Please comment on my going to UCSC's Agroecology Apprenticeship program: 40.4>7

[Kam1987]

Hi everyone,

I recently applied and got into UCSC Agroecology (farming, ecology, social justice) Apprenticeship program which is 2.5 months starting in the middle of June. People pay for the program but I received a scholarship for it. It's been a tough year for me having had to move back to Portland after my car got stolen, etc. ( I made a post about that last year).

There's another cohort that starts in the winter as well that I could consider going to, but I was also presented with the opportunity to get a masters paid for ( at a little known university in rural Oregon) through a graduate assistantship that I'd have to be available for in the fall.

This year I've been applying to different education and art programs and apprenticeships to move forward in my life and also move away again. Getting this opportunity has been a bright spot in a lot of loss.
I just moved back into my family's apartment which is like a step back for me, and before I got this opportunity was pretty down about it. I feel like I have to help out financially...( I guess that's another thing). I love my family a lot though but I also know that my independence/liberation at this stage in my life - I'm 35 is pretty overdue.

I got the apprenticeship a few weeks ago and have to do a lot of preparation and completion of art projects before I go.
Also, there'll be a lot of physical labor which I'm cool with but I had knee surgery last year that I will have to take into consideration( which I told them about and they were fine with). I talked to my acupuncturist and she said I could do it, I will just have to take care and do a lot of prep work/hydrotherapy before I go.

Also, the accommodations will be on campus but will be in yurt style tent cabins will little electricity ( none for a heater) and bathrooms separate from the tent cabins. So it will be a whole experience/adventure.

I would be doing the program because I really want to learn more about the land and how to grow food and work, heal and have fun in collaboration with nature. I'm an artist and want to marry the two among my other interests plus I need more direction in my life. Also, I want to make a new way for myself and open to new opportunities, which can hopefully help my family down the line too.

It seems like the reading might be saying don't hold so tightly to this opportunity? Would it be helpful to do any follow up readings to gain clarity? I would love any interpretation that you might see in this reading.

 

[rosada]

Hmm..Okay, 40.4 holding on tightly and the need to relax the grip changing to 7. and the image of a small group of soldiers teaming up together. While this could mean relaxing your grip on the opportunity, letting it go, I can also see this as saying don't worry, relax, you'll be with other supportive people. What was your question exactly?

 

[Kam1987]

Hmm..Okay, 40.4 holding on tightly and the need to relax the grip changing to 7. and the image of a small group of soldiers teaming up together. While this could mean relaxing your grip on the opportunity, letting it go, I can also see this as saying don't worry, relax, you'll be with other supportive people. What was your question exactly?

Hi Rosada,

Thanks for this feedback. My question to the I Ching was to “please comment on me going to this agroecology program.”

 

[my_key]

40.4 <>7

Going on this program will place you in a new life situation which will provide opportunity to let go of the sadnesses you hold and bring new order and motivations to the fore(7). Relief, relaxation and the untying of knots are paramount qualities in 40 where Yi advocates that you forgive excesses and pardon past offences. The deeper realms of 40 guide you towards setting things right should you choose to take this opportunities to reflect on current or potential future disturbances in your world and to plan best how to counter them.

40.4 and 7.4 combine forces to offer you a way through an initially spiky situation to stand in a more ordered future.

... or it might mean nothing like that for you.

Take Care

 

[rosada]

As a comment I think the I Ching is emphasizing how you're like a kid leaving home and going off to college, only this time around you're an adult with real reasons to hold back, you're not a starry eyed freshman oblivious to the realities of sleeping in a cold tent! So should you hang on to your reservations and back down or release your fears and join up? The image for hexagram 7 says the strong one gathers others around him. Maybe saying if you go you might have to help supervise?

 

[breakmov]

I think that Yi's answer is related to what you have written here:

....I would be doing the program because I really want to learn more about the land and how to grow food and work, heal and have fun in collaboration with nature. I'm an artist and want to marry the two among my other interests plus I need more direction in my life. Also, I want to make a new way for myself and open to new opportunities, which can hopefully help my family down the line too.
....

