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Kahn et al (1974) express the idea that the Multiverse is a
roller coaster. They use the Yi Jing as an example of how
the Multiverse thus. The roller coaster:
The Yi Jing taps into the flow of the forces of nature, and once these, one totally discards all notions regarding where one is, or what does. One simply is, and one does. The correct action follows from correct being, and thus one has no thing to get waylaid by.
It does not take much to see that the Yi Jing is a tool for personal growth, and » maybe « divination. Both aspects treat like as going somewhere, but necessarily up. The Yi Jing, along with the Tarot, and most other forms of divination predict misfortune as often as the predict good fortune. In personal growth, mystical traditions such as the Yi Jing and the QBL have a place for both an increase in one's "power," or "goodness," as well as a decrease in it. More contemporary encounter groups tend to treat one as being "powerless," or "bad" and able to stay that way. » EG: E.S.T. and Biocentric Psychology 'Growth' groups. « These more contemporary ones are also more inclined to use the staircase model of the universe, rather than the roller coaster model.
The Multiverse itself is cyclic and thus it seems to me, at least, that things would move like a roller coaster, and not like a straight line. Furthermore, when was the last time, » or first time, for that matter « that you found something which was done by nature, in something which could almost be described as having a straight line. Nature seems to have a "hatred" for straight lines. Thus, why should we expect the stairway model to be a valid model for growth. That it is an implicit model for western culture, is beside the point. » Other than as an explanation of why it tends to be seen as a model, despite its incongruency with nature. «.
I feel that whilst the flow of the Multiverse is tapped into, by using the Yi Jing as a guide, Kahn, et al seem to have forgotten that one can almost control where one is on the roller coaster, by changing one's perspective. This of course, will lead to a tremendous 'whoosh' from where one was, to where one wants to be. 'Whoosh' might be a little to slow to describe the speed of the change.When one is tapped into the flow of nature, one will » in theory, at least « totally discard all notions regarding where one is on the roller coaster, or what one it. One simply is, and does. The correct action, follows from correct being, and thus one is not waylaid, as the Yi Jing would sit. The corresponding yogi notion would be that one is so caught up in the here-and-now, that one can only be present to the ultimate reality of the moment.
Whilst Kahn, Kroeber & Kingsbury (1974) do not treat the Yi Jing as a device for divination, I see no reason to use it for both divination, and as a tool for growth, simultaneously. I see them as complementing each other, and thus enhancing each other. This was a lesson learnt by not paying enough » in my current state of thinking « attention to an answer from the Yi Jing. It was as if I was to have intentionally stumbled into both aspects at the same time. It was a presentation that the roller coaster is not confined to moving on one track at a time, but can move in two or three different tracks, at the same time, in different directions.
To explain: in June, I asked the Yi Jing whether I should move into the Red Barn or not. I threw the coins, and in reply had 7, 8, 7, 9, 6, 9 for the first through sixth lines respectively, which is Li » the Clinging # 30 «. I then went to work out the nuclear hexagram and moving hexagram. These are Ta Kuo » # 28 « and Chi Chi » # 63 « respectively. With that I felt that I had sufficient ''knowledge' so as to not be presented with any surprises, whilst living in the Red Barn. » I read it as stating that it would be good to move, and then it went on to say what living there would be like. «. » As a total aside, I ought to mention that I moved back into the apartment I had been living in, roughly eighteen months after moving out of the Red Barn. «
Those three hexagrams indicated that I would meet with fortune, but that the fortune would be tempered by some losses. The Inner structure of the house would be weak, but not enough to do any damage, so it will be advantageous to move in. There will be an abrupt coming into the house, and leaving, probably with there being some disorder in the end. Situation good, but perilous.
So, with few misgivings, I moved in. Six weeks later the entire household moved out. The fortune, as success was there --- in things I learnt about people. The distress was there --- in the romance which started in that house, and ended with me having a broken heart. When I moved in, the person whose place I was taking had not moved all their stuff out. Due to misunderstand, I moved in before he was ready to move out. When the household moved out, one person's stuff remained behind, as he was visiting his father's bedside. The morality of the residents might be questionable, but then, the Red Barn had a history of "questionable behavior." Furthermore, there can be no denying that the actual physical structure of the building is very weak, and decaying.
Had I realized all the implications of the answer, and that they would all be present, I might not have moved in. At the same time, I had not looked at the complete set of hexagrams and trigram, but only those three. The remaining nine important ones would have shown me far more of the undercurrents that were present, before I moved in, than I was then aware of.
For example, the reverse hexagram Kan» # 29 « warned of danger, especially if I not sincere about moving. This hexagram is also the preceding one, which serves to intensify the warning. Moving for the wrong reason will result in more "trouble" than not moving at all. Since I was not sure that I wanted to move in the first place, I ought to have expected trouble.
A Correct action, at the correct time, for an incorrect reason will be a perilous thing, for it is an incorrect action.Li » # 30 «, the primary hexagram, is also the inverse hexagram. The merely emphasizes the importance of being firm I had had my doubts about moving, and the result was misfortune --- money borrowed on the never-never system of repayment, the unreturned things I lent people, etc. The reverse Nuclear hexagram, I » # 27 « reminds one to question one's motives for doing an action, and thus seeking the proper alignment » for the superior person. « Without proper questioning, one will not do well. The inverse Nuclear Hexagram, Ta Kuo » # 28 « is also the primary nuclear hexagram, and thus reinforces the idea that whilst there is advantage in moving, that moving might be the wrong thing to do. It is as if it was suggesting that I need the experience of living in a commune, such as the Red Barn, but that perhaps it would be better to do it another time, although there is something to be gained by doing it now. «.
