Proof Of Heaven by Eben Alexander, M.D.

Proof Of Heaven was a quick read that I couldn’t put down. I started and finished it in one day of routine flying for business. Interviews of people that died and were revived known as near death experiences (NDE’s), have always gotten my attention on TV and radio interviews. However this book compelled me to purchase and read about it for numerous reasons. First this was a NDE by a neurosurgeon that is obviously very intimate with all the medical reasons most skeptics of NDE’s recite. Second, Dr. Alexander, even though witnessing many patients that have claimed such experiences,  was the ultimate skeptic.  And third, unlike many people that experience NDE’s due to heart attack and die for just minutes and then are revived, Dr. Alexander was in a coma for over a week with his brain completely shut down. This difference in his experience makes it harder to support all the medical reasons the skeptics use for discounting such experiences.  If this topic is of interest to you at all this is one to add to your reading list!  So as always Hit The Books, They Don’t Hit Back!

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Seeing a bright light, going through a tunnel, having the feeling of ending up in another ‘reality’ or leaving one’s own body are very well known features of the complex phenomena known as ‘Near-Death Experiences ‘ (NDE), which people who are close to death can experience in particular. Products of the mind? Psychological defence mechanisms? Hallucinations? These phenomena have been widely documented in the media and have generated numerous beliefs and theories of every kind. From a scientific point of view, these experiences are all the more difficult to understand in that they come into being in chaotic conditions, which make studying them in real time almost impossible.

The University of Liège’s researchers have thus tried a different approach. Working together, researchers at the Coma Science Group (Directed by Steven Laureys) and the University of Liège’s Cognitive Psychology Research (Professor Serge Brédart and Hedwige Dehon), have looked into the memories of NDE with the hypothesis that if the memories of NDE were pure products of the imagination, their phenomenological characteristics (e.g., sensorial, self referential, emotional, etc. details) should be closer to those of imagined memories.

Conversely, if the NDE are experienced in a way similar to that of reality, their characteristics would be closer to the memories of real events. The researchers compared the responses provided by three groups of patients, each of which had survived (in a different manner) a coma, and a group of healthy volunteers. They studied the memories of NDE and the memories of real events and imagined events with the help of a questionnaire which evaluated the phenomenological characteristics of the memories. The results were surprising.

From the perspective being studied, not only were the NDEs not similar to the memories of imagined events, but the phenomenological characteristics inherent to the memories of real events (e.g. memories of sensorial details) are even more numerous in the memories of NDE than in the memories of real events. The brain, in conditions conducive to such phenomena occurring, is prey to chaos. Physiological and pharmacological mechanisms are completely disturbed, exacerbated or, conversely, diminished. Certain studies have put forward a physiological explanation for certain components of NDE, such as Out-of-Body Experiences, which could be explained by dysfunctions of the temporo-parietal lobe.

In this context the study published in PLOS ONE suggests that these same mechanisms could also could also ‘create’ a perception – which would thus be processed by the individual as coming from the exterior – of reality. In a kind of way their brain is lying to them, like in a hallucination. These events being particularly surprising and especially important from an emotional and personal perspective, the conditions are ripe for the memory of this event being extremely detailed, precise and durable. Numerous studies have looked into the physiological mechanisms of NDE, the production of these phenomena by the brain, but, taken separately, these two theories are incapable of explaining these experiences in their entirety. The study published in PLOS ONE does not claim to offer a unique explanation for NDE, but it contributes to study pathways which take into account psychological phenomena as factors associated with, and not contradictory to, physiological phenomena.

We were talking about a divorce. I felt really depressed and at a certain evening I cried for a long time. I felt so miserable.

During that night a girlfriend, that I had not seen for a very long time, visited me in my dreams. It was a lucid dream. She came towards me and gave me a kiss.
It was at that moment that something amazing happened:
I was filled with love, it filled my soul and at the same time it filled every fibre of my body, I was completely filled by love. I have no idea how this works, but I would call it a heavenly love, a love unknown on earth.

At the same time she gave me so much information. I can’t recall everything, but I know she told me (she actually didn’t tell me anything, I would call it instant knowing) that she died.

This experience changed my life forever. I cried for hours and I felt unhappy for weeks. I wanted to be with her again. I was hoping that this was a dream and that she was still alive.

