galloway87

I suppose what I would most like to learn is application, to get a better understanding on the hexagrams and how I can really apply them in everyday life. Thanks for the reading suggestions I'm gonna pick up a copy of Steve Balkin's book, lots of good reviews! I think the Wilhelm translation will be easy enough to find online, what do you make of the James Legge translation? I know they have it online at the sacredtexts website. Many thanks, David

Thank you for such a detailed response, and apologies for the lateness of my reply! I can see from the depth of your answer compared to the interpretation from my copy, that it really does seem shallow in comparison. You mentioned a few good translations, could you point me in the right direction? Also I would love to learn more about the I Ching, if you could recommend any supplementary material for a beginner I would be very interested I do have a tendency to end up in jobs that I'm not particularly interested in, and would love more than anything to find something I can be passionate about. I have landed myself in this position, but I feel like I am ready to dig myself out of this rut. I am looking to inherit some money in the next year or so and plan to put it to good use and attempt to set up my own little business or at least train in something I can sink my teeth in to. At first when I was let go from my position I felt extremely angry about how the company could do something so heartless to a new father, I even penned a letter to the operations manager telling him exactly what I thought of him and the company. Instead of sending the letter right away I decided to reflect on it for a day or two, and getting the feelings out on paper seemed to cool me off a little bit and I decided not to send it. My mind is starting to uncloud a little and hopefully I can begin to see this as an opportunity, and not the end of the world shitstorm I first thought. Again thank you for your detailed insight into the situation!

Not too bad really, my only problem is that I never learned a trade after school, I was more interested in getting drunk and hanging out with friends, which I am now obviously paying for so I get stuck doing quite generic jobs. Are you based in the UK also?

Thank you for your kind words! Yes, this is the feeling I got from the hexagram also, it's just hard to believe in such negative seeming circumstances. I suppose every situation can be see from many points of view. Keeping faith is what I struggle with, as at times things can seem completely hopeless!

Sorry, forgot to mention no changing lines!

Hi All, I am looking for a bit of advice on my current situation- Me and my partner have recently been blessed with the arrival of our new daughter, and could not be happier! I took the standard 2 weeks paternity leave from work (UK), but then on my first day returning I was called into a meeting and told I was being let go from my position... The reasons stated were, 'we are trying to improve the company and feel you have too much of a laid back attitude towards standards'. I don't personally agree with the statement as I actually worked very hard at the company, but to be honest my department was a mess and new rules would be handed down weekly on how to correctly operate, and nothing was very clear. This left me feeling completely bewildered and lost. I'd had no prior warnings or disciplinary procedures brought against me. I had to ring my partner and break the news to her, and she was obviously devastated by the situation. Our life had been turned upside down in a matter of seconds! I think the employer is simply trying to save money and picked off an easy target as I've only been there 9 months. Strangely, earlier in the day I'd thought about consulting the I Ching regarding finding new employment, coincidence? Probably! But I thought what better time than now. The question I posed to the I Ching was, 'how should I handle my current employment situation?' And the hexagram I cast was #35- chin/progress. In my translation (Brian Browne Walker) this seems like a very positive hexagram that marks the arrival of easy progress, growth, understanding and so on. I need to devote myself to higher things whilst distancing myself from inferior influences. Does anyone have any insight into what the higher things/inferior influences could be in this situation? I was not expecting to cast such a hexagram at this time, as I honestly feel completely lost in this situation, and am having a hard time dealing with the stress and worry it is causing. Anyone who can offer any insight into this situation, or thoughts and feelings on how to deal with this tough time I would love to hear from you! Kind regards, David

Hi Jim, It was myself who asked the question! Thank you in your interest in the topic and insight. The question I put forward was 'How can I find a job that I truly enjoy'. I don't see the I Ching as some sort of future telling device, where would be the fun in that?! More as a wise old friend who has been around the block a few times and has a bit of experience under their belt. I find your comments above quite interesting, theorizing that we already have the answers that we are looking for. You mentioned Carl Jung above and synchronicity, and as I'm sure you know it was Carl Jung who also coined the phrase 'collective unconscious', very crudely put a storehouse of information shared by members of a species gathered over time, like you mentioned above. Another person who I found had a very interesting theory on the I Ching was Terence McKenna, who theorized that the I Ching was formulated by the study of patterns and cycles that emerged in time. (I'll try and find a link because it's an interesting watch!) Of course the Sage pointed me to a very simplistic answer- to be more modest in the situation and to abandon ego. I have interpreted this as to stop thinking I am better than the situation I am in. In all fairness I hadn't given the job a fair trial and was feeling very stressed because I felt I was in a little over my head, and that it didn't fit in with my image of an 'ideal' job for me. Maybe I have landed where I am because I'm going to pick up some useful skills that will help me in the future!? Who knows? My main interest with your theory is how do you feel the I Ching works alongside synchronicity and the collective unconscious? By this I mean how does the link between the question being asked, the coins being thrown, and the hexagram being formulated come into being? I find all of this truly fascinating Here is the video I mentioned earlier, well worth a watch if you have time! Kind regards, David

