Approaching the Oracle
The Oracle is Your Friend!
The I Ching is a lot more than just a book. To me, it is one of the crowning achievements of humanity (even better than, oh, sliced bread!), containing wisdom, insight, advice, and hope. It has been studied for literally thousands of years, and is every bit as relevant today as it was when first inscribed.
But the Book of Changes is definitely not an unapproachable tomb, or an unreachable mystic, or an incomprehensible guide. The Book of Changes is alive -- living in our bodies, minds, spirits, and souls. Its wisdom lives within us and around us; all we need to do is tap into its power, which we have always had ourselves. The Oracle is kind, and when treated with respect, in return respects us. The Oracle is my friend.
How do I go about being friends with a book? To me, the I Ching is more than a book; it is a window into my own higher consciousness, my higher-dimensional powers (which we all have!). So I am really only befrending myself, opening up to the energy around me.
It gets back to what I feel is the fundamental belief in this whole thing -- that nothing happens by "chance" -- everything happens for a reason. If this is so, then when I cast the coins, they land in a particular sequence because they are supposed to land that way. Then, the question becomes, "who determines how the coins land?" I say -- we do!
The Oracle, being an extension of myself shared with millions of others across thousands of years, has better things to do than answer questions like, "will the Cubs win the pennant this year?" I respect its power -- the power within us all -- and consult the Book of Changes when I have a serious, personal decision to make.
I discuss this a bit more in Formulating the Question, so I'll wrap up this section by reiterating that the Oracle is but a window into our higher consciousness, that which knows all and can guide us when the need is great. Respect, love, and compassion are essential in every relationship, including mine with the I Ching.
Thoughts about Oracle Computer Software
(I originally wrote this as a post to The Celestine Prophecy Mailing List on Friday, August 16, 1996.)
I'm a software engineer and systems analyst by trade, and got my first computer in the 4th grade (way back when Commodore Pets were the hot item!) so I don't have a computer/tech phobia when I say that I had personal problems with using I Ching software for divinations.
The act of physically handling my old bronze Chinese coins, meditating on the question(s) and various aspects thereof as I cast the lines of the hexagram, and being connected to higher energies is what makes the ritual so very special to me. (There are other methods, such as the Yarrow Stalks and the Method of the 16, so feel free to insert whatever way you prefer here!)
One could argue that it's really only random (the coins are going to land either heads or tails, anyway) and thus using a computer, with all of its instant calculatory power and random-number generating abilities, is nothing more than taking the Oracle into the tech ages. I originally felt that by removing the human, physical element from the divination process, you might lose contact with your higher-dimensional consciousness and the spirit guides who offer wisdom and assistance.
The major leap-of-faith (and this is interesting for a computer-science tech guy to say!) is that the coins do not land randomly -- it is you, your higher energies, your connection with the cosmos, that guides and determines how the coins land. That is the power of I Ching -- you guide how the coins land. This is a radical break from my Western-imposed "rational" thought process.
The process of consulting the Oracle takes a bit of time -- even the coin method takes a few minutes -- and this quiet time of meditation and contemplation shapes the unfolding reality. The computers return instant results, which are what they're good for, but this immediate response denies you the opportunity to relax, unite your energies with the Universe, and become one with the Oracle as you perform your reading. (Some of the new software does in fact allow you time to meditate and contemplate your question, which I found very relaxing.)
I cherish my relationship with the Oracle, and personally had not used the free software available on the Web until very recently. I felt that if I used a modern-day tool, I might violate the trust and understanding I have nurtured over the past years. However, I have upon a few occasions evaluated some of the software available on the Internet, including the package from Digital Dragon. Many of these products do in fact seem to be of high quality and developed with care and energy.
So what is my final recommendation? What should a beginner use when first contacting the Oracle? Whatever you feel comfortable with. I still prefer to bring my coins and paper to the park and sit under a tree by the beautiful flowing creek. But the computer software brings ease-of-use and a new level of simplicity, and hey, you can use the programs at work too!
Back to Me, Myself, and I Ching
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