I ching

I Ching Hexagram 43
Guai (Determination)

Action: Breakthrough

Hu Gua (hidden influence) 1 Creative: Initiate

Zong Gua (underlying cause) 23 Split Apart: Regenerate

Success comes when you
untangle the knots and soften the glare.

There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be
taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms. – George Eliot

Reading at a Glance: One of the most difficult lessons we learn in life is how to balance a resolute attitude of Determination with the openness required to keep growing. Often the obstacles that we face around us are merely showing us the condition of our inner world. In fact, obstacles only show themselves if we are looking for blockages. If we are determined to see our success manifest, this commitment to vision is often all that is needed to obtain our desires. However, we sometimes need to examine the story we tell ourselves. Is life a place to be feared or is it a tapestry of joy? What is it that you are stalking? Is it the proof that you can discover abundance or is it the reinforcement of scarcity? The hidden influence of the Creative is at play so growth is on the horizon and ready to take manifestation. The underlying cause of Split Apart or a period Regeneration must now be given concrete form in the visible world regardless of the challenges. Determination suggests that a Breakthrough in thinking can eliminate any walls to your forward progress. We see an image of looking at an obstacle and discrediting it. This means that whatever is holding you back is of your own making. Examine what pushes your buttons to see if you are unconsciously defending your need for control. You cannot open to new opportunities if your mindset leads you to make the wrong choices. Sometimes we pursue what is bad for us to reinforce a fear of intimacy as if we know the situation is not sustainable. Sometimes we flee from what might be good for us because we are reinforcing the known rather than exploring the unknown. Like a hero being tested in their sincerity, obstacles are not a reason to give up and if you know you will succeed you will. The master said: “untangle the knots and soften the glare.” Determination can be recognized in the eyes. But there is no need to approach life with a wrinkled brow or a sense that life is fighting you. Life has been committed to your success since the day you were born. Any challenges you face might actually be transforming your thinking. This is the time of year when the fiercest weather prepares the landscape for rebirth so remain undaunted but know you are being stripped of the unnecessary. You may need to make a difficult decision or share information that is sensitive but important in clarifying your vision and expectations of others. In the current situation a Breakthrough in thinking can transform a closed door into an open door.

Fear stalks

its own reflection -

Remove

the window dressing

of the prison.

“When increase goes on unceasingly, there is certain to be a break-through or a resolution.” Kuai shows the type of break-through that comes when a river bursts through a dam in the image of the Lake rising to meet the Creative. The Water opens new pathways through what appeared to be a barrier by the simple fact that it is constant. At the same time, pushing unrelentingly through obstacles can lead to an uncompromising will. Turning inward to question the power of the obstacle fortifies strength; forcing your will upon it will always generate more resistance.

The resoluteness required to achieve success, must combine vigor with openness. In the image of approaching an obstacle by discrediting it, you can refuse to acknowledge it as having power over you. To demonstrate anger and emotion can only validate the power of the obstacle and waste your energy.

When you “untangle the knots and soften the glare,” you eliminate the gusts and storms of the inner landscape. Softening your belief that nature would ever come to obstruct your forward progress, you will discover that it is always committed to developing the strength of its species. Know this and you will know constant virtue.

"The ruler of the South is called Dissatisfaction. The ruler of the North: Revolution. The ruler at the center of the world is Chaos. Dissatisfaction and Revolution met from time to time in the territory of Chaos, and Chaos treated them very hospitably. The two rulers planned how to repay Chaos’s kindness. They said: ‘Men all have seven holes to their bodies for seeing, hearing, eating and breathing. Our friend here has none of these. Let us try to bore some holes in him.’ Each day they bored one hole. On the seventh day Chaos died.”

The chaos created from the misunderstandings in your relationship with life, will dissipate when you untangle your beliefs and soften your glare. A breakthrough is achieved by becoming open. You can observe how events are teaching you about achieving this powerful peacefulness. All that you believe will eventually come to meet you as “the Way goes round and round.” When you transform the wasted energy of defensiveness into an inner shifting of openness, you will discover wellness, balance and success in all you do.

This hexagram is also called Deciding because the time calls for resoluteness in moving forward. The goal is in sight and you may need to discuss sensitive matters with others to ensure that all understand your goals and expectations. Between unhappiness and the changes needed to bring about transformation, the way can become tumultuous. In this you have an opportunity to reinforce your resolve or simply give up. Moving forward in strength is supported while moving forward because of fear may simply bring you back again to a similar situation in the future.