The I Ching, Unlocking The Universal Code Of Life
Today, in the world of holistic and complementary medicine, there are a number of exciting and new topics offered that can give new insights and inspiration to our imagination. However, there is one age old and ageless fount of wisdom that is as important today as at any time in history – this is the 64 hexagrams and the I Ching. The I Ching is a book of philosophy that hasn’t been altered or edited in any way since its creation and has sketches depicting the nature and origin of life on earth. The I Ching is estimated to be 5,000 years old and is the oldest books in the world.
The Chinese believed that the five elements and the forces of Yin and Yang govern everything that exists in the world. The idea came about due to the constant states of changes that is happening in the world and that those changes were not random. It was actually changing based on a regular pattern.
The theory of the Five elements dates back thousands of years ago and is grounded on the notion that precise observations of nature, in which ancient sages attempted to understand and clarify the natural cycles of life.
Interacting with each other, the five elements can create certain trends and influences in the life of the planet and in the lives of people.
Fruitful Cycle: Wood feeds Fire, Fire feeds Earth, Earth feeds Metal. Metal feeds Water;
Catastrophic Cycle: Wood clashes with Earth, Earth clashes with Water, Water clashes with Fire, Fire clashes to Metal.
When a certain element is in excess or active in any given situation, it can have an effect on the other elements, resulting in a deficiency (ex, too much Wood results in Earth deficiency). If an element is weak or passive, it can have an effect on the water element that precedes it in the catastrophic cycle, making it excess (e.g. passive Wood results in an overabundance of Metal).
The following are examples of the significance of a good relationship between the five elements.
Balance
We can attain our goal of harmony and balance when we assist the five elements to communicate with each other in an ‘ amicable’ way. In understanding the concept of the five elements and to achieve proper balance, an experienced practitioner should figure out how best to bring a certain situation to a more positive and healthy result.
Hence, the inclusion of a certain element into an equation can significantly generate the desired outcome:
Each element can be adapted to the Chinese calendar and to time
Each element associates with a part of a body
Each element has a number
Each element has a trigram
Each element has a color
The Trigrams
Trigrams is a symbol depicted by three lines (either negative and broken, or positive and solid) associated with either Yang or Yin. There are eight trigrams that have their own directions, names, body parts, family links, elements, body areas, elemental features (shapes) and seasons. The I Ching’s 64 Hexagrams come from the eight trigrams. There are eight trigrams which have their own respective shapes (elemental features), seasons, elements, body parts, family links, directions, and names. A trigram’s relationship with itself makes a hexagram, while the seven other trigrams provide eight kinds of energetic influence. In adding these eight trigram influences together, we come up with 8 x 8 = 64. The trigram is an important aspect each of each of the Hexagram’s meaning.
More widely known for its use as an oracle, the I Ching is also a way of obtaining answers and suggestions and to vital questions of relevance that has got to do with the life of a person. The I Ching has 64 symbols. A Hexagram is made up of six lines that pertain to Yin and Yang. Each Hexagram possesses a name and provide a general interpretation pertaining to a particular state of energy or dynamic state of being.
According to Daoists, nothing is permanent or fixed, and that all things change. This basic vital truth truth is essential in learning the I Ching. Time is a part of what we call change. , when translated, the I Ching means Book of Changes. It is a code of life of the universe and is immortal.
The Eight Trigrams
Good Health and the I Ching,
At some point in our lives, most of us, we have experienced both advice and assistance concerning our health both physically and psychologically. The I Ching not only provides us with spiritual insight and wisdom but also is an expert guidance regarding our health and wellbeing. The I Ching concerns evolution, regeneration, change. In this very old book, we find discussion of plus and minus polarities, trends and tendencies, natural forces, and cardinal points which Modern physics has just begun to expand its horizons to in terms of understanding life on the universe and earth over the last previous centuries. Modern physics has also difficulty in presenting its experiments and formulae in manner that can be easily comprehended and that tend to conform to natural laws. The progress that has been made in quantum physics and science has however led to something very interesting occurring: that quantum physics and science has parallels to some of the teachings of Eastern philosophies.
That thousands of years old knowledge of the universe and states of being as well as its energies (via the I Ching) is far more important than modern science it completely believable. While it is not just a book about science and natural laws, the I Ching, from a personal perspective, can also depict psychological and emotional states.
The hidden truth of the universe is the Dao, the path to all things. Soft energy can be found everywhere and in everything and is interlinked and connected. This is best symbolized by the widely known symbol of Tai Chi. The Dao is itself unseen and mysterious and is the surrounding circle. The interplay of Yin and Yang is its manifestation.
The great psychologist, Carl Jung, whose work of therapy and counseling is based on the I Ching spent a whole summer trying to disprove the I Ching. He eventually began to be impressed by it that he began using it in his work! Jung coined the world ‘synchronicity’ to describe things that are related in coincidences or unexpected ways, (when one thinks of a person and the person phones, or a person might be searching for something and find the answer in a magazine or newspaper).
The genetic code of DNA, the Chinese horoscope, Ba Zi, Feng Shui, Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese nutrition, Sun Tzu’s Art of War, reflexology, TCM, qi gong, tao chi, and acupuncture are all sciences and disciplines that are derived from and connected to the 64 Hexagrams and the I Ching.
There are 64 code words or parts that make up the genetic code of DNA. There are 64 Hexagrams in I Ching. These disciplines are actually medical sciences, which mean that the I Ching has a very deep influence and a significant role to play in the good of health of society as a whole and in a person.
Along with the universal code, the DNA spiral is written on the rungs of its spiral ladder. Within a 360 degree turn, there are eight rungs. Within the I Ching and Feng Shui are eight trigrams that symbolize the eight directions within a 360 degree turn.
Becoming conscious of the existence of Chi is a step towards spiritual cultivation and physical health. The nervous systems and consciousness of people aren’t adequately equipped to feel the Chi outside and inside their bodies. We cannot see Chi physically but we can observe its goings and comings via the phenomena of death and life.
Practicing and studying the Chinese healing arts consistently plus an intimate understanding of the I Ching can quite effectively lead to the refinement of our internal energies so much so that indirectly, it will lead to the treatment of heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, arthritis and various types of illnesses. The most important contribution to one’s health is disease prevention and its efficacy in preventing disease is due to its keeping the internal energies in a state of balance.
By understanding both the five element theory and Chinese medicine, the crystal knowledge code of the I Ching and the vitality that has been trapped within a tight and imbalanced body is liberated and enabled to bring back and maintain natural health. This is applicable applies to all of the Chinese healing modalities.
It is not only not so difficult to easily violate the universe’s natural laws, it can always also lead to loss of harmony and balance both externally and internally. If you do not have these imbalances addressed, it will ruin your health and physical body. When every aspect of our life and energy is a representation of natural law, we are in harmony with the universe instinctively, and therefore, we’re able to receive a harmonious natural response from the universe.
Tammi A. Jones is a licensed acupuncturist in Palm Harbor, FL, practicing acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and Western medical pathology. She is also the founder of Synoma Wellness Centre.