Strange Coincidences

[lindsay]

Wow, Sun, nobody's talked like that around here for a long time! I feel like somebody just opened a window.

I've been thinking about your "Vaughan's creek" story and about Shang divination (other thread), and it occurred to me that maybe your ancestors are trying to get in touch with you. Is there some old family business that needs to be resolved, perhaps? It looks like you may be the person chosen to do it.

Just an idea. But if this episode doesn't sound like a case of ancestral communication, then I've never heard of one that did.

Lindsay

 

[candid]

Sun,

I respect your point of view, but I fail to see what Wilhelm has to do with my own view of synchronicity. There's nothing written of it in Wilhelm, nor is the word even mentioned in the text. It isn't my sacred cow, even though I am a mere westerner.

 

[cheiron]

Dear Sun

I have thought about your experience on and off all day?

There is something potentially important there I think?

I am not so interested in synchronicity and the how at all? like most folks I can give half a dozen explanations and I don?t know which is right? and I suspect it does not matter.

(sorry if this sounds abrupt ? I have just finished a 14 hour shift and want to get this off to you ? forgive me)

I have had many such experiences and found that by opening myself up to them I learned about many important things re, this world and my place in it ? indeed I learned about my key life tasks through such experiences.

I do not know what tools you possess to explore this or whether you want to explore it at all.

Should you want to explore the meaning of it, you will find the how? that is always easy IME?

What I really want to say is that this may be important for you?

I will leave it there? so much to say which I do not know is welcome.

--Kevin

PS OK LiSe I will order those books - long overdue

- Thanks

 

[midaughter]

Dear All, thanks for all your insightful comments. I immediately changed my mind about Rinda's hexagram reading because it seems so right on point. So, Gathering Positive Energy will be my mantram for now.

I think there must some ancestral message and some family business to attend to. Isn't it nice to have a mystery, a place to explore, to go home, really home to the place of the ancestors? I only knew the brothers and sisters who are all gone now. The sisters worked in cotton mill when they were just 12 years old and their mother had died after losing two children to scarlet fever. As a humorous point the sisters, staunchly Southern Baptist, dipped snuff secretly into middle age, something they learned while working there because smoking would have caused an explosion in the cotton mill. Ever heard of Dan River Mills? Dan River cotton is still famous.
Vaughan is a Welsch name meaning 'junior' Until the Great Census of Cromwell the Welsch had no last names, so this family adapted this appellation. As a group they sang constantly as the Welsch do, mostly hymns but my dad could bring tears to your eyes singing 'Danny Boy.'

And, yes, I'm glad I opened a window it's been getting too right-brained around here!

As ever,

Sun

 

[candid]

Nothing personal intended, Sun.

I wish you well on your journey.

 

[lindsay]

Luis, while I'm asking for explanations, I'd like to ask you directly what you mean by "I don't think they'll be deified as much as some current living "Masters" are being deified here and elsewhere on the basis that if they come from the "correct" genetic stock they must be right."

"Genetic stock"? That sounds pretty interesting. What do you mean?

Lindsay

 

[Sparhawk]

Oh Lindsay, the "genetic stock" comment was just a euphemism that I thought was an obvious reference. What I meant is that many have a tendency to believe that, to really grasp the meaning of the Yi and transmit it to others, you must be a Chinese Master of some sort. At least for me, that whole concept is rubbish. Don't misunderstand me, I don't mean to take any credit away from the real Masters that came up with the whole system a few millenia ago. But, once the Yi cat was out of the proverbial Chinese bag, any decent brain in the world should be able to study it and draw their own conclusions. Yes, you must always reference the history of the Yi within the Chinese context and I am most happy to do so and enjoy it very much, but, to believe that "real" Yi masters must be Chinese does not find a place in my mind.

In any case, it is my own problem to have severe allergic reactions when groups of people are idealized to the detriment of another. I try to keep a very even keel and follow a middle path when it comes to judge (or perhaps misjudge-I'm very close to the bottom when it comes to perfection) beliefs, scholars and Masters, regardless of where they come from. Perhaps it is because I've had my own share of cult experiences when I was young... who knows.

Luis

 

[candid]

I very much agree with Luis here.

