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Scenarios with a preliminary condition

Peter Belt

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Hi all,

I have a fairly technical question here, and since I wasn't able to word it in general terms I will just put an example (wait, I was eventually able to actually word it :D... go to the last paragraph if you want to skip the example):

Let's say I want to go with my son to a particular place in a trip, and that if we go he will need to skip a day of school. Since I only have shared custody of my son, I will need to ask his mother first if she is ok with him skipping a day of school. So, if I ask the I Ching about the outcome of my trip with my son, and the answer is about "discussions", "being on the same page", "be able to agree", is the answer referring to the trip (where if could be read as a bonding experience where there are interesting discussions), or that I will need an agreement with the mother first before considering this question.

On the other hand imagine that same question and the outcome of the reading is about friendship, bonding, journey, etc., but that it turns out his mother is not ok with me having this trip with him and it doesn't happen. Was that reading referring to what it could have been, ignoring the fact that there was a preliminary condition for it to happen?

So I guess my general question is: when we ask a question about a scenario that has a preliminary condition in order for it to happen, your experiences are that the I Ching is usually discussing the outcome of the scenario, the probability that it happens, the way of handling that preliminary condition?
In those cases does the question need to be worded differently, split in two different questions for example?

Thanks for your input!
 

moss elk

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hi,

You assumed the trip would happen when you asked about the outcome.

Without knowing what answer you received, I can't comment further, other than perhaps your answer said 'talk about it' which you thought meant 'good communication after',
but really it could have meant, 'you'll have to work this out through communication first.'

I think Yi often tends to show the first/next step, when you have some stairs to climb.
 
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Peter Belt

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Thank you very much Moss Elk.

Sorry if I wasn't clear: that scenario was just an example, that could be real in my situation, but that I haven't really cast. I was just trying to create a meaningful example for this situation I often have: I have this question about a scenario that needs some "first steps" beforehand and I don't really know if I need to ask about those first steps or about the outcome of the scenario.

Now I just remembered one reading I actually did have ;) : me and my family (mother+brother) have some money invested. My feeling was we needed to sell soon. When I asked the question: "what would happen if we left that investment as it is until end of the year", I got 9.1.4 > 44. Which is pretty clear to me now but that I didn't understand at the time since it didn't really answer the question. I just got my answer very quickly after that: as soon as I said to my family I wanted to sell, my brother was clearly against selling (he is the one that dragged my mother and I into this investment), and pretty aggressive about the fact that I wanted out. So, clearly the I Ching was, as you said, talking about the preliminary condition there (reach a concensus first)...
 

hilary

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When we ask a question about a scenario that has a preliminary condition in order for it to happen, your experiences are that the I Ching is usually discussing the outcome of the scenario, the probability that it happens, the way of handling that preliminary condition?
In those cases does the question need to be worded differently, split in two different questions for example?

Thanks for your input!

I try to avoid readings with preliminary conditions as much as possible. No asking, 'What about accepting the job offer?' before the interview, for instance. It simply makes more sense to ask about the challenge/ decision you know you will be facing next - 'Advice for the interview?'

But then, as in your real-life example with the family investment, there will sometimes be conditions we don't know about. In those cases I typically find the reading 'interrupts' my line of questioning to talk about the conditions - and I may or may not manage to understand it before circumstances catch up with the reading.
 

Peter Belt

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Thank you very much for your input Hilary, I'll take it into account in the future. All the best
 

moss elk

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But then, as in your real-life example with the family investment, there will sometimes be conditions we don't know about. In those cases I typically find the reading 'interrupts' my line of questioning to talk about the conditions - and I may or may not manage to understand it before circumstances catch up with the reading.

Yes, firstly minds can be blown away by the fact Yi answers questions at all.

Then can be blown again when you realize sometimes it doesn't answer your question, but instead directs your attention to something good for you to know.
 
D

DenniZr

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Sometimes there's an answer to a question even if the thing you are asking about is something you can't know yet. I asked Yi once: What if all those people are talking about me behind my back?
I knew I didn't know if there were, but I asked anyway.

Yi said: You could forgive them. That seemed like a good thing to do even if it wasn't true what I asked.
 

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