I just woke up clinging to the wisps of a healing dream.

In it, I was the member of dance troupe, assigned as one of eight mourners to express in ritual movement the anguish of overwhelming loss and bottomless grief.

It took place during an earlier time, and located in China, where mourners wear white.

Personally, it called for releasing stagnant, long-buried and fiercely resisted grief through self-honesty, acceptance and the flow of physical movement. It was the healing antidote to abrupt loss of lifestyle and all I loved, gone in a flash. Loving connection. Home. Goofy dogs.

Shock. Disbelief. Stunned. Lost.

I share my therapeutic dream here because it seems to resonate with the general mood of the times. So many across the planet are going through tragic upheavals, both natural and man-made. Monster hurricanes, floods and tornadoes. Beloved family members lost to unnecessary illness, drug overdose and outright suicide. Violence in city streets and on the Southern border. Hate-driven military attacks and counterattacks. For Americans, the loss of the country we believed in and only thought we knew.

Add your own personal story to the list.

To help in processing the message of my dream, I turned to my go-to, the I Ching, the venerable Chinese Book of Change. I humbly asked to understand how best to cope with personal loss — to release and heal from debilitating grief.

The answer received was Hexagram 8, UNITY, modified by changing lines in the bottom and top places, resulting in the final outcome of Hexagram 58, INSPIRATION.

The original response looks like this:

Balance the experience of catastrophic loss by seeking refuge in the timeless, that which never changes. By remembering that love is eternal. Universal life encompasses and transforms immediate loss with compassion. Ultimately, hope springs eternal. On the far side of seeming abandonment and isolation is the resource and comfort of the larger human community.

The newly evolving Unity Party is a prime example of hope for the future rising from the ashes of the current chaotic U.S. political mess.

The advice of the changing line in the bottom place reads, “People are attracted to others who are sincere. Be honest.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been accused more than once of being stoic, stonewalling in denial, refusing to honestly, openly admit what I’m feeling. Big mistake. I’m being reminded here that the better, natural way to connect with worthy friends is to be honest with myself and others as the doorway to community.

When this advice is heeded, it changes to Hexagram 3, PROBLEMS, which reads in pertinent part: “Seek help from people whose ideas and methods can help to create inner and outer stability.”

Moving on, the advice of the changing line in the top place reads, “Without proper leadership, any efforts to organize won’t work out.”

Being adrift and alone during time of crisis is bad enough. What’s worse, however, is having to rely on untrustworthy leaders. This is confirmed by the resulting Hexagram 20, AWARENESS, which advises: “Avoid unnatural leaders.”

CONCLUSION: The combined changing lines result in the final outcome of Hexagram 58, which looks like this:

Starting from UNITY, moving through the states of self-honesty and then seeking aware, trustworthy leadership, we arrive at INSPIRATION which gives the courage to continue.