Reimagining Death: The Elephant in the Room

Woody Allen famously said that he didn't want to achieve immortality through his work; he wanted to achieve it through not dying. While we celebrate birth, its corollary, exiting the Earth plane, is feared only slightly less than public speaking — at least, in the Western mind.

As someone with a gerontology (study of aging) background and an abiding love of elders, I've been exploring positive aging and death-related subject matter for years. I'm currently reading two complementary books with mirrored titled: From Age-ing to Sage-ing by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, and Sage-ing While Age-ing by Shirley MacLaine. MacLaine's book has been eye opening, not least because she articulates much that I've discovered/remembered on my own awakening journey, but also because she ratchets up my knowledge to the next level. In Chapter 11 (number of Aquarius), she focuses on soul development and references the work of regression therapist Michael Newton, PhD.

Suddenly I read, "All regressed souls speak of how much easier death is than birth. With death there is a release into the light. With birth there is an entrance into density." Of course! It's easier to expand than to contract.

And this awareness dovetails beautifully with another stunning book I read last year, Deathing: An Intelligent Alternative for the Final Moments of Life by Anya Foos-Graber.

Deathing is the real deal on conscious departure. We're not meant to die alone and afraid, maintains Foos-Graber. This definitive guide — the first of its kind I've seen, and it was published in 1989 — spells out clearly how each person can prepare for an informed death. Since most of us avoid any discussion of the subject, the very concept of a 'how-to' manual may sound frightening. Yet like MacLaine, Foos-Graber maintains that death can be a light-filled, spiritual experience.

We have a lot of help entering the world: we emerge from the body of our mother with attendants such as doctors, nurses, midwives, spouses and friends at the ready to welcome us and tend to the birthing mother. But there is no corresponding death ritual to support us in exiting the body we've inhabited as we return to the Great Mother of All.

Through two teaching stories, Foos-Graber shows us what both a typical, unconscious dying and a planned 'deathing' experience look like. The second half of the book provides step-by-step instructions and simple exercises such as breathing, visualization and remembering the Love that you are, to assist you in releasing the body and making a conscious, even joyful, departure from this life — and to support others in doing so.

Plus, we can rehearse while alive! Foos-Graber writes, "By practicing ahead of time with an eye toward this spiritual life insurance, you can increasingly live in an atmosphere free from fear and ignorance. A correct grasp of how to die necessarily produces an expanded philosophy of how to live more abundantly, however long or short your time of physical life."

As I was reading this book, a friend of mine's husband surrendered to cancer. Here's how she described his conscious death: "He squeezed my hand and left his breath here to begin to inhale the ethers of elsewhere. A gentle wave of joyful contentment spread out in ripples of sparkling delight. He was free again and slowly twirling in the softly glowing wonder of it all. This ethereal mist of farewell whispered through our home for an hour or so and then was gone."

So let us bow to that elephant and embrace its wisdom, rather than indulge in what MacLaine refers to as "amphysteria" ~ a condition of forgotten fear, usually of a place. We have no reason to fear expansion into the Light of All. And the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesh is revered as the "Remover of Obstacles". We can ride the elephant of awareness right on into the next adventure.

Aleph: Redeeming Your Soul

Novels often herald extraordinary transformation for me; more than two decades ago, a line in Slightly Like Strangers helped catalyze the launch of my own business: "Security isn't something you save up. It's what you find when you take risks."

Now Paulo Coehlo's latest, Aleph, takes us on a highly personal crisis-of-faith odyssey in which the author redeems himself from 500 years of purgatory by asking a young woman whom he condemned to death as a witch during the Inquisition to forgive him. Reading this as the 11:11 gateway opened, I suddenly flashed on a core conversation I've shared numerous times over the past 18 years, concerning a naturopathic doctor who helped me heal during my awakening journey, yet whose devout religious beliefs seemed at odds with her homemade, Nature-based herbal and homeopathic remedies.

In a moment of perfect clarity I realized our interaction was exactly what Coehlo describes: in merging devout faith with "paganism", my naturopath enabled me to question my own beliefs and learn to stand in my truth, to hold the "both/and" ~ God and Nature, God in Nature, God as Nature ~ and to truly embrace "no separation" as my embodied mantra. My personal credo became, "If it works for you — and harms none — it works for me."

The lines one of the "witches" speaks to Coehlo 500 years earlier seared my soul and brought tears of recognition to my eyes; veracity does that. Here is what one of the girls says as they are being led to the stake:

"The time for fear has passed; now there is only the time of hope. Are we guilty? One day, the world will judge us and we will not be the ones to feel ashamed. We will meet again in the future, when your life and work will be dedicated to those who are so sorely misunderstood today. Your voice will speak out loudly, and many will listen to you.