Once you let go of what is not essential (because you can't have everything at once) and put this future life plan in order, whatever is left over will be your friend in moving forward out of the difficulty experienced in the past, and therefore a RELEASE (hex 40) in this new phase of your life.

breakmov

 

[Kam1987]

I think that Yi's answer is related to what you have written here:



Once you let go of what is not essential (because you can't have everything at once) and put this future life plan in order, whatever is left over will be your friend in moving forward out of the difficulty experienced in the past, and therefore a RELEASE (hex 40) in this new phase of your life.

breakmov

Interesting, so this interpretation sounds as if this opportunity will allow for a lot of contemplation and how to move forwards? That’s definitely what I would like as well as gaining these new skills and growing. A fear was that I wouldn’t have time to do that given the study and farm work. Thanks for your interpretation, breakmov.

 

[Kam1987]

As a comment I think the I Ching is emphasizing how you're like a kid leaving home and going off to college, only this time around you're an adult with real reasons to hold back, you're not a starry eyed freshman oblivious to the realities of sleeping in a cold tent! So should you hang on to your reservations and back down or release your fears and join up? The image for hexagram 7 says the strong one gathers others around him. Maybe saying if you go you might have to help supervise?

Hi Rosada, ha! Thanks for the metaphor of the college. I think thats definitely applicable. Yeah, there’s definitely more things I have to consider with care for my body and making sure home things are taken care of. But I definitely know I’m overdue for some changes in my life. Hmmm, that’s interestin about the supervising hmm I would be coming to learn as a student myself. I hope anyone that’s coming could supervise themselves unless they hired me for some reason, lol

 

[Kam1987]

40.4 <>7

Going on this program will place you in a new life situation which will provide opportunity to let go of the sadnesses you hold and bring new order and motivations to the fore(7). Relief, relaxation and the untying of knots are paramount qualities in 40 where Yi advocates that you forgive excesses and pardon past offences. The deeper realms of 40 guide you towards setting things right should you choose to take this opportunities to reflect on current or potential future disturbances in your world and to plan best how to counter them.

40.4 and 7.4 combine forces to offer you a way through an initially spiky situation to stand in a more ordered future.

... or it might mean nothing like that for you.

Take Care

hi my_key,

thanks for this interpretation. When you say “it might mean nothing like that to you.”

What do you mean by that statement?

 

[Hartloper]

Hi there,

I grew up in a household of psychologists. My parents would treat physical illnesses as "symbolic" for underlying deeper psychological causes. It used to drive me nuts. I played basketball. Having every sports injury turned into a therapy session. Come on!

Can't help looking at the world like that now, though. And I do find some merit in it, given one doesn't take it as solid truth and stays playful with it.

In your case, 40.4 > 7 could be read as the opposite of what had you end up with a knee injury. In German there is this expression of "breaking something over the knee" for "forcing something" and being overly rigid about it. Could also be an inherited pattern, which has nothing to do with you personally. And certainly not suggesting its your fault. It just helps me to look at things that happen with a different angle sometimes.

40.4. > 7 is about easing up about the whole situation. You seem to have thought it through very throughly already. And the vibe that comes across for me is, you really want this, and its gonna be good for you.

Don't expect it to be perfect.

You wrote:

"I would be doing the program because I really want to learn more about the land and how to grow food and work, heal and have fun in collaboration with nature. I'm an artist and want to marry the two among my other interests plus I need more direction in my life. Also, I want to make a new way for myself and open to new opportunities, which can hopefully help my family down the line too."

That's exactly the vibe of Hex 40.4. for me. Relax. Slacken the standards. Approach with an easy going joyful mindset. When we learn to approach nature like this she becomes our liberation army to lift us out of futile trouble.

That program sounds great. You even got a scholarship. And you know exactly what you want from it. That's cool!

Just some personal thoughts. If it does not resonate for you, please feel free to discard.

Best,

J.

 

[my_key]

hi my_key,

thanks for this interpretation. When you say “it might mean nothing like that to you.”

What do you mean by that statement?

Hi Kam 1967
I have given you my interpretation of a private conversation you were having with Yi. I have interpreted as if the conversation had been with me, which it wasn't. My interpretation may be nothing like the message that Yi was wanting you to receive. That will only come through you making sense of 40.4 <>7 for yourself. If you do spend more time with this response you may well come up with a different interpretation than I did and you may well arrive at a different meaning. Even a meaning that is nothing like the one I have offered. That is the one I would urge you to take notice of most.

