Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
wanderer62 said:First I asked the fourth question and got Hexagram 1, The Creative with a moving line on 3 changing into Hexagram 10, Treading (Conduct).
This confused me right away. The Creative seems to be the most powerful and positive hexagram. It represents the Sage or God. And I thought, what does that have to do with mental illness?
Kate (the Wanderer)
bruce_g said:I’m going to touch on your first (#4) reading, because it presents a very important and often overlooked aspect of hex. 1. It’s pretty usual for people to see 1 in an entirely (good) positive way, especially if they are using Wilhelm. Positive (as in the hot wire in an electrical circuit) it is, but positive needs to be grounded before it has a place to go.
Bruce
wanderer62 said:But the goal is still heaven I think and in heaven there is perfect balance. Perhaps that's why Treading is so important. In order to find balance, you have to know how to conduct yourself and how to diffuse energy that has become too great.
Kate
bruce_g said:Btw, Kate, check out the Fan Yao of 1.3, which is 10.3. The tiger bites the man - misfortune. The only time this is justified is when fighting for a supreme cause. Any other time, it's reckless.
The energy needs grounding. For me, I find such grounding in simple things, small things, sometimes menial things. Or, an artistic project or participation can give expression, which defuses excessive creative energy, gives it somewhere constructive to go. Discerning high and low.
wanderer62 said:What is Fan Yao?
10.3 does seem to be the proper place initially for a schizophrenic--a bit blind and a bit lame and therefore a bit reckless.
"This line stands in both the nuclear trigrams, Li, eye, and Sun, leg. But since it is not correct--being weak in a strong place--its seeing and treading are defective. Furthermore,the place is in the very mouth of Tui, the lower trigram, hence the idea that the tiger bites. As a weak line it occupies a strong place and rests upon a firm line. Since it is at the high point of joyousness (Tui), it is light-minded and fails to retreat despite the danger of the situation. This suggests that it treads on the tail of the tiger and is injured." (Wilhelm, p.438)
Most people would not connect schizophrenia with joyousness but truly there are some joyous moments in delusional thinking, but the thoughts being delusions are not appropriate..."weak in a strong place" and leads to danger and injury. The image of the Fool in the Tarot cards just about to walk off a cliff.
10: "The situation is really difficult. That which is strongest and that which is weakest are close together."
This mingling of strong and weak is a good definition of schizophrenia. The Creative is at work but is treaded on by the weak, causing a disturbance and eventually injury. The only way to mitigate the situation is by following the proper conduct, that is, through therapy, self-help groups, helping others and most likely taking medication.
In short, the schizophrenic must take care of him/her self. This is proper conduct that leads to restoring some semblence of health.
bruce_g said:Hi Kate,
You say "in heaven there is.." I'm not sure I understand this. Do you mean heaven as a place? A principle? An energy? And, in any of these cases, how is heaven a goal?
I think of heaven as being one of two legs or wings or eyes. And I'm not understanding "in heaven", because heaven is in us.
wanderer62 said:I guess heaven could be all those things, a place, a principle and an energy. The goal is to become a superior person and follow the will of heaven. The goal is to be in perfect balance, in the Tao. This is how it seems to me in the I Ching but, remember, I am just a beginner. I don't even know if I believe in Heaven but the I Ching certainly does. And I can see how progressing towards heaven could be the fullfillment of every individual life. Yes, I can see that "heaven" is within and without, all over the place but sometimes hard to find. The I Ching seems to be a guide towards rediscovering it again and again. Very cool.
You say heaven is inside us, could you clarify that?
Kate
rosada said:Intrigued by this discussion of "Heaven" and the fact that we are looking at hexagram 16 now over on the memorization thread. 16 suggests music is a form of communication between earth and heaven. What's that all about?
bruce_g said:Ok, I see better what you mean for "goal".
The image I received to explain 'heaven in us' is a watch. In an old watch there are the springs (heaven) and gears (earth). In a new watch, a microprocessor is the creative (heaven), and the gross bodily movements do the work (earth). One thinks or causes, the other does or moves.
Heaven as a place, I've lost that concept somewhere along the line.
bruce_g said:So whether real or not, hex 1 still goes about pouring out its energy.
That's why grounding creative energy is so important. Heaven by itself is insanity; and to make matters worse, is impotent.
wanderer62 said:Hey Bruce, where did you receive this image of heaven/earth as a watch, in a dream?
The Creative and the Receptive, springs and gears, thinking and moving...Heaven and Earth.
If Heaven and Earth are the watch, then what is a metaphor for time? And, also, is there anything greater than Heaven or is Heaven supposed to be a metaphor for the cosmic universe? Right now it's all a bit jumbled up in my mind. The imagery of the I Ching is only just now starting to sink in but I feel like the Fool (Guess what I got today when I consulted the I Ching--Youthful Folly, moving line on 1 into Decrease--I am a not so young fool but I'm eager to learn...).
wanderer62 said:I was talking about self-help support groups acting as the Receptive to balance out the Creative: But I think the main point of self-help groups is to end the tendency of illness and addiction to move towards isolation. The Creative in isolation IS insanity and it does the same thing over and over again. But when the Receptive is added, the insanity lessens and people begin to heal. New perspectives open up. It's like this community, it grows and feeds and balances through insight and new understanding. So the Creative gets guided.
bruce_g said:Kate, I've never heard a more beautiful summation.
hollis said:Line 4, in 40, has been coming up in readings two three times lately, so, interesting to see it here, Kate, in your reading of wellness.
.
wanderer62 said:or block events because we still distrust being led. This distrust prevents deliverance.
germanking said:Being 'led' by what/who? And what is deliverance? What are your personal thoughts on these questions?
rosada said:...learned to walk on his own. It was fascinating watching how he figured it out,
hollis said:Hi Wanderer62.
I just recall a story for this thread, maybe it can help someone somewhere down the line. The I Ching CAN help avert mental illness...
All the effort paid off, she is now in a different school, she is no longer cutting herslef, she is eating food, her papers are brilliant, and she is very happy.
:bows:
True. And this site IS very valuable, the people willing and wanting to help. Merry Christmas!
The IC, used wisely, can assist the doctor. For instance, someone else, also very troubled. "What can I do to help" 47 line 5, which meant , to me, that her restriction was something she would have to overcome herself.
Yes, the idea that the Creative, if ungrounded, is a two edged sword. Too much yang can lead to an imbalance just as too much yin can, hence the Creative's need for the Receptive and visa-versa.
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).