Okay, so today I decided to tackle Hexagram 9. I’ve been meaning to dive deeper into the I Ching, and this felt like a good place to start.
First, I grabbed my copy of the I Ching – the Wilhelm/Baynes translation, because that’s what I’ve got. I flipped through the pages, found Hexagram 9, “The Taming Power of the Small,” and settled in to read.
I read through the main text, the Image, and the Judgement. Then, I went line by line, trying to make sense of it all. I mean, it’s pretty dense stuff, right?
- Line 1: “Return to the way.” Okay, sounds simple enough, but what is my way?
- Line 2: “He allows himself to be drawn…” Thinking, thinking… is this about letting go of control?
- And so on… I won’t bore you with every single line.
My Key Word were
My Key Word were “The Taming Power of the Small.”, “Return to the way” and “He allows himself to be drawn…”
The Process
It took a while. I kept going back and forth, reading, re-reading, and scribbling notes in my journal. I tried to relate the lines to my own life, to situations I’m facing right now. Where am I being stubborn? Where could I be more flexible?
After a couple of hours, I felt like I had a slightly better grasp on it. It’s not like I suddenly understand everything, but I got a few little insights. I realized I need to be more patient with a project I’m working on, and that pushing too hard might actually be counterproductive.
So, yeah, that was my Hexagram 9 experience for today. Not exactly a mind-blowing revelation, but a good, solid practice. I’ll probably come back to it again in a few days and see if anything else clicks.