So I started searching for her, but I couldn’t find her. At a certain moment my deceased girlfriend helped me (at least that’s what I think) to find another acquaintance (her friend). I was looking via google maps and at a certain moment an address just popped up in my head. This was really weird. And this address existed and it was indeed an address that brought me in contact with her friend.
She told me that my girlfriend died several years ago. She had cystic fibrosis. I did not know, she never told me.

It was this experience that convinced me that our live continues after our death. I very much hope to see her when I die. She can expect a big hug ;-).

I can imagine that you think what happened between me and my wife. We are still together. We have learned to accept each other as we are. This is very important for any relationship. Don’t expect anything. That’s the best basis for a healthy relationship. If you don’t mind.. I will go to my wife to give her a kiss ;-)

Lots of love to all of you.

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A second edition: The Resurrection of Christ in the Astral body, (2011), scheduled for the summer. Identical current blog : jesus resurrection astrale. But we prefer the paper version.

Sources? Many wonder? We know that the author mentions extracts from books : Maurice Guinguand : esoteric writer.

A unique style. We not found elsewhere a similar interpretation. The author states that it is a way of seeing, but there is no evidence that it is a truth.

It was suggested to Peter Puccio a video project. Broadcast on Youtube .. The themes are, near death experiences, death, resurrection, the astral body .. No date has been scheduled.

According to him, in the descriptions of near-death experiences, sincerity leaves no room for lies. This is Authentic.

While in astral travel experiences, primarily in our time, the detail is confused and there’s something missing. A form of elevation!

Thank you.

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Every minute that you spend thinking about what’s wrong subtracts precious time from concentrating on doing the right things.  We die a little every day that we are alive.  Being alive and living are two individual, separate activities.  Being alive is just a passive existance.  Living is making that existance meaningful.

I have had 3 NDEs in my life and each served to amplify my awareness of the people and the world around me.  I watch the world and observe the people…, and I feel that there are just too many who are just alive.., and not enough that are living.  Every new day is an opportunity to open ourselves to live the life we were meant to live. 

Take control of your life and live it !!!!!

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NPR interviews resuscitation scientist Dr. Sam Parnia

Pull quotes:

Dr. Sam Parnia: “And what I find most fascinating about the experiences are the cases where people have come back and described to their physicians, with astonishing detail, of what had been going on. And they described watching things, and described hearing conversations – and recalling them incredibly accurately.”

Dr. Sam Parnia: “The general trend of what they describe, aside from the sensation of being very peaceful, is seeing a bright light; sometimes a very warm, welcoming, loving being that they describe as being full of compassion, that guides them through their lives.They often describe having a review of their lives, everything that they had done from early childhood to that point. And interestingly, the way they describe their review is very much like they experience, sometimes, everything that they had done. So for instance, if they had hurt somebody’s feelings, even inadvertently, without purpose, they feel the pain that they had given somebody else. And therefore, they judge themselves, in effect, and their actions. And that’s why when they come back, many of them are motivated to lead their lives in a completely different way. I remember one person who said that, I particularly wanted to make sure that I don’t fail again; and I want to make sure that I at least end up with a C, when I get back there again.”

MyCoreArticles (and some related links)
[awakening, synchronicity, Gnosticism, AAT, nature of reality/consciousness, etc.]

–RogerV

What a shocking surprise! I pleaded with Jesus to let me come back and come and warn people that hell is real. You can watch or read my testimony on Youtube or on my website www.finalcall07.com But Jesus let me come back to warn the world that nobody is saved. We only have the HOPE of salvation IF WE FOLLOW JESUS EVERY DAY, if we remain faithful to Him and if we live a life that is pleasing to Him, if we live righteously and holy and seek Him all the time. We must take the words of Jesus seriously. If we want eternal life we must deny ourselves day, pick up our cross and follow Jesus. Our life must be about Jesus not about ourselves.

I was under the impression that I was safe. I did not understand how serious Jesus is about His words as also written in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus is coming for a pure and holy bride that does not compromise with the world. He is coming for those who are absolutely faithful to Him. Many believers will end up in hell because they were not serious about Jesus. They did not obey His words, they became complacent. They did not have a real relationship with Him, they were not constantly praying, seeking Him, listening, obeying and following, They thought they could fit Jesus into their life. If Jesus is not YOUR LIFE you do not have eternal life. NOBODY IS SAVED YET. We must endure until the very end and very few will be saved. Jesus said we must strive HARD to ENTER THE NARROW GATE, because many will try and not be able. How hard are you trying? How serious is your relationship with Jesus? Are you obeying Him? Is your light shining in this world? Can everybody see that you are a child of God? Are you hated and persecuted for the name of Jesus? Or are you complacent? How serious are you about your relationship with Jesus?

