4 ms·
The fact that the Yijing pushed him towards a psychotic state, means that the process WORKED or was beginning to show results. Psychosis and mystical experienc
by armitron 11y ago
The fact that the Yijing pushed him towards a psychotic state, means that the process WORKED or was beginning to show results.
Psychosis and mystical experience are after all closely linked if not objectively identical.
The Yijing, when used properly (as a tool for self-exploration and psychonautics and not for fortunetelling or the chasing of idle fantasies) works similarly to the Tarot or other symbolic systems that operate on the human psyche. There comes a point (with repeated use and appropriate conditioning/reinforcement) that these systems really open up the subconscious and can lead to mystical unions or profound annihilatory experiences (ego death).
So it sounds to me that your friend had no idea about these things and simply could not handle
the "results". When you play with fire, you take precautions or you get burned..
- joe_the_user 11y agoMy friend was actually very aware of all these wider implications - well informed on Buddhist and Western Philosophy, modern magic and whatever - at one point at least he was moderately known in the world of avant guard art. He had a theoretical understanding of "ego death" and perhaps he experienced that. That problem is that none of this quite had a cut-and-dried, desirable effect. He didn't reach the final stage like Friedrich Nietzsche - no wait, he kind of reached the final stage more or less like Nietzsche.
- rhodri 11y agonot sure why this has been downvoted, it's important to consider divination systems as fundamentally about exploring the psyche and its parameter space (which Jung – one of the fathers of psychology – characterised as archetypes)