"Love will conquer hatred. When the time comes, those who are burned today will be exalted. Wizards and alchemists will return, the Goddess will be welcomed and witches celebrated. And all for the greatness of God. That is the blessing we place on your head now, until the end of time."

This IS A Test: Commemorating 9-1-1

[My first posting from 9-11-01]:


This IS A Test!

Dear Ones,

We are six days from September 17th, a date heralded as being an opportunity for planetary initiation. An initiatory crisis, personal or global, catapults us out of our prior way of life in an instant, and demands a creative response born of trust in the process. Crisis actually means "turning point," as well as opportunity. So while this morning's air attacks on key U.S. "nerve centers" (the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon) surprise me only in terms of form, the actions themselves were, in a sense, predictable. It was only a matter of when. The time is NOW. The question is, how will we (the United States, and the world) respond?

I believe it was Einstein who said, you can not solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created it. From stunned pain, shock and anger, the instinctive response is retaliation. The first person I talked with today, upon hearing the news, spoke of hoping the President would threaten a nuclear attack. This would clearly be the end of life as we know it.

Later, as I listened to reports on radio, I was struck once again by how rapidly people always pull together in an emergency to help one another. Tragedy is a great leveler. We all do need to come together, not to fight a common enemy (which is within) but to begin creating the Global Community we've been inching towards for decades. It's a spiritual emergency, as we emerge from the cocoon of complacency, the old paradigm, into a courageous new world.

We must now choose to go beyond the old, reptilian, limbic brain (the same impulse that drives materialism, separation, self-interest, and misuse of power) into the higher realms of consciousness, where love, wisdom and power are synthesized into service. This is a test of the highest order. It's not about who's at fault, who orchestrated the attacks, or whether we should now place sanctions against the Middle East or other groups. It's about recognizing this attack for what it is: a colossal wake-up call.

This event is a volcanic eruption, and in hindsight, the rumblings many of us have been experiencing the past few weeks presaged it. Several players on the path have been sharing stories of total strangers (as well as of acquaintances and friends) suddenly, savagely and inexplicably dumping truckloads of mental trash on them. Everyone has been feeling "the quickening" of these end times, but, since we're at different stages in our growth, those who have no context for what they're experiencing also don't know what to do with these volatile energies. The anger's been leaking out, and finally, here's the explosion.

It is, in a very real sense, a planetary birth process. Something old has to die in order for the new to emerge. Please understand, I am not in the least condoning the tremendous loss of lives or the tragedy itself, yet I do feel that some major catastrophe to serve as a worldwide summons to awareness was cued to occur. It also took place on a Tuesday, which correlates astrologically with Mars, the God of war. We are all learning how to transform the war within ourselves into spiritual warriorhood.

It is interesting that the attack on the Pentagon made it impossible for U.S. officials to meet in the Department of Defense, the War Room. Our old defenses have been dismantled, big time and instantly.

Consider, too, that the Pentagon is a five-sided structure. There's a lot of power in five, which configures a star. The number five, as the center of the Native American medicine wheel, signifies the place of transformational possibilities. Five symbolizes access to the Spirit world in the Mayan tradition. It is a unifying element in Tibetan culture. The Greeks called the fifth element quinta essentia, the pure and concentrated essence, or invisible connector that allows earth, fire, water and air to communicate. Five is, cross-culturally, a centering and balancing element. Think of the alchemical phoenix that could arise from this apparent tragedy…

The 13th century Sufi mystic Rumi wrote, "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there's a field. I'll meet you there." This is the field of higher mind, of creative possibility, of the One Love. The moment is now. This is a call to conscious unity. Sisters and Brothers of the Light, please join me.

May this Invocation, sent out from World Goodwill in New York City to commemorate World Invocation Day, June 5, 2001, inspire and support you now. Many blessings and much love to you all, Amara.


The Great Invocation

From the point of Light within the mind of God
Let Light stream forth into human minds.
Let Light descend on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into human hearts.
May the Coming One return to Earth.

From the center where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide all little human wills—
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the center which we call the human race
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.

Pennies From Heaven

The day after my Twitter post about finding a dime and 3 pennies on the sidewalk, Tweetheart and What Shines subscriber Jacqui Hoag sent me this anecdote:

"You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. Gives you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.

The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live ... The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely...

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.


Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

'Look at it.' He said. 'Read what it says.' She read the words, 'United States of America'.

'No, not that; read further.'

'One cent?' 'No, keep reading.'

'In God We Trust?' 'Yes!' 'And?'

'And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!'

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, 'In God We Trust,' and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.

It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient..."

~∞~∞~∞~∞~∞

Thought for the Day:

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

If S/he had a wallet, your photo would be in it...

S/he sends you flowers every spring.

S/he sends you a sunrise every morning Face it, friend - S/he is crazy about you!

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow,sun without rain, but S/he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Read this line very slowly and let it sink in ...