What makes you think that if you die today, you will have eternal life? Go on your knees and ask Jesus to show you whether He is pleased with you TODAY! Not yesterday, not last week, TODAY, and do that every day. Ask confirmation from Him EVERY DAY. Let Him tell you EVERY DAY whether He is pleased with you or not. Those who are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Those who assume WILL PERISH! Do not assume. Pray, seek Jesus, ask Him to show you. Make sure every day that your relationship with Him is REAL and RIGHT and PURE, and that He is pleased with you. Trust no man, don’t even trust yourself. Only trust Jesus and ASK HIM. Do not rest until He confirms to you every day that He is pleased with you. Or else, you might be terribly disappointed.

Book Review: Heaven’s Lessons

Ten Things I Learned About God When I Died

By Steve Sjogren

This book is part autobiography and part motivational. Sjogren recounts his near death experience (NDE), and uses it to draw lessons that can be applied to life. The book is brief, with an easy to follow style that makes it a quick read.

The author has divided the book into 10 chapters, with each one focused on lessons he has learned from his encounter with the afterlife. His lessons are simple, but not necessarily easy to follow. For example, “Don’t Fear Death,” “Be Thankful,” and “God is Big” are some of the chapter titles.

Steve Sjogren is a pastor, and seeks to impart spiritual truth in a direct way. Readers will come away feeling assured that there is a Higher Power, and that He is a loving God. It is an emotional appeal to humility and thankfulness even when we are under stress, fearful, or taking things for granted.

Recognizing his shortcomings, he boldly describes some mistakes he made in church leadership, and his continuing journey to learn about patience in dealing with grief and forgiveness. This is made even more remarkable given that several of these mistakes occurred after the author’s NDE.

This is a book that will leave the reader feeling energized and with warm feelings to their fellow human beings. As Sjogren says, “God loves irregular people.” It turns out, we are all “irregular people.”

The book is solid on principles, but light on details. What it lacks in sophistication, it makes up for with earnest emotion. I rate it 4 stars out of 5.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Related articles

• Book Review: Heaven’s Lessons by Steve Sjogren (schelastic.wordpress.com)
• Heaven’s Lessons: Ten Things I Learned about God When I Died;by Steve Sjogren; book review (diakrinomusings.wordpress.com)

Martha Halda has found her way: By writing A Taste of Eternity, a forthcoming memoir about how one afternoon reshaped her outlook on life, and the way she chooses to live it.

On October 8, 1999, Martha suffered a horrific car accident, after which she was pronounced clinically dead three times. She remains the only person in the 50-year history of Palomar Pomerado Hospital (North San Diego County) to survive after scoring 0 on her CRAM (Clinical Risk Assessment and Management). Those who score 0 to 1 almost always die, or live in a paralyzed and/or persistent vegetative state. She recovered fully – even completing the 2002 Dublin Marathon.

During her passing over, she had a profound near death experience. How that experience transformed and shifted her life, and how she carried it forward, is covered in A Taste of Eternity, now making its rounds among major publishers through literary agent Dana Newman.

Martha also offers behind-the-chapters stories pertaining to the book at her blog, http://atasteofeternity.wordpress.com.

This is the second of a touching, life-affirming two-part interview with Martha, which comes at a most fitting time, as millions begin to celebrate Easter or Passover.

Word Journeys: Why do so many people find it hard to believe someone can have a near death experience, taste eternity, or have direct perception of God?

Martha Halda: I feel it’s because we are too busy judging.  Judgment causes the unbearable fear of non-acceptance.  Think about it, from our first day on the playground, all we want is to be accepted, to be part of the group, invited in.  Some people can’t accept what they haven’t seen, touched or felt themselves. Some need science to prove anything or everything before they will accept it, Often, people are afraid that society will think them odd or mentally off.  To talk about this, I needed the faith that comes from knowing that what I experienced was 100% real.   Faith can go a long way, but first we must to get out of our own way. We need to remove the mighty ego.  Many people still need society to accept it, before they are willing.

WJ: That’s a great point – and leads to my next question. A Taste of Eternity crosses all religious lines – and goes beyond them. When I read it, I saw how you touched and experienced the unifying point behind ALL religions. Could you speak to the essence of spirit, based on your experience?