The easiest way to lose one's tao is to emulate the tao of another. A westerner runs the risk of losing rather than finding inner truth though pretentious mimickery; it is nothing more than idol worship. If Buddhahood is to be attained by a cowboy, it will be on a horse, not a dragon.

 

[lindsay]

I completely agree with Luis too. In fact, Luis, you expressed something very well that I've been thinking about for a long time. The Yi has a future as well as a past.

When the Yi came to the West, it was unavoidable (in fact, highly desirable) that it became Westernized. This is also Candid's point, I think. The Yi isn't just a Chinese museum piece, it's a living tradition that is healthy and growing. In a small way, perhaps, we are all part of that tradition.

Sometimes I think about what new thing about the Yi would really excite me these days. Short of some amazing new archeological discovery (always a possibility in China), more work on the Chinese background doesn't interest me as much as a creative amalgam of Western and Eastern ideas that makes sense and offers guidance in the world I live in.

Practically speaking, I'm afraid I look to the Yi not so much for information or prediction, as for advice and wisdom. That is the need I have most these days. Too often real understanding is in short supply in my life, and the Yi helps me find out "what time it is," to borrow a phrase from Candid.

When you do this kind of reading, mainly for yourself, you quickly discover most I Ching books aren't very helpful. The ones written from a Chinese perspective fail because they are a bad fit culturally, they do not address the kind of problem I am likely to have or do so in terms I do not understand well enough to act upon.

I have been a Yi enthusiast for a long time, and I have a bookcase full of books and materials. There are only three or four, maybe five, books I ever look at anymore for readings.

So what would really excite me is if someone came up with a new book I could actually use in practice and find helpful in my life. I know one thing about this new book already: it will be written from a Western perspective. It will not be another rehash of the Chinese tradition.

Lindsay

 

[hilary]

Lindsay, what are your three to five books?

 

[heylise]

That is what I wanted too, but nobody did come up with that book. So I made mine myself.

LiSe
Yi Jing, Book of Sun and Moon
www.anton-heyboer.org

 

[candid]

"The handle of the ting is altered." 50.3

This is an answer Jung received when "interviewing" the Ching. The handles had to be moved to be of any significant use to the western world.

Lindsay, LiSe said exactly what I was going to suggest for you. Write your own. No doubt you already have, through hundreds (thousands?) of readings and your own experiences over the years.

 

[bradford_h]

Luis, Candid and Lindsay

I put together a little list of Westernized Yijing books with discussions of each of the Gua.
Naturally it's a lot easier to make up your own version than to take the trouble to learn Chinese, and well over half of the Yi authors writing in English know no Chinese at all (I used to be one of those).
But some of these are pretty insightful, especially a couple of those in the first part of this list:

Brennann, J.H. The Magical I Ching.
Crowley, Aleister. The Book of Changes.
Damian-Knight, Guy. The I Ching on Business and Decision Making.
Gill, Richard. I Ching: The Little Book That Tells The Truth.
Karcher, Stephen. Total I Ching
Reifler, Sam. I Ching: A New Interpretation for Modern Times.
Richmond, Nigel. Language of the Lines, the I Ching Oracle.
Riseman, Tom. Understanding the I Ching,
Secter, Mondo. The I Ching Handbook
Siu, R.G.H. The Man of Many Qualities: A Legacy of the I Ching
Sorrell, Roderic and Amy Max Sorrell. I Ching Made Easy.
Walker, Barbara G. The I Ching of the Goddess.

More, but not at the top of my list:

Sarah Dening, The Everyday I Ching
Cassandra Eason, I Ching Divination for Today?s Woman
Rowena Pattee Kryder, Tiger and Dragon I Ching
Li Yan, The Illustrated Book of Changes or I Ching
Liu Dajun and Lin Zhongjun, The I Ching: Text and Annotated Trans.
Frank J. MacHovec, I Ching: The Book of Changes
Joseph Murphy, Secrets of the I Ching
Rowena Pattee, Moving With Change: A Woman's Reintegration
Marshall Pease, The Aquarian I Ching
Lauren David Peden, I Ching
Roberta Peters, Elementary I Ching
James Nathan Post, 64 Keys: An Introductory Guide to the I Ching
Myles Seabrook, I Ching for Everyone
Dianne Stein, The Kwan Yin Book of Changes; A Woman?s I Ching
Marysol Gonzalez Sterling, I Ching and Transpersonal Psychology
Brandon Toropov, I Ching for Beginners
Brian Walker, The I Ching or Book of Changes
Wu Wei, I Ching Wisdom
Allie.Woo, I Ching: Ancient Wisdom for the New Age
David Allen Young, Vision and Change

 

[candid]

Yikes!

