The I Ching … on presenting the I Ching

Posted on August 24, 2013 by admin

I love the circularity, or pehaps the cyclicality of the universe. I have been immersed in a Taoist phase of practice for quite a while now, exploring all levels of reality through the lens of embodiment (spirit becoming flesh) and the yin/yang polarities of the cosmos. (By the way, Patanjali is also a Taoist. The very first practices he introduces, early in the Samadhi Pada come as a pair, abhyasa and vairagya. He also refers to the dvandvas, the pairs of opposites, in Sutra II-48, his third sutra on asana.)

Back in my college days, I was introduced to the I Ching, also known as the “Book of Changes” by Huston Smith in his class on Eastern Spirituality and for several years after I immersed myself in exploring the radical wisdom unfolded in the I Ching. On a shamanic adventure in Sedona Arizona a few years ago I was reintroduced to the hexagrams and had an immediate re-awakening to its importance to the somatic explorations in my practice. I recently pulled out my old copy from college, started some enquiries and have been further blown away by how alive, dynamic and relevant it is! I decided to do a blog post on the basics of I Ching, and asked the I Ching to comment on my decision.

I will explore the answer in a minute, but want to mention that in reading the introduction to get some background info, I found that Carl Jung, when asked to write a preface to Richard Wilhelm’s famous translation, (and the one I use) had a similar idea. He asked the I Ching to comment on his idea of presenting the I Ching to the Western mind. I will include the answer he received a bit later as well.

It is difficult to explain the I Ching to Westerners as there is no obvious correlate in either Western spirituality or science. The modern world tends to see a universe of independent, or even isolated causality. The I Ching emerged from an understanding of absolute wholeness or interconnectedness, at every level, at all times. Dating from as early as 1000 BCE, the hexagrams are essentially ways to explore how your sub or unconscious is aligned with the fullness of what is unfolding in the present moment. As the universe is in constant motion, life conditions are constantly changing. Is it time to move, or time to wait? Move with caution, with joy? Many layers and nuances are enfolded into the teachings of the I Ching, allowing you to have a cosmic perspective on decisions or choices you may be making and on the overall dynamics of the natural world. The I Chng immerses you in a world of fire, water, earth and wind, of safety and danger, of growth and decay, of teaching and learning, leading and following, of fundamental creativity and fundamental receptivity.

You approach it by first asking a question, then building a hexagram composed of 6 lines, each either yin (divided) or yang (solid) and finally reading the commentaries that accompany that hexagram in the book. The hexagram is seen to be composed of 2 trigrams, each representing an aspect of the natural world, the seasons, or the mother, father, 3 daughters and 3 sons. There are 8 possible trigrams, 64 possibles hexagrams.

The interpretation of the hexagrams in the I Ching involves both comparing the two trigrams and their aspects to each other as well as the relationship of each line to each other line.

The classical approach to constructing the hexagram uses either a bundle of 49 yarrow stalks or three coins. Using coins are easier to explain. Heads are assigned the yang number 3, tails the yin number 2. The coins are shaken and tossed and the sum is calculated. Three heads gives 9, three tails gives 6. These lines are called old yang and old yin. They are known as moving lines and add relevance in the commentary. The sum can also total 7, young yang, or 8, young yin. These young lines are static and do not invite further commentary. The first line is the bottom line of the hexagram and you build up to line six at the top.

In asking the I Ching about my presenting it in the blog, I threw 8, 7, 8, 6, 6, 9, corresponding to hexagram at the left. This is called Mêng / Youthful Folly and is addressed to students and teachers. (Uncanny is a good word!) The upper Trigram is Kên, Keeping Still, Mountain; the lower trigram is K’an, The Abysmal, Water. The commentaries following come from the edition of the I Ching shown above, Bollingen Series XIX from the Princeton University Press.

“The Judgment: YOUTHFUL FOLLY has success. It is not I who seek the young fool; The young fool seeks me. At the first oracle I inform him. If he asks two or three times, it is importunity. If he importunes, I give him no information. Perseverance furthers.”

(my commentary: The I Ching waits for students to come. It is happy to answer an honest question. But it won’t waste time on foolishness.)

