintheboat

Supporter
Clarity Supporter
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
1,612
Reaction score
49
Fear and Trembling in the I Ching

As it is incredibly hard to get honest feedback, especially from family and friends (noone will tell you if your work is rubbish, will they?), I decided to ask Yi: What is the quality of my creative outputs?

Yi said: 51 unchanging.
From the symbol: The hexagram symbolizes continuous thunder. The Superior Man in fear and trembling seeks to improve himself. (Blofeld, I Ching)
 

precision grace

visitor
Joined
Nov 5, 2008
Messages
1,121
Reaction score
59
From the symbol: The hexagram symbolizes continuous thunder. The Superior Man in fear and trembling seeks to improve himself. (Blofeld, I Ching)

what work doesn't need improving?

(I suppose if I had gotten 22 I could have just said, there, I are a genius and that would have been it? ;))
 
Last edited:

tigerintheboat

Supporter
Clarity Supporter
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
1,612
Reaction score
49
Superficial

what work doesn't need improving?

(I suppose if I had gotten 22 I could have just said, there, I are a genius and that would have been it? ;))
My interpretation of H22 would have been that your work was superficially attractive and beautiful, but not too deep.

Yi isn't really equipped to do literary criticism, and gives advice like an old wise uncle, so for questions like like this, you tend to get simple answers, like "Keep practicing. Work on continuous improvement." I asked about my piano playing once and got a similar answer.
 

Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom

Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).

Top