Renewing with the I Ching

Today I was moved to get out my I Ching materials, which I had not worked with in some time.  It felt important to explore it again, and the time opened up for me to sit down and be with it in the absence of distsraction or pressure. 

The I Ching is an ancient "divination" tool, which helps to focus one's higher self, or inner knowing.  It has its complexities, but it didn't take long to refresh my mind, and very soon I took a deep clearing breath, sensed my arms and legs and their relation to the ground, the desk, and the materials, and asked a heartfelt question about a recent decision and whether it was right for me.

The answer came, loud, clear, and refreshing:  Renewal, stripping away the old, a need to accept that this change is indeed necessary, that my path would not allow it to be any other way... and that it will eventuate in greater closeness between me and others who are especially important to me. 

Another deep breath... this, a relaxing one, a knowing one, breathing in the knowledge of my truth having been spoken.  I felt it so deeply and happily. 

The I Ching's message doesn't bring a false hope that the way will always be smooth or that life will be fully of only happy moments.  What it gives me is an opening to my own understanding of my needs and how to fulfill them internally. 

It feels dramatic and yet soft.  It feels true.

When Life Gets Difficult

There isn't one of us who hasn't experienced snags, potholes, or real crises in life.  Even with a positive outlook or a strong spiritual foundation, no one is immune to problems.  Smoothness just isn't a characterisic of life, and neither is a steady sense of cheer.  It's normal to experience anger, frustration, sadness, anxiety, fear, loneliness, valuelessness, and all the other emotions with which we respond to stress.

Not only is it normal to experience these feelings about our difficulties, but our feelings can be the vehicles for working on them most sanely.  When you feel an emotion, it carries with it some fundamental information about you.  It offers a way in to your deepest intelligence.  And that deep intelligence is what will help you meet your problems in a grounded, calm, clear, and courageous manner.

My work with the enneagram has taught me that all feelings are useful when approached as vehicles for self-understanding.  This is one of the ways I work with people in therapy and coaching sessions, and the results are staggering.  It's about helping clients find their true center even when they've been thrown a curveball, even in the midst of otherwise overwhelming demands, even when it seems that the worst-case scenario has become real. 

On getting in touch with our true centers, we know that hope, peace, strength, and love abound.  No matter what.