Thursday, February 5, 2015

Dealing with The System and The Book of Change



I've started throwing the IChing these days almost daily when I'm stumped by someone or something. I'm not Nancy Reagan, who evidently resorted to divination as a way to advise her husband in world affairs (don't quote me on that, though), but I have to say that the principles of what Jung called synchronicity are wildly informative and resonate for me. The simple ritual of asking a question, throwing the coins six times and then reading the hexagram is enormously healing in this weird, can't quite put my finger on it way. How should I respond to all this vaccination hysteria, my own near-PTSD symptoms because of it and the obduracy of people who refuse to believe there is nuance in science and the American healthcare system?***

Someone suggested that it's in the raging waters that one finds the answers. That was a perfect response to my post the other day where I alluded to the witch hunts of the seventeenth century and the particular practice of throwing the woman in question into a raging river to test her faith. If she drowned, she was a witch. Evidently, God doesn't answer the appeal of a witch or a real witch wouldn't call on God.

I might be a real witch.

Remember when I told you that after dealing with The System for twenty years, I've learned to do one thing a day? Otherwise, I'd go completely insane and jump into the raging river rather than be pushed. Right now, my task is to get MediCal to cover Sophie's drug deductibles. Evidently, this should have been happening for about five years which might have saved me tens of thousands of dollars, but the process to figure out where the snarls are, what the hold-up is, who's in charge, for what and when and how -- well -- it was too much for my little brain. Last week, though, I had a breakthrough. The pharmacist did a little legwork and MediCal denied it because they needed more information. I got through to find out what more they needed. They needed a list of drugs that Sophie had been on to prove why she needed Vimpat and Onfi -- just in case her neurologist was only idly prescribing these drugs when there were cheaper ones to be had. On Monday, I emailed The Neurologist and asked her whether she could draft a letter stating Sophie's drug history -- basically proving it. I gave her a sample letter, just to help her out. Can you imagine how much shit these doctors have to deal with regarding MediCal and private insurers? On Tuesday I called the pharmacist to tell him to hang in there. On Wednesday, I paddled around in the raging river a bit. Today, The Neurologist emailed me the letter (which you can see above), attesting to the many drugs Sophie has been on in her life and the necessity for the two that she's on currently.

Tomorrow, I'm going to call in a refill for the drugs and see what happens. I know you're on the edge of your seat, Reader, so I'll keep you posted.

I'm wading in.





***Hexagram 64

Before the End

The accomplishment of a goal is in sight. It appears that long-impending matters may be brought to fruition with an acceptable amount of effort. Increasing clarity surrounds the meaning of situations once thought to be obscure. At the time BEFORE THE END there is great promise for the future.

A unique and sage viewpoint is present in human affairs. Order can be brought to chaotic situations. Because you are now unusually familiar with the elements involved int he object of your inquiry, you can evaluate and arrange them in whatever way necessary to achieve your aim. It should be a relatively simple matter to bring together groups of people in social or public-minded situations. By penetrating the psyche of each individual involved, you can arrange to gratify their needs within the group mechanism and thereby gain their co-operation....

Yet, it would be a mistake to imagine that by achieving your aim you will bring matters to a close, that good judgement and order will prevail. The time BEFORE THE END can be compared to a lengthy trek over a high mountain. At some point, before reaching the peak, you can see in detail exactly how much further you must travel. You will know what is involved in reaching the top because of your experience in the climb so far. However, when you do reach the peak, which has been in your sight for many long days of effort, you will have done only that. You will have acquired little information and no experience whatsoever about the descending the other side. To rush up and over the top in an overly confident manner could bring disaster.

...The coming situation will be strange to you in every way, unike any that you have experienced. In the near future you will not be able to draw upon the wealth of your acquired experience, for in many ways the time will be nothing short of a rebirth.

9 comments:

  1. This is just incredibly inspiring- one thing. Start with one thing. And you are doing that and it's working! Keep throwing those coins. Keep asking the questions.
    You are a force, Elizabeth. And if that's what a witch is, I want to be one too.

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  2. I really hope that I-Ching reading bears fruit right now. It is more than overdue. Can your elected representative help you cut through this Mobius strip of red tape?

    And the witches were thrown into water to sink or swim: if they sank and drowned they were innocent of witchcraft-too bad they died; if they floated clearly they were witches-and were hauled out and burned. The waters didn't need to rage, a calm pond would suffice. Got them either way. I think red tape and obstructive regulations should be thrown into those waters.

    Good luck!

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  3. I just had a dream about you Elizabeth. We met somewhere. We brainstormed about how I could help you. How can I help you? This was amazing and I can't wait to see what is on the other side of that mountain? Sweet Jo

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  4. Anonymous: Thanks for your comment! I know that was the traditional way to test a witch, but in reading a bit yesterday about it, I did come across a text where faith and raging rivers were involved -- particularly the calling of God to save one. If you weren't saved, you drowned and were thus determined evil/witch. I'll try to find that source!

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  5. I love the idea of doing one thing a day. That definitely seems like a way to keep things manageable. (More or less.) How peculiar, though, that Medical would never TELL YOU what they needed in order to process the claims -- that they would just deny them and leave it at that. Maybe I'm naive about the health care system (I know I am!) but I would think they'd be better communicators.

    I can't imagine how much of this bureaucratese goes with being a doctor these days, Good lord.

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  6. I need to start throwing the IChing! I did pull out my tarot cards the other day.

    I think of you and Sophie every time I see another friend post something about vaccines on fb these days. I don't join in. Without reading your blog, I might have in the past, so thank you for the nuance.

    AND kudos for your work with the insurance company...

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  7. You dwell in the mysteries. It makes sense that the I-Ching would speak to you.

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  8. That was a perfect response to my post the other day where I alluded to the witch hunts of the seventeenth century and the particular practice of throwing the woman in question into a raging river to test her faith. If she drowned, she was a witch. Evidently, God doesn't answer the appeal of a witch or a real witch wouldn't call on God.

    No. At least in Medieval times the drowning trial was much worse. If she drowned she was innocent - the water accepted her. If she was a witch, she didn't drown - the water didn't accept her, so she was killed. A perfect "tails I win, heads you lose."

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  9. To me, it is not surprising you find comfort in the I Ching, a highly intuitive device that disengages the analytical brain and empowers that inner, more intuitive, truth-telling voice.

    Can you become highly intuitive by quieting the intelligent brain and trusting blindly in something that defies reason?

    For me, special needs parenting is about seeking input from both the brain and the voice, valuing and weighing the inputs equally and finding the answer somewhere between the two.

    A variable that disrupts this delicate balance for me, is outside noise. This destructive chatter creates doubt by increasing the hard activity of my brain and silencing the soft intuitive. When I shut down the noise, I can hear the voice better, which btw, always seems to be the more sane input of the two.

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