Dense Clouds, No Rain

It's Sunday so I want to get back to the conversation of creativity and spirituality which is part of the theme of this blog. I practice I Ching as a philosophy that focuses my spiritual meditation. One of the aspects of I Ching that is attractive to me is its foundation in taoist philosophy of yin-yang, action/non-action. In trying to be spiritually healthy, I try to strive for balance. I have a tendancy in my personality to feel as if any problem I come up against I need to act on immediately. The I Ching readings give me a perspective that shows the wisdom in waiting, contemplating, listening (especially to my inner voice), and also when to act and when not to act. The main idea is to follow the good, and disclose the workings of EGO, which sometimes acts as The Wizard of Oz and can be shown through practice as not the most important aspect of my personality (like when Toto pulled back the curtain).

Today, I asked the I Ching about my path to creativity and what the image of my path in that direction is. I received Hex 9: The Taming Power of the Small with no lines. For more information about the I Ching and how it works you can check out this website: Online Clarity. This is the second time this week I received Hex 9 without lines.


The hexagram image is a gentle wind above heaven, the creative. the judgment says: The taming power of the small has success. Dense clouds, no rain from our western region. The image description is: The wind drives across heaven: the image of the taming power of the small. Thus the superior man refines the outward aspect of his nature. (wilhelm translation: pg. 40-41)

To comprehend the meaning I refer to two more books. I use R. L. Wing's I Ching Notebook, especially when I get a hexagram with no lines. Getting no lines usually means the situation is static and will stay unchanged for a period of time. Wing says: Strength is restrained in the lower trigram of human affairs and can create only small and gentle effects. The hexagram in its unchanging form suggests that the object of your inquiry is blocked by a small yet permanent influence. Nothing can be done externally. Salvation, if it exists, lies in work on the Self. Refine your impulses and desires.

Sounds harsh, huh. Let's check another book I refer to, Carol Anthony's Guide to the I Ching. She says: One more step in the process of correcting the situation has been completed. The temptation always exist to abandon self-discipline. Particularly after small victories our inferiors (those small voices inside you that whine about not getting their way) ask: "May I relax now? When am I going to be able to enjoy myself?" Anthony interprets that not only is final victory impossible now, but ambition would exert a negative pressure.

So I sit back and think about this and I see that even though I'm excited about the prospect of getting back to painting and designing sweaters, I need to do the work to get any significant results. But the good news is, it's not a process that means you have to whip yourself, it is gentle like a cool breeze against your back that helps you to walk through the process. The key is to stay in the moment and enjoy the creative work, the first step, the first stitch, the first brush stroke. The salvation comes when I get into that zone of creativity where there is no time and the work nourishes me. I've been in that place before and I love it.

happy sunday!! sue