what is it like in the spirit world?

[sparkler]

Hi all...today I asked the I Ching..."What is it like in the spirit world?"...this is particularly uppermost in my mind as I am coming up to the two year anniversary of the sudden loss of my partner in July...and am finding it very difficult. The answer i received was hexagram 47 lines 2 and 5 becoming hexagram 16...any thoughts on this?
Many thanks,sparkler:)

[bruce_g]

I don’t know what happens when people die
Can’t seem to grasp it as hard as I try
It’s like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can’t sing
I can’t help listening

Jackson Browne

[bruce_g]

This song is, imo, so beautiful, I'm going to post the entire lyrics, in case some here haven't heard it.

Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I don’t remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought you’d always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now you’re nowhere to be found

I don’t know what happens when people die
Can’t seem to grasp it as hard as I try
It’s like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can’t sing
I can’t help listening
And I can’t help feeling stupid standing ’round
Crying as they ease you down
’cause I know that you’d rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
(right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(there’s nothing you can do about it anyway)

Just do the steps that you’ve been shown
By everyone you’ve ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Another’s steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you’ll do alone

Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Don’t let the uncertainty turn you around
(the world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound

Into a dancer you have grown
From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But you’ll never know

[topal]

Hi all...today I asked the I Ching..."What is it like in the spirit world?"...this is particularly uppermost in my mind as I am coming up to the two year anniversary of the sudden loss of my partner in July...and am finding it very difficult. The answer i received was hexagram 47 lines 2 and 5 becoming hexagram 16...any thoughts on this?
Many thanks,sparkler:)


Sparkler, I'm sorry for your loss.

The IC seems to be addressing your sadness behind the question saying that despite most things going ok in your life, you are still understandably oppressed by this loss. 5 seems to suggest this deep sadness will pass however.

I guess your partner would be very happy to think you will continue to live life to the full in celebration of your time together as well as truly living your own path before you too depart.

16 seems to say live life for two!! I'm sure you will in time.

Topal

[topal]

This song is, imo, so beautiful, I'm going to post the entire lyrics, in case some here haven't heard it.

This is a stunning song.

Topal

[willowfox]

""What is it like in the spirit world?".The answer i received was hexagram 47 lines 2 and 5 becoming hexagram 16"

Well, for a start, the Ic is not answering your question about the 'spirit world', it is answering you about your daily life.

Hex 47.2 this line says that externally your everyday life is normal but internally you are feeling depressed. It says that it would be a great idea for you to immerse yourself in some outside activity.

Hex 47.5 people around you don't understand why you are still in mourning but don't worry about them because your mood will improve, just have to be patient and stick to what you believe in.

Hex 16 suggests that you get your head into some external activity that will not only keep you busy but that will require you to work together with others in an atmosphere of friendship and goodwill. So, think carefully about your situation and how you can get help from others, all sorts of opportunities are in front of you so reach out and take one.

[bruce_g]

Well, for a start, the Ic is not answering your question about the 'spirit world', it is answering you about your daily life.



How do you know?

[willowfox]

How do you know?

You joking or what?

[willowfox]

How do you know?

Because I am very sure that most of the spirits in the spirit world are not depressed and neither are they running around looking for something to take their minds off their depression. Otherwise everybody that is living would be harassed by ghosts 24/7.

Hex 16 is saying to get involved in something, so I presume that if I was a ghost then it would mean for me to get out there and haunt a bunch of people, perhaps?

Or do you know how her answer relates to spirits and their home world? I would love to hear your take on this.

[hollis]

Otherwise everybody that is living would be harassed by ghosts 24/7.


24 line 7!!! Ahhh! There is life after the ten year missed return!:)

[bruce_g]

Because I am very sure that most of the spirits in the spirit world are not depressed and neither are they running around looking for something to take their minds off their depression. Otherwise everybody that is living would be harassed by ghosts 24/7.

Hex 16 is saying to get involved in something, so I presume that if I was a ghost then it would mean for me to get out there and haunt a bunch of people, perhaps?

Or do you know how her answer relates to spirits and their home world? I would love to hear your take on this.

Thanks for answering.

My take leans toward yours, but without such certainty. The song lyrics I posted pretty much sums up how I see it. I just don't know what happens when people die. However, if the Tibetan Book of the Dead’s account is accurate, 47.2,5-16 could quite easily fit. Another possibly is that the “enclosed tree” of 47 represents a casket, or the exhaustion of the body, and 16 could represent the visionary phenomena, experienced after leaving the organism one has inhabited, again as referenced in the TBotD.

