Tao of Chaos - Highlights from Beyond the Linear Limits & Personal Observations

  Written by Randy Enman on Jan 11, 2010 8:48 am

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As I began reading Tao of Chaos and understood the I Ching was a tool to be used as much as it was an ancient book of Chinese origin, I was curious to see if there were some sort of I Ching Online, and sure enough there was and that's exactly what it's called too.

I Ching Online

I'll tell you a bit about my own experience with it this morning and how aptly it applied to my own personal situation today at the end of this blog.

For now, let me share a few excerpts from the first section of Tao of Chaos.

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a Heaven in a wildflower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.

William Blake

"The I Ching's analogy is an image-provoker for your mind to dialog with. You project it uniquely into your own situations.
So the symbol stays alive. It flows and shifts, depending on what you need to intuit at a given time. The process is subjective, so the I Ching answer really relates to you. It shows you whatever you need to see."

"...I have slowly learned that the I Ching reveals the pattern.  Not the specifics of an event, but its underlying pattern.  It works through the dynamics of chaos theory, which can predict a trend without specifying its exact details.   Discovering this huge hidden intelligence that rests deep in the weave of nature, even learning to communicate with it, can be disconcerting, frightening... until it becomes wonderful."

"...a passionate vision can so easily lead to bitter disollution, to mob violence, to some idiosyncratic utopia where a demagogue - religous or social or political - holds sway and demands blind faith of spellbound followers who do battle for the cause.  Some cause.  It can idealize a saint or a demagogue to follow, fix upon some vile enemy to conquer, so that half of its polarized energy is projected away into the outer world to become wooed or defeated, driving us without free will."

"The I Ching is a spiritual tool. But not a religion.  Religion after all is a cultural structure built to house the human spirit.  Its doughty edifice is not exactly spiritual.  Even the most moderate, gentle of religions is a systematic, socialized dogma.  Frequently it is codified by the few for the many.  Often it is based on some divine revelation that is declared inaccessible to the rest of us.  We should just take their holy word for it, even if we have doubts.  I always have doubts about something that won't let me doubt..."

After finding the I Ching Online I asked, "How is my family?"

My wife and I are currently separated and headed for a divorce, so it is an issue of concern at the moment, moreso than usual.  Below is the response I received upon consulting the I Ching...

Cast Hexagram:

27 - Twenty-Seven

I / Providing Nourishment

Beneath the immobile Mountain the arousing Thunder stirs:
The Superior Person preserves his freedom under oppressive conditions by watching what comes out of his mouth, as well as what goes in.

Endure and good fortune will come.
Nurture others in need, as if you were feeding yourself.
Take care not to provide sustenance for those who feed off others.
Stay as high as possible on the food chain.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are a conduit in this instance, able to provide the sustenance needed by others.
Position yourself to nourish the truly needy and worthy.
Avoid situations where you might be coerced into supporting the parasites and vermin who deprive your true charges.
Your own nourishment is an issue here, too.
Remember Lao Tzu's three Great Treasures:
Only the person possessed of Compassion, Modesty and Frugality can remain fit enough to stay free of desperation and keep control of the situation.

Interesting, isn't it?

The analysis is great advice and probably would be in a lot of situations, and because there is some undefinable structure in chaos, I received insight into my situation with some wonderful advice by the random throw of the virtual coins using I Ching Online.

Now the response to my next question to the I Ching is really funny, yet strikingly accurate in many ways.

I simply asked "How is Mike Dillard?" I cast my coins and got the following response...

Cast Hexagram:

19 - Nineteen

Lin / Noble Calling

The rich, loamy Earth on the banks of the Marsh provides fertile soil for exceptional progress.
The Superior Person is inexhaustible in his willingness to teach, and without limit in his tolerance and support of others.

Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
But be aware that your time is limited; your power will wane, as Summer changes to Fall.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are in a position to help another.
This is a temporary situation, because your power is cyclical, seasonal.
Knowing this, you must perform your good deed without hope of reward.
You are not furthering your own process, but another's.
Though you may cherish this other, you will never possess.
Touch without grasping.
Take comfort in becoming a fond memory.
Nurture, then let go.

Now if the "You" in this analysis is Mike, then it's surprisingly fitting in a lot of ways.

If you want to try the I Ching's accuracy on things in your past, then it can be used in that way as well.

In Tao of Chaos the author explains, "With growing excitement, I saw that the I Ching actually works; further, that its accuracy might have a basis in the science of patterned chaos.  It led me to five years of research in Zurich, a year in China, and nine years of writing.  It has been worth it."

"The path through these pages will pass into the nearly inarticulate right brain where holistic timing and spacing give us glimpses of huge coherent design in the I Ching's 64 hexagrams.  We will follow that path back into the left brain for a distinct articulation and logical tracking along the DNA double spiral to the 64 codons.  This will lead us into the amazing paradigm of co-chaos.  Here is an unparalleled check-and-balance supersystem that evolves life, both its physical structure and its mental flow."

Time to get ready for work.  I'll share more later on.  Until then, have an awesome day!

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