The I Ching or The Book of Changes

In this column, I decided to introduce an ancient Chinese text to emphasize a couple of psychological points -- that the human psyche (our psychology) is present in most of what we do and express and to indicate how unconscious (unaware) we are of these processes. The latter point is important because it indicates the need for each of us to develop our consciousness (awareness) as much as possible.

The I Ching is a book of 64 hexagrams, or descriptions, that comment on life. For millennia, emperors and historic leaders, confronted with major decisions or dilemmas regarding the governance of a territory or province, sought guidance by posing a question to The Book of Changes. The answer from The I Ching, or the selected hexagram, is symbolic; therefore, understanding the symbolic response requires a keen interpreter.

During the passing centuries, many other people learned how to address questions and to, some degree, understand the descriptive symbols. In other words, when confronted with major dilemmas, everyday people also learned to pose questions and seek guidance for their decisions. But how can this type of questioning and answering be valid? To answer that question we must turn to our psychology, or more appropriately the psyche, and to ritual.

Our psychology extends from the psyche because our unconscious (hidden psychology) and conscious are elements of the human psyche. In addition, we also know we possess a physical side to our nature. When a person presents a question to The I Ching, a ritual must be performed to determine the hexagram response. In general, rituals connect us more substantially to the human psyche. In other words, the conscious part of the psyche becomes less dominant and the unconscious part more dominant. As such, the ritual opens our unconscious to the consciously presented question, enabling the unconscious psyche to complete a process using the physical aspect of our nature and The I Ching to determine a hexagram response.

Here is an example from my life. While attending medical school, I began questioning whether or not I should finish the degree. So, I asked The I Ching if I would benefit from leaving. The descriptive response I received is called the Creative. The symbols indicated that my life would be more creative and satisfying, if I left medical school. Of course, the response didn't indicate how my life would be more creative but my decision to leave became easier.

The human psyche influences each of us all the time but sometimes we can consciously ask for guidance.