Still a Newby

[TwoGeese]

Hi everyone,
I am still really new to the I-ching. I am struggling with interpreting a reading.
I asked "Give me some insight into writing as my vocation?" I received Hexagram 12 with no changing lines. I honestly don't know how to read this. I know that it reads as "Standstill" and perhaps that is the message- but I think that I am not wanting to hear it tell me No- this is not the way to go. Perhaps though this is not responding to that. I read Hilary's blog post about labels and maybe the I-Ching is telling me not to put a label on what I am doing right now. I really want to be a poet and have written since I was a child (about 7 years old in fact)- but I spent a lot of time pretending this was not what I wanted to do. I know that I have a cultural labels in my head (poets are flighty crazy neurotic). Perhpas I need to let those go before I can get very far with this desire. How would others interpret this?
I wonder if perhaps I was not clear when I threw my coins- or maybe it is responding to what I did not ask.
Any help would be really appreciated:bows:.
Thanks
Kim

 

[Trojina]

It may be simply saying your work won't be received well or understood at this time. With hex 12 inferior values rule....its not a good time for talented, good or clever people to get recognition for their work. That doesn't mean you should stop doing it...but it does mean you need to conserve energy and not try to press on in terms of getting noticed etc (but if you want to go ahead...no harm trying I guess)

I also have to say it might be quite a hard direct message that this idea is a bit of a dead end for you. Again this doesn't mean stopping writing but it might mean rethinking the whole idea of 'vocation'. In that sense I think you are right re the labelling...i think you may be getting too identified with a label . You may be narrowing things down too much or even going in the wrong direction.

So if Yi were saying the way you hold this current idea is actually a dead end how might you change your view of it ?

 

[TwoGeese]

Ok so now that I have had time to chew on this a little while...

It may be simply saying your work won't be received well or understood at this time. With hex 12 inferior values rule....its not a good time for talented, good or clever people to get recognition for their work. That doesn't mean you should stop doing it...but it does mean you need to conserve energy and not try to press on in terms of getting noticed etc (but if you want to go ahead...no harm trying I guess)

Yes this feels right to me- I think when I approched the I-Ching I was specifically thinking about getting published- I know that I am not ready to be published- my work is scattered to say the least. But I know I don't want to waste my time on something that might not be the direction I would be the most successful in or at least find the most joy in. If that makes sense?

I also have to say it might be quite a hard direct message that this idea is a bit of a dead end for you. Again this doesn't mean stopping writing but it might mean rethinking the whole idea of 'vocation'. In that sense I think you are right re the labelling...i think you may be getting too identified with a label . You may be narrowing things down too much or even going in the wrong direction.

Yes, over-identifing with labels has been a life long problem for me. I am hoping that becoming a student of the I-Ching will help me break out of that. With re: to the "dead end"; sadly this might be a yes. I might have run with this as far as I am able to go- if this is the case then I just have 100 more questions without any answers.

So if Yi were saying the way you hold this current idea is actually a dead end how might you change your view of it ?

Good question- I think I would be left saying to myself that life is too short to pursue things that are dead ends. I have been doing too much of that as it is. I might also have to say that if I am going to write I need to write for writing sake not with the end goal of getting published. If I continue to do this I need to do it for the art of it not for the recognition of it- and do I really love it enough to do that. Is this something that I would do just for the doing of it? That I don't know and I might be too afraid to answer it right now away. Thank you so much for your feedback- it stirred more questions which I will need to look at. I am very appreciative of your assistance.