[bruce_g]

If you're not acquainted with the book, this may interest you.
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/dead/

Another thought on 16, which is unrelated to the TBD, is the (re)establishment of connections with ancestors.

[frank_r]

Hi all...today I asked the I Ching..."What is it like in the spirit world?"...The answer i received was hexagram 47 lines 2 and 5 becoming hexagram 16...any thoughts on this?
:)


Hallo Sparkler,

First sorry for you loss!

47 is one of the quantum hexagrams, and describes the path between trigram lake to trigram lake.
Although it stays the same trigram, it is changing energy, it's going to a next level, there will a new perspective of something. A new view on something old.
This change is happening in trigram lake, the trigram that stands in the west, the spot of sunset, death. At the same time lake has to do with our heart, the house where our spirit is staying.
So the spirit has changed to a new and deeper level, and with the changing lines 2 and 5 the central spots, the men spot of the trigram there will be a change in perception.
With 16 the Yi tell us in a humorous way there these is a lot going on, on that other side!

[topal]

Because I am very sure that most of the spirits in the spirit world are not depressed and neither are they running around looking for something to take their minds off their depression. Otherwise everybody that is living would be harassed by ghosts 24/7.

Those are some big assumptions there WF.

I think the The spirit world interacts with the "earthly world" in ways that we haven't a hope of understanding right now. But there is a vast amount of reputable world literature with compelling data that the various "levels" or realities intersect with our own world in fascinating ways.

But maybe that's for another thread ;)

Topal

[philippa]

Hi Sparkler,

I very much like Frank's and Bruce's take on the chaning lines. Here's my slightly different take on them: I see line 2 in relation to line 5. Line 2 seems to refer to people are living: we are "trapped" by our bodies. After all, we depend on (the vitality) of our bodies (cf. the text: oppressed by meat and drink). Line 5 seems to refer to the condition when the vitality has left our body.

As per Frank, 16 is a very interesting hexagram in this case. You have thunder upon a (receptive) earth. Both thunder and earth are obviously symbolic. I see earth as the whole universe (including the "space" that is beyond our perceptual and intellectual understanding) that allows all things (self-aware or not) to exist. Thunder seems to symbolically refer to this energy force ("spirits" in your words).

I hope these images are useful to you. The hexagrams seem to show that the universe is filled with life forces or energy or vitality (whichever you want to express this notion), whether they are within the bodies that we have or "out there" in the "universe".

[maiajay]

Bruce_g,
Can you tell me the title of that song?
Thanks.

[soshin]

Bruce_g,
Can you tell me the title of that song?
Thanks.

Im not Bruce, but I did a little research... ;)

But I wont tell!

:rofl:

[topal]

Bruce_g,
Can you tell me the title of that song?
Thanks.

"For a Dancer."

Topal

[soshin]

Hi, sparker,

Im sorry for your loss.

I would second Jackson Browns lyrics and Bruces take on that.

Soshin

[soshin]

Hi, Bruce,

Im allright, thank you, have been well! :)

Thank you very much for that wonderful song.


Namaste,

Soshin

[trojan]

47 stresses the uselessness of words and speaking - I don't think we can understand easily in words how it is in the spirit world - but it is my perception theres not nearly as much distance between us and them as we think.

Noone but you can understand what your answer means - we can only make suggestions.
One thing that comes to my mind is that i understand how much the departed do wish to communicate that they are okay to their loved ones here - and the difficulty of communication ! 47 ?

Those with mediumistic abilities are pretty much deluged when they are open to receive, it seems the spirit world is pretty keen often to give a message. Of course there are charlatans but there are genuine mediums too. I was very impressed with some I saw after the death of my partner as they knew things about us no one could have done - since then I realise theres not this great wide gulf we think between us here and 'them' .

[listener]

47 stresses the uselessness of words and speaking - I don't think we can understand easily in words how it is in the spirit world - but it is my perception theres not nearly as much distance between us and them as we think.

Noone but you can understand what your answer means - we can only make suggestions.
One thing that comes to my mind is that i understand how much the departed do wish to communicate that they are okay to their loved ones here - and the difficulty of communication ! 47 ?

