With your inner state addressed, consider the external environment and actions that can support your connection.
Seek an environment free from distractions. This doesn't necessarily mean an elaborate setup, but a space where you feel focused and undisturbed. Devoting care to your divination space, creating a "spiritual environment," can significantly enhance the experience.
Gather all necessary materials beforehand—be it paper, writing implements, your chosen I Ching text, workbook, or yarrow stalks. Simple ritual actions, like washing your hands or rinsing your mouth, can signal a shift in focus. Some find that dressing respectfully, as if for an important meeting, reinforces the seriousness and value of the divination. Anointing tools, such as rice grains with essential oils, can also be a gentle aid in shifting your state of mind.
While not an absolute necessity, ritual can be a powerful ally if it helps preserve and deepen your ability to learn. Ritualizing the experience can motivate profound thought and contemplation. The great scholar Zhu Xi compiled rituals for divination, which included creating a spiritual environment and the specific use of yarrow stalks. Even a simple, recited invocation or formally stating your inquiry can be part of this. Ritual can be entirely secular yet deeply ceremonial, a way to honor the moment and your intention.