What, exactly, have we lost?
by Robert Meagher on 04/09/14
What,
exactly, have we lost?
“Death is intrinsic to life. Our impulse to
grow is closely allied to our intuition that death is inherent in life. To live
fully we must open, not only to life but also to death. This is both a literal
truth, since death inevitably follows life, and spiritual truth, since the body
dies to the spirit. Death and life are inextricably bound. Breathing in, we
invite life; breathing out, we touch death. Our lives move between and embrace
both. To be truly alive is to be willing to die, because only when we are open
enough to give ourselves totally to each moment do we emerge, refreshed, open,
and available to the present.” (Richard Harvey, Your Essential Self, p.174)
In December 2013 a great soul and spirit passed through the veil. This great soul and spirit went by the name of Nelson Mandela. By most standards his life was extraordinary. He was credited with changing an entire nation—maybe even changing the entire world. He was internationally recognized for his unwavering devotion to peace and reconciliation. But it is not the life and time of Nelson Mandela I want to talk about here. Many of you likely know far more about this great man than I do.
In the days following the passing of Nelson Mandela,
newspaper and magazine headlines were devoted, in their way, to honoring the
life of this man. TV and radio all dedicated newscasts to his passing. I
remember glancing at our local newspaper headline the day after his passing.
The headline read “The World Has Lost A Great Man.” I read the headline slowly,
several times. My eyes focused in on the word “Lost” in the headline. I knew
what they were trying to say, but I just didn’t see it. Or should I say, I just
didn’t see it the way they did.
While I have great compassion for anyone grieving over
the passing of a loved one from this time and space, to imply we have ‘lost’
them because they are physically not here, no longer makes sense to me. Take Nelson Mandela for instance. His passing
has not ‘lost’ us anything. His passing
has ‘given’ many of us something we didn’t have when he was living in this time
and space. We have ‘gained’ deeper insight and appreciation for this man, his
life and his legacy.
As for Nelson Mandela’s physical presence…yes, he is no
longer with us in physical body form, in this time and space. However, any of
you who work with energy know that his soul, his spirit can be reached at any
time. Anyone can be ‘with’ Nelson Mandela, or any other soul on the other side
of the veil, at any time we please. We can still talk to the soul(s) and, if we
learn how to listen, we can receive their response.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying people
should not feel a sense of loss, or grieve, over the passing of a loved one.
People should feel whatever it is they feel. I am merely suggesting that to
imply we host ‘lost’ someone when they have passed over the veil is not a
truth. Just because we cannot see someone or something with our physical eyes
does not mean that person or that thing no longer exists. My spiritual teacher,
Richard Harvey, offers us some beautiful insight to the relationship(s) between
the concepts of life and death, in his most recent book Your Essential Self:
Passing
from life, we are born into the unknown we call death. [p.175] Life and death
comprise a single process. The moment of death is any moment. There are only
moments before death and moments after death. So where is death? Death does not
exist. It is merely the dark mirror, the empty screen on which we may project
our fears. All that scares or attracts us about death is really about life.
[p.176]
I am blessed to have been brought the gift to communicate
with souls who have passed over the veil. This gift is offered to humanity each
day during my daily meditation and prayer vigil service through the Buddhist
practice of Phowa. Through Phowa I have learned that our loved ones
live on in another existence and can be reached at any time. We can communicate with them, and they can
communicate with us. It is not like ‘speaking’ with someone here in this time
and space, but it is communication just the same. It is also through the Phowa practice I have been brought the wondrous awareness of what
we call the moment of ‘death’. And I can share with you that ‘death’ is
nothing. We simply take on another form
of existence—an existence that is only pure peace.
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,