Those with mediumistic abilities are pretty much deluged when they are open to receive, it seems the spirit world is pretty keen often to give a message. Of course there are charlatans but there are genuine mediums too. I was very impressed with some I saw after the death of my partner as they knew things about us no one could have done - since then I realise theres not this great wide gulf we think between us here and 'them' .

ahhh, perfect, yes! 16 is inspiration they are dying to give us,pardon the pun, but their words are not believed. be encouraged, sparkler. I always see the visual image of a parade when I see 16.........lotsa horns and trumpets and lotsa youthful happy spirits riding on elephants (maybe trying to get our attention.........24/7!) There IS Life after 24.6, Hollis my dear.

[bruce_g]

There IS Life after 24.6, Hollis my dear.

How do you know? :mischief:

[listener]

BTW Bruce, your reply to willowfox's thoughts was brilliant. quite succinct...the visionary phenomenon after exhaustion of the physical vehicle.

wow, it is almost as if the Yi is speaking of the actual transition. losing the orientation of the 5 senses and the limbs for mobility,nose and feet cut off, the coming of the crimson sashes (ancestors perhaps), ceremonial offerings, and slowly the joy of a new awakening comes

[listener]

How do you know? :mischief:

Intuition, My dear Watson

[bruce_g]

Further, if it was possible to know (proof, not just circumstantial evidence or belief), would we be better off knowing? I think not knowing gives something important, possibly something essential.

[bruce_g]

BTW Bruce, your reply to willowfox's thoughts was brilliant. quite succinct...the visionary phenomenon after exhaustion of the physical vehicle.

wow, it is almost as if the Yi is speaking of the actual transition. losing the orientation of the 5 senses and the limbs for mobility,nose and feet cut off, the coming of the crimson sashes (ancestors perhaps), ceremonial offerings, and slowly the joy of a new awakening comes

Thanks.

I don't mean to harp on the TBD, but I found it a fascinating read. Read it a long time ago, and still occasionally buff up on it. Of all afterlife experiences reported, the TBD makes the most sense to me. Of course the images which appear to today's traveler wouldn't look like the deities/apparitions of that time and culture; they'd appear according to our current mythological images, but they'd represent the same ideas of wrath and benevolence, and they'd evoke the same 16-ish emotions of fear and love. But appearances are deceiving, and the traveler must see through all of these appearances, in order to transcend temporal existence. According to the Book, of course ;).

[bruce_g]

When my Dad passed on a few years ago, he came to me in dreams. One thing which struck me about him, besides that he looked as he did when in his prime of 35, was his excitement. That wasn't like him to be so excited, but he was like a kid in ways. Very 16. Do you know what he was most excited about? That he had his full head of jet black hair back, lol. Go figure.

I have beliefs. I've been playing the death scenario out in my head since I was a little kid, just as many here probably have. I just have no idea if my beliefs are correct or not.

[listener]

My dad also came to me in dreams...and looked radiantly young. In one dream, I was confounded and I said to him: "But Dad, I thought you were dead?" and he said to me, "Noooo! I've been here all along."
In another dream, he gave me the keys to a white Mercedes! In real life, he once gave me the keys to a really cool yellow Barracuda (chrysler) which I promptly wrecked. BUt in the spirit world, he upgraded the gift. I guess he was forgiving me :)

[bruce_g]

Love it.

[bruce_g]

A few years ago I found myself in-between a recently deceased man in his late twenties and his grieving mother. He was dancing a funny dance in circles, and seemed especially happy with his new body. His mom informed me that he was very overweight and died of a heart attack, he didn't move around very much, but that when he was a bit younger he always danced a funny dance in circles. He wasn't happy about a rose she had. The mom then told she had gotten a rose tattoo since he passed on, and that he always hated tattoos. There were other such affirmations.

There's quite a lot of consistency to these sort of accounts, which makes not believing harder than believing. Still, I think resisting drawing conclusions (64) is healthier than making belief into something finished (63). Knowing makes pride, and pride cometh before a fall (according to another Book).

[willowfox]

" Originally Posted by bruce_g View Post
How do you know? "


Intuition, My dear Watson

Absolutely spot on!

[bruce_g]

" Originally Posted by bruce_g View Post
How do you know? "
Absolutely spot on!

So then, you know for certain about the spirit world, and you make predictions for others, with absolute certainty, based upon your intuition? What happens when two or more intuitions disagree?

[willowfox]

What happens when two or more intuitions disagree?

I never have that problem.

[willowfox]

So then, you know for certain about the spirit world?

The trouble is, as I have grown older, I have forgotten many things about the spirit world but I am due for another visit in the immediate future, so that will refresh my memory.

Do you want me to come back and tell you about it, that is, if you don't get there before me.

