Life Of The I Ching Book Excerpts

From the forthcoming book "Life Of The I Ching" which describes the history and nature of the I Ching.

Here's the first excerpt below taken from the preface:

The I Ching is a guidebook to change, how it influences our lives and how we deal with our experiences and grow from them.

Throughout the book it refers to the “superior man”. Who is that superior man anyway?
It's not someone we would look up to as some sort of example, rather it is the person we should, at least according to Confucius, aspire to be.

A person honest and moral, a true honorable kind of human.

OK. So let's conclude that the I Ching is supposed to guide you through life's changes.
What is this change that are we talking about? We are talking about what happens as
time passes. Change happens when something is different after a period of time.
No two moments are the same. Change is continuous.The past recedes, the future unfolds. The I Ching watches.

The I Ching speaks in hexagrams. A hexagram is a stack of 6 lines starting at the bottom.
Each line may be solid (Yang) or broken (Yin). Therefore, for six lines there are 64 combinations of solid and broken lines. So there are 64 hexagrams. Also, some of
the lines may be static and some may change. A second hexagram is then created
including the lines that were static and the opposite of the lines were expected to
change. The idea is that the first hexagram represents what it’s telling you about today
and the second is telling you about what’s coming up in your life. The time between the two is known as the “time of the hexagrams”.

The hexagrams are each described in the I Ching. There are many translations available.
Each hexagram and the individual lines of which it consists are described. It is through
casting the I Ching in a contemplative, meditative state and studying the hexagrams
given that we learn the lesson of the I Ching for that moment, in that time.

In the Bronze Age (circa 3000 B.C forward) The I Ching was used as an Oracle and while
it still is often used in that fashion, it grew beyond that during the time of Confuscious
into the guide for living that we know and respect today. There are still those who see
it as a fortune teller. It is not. So maybe we should forget about asking it about
tomorrow's lottery number. It's all about helping you deal with life's changes and along
the way to improve yourself, your life and the lives of those around you by experiencing
the changes that lay before you and anticipating the results of them in the best possible fashion.

From this comes mutual harmony which is the intent of the I Ching.

Next: So how does the I Ching know what the changes will be? The future after all hasn't happened yet.

More to come...

I believe firmly, that humanity is evolving to a higher level.
After the physical and mental aspects of human evolution have
reached a certain point, an evolution of the spiritual aspect
will play a dominant role.

According to the I Ching, after seeking harmony we will
obtain a great harvest.
After the great harvest we will be most humble.
And after being most humble we will be able to enjoy great delight.
This is the spiritual journey of the whole of humanity

—Taoist Master Alfred Huang - Understanding The I Ching 2014