Recommended I Ching audio

Back before my computer tried to turn into a doorstop, I wrote:
“I’ve just recently learned of another provider of really good beginner-level I Ching information online. I’ll be writing a review of his current offering soon and posting it here.”

So let me end the suspense: I’m talking about Dr Ron Masa of ‘University of Yourself’, and his audio introduction to the I Ching. This is available for instant download as mp3s, so you can take it with you to listen in the car, when you’re out walking, to liven up the housework, etc.

This is an excellent beginners’ introduction to the I Ching, for two main reasons. Firstly because it’s altogether jargon-free, well explained and very approachable. And secondly because it concentrates not on the technical palaver or ‘the rules’, but on stirring excitement and curiosity about what is possible with the I Ching, encouraging people to start trying it out for themselves.

It’s also good listening material even if you’ve been consulting the I Ching for a while. You won’t learn new techniques here, but you might well be inspired to look at your divination practice in new ways, to try new kinds of question – and to give a copy of this audio to your friends.

There are 13 tracks to the program (over 2 hours listening) – I’ll give you a run-down and review of them all, split over two posts to make it a bit more manageable. (You know how I get when I start writing reviews.)

Track 1. What is the I Ching?

This first section is a remarkably good introduction to the oracle, especially because of all the things it doesn’t say. It doesn’t start out with potted Chinese history, or hexagrams or trigrams, or tossing coins. All of these are provided later on – but Ron introduces the I Ching by talking about what it does and what its real nature is. He has a lot of good answers to the question, ‘What is the I Ching?’ – from a practical guide to action to ‘a computer printout for your soul’. He successfully puts the I Ching in context with other practices, beliefs and values: how it relates to religion, to meditation, to free will, to individuality.

His basic premise is that the I Ching is a more direct way to access that same wisdom you would reach through meditative retreat, for example, or through your dreams: a ‘megaphone for the still small voice’. Better to connect with this wisdom in your decision making than to entrust yourself to the ego – which he calls the ‘village idiot of the psyche’!

This track would certainly be an eye-opener for beginners, but it sparks off ideas that go some way beyond ‘beginner’ level. There’s a text excerpt from this track you can read here that will give you a flavour of it. (Scroll down – it’s the first of the text excerpts.)

2. Forming a question

A good account of a very important subject – not laying down rules, but stirring curiosity. Interestingly, Ron chooses to present readings without questions first of all, followed by ‘short’ and ‘detailed’. Instead of categorising any further, or offering guidelines on how to phrase questions, he shows the range of possibilities through his examples, and encourages experimentation.

3. Predicting the future

Tackling that thorny question: if the oracle can make predictions, what happened to free will? Ron uses insights gleaned from experience with prophetic dreams as well as divination to suggest an answer.

4. Question practices

This track is another real gem. It shows a variety of ways people consult the I Ching – again, not offering rules, but inspiring experimentation through many different models. He sparks the imagination by listing a terrific range of possible topics to ask about (from vacation plans to personal growth). There is also sensible advice here on how to approach the oracle – keeping questions open, understanding one reading at a time, and so on. About the only thing I’d disagree with is his dislike of annual readings – yes, I’ve had a year under the auspices of Hexagram 23, too, and it really wasn’t so bad. Maybe we have a different take on Stripping Away.

5. Recommended translations

Oh dear – a weak link. Ron says he’s going to present you with ‘three translations’, but actually talks about one translation – Wilhelm’s – and two commentaries with hardly a word of the original between them (Sarah Dening and Brian Browne-Walker). Then he mentions one of Stephen Karcher’s books (he doesn’t actually say which, though it sounds like an early one), the ‘I Ching for Teens’, and Carol Anthony’s ‘Philosophy of the I Ching’. He never differentiates clearly between translation and commentary – which to my mind is a real problem, as it’s very easy for people to be misled into thinking they have a message from the oracle, when in fact all they’ve learned is what someone else once thought it meant.

There have been so many great discoveries about the I Ching since Wilhelm’s time, and they make such great, inspiring differences to divination – why doesn’t Ron even take an interest?
*sigh*

6. Origin and history

This is a four-minute account of the I Ching’s roots and the story of the Zhou, a potted mixture of legend and history. I like the way it conveys a strong sense of a continuing tradition of growing understanding and commentary, from the Wings to modern times.

7. Casting the coins

Possibly the clearest description of casting hexagrams with the three coin method I’ve ever heard. How to cast, how to look up your answer, what to read – a foolproof account that anticipates all the common misunderstandings. The same information is given on the quick reference ‘insert’ you can download with the mp3 files. There’s also some good practical advice here on the best mentality for consulting, and the possibility of using ritual.

Comments on tracks 8 through 13 still to come – or you could just visit the site straight away to listen to a sample, read the generous excerpts, and make up your own mind. 🙂