MH: For me, the essence of spirit is sharing, caring, love, a unity of all things.  I mean all things: everything is energy, it is all particles or atoms or cells, and they are all part of each other.  During my experience, at one point, I had a mental vision or thought that a waterfall would be nice; suddenly, particles from all over a meadow came together and re-formed as a waterfall.  It was as if everything existed to bring pleasure.

WJ: Three years after your accident, after being told you would never walk again, you completed the Dublin Marathon. How did the marathon intensify your desire to live life to the max, without fear of what may or may not happen next?  

MH: I know that any day could be my last. When it’s my time, then it’s my time, I have no fear of death; in fact, I welcome the day.  I won’t do anything to bring it on myself, because I want to be sure I get to go to Heaven again, and I don’t want to feel the hurt I would cause my friends.

WJ: How does your family view your experience now, compared with how they first responded to it?

MH: They don’t really view it differently at all.  We don’t talk about it much.  It may have changed their views of life indirectly, but it is a personal thing.  I feel they have a beauty inside their souls knowing that God is there for each of us, and there is no reason to fear death.

WJ: How did your life purpose change from your experience?

MH: Today, I don’t know if I really have one, in the traditional way. I used to have a very clear purpose as a mother. Now, it is just to see life in all things with joy. I want to understand how and why religions say their way is the only right way; the loving embrace of the God I met was not that condemning.  I feel if people would open their hearts and minds to another’s way, they would see the commonality in our beliefs, customs, and lifestyles, and not the differences.

WJ: You came back with heightened senses, one of which is a particular affinity with animals, which you discuss in the book. Could you elaborate?

MH: I just look into the eyes of birds, dogs, cats, birds or deer and can tell if they are happy and well or not.  They don’t fear me, and some will become very assertive toward me in a good way. They know they are safe with me.  That’s all.  When you bring this up, I get the opportunity to feel the way some of the people in my life felt about me talking about my near death experience – shoosh! someone might hear you. (laughs)

WJ: When people read books like A Taste of Eternity, or talk with you about it, what would you like them to take away from the experience?

MH: Simply the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have done unto you.  To give, share, and express love; it’s the most important thing we have to offer! Love is the only Eternal possession we have. When we die, the only thing we take is the love we shared, the memories we make, and our integrity. Everything else stays here.  No U-Hauls in Heaven.

WJ: Finally, last year on your birthday, you did something not a lot of 50-somethings would do: jumped off a 50-foot cliff into the Ganges River near Varanasi, India – not once, but several times.

MH: Well, I was also the only high school girl skateboarder in the mid-1970s who bombed the steep La Costa hills in Carlsbad (Calif.), where I grew up! So it’s not that much of a departure for me. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I’d been white-water rafting all morning with two young ladies from Scotland who were also go-for-it women. I saw the cliffs, told our guide to beach the raft, walked past some Indian men who were thinking about it but were afraid to jump … and I stepped in front of them and jumped. I laugh every time I close my eyes and see the looks on their faces! It was one of those extraordinary moments. I’m always ready for them.

Letter to a Friend in Winter

I wanted to see now
Without then between. How
Impossible! Yet hope haunts me.
The colours of regret stain you
And everything. O for the white
Light of outdoors,
Not church colours!
At times, pain forced me into flight
Towards desolate pleasures, through
Bars, packs of shuffling days: each lie
Weakened my hold on any vow.

Now I scribble a lot
Searching for what is not.
The sunrise of autumn hedgerows
Warned me about this mud and stone
Sky. Beech leaves cling like memories –
Dry, brittle, dust-
Coloured. I must
Make sense of what all sense denies.
Cells, nerves, too feeble on their own
To decipher what the snail shows,
Or the corpse whose wheels of mind rot.

Once I held a fledgeling
At point of death – I’d sing
Of death who’d never watched the last
Act’s surrender or victory –
A sigh was all betrayed the change –
No, not sigh – death –
But flight of breath –
Quiet sundering to unhinge
The gate of thought! When our mind’s eye
No longer detects in the vast
Dark the flame to which we cling

What has become of us?
Here is the syllabus.
Where is the teacher and the school?
At this question all our endeavour
Ends. Perhaps it’s better to ask:
‘What if the mind
Fails to find,
On the bleak shore where the dead bask,
The shelter it always yearns for,
Are we to suppose it a fool
As it scours the dark for warm places?’

