The Bāguà Theory 5 (The 8 x 8 Algorithms)
“四象演八卦、八八六十四卦
The four phenomena evolve into eight trigrams, and eight by eight becomes sixty-four hexagrams.”
Previously, the bāguà poem shows how the yīn-yáng force works the human universe with a four-beat gait, which contracts to naturalize and crystallize, and expands to breakthrough and peak.
四象演八卦 (sì xiàng yǎn bāguà) says that the four-beat rhythm continues, and completes a full cycle of eight (2 x 4 =

manifestations, called bāguà.
The four-beat gait that falls, bottoms, rises, and peaks is called a down cycle. The wind down causes a fall that crystallizes justified knowledge into core ideas; while the wind up stages a rebound that builds up potential energy for a major breakthrough.
A falling-rebounding cycle forces rest to stockpile potential energy.
The next four-beat gait that rises, peaks, falls, and bottoms is called an up cycle. The unleashing of the potential energy powers a growth that explodes in the sky like firework; while the consolidation caps the rise by converting the kinetic energy back to potential.
An expanding-consolidating cycle stimulates growth to disburse kinetic energy.
Dào uses the eight-beat gait ingeniously to mold the human universe into its ideal shape. Some of its ways are listed below; but the list is by no means exhaustive as there are still others, yet to be discovered or tested.
• A bāguà generator that churns out eight types of natural processes to run a human universe; coded as heaven, earth, water, fire, thunder, mountain, wind, and swamp.
• A motivator that energizes with a purpose and direction.
• A normalizer that forcibly justifies a middle path forward, free of extremes and excesses, with the up and down popping in life.
• A pulse maker that propels one steadily forward amidst strong resistances.
• A life-sustaining device that regulates the heartbeats for a peaceful existence.
• A signalling system that warns of crisis or opportunity brewing in the background.
• An inspirational source that supplies knowledge that are original and justified.
• A decoding system that translates the unknowns into knowns.
If Dào is left to work undisturbed, it can remake earth in the image of heaven, theoretically speaking.
A peaceful life for those with a low-amplitude vibration, which pops up and down merrily along a middle path till the end of time. They are the happy “nobodies”.
A colourful life for those with an average amplitude, which rises from a “nobody” to “somebody” by going through the trials and tribulations of life. Which means most of us shall be a “somebody” -- not just any “somebody”, but a happy “somebody” – someday, somehow.
A larger-than-life life for those with a high amplitude, which has to survive a free fall to ground zero, for a big rebound to a great height, and a game-changing achievement that can withstand the test of time, i.e. forever. Fortunately, most of us are spared the excruciating falls; but at the huge expense of an everlasting glory, and an intensely happy life.
On the other hand, if an altered ego is calling the shots, life becomes erratic and unpredictable; as the actions are now driven by the desires to possess rather than motivations to progress.
An altered ego is an ego under siege by a dense mass of negatives, accumulated emotions that are never refreshed; no thanks to a severed earth-heaven link that disables the emotion cycle. The cutoff is the work of an emotional thatch, a hardened layer of extreme (unjustified) emotions; comprising unresolved issues, traumatic experiences, extreme thoughts, half-truths, and trivialities.
So, a stage is set for a classic nature-human fight; with Dào heading north determinedly regardless of how one feels; and the altered ego insisting on going south despite the dire consequences.
In mild cases, the clash often surfaces as a constant tussle between evil and good thoughts. In serious cases, the fight is a life-threatening struggle between imaginary and reality.
Thanks to Mr. Fúxī who simulated the nature-human conflict with a hexagram; by placing nature as the top trigram, and human as the lower trigram.
八八六十四卦 (bā bā liù shí sì guà) says that the clash between the natural and man-made bāguà results in sixty-four (8 x 8 = 64) hexagrams.
In this context, a hexagrams is the path resulted from the clash between the man-made guà at the bottom, and the natural guà at the top.
Subsequently, the sixty-four resultant paths were compiled into a classic – The Book of Changes --which offers advices as sure bets to win the fight, every time and in any circumstances; i.e. provided human participates willingly by not participating, a real catch-22 situation.
(Picture sourced from taobabe.files.wordpress.com)