Nature Knows: A Book of Changes

By Elizabeth Grace

Nature Knows: A Book of Changes, presents the wisdom of the ancient Chinese oracle in contemporary psychological terms together with images from the Australian landscape.

The I Ching is rooted in earth wisdom, in nature itself and its changing forms and processes. Nature speaks the same messages everywhere and in this book the Australian landscape becomes the canvas on which the wisdom of the I Ching is unveiled. The text has been re-framed for our times, demonstrating that the essence of the I Ching is timeless and true.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elizabeth Grace
• Release date: Apr 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781925786385

Book preview

Copyright

PREFACE

For many years both Nature and the I Ching have been great sources of wisdom that have guided me through the twists and turns of life. I have found that nature is inexhaustible in her willingness to teach when I am willing to be still and to listen. Emerging in China over 3000 years ago, the I Ching is universal; it helps me to articulate the teachings I have received from nature. The Taoist wisdom of the I Ching is very close to Aboriginal teachings, in fact to the wisdom of all indigenous cultures. It draws its knowledge from the earth and ancient shamanic traditions.

In 2016, concerned by the challenging forces and intense changes occurring in the world, I consulted the I Ching. As I contemplated the resultant hexagram, #36 Darkening of the Light, an image from a place I had recently visited arose in my mind. That image reminded me of an aboriginal story from the Hawkesbury River called The Tree and the Rock. In the story the little tree and the small rock were each afraid of being washed away when the floods came. So the ancestor spirits, in their wisdom, caused the rock to move closer to the tree. The tree then extended her roots to embrace the rock. The rock said to the tree: Now you will stop me from being washed away and I can help you to stay firm. The tree and the rock have grown together over the centuries and stand firmly supporting each other to this day, despite many challenging times.

Not only did I have the advice I needed but also a huge new project took root. I embarked on a different version of the I Ching; one that relates to my own cultural heritage along with images from the land on which I was born and have lived for over 70 years. The I Ching touches something that already exists in me.

I have been privileged to travel extensively in Australia, to spend time with aboriginal people on traditional land, to fly over vast areas, seeing the desert like an aboriginal dot painting. I have spent months sleeping in the open, watching the rotation of the stars and planets. For seven years I lived alone with my dog in a large caravan in a rainforest on top of a mountain. On a clear night, I could see the lights of the city in the distance. When I walked in the forest by the light of the moon I realised that what I was looking at was looking at me. Certain trees seemed to greet me as I approached. I learned the underlying interconnectedness of all things.

I have a vast collection of photographs I’ve taken over many years in many parts of Australia. The act of photographing demands that I am present in the moment. Later, when browsing through my library, I find that I can remember details of photographs I took 30 years ago. The images evoke the felt sense and the experience I was having at that moment in nature. My photo library has become a book of wisdom for me.

I am extremely grateful for the many intangible gifts I have received from aboriginal people from many parts of Australia. At times I have been overwhelmed by their generosity to share their wisdom in extremely practical ways. I would particularly like to thank Auntie Maureen, Ngadju woman from Norseman and Auntie Violet from Perth for their patience, love and compassion. Once I apologised to Auntie Violet for a cultural mistake I had made the year before. Her response stays with me. That’s alright darling, you were just a little ninny one, you didn’t know.

In the 1990’s, David Mowaljarlie, Ngarinyin lawman from the Kimberley Wandjina people established Bush University to share the gift of the aboriginal people with non-indigenous Australians. I really related to him saying: Everything has two witnesses, one on earth and one in the sky. This tells you where you come from and where you ‘belong’.

The study of consciousness has been a driving force in my life. I have also pursued a lifelong interest in and study of mathematics and the way maths is present in nature, in the origin, evolution and structure of the universe. The I Ching, with its polarities, particularly fascinates me because it is based on the binary system just like modern computers.

My work as a psychotherapist over 30 years has been greatly influenced by my relationship with the land and the environment. The land has taught me to listen to what is there, to remove my prejudices, to listen closely to what my clients are presenting.

During this time I have read extensively in many of the I Ching commentaries. However, I have found it difficult to relate to the hierarchical and militaristic language and metaphors. Often that judgemental style clashed with my own experience which is that that change is best supported by compassion.

All of this has inspired my different approach to the I Ching. Re-framed for our times and culture, the I Ching is still timeless and true.

INTRODUCTION

The I Ching, also known as The Book of Changes, emerged from the distant unrecorded past in China. It is a book of wisdom, a book of commentaries, to which many individuals have contributed over the millennia. It is the oldest continuing system that looks into the nature of the universe.

The I Ching is a system of fundamental life forces based on the polarities and constancy of change. Chinese philosophers call these polarities yin and yang. In English we might call them male and female, active and receptive, or dynamic and magnetic. My own preference is for dynamic and magnetic. All phenomena of life arise from the dynamic interaction of these dualities. As these dual forces interact with each other, they generate complex change. Since the Chinese language is based on pictographs rather than letters, it was natural to express this idea in images. These images are very abstract.

The symbol for the dynamic force is a single, straight line; the symbol for the magnetic force is a broken line. Combinations of these solid and broken lines were used to represent the fundamental life forces.