If you could rely upon ancient Chinese wisdom to choose your next business office-instead of a realtor-would you? I did.
Years ago, in Boulder, Colorado, I was seeking an office space to set up my practice. A Jungian psychologist, I had a private practice in psychotherapy, dream-work, and the I Ching. I decided to consult the I Ching which is an ancient Chinese oracle that Carl Jung introduced to the West.
Like the Tarot or Runes, it is a “complete symbol system” that relies on synchronicity to comment on any specific situation. The I Ching allows one to ask any question and then target the parts of the text that “answer,” the question.
The answers mirror the questioner’s unconscious or intuitive knowledge and help bring it into awareness. It’s like getting a printout of what the “still, small voice” of inner knowing has been whispering. I reflect on the I Ching comments as a stepping stone to arriving at my own intuitive clarity which I rely upon.
There were interesting aspects to each of the first three offices. After viewing each, the I Ching reading was opposed, and so was I. My fourth visit took me to an unusual property on the north side of Boulder.
After a brief perusal, my ego (that “village idiot of the psyche”) dismissed the location because it lacked a view of the lovely Flatiron Mountains that tower over Boulder, Colorado. “How?!” I wondered, “could anyone be expected to do meaningful spiritual work without a decent view of the Flatiron Mountains?”
I had already dismissed this “vision-less” office, and only consulted the I Ching to disqualify it so I could move on. Quite to my surprise, the I Ching read: “Game is in the field and it furthers one to catch it.” One key to the I Ching is recognizing how a symbolic image or story relates to your question and your situation. Since the book is 3,000 years old, you can’t look up “retail office space” or “condo-swaps.”
The concept of “Game in the field” is drawn from an ancient image of the royal hunt. My first thought was, “What’s that got to do with me? I have never been hunting in my life!” (See: ego resistance.)
Although, after reflecting for a minute, I recalled telling several friends that I was, in fact, office hunting! The meaning suddenly clicked: this office must be the object of my hunt! Importantly, I felt a physical surge of energy at this recognition.
This “felt validity” of direct intuition is the best indicator of getting the message. I have learned to trust my own intuitive resonance to I Ching comments. Responses vary from subtle energy movements to the unmistakable “chill of truth” up the spine.
Staying with the I Ching’s metaphor, I asked myself, “How long should one expect game in the open to wait around for the hunter?” Probably not long, I guessed and I signed a lease on the spot.
While discussing details with my new landlord another tenant called to claim the space. It’s a good thing I acted while the game was still in the field. The landlord’s details included a (still amazing) promise never to raise the rent as long as I wanted to stay there! Then he invited me to park my RV in his adjacent lot and even provided free electricity (for years)!
I worked happily in that building for a decade with the very best landlord I have ever had. He became a trusted ally and friend. The building itself proved to be a remarkably ideal location for so many reasons that I could not have anticipated.
When my truck had no reverse gear for months, the building’s traffic circles solved that problem. When I needed physical therapy, a wonderful rehab instructor moved in just down the hall! By the way, she wanted to learn the I Ching, and we ended up trading rehab expertise for I Ching readings!
Several years later, I needed to rent a performance space so I could give larger poetry readings. You may have guessed: there was an ideal, rentable room in the front of this very same building. I am so glad I understood, and felt the correctness of, the I Ching’s image of the hunt. I still miss that office. When it was time to reluctantly leave, the I Ching guided my new partner and me to a home-and-office combination that better suited our changing needs; it was also a gem.
And, coincidentally, during those selected evenings that I rented the window-filled front room for poetry events… we all had a fantastic view of those Flatiron Mountains that tower over Boulder. I just knew they were involved somehow! Occasionally, my ego is (partly) correct! Mostly, I consult the I Ching.