The Metaphysical Site

The Secret of No-Fail Decisions

Are you one of those people who can't seem to get ahead -- who works and works but with each step forward seems to take two steps back? Do you find yourself falling short of your life goals? Do you feel like things are stagnating?

If so, you may be able to benefit from the guidance of the most ancient Chinese fortune telling oracle, the I Ching. When an experienced I Ching reader casts your hexagrams and interprets them, you can receive step by step instructions for achieving your greatest desires.

Many people claim that you can achieve anything as long as you work for it. However, it's obvious that many people can work all their lives but still achieve very little. The fact is it's not just a matter of hard work -- it's a matter of making good decisions. Think of it: say you are presented with an opportunity to open your own business. You take out a loan and invest everything you have in the company. You show up early every day, and work late into the night. You spend all your energy promoting your business and trying to draw customers. Within 2 years the business fails, and you have lost not only your money, but also sacrificed your credit score and two years of hard work for nothing. And now you get to work even harder to try to make back what you had in the first place. Was this a failure to work hard? No! It was merely a poor decision. It was no one's fault -- how could you have known the business wouldn't work out? The I Ching would have known.

Say that the girl you love more than anything leaves you inexplicably. You want her back, so you drink several beers to work up the courage to call her, and end up leaving 30 separate slurred messages on her phone in the middle of the night, all of which consist of you proclaiming your love and begging her to return. This was no failure to act -- at the time you truly believed this would move her. The fact is she will probably not return from this; and while there may still be ways to win back her affection, you will have to work even harder to undo the damages caused by this one-night's action. The I Ching would know the way to do this.

The fact is that nothing is impossible -- all it takes to be successful is a willingness to work, and most importantly, that the work you do be based on good decisions.

The I Ching is a book that was originally used entirely for fortune telling. Over time, it's sound guidance came to be so respected that it was used in its own right as a book of spiritual, mental and emotional advice. The terms I Ching are Chinese for BOOK (I) and CHANGE (Ching) which is why it is also known at times as the Book of Changes. The way the book is employed, is a person must ask their question while casting a hexagram, or image of six lines. Every possible hexagram is contained in the I Ching. When the hexagram is cast, it will being either a moving or a stagnant hexagram, portraying the current situation with whatever your question concerned. If it's a moving hexagram, there will be a second hexagram showing where things are soon headed. Within the I Ching, one can read the causes of and best behaviors for coping with these circumstances. If one desires change,  a hexagram portraying the desired outcome may be chosen, and the corresponding advice used to win this goal.

Say you have an idea for a project, and want to raise some money. You have someone in mind to ask for money, so you ask the I Ching, "How will it go if I ask him for this money?" Let's say the I Ching gives the hexagram numbered 52, called "Rest." It is a moving hexagram, and because it is changing on the third line and the sixth line, it is becoming the hexagram numbered 2, called "Left Behind." This means that, at the moment of the casting, nothing is happening -- the situation is at REST. But, if you make the request for money, it will turn to LEFT BEHIND. This is not favorble to your goal -- the person will ignore your request. Nothing is happening or will happen. What you want to see is the hexagram numbered 1, CREATIVE POWER. This hexagram is the opposite of  hexagram number 2. This means everything is going in the wrong direction now. What then would you need to do to get things your way? The advice would fall in the lines 1, 2, 4 and 5 of of the 52nd hexagram, because those are the changes needed to get the outcome you desire. In short, they advise to stop and size up the situation before acting, to take things slowly, to choose words carefully and to avoid action for now. In essence, it says if you want him to give you the money, then now is not the time to ask, and you will have to wait for a later date.

But what date would that be? Here we come to another way to read the I Ching. This is a much more complicated method, and only skilled I Ching readers can do it. The client must throw the coins, and the I Ching reader, using the ancient Chinese calendar, will be able to decipher what date an event will occur on, if it is to occur at all. The reason the clients must throw their own coins is because the prediction is to forecast when the even will happen to the client or someone the client is concerned with -- the reader, not typically being famliar with the people, would not find it to be as easy to decipher which parts of the hexagram represent events forecast for strangers.

Confucius himself is famously quoted as saying in his old age, "If I had longer to live, I'd devote another fifty years to the study of I Ching, and then I could never make a bad decision." Several centuries have since passed -- with the wisdom of the I Ching's secrets nearing perfection, why not give it a try?

About the Author

Liata Gluck is an author and journalist from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Where can I find I Ching coins in California?

I need just plain, straight up I Ching coins. Anywhere in Los Angeles or Van Nuys is great. Please specify the name of the business and if you know for a fact they sell them there. Thank you in advance

I found a coin dealer in Encino, CA who specializes in World Coins with details at the first link. The search engine is at the second link. I am afraid I can do no better. Good luck to you.

Hsi Lai Temple, Hacienda Heights, California
Visiting the Hsi Lai Temple, nestled in the hills of Hacienda Heights, I felt as though I was transported back in time and to another world. Spread out over 15 acres, the temple grounds are surrounded by beautiful structures inspired by Ming and Ching dynasty architecture.

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