Through the looking glass

"The I Ching does not vaunt itself, nor is it easy to approach. Like a part of nature, it waits to be discovered. To one person, its spirit appears as clear as day; to another, shadowy as twilight; to a third, as dark as night." C.G. Jung on the I Ching -Book of Changes as translated by Richard Wilhelm (1950)

Through regular study of  the 64 hexagrams of I Ching, I have not only gain insights into how a Chinese mind works, but am amazed that 5,000 years after its first written, the words of wisdom in the book is ever fresh in applicability and practicality. It counsels one to be even-tempered and tread carefully, thoughtfully (#10), suggests another to take a step back to view the situation from a wider perspective (#33) and encourages a third to be brave and set forth to make his dreams come true (#46).

But one thing that comes to mind often, I am reminded of Professor Fred Dubee's words "We see things not as they are but as we are" and I wonder if I am reading the I Ching or I am reading my own thoughts mirrored by the I Ching.