Our mental clarity, our ability to differentiate between important and unimportant, is the pivotal point of this hexagram. Our clarity allows us to analyze a situation and the various aspects it comprises: What are my options in this situation? Which of these options should I choose to achieve best results? What or who will help me, give me strength, promote my growth? What aspects of this situation are blocking me or lead me to a dead end in the long term? Sometimes it is enough to have just mental clarity. Sometimes, however, we must take action for the situation to develop and to gain momentum.
Sometimes, our cool head is the savior: when chaos ensues, when gut feelings go haywire. But perhaps they are not going haywire at all; maybe we just don’t understand what they’re trying to tell us. That’s when the cool head comes to the rescue – guiding the gut, illuminating the darkness, calming the storm.
Is it good for me – or is harmful? How can I find out? The easiest method is probably: to try it out. But before marching off we should carefully examine the whole situation. Nothing is ever so new to us that we have no prior experience at all. What do we already know? What is the situation’s background? Well-being? Stomach ache?
A user describes her situation as follows: “I feel lots of love for the children, the love for my partner, however, is gone. I wish it was different, but this is as things are now. I feel a great sense of duty towards my family.” Regarding this situation the user asks the following question: “How to proceed?” The I Ching responds with hexagram36 – darkening of the light.
A user asks the I Ging: “What does she want me to do?”
One user asks: “What is the cause of the agonizing ringing in my ears? What can I do to deal with it better or can it possibly go away completely?” She writes that it is particularly bad when she is alone in her flat. She reacts very strongly to her environment and wonders which buttons are being pressed. Is it the feeling of abandonment? Is it the feeling of abandonment in the presence of another person?
I received the following inquiry regarding hexagram 37 – the Clan:
“I have been trying to start a venture. I have done research and know the field. But it all goes slow. I just keep feeling that something is not right. I am looking for a way to move forward.”
One user describes her situation and her question to the I Ching as follows: “I’ve had a new neighbour in the immediate vicinity for some time now, who is very loud, likes to party and is sociable. The situation is a real challenge for me because I overhear almost everything, friends, phone calls, parties, pets. Five months after she moved in, I tried to talk to her, but she reacted very angrily and said she didn’t want to restrict herself. My question to the I Ching is therefore: ‘Was it right to speak to her and what should I do now?'” The I Ching’s answer is hexagram 37 – the Clan, that later develops into hexagram 30 – the clinging.
I recently attended a family constellation about partnership. Later I asked the I Ching about the overall situation – from the initial constellation to the healed, resolved outcome. The response I got was hexagram49 – revolution (molting).
A user asks the I Ching the following question: “How should I deal with my lack of jobs – and the corresponding low income? Is there maybe something good about the situation?” The I Ching’s answer is hexagram55 – abundance. A wonderful response to a question which relates to scarcity…
A user writes: “Two weeks ago I decided to separate from my wife after 13 years of marriage. My question for the I Ching is, ‘What situation am I in?’”
A user asks: “My only son is leaving the house. I am currently not working. How should I deal with the future emptiness?”
A user asks how his professional situation will develop for him.
A user wants to buy and renovate an old building in Sicily. However, everything is delayed while she lives in her mobile home and waits, waits, waits. She writes: “Basically, it looks as if what we have planned won’t work anyway. Hence the question to the I Ching: ‘What can you tell me about the problems with the purchase?'”
One user asks: “Is he just a friend to me or more of a future partner?”
Some Reflections
Light at the end of the tunnel
The last inquiry regarding hexagram 55 – abundance, the oil mill in Italy, was sent in recently. And at about the same time, on a walk, I came across an image that I find somehow fitting: Light at the end of the tunnel. What I like about this image is that the tunnel itself is pretty. But exactly that is what you lose sight of when you only focus on the end of the tunnel, that single point, the problem. Yet the surroundings are full of beauty. And probably also full of alternative solutions. Perhaps this is what is meant by abundance (in the hexagrams name): All the possible solutions that actually exist – but for which one is blind as long as one’s focus is exclusively on the problem.
How does the heart gain such clarity and pioneering influence? Only through an entity that is able to discern between important and unimportant, to sort out what is essential and to put only the purest [substance] at the heart’s disposal. This function of the organism is attributed to the small intestine… The small intestine, alchemist of the interior… Discernment is needed on all levels! Sorting out intellectually, differentiating facts, clarifying relationships and… feelings – all this falls under the responsibilities of the small intestine… This is why mental health is associated with the small intestine as well…
During our conversation I consequently I ask the user questions like: What exactly is the problem that led you to consult the I Ching? To what extent is your perception of scarcity actually true? Is your job situation really that bad? And what is your general financial outlook? My inquiries bring up that she has a few small jobs, but not too many. Secretly, however, she sees this situation almost as a blessing, because currently she is intensively and with great joy engaged in a non-profit project – which certainly would not be possible if she had more “real” work. Financially, she has enough savings to make ends meet, although she would prefer not to touch her reserves and keep them for some ominous future (an attitude she was brought up with but gradually starts to feel doubtful about). Clarity Bears Growth shows us here how an honest inventory may open up entirely new perspectives for dealing with a given situation. Originally the user was saddened because she did not receive what she believed to be wanting: more jobs. What she was given were not jobs but enough time for her non-profit work – without any real financial worries. Admittedly, in our meritocracy it is an unusual attitude to use our own work force for charitable goals while living off savings. It’s definitely a new and unusual way, which certainly feels provocative to some people. The judgment of hexagram 55 says: Be not sad. Be like the sun at midday. This phrase seems to indicate that sometimes it is appropriate to not conform to others and not behave like everybody. In some situations it is advisable to make own decisions and to take new directions. Step 2 (second core character) is Dui, the lake, a sign which refers to our connection with the environment and to our attentiveness towards the echoes of our actions. At this stage of development we are confronted with questions like: What exactly is reflected back to me through my environment (what is it really – not: what do I assume / am afraid of to get as a feedback!). The user’s clear answer is: Yes, she has less money available, but she feels very happy and fulfilled in her daily life. And contrary to her expectations she actually receives little criticism but is appreciated and supported. Maybe that’s a good attitude for her to assume in the near future: to move forward with particular care and attention on this new path and to question again and again how she really feels – and what exactly it reflected to her through the environment. We all are threads in the collective fabric of life: when one thread changes, it also affects the surrounding tissue. Quite often these changes are very subtle – but they can be perceived if we look really carefully at your environment. In hexagram 55 – abundance the initial clarity finally becomes Zhen, clear determination: that which has slowly and perhaps even secretly grown will finally push outside, will become visible to all through determined action.
A user would like to give up his (breadwinning) job and fully devote himself to a literary activity. His specific question: “In what situation I’m in right now?”
A user works as a lecturer and strongly identifies with the contents of her teaching. On one hand she want 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?”