Thank you for such a detailed answer. I had a feeling something like this might be the case. Although I believe my terms of enjoyment not to be too strict, I believe the easiest way around the issue would be to learn to enjoy whatever I am doing at the time instead of constantly fighting the situation and worrying. Perhaps I should settle down for a little while and see how things unfold? Easier said than done though I'm sure

Nope! No changing lines in this one.

Very true my friend! Maybe I just need more patience and see what comes my way.

Hi all, I am just looking to get some general advice on a recent I Ching reading. I have recently started a new job working in a kitchen, but I only started here to get away from an old job which I hated. I have worked in the kitchen about 2 weeks now but I can tell it is just not me really... I asked the I Ching 'how can I find a job that I truly enjoy?', and came up with hexagram 15. Can anyone with a little more experience with readings offer a bit of insight as to how this relates to my current situation? Thanks in advance! David

Hi Roger, I find this a very interesting angle to look at the issue from! I have often found myself asking these very same questions. Did you ever come to some sort of conclusion? The way that I have come to see things is this- I believe that the cause of human suffering is the fact that we have become self aware, causing us to grow egos and become very greedy, never thinking we have enough and so on. I always make comparisons to other creatures such as spiders, in the way that a spider only does exactly what it needs to do at the time. When they are hungry they eat, otherwise they will remain perfectly still in the same spot for days on end! I highly doubt they are concerned with what the other spider across the hall thinks of them. They are driver completely by instinct and without worry. But I do see human self awareness as a product of the natural world around us, and that egos developed in a time when food may have been hard to come by, but now we are stuck with these lingering feelings of scarcity in a time when scarcity is not so much of an issue. This causes us to run around thinking we still have to collect more and more of everything in order to be 'successful'. Humans success will also be its undoing, the pendulum has reached its apex and is now heading back the other way as we continue to multiply in numbers and drain natural resources. So I believe everything is naturally as it should be and over the next 1000 years humans will die out or at least massively drop in numbers and the system will re-balance itself. Behavior that some people consider to be evil like hoarding billions of dollars and stripping resources is the byproduct of humans success over millions of years of evolution. In regards to free will, this is something I am unsure of. I think we may have fleeting moments of free will, but the body mostly regulates itself in regards to functions like beating your heart or growing your hair. Maybe it is these moments of free will that cause so much internal conflict between who we are and who we aspire to be? I would love to hear your thoughts on this Regards, David

Hi Roger, Thanks for the input! I really do think this is something I need to apply better in my everyday life, not just in this certain situation. I can be awfully hard on myself, and even though I don't show it on the surface I am usually disappointed with myself for one reason or another at least once during the course of a day. I think this stems from a mental image of how I desire to be vs who I actually am at the moment. I feel that I should be some super healthy, successful, intelligent person who always makes the right choices etc.. I have no idea where this mental image has come from (28 years of buying into societies ideals perhaps?), but it bugs the hell out of me. I'm not sure how I can just settle into being whatever I am in the present moment. I guess it can be a good thing to have goals, but not if those goals cause internal conflict. Oh life is all very confusing

Hi Noonespecial, I must say that is quite an interesting idea! I am very new to any kinds of cultivation techniques, I have just literally just started looking into them earlier this week as suggested by RyanO. I am still getting my head around it to be perfectly honest. I think I should maybe practice for a little while to get a feel for things. Do you have much experience with cultivation? Or cannabis for use for that matter? I love hearing other peoples experiences

This is not a book I have head of! Is it in regards to smoking cigarettes or cannabis? I see the two as being very different, as I never smoke tobacco, only pure cannabis. How did you find the quitting process just out of interest? I want to get as much insight into kicking habits as possible