The following hexagram, Hsien » # 31 « indicates eventual satisfaction, after one has moved out of the present situation --- in this case, the house. It also suggests that the move will be within six weeks. I moved, almost six weeks to the day, out of the Red Barn, and into a situation that is, in many respects, better than the Red Barn.
The other nuclear hexagrams, K'uie » # 38 « Chia Jen » # 37 «; Ting » # 50 « and Ko » # 49 « indicate that there will be an overall harmony, but only in small matters. The overall harmony will be disharmonious.
A burning of things not present, but appear to be.The residents will behave as the archetypal family. There will be sharing of food, and some psychological nourishment. The minor squabbles will be there, but the main focus of energy would be seen in a revolution, after which the disharmonious harmony will become the overall harmonious harmony. These were all present. The little bitching about things which were not the problem, but ignoring the cause of the problem, if not the problem itself.Mealtimes were where we fed each other, physically, and built up each other's egos. However, it was at mealtimes that the veiled threats, the unstated anger, and basically hostile undercurrents were most in evident. » In many respects the broken cauldron signifies the empty promises, the lack of trust etc. as a very good metaphor of the reality. « The revolution was between a housemate, and the person whose place I took --- a hot war which slowly became a cold war. The family relationship is seen with the youngest resident as the young daughter, spoiled by the others, whilst the older female and male looked very much, and acted like the typical family. » I doubt I fit into the family 'model,' but might have, and just didn't want to see it then, nor now. «
That move into the Red Barn was not the only time I ought to have paid to the Yi Jing. It matters of romance, it is more potent, and perhaps, for that very reason, more devastating, to realize what it was saying would happen, although one might not be aware of that, at the time.
For example, I threw a hexagram to see what Melissa was like. The result was Meng » # 4 «. The passage basically reads:
Youthful Folly has its success. It is not I who seeks the young fool; The Young fool seeks me. At the first oracle, I inform,. If he asks two or three times, it is importunity. It importunity, give no information.
I interpreted it as meaning that whilst Melissa was not the right person for me, if I sought her out, but that if she sought me out, it would be correct to accept her. I also thought that perhaps that result was a response to my consulting the Yi Jing for too many possibly trivial things. A week or so after I received that answer, Melissa did come to me, in a very literal manner. I let her be. A few days later, she decided to move in with another person, leaving me feeling as if I had been kicked in the teeth.
Looking into hexagram, the warning was there ---
I inform, if importunity, I give no information.She begged, in that she asked me the same questions three, four or more times. She was an immature child, in many ways, being treated very often as the baby of the Red Barn. She might have meant me as a teacher, but I don't teach what she wants. Furthermore, she was not always aware of her immaturity, though she was partially coming towards realization. She has all the appearance of beauty, but none of the depth of grace, which beauty requires. The moving line --- Entangled folly brings humiliation --- was aimed at me, and I ignored it. Had I heeded it, I would not have accepted the closeness she presented, with the resulting humiliation. The nuclear upper trigram indicated that she is empty, and passive, whilst the lower nuclear trigram indicates that she is as thunder is --- can create, but needs the right conditions to so do.In looking at these hexagrams still deeper, one can see still more things which were to be. This brings me to the aspect of personal growth. It is my basic feeling that I would only have come to the awareness of the major set of twelve hexagrams, by sitting and reflecting upon the Yi Jing as a tool for divination, and how those hexagrams applied to the situation. The sitting and reflecting upon them is meditation upon the hexagrams, which is growth, albeit not necessarily one which leads straight into seeing the Multiverse as a roller coaster ride. However, that result in inevitable, as one begins to see how this might be 'good' fortune, whilst that might be 'bad' fortune, but by changing one's perspective they both become the opposite. With another change of perspective, both become seen as simply 'events,' neither good nor bad in and of themselves. Such a state would be very close to, if not flowing with the Dao. This is living life as a roller coaster ride. As Daoist religious tradition would have it --- one will learn to ride the wind, and to tame the dragon, but not bother with either.
To ride the wind implies that there is no sidetracking. An implication that is valid --- so long as one stays within the experience of the here-and-now. Which is possibly the only target of 'growth' if one pursues the roller coaster model of growth. This would than imply an implicit following of the staircase model of heaven and earth. In Daoist terms:
That which is, is not. That which is not, is.Perhaps the question ought to be:
Can the staircase model of the universe turn itself into the roller coaster model of the Multiverse?The Hexagrams
Primary Hexagram Primary Nuclear Hexagram Moving Hexagram Reverse Hexagram Inverse Hexagram Reverse Nuclear Hexagram Inverse Nuclear Hexagram Preceeding Hexagram Following Hexagram Upper Nuclear Hexagram Lower Nuclear Hexagram P6 / N 3 N6 / P3 The Trigrams
Upper Primary Trigram Lower Primary Trigram Upper Nuclear Trigram Lower Nuclear Trigram Licence Terms
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