Tag: Zhen → Kun

04 – youthful folly

Hexagram 04 – youthful folly is auspicious, the judgement states: “Youthful folly has success…” But that only is true as long as we follow the path of the DAO, the way of the world – rather than to forcing our way onto the world. Or, as most usual, hand control over to our autopilot: unconscious control mechanisms and automated action patterns that may have had validity long time ago but that may be meaningless here and now.

Weiterlesen: 04 – youthful folly

07 – the army


These days – and just as this last question on the list below reached me – I have been thinking about the process of selfactualization. Our self, what-we-are, is a dynamic process that constantly evolves, progresses, “actualizes”, bringing our goals, our desires and intentions into harmony with the realities of life.
But let us first make it concrete. Here are various questions that reached me regarding 07 – The Army.

Weiterlesen: 07 – the army

11 – peace

“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.

Weiterlesen: 11 – peace

15 – modesty

Scope of Questions
  • A user is very exhausted by the situation he is in at the moment: a lot of (creative) chaos, construction sites, everything is very demanding. He knows that he should let go of all kinds of things, but he doesn’t know where to start. He asks the I Ching for advice and receives hexagram 15 – Modesty as an answer.
  • After a phone call with her husband a user got stomach cramps and vomiting. And suddenly she had the answer in her head: “You have to get a divorce.” Since then she feels deep inner peace, contentment – and no resentment at all. When she later consults the I Ching, the answer is hexagram 15 – Modesty.
  • “Where does the poison in my life come from?” asks a user. “Does it come from the outside or the inside? What is the source of my blockages – and what is it that always gets me tripped up in the end?”
  • One user describes his situation as follows: “We don’t feel very comfortable here in the village and in our house and wonder whether we should change. However, our daughter enjoys the location here very much.”
Weiterlesen: 15 – modesty

19 – approach

We open ourselves to our environment – and become inspired… Not an easy task, if our head and mind are full. Ok, once again: we open ourselves, make ourselves empty and perceptive, curious, without prejudiced, without any prior knowledge. We listen carefully: What does the external world want to tell us? And all off a sudden: we perceive it – and are inspired! Nourished, fertilized, refreshed… connected with what previously was alien, non-familiar. From this contact with the external world a decision arises, followed by a long period of growth and materialization. Maybe it will take some time before we see results. But we need not do anything. Only trust: in our inspiration, in our decision.

Weiterlesen: 19 – approach

27 – providing nourishment

Scope of Questions

So far I received the following inquiries regarding hexagram 27 – Providing Nourishment:

  • A user asks: “What I should do regarding a man, who I would like to know better?”
  • For more than a year now a user is dealing with all kinds of challenges: selling her home, finding an apartment, a new job, a new partnership. She asks: “What else should and/or must I do?” She suffers from the situation’s uncertainty and constantly encounters blockades. And: slowly she feels very exhausted.
  • Cooperating with a smug and manipulative colleague is putting a strain on a user. So far, she could protect herself and concentrate on her job’s core tasks. But her colleague regularly disturbs her. She refuses to engage in games or fall into her old patterns as a victim. How can she be true to herself and gain respect in her professional environment?

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/788887.htm

36 – darkening of the light

Scope of Questions
  • 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 hexagram 36 – darkening of the light.
  • A user asks the I Ging: “What does she want me to do?”
Case Study

