Some thoughts on Hexagram 12.Standstill

 Standstill.

"Nine in the fourth place means:

He who acts at the command of the highest
Remains without blame.

The time of standstill is nearing the point of change into its opposite. Whoever wishes to restore order must feel himself called to the task and have the necessary authority. A man who sets himself up as capable of creating order according to his own judgment could make mistakes and end in failure.
But the man who is truly called to the task is favored by the conditions of the time, and all those of like mind will share in his blessing."


I really like that in the I Ching there is sometimes the idea that standstill doesn't end on its own. It needs someone to provide his own inner order for it to be able to become whole again. It seems to fit to how it happens in reality.

Fourth changing line is interesting. It provides difference between order that is imposed by personality/judgment and order that is called on by something else. It suggests when someone comes to try to bring a community out of standstill they have to follow something else, not their own judgment. Here comes the important quesiton - what else is there to follow?

And the text shows it - 'if he is truly called to the task'. So he follows the call in the way he receives it.


Lets say we missed that. Or there was no one to answer the call if that is possible. And lets say we lead a community that is going through a standstill... Then what else is left?

And I think here is a misunderstood part.
If we look at Feng Shui systems, for artificial flowers there are Images and rules and calculations of where we can set them. For real flowers, however, there aren't much, as they are living, breathing being they can adjust their field to fit to the surrounding, so we can set them in many difficult places without worry.

Similar to Mountains. Artificially made mountain can be bad. Natural mountains are always either good or have no effect.

We can see the same law in food, in thinking and in endless other places. And we can see it in communities. Communities come alive following the hearts of the people in them. As far as I'm aware Confucianism do get that part well. This spark coming from the heart can resuscitate anything and that goes far beyond the rules of standstill or any other similar phase.

Similar to the 4 Structures in XKFX, all 'stars' become positive if the community is alive.
Sadly, in the net, most communities rarely are. There are other ways, however.
An idea can do it. But its not a sure thing. And there are other ways.

But in general, if the standstill came and we couldn't use the person that was suppose to get the community out of it, only sure thing I can think of now, is to try to bring life in the community. If it gets alive it can take in stuff like that easily, people in it will feel what they must do to heal it.

One way to do it is to write from the heart... But that can be painful if the community is far along in 'splitting apart', so the feedback may be difficult to take. Yet if enough people respond from the ones that have been there long enough it could work.
Better option - give it some reset and try again, with less control and more space for the natural life a community is seeking for. If there is enough to look forward to(the other key factor) it will stay alive as long as its needed.


By the way Standstill happens when those above cut off from those below. So from the many ways a community can die, this specific way has that reason. In a learning places, it means the ones with knowledge doesn't interact openly enough with the ones without. There may be good reason for it... That doesn't change much. As it is how it happens, as far as I'm aware.

P.S. Trying to get the person that was suppose to get people beyond the standstill back, after the moment is missed doesn't work as far as I know. They doesn't have roots there, so will be pushed out in very natural way this time around. Sometimes it may work, who knows. But there is no call to answer now, so they will be in the position of doing it from their own judgment and that rarely works.