“Commentary: In the time of youth folly is not an evil. One may succeed in spite of it, provided one finds an experienced teacher and has the right attitude toward him. This means, first of all, that the youth must be conscious of his lack of experience and must seek out the teacher. Without this modesty and this interest, there is no guarantee that he has the necessary receptivity, which should express itself in respectful acceptance of the teacher. This is why the teacher must wait to be sought out instead of offering himself. Only thus can the instruction take place at the right time and in the right way.
A teacher’s answer to the question of a pupil ought to be clear and definite like that experienced from an oracle; thereupon it ought to be accepted as a key for the resolution of doubts and the basis for a decision. If mistrustful or unintelligent questioning is kept up, it serves only to annoy the teacher. He does well to ignore it in silence, just as the oracle gives one answer only and refuses to be tempted by questions implying doubt.”

The Image: A spring wells up at the foot of the mountain: The image of youth. Thus the superior man fosters his character by thoroughness in all that he does.”

The Lines: Six in the forth place means: Entangled folly brings humiliation. For youthful folly, it is the most hopeless thing to entangle in empty imaginings….Often the teacher, when confronted with such entangled folly, has no other course but to leave the fool to himself for a time, not sparing him the humiliation that results….
Six in the fifth place means: Childlike folly brings good fortune. An inexperienced person who seeks instruction in a child like and unassuming way is on the right path, for the man devoid of arrogance who subordinates himself to the teacher will certainly be helped.

Nine at the top means: In punishing folly, it does not further one to commit transgressions. The only thing that furthers is to prevent transgressions. Sometimes an incorrigible fool must be punished. He who will not heed will be made to feel. The punishment is quite different from a preliminary shaking up. But the penalty should not be imposed in anger; it must be restricted to an objective guarding against unjustified excesses. Punishment is never an end in itself, but serves to restore order.”

(My commentary: The I Ching is a teacher and advises both students and teachers on how to be in a healthy relationship.)

Carl Jung received hexagram 50, Ting, the Cauldron with nines in the second and third place, in response to his question about presenting the I Ching to the West. The Cauldron represents nourishment. The trigram Li “Fire” sitting above the trigram Sun, “wood/wind”. “Nine in the second place means: There is food in the Ting, my comrades are envious, but they cannot harm me. Good Fortune.” Nine in the third place means: “The handle of the Ting is altered. One is impeded in his way of life. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once rain falls, remorse is spent. Good fortune comes in the end.”

Jung goes on to say that the I Ching was observing that although the spiritual nourishment is available (food in the Ting), it was being neglected (the fat of the pheasant, the most valuable part, is not eaten). But perhaps the new audience will appreciate what it has to offer. (Good fortune comes in the end.)

Here’s hoping good fortune comes to all. Wisdom is everywhere, but there are places where the essence of wisdom is highly concentrated. For those of us immersing ourselves in the natural world, this several thousand year old masterpiece is one such place. May it offer you insight and guidance on your journey through life. Remember ‘youthful folly’ can be the beginning of learning.

Sacred Geometry: Yoga and the Torus

Posted on July 1, 2013 by admin

The torus is a three dimensional figure created by rotating a circle 360 degrees along a line formed by another circle. This is also known as a donut or bagel shape. The hole is one ‘inside’ and the interior of the donut (like the inside of a tire tube) is another ‘inside’.
These are static structures.

We can also imagine a toroidal shaped electromagnetic field generating a torus shape like this heart-centered one from
Asianhealthsecrets.com.
“The Hearts’ torus electromagnetic field is not the only source that emits this type of electromagnetic field. Every atom emits the same torus field. The Earth is also at the center of a torus, so is the solar system and even our galaxy…and all are holographic. Scientists believe there is a good possibility that there is only one universal torus encompassing an infinite number of interacting, holographic tori within its spectrum.”

Here is a larger torus centered on Jupiter and its moon, Io.

” Io’s volcanoes continually expel an enormous amount of particles into space, and these are swept up by Jupiter’s magnetic field at a rate of 1,000 kg/sec. This material becomes ionized in the magnetic field and forms a doughnut-shaped track around Io’s orbit called the Io Plasma Torus.” (planetaryexploration.net)

Here is one with a vesica pisces! Very cool! The original, by artist and planetary healer Pamela Leigh Richards is quite dynamic. (http://flywithmeproductions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/torus1.gif.

