Creative Visualization and the I Ching

[bricogirl]

Hi everyone,

Any thoughts about how to combine an I Ching reading with creative visualization. Instead of asking a question this morning I imagined a situation being the way I wanted and than queried the I Ching for information on that. I got back what seems to me to be guidance about what I need to work on now to produce this vision, so i'd say it was pretty effective as a first try.

Than I came back here and there is Hilary's first page and the message is clear: ONLY UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU ARE NOW AND YOU REDISCOVER YOUR POWER TO MAKE CHANGES. So there you have it. Looking back through my growing record of readings I see that often my question is not answered directly, but rather the I Ching has sent me back a reflection of my inner state at that moment.

What I want to do though is move forward in life. I have had good results with creative visualization through the years and I just am wondering if someone has a particular way of combining the I Ching with a visualization practice.

Thanks for all the feedback on my other posts.

Kind Regards,

Kim

 

[dobro p]

Instead of asking a question this morning I imagined a situation being the way I wanted and than queried the I Ching for information on that.

You've hit on what I think is one of the two best approaches to using the Yi - the question with a particular focus, imaged as though it were real, when asking the Yi about it. The wording of the question takes the form of 'what about X?' But by forming a relatively clear picture of the situation you're wondering about (for instance, if you're wondering about the advisability of marrying a particular person, then imagine yourself married to that person for a minute or two, and then toss the coins). It gives a clear idea to bounce its answer off.

The other approach is completely open-ended ('What do I need to know now?').

 

[Sparhawk]

Serendipity... Speaking of visualization, last night I was reviewing Ed. Hacker's Yi bibliography and found this reference to a book called Discover Astral Projection. This could sound weird for most but I think is on topic. There is a chapter called the "Astral I Ching" and the excerpt reads:

This is followed by a description of a ritual for consulting the I Ching, which includes a visualization exercise. The author writes:

Now begin to visualize a figure standing just beyond the book... The figure should be imagined as a slim, robed Chinese male, very old, with a wisp of white beard. He is a little over average height, dressed in white robes and holds a rolled scroll in one hand... The figure you establish is, in fact, an astral shell suitable for the spirit of the I Ching. This spirit actually exists, inhabiting a level beyond the Astral Plane. It is linked in ways I do not pretend to understand with the hexagrams.
​

The author also states that, in the absence of a translation of the I Ching, or in case the answer is not clear:

You can consult the spirit of the I Ching directly. Simply ask the astral figure to explain the meaning of the answer and listen (mentally) to his answer.
​

The chapter concludes with an "astral projection" method involving the same technique of visualizing a hexagram painted on a door as given by Seabrook and King & Skinner. The author gives no source references.​

Who knows, it may help...

There goes the sanity I worked so hard for...

 

[martin]

Lol, yes, there it goes, bye bye.

I sometimes do something that comes close to what this author describes, when I consult the Yi. I don't visualize anything but I focus on the beings that I know and ask them in fact, through the Yi, so to speak.
(Bye bye )

 

[Tohpol]

Lol, yes, there it goes, bye bye.

I sometimes do something that comes close to what this author describes, when I consult the Yi. I don't visualize anything but I focus on the beings that I know and ask them in fact, through the Yi, so to speak.
(Bye bye )

Insane all of you...As dear ole Oscar used to say:

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."



Topal

 

[bricogirl]

Well than I must already be a bit batty myself because I'm ready to have a talk with that wise old chinese man living beyond the astral plane (what the heck is that?). I've been having conversations for years with various helpers. If there is a helper for understanding my I Ching readings I'm getting hold of him straight away.
Kim

 

[hilary]

He must be much in demand! (Though if you look again you might find a man and a woman together - doesn't the Dazhuan say that the Yijing is 'as if your parents draw near'?)

I've had interesting results sometimes by mentally wrapping up my question and carrying it into the middle of the hexagram's trigram-landscape, maybe up to the level of a moving line, and then unwrapping it to see what it looks like.

 

[miakoda]

Back in 2000, I attended an exhibit at the Art Museum of Chicago "Taoism and the Arts of China." There was a room that was was lined just below the ceiling with portraits of the sages, all looking down. It was very powerful. I wish I could remember more about it but I hadn't planned the time for it--I had just happened to stumble upon it and had to meet up with someone. I still wonder if there were 64 pictures or if the room where they had originally hung was supposed to be used for readings or just as a place of reverence... Anyway, the description of the sage that you summon to consult sounds very much like the ones that were depicted in the room. Here's a link to the site, in case anyone is interested: http://www.artic.edu/taoism/introduction.php.

 

[rickmatz]

Hi everyone,

Any thoughts about how to combine an I Ching reading with creative visualization. Instead of asking a question this morning I imagined a situation being the way I wanted and than queried the I Ching

"the way I wanted" is often the root of our own problems. Be careful of what you ask for. What we think we want isn't always what's good for us.

 

[Sparhawk]

Nice blog you have, Rick!

 

[rickmatz]

Thank you.

 

[meng]

Hi, Kim.

Creative and visualization are redundant, since visualizing is a creative act. Visualizing a result, that's interesting.

Have you noticed anything different from using this approach? And can you explain your process a bit more?

 

[bricogirl]

Creative visualization is just a term I picked up from Shakti Gawain years ago. Visualizing indeed is enough said, no need for creative. I can't report fabulous results with this method. However, I am very new to using the I Ching and as recently as a few days ago I was ready to chuck the whole thing. I've backed off, calmed down, and am seeing some light. Today I read a bit of Jung's forward to the Wilhelm translation and I find it amusing that he queries the Yi about itself and than gives us this as a sort of explanation for what the Yi is. If I were to ask the Yi Jung's question I would surely get a different answer (come to think of this I will try that out). I see more clearly today than last week that the Yi is pointing me to the sticky points in my situation. This morning I asked the Yi: Oracle on website progress? and I got back a very clear answer that went along with me as the day unfolded. Not sure where I'm going with this post, but important point: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. I tell my kids that all the time. The future stretches before us in an infinity of possibilties. Which will we choose? Visualization is already choosing. The Yi is showing me where I am choosing and what it could lead to.