 

[jte]

"So strange. I was in a post office today, and a woman was shipping a big box that had the words 'Dan River' on it."

Why is that strange? These little synchronicities happen all the time, no?

Driving to work today, I decided to pray. No rain today, I thought, so no chance of a rainbow - of course, that doesn't matter - what matters is your sincerity. So I prayed. And just as I finish, a truck drives by with a big picture of a rainbow on it.

I think things like that really aren't so uncommon once you become aware of them.

- Jeff

 

[jte]

Lindsay, some of your earlier questions deserve answers (not that I'm qualified to give definitive ones) before this thread goes on to its next set of sub-issues:

"Unrelated events could just as easily be working toward our hurt, harm, or destruction. The meaning of a series of seemingly random events could be to put us in the middle of the road just as a speeding car swerves around the corner.? readings of the Yi might conceivably be intended to deceive ? in the service of some over-riding schema? ?

Possibly, but I've personally seen no evidence to that effect. However, sometimes the Yi and/or synchronicities seem to be warning me of potential harm that I don't see coming. I did ask the Yi if I could trust the spiritual beings or if some of them might want to or try to hurt me - answer was 56.2 - implying I should trust them. Of course, if the Yi was out to hurt me, it could lie to me about this, but I just don't think that is the case - it's behavior is too consistently positive.

Of course sometimes one does end up at the wrong place at the wrong time through a series of events. But I don't think that synchronicities/spiritual beings influence ALL events. In sum, I don?t think they mean harm generally. However, see the commentary on Hex 15 in Legge or W/B.

---------------------

?There are many people who argue that nothing happens by chance. Everything happens for a reason ... I reject this idea root and branch, but let's assume it is true for a moment. Surely it is their responsibility to prove, or at least demonstrate, the reason behind seemingly unrelated events? If you are going to say things are actually related, then the least you can do is show how.?

I?m not one who believes that *nothing* happens by chance, but I do believe in the connections behind seemingly unrelated events when they are synchronicities. I really don?t know the reasons *why* or *how* they happen ? Jung?s theory is one, the Ta Chuan sketches out another, and I?m sure there are many others. Synchronicities are very ephemeral ? kind of like deer in a forest ? every so often you see them so you know they are there, but exactly what they intend or are intended to do and exactly why they occur precisely when they do can only be inferred/guessed at (at least by me). And unlike deer, you can?t catch and study one to learn more about it.

If you come up with a why/how theory of synchronicities that you know works, by all means let me know, I?d love to hear it!

- Jeff

 

[lindsay]

LiSe and Candid, I admire you both so much, and I?m sure you are right that sooner or later all good Yi readers end up creating their own commentary based on their own experience and thought. I?m just not there yet. I still don?t understand a lot of the original text. Some hexagrams and many lines are a mystery to me. So I rely on others for help.

But there are so many commentaries to choose from. Over the years I?ve used a couple dozen books for readings, but only a few have held up over time.

Before I name my favorites, let me say this is a very personal choice. Many people will disagree with my selection. All I can say is that I have tested these works with all the power of my being. I have asked them questions that really matter to me, sometimes questions impacting my very survival and that of my loved ones, and these books have proved ?straight, square, and great.?

Having said that, let me say I am sure the Buddha was right when he said once we reach the shore, it is time to let go of the boat. But if you still need the boat (as I do), and the shore seems far away (as it does to me), here are some vessels that will not founder even in rough water.

My two favorite commentaries are:

(1) Sarah Dening, ?The Everyday I Ching.? At first sight this book seems like pop psych from the end of the last century, but believe me, it is not. I don?t know how Sarah Dening did it, but somehow there is always something in her writing that lights a candle. She is one of those rare psychologists who actually understand life. No one is better for grappling with real-life practical problems.