I’ve no affinity
With God as Trinity
For sure, since my need for answers
Finds finespun theology wide
Of the mark. So, here I stand.
My evidence
Preserved silence
In the question of my still hand,
A small ball whose still feathers hid
Still warm flesh. Nothing reassures.
I felt the infinity

Between fledgling and meat
Silence my every thought . . . .
Until the habit of thinking
Resumed its race to run the truth
To ground. If this opportunity
Beneath the skies,
Though shared with flies
And blind with relativity,
Is not to be wasted like my youth,
From my heart’s earth love must spring
– God knows how I’ll choose to act.

Pete Hulme Text © 1982[1]

Reblogged from AngelicView:

AngelicView: Here I have put together a post that includes excerpts from NDE's. They are portions of the NDE that were especially meaningful to me. These are ones that are not posted on AngelicView - so they'll be new to you. The last time I did this was on Christmas Day, 2012. This one comes on the Spring Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere of the Globe).

Read more… 727 more words

On October 8, 1999, Martha suffered a horrific car accident. She was pronounced clinically dead three times. So dire was her condition that her sons, Aaron

“A Taste of Eternity” author Martha Halda

(then 14) and Nathan (then 11), were brought into her room to say goodbye. Martha remains the only person in the 50-year history of Palomar Pomerado Hospital (North San Diego County) to survive after scoring 0 on her CRAM (Clinical Risk Assessment and Management). Those who score 0 to 1 almost always die; those who score 2 to 3 typically die, or live in a vegetative or severely impaired state. She recovered fully – even completing the 2002 Dublin Marathon – and to embarking on a life purpose that informs everything she does: giving and receiving love, and experiencing each moment to its fullest.

During her passing over, she had a profound near death experience. That experience, how it transformed and shifted her life, and how she carried it forward, is covered in her memoir, A Taste of Eternity, now making the rounds among major publishers through literary agent Dana Newman.

This is the first of a two-part interview with Martha. During this Easter and Passover season, enjoy one of the most transformative and life-affirming interviews you may ever read.

Word Journeys: What two or three things from your near death experience stand out, because of the way they impacted your life moving forward?

Martha Halda: I’d shout it from every mountaintop if need be; We are to share love, to all God’s people and creatures.  I was shown love is the most important thing to give. I have a tendency to tell people, “I love you”. Unfortunately, in our society, this can come off odd (laughs), but love to me is not only physical. I want to take the opportunity to tell the people I care about; it may be my last chance.  Another thing I saw is that all life is connected. There are no accidents in life, only providential events. That has helped me during the more difficult stages.  It is up to us, to choose which way we direct our life, according to events.

WJ: How does that work on a daily basis?

MH: I now try to take better notice of things when they are occurring, knowing there is a lesson I want to learn from them the first time. That way, they won’t have to be presented again, which usually is much harder lesson.

WJ: What are a couple of misconceptions that people who haven’t been through a near death experience carry about them?

MH (chuckles): There are a few. I’ll break them out:

1. Some doctors insist it is only a neurochemical reaction to the dying brain. That amuses me. In my experience, the doctors that think this way are ones dealing with death often, such as oncologists. I feel it is a form of denial or emotional protection.  Others say it’s caused by electrical charges of the neutrons misfiring while people die, similar to the side effects of drugs like peyote, psilocybin, or an LSD trip. I certainly don’t want to suggest this pertains to the majority of doctors; for me it was the exception.

2. That you cannot die and come back. I have been treated as if I were working on the side of evil by sharing this experience.  Some church people do follow an approach that basically says a near death experience would never be a possibility for a follower of Christ.  I am a Christian, I did have that experience, and many Christians find comfort in what I share.

3. Some people are either out of touch, or narrow-minded. My first rehab hospital nurse was this way. When I reviewed my injuries with her, I told her, “I went to Heaven.”  She gripped my arm and said, “never tell anyone, or they will never let you out of here.”  To her, I was crazy.

WJ: You write very specifically and deeply about your near death experience, showing how the concept of time doesn’t exist in heaven. Could you elaborate on how you moved from one place to another, one realm to another, without the feeling of time?

MH: Time had no relevance.  The truly powerful currency came from what was I to learn, the knowledge, and life’s lessons.  My entire forty years of life (as of 1999) was shown to me via imagery, a type of ESP, which included all the human senses.  I felt all the feelings I gave someone, received, or caused a person to have.  My angel and I traveled from one place to another drifting, floating, like watching a butterfly or hummingbird.  We just sort of up and went, gliding to the next place of my review, divinely guided.

