I CHING DIARY: AGGRAVATION

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH AN ANNOYING PERSON?

It is a fact of life that irritating people are everywhere - at work, showing up during your leisure activities, maybe even in your own family… 

I’ve heard the theory that when you’re annoyed by someone, what you’re actually seeing is a reflection of what you hate in yourself. Hmm….. My personality is non-competitive - I’d rather let the aggressive person win the argument, or grab the coveted spot, as opposed to putting up a fight, and, (as I see it), degrading myself.  I find this ironic given the fact that I spent my peak earning years in a profession in which only 5% succeed, but, there you are! 

Many times I’ve flagellated myself for not standing up for my rights, or not stating a controversial opinion because I didn’t want to “rock the boat”. It seemed easier to bide my time and live to die on another hill… one further down the line. If there was a brief shudder of shame, I was usually able to swallow the bitter pill without choking on it, and keep the parade moving. 

However, getting older is making me reevaluate that strategy - I guess because older folks are already discounted and overlooked enough as it is. You may have to make a stink just to get your basic needs met - screw holding on to your dignified sense of self-regard.

So, today I’ll ask the oracle:

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH AN ANNOYING PERSON? 

ANSWER:

HEXAGRAM 35 (PROGRESS), with moving lines 1,2,3 &6

HEXAGRAM 34 (POWER OF THE GREAT)

We’re gonna “swing it, shake it, make it, shimmy til the break of dawn,” with the hard charging women of Rockabilly. Join us as we celebrate the status quo busting accomplishments of Wanda Jackson, Laurie Collins, Janis Martin, Charline Arthur, and others - women whose expression broke with convention and made people rethink rock and roll music  in general. 

I CHING - CO-DEPENDENT RELATIONSHIPS

Stephen Pressfield, in his self-help manifesto, “The War of Art,” cites “resistance” as the devil - a destructive force (personified as Satan), that emanates from within, seeking to thwart whatever positive motivations you have to create art, or to even to live a better life through self-improvement. 

In a list of potentially positive actions that resistance targets Pressfield includes as #10: “any act that entails commitment of the heart. The decision to get married, to have a child, to weather a rocky patch in a relationship.”

This resonates!

But, what if said resistance stands in the way of ENDING a toxic, co-dependent relationship - one in which you’ve invested years of work, love, passion, and friendship? Lately you’ve been looking longingly for an escape hatch, because what was once a mutually satisfying partnership has devolved into a stasis, a grind of hellish endurance. 

Will the I Ching say that it’s ok to admit defeat, or exhort us to fight on? Will it advise us to go into couples therapy, or to simply cash in our chips and cut our losses?

Ah, but, It’s not so simple. For one thing fear of the unknown is palpable; maybe you don’t want to go solo and become cynical, even if being part of a couple feels like a strangulation of your soul. 

Perhaps the Oracle can advise?

The question posed before the Oracle today is stated thus: CO-DEPENDENCE: CUT YOUR LOSSES, OR REDOUBLE YOUR EFFORT? 

THE I CHING’S RESPONSE:

HEXAGRAM 64 “INCOMPLETION” with moving lines 2 & 3 

HEXAGRAM 56 “JOURNEYER”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Pride of Man" is a 1964 song by Hamilton Camp. It is Camp's best-known composition.[1]

Rife with apocalyptic imagery and religious language ("Can't you see that flash of fire / Ten times brighter than the day... Shout a warning to the nations that the sword of God is raised / On Babylon that mighty city, rich in treasure, wide in fame... Oh God, the pride of man, broken in the dust again"), the song was written shortly after Camp's initiation into the Subud spiritual movement.[2][3]

"Pride of Man" debuted on Camp's 1964 album Paths of Victory, but achieved more notice when covered by Gordon Lightfoot on his 1966 debut album Lightfoot!.[1][4] "Pride of Man" was the opening track on Quicksilver Messenger Service's eponymous 1968 debut album and was released as a single on the B-side of "Dino's Song";[5][6] Rolling Stone described this version as having been "carr[ied] off admirably".[7] Quicksilver Messenger Service regularly performed the song in concert.[1]

Gram Parsons' cover was included on the album Another Side of This Life: The Lost Recordings of Gram Parsons,[8] released in 2000 but recorded in 1965 and 1966. The song has been covered by other musicians, such as Tony Rice on Church Street Blues[9] (1983), Ted Quinn on Help Wanted,[10] and Punch Brothers on Hell on Church Street.[11] Camp's version of the song was re-released on the 2006 five-disc compilation album Forever Changing — The Golden Age of Elektra Records - 1963-1973.[12]

Sunday Morning, the opening track of the seminal, self-titled VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO, written by Lou Reed and John Cale, and produced by Tom Wilson, was originally created for the Teutonic Chanteuse, Nico, but ended up being sung by Lou.