Another cosmic one appears in the current edition of National Geographic (July 2013) in an article on the origins of the solar system. This side oriented torus represents the Oort Cloud’ a collection of trillions of comets and mini planets toroidally spinning around the solar system, seen here in red.

This reminded me of Itzak Bentov’s torus describing his model of the whole cosmos. This can be found in both “Stalking the Wild Pendulum” and “A Cosmic Book, for those who want to look a bit more deeply into this.

And, for the piece de resistance, I offer the first cell division, where a single cell becomes two cells.
Notice the energy flow and the opening of the toroidal field as the poles (centrioles) separate. For your cosmic homework, as you sit in your favorite pose, Find your heart in the center and visualze the heart’s electro-magnetic field. Find the 1st chakra and open it to the earth’s energy. Find the 7th chakra opening to the heavens. Then allow the heavens to pass through the donut hole into the earth and the earths energies to pass through you to the heavens. Find the balance of stability (sthira) and flow (sukham) as the torus links your atoms to the cosmos and vice versa.

Then explore the energetic shift from one cell to two and then the reverse, from two to one. Develop some flexibility in both directions. Find the torus and the vesica pisces. We will build upon this in upcoming embryology sections.

And most importntly, Smile. Enjoy the show. And, to quote the poet Mary Oliver, ‘Pay attention!, Be astounded! Tell about it!

Sacred Geometry: Pyramids and More

Posted on June 3, 2013 by admin

More homework and clues for all of you somanauts out there. Previously we have been exploring variations on concentric circles (feminine) in several posts and now we add the masculine line in the form of the pyramid and some of the platonic solids. Somanautics requires a clear flow of perception, a good imagination, and lots of patience and curiosity. Go for it!

We’ll start with the square based pyramid as seen here. From the apex or top four lines descend, one to each of the four corners of a square, creating four triangles. This one shown is solid, but we can just as well imagine a pyramid of energy or as a light field. As we see with B.K.S. Iyengar, the basic sitting posture creates a pyramidal shape. If we could channel our inner Brahma, we could imagine four heads each looking out to the four directions, N,S, E and W, with head and tail orienting to heaven and earth to complete the six sacred directions.

There are many ways to explore this energy field. Here is one. Notice Brahma’s enlarged crown chakra. As you sit in whatever meditation position speaks to you, find the crown chakra space above your head and open it, wake it up. Let this be the apex. Imagine the inhalation traveling down from the apex spreading down the pyramid, ever widening in all four directions as it descends. This is a feminine inhalation, descending and widening. Feel grounded, rooted, stable. Imagine the masculine exhalation traveling up from the root chakra straight up the center channel to the crown chakra. Feel tall, open and spacious. As the inhalation moves down, keep the inner channel tall. As the exhalation flows, keep the width at all levels of the pyramid. Masculine and feminine energies move in perfect harmony. Let your cells and connective tissue structures feel the shape, expanding as they are supported by the field. This is ‘sthira sukham asanam’.

Another possibility begins with a mini pyramid centered on the root chakra. Let it breathe. Then slowly allow it to increase in size, keeping the center point of the base stable. Draw the apex up through the chakras observing where the body opens and where there is resistance. Be gentle and clear. Feel the pyramid expanding on the in breath, widening and releasing all unnecessary tension on the exhalation. Grow the pyramid until it reaches up past your crown chakra. Which of the four directions opens more easily? Which is the most resistant?

The square base pyramid is actually half of an octahedron, one of the five platonic solids. A triangular based pyramid is known as a tetrahedron, another platonic solid. Notice that the tetrahedron is asyymetrical. If we use it as a form for sitting we have to choose whether to have the base pointing forward or backward. Each offers a different inner experience. Try both. See if one or the other is more appealing.

If we take two tetrahedrons, put them together, one apex pointing up, the other down, we find a stellated octahedron. Here are two stellated octahedrons for your imagination to run with. Lots of fun can be had with the energy fields these create and we will come back to them in an upcoming post. They are a bit more complex so it may take a while. Enjoy!