WJ: Right after your near death experience, you were put into a medically induced coma. Were you able to absorb your experience while in a comatose state?

MH: Many people think that coma patients are not aware of their surroundings, that you are not receptive, but you actually are. I could hear much of what was taking place and comprehend what was being said.

During my coma, I was also able to reflect on Heaven.  I had more visits from my Angel.  When I became distressed or my pastor was doing laying-on-of-hands healing, she was there; it was like looking out a window to her. She offered me peace, comforting me, reminding me that I would be all right, that God loved me and was looking over me.  The veil of Heaven had been lifted. I had seen the other side, the sweetness, the love, the way in which we are a portion of each other, the way God had intended our lives to be.

WJ: What happened when you first came out of the coma?

MH: When the doctors began lifting me out, the first thing that struck me the wrong way was a country music CD playing; it sounded like a sad woman wailing.  Then the TV …  it seemed evil to me. I remember asking a nurse through eye movement, tears streaming down my face, to turn it off.  The news was so depressing … you can imagine what I thought of daytime TV dramas! (laughs)

WJ: What brought you back to this life – when medical indications, and your own feelings while in eternity, made it seem you would not come back?

MH: My boys, Aaron and Nathan. At first, I didn’t accept that I was to return to life. I begged and bartered to stay in Heaven; it was so lovely, I wanted to stay forever.  As part of my barter, I was shown by God the Father, The Trinity, The Omniscient One, The Ultimate Power, Divine Source, The Absolute, Cosmic Creator – whatever you choose to call it – what would come in my life if I returned … or if I stayed. I saw many horrific things would happen to my boy’s lives, how negatively their personalities would be affected by my death.

Then I was shown my life if I came back, the negatives that would happen. It would not be easy. I saw trials, and heartbreaks. I was given a choice, which way to go. After weighing the two, and seeing the future of my sons, I instantly chose to come back. I wanted to be there for my babies, to love them.

I made a promise to God, if he let me return to my boys, I would tell of his great love, and hence A Taste of Eternity.  It was my choice, but it combined my defiance, some reverse psychology, and the presence of parental wisdom.

(Part Two will appear on Friday, March 22)

Anita Moorjani literally died and came back from the afterlife and was instantly cured of the cancer that had ravaged her body for four long years. Doctors could not explain what had happened when every test result came back showing absolutely no signs of cancer just hours after they had witnessed her organs shutting down completely. 

While she was in a coma, tiptoeing the line of life and death, she experienced an intense sense of freedom and clarity, love and joy that she could hardly put into words. She describes the experience as best she can in her book, Dying to Be Me. 

I read the last two pages of it in the Amazon preview and this part specifically ignited my soul today: 

“Finally, I cannot stress enough how important it is to enjoy yourself and not take yourself or life too seriously.” 

She goes on to say, “Although you know I abhor creating doctrines, if I ever had to create a set of tenets for a spiritual path to healing, number one on my list would be to make sure to laugh as often as possible throughout every single day – and preferably laugh at myself. This would be hands down over and above any form of prayer, meditation, chanting or diet reform. Day to day problems never seem as big when viewed through a veil of humor and love.” 

Wow. 

I have been taking life WAY too seriously! 

It’s hard to accept responsibility for this, but I think that my limited beliefs of myself, judgements of myself, etc. have been creating my little limited reality. 

Reading Anita’s words, I suddenly feel so much lighter, like I can take everything less seriously, and just look at life through eyes of joy and humor and have fun. Her entire message is that we are here in this life to HAVE FUN, enjoy life! Why do we waste so much time judging ourselves? 

“Boy, if I’d only known that we were supposed to come here and feel good about ourselves and about life – express ourselves and have fun with it!” she says. 

My life has felt so lead-blanket-on-the-heart sort of heavy the last few years, I have really forgotten in so many ways how to just have fun and enjoy life. 

But, I believe that my perception can shift this entirely. 

It’s so hard to explain, but I feel like I just woke up and decided to make a choice to enjoy life. I don’t need to sit here and ponder on yesterday or tomorrow anymore. I don’t need to search my soul for answers, or dig deeper into my heart for healing. I just need to be…happy. 

