Tag: Oben Kan

05 – waiting

“I, I, all I!” – No, this is not an ego trip, but: I am all one with myself, I am entirely centered… All right? OK, so, again: I, I, all I, all centered, completely calm, rooted within myself. And right here-and-now I am turning towards… the world.

What a variety of possibilities! How on earth should I choose? What is right, what is important, what does (not) matter? My head may help me to sort it out: What corresponds to me? What distracts me from my path? Yet some cases remain undecidable, they lie beyond my intellect’s grasp: I simply do not know all the facts.

Weiterlesen: 05 – waiting

08 – holding together

Scope of Questions

  • A user asks, “Where are my limits?” The I Ching’s answer is 08 – holding together.
  • A user asks, “What happens if I sign the license agreement now?”
  • A user receives hexagram 8 – holding together regarding his situation, which is characterized by great physical and psychological pain.
  • A user asks the I Ching: “How will I feel if I buy this house and live there?” She explains further: “On Monday, I have to decide whether I want to buy a house or not. And as this is a very far-reaching decision, I’m afraid of making the wrong choice. My current living situation has become unpleasant since I have a 16-year-old living below me who parties from Friday night to Sunday night. Reading a book or meditating has become difficult, trying to talk to the parents has failed. I don’t want to fight, I just want to live in peace.”
  • One user asks: “How do I behave sensibly in view of the current zeitgeist and my life situation?”
Weiterlesen: 08 – holding together

29 – the abysmal

Hexagram 29 – the Abysmal is composed of the trigram Kan, the water, doubled. In many traditional I Ching commentaries this double water is read almost exclusively as a sign of imminent danger, fear, or collapse. Elsewhere I argue for a broader view, one that also acknowledges Kan‘s positive potential – and, by extension, the creative aspects of our own unconscious, with all its unruly currents. Kan does not refer unilaterally to threatening torrents or perilous depths: it can just as well be understood as a symbol of life-giving depth, hidden resources, intuitive adaptability, and the ability to overcome obstacles through creative fluidity.

Weiterlesen: 29 – the abysmal

39 – obstruction

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.

Weiterlesen: 39 – obstruction

48 – the well

The following case study is already somewhat older; it does not yet take into account the anthropological-psychological oriented theory of meaning Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation, which I developed and published in early 2022. Nevertheless, it shows quite well how the trigrams interlock and how to work with them.

Weiterlesen: 48 – the well

60 – limitation

Questions on Hexagram 60

  • The user’s question is: “What is there to say about the city / area where I live?” The user has lived in this place for a long time, but always with a feeling of alienation, discomfort, like a prisoner. He feels grateful – but at the same time burdened, bored.
    The answer of the I Ching is: 60 – limitation. Somehow he likes the modern interpretation Debris turns Humus. A similar phrase has been with him for a long time, a phrase that speaks of flowers that need a certain kind of soil/dung to grow.
  • The user’s question: “What is important now, in this existentially threatening situation?” The background, he explains, is that new projects are developing that give him justified hope. He feels that he should nurture hope and at the same time take the chaos (in the form of his living environment) more easily. There is a lot to sort out, and this mountain of work together with old fears almost paralyzes him. But at the same time he feels hope, a light that gives him courage and says: All is well.
  • A user asks how he should behave in the upcoming collaboration. He actually feels superior to his partner because of his greater experience and would like to set the pace. On the other hand, it is clear that his partner will manage and coordinate the entire project.
  • A user asks: “When will Max the dachshund return to his owner? Will he ever come back?”
  • One user writes: “I’ve started a new job and find myself increasingly overwhelmed by the demands of the position. At first I thought that the project would open up to me as I got used to it, but now I find myself more exhausted and drained every day. My question to the I Ching is: ‘How can I resolve this situation? What should I do?'”

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/778878.htm

63 – after completion

Questions on Hexagram 63

  • A user would like to quit his (breadwinning) job and devote himself entirely to a literary activity. His specific question: “What is my current situation?”
  • A user works as a educator and identifies strongly with the content of her classes. On the one hand she wants to share her experiences with her students. On the other hand, she wants to give her students room to make their own experiences. She asks: “How can I find a balance?”
  • A user asks “How am I doing with handling this emotionally difficult experience?”

You can find the current interpretation here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/787878.htm