“I, I, all I!” – No, this is not an ego trip, this is about a person who is all one with him/herself: who knows, who he is, what he needs, what he is able to. And who, right at that point, reopens to the outer world, to his/her surroundings.
And the world? Reaches out for us inspires us, enriches us – and eventually requests us to take a stand. So come on, express that “I, I, all I!” and let it come alive in the world! How does the worlds treat me?Respectfully? Supportive? Infighting? How did these encounters work out formerly – and how do I act now, now that I my met my “I, I, all I!”?
Clear, decisive action, for all to see!
Scope of Questions
Here are some of the questions I received so far concerning Hexagram 34 – The Power of the Great:
- A user turns to the I Ching with a very specific question: “Is it correct not to agree to the new contract and thus accept the end of a cooperation?” He describes the situation as follows: Lengthy negotiations for a freelance job; last problem in the contract: the influential client demands exclusivity, as if he was their employee, but without offering him a fixed minimum salary. Not at all a deal at eye level! The answer of the I Ching is 34 – The Power of the Great.
- Another user’s question is: “How do I find my purpose in life?” He describes his situation as follows: After a successful and very instructive professional life followed by a private retreat with intense personal growth he now feels that there is yet another task for him to fulfill. He would like to round off his experiences and gifts with a study to enrich the world with it. He feels confirmed by the I Ching’s answer, Hexagram 34 – The Power of the Great, it shows very accurately his situation and gives him clarity for the next steps.
- A user asks: “Will I be happy in life? I.e. do I come to a place where I want to be, where I want to be with?”
- Due to his small stature, the user’s son is to be excluded from the sports team. He suffers from this threat, it apparently makes him even smaller and more invisible. And the user suffers from having to witness all this. Her question to the I Ching: “Should my son change his team voluntarily?”
- One user needs support to fight for his right, so far he was not believed either. His question to the I Ching: “Will this change?”
- One user asks: “The cat hasn’t come home. Is he still alive? Does he need help?”
- A user asks: “Will he fall in love with me?”
Case Study
A user has the following question: “Is it correct not to sign the new contract, even if I risk that my cooperation [with the company] will end?” The situation “Endless negotiations for a freelance contract; last problem in the contract: the AG [stock company] wants my exclusiveness as an employee, but without paying me a fixed minimum wage. This is not a deal at eye level!”
The I Ching’s answer: 34 – The Power of the Great.
Hexagram 34 – The Power of the Great begins with a double Qian, the heaven (lower trigram and first core characters). “I, I, all I” refers to a person who is very well grounded within himself, someone who knows who he is, what he needs, what he is able to accomplish.
Qian corresponds to the functional circuit heart (HE). From the Huangdi Neijing Suwen:
If the emperor is enlightened, his subjects will be able to live in peace; whoever orients his life according to these principles will reach old age and will never be compromised. Whoever rules his kingdom according to these principles will have a golden age.
It is very good to have arrived at this point of double-Qian, being at one with oneself. But time moves forward, life evolves. And even Qian isn’t but a transitory stage in the cycle of life. And so it is followed by the second core characters Dui, the lake.
In Dui we open ourselves to the outside, to our environment, and we are challenged to deal with what we encounter. This can be done in different ways. Our environment can touch our inner self, can inspire us, enrich us, expand our horizons. But in some cases the encounter with our environment may also require us to take a clear stand. If we then express our inner self (Qian, “I, I, all I”) outwardly, our self becomes alive within the world.
In any case, in Dui we transcend the border of our self in both directions. Just like with our rhythmic breathing we move from our inside to the outside, and from the outside to our inside.
Contract negotiations are a good example for a situation where inside and outside touch. There is a person, well-centered, at peace at his life. And this person meets another person, the negotiator, someone who may have experienced life differently and maintains different views. It is much more than just two people who meet here: namely, two worlds, two world views. In the case of the user: a philosophically interested professional meets a middle management employee committed to shareholder value …
During the banking crisis we’ve probably all learned about economy, about dos and don’ts. We learnt that there are companies that focus exclusively on shareholder value. Or heard about managers who decide for the sole benefit of an increased shareholder value.
And we saw the results.
Voices who criticize the shareholder value approach are becoming louder. It is even branded “not acceptable, ethically unsuitable as a basis of a corporate philosophy.”
I recently read about an alternative concept: Shared Value Creation. SVC is a sub-field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The SVC approach is based on the insight that “no company can survive in a failing society.” As a result a company’s simple, selfish will to survive becomes an argument for caring about it’s environment.
Even large companies such as Nestlé now jump on this train.
Sources: see “Further Reading”
No company operates in a vacuum. The AG [stock company] the user is negotiating with, is part of a network: of employees, of service providers, of customers, environment, society… But the realization that short-term profit maximization is not a wise long-term strategy might not yet have penetrated into all heads.
Not good. Or yes: good. It is what it is.
Hexagram 34 is called: The Power of the Great. So: what is the Great’s Power? Is the Great the AG? Or is it the user, who clearly knows who he is?
Shared Value Creation is good. Transactions, where both parties benefit, are good. Who is powerful? Money? Moral behavior?
Many questions are being raised here. A lot of inspiration through Dui, through opening for the environment. If the user opens deeply to the situation and listens to his inner self, the answer’s echo can be heard: Zhen, the thunder, the upper trigram. When Zhen develops out of Dui, the perception process is completed. And a clear decision is born.
Which will result in clear action and become visible to all.
The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/777788.htm