Thank you for this http://www.verybestquotes.com

My heart resonated when I read, “Life is not supposed to be a struggle.” For me, life has been such a struggle the last few years through so much death (at last count, 20 people in 4 years have passed on), financial struggles, life circumstances and hardships. The last few days, I’ve honestly been so unhappy and dripping quite a few tear stains on my sleeves, wondering how and why did I get here? Why are we still struggling so much? When will it get better? 

I have felt like I was sitting on a precipice…a choice to remain still and stuck where I am, or move forward into realization of my magnificence as Anita calls it. I have felt that going to her event this weekend would change everything for me, and I had no idea how.  

I thought that going to an event about a near-DEATH experience would further boost my ideas/understanding about death and dying, after four years that have been, for me, largely hallmarked by life-altering experiences of grief. I was hoping that maybe in attending and being around like-minded souls, I would be opened up to possibilities – the possibilities to express my own truths around these experiences I’ve had. 

But, already, I’m realizing, I was not brought to Anita’s reflections to bolster my ideas about death. I was brought to them to recharge my ideas about life and living. 

I have been sitting on a precipice of wanting to step into my magnificence, but I’ve been so scared, so afraid of standing up and speaking my truth. So many what if’s. What if they hate me? What will others think of me? What if I say or do the “wrong” thing? What if I don’t know what to say or how to do it? What if I’m not educated enough, smart enough, old enough…enough, enough, enough?!

ENOUGH! 

Anita’s entire message from beyond is based on this: we are always, already enough. We are never less than anyone or anything. We already are all we need to be. 

Just think how much suffering we’d be spared if we weren’t always trying to be more than we already are. How much suffering could you spare yourself if you loved your body, your relationship, your life, your finances, your children, yourself…just as they are now? If you weren’t always striving for things to be a better way?

I realize now that even my choices to eat healthy were coming from a desire to be better than, that stemmed from fear of disease or illness. 

My self-loathing of this beautiful body that just birthed a baby and is taking it’s sweet time to get back to normal has caused me suffering, and thus, at times, my desire to make it better, were not FUN! Why not just work out and be healthy for the fun and joy of it? 

Ah, a morning full of ah-ha’s! Just what I needed – a good slap of sunshine in the face!

I hope you will go read about Anita’s near-death experience and feel a boost of sunshine in your day, too. 

As for me, I’m not sure what’s next…I would really like to believe that I was brought here for something great, and through all the death and struggle, I wanted/needed to believe it was not all for naught, that someday I’d make something of it, share it with the world, and then it would mean something because it helped someone. 

But now I see, that maybe striving for excellence, was simply my way of trying to create happiness “somewhere out there”, when instead, I could just choose to be happiness here and now. 

Right now, I am the Mother of three beautiful children, and the wife of a man who stuns and slays me daily. I am dead-freaking-tired, my house often looks like it’s just been robbed even though I feel like I spend all day every day cleaning it, I’ve begun to feel that make-up is pointless, and I’ve recently fallen in love with organic convenience meals. I’d love to write a book, host a workshop, plant a garden, win the lottery, or start a foundation. 

I could, and might, one day do any or all of those things. Right now, I choose to be happy, regardless. 

I’m going to hit “Publish Post” on this, go grab my two little boys (my daughter’s at school) and kiss them, have fun with them, have fun with myself, and create as many opportunities as possible to laugh at myself today. 

I know the “tough stuff” is still there, but like Anita said, it all looks a little less buggy and scary, hard and undertaking, through the lens of laughter and light. 

Perhaps my kids came to remind me of that…as much work as they are, one little smile or giggle from them makes everything beautiful in an instant, no matter how tired or sad or scared or lonely or angry I am. I am so thankful for that daily reminder. 

Might I also add, that if you are in pain right now, like I was yesterday when I was feeling so frustrated with our constant struggle of late…you often cannot just flip a switch to choose to be happy without acknowledging, comforting, and expressing your pain first. I spent the day doing that yesterday, and I think that’s the only reason why I was able to receive Anita’s message today. So, if you are reading this, in a space of feeling negative emotions, hurt, or pain, I encourage you to read these posts before moving on to reading Anita’s. 

Accepting the Unacceptable – The Path to Peace in Pain

And Part II to that post is here. 

Blessings to you all, my friends. It’s good to be back (in so many ways)! Stay tuned, I will try to post about the event with Anita this weekend! 

~Megan 

Interview with Natalie Sudman