The theme of the lyrics: - "paranoia" - credited to a suggestion made by Andy Warhol, and then realized in dreamlike images by Reed, was brought to shimmering life by the last minute addition of the celeste, played by John Cale. 

All it takes is one good idea; one spark of Promethean fire to ignite a life-long, multi-generational success. For Ross Bagdasarian Sr., it was a sped up tape recording of a nonsense scat phrase: “Oo-ee-oo-ah-ah; Ting-tang Walla Walla Bing Bang…”

Taking inspiration from “Duel with the Witch Doctor”, a volume sitting on his bookshelf, Ross bought a tape recorder and set about creating a silly rockabilly tune, featuring a duet with himself. By overdubbing his voice singing slowly, recorded at 1/2 speed, and then speeding up the tape, he created a high pitched character that charmed the world.

The resulting novelty record pulled Liberty Records out of near bankruptcy, selling 1.4 million copies and landing at the pinnacle of the Top 100 and R&B charts. He used the same technique to create the world wide Alvin and the Chipmunks craze which he then parlayed into a number of big records and an animated tv series. After Ross’s untimely death in 1972, the franchise was shepherd by his son, Ross jr. into a raft of hit, live action features running all the way up to 2015. 57 years of popular commercial product from one zany idea. Not bad.

I had a reunion with my box of Oblique Strategies cards today. When I opened the pack the first card that confronted me read: “Don’t be frightened to display your talents.” This started my head to spin with the question: IS IT MODESTY, OR FEAR OF BEING MEDIOCRE THAT GUARANTEES INACTION?

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained-“ we’ve all heard this expression. It means that if you don’t try, you won’t ever get what you want. Talent be damned - salesmanship is what gets results. Being mediocre is not a detriment to success, but a lack of determination and audacity is. Chutzpah…. This is the quality that’s necessary, not only for survival, but victory. Be the little engine that could: “I think I can, I think I can…”

I guess I’ve been lucky, in spite of my natural tendency towards reticence. The women in my life all approached me first because I was too timid to risk rejection. Getting acting work was the same: I figured my talent would be enough to convince the gate keepers to give me the job, in spite of the fact that I never had a decent agent to set up the big meetings. 

No regrets, but what’s next? People have been encouraging me to “get back out there,” professionally and romantically, but, I’m ambivalent, and struggle with my anti-zeigeist desire for modesty in this age of hype and self-promotion.

Let’s see what the Oracle has to say?

HEXAGRAM 49 (REVOLUTION) with moving lines 1 & 5

HEXAGRAM 62 (SMALL EXCESS) 

The Agony, Inspiration and Exultation Of Charles Allan Rich - 
 December 14, 1932 – July 25, 1995.
 Never Forget To Remember Such Brilliance.
 Enough Said.
 Listen In Friends.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islands_in_the_Stream_(song)

RIP DOLLY 

QUESTION: HOW MUCH SHOULD I BE CONCERNED OR WORRY ABOUT MONEY?

HEXAGRAMS: 35 (ADVANCE) / Fire over earth

Moving lines 4,5,6 > 8 (SUPPORT} / water over earth

I had a friend, Brendan, who used to say when faced with the prospect of being broke: “Money is simply a medium of exchange.” He explained that money is an agreed upon social construct that places a numerical value on various goods and services, thereby simplifying the process from a barter system -  (I’ll trade you some of my chickens for you to paint my house, etc) - to one where you can easily carry pieces of paper, or, computer digits on your phone, that represent your worth.

Maybe so, but this theoretical cup and balls illusion will only take us so far. CAPITALISM has run amok, enabling only a handful of billionaires to call the economic shots for everyone. The bubble of ballooning debt for the middle class to achieve even a modicum of financial security has popped, and the multitude of serfs that have, until now, been stoking the billionaire’s coffers, are about to be replaced by a cadre of uncomplaining robots. So, I ask: “What’s a peon to do?  ’Tis a puzzlement,” as Yul Brenner used to say. 

Brendan was always broke, but somehow managed to live lavishly, traveling the world on his impish smile and keen wits,. Of course, he had to rely on the kindness of strangers, as well as long-suffering friends for his daily ration of single malt scotch and fine cheeses. But, behind the devil may care pose, there must have been many sleepless nights on the various couches along the precipitous road.

So, today, I ask the oracle: How much should I be concerned or worried about money, or the lack thereof?