A student recently wrote asking me about death, dying and the afterlife. I thought Id share her question and my answer here. “Dear Allan, this morning I found out my grandmother passed away. My family members, who are very religious have both reassured me that I will see my grandma and grandpa in heaven and that it will not be the last time I will see anyone who dies, etc. Im troubled by this, because I do not hold as much value in their religious beliefs which I cannot relate to and do not believe in. My own belief system is fairly fragile. I am still figuring a lot of things out for myself. My question is, what does the Toltec belief system have to say about death, dying and the afterlife? MY ANSWER: The dream that the people around you are dreaming is very real to them, and they probably expect it to be real to you. It brings them comfort when they are facing something that they do not understand (death) and cannot ever understand. We cannot understand Life, either. Where does it come from, and where does it go. . .?? Life is that force that animates this entire universe. The Life that animated your grandmother is the same life that animates you, the molecules in the air, the orbit of Saturn, the mating of earthworms, and the growth of a tree. There is only one of those, and although it seems to have left your grandmother, it is still here, doing what it does, to create and maintain the universe. Life never dies. There is no beginning and no end to Life. It IS, and it manifests in infinite ways. You are that Life, with a small bit of matter collected into a form that you call “me.” And it appears to you that Life has manifested “over there” as “grandmother.” The simple truth is, IT IS ALL LIFE. Humans live in a dual universe. We see good and bad, right and wrong, black and white. We also judge what is right and wrong, or good and bad, based on whatever program has been downloaded into our minds during our domestication. So when humans invent a God, they can’t help but to invent a God that lives in that same judging duality. When religions start making rules and mythologies and creating holy books about their mythologies, their God always has rules you must follow, and penalties for breaking them—Heaven and Hell, and whatever they think is in-between, even Karma. The mythologies are all different, except for the one unifying characteristic: They all believe in an external and separate God who has rules, and who judges and punishes or rewards the humans for following or breaking the rules. If you free yourself from those mythologies, and realize that what they are trying to do is codify Life itself, the One Thing that animates all of Creation— then you can see the truth. . . and it is a truth that has frightened humans since the beginning of time: You are not your mind and body. You are Life itself. There is only One Thing here. The same force that animates Creation, also makes everything here out of itself. If there is only One Thing, then logic tells us that the only thing that creator can use to manifest a Creation is itself. Therefore, the universe is both matter and spirit, and the matter is made from spirit. In quantum physics now they say the matter and energy are the same, and go back and forth from one to the other. They are describing the Oneness of Life/creator and Creation. So you see, there is nothing to be BUT Life. It is all God. But this is not a God who is watching us like Santa Claus, checking to see if we are naughty or nice. This is the God that is the source and manifestation of everything. This is Life itself. It needs no mythology, no practices, no fear, no rules, no punishment, and no promises that the death of the human form is not really the end of that human dream. Perhaps (I say perhaps because I have no personal experience with this, and when I finally do I might not be able to communicate with you about it), perhaps the more we can identify ourselves as the One Thing and not this human form, mind, body, beliefs, etc, when we die we will stay aware of our connection to the source (Life) and return there with joy. We are the drop of water that has forgotten it was part of the ocean. When our form as a drop returns to the ocean, the separate identity is surrendered to the joy of the whole. Most people fight and resist, others leave totally unconscious of the process, and a few surrender to Life as their body finishes its time here. Those are the people who have already surrendered to Life as a way of life. Surrender your own attachment to your human form, your identity, your name and body, good and bad hair days, and to the outcome of your life. You have no one to answer to but yourself. No God is watching and judging you— that is a mythology created by humans afraid of knowing they can’t know. Surrender your grandmother. Her form is done, and that which she IS, Life, continues as it returns to the great ocean of consciousness. Perhaps you can use this time to surrender your attachment to your own form, as well, and return to the joy of Life itself— it is your birthright, you experienced it when you were little, and you were told so many lies that you forgot the truth. Use this time to reclaim that truth for yourself. YOU ARE LIFE ITSELF. Be grateful for the awareness of the truth of who and what you are. Be grateful for your grandmother. And honor the beliefs and mythologies and fears of those around you who have been steeped in the lies of religions and the religion of lies. They don’t need you to enlighten them (unless they ask!). Respect their dream. Their fears and mythologies and “knowing” of what will happen to grandmother (and you and them) are a description of their dream. It helps them feel safe. Be free to dream your own dream of Life, and let them have theirs. It is respectful to you and them. It is love. And Life is Love. You are Life. You are Love. Be grateful for this time here, as Life/God/Divinity/Source/Consciousness manifesting itself as you. Love it. Enjoy it. Be happy. Let go of attachments. Be free to Love so hugely that it staggers you, makes you weak in the knees. Life dancing with Life. Love in recognition of itself. You and Creation— dancing together as One Beautiful Thing. And give my love to your grandmother. May her journey bring her joy, as she is embraced by the Oneness. She will live in you now. Yours IN the Love that is Life, Allan Want to read more wisdom like this? Sign up for my newsletter: joydancer/Newsletter/
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 23:06:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015