What do people mean by self-development, self improvement, or personal growth? They all
indicate a focus on the individual, an ideal of becoming something more than we are, or
perhaps becoming more fully what we already are. Self development means exploring your
potential, creating your ideal self. All manner of self-help books will tell you that the first step
to real achievement is deciding what you want to achieve: to set goals. There are many
ways of going about this – such as imagining what you would like people to say about you –
but it can be hard to break out from your present, limited horizons to see greater
possibilities. What you need is a vision of this Self that you can work with, a new way of
imagining yourself.
The I Ching brings that fresh perspective, and with it can come a sense of a calling. One of
the most important questions you can ask it is ‘Please, show me something of who I truly
am…’ It has countless vivid images to offer you. Perhaps you are a well of fresh water,
perhaps a vessel of transformation, or a wanderer, or a radiant light… When I asked this
question, I was told that I am a watcher, channel and learner.
Discovering your talents and potential is only the beginning. Perhaps your talent is for
leadership, or for supporting, or for challenging – but how can it come to expression, what
is it for? For me, this question came to the fore when I had earned my degrees and become
dissatisfied with the idea of a career in academia. But if not for that, what was my
intelligence for? Perhaps for other forms of teaching, maybe through writing? When I asked
the I Ching about this, it began by telling me that my brains were for Learning. Intelligence
was a way of being young and ignorant, and of growing. For me, after years of building up
knowledge and skills, this was a dramatic change of perspective.
Divination is often thought of as a way of discovering the future – as if this were written in
stone and not something you create yourself. The I Ching simply does not work like that.
Even when people ask it ‘what will happen?’ it will reply with an explanation of the choices
available and where they lead. Especially for this kind of questioner, discovering the I Ching
can be profoundly empowering. Its answers speak directly to your situation, enabling you to
take your own decisions. Consulting the I Ching is a radically new way of exploring the
different paths open to you. (It is also some 3,000 years old.)
Working with the I Ching can give you a new understanding of ‘personal growth’. The
metaphors and structures it offers you not only bring about greater self-knowledge; they
stretch your understanding and constantly challenge your perceptions. What begins with
goal setting, a tighter focus, can become an expansion of possibilities: as you are pushed
to your limits, you find that the limits recede. The oracle’s rich webs of imagery offer you new
ways to imagine yourself.
However, the I Ching is not merely a stimulus to imagination. It lets you work with your goals
and ideals, it frees your imagination – but it can also bring you firmly down to earth. This is
very much an oracle of the real world. It is not merely a ‘tool’ you can control: its answers are
challenging and not always what the questioner wanted to hear. Personal aspirations and
imaginings are always placed in a wider context: the very act of divination opens up the
boundaries of the self.
The I Ching has its own voice – sometimes compassionate, sometimes sharp, often funny.
In my own experience, I have found that it offers gentle reassurance to the insecure, but is
distinctly firm (and occasionally scathing) when people try to evade their responsibility for
their own life. At a moment when the weight of stress and depression seemed too much to
cope with, a questioner was told of the unchanging Well that never runs dry. A woman
seeking a closer relationship learned how the ideal hunter leaves space for the birds to fly
free if they want, so that the ones that are caught have chosen to come to her. A perfectionist
who found herself blocked on all sides was reminded that when confined to a bronze
carriage, you can only move forward very slowly. I (re)discovered that brains were for
learning more than knowing. Over time, the images the I Ching offers can transform your
sense of self, open new possibilities, and allow unimagined growth.
Self-development with the I Ching
About the author:
Hilary Barrett is an I Ching diviner from Oxfordshire, England. You are warmly invited to
browse the wealth of free information at her I Ching website, and to sign up for the free I
Ching course to learn to divine for yourself.
Copyright 2000-2002 Clarity I Ching readings ©
Self-development with the I Ching