[bruce_g]

lol, sure! I'm always interested in people's experiences with such things. :)

[bruce_g]

I never have that problem.

Ooh, I think we see it here quite a bit. Some may be less assertive or have less conviction than some others, but they are intuitions nonetheless, and frequently they don't agree with someone else's intuition.

Sometimes I intuitively "feel" very certain that my interpretation of someone's reading is completely accurate, but does that make it so? Is my intuition infallible? Is yours? Is anyone's? I don't think so.

Much of what we call intuition is really a sharp cognitive ability, and cognition relies in part on reasoning. Making a clear distinction between pure intuition and creative reasoning isn't so easy. Pure intuition needs no facts, no background information, and no I-Ching. As soon as facts are introduced, cognition and creative thinking are the predominant operators, and these are often mis-labeled as intuition. I'm not saying that pure intuition can not exist, but that most often what we are calling intuition is really subtle and sensitive cognition.

[bruce_g]

One other thought/perception/belief, while I'm rambling on. One person's experience of the spirit world does not define the spirit world. Edgar Casey's experience of the afterlife or spirit world may be quite different than Einstein's experience of it. A Christian's afterlife experience may be quite different from that of a Muslim or a Buddhist, for example.

So, even if you did come to me to tell me what it's like over there, I'd still take that as your experience of what's over there. Your experience of it may be quite different than mine.

[willowfox]

One person's experience of the spirit world does not define the spirit world.

So, even if you did come to me to tell me what it's like over there, I'd still take that as your experience of what's over there. Your experience of it may be quite different than mine.

Quite true.

[topal]

One other thought/perception/belief, while I'm rambling on. One person's experience of the spirit world does not define the spirit world. Edgar Casey's experience of the afterlife or spirit world may be quite different than Einstein's experience of it. A Christian's afterlife experience may be quite different from that of a Muslim or a Buddhist, for example.

So, even if you did come to me to tell me what it's like over there, I'd still take that as your experience of what's over there. Your experience of it may be quite different than mine.


Absolutely. I think our reality of the "afterlife" is defined precisely by the beliefs we hold onto in this one. Which is why keeping our minds open and without restrictions as to what or how it might be, could widen the possibilities during that "final" journey.

Robert Monroe and his OBE's provides some interesting stuff on that too.

Topal

[bruce_g]

...about this thing called "enlightenment"?

If the afterlife experience is expected to be in some ways unique to each of us, would the same apply to enlightenment?

Is it unique to each being, or is it one common, all encompassing state of being?

Is there a difference in that state-of-being from the way the individual manifests that state?

Or, is there also only one form and manifestation?

[listener]

ever read any emanuel swedenborg? He was, I believe, a scientist who actually claimed to have explored the tunnels of the levels of afterlife and spirit world. I have only read about swedenborg, his writings are over my head. but I think he described the tunnel into the afterlife as being akin to moving down the squiggley spiral tube of a strand of DNA.

as far as enlightenment goes, the Third Sacred School written by someone named andrew lloyd meeker aka Uranda is for me the clearest description.

his name sounds new-agey, but he was not new agey. Uranda: enlightenment is the vibrational responsibility of the individual, a matter of attunement.
Each individual is a point of focus for the truth/light, therefore what each individual potentially brings to the whole is an unrepeatable and completely unique spiritual expression.
It wasnt just a teaching, he invited experiential embodiment and experience and most of all, expression. Rather like a concert. You experience the Whole by your expression in it, and the concert is not absolutely complete without your individual note/part/expression. you might be a faint beat of a drum, or a single note or a heart wrenching solo, but if "you" are not expressed, the place goes unfilled

[bruce_g]

Wow, Listener, I love that.

"...but I think he described the tunnel into the afterlife as being akin to moving down the squiggley spiral tube of a strand of DNA."

What an amazing thought.

I think we have to be careful of labeling things as new age a little too quickly. The ancients hold no pattens to thought. Just cuz someone arrives at the same pov from their own personal experience doesn't make it any less legitimate of an idea. Granted, the cult of new age can be a different matter.

[sparkler]

Hi all thanks for you interesting replies thus far...my particular feeling is that 47 does refer to perhaps the disintegration of the body...or also perhaps the difficulty of communication with us still on the earth plane. And perhaps(hopefully) 16 representing the joy of moving beyond physical limitation. I too had a dream about my partner a couple of months after he died...I remember saying to him in this dream "I thought you were dead"...to which he replied "Well I am not am I?" Was this a reassurance...I believe so. Later on I had an out of body experience which I also found reassuring...it was as if it happened to show me that my partner was ok...perhaps a taste of what it is like on the other side.

