Scope of Questions
A user suffers from not having any real contact with people. She asks the I Ching: “What will arise for me from keeping a dream diary? I do have the impression that it will work for me – and that perhaps it will even help me to bridge stagnation and isolation.” The idea of possibly publishing her diary and thereby accepting her life as it is has something redeeming, liberating for her.
Case Study
Hexagram 39 – obstruction begins with Gen (the mountain; lower trigram), referring to our ability to dissolve and let go. The Second Noble Truth of Buddhism says our suffering arises from our striving for having and being. We must let go of exactly this pursuit to end our suffering. Gen, the mountain at the beginning of hexagram 39 – obstruction reminds us to do just that.
It is striking that the user holds the key to her personal liberation in her hands already: she writes that the idea of accepting her present life just the way it is feels comforting, redemptive, liberating. Well, by saying farewell to her ideas about what her life should look like she will be able to concentrate her energies and create room for the new.
In the further course of hexagram 39 – obstruction Gen evolves into Kan, the water (first core character). Letting go will enable us to re-connect with our spiritual primordial grounds, our own intuitive wisdom of life that we collected all along our path to here and now and from which we can draw.
Our spiritual primordial grounds are something very basic: they are the essential, stable aspect of our individual existence, enduring generations. This is where our wisdom lies, our own intuition about life, our essence, protected from and untouched by external influences.
It is good to be connected to our primordial grounds. All actions we initiate from this place, have a special quality, they feel “right” in a very particular way. This is why the user should thoroughly examine her idea to organize and publish her personal notes against these spiritual grounds. Or, to put it in simple terms: she should consult her gut feeling.
In the course of the hexagram 39 – obstruction Kan (the water; first core character) transforms into Li (the fire, second core character). Li, the fire, corresponds to the functional circuit small intestine in Chinese medicine. This function circuit is our intellectual instance that makes decisions, that distinguishes between important and unimportant, and allows us to focus on the essentials. Confronting the world’s abundance, Li helps us to sort out our thoughts, to differentiate facts, to clarify relationships, and to organize feelings.
The user should carefully examine her idea of publishing personal notes. Even if her gut feeling is all right, there are many questions she should ask herself: “Is it really good for me?”, “Will I expose myself too much?”, “What exactly do I want to achieve?”, ” What is important and essential?”,” What exactly do I want to express?” Life offers us abundance – and Li, the fire, invites us to sort out, to differentiate, to clarify.
Li, finally converts back to Kan, the water (upper trigram). Intellectual clarity and deep rooted belly knowledge must be brought into accordance. It often seems that head and gut feeling strive into different directions and (wo-)man is torn between. If we approach this chaos with openness and listen attentively to both poles, then maybe the inner logic of our own being is revealed to us. In this respect, the user’s decision to keep a dream diary is surely beneficial.
The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/887878.htm