Good Luck

 

[Trojina]

I haven't read other replies so I may be simply echoing what others have said. You asked for comment on this apprenticeship you sound so excited to do.

40 is no time to hang about thinking about anything. It says 'if there is something to do then do it, if not go back to usual'. It's a very simple message overall. This is time for release from problems one way or the other. It isn't time to sit down down and weigh up the pros and cons

So if you want to go and it's a fruitful path Yi says 'yes go for it - get free'. What of line 4 though?

'Releasing the thumbs also.
Partners arrive, hence truth and confidence.'

To me in this situation you are in I take it as 'get out of your own way'. You heard of the phrase in English 'I'm all fingers and thumbs'? Well that means someone who is flustered and so a bit clumsy so that their own thumbs get in the way of small tasks. When you get ready to go out in a hurry that always seems to be the time buttons won't do up and laces come undone and the more pressure there is the more clumsy one gets. What's the solution? Usually one takes a deep breath says to oneself 'slow down and stop making things harder than they need be'. I have the idea that's what Yi is saying here. Just to get out of your own way enough to let people/situations come to you who can help you, can untie any knots. This can all be easier. Take your thumbs out, relax a little, let it happen.


As for 7 as relating well here it's the objective, the task, just as the task in my example might be getting ready to actually go out. To do this 7 thing which would be your goal of doing this you just need to let go a little bit so your own worries don't block you and don't block you getting useful help/tips/information you'll need from all those arriving partners.

 

[Kam1987]

Tha

I think that Yi's answer is related to what you have written here:



Once you let go of what is not essential (because you can't have everything at once) and put this future life plan in order, whatever is left over will be your friend in moving forward out of the difficulty experienced in the past, and therefore a RELEASE (hex 40) in this new phase of your life.

breakmov

Thank you so much for your comment breakmov. Very positive and helpful.

 

[Kam1987]

I haven't read other replies so I may be simply echoing what others have said. You asked for comment on this apprenticeship you sound so excited to do.

40 is no time to hang about thinking about anything. It says 'if there is something to do then do it, if not go back to usual'. It's a very simple message overall. This is time for release from problems one way or the other. It isn't time to sit down down and weigh up the pros and cons

So if you want to go and it's a fruitful path Yi says 'yes go for it - get free'. What of line 4 though?

'Releasing the thumbs also.
Partners arrive, hence truth and confidence.'

To me in this situation you are in I take it as 'get out of your own way'. You heard of the phrase in English 'I'm all fingers and thumbs'? Well that means someone who is flustered and so a bit clumsy so that their own thumbs get in the way of small tasks. When you get ready to go out in a hurry that always seems to be the time buttons won't do up and laces come undone and the more pressure there is the more clumsy one gets. What's the solution? Usually one takes a deep breath says to oneself 'slow down and stop making things harder than they need be'. I have the idea that's what Yi is saying here. Just to get out of your own way enough to let people/situations come to you who can help you, can untie any knots. This can all be easier. Take your thumbs out, relax a little, let it happen.


As for 7 as relating well here it's the objective, the task, just as the task in my example might be getting ready to actually go out. To do this 7 thing which would be your goal of doing this you just need to let go a little bit so your own worries don't block you and don't block you getting useful help/tips/information you'll need from all those arriving partners.

@ Trojina, I think you're right. I've definitely been stressing about all of this, and there is another session in the fall and next summer to which I can defer. I think life is telling me to let go and more blessings/way forwards can come.

 

[Kam1987]

Hi there,

I grew up in a household of psychologists. My parents would treat physical illnesses as "symbolic" for underlying deeper psychological causes. It used to drive me nuts. I played basketball. Having every sports injury turned into a therapy session. Come on!

Can't help looking at the world like that now, though. And I do find some merit in it, given one doesn't take it as solid truth and stays playful with it.

In your case, 40.4 > 7 could be read as the opposite of what had you end up with a knee injury. In German there is this expression of "breaking something over the knee" for "forcing something" and being overly rigid about it. Could also be an inherited pattern, which has nothing to do with you personally. And certainly not suggesting its your fault. It just helps me to look at things that happen with a different angle sometimes.

40.4. > 7 is about easing up about the whole situation. You seem to have thought it through very throughly already. And the vibe that comes across for me is, you really want this, and its gonna be good for you.