[rosada]

Looking at just the hexagrams, Exhaustion > Enthusiasm, it sounds like Spirit finds death - and the relinquishing of the responcibilities of the physical world - quite rejuvenating!
The lines seem to warn how longings to reexperience the pleasures of the physical sences and concerns for loved ones left behind can prevent a soul from moving on to higher levels. The advice in 47.2 seems to say that those who are in spirit can be helped by the prayers of those of us still in body.

[topal]

Looking at just the hexagrams, Exhaustion > Enthusiasm, it sounds like Spirit finds death - and the relinquishing of the responcibilities of the physical world - quite rejuvenating!
The lines seem to warn how longings to reexperience the pleasures of the physical sences and concerns for loved ones left behind can prevent a soul from moving on to higher levels. The advice in 47.2 seems to say that those who are in spirit can be helped by the prayers of those of us still in body.


Interesting stuff Rosada.

Joe fisher, among others wrote about this in his book "Hungry Ghosts." He throws himself into regression therapy led by so called channelled guides and uncovers some pretty manipulative entities deceiving both their hosts and the little audiences that flock to hear their wisdom - and it's often pretty accurate stuff. Only problem is they have access to information merely due to there existence at a different frequency, so to say. They can be highly intelligent entities but about as enlightened as Wal-Mart light bulb. There are no shortage of folks suitably psychic and too open to allow such entities in. Joe Fisher since committed suicide. I believe this is largely due to the amount psychic attacks he was under from his research into such fields.

Another aspect which is very much related to what you say comes from by Alan Sanderson a fellow Englishman who is one of those responsible for re-introducing the art of Spirit Releasment Therapy (SRT) also spear-headed by the late William Baldwin in the States. These guys go beyond the usual multiple personality disorders and dissociation symptoms of mental illness and go back, in part to the practice of a form of exorcism though much more sophisticated. It's like counselling for discarnate entities hooked into living persons for a variety of reasons. Fascinating stuff. Not to be taken lightly though.

Anyhow, here are some links for those interested:

http://www.spiritrelease.com/cases/index.htm
http://www.spiritreleasement.org/index.html

Topal

[soshin]

...about this thing called "enlightenment"?

If the afterlife experience is expected to be in some ways unique to each of us, would the same apply to enlightenment?

Is it unique to each being, or is it one common, all encompassing state of being?

Is there a difference in that state-of-being from the way the individual manifests that state?

Or, is there also only one form and manifestation?

Dear Bruce,

according to the elders as far as I understand their teachings, the thing called enlightement is our natural status. It is our deranged everyday conciousness which pretends seperation and gives way to the stirrings of our five emotions.

So, in a way, as enlightment is our Inner Truth (61), it is common ground to each one of us. But in another way, as listener so beautiful states, we have our own, highly personal tune to sing, which cannot be compensated for by any other being, so our state of being after enlightenment hit will seem different from person to person, seen from the outside..

There are many different stories of enlightement experiences in the Zen Buddhist Canon, and the experience seem to have one level in common:

Deep peace, deep joy, thankfulness for the gift of life and for all what life has given to us, and an end put to the fear of death. And (hopefully) a deep inner determination to stay with the practice which helped us to reach this point and put an end to suffering, evermore.

From time to time I have interesting talks with sudden death survivors - from which around 20% had a near-death-experience, and the common ground of them seemed to be very close to the experiences I mentioned before.

It seems not to be pointless to say that enlightment is something like dying before you actually die, and then, living for the first time.

Namaste,

Soshin

[bruce_g]

Thanks, Soshin. Beautifully put.

[soshin]

Deep Peace

Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace deep peace
Deep peace of the sleeping stones to you
Deep peace of the wandering wind to you
Deep peace of the flock of stars to you
Deep peace deep peace
Deep peace of the eastern wind to you
Deep peace of the westeren wind to you
Deep peace of the northern wind to you
Blue wind of the south to you
Pure red of the whirling flame to you
Pure white of the silver moon to you
Pure green of the emerald grass to you
Deep peace deep peace

:bows:

[rosada]

Thank you for posting the sites, Topal. Fascinating!

[topal]

Thank you for posting the sites, Topal. Fascinating!

You're very welcome :)

Topal

[laylab]

The Spirit world? I don't know..the only thing my sixth sense tells me is, well... I see dumb people. They walk around like everyone else..they're eveywhere..and they don't even know they're dumb.

