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October 2011

By Sukhwinder Sircar

To me, the I Ching is the voice of God speaking to me directly. It is a living, loving teacher who is available for consulting 24/7, says Sukhvinder Sircar

When approached with a sincere heart, the I Ching will reveal the fundamental issues of one’s life, and instil the values necessary to successfully negotiate those issues. The I Ching has been my guide, mentor, friend for the last 16 years. I bought the I Ching book from a bookstore in Hyderabad in July 1995, little knowing what it was. When I came back to Kolkata and opened it, I discovered it was an oracle! And from there began a journey towards a better, balanced life. Through having consulted it constantly, sometimes more than once a day, I have gradually internalised its energy. I consult it for a specific issue or a general advice. Sometimes, when it is not possible to consult the book when I need its urgent advice, I instinctively know what it would say. However, consulting the book has no substitute.

How to Consult the I Ching

Step 1: Ask your question

Ask an open-ended question (not a yes-or-no question), and if you want to reflect on it later, record it in your notebook.

The question should be something that you’re currently preoccupied with, so make sure your ‘official question’ and your ‘real question’ (the one that you’re thinking about) are one and the same. If you ask a question that’s different from what you’re really thinking about, the I Ching will often answer the question that’s at top of mind, not the one you wrote in your notebook.

The timeframe should be over the next few weeks or months.

Sample questions:

• What will my love life look like over the next few months?

• What should I be doing in order to get my career on track?

• How should I be balancing my work and family commitments with my need for fun and self-fulfillment?

Step 2: Toss the coins six times

 

Toss your coins, while thinking about your question, six times. Count heads as three and tails as two. If the number is odd, draw an unbroken line, if even draw a broken line. The pattern of lines should go from bottom to top in your notebook, till you have 6 stacked lines. Your hexagram may look like this:

Sixth Line
    _______________________________  9

Fifth Line
   _____________   _______________   8

Fourth Line
   _______________________________  7

Third Line
   _______________________________  9

Second Line
   _______________________________  7

First Line
   _____________  ________________    6

This gives you a hexagram (6 lines).

Step 3: Make the trigrams and hexagram

You now cut the hexagram in half to yield two trigrams (3-line patterns), an upper (4th through 6th toss) and lower (1st through 3rd toss).

Step 4: Read your hexagram advice

To find out which hexagram this is, consult the chart of 64 hexagarms given earlier. In this example, it is the hexagram 50. Read that hexagram up to the point that says ‘first line’.

The voice of God

To me, the I Ching is the voice of God speaking to me directly. It is a living, loving teacher who is available for consulting 24/7.

 

Just a week ago, I consulted the I Ching for guidance if a specific date would be appropriate to launch a new project. I wanted to plan accordingly. The Sage gave me a gentle rap on the knuckles, when I drew the ‘youthful folly’ hexagram (mountain over water) that advised me to quieten the demands of the ego to plan and strategise, concentrate only on the moment, and do what it asks of me. Only in such an open attitude, will the Sage be able to guide me safely and joyfully. I was quickly back to an attitude of humility and surrender!

I always got into trouble when my ego asked me to disregard the advice of the Sage, thereby causing disturbance and even disruption in my spiritual progress. At such times, the advice of the Sage is stern and asks for disconnection with my inferior self.

I very well remember a time, almost 15 years ago, when a friend of mine told me of a fabulous past-life regression programme he had attended. I desperately wanted to attend too, but the next one was to be held in Hawaii. I wanted to go to Hawaii, though I did not have the money even for a train ride to Delhi. Confused, I consulted the I Ching. The Sage asked me to refrain from any action, as inferior influences were in the forefront. I refused to listen, continued to make crazy plans, and tried to influence the I Ching to support. In the next consulting, its advice was a more dire warning and I attracted the ‘Darkening of the Light’ (earth over fire) hexagram. The advice was to immediately correct my attitude, as the desperate action would only extinguish my own inner light, and block the aid of the Creative. It took all my moral muscle to give up and abide by the Sage advice.
 

Sukhvinder Sircar is a mystic, metaphysician, channeller, Transformation leader, Accredited Group Process Facilitator, EMF Balancing Technique Practitioner. You can read about her work on www.primecreator.org

At work, many times my headstrong nature would want me to push and fight, argue and control. I remember the day I was all ready to go and fight with a senior management boss, armed with my arguments. I took a quick look at the I Ching to help me in my mission. Oh no! I attracted the hexagram ‘Obstruction’ (water over mountain) that said that as much as I want to blame another, in all likelihood the true obstruction was in my own thinking. The sage asked me to retreat into self-examination and self-correction. Of course I gave up the ‘I’m right’ campaign, and saved myself from a serious mistake. That very boss called me the next day and gave me a plum project, right after my heart. The advice is always practical and workable. Reaching a good position of balance and harmony with the Sage takes hard work, commitment and time, and can be lost in a moment of self-aggrandisement. The advice of the I Ching is simple – the more aligned you are with higher principles, the more influence you wield. We hold all kinds of motivations at all times, some lower ego impelled, some higher and spiritual. The Sage simply encourages us to make the higher choice at all times.

I bless the day I found the Sage through the I Ching. The times I have blundered are the ones when I did not walk with the Sage. The Sage teaches in an almost imperceptible way. That is how light it is.