Actually I have been consulting the I Ching for over a year now. It is truely amazing! But I was wondering if anyone has any feedback regarding how far ahead in the future the I Ching will give guidance/answers. Because it seems to me that everytime I ask a question about some event/situation which is farther than just a short period of time ahead in the future, I get kind of a muddled answer. For instance, "please comment on whether there is a romantic future ahead for me and so-and-so" and this type of question. Has this been other people's experience, or maybe I'm just not supposed to get to far ahead of myself!

Good observation, Molaurie. That's been my experience too. I've whittled it down to the Yi answering on a need to know basis. There is the great and small in each of us. When the small wants to know what only the big can handle, the answer is often, as you say, muddled. Explain to your child that you will not buy the new bicycle they want because you have to make the mortgage payment on your house, or else you'll have nowhere to live or to store the bicycle. All the child wants is their bike, not an understanding of the bigger picture.

There comes a point, I believe, where the Yi no longer bothers with a child who remains a child only. Then the small loses interest in great things.

There is equal danger in the great not inquiring of the small, the adult inquiring of the child. Then we have someone full of greatness only. Personally, I find that to be very boring to be or to be around, or to learn from.

Knowing the answer without understanding of the context teaches nothing. Why would the Yi do that?

I think that when an answer appears muddled it is reflecting our own muddled-ness about the situation. Perhaps the oracle wants us to focus more greatly in present situations rather than those 'far off'. When I get in this place I like to remind myself of the image of hexagram 52, Keeping Still: The free person does not let his thoughts go beyond his situation. (Wilhelm)

Best regards,
Ken Wanamaker

molaurie said:

... But I was wondering if anyone has any feedback regarding how far ahead in the future the I Ching will give guidance/answers.

Click to expand...

Depends on the method used and in the focus of you as an individual or as a species member etc

The XOR material shows the encoding of all meaning in each hexagram - think of the set of all hexagrams as a 'genetic code' and so seeding what is called phenotype - expression. Since in the set of hexagrams are concepts of begin/end so each hexagram has a begin/end characteristic but as a potential. Exposure to local context can then customise an individual and so their particular 'future' is not identified but the 'future' of those of like mind is.

Given this fact of the whole contained in all parts (or more so each 'part' is in fact an aspect of the whole, a facet of its expression - like a facial expression) so any context identified by a hexagram will contain within it its history and probable development path give little/no disruptions.

Identifying the context that is pushing your buttons allows for detection of where the situation will develop to and so the choice of you going with the flow, fighting the flow, or just moving on.

Since the use of random/miraculous methods are not consistent in giving you the 'best fit' hexagram, so there is the use of questions focused on your emotions that will give you the context pushing your buttons (and so the context making you ask a question of the IC. Identify the context and XOR can fill in the dots that includes most likely development)

The issues then are on that a situation could span minutes or generations ;-) LOCAL context will indicate what.

XOR:
http://members.iimetro.com.au/~lofting/myweb/introXOR.html

Emotional IC:
http://members.iimetro.com.au/~lofting/myweb/lofting/icplusEProact.html

Chris.

Wow, thanks you guys, for some very thoughful and thought-provoking replies...

Laurie