The Mystic Gateway
T A O I C H I N G
Why use the I Ching ?
Actually the question was never asked, as the whole process developed naturally over a few thousand years in the desire to forecast the future. In China and the East, the I Ching became the established source of wisdom and was consulted on every issue. The predictive capabilities provided by a meditative and chance selection of the hexagram, which had the capacity to change 'automatically', was combined with the principles of YIN and YANG energy to produce a system of personal and social conduct. The I Ching became part of the culture.
There was a resergence of interest in Eastern 'alternative religions' in the 1960's, and the Hippy Movement took-on the I Ching as a personal and social diviniation tool. Using, primarily, the Richard Wilhelm translation, they were left with many symbolic interpretations, which could be interpreted in any way that seemed the most mysterious and profound. Many 'alternative' I Ching editions were, and are, published on a wide variety of approaches from the interpersonal, business, to the scientific, as well as illustrated card sets. The I Ching became a tool for personal prediction, and a source of 'spiritual' advice. That became the reason for the I Ching on a popular level, whilst avoiding any deeper interpretation, but the protracted method of hexagram selection would always discourage regular or easy use.
All of that changed with the discovery of the ELEMENTS, which provide instant access and an easy manipulation of the hexagrams,
and something else more profound.
The Secret of the I Ching
Harmony and balance are the first principles of the I Ching ~ in a word "equilibrium". The Great Balance or Dynamic Equilibrium is a process involving competing forces in which the centrifugal forces of a rotating mass do not produce enough vibration to upset the balance.
The areas in motion are your PERSONALITY, which you rightly perceive as yourself, in your thoughts, behaviour, identification and involvement, as you deal with the 'outer' world which is subject to continuous change. The other area, hidden from view, is your INNER SELF, your subconscious mind, or ‘Higher Self’ (sometimes referred to as the Psyche) which is your centre of gravity. You remain ever yourself (that personality is not going to leave you in a hurry) even though you go through huge changes physically, emotionally, and materially, but the balance is upset when you move away from your centre. You can contact your 'centre' or Inner Self through the Mystic Gateway of the TAO I CHING by aligning your heart and mind, by detaching from the outer world and your thoughts about it (often people use meditation for this), to gain equilibrium. EQUILIBRIUM is attained when your Inner Self maintains its' position at the centre, on the axis of rotation, shifting your attention from the greatest rotation on the outer rim (the involvements of the world) to the still centre. In personal terms, there is an acceptance of the world while being fully involved in it, without necessarily following the personality and its’ need to do something about it, to react to it, or support conventional rules, positions, and identity. The rotation is the continuous change, activity, or progress, around you, that happens automatically, but it is subject to interference and reaction from external and internal forces, which can cause emotional, material and social, or physical discomfort.
The I Ching works through a process called 'Spontaneous Affinity', where one thing (your question) is reflected (with your answer) in a totally different thing {coins, yarrow stalks, rods, dice, ELEMENTS, or cards}. This happens all the time in the world on a coincidental level that we may not be aware of - except when it 'sticks-out' in its' 'chance absurdity'.
Within Taoist philosophy is the awareness and appreciation of Chance and Change in the world, and consequently less emphasis on personal control or ‘interference’. TAO is an inner calm in a world of continuous chance and change, and a trust in the system to run itself. While you keep daily track of the conditions of the materialistic world of involved rushing about, striving, expectation and fixed notions, you will not surrender to the automatic flow of TAO. By communicating with your Inner Self with the ELEMENTS ©, you become aware of TAO and gain inner peace and direction, which ultimately rests in a trust or faith in the automatic nature of reality.
“Everything is taken care of ” (by God, if you will).
You don’t have to do anything except BE HERE, and respond to what you see, being aware of yourself all the time, with or without all those discursive thoughts, while you observe the world and your place in it. Everything is reflected. What's in your mind is in the world (as you see it) - and what's in the world gets into your mind. The hexagrams reflect and mirror what you think and do, and in that observation reveal a simpler truth. When you actually see this you'll know what the hexagrams do.
The TAO I CHING goes a step further by suggesting that all the answers are already in your own subconscious mind or ‘Higher Self’, and that all this information can only be accessed through the Mystical Gateway of a hexagram symbol provided by a set of ELEMENTS © that encapsulate and express your Inner Self.
The ELEMENTS © easily display, change, and manipulate, the trigrams which are at the heart of the I Ching, and those trigrams in the TAO I CHING become attuned to the energy of the person using them, and when you use them they are the gateway to your own soul. The sequence of events is very sensitive to any movement of the ELEMENTS ©, which you do by ‘chance’ selection, or consciously (but ONLY in the TAO I CHING) which will, in some strange way, actually cause a shift in conditions.
The secret the early Taoists knew was to select a hexagram every day, and by noticing the energy (your thoughts and actions) and taking the advice offered in the Taoist version of the I Ching [TAO I CHING The Mystic Gateway], changes take place on a 'personality' level and a deeper 'spiritual' level. When you ask the I Ching about a problem it will answer your question, and in the standard versions of the I Ching show the general situation you are in, but those problems and questions are endless - in the world and in your mind. TAO will not 'leave you alone' for it is endless movement, change and chance. The one hexagram a day (regardless how often you use it otherwise) will bring you closer to TAO and yourself (in it) to become a Way of Being that is open to all that happens. What you will find, after maybe 21 days more or less, that as your questions are answered (and these can be, when you run-out of 'problems', as simple as "What's next ?", "How am I doing ?") the hexagrams 'take-over' and your prospects are shown to you ~ and, strangest of all, your future is open to an adventure that is continually improving and expanding to reflect your deepest wishes. You may, or may not have, chosen to be where, and how, you are right now, but the rest is about awareness, being alive, and being open to an adventure that is provided for you, regardless of what you personally think or do about your situation. Inner peace is in the absence of all those personal thoughts ("just let it be"), and the adventure, which you will see formed out of the hexagrams, gives you the place and time to be you.
This is the start of a symbol revolution (actually an esoteric and ancient practice) which ushers in a ‘new’ form of awareness and effortless action.
TAO I CHING.COM
tomleworthy@talktalk.net
