I Ching
 

Who here practices I CHing? I just picked up a book of changes regarding I Ching that teaches how to do it. I am quite intrigued and wonder if others have done this and what do you use besides yarrow stalks or coins? All I have around right now are straws and I did a trial practice yesterday and seemed to work fine.
Any ideas/comments?

can you give an idea of the what I Ching is to the ignorant ones like me?

I am Reiki 2 certified, but have never studied I Ching. Sorry. I had a girlfriend that did once. She was never successful at it.

I Ching is a Toaist practice and is(which I didn't realize exactly what it was until I started reading the book a couple weeks ago) a practice in which you focus on a situation/question you may have and then, through a process of numbers which interpret into lines (hexagrams), that shall give you an answer. I haven't yet had a chance to complete the process in a focused, uninterrupted setting, but I plan to this weekend and see what happens. I am not skeptical in the least little bit, I am doing it for the focus, clarity, and also fun.

I am also Reiki certified, but more to the point, I have studied Runes. The fundamentals are much the same as I Ching as far as the end result goes. I will read up on I Ching today and attempt to draw a correlation between them, perhaps this may give insight. I will let you know.

How about just asking yourself a question and listening to yourself for the answer? Seriously, just try it. Ask yourself any question you want - no matter how deep, or 'unanswerable'. I'll bet if you clear your mind - the answer will come. Whether you choose to accept the answer or not is up to you.

I Ching, U Ching, we all Ching for I Ching!!

(sophmoric, i know, but i just had to!) ;-)

Oh, I do- I think you may know that from my other posts in this forum. But learning of different religions, cultures, points of view is always fun and exciting to me.

My magic 8 ball gives me all the answers I need.
sorry
It actually seems to be a great path to self discovery and I will try to find some books on the subject.

I've done I Ching off and on for years. Got the edition with the intro by Carl Jung? If you like the I Ching, head for some Jungian reading.
The I Ching is a guide to me when I use it - a way of cutting through an issue - a complex - that I just can not get around. through, or over - even in meditation.
I'm often amazed at how effective it is.
Now, I can make the arguement that taking the time to focus on a problem, and then performing the I Ching ritual brings your problems into better focus. Then the guidance of the I Ching gives one a way of approaching a problem that helps to break the logjam.
Would another form of guidance have worked once the focus was there? Could be, but the I Ching doesn't charge $125 an hour!

By the way, I always use coins.
But coins that I keep just for that purpose.