Suggested uses for IChingOnline

Suggested uses for IChingOnline... Morning Devotional There is no daily affirmation better than a personal morning reading from the I Ching. By asking something as simple as what influences to watch for in the day ahead, you can trace the patterns, movements, and cycles in the environment around you, noticing subtle signs that you would have missed before, and that remain unseen by others around you. This practice becomes a discipline that builds a heightened awareness. Analysis of the Situation Analysis is what the I Ching oracle does best. Tapping your subconscious mind, the oracle puts your conscious mind in touch with information that is normally inaccessible. You get a much more rounded, intuitive view of the situation. From this vantage point, you can position yourself correctly to receive the benefits and deftly dodge the perils. This will seem absolutely magical to those around you. It is the same intuition used by the finest martial artists. Decision-Making The great Chinese warrior, Sun Tzu was heavily influenced by the I Ching when he wrote his brilliant Art of War, 2500 years ago. Yet he would not let his officers consult the oracle when mapping strategy. Why? Because his lieutenants had fallen into the same trap that threatens anyone who uses the I Ching -- they began to use it for fortune-telling. They would look for omens. They would cast the coins to ask what direction to march, and read only the symbolic direction. They were not tapping their own deeper knowledge with the tool. Do not fall into this trap. This is not a Ouija board. There is no magic here. This is a great psychological tool, if properly used. Don't get lazy and ask it to lead you. Hope that it keeps challenging you to reach for the grain of truth within the ambiguity of its symbols. After a long consultation with the I Ching Online, you will emerge confident in the decision you have reached. When trying to reach a decision, ask the oracle hard questions. Are you right in your position? What are the most likely consequences of each direction that might be taken? What is the ethical choice? What might be lost besides the obvious? Where is your adversary most vulnerable? What is the path of least resistance? Is the prize worth the pain? Are there unconsidered alternatives? Brainstorming No idea-generating tool offers better penetration to the Collective Unconscious than the I Ching. The hundreds of symbols of the trigrams combine in random pairings when hexagrams are cast. The combinations possible number in the tens of millions. Try some pairings: Take the animal symbol of the upper trigram and a miscellaneous symbol from the lower. Or vice versa. What do these word pictures spark in your subconscious? Who comes to mind? What setting do you see in your mind's eye? Try some other symbols? In the situation you ask about, who is the Eldest Son? Or what lies to the east? Or who has the traits of a mare? What is colored yellow? Or scarlet? Where would the gentle penetration of the wind or the arousing might of the thunder be most useful? Who would be the Gypsy? Or the Sorceress? Evening Review of the Day The I Ching Online is a good soother of nerves in the evening, or before bed. Consult the oracle about events that occured during the day. Ask it to give insight to elements that led up to events. Or what the outcome of a situation will most likely be. Or what another person's motivation might have been for an action taken or comment made. The possibilities are as endless as the events that might occur in the course of your day. By contemplating your day with the help of the oracle, you gain a mindfulness that calms you and puts you more in control of your faculties. Also, subjects that you think about just before sleep are often dreamed about, giving your subconscious mind even more time to work with a situation you've focused on.