Hexagram 36 – darkening of the light begins with Li, the fire as the lower trigram. Li stands for our ability to differentiate facts and figures, influences, emotions – in short: the fullness of our overwhelming reality. The user’s example (above, first question) illustrates nicely how this ability to differentiate forms the basis of her question: she has already analysed her own situation and can describe her options: there are reasons to maintain her family situation (her love for the children, her sense of duty), but there are also reasons that suggest a change (the unfortunately extinct love for her partner). The user has won clarity (Li) and now wonders how to decide.
In hexagram 36 – darkening of the light Li develops into Kan (water; first core character). After analysing the situation and the pros and cons of possible actions (Li), Kan invites us to listen to our inner voice. For such a complex situation as the user describes, there is no simple solution, no short-cut to a pleasing outcome. The right, or better: the adequate decision cannot be found by means of mind.
But in addition to our mind we have yet another tool to deal with the world: our intuition, our gut feeling. This is where Kan points at. Which possible action feels right? To stay? To walk away? Which thought makes us feel strong – the call of duty or the desire for an individual, a fulfilled life? If we put moral prejudices aside both motivations – duty and desire – are legitimate. The user is at a crossroad and must decide: Will I follow the path of duty – or the path of desire?
Both paths will lead to a destination – just that the two destinations will be different. No path is wrong – yet which path to choose depends on user, what fits her best, what matches her personality, her personal motivation and strength. To follow the path of duty requires strength: the strength of renunciation. On this path one is supported by the approval of most others and fulfilment may be found in self-control. To follow the path of desire also requires strength: the strength to walk alone in self-responsibility, possibly against general morality. The reward will be an individual, a happy life.
Our mind will never be able to properly decide which of the two paths is right one for the user. Only our intuition, our gut feeling can adequately guide us./
In the course of the hexagram 36 – darkening of the light Kan develops into Zhen (the thunder; second core character). A pulse arises from our gut feeling: the seed of a new action. There will be a moment in which the user’s decision will become visible: packing a suitcase, leave the house. Or: burning the suitcase, staying forever.
The upper trigram of hexagram 36 – darkening of the light is Kun, the earth. The decision is growing. The lonely journey into a new life begins. Or: the reward of self-conquest is felt and fulfils with its quiet happiness.

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/787888.htm

41 – decrease

Scope of Questions

So far I received various questions regarding hexagram 41 – decrease:

  • A user asks: “Was it just my own thought … or did I really hear his voice?”*
  • Another user would like to buy a nice condominium, but is not yet sure if he should do so. His question to the I Ching: “What happens if I buy the condo?”
  • One user describes himself as a person full of mental blockades. However, these began to loosen up recently. His question now to the I Ching is: “How do I get closer to a new professional vision?”
  • A user asks: “How can I fulfill my life path/soul path?”
Weiterlesen: 41 – decrease

42 – increase

Scope of Questions

In the context of hexagram 42 – Increase users share the following concerns with me:

  • A user analyzes his current situation as follows: “Nothing is at stake and it was not an ego-driven decision of my will that made me come here.” This results in his question: “If nothing is at stake: How can I live here and now in the most pleasant way?”
  • Another user asks: “Shall I build my consulting activities on the I Ching and use the hexagrams?”
  • A user asks: “After a long search, a friend told me that a room will become available at her place. I accepted. But then she offered that we could also look for something new together. My question to the I Ching is: ‘Should I move in with my friend?'”

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/788877.htm

46 – pushing upward

Scope of Questions

Several users describe situations and questions regarding Hexagram 46 – Pushing Upward:

  • One user describes his situation as follows: “In my family, it is all about success and competition. And I always was the loser, the problem. On the occasion of his new beginning and moving into his own, new apartment, he asks the following question: “Under what star will I be living in this apartment?”
  • A user writes: “About a year ago I met a man, who, like me, lives in a relationship. We understood each other extremely well and decided to be Platonic friends. But we both fell in love with each other. We were so naive..
    My mind tells me: give him up! But it is hard to let somebody go you like so much. It all starts to hurt me.”
  • One user feels almost like pregnant with lots of different information which want to be put together into a meaningful whole. Her question to the I Ching: “How can this happen?”
  •  Another user asks: “There is a lot of bullying at my place of work, even nice colleagues are affected. What should I do?”
  • A user asks the following question: “How can I act towards and with my art, get into a relationship with it?“ Again and again he found himself in conflict with his self and his art. How should he present himself and his art to the outside world without being identified exclusively through it or identifying himself with it too much? During the past years this dichotomy became so bad that he literally suffered from fear and panic attacks: of the expectations of others – and of his own expectations. He could make art only under immense inner pressure and in the meantime gained the insight that right at the very center of his creativity lies his worst (old) injury. All this stands in his way and hinders practicing his art freely and easily.
  • One user asks, “Is my boyfriend cheating on me?”

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/877888.htm