“I, I, all I!” – did I get the message? Did I hear this fine, clear, subtle voice… and the message it speaks to me, deep from within my heart? Let us listen again carefully: what does it tell me?
If I am honest, I have long understood the message. Maybe I did not want it to be true, hoping I misunderstood. But I did not misunderstand. The voice is there, and I have understood its message.
OK, at least this is clear now. And what is next? Well, consequently: my in-the world-experience, my decisive worldly action. And subsequently: to calm down. And let things just happen.
What is the judgment’s saying? “Success!” Well, yes, with pleasure!
Scope of Questions
Two users each get Hexagram 11 – peace as the I Ching’s response to their individual questions or situations. Here are the two starting points:
- A user describes his situation as follows: “I am dissatisfied with my car and would like to buy a new, a bigger one. The necessary steps, however, turn out to be incredibly difficult for me, emotionally I feel torn. On one hand I associate a new car with recognition and reputation for myself; on the other hand I feel resistance: buying a new car would require a loan, a new car is not really necessary, maybe I am not worth it. Basically I feel like being pushed, being dispelled. My question to the I Ching: What exactly is my problem in this situation?“
- Another user asks: “After years I now face the opportunity to resume contact with a person who once severely hurt me. I am not sure if I should do this.”
- A user writes: “I’m planning to completely change my career path (I am employed as an interior designer) and dedicate myself to music full-time. I also want to move to Croatia to live with my boyfriend, who is also a musician. My question to the I Ching is whether this new beginning is a good decision. Inwardly, I am looking forward to this journey to myself.”
- Another user writes: “I wanted to make a complaint at the police station and fell in love with the officer in charge. And I think he really liked me too. So as not to give myself false hope, I consulted the I Ching and received the answer hexagram 11 – peace.”
Case Study
Hexagram 11 – peace begins with Qian (the heaven; lower trigram) and evolves into the first core character Dui, the lake. Qian symbolizes an attitude of mind that ideally has a high degree of clarity and coherence, undisturbed by worries, desires, thought loops. In Dui this inner clarity collides with the outer world, which opens up surprising new possibilities to both users: a new car for user A, reconnection after a long time for user B. In both cases calmness and serenity are shattered, are being tested, are challenged in the encounter with the outer world and its possibilities.
In the further course of the hexagram 11 – peace Dui develops into Zhen (the thunder; second core character). If one opens up to the outside, the surrounding environment (Dui), if one allows being touched by the outer world and its possibilities, then there will be consequences: a seed is planted, something within ourselves begins to vibrate in resonance with the environment. The surprising opportunities stimulate both users to reflect about themselves:
- First user: Do I need a new car to increase to my self worth? Does my self esteem require a reasonable car?
- Second user: Shall I establish contact and expose myself to new injury – or do I better protect myself this time and avoid contact? Did the wound heal sufficiently and lastingly so that I now can resume contact without risking injury?
Perhaps the two users can answer their respective questions by themselves. Then action will arise from their respective answers – a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to car or contact. This action will take form in the upper trigram Kun (the earth).
If the two users can not find a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ regarding their options, the I Ching reveals yet a further solution in the upper trigram Kun (the earth): Kun symbolizes receptivity, surrender to what is coming, what the DAO has to offer us. The requirement? An attitude of non-action (Wu Wei), without being apathetic, an attentive listening until the correct answer reveals itself.
This approach is also consistent with the idea user A expresses at the end of his writing: “… I probably must meditate on a regular basis, so that I no longer feel like being pushed, being dispelled.”
I experimentally assign hexagrams to meridian points; hexagram 11 – peace corresponds to He7. Regarding this meridian point Hicks et al. write:
Particularly impressive He7’s effect in the treatment of patients suffering from shock, which is described in the Su Wen as follows:
With the sudden twitching of the Jing, the heart has no longer a place to rely on, the spirit-Shen no longer a place to refer to, methodical thinking no longer a place where it can settle down and come to rest. Hicks 2008, 383
A shock is the extreme form of a systemic commotion. In less dramatic expression, this state just means that something has disturbed the peace, one’s own serenity. The two situations described above fit into this pattern. Hexagram 11 – peace shows us a way how to recover our inner peace: through a non-acting listening to the DAO
The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/777888.htm
Bibliography
— Hicks, Angela. 2008. Konstitutionelle Akupunktur nach den Fünf Wandlungsphasen; München; Jena: Elsevier, Urban & Fischer.
