Besides being one of the premier texts of divination, as well as a foundational text of Chinese philosophy, the I Ching is also accessable as a guide for personal development, where understanding the basic properties of the species the I Ching serves as a source for one to experience the full range of being a member of the species - to experience all parts that make-up the whole.
The method used to put one into a particular 'part' is to select from a basic set of perspectives where the sum of the selection elicits a general filter, in the I Ching a hexagram, through which one engages the everyday of the species. For example, if the given filter is that of hexagram 01 then the process of engagement consists of an attitude of singlemindedness, perseverence, total faith in one-self, a sense of being competitive with an aim to improve one's skills in dealing with others etc, as one goes about one's everyday tasks. This exercise will naturally elicit reactions from the context such that one experiences the highs and lows of such a perspective and in doing so makes oneself aware of the properties of the perspective as well learn the best contexts in which such a perspective functions well.
In modern times the commonest approach to get things off the ground is through the use of affirmations in that this puts one in a foundation-setting, single context, state of mind to actively change aspects of one's behaviour to 'live' the differences that under usual circumstances one chooses to avoid or not even consider.
In I Ching affirmations there are three perspectives each with four aspects from which to choose:
Perspective Group A:
(1) To focus on experiencing a perspective focused upon FACTS.
(2) To focus on experiencing a perspective focused upon VALUES.
(3) To focus on the experience of the transition from FACTS to VALUES.
(4) To focus on the experience of the transition from VALUES to FACTS.
Perspective Group B:
(1) To focus on experiencing a perspective focused upon what WAS, what IS, what WILL BE.
(2) To focus on experiencing a perspective focused upon what COULD HAVE BEEN, what IS NOT, what COULD BE.
(3) To focus on the experience of the transition from WAS/IS/WILL-BE to COULD HAVE BEEN/IS NOT/COULD BE.
(4) To focus on the experience of the transition from COULD HAVE BEEN/IS NOT/COULD BE to WAS/IS/WILL BE..
Perspective Group C:
(1) To focus on experiencing a perspective focused upon being PROACTIVE (instigating things, events etc).
(2) To focus on experiencing a perspective focused upon being REACTIVE (responding to events etc).
(3) To focus on the experience of the transition from PROACTIVE to REACTIVE.
(4) To focus on the experience of the transition from REACTIVE to PROACTIVE.
The selection of a particular choice from each perspective will elicit a hexagram and with that a set of characteristics of that hexagram for one to use in one's daily or weekly, or longer, interactions with the everyday and as such experiences the consequences of those actions and as such experience the positive and negative sides of the particular perspective.
This is not an exercise in divination, it is an exercise in understanding what it means to be a human. Do NOT take this task lightly, choose perspectives you feel comfortable with to start - keep a journal of the events, join the above list to share your experiences with others also on the journey. Over time one will learn to be context-sensitive and be able to CHOOSE the best perspective to use in any given situation and as such no longer live off one's "child-like" instincts when in unusual contexts. Overall this is an exercise in consciousness refining the instincts of our species-nature and in doing so refining how we will deal with existing or new situations.
To go through these exercises will give you a better understanding of what the I Ching is about, as well as a better appreciation of the skills we all have as humans - skills that in our specialist world have been neglected.
To do the journey is simple. Go to the selection page (link below) and select the particular options for the perspective groups. This will elicit a particular hexagram of the I Ching which is to be your 'totem' for the day/week/month/life - your choice ;-) For the period of choice, consciously FILTER all input and all output through the particular hexagram. Thus, using hexagram 01 again as an example, see everything as EITHER/OR - no relatives, all absolutes. Focus on developing one's skills in competition with others where the intent is in refining the SKILL - there is no interest in any result, the war is never over, only the battles. If the skill is 'right' then the battle will be won. If not then the battle is lost and we engage for another battle, positive in mind re one's capabilities.
If you find one particular perspective 'unsettling' then leave it alone, develop some others and come back to it later.
The current process is restricted to 64 states. Eventually this will be extended to 4096 where the extension reflects more so refinements of the original 64 - one needs to learn to walk well before learning to run. (Note, to uncover one's "natural" totem just go through the perspectives and interpret them in the format of "I ALWAYS focus on the experience of...." or "I am usually attracted to <whatever uppercase label is given>" - for example, I naturally focus on (a) facts becoming values, (b) transition of what could be to what is, (c) reactive. This means my 'totem' is that of the trigram of THUNDER, the hexagram 51).