Slow down. Find meaning in the mundane rather than looking far afield. For it is in the everyday playing out of life that the meaning you seek will be experienced. It is not every day that the extraordinary occurs, but it is in the ordinary and seemingly mundane that the moments of highest meaning will be found, for who has not found the extraordinary in the beauty of a single day, in the sun’s warm light, the flower’s first bloom, the smell of fresh rain, the sound of a bird calling, the gentle touch of fresh grass. Be satisfied with what is, for that is where the Divine lives.
Moderation is the key to balance, balance is the key to groundedness, groundedness is the key to unlocking the calmness within, and the calmness within is the key to serenity. These keys unlock the doors that lead to a calm and contented heart, the place of inner knowing, guidance, and right action. Take care of yourself first so that you will have the energy to take care of whatever else in your life needs caring, for if you are not in good shape neither will you have those necessary keys available when you need them. As within, so without.
Keep your feet on the ground, even as you seek connection with your spirit. For you will find your spirit as much in this world as any other, for that spirit reverberates with all the energies of Mother Earth, in her air and sunlight, in her trees and wind, in her stars and waters. For like the spirit of Mother Earth your own spirit resonates within and without. Being grounded means being of the world of Mother Earth as well as of the world of Spirit, matter and ether both. In this manner find your place in the life you are in and rejoice in the simplicity of that—life itself!
Be aware of how easily the mind can slip into an old routine, how easily an old habit can pop up, how the slightest hint of an old nostalgia can trigger an old desire. But as easily as the mind can slip back into an old place so can your spirit slip in and tell you a different story, give you a different idea, shift you into a different state. When the mind conjures call upon the spirit. Find it in a deep breath, in a heart centered, loving thought of a new day’s unfolding and all the possibilities it holds. As the sun rises let its light shift you into a creative, loving and kind place. Think of someone else with kindness and compassion, let the old conjuring mind go, and move onward now. It’s the most responsible thing to do, for self and other, but do it with love in your heart and all will be well.
Looking toward the heavens, and all that we are… – Photo by Chuck Ketchel
What happens to the thinking mind of ‘I‘ when the brain dies? Modern neuroscience is in its heyday as it penetrates the biology, chemistry and neurocircuitry of the brain, unraveling the material wonder of mental processing. But, if death is truly not lights out, wherein lies this mental continuity in the soul beyond physical life?
Might it be, as esoteric experience suggests, that the physical body is actually an avatar of the soul? Though the physical brain functions as a self-regulating external hard drive, could it be that the more subtle brain of the soul is the true command center of the physical body?
Elmer Green spent seven intense years working with his wife Alyce in her journey through Alzheimer’s disease. Her physical brain deteriorated to the point of her inability to recall her familial relations. At times, she could become extremely paranoid and combative with her loving husband and professional collaborator of fifty years.
Elmer hypothesized that, due to the brain’s deterioration, the subtle wiring from the physical body to the soul was compromised. This connection is critical to memory, orientation and physical functioning. In esoteric knowing, physical death occurs when the cords between the physical body and the soul snap.
Just as the cutting of the human umbilical cord launches the newborn baby into separate life, as its symbiotic tie to mother physically ends, the soul is freed into independent life at the time of physical death. When the cord between the soul and the physical body is severed at death, the soul, freed from its preoccupation with the workings of a physical body, must adjust to its new milieu and come on line, or be born, to a new orientation in a subtler dimension.
Elmer reasoned that Alyce, in Alzheimer’s, was floundering on the astral plane, as her mental processes were no longer attuned to her physical senses. We all experience this kind of mental state in sleep, as we encounter, at times, bizarre circumstances in dreaming. Lucid dreaming and out-of-body exploration present opportunities for mind to become familiar and comfortable in the subtler dimensions of life.
Dreaming is a natural time for the soul to disengage from the physical body, as it visits more subtle dimensions of reality. The difference in dreaming is that the soul remains attached to the sleeping body, which it reunites with upon awakening, to tackle another day in waking life.
Elmer incessantly grounded Alyce, reading her profoundly esoteric books to provide her with an orientation, or map, to the kinds of territories and encounters she was encountering on the astral plane. At times she was able to come out of her deep disorientation and speak quite eloquently and coherently of her experiences, as well as evidence a profound connection to their life together on earth.
Elmer experienced her soul literally moulding the clay of her brain to function at extremely high levels for brief periods of time. I once had the experience of Jan physically transmogrify into Jeanne’s physical form during a channeling session, with that same intent. Like a scene out of the movie Ghost, we communicated.
Elmer was delighted when Alyce came fully on line in her soul body before she died in her physical form. This enabled Alyce to skip over the sojourn, however brief, in Hades, that departing souls traverse as they reconcile with their life just lived and spend time in semi-conscious replenishment, before waking up and becoming oriented to new life. Alyce went directly to the light.
Perhaps, some day, nursing homes may be seen as valuable in-between stations for preparing departing souls for the definitive journey ahead in infinity. Too often, caretakers and family interpret a resident’s interactions with the dead as hallucinations, generated by a deteriorating brain, versus valid interactions with souls on the next subtle plane.
Frederick Myers, cofounder of the Society for Psychical Research in London, died in 1901 and spent the next 40 plus years communicating to several psychics of his continued exploration of the evolution of the soul in infinity. Myers confirmed that the mind is indeed located in the soul, and that it psychokinetically controls the physical body during human life. Myers went on to elucidate further refinements to the soul, as it traverses seven planes of existence on its journey to the light and beyond.
Thus, thinking, indeed, has a relationship with the physical brain, as body and soul are intimately entwined during physical life. However, who you are, and your ability to think, transcend life in the body. Indeed, we are more than our physical body.