"If God brings you to it, S/he will bring you through it."

You will receive a miracle tomorrow.

"Time of Screaming and Gnashing of Teeth"

Patricia Cota-Robles' latest message, This Is Our Moment! brought a smile to my face, as I've been living my light in service for many years with a dwindling bank balance, doing my best to live the trust frequency I've written about (most recently in my March What Shines newsletter), on this blog, and in my many published articles. But Lord, it's tough sometimes to stay out of fear when we're in bodies and bodies have basic needs, eh?

Why would we subject ourselves to this pain and suffering? Patti reminds us it's because we saw the future, and it was good. Her latest post reads in part:

"We were shown the New Earth in all of her splendor. We witnessed Humanity living with the full knowledge of the Oneness of all Life. On this New Earth, every soul recognizes and reveres the Divinity within every other soul and in every particle of Life. People work together to find viable solutions that reflect the highest good for all concerned in every situation. Win-win experiences are achieved in every line of endeavor. The New Earth transcends all of the maladies now existing on this planet. Exquisite joy, love, abundance, health, happiness, peace, wisdom, enlightenment, and every other aspect of our Father-Mother God are the order of the day on the New Earth.

"This is not, however, the only reason we made the sacrifice to embody on Earth during this unprecedented moment. Through our I AM Presence, we were well aware of the Universal Laws governing the evolution of the Sons and Daughters of God. We knew that in order for something to manifest in the physical plane, it must be invoked or asked for through the free will choice of someone existing in the physical plane.

"With this inner knowing, we clearly understood that in order for us to transform the Earth and all her Life into the infinite perfection of the New Earth, we must be abiding in the physical plane. This is what is meant by the words, 'God needs a body.'"

So let's keep encouraging and supporting one another to get there, dear ones. We're so close: in the final stages of the 9th month of our global rebirth process. All mothers know they would do anything to ease the pain of labor ~ and yet, in the end, they behold a beautiful little bundle of joy, a miracle of co-creation and Love. This is what we're doing now on a mass scale. It's a spiritual emerge-and-see of the highest order. And we are MORE than equal to the task!

Much love and upliftment to you all,
Amara

12:12 Gateway: Expanding the Love

In the current issue of What Shines, I mention the 11:11 portal of potential. Another gateway is the 12:12, which arrives with the Gemini Full Moon next Friday. Archangel Michael, channeled through Celia Fenn in South Africa, has some enLightening information about how we can expand our love during this time. This is an excerpt:

"As the old reality fades together with its old patterns of fear and violence and lack, the New Earth Reality arises based on the patterns of the Sacred Heart, the Rose of the Twin Flame energies. You are discovering how to align with a Focus or Center of Energy in your Heart that unfolds like a Rose and that holds Heaven and Earth together with the Electrical and Magnetic 'polarities' of the God Force energies. You are discovering how to move with the powerful flows of this God Force or Divine Intelligence as it moves within You. And you are learning to experience the powerful creative Magic of this Deep Love that flows through the Heart.

"You are learning how to Expand the Love until you see that All in your Field, your Perception, your Experience, is an aspect of God-in-You, and that it is vibrating and pulsating with the Passion and Love and Desire of the Divine Source Energy. The Desire to Be, to Become and to Experience All that You can Be through the creations and manifestations of your physical being is an expression of the Divine Love of the God Force within. You are learning how to perceive life with Love and Gratitude as your perceptions move into focus and you know that you are One in the Love of God, that you are Love Incarnate, the walking and breathing representation of the Love of God. A Human Angel, unified with All Things in the Consciousness of God.

"At this time, You are Becoming part of the Song of Harmony...the Song of 'One'. And you are ready for the Expanded adventures of Joy, manifesting through the Sacred Rose or the Twin Flame Template of Divine Consciousness for the New Earth reality. In this process of Higher Consciousness, you are able to see All that Exists as an expression or manifestation of 'the Beloved', the Love of God that is the energy that draws you back into the Heart of God. You become part of the deep passion of Divine Love that flows through all things. And you may, if you choose, experience that Joy and Ecstasy within a partnership in the material world.

"Beloved Ones, on the 12th of December, the 12:12 gateway or portal in Time/Space, the Earth will pass through a Full Moon alignment where the Full Moon will be in Gemini and the Sun in Sagittarius. Gemini is the astrological house of the 'Twins', which in the New Reality represents the energy of the Twin Flame or Sacred Union. With the Sun in the Fire sign of Spiritual Passion represented by Sagittarius, and the Moon in the House of Sacred Union represented by Gemini, the fiery passion of Sacred Union will ignite in the Hearts of those who are awakened to this Love and will assist them to Expand the Love within their Field of Experience and Perception. And these ones will become the Leaders for the next cycle of Conscious Evolution into deeper aspects of Divine Love and its expression on the Planet.