(2) Stephen Karcher, ?How to Use the I Ching.? I don?t know if Karcher will ever write anything this good again, but if he doesn?t, at least this book is an assured classic. Spare and lean, every word counts ? and he follows the traditional Yi very closely. More important, he is unflaggingly positive, and modestly but genuinely spiritual. He lifts our minds to a wider, and possibly deeper, view.

These two books are very good, but they require a splash of cold water, a reminder that we are consulting an ancient Chinese oracle. For this connection to past interpretation, I rely on two sources:

(3) Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes, trs. ?The I Ching or Book of Changes.? Little needs to be said about this definitive work, except that Wilhelm?s synthesis of traditional Chinese interpretation gives us a flavor of the best thinking about the Yi the past has to offer. The Song dynasty roughly corresponds to our own Italian and Northern Renaissance in its reverence and creative approach to the ancient classics. Wilhelm adequately summarizes the ideas of the Song giants of Chinese thought.

(4) Kim-Anh Lim, ?Practical Guide to the I Ching.? This book died on publication, no one I know has ever mentioned it except as a bibliographical event. Too, too bad. Kim-Anh Lim is a French diviner with a completely practical approach rooted in the classic Yi. Everything she wrote came out of the notebooks of her professional readings. She knows what she is talking about, but again she follows the traditional Yi familiar to Wilhelm.

These are the four books I consult for every reading. Difficult readings call for special measures. In these cases, I rely on two works:

(5) Jack Balkin, ?The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life.? Jack Balkin is an incredible synthesizer. He has read everything, he has thought it through, and he has summarized it at some length in his long, dull book. The only problem is that he is boring. Nothing is original, there is not even a glimmer of creativity in his work. And yet if you want to read a very intelligent and balanced view of the text based on everything that has been written to date, Balkin?s your man. He makes me think of those dry reference works in libraries such as the ?Index to Periodical Literature.? Sometimes stuff like this comes in handy.

(6) LiSe Heyboer, ?Book of Sun and Moon.? I have a lot of intellectual issues with LiSe?s etymological approach to the Yi, based on my understanding of current ideas about the evolution of pictographic languages (Egyptian, Mayan, Linear A, etc.) and of old Chinese in particular. I am not nearly as enamored of ?Le Grand Ricci? as she is, and I question the validity of Han dictionaries. Nevertheless, LiSe?s commentaries are priceless. They tend to have a certain sameness of point of view (similar to the joke about Carol Anthony that one need not worry about one?s casting since all her hexagrams offer the same advice in any case), but I have never read anyone more stimulating and creative.

Everything is supposedly based on the text of the Yi, and there are a lot of translations to choose from. My current favorite is Jack Balkin?s, which is nothing more than an updated version of Wilhelm/Baynes. I have given up all the modernist versions I used to like (such as Richard Kunst, Wu Jing-Nuan, and Richard Rutt) because I find them useless in practical application. Their weakness as divination tools also makes me wonder about their validity as historical constructs. Bradford Hatcher?s translation work is very good, and we are awaiting the completion of his explanatory Dimensions, hoping they avoid gratuitous errors in judgment found in his earlier explanatory material.

Almost everything I know that works in Yi divination I learned from Hilary?s correspondence course (highly recommended!) and discussions in the ICC. One work that has recently proved very useful on a practical level about how to do readings is Roderic and Amy Max Sorrell?s ?I Ching Made Easy,? a book that suffers from its own commercial slickness. Beneath the glossy veneer, however, one feels two honest people trying to make sense of the Yi and succeeding. If you've ever had trouble formulating the question or applying the Yi to daily life, this book is for you.

Lindsay

 

[bradford_h]

Hi Lindsay-
Just wanted to second your favorable opinions on both Kim-Anh Lim and the Sorrell's simple version,
Neither get the press they warrant.
b

 

[candid]

Lindsay, I've made a few attempts at penning my own version of I Ching. The problem I run into is that to me, the hexagrams are not entirely fixed images. They move and breathe according to the circumstance, and to the inspiration of the moment. I'm afraid I am horribly un-academic, and so this approach is the best I can manage well.