What is Real?

or making medicine in the moment

Good Monday to you!

This mystifying image comes from somewhere in my house, but truth be told, I can’t remember where. I do remember seeing it though and feeling completely taken with the beauty and the mystery of how it happened. I know that the circle in the middle isn’t the moon, however tempting to say that it might be. I know that whatever it was that appeared in this photo it was an ordinary object reflecting the everyday light in this extraordinary way. It happens. And this image seemed to mirror our inquiry for the week.

Guidance for navigating the tension between intellect and intuition, revealing what is real for us this week and for making medicine from whatever we meet.

This beautiful inquiry arose for us this morning as we explored how we find ‘what is true’ and ‘what is real’ in our lives and experience as well as how to relate with this process of consulting the oracle on such matters. Believe it or not, the oracle can offer us ‘what is real’ but not ‘what is true’. What is true is a matter of personal relationship, history, perception, imagination and willingness. What is real is, well, what is real. There are innumerable ways to understand what is real and what is true, so this is just one way, but it is a way to begin to dialogue directly with the living world.

Both what is real and what is true are questions that have to be answered over and over again. Nothing in our experience is static and therefore nothing can be true or real over time. But it is always true that you can land in this moment and find what is true for you in that moment. And it is always the real that will bump right into you if you are present to your moment. Then, again, you can find what is true and use it just for you. This is how medicine is made, the medicine of being in harmony with yourself and your world. If you know what is true for you, then any situation you find yourself in will offer you whatever is needed for your evolution.

So, we received Hexagram 17 - Suí - Following as our initial hexagram. This hexagram is really not called anything else and it refers to how we follow what is true. Very importantly, it is how you follow what is true for you, not how you follow others. Here in the moment that this hexagram details, you are following what you know to be true; the values, the ideas, the creations, the people, the places, the things that ring true for you, where you feel at home, at one, at peace.

If you follow things that do not feel true, it can only lead to misfortune, to complication or confusion. But then, the real question, and by real I mean the question that will bring you into contact with your world directly, is what do you know to be true? What can you name in your experience about which you have no doubt? About which you have complete confidence?

It may also be possible that nothing feels that way to you in this moment and this is where we can look to the changing line for guidance. Line 1 is changing in our reading. This line advises that you allow yourself to venture away from the familiar, motivated by a desire for connection and find the people, the place or the purpose that echoes your inner knowing. You respond to the environment you find yourself in. Jack Balkin says of this line “the point is that to realize your deepest values you must adapt to changing circumstances” an injunction to stay connected within, stay with what is true even as you move without. In this way you follow, you follow yourself and oddly, you follow yourself into the unknown territory of the group, the society and the culture of your times.

With this changing line Hexagram 17 becomes Hexagram 45 - Cuì - Gathering or Gathering Together. This suggests that as you follow you may be the one to create the unity of a group, bringing projects, parts or people together around shared purpose, a shared aim. In our work with the I Ching, we are always being asked to clarify our values and to rectify our behavior to match these values. The process of self-cultivation invariably entails a rigorous investigation into your own ideas, feelings and creations so that you can begin to identify what is true for you and accept what is real for the group you choose to be a part of. Though these two aspects may not always align, you can be the leader, the one drawing the cord that unifies people, bringing ease and harmony rather than emphasizing or highlighting difference. This reading is inviting you to find this kind of leadership, leading by following, by serving what is true.

In support of your following, Basil essential oil can enliven your confidence, highlight your perceptions, and bring you strength to enact your will as long as you are not harming others and following your core values. An intense and sweet aroma, Basil will literally open your senses, sparking your connection to the outside world. Also, Basil rouses your inner fire, potentially offsetting depression or sadness, and increasing energy and alertness. It’s easy to think you need lots of Basil, but too much could find you feeling exhausted. A little like too much coffee or tea. Best to use this delicious aroma sparingly, enjoying a drop in warm water for staying awake or rallying your energy sometime this week.

Enjoy this week exploring what is real and what is true for you, following your own perceptions into all kinds of gathering. It’s always fun to hear what happens for you in the week, so please feel free to share your experience here anytime!

Remember the live events are free and everyone is welcome. Subscribe to get the link or find it in any of the posts from the last 2 months. These Monday posts are not transcriptions, but instead are further commentary and exploration of the themes and the reading, so if you want to listen to the original event discussion, you can subscribe to the Podcast to get the recording and hear the live event for yourself.