"The energy will continue to build up to the 21st of December, the time of the Planetary Solstice, when the Southern Pole of the Planet, representing the Feminine Polarity of the Earth, will align directly with the Galactic Center at 26 degrees of Sagittarius. The Galactic center is the Heart of the Galaxy, that Sacred Space where the energies of the Galaxy are held in Sacred Union. It is the place from where Oneness and Harmony flows. The Earth will align with these powerful flows of Oneness and Harmony and Love will open the Hearts of those on the Earth who are ready to receive the Song of Oneness into their Core Being. The powerful wave of Twin Flame Love that you will experience between the 12th and the 21st of December, will indeed "lift" you to a new level in your Experience and Perception of yourself as a Human Angelic Being and Consciousness. The Twin Flame Love of Source will ignite the Twin Flame Love within, and will create Miracles of Compassionate Love that will be deeply felt by those who are ready to accept this new manifestation of the Love of God."

The NOW Ten Commandments

The future's not what it used to be, and thus, a group of metaphysicians has labored for two years to craft a modern version of the Ten Commandments for our times. I find these intriguing: more embracing of the Divinity within all than of a judgmental God "out there". What do you think?

1. THOU ART GOD.
You are the source of your own creation, free to express that as you choose.

2. KNOW THYSELF; UNLEASH THY DIVINITY.
You are the Truth, the Light, the Way. Be the Inspiration and unique expression of your evolving Divinity.

3. RESPECT AND LOVE THYSELF; THY NAME IS SACRED.
Respect and Love yourself. Your name is a vibrational expression of the soul.

4. BE HERE AND CELEBRATE THY DIVINITY NOW.
There is only the present moment; it is the eternal space between "what was" and "what will be". In fully experiencing "the now" you joyfully celebrate what you truly are - a divine being having a glorious human experience.

5. APPRECIATE THY HERITAGE. HONOUR MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY.
Appreciate the richness of where you have come from. The masculine energy initiates and the feminine energy makes possible. Respect and harmonize these energies.

6. THOU ART IMMORTAL; HONOUR ALL LIGHT AND LIFE.
The ever-evolving flow of life is eternal. Respect and honour the magic and mystery in all there is.

7. LOVE THYSELF AND CELEBRATE THY SEXUALITY.
Experience your sexuality freely. It is an expression of self-respect, self-esteem, self-worth, self-love. It is a path to the realization of oneness.

8. THE ONUS OF ABUNDANCE IS UPON THEE; RESPECT THE RIGHT OF CUSTODIANSHIP.
Your attitude towards abundance will determine how abundant you are. Abundance is an integral part of Spirituality. Respect another's belongings through choice. You are responsible and accountable for what you claim.

9. BE TRUE TO WHAT THOU KNOWEST TO BE RIGHT.
Your innate intelligence knows what is right. Have the courage to live your truth.

10. REJOICE IN THY NEIGHBOUR'S SUCCESS. SING THE SONG OF THY HEART. CREATE THE LIFE OF THY DREAMS.
Being joyful for another's success sets them and you free. Singing your song and living the life of your dreams makes things possible for yourself and others.

PROCLAMATION

With wonder, joy and anticipation we embrace opportunities for expressing inspired creativity. From this moment in time we commit to:

Nourish and care for our physical body out of love and respect.
Nurture and care for our earth and all that inhabits it and to allow it to regenerate itself elegantly.
Respect, love and learn from the magic, purity and innocence of children and our child within.
Embrace life with magic from the innocence of the heart and create beauty in all there is.

May is for Manifesting

Natural time calendar creatrix Li Walter has some wise words about manifestation, which is free-flowing this spring:

"We too often think of manifestation as the end of a cycle, a destination, when more often than not, shortly after reaching the ceiling of one level, we pop through into the muck on the floor of the next level, wondering what happened to our great sense of having reached the heights. Rather than bemoaning our fate or thinking things should somehow be different, use this time to acknowledge and shed what's no longer working in your life. More is possible."

Bear Li's words in mind as we move into the mystical realms, which Patti Cota-Robles says are wide open for humanity's evolution now. But as always, it's up to us to invoke our own growth. Here's an excerpt from her latest transmission:

"Once again we are being called to a higher service. We are being asked by our Father-Mother God, Saint Germain and the entire Company of Heaven if we are willing to put forth the necessary effort to be the heart, head and hands of God in the physical plane of Earth. This is not a monumental task; it is a simple matter of invoking these new frequencies of the Violet Flame and decreeing them into action through our Heart Flames."

In addition, Celia Fenn, who channels Archangel Michael, brings through vital information about the new Grail Codes and how we can integrate the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine in order to fully embrace the Fifth Dimensional energies in a "balanced and creative way."