Don't expect it to be perfect.

You wrote:

"I would be doing the program because I really want to learn more about the land and how to grow food and work, heal and have fun in collaboration with nature. I'm an artist and want to marry the two among my other interests plus I need more direction in my life. Also, I want to make a new way for myself and open to new opportunities, which can hopefully help my family down the line too."

That's exactly the vibe of Hex 40.4. for me. Relax. Slacken the standards. Approach with an easy going joyful mindset. When we learn to approach nature like this she becomes our liberation army to lift us out of futile trouble.

That program sounds great. You even got a scholarship. And you know exactly what you want from it. That's cool!

Just some personal thoughts. If it does not resonate for you, please feel free to discard.

Best,

J.

Wow, what an insightful review. I did once go to a website that listed illnesses and what they meant spitirually. Thank you for reminding me of this. I think that way of doing things does relate to my perspective: trying to force things. So, I'm starting to let go and be easier about things ( not so disappointed or tense) and that feels good. Thank you for this reminder. I've talked to the program people and will plan to go either in the fall or next summer.

 

[Kam1987]

Hi Kam 1967
I have given you my interpretation of a private conversation you were having with Yi. I have interpreted as if the conversation had been with me, which it wasn't. My interpretation may be nothing like the message that Yi was wanting you to receive. That will only come through you making sense of 40.4 <>7 for yourself. If you do spend more time with this response you may well come up with a different interpretation than I did and you may well arrive at a different meaning. Even a meaning that is nothing like the one I have offered. That is the one I would urge you to take notice of most.

Good Luck

@my_key, Thank you for breaking this down. I think it's true about our own conversations with Yi. Ha! As I learn more about interpreting the reading this is very helpful.

 

[Hypnotist Collector]

Hi everyone,

I recently applied and got into UCSC Agroecology (farming, ecology, social justice) Apprenticeship program which is 2.5 months starting in the middle of June. People pay for the program but I received a scholarship for it. It's been a tough year for me having had to move back to Portland after my car got stolen, etc. ( I made a post about that last year).

There's another cohort that starts in the winter as well that I could consider going to, but I was also presented with the opportunity to get a masters paid for ( at a little known university in rural Oregon) through a graduate assistantship that I'd have to be available for in the fall.

This year I've been applying to different education and art programs and apprenticeships to move forward in my life and also move away again. Getting this opportunity has been a bright spot in a lot of loss.
I just moved back into my family's apartment which is like a step back for me, and before I got this opportunity was pretty down about it. I feel like I have to help out financially...( I guess that's another thing). I love my family a lot though but I also know that my independence/liberation at this stage in my life - I'm 35 is pretty overdue.

I got the apprenticeship a few weeks ago and have to do a lot of preparation and completion of art projects before I go.
Also, there'll be a lot of physical labor which I'm cool with but I had knee surgery last year that I will have to take into consideration( which I told them about and they were fine with). I talked to my acupuncturist and she said I could do it, I will just have to take care and do a lot of prep work/hydrotherapy before I go.

Also, the accommodations will be on campus but will be in yurt style tent cabins will little electricity ( none for a heater) and bathrooms separate from the tent cabins. So it will be a whole experience/adventure.

I would be doing the program because I really want to learn more about the land and how to grow food and work, heal and have fun in collaboration with nature. I'm an artist and want to marry the two among my other interests plus I need more direction in my life. Also, I want to make a new way for myself and open to new opportunities, which can hopefully help my family down the line too.

It seems like the reading might be saying don't hold so tightly to this opportunity? Would it be helpful to do any follow up readings to gain clarity? I would love any interpretation that you might see in this reading.

I think others have good insights on the reading - but I'm here just to say that my brother has been involved with that program for a very long time, and to this day is an organic farmer just north of Davenport at a farming collective that has operated for 40 years, as well as a pioneer in organic agriculture policy. When I was younger I spent a summer at UCSC and yes, everybody camps in the woods and it's an experience/adventure. You will likely meet extraordinary people with radical ideas! Maybe 40.4 suggests that you'll be changed by the experience, and it might lead to belonging to a purposeful group. And Santa Cruz is full of interesting artists, too, and in the last several years the connections between art and agriculture have grown and developed in very meaningful ways that you could contribute to. I hope this helps.