[bruce_g]

The Spirit world? I don't know..the only thing my sixth sense tells me is, well... I see dumb people. They walk around like everyone else..they're eveywhere..and they don't even know they're dumb.

:rofl:

If they knew maybe they wouldn't be dumb anymore?

[listener]

:rofl:

If they knew maybe they wouldn't be dumb anymore?

:ouch: :duh: :p

[sparkler]

sorry i am totally lost now...

[laylab]

I asked the same question: "what is the spirit world like?"
and got

23.3 Splitting Apart
thus those above can ensure their position by giving generously to those below
Line 3 He splits with them, no blame

Leading to 54: Keeping Still - so that he no longer feels his body

This makes sense to me: the spirit seperates itself from the body..splitting apart
"he splits with them, no blame" means to me to split from the attachments we have to this physical world

and 52 seems self explainatory..no longer feeling one's body.

I found the statement about those above ensuring their position by giving generously to those below as very interesting. It makes me wonder ..

[bruce_g]

I found the statement about those above ensuring their position by giving generously to those below as very interesting. It makes me wonder ..

It does, doesn't it..

[jimnammack]

Sparkler:

That was a nice song posted by bruce_g.

Hexagram 47 speaks of being hemmed in, but by persevering, one succeeds, one accrues good fortune. In the Appended Judgments, it says, "Through oppression, one learns how to lessen one's rancor." The Image says, "There is no water in the lake. The image of exhaustion. Thus the superior man stakes his life on following his will."

I can't be sure, but this could be speaking of the transition of dying, of going from one plane of existence to another. While in our current physical bodies, we may feel battered about by various circumstances over the last decades, but when we make that transition, the feeling of oppression vanishes, and so one is able to follow one's will. One is able to discover one's Inner Being after the transition, and to become in every way one's own Inner Being.

The text describing the 2nd moving speaks of a "supranatural relationship." It says that being with kindred spirits cannot be done, which may mean that the immediate afterlife is quite removed from this one, that the deceased are quite a bit different from how we imagine they are in the afterlife. But, I'm guessing here.

Moving line 5 seems to be explaining that, even though the afterlife may seem to be better and more enlightened than when we are attached to our physical bodies, it is only through assuming a physical identity that we are able to effect things in a more creative way, and that is why we do choose to come back in another body. To create.

In Hexagram 16, Enthusiasm, I get the feeling that it is speaking of the rejuvenation our lives experience in the afterlife. When we reach the end of life in our physical bodies, it is because our lives are exhausted, so to speak, and during the afterlife one of the things that takes place is that we recharge ourselves. And, when we accumulate enough energy, we are reborn back into physical bodies again.

I have done a lot of speculating and guessing in trying to provide an interpretation of this reading for you. I will feel better if I use my own I Ching to double check the accuracy of what I have said here. My I Ching has the same structure as the traditional I Ching, but has very different hexagram and moving line meanings. I will ask the same question you did: What is it like in the spirit world?

Hexagram 36: A seeming restriction has the effect of guiding you in a more enlightened direction.

Moving line 4: You have no reason for complaint.

Hexagram 55: You take care of something with great dispatch.

Overview Hexagram 47: You have an otherworldly experience.

This explains that when we make that transition to the afterlife, we are able to experience reality with more enlightened eyes, we experience reality from a more enlightened perspective.

Moving line 4 says that our death experience will not be a disappointing experience. The implication is that we will like it, in other words.

The next two bits of information are in a different context. You are told that you effect something or accomplish something quite soon, and that you have an otherworldly experience. In other words, you have an otherworldly experience quite soon, which in the context of this divination means that you will soon experience some kind of contact or communion with your partner. This could happen spontaneously, such as in a dream or in an overpowering feeling of his presence that you experience, or something like that. Or, this contact could come about because of something you initiate, such as your use of a Ouija board, or you visit with a psychic channeler, or something similar to that.

With the perspective provided by my own I Ching, I have just gone back and reread what Wilhelm says about Hexagram 16, the concluding hexagram of your original divination. The text here speaks of making proper preparations, and making use of helpers. "The firm finds correspondence, and its will is done."

In light of my own I Ching reading, I will have to change my original interpretation of your Wilhelm reading. Hexagram 16 seems to be telling you the same thing that my I Ching reading did, that you will have a reunion of some kind with your husband. The Wilhelm text speaks of "inviting their ancestors to be present." In the context of your situation, this would refer to inviting your husband to be present.

Far out.

Jim

Jim