Mar 04 25
Eight of Cups
48. The Well
39. Obstruction
These first few lines are the general aphoristic returns for the week. They are raw and uninterpreted; there to use how you’d like. (The specific readings follow.)
From “MS”: Past experience is how we prepare for the future, but it often over-influences and distorts. What is some advice for keeping the related modes of desire and expectation from getting poisoned by worry and fear —blocking us from seeing ALL the options available — rather than only the ones sharpened by anxiety?
All signs point to a near-ignoring of the surface situation. That is, retreat from topicality (the “news,” the gossip).
You have wandered too far into a habitat that is not your own. Though there are resources here, the “rules” are wonky and unhealthy.
For the time being walk in the opposite direction of your goal(!) back to the relative safety of your base. When you have recalibrated your serenity, and refriended your skill sets, return to the paths — just don’t be beckoned into the trap of others selfish terrains.
Complete Reading
This week we pulled the Eight of Cups. There is a Buddhist parable where a monkey reaches into a jar (sometimes a gourd, sometimes a coconut) to grab a piece of fruit — but the fruit is too large for the opening. (This is actually a trap laid by a hunter.) To be free all the monkey needs to do is let go of the fruit. The monkey’s desire is too strong and it gets captured. The letting go of assets (yes assets! not only bad habits!) is necessary for growth (eventual greater assets). Also: “do not wander in wrong pastures” or “in the habitat of others.”
Our first hexagram this week is #48, The Well. Architectures, styles of dress, leaders/political systems, vocal accents, even the manner which we communicate, are all subject to change, but there are deeper things that have been here since even the eukaryote — the need of water, for one — but there are many elemental conditions that bind us entirely, rather than separate us. It is up to a leader (of people or of the self) to stoke awareness of deeper, shared standards —and to encourage all to work together to secure what is essential.
There was one change this week of which the specific note is: if you neglect your talents, you will deteriorate.
Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #39, Obstruction. When “an individual is confronted by obstacles that cannot be overcome directly… it is wise to pause in view of the danger and to retreat. However, this is merely a preparation for overcoming the obstructions. One must join forces with friends of like mind and put themself under the leadership of a person equal to the situation: then one will succeed in removing the obstacles. This requires the will to persevere just when one apparently must do something that leads away from their goal. This unswerving inner purpose brings good fortune in the end.” Also: “An obstruction that lasts only for a time is useful for self–development. This is the value of adversity… Difficulties and obstructions throw a person back upon themself. While the inferior person seeks to put the blame on others… the superior person seeks the error within themself, and through this introspection the external obstacle becomes an occasion for inner enrichment and education.”
- Let go to grow.
- Do not “wander in wrong pastures” or “in the habitat of others.”
- Help/encourage others to both, see what is essential/perennial to life and that all must work together to secure the safety of such elemental constants.
From “MS”: Past experience is how we prepare for the future, but it often over-influences and distorts. What is some advice for keeping the related modes of desire and expectation from getting poisoned by worry and fear —blocking us from seeing ALL the options available — rather than only the ones sharpened by anxiety?
All signs point to a near-ignoring of the surface situation. That is, retreat from topicality (the “news,” the gossip).
You have wandered too far into a habitat that is not your own. Though there are resources here, the “rules” are wonky and unhealthy.
For the time being walk in the opposite direction of your goal(!) back to the relative safety of your base. When you have recalibrated your serenity, and refriended your skill sets, return to the paths — just don’t be beckoned into the trap of others selfish terrains.
Complete Reading
This week we pulled the Eight of Cups. There is a Buddhist parable where a monkey reaches into a jar (sometimes a gourd, sometimes a coconut) to grab a piece of fruit — but the fruit is too large for the opening. (This is actually a trap laid by a hunter.) To be free all the monkey needs to do is let go of the fruit. The monkey’s desire is too strong and it gets captured. The letting go of assets (yes assets! not only bad habits!) is necessary for growth (eventual greater assets). Also: “do not wander in wrong pastures” or “in the habitat of others.”
Our first hexagram this week is #48, The Well. Architectures, styles of dress, leaders/political systems, vocal accents, even the manner which we communicate, are all subject to change, but there are deeper things that have been here since even the eukaryote — the need of water, for one — but there are many elemental conditions that bind us entirely, rather than separate us. It is up to a leader (of people or of the self) to stoke awareness of deeper, shared standards —and to encourage all to work together to secure what is essential.
There was one change this week of which the specific note is: if you neglect your talents, you will deteriorate.
Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #39, Obstruction. When “an individual is confronted by obstacles that cannot be overcome directly… it is wise to pause in view of the danger and to retreat. However, this is merely a preparation for overcoming the obstructions. One must join forces with friends of like mind and put themself under the leadership of a person equal to the situation: then one will succeed in removing the obstacles. This requires the will to persevere just when one apparently must do something that leads away from their goal. This unswerving inner purpose brings good fortune in the end.” Also: “An obstruction that lasts only for a time is useful for self–development. This is the value of adversity… Difficulties and obstructions throw a person back upon themself. While the inferior person seeks to put the blame on others… the superior person seeks the error within themself, and through this introspection the external obstacle becomes an occasion for inner enrichment and education.”