Forgiving the Perpetrator

Recently, a client of mine recommended the documentary called “Forgiving Dr. Mengele.” This documentary focused on the torment victims were made to endure in the concentration camp of Auschwitz, during the time of Nazi, Germany, specifically the sets of twins whose lives were spared for the sole purpose of human experimentation by the sadistic and infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. He chose twins because with them, he had the perfect control group at his disposal. He ran experiments on one of the twins to measure the results against the other. To Dr. Mengele, these people, mainly children, were as lab rats. He was a cruel narcissist that had no regard for them as human beings. Clearly, these people experienced horrors that were unimaginable to many in the world.
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Bridge of Forgiveness

“He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass…”
-George Herbert

Bridge of Forgiveness- actual bridge

Bridge of Forgiveness

It is the nature of human beings to make mistakes. We all do it.

To not forgive another for their mistakes is to condemn and imprison them in our own thinking of them.

But in this thinking, who is really the condemned prisoner? And who holds the key to our release? Them or us?

 

 

Sorrow and the Potter’s Oven

A potter's kiln

The extreme heat of a potter kiln

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?” 
Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931)

Sometimes, we are called to enter into the  potter’s oven and we know not why. (metaphorical, of course!)

Yet, are we here only to experience joy? Although it sure feels better, and we may wish this were the case, we are actually here to experience all of it; the whole spectrum of human emotion, even the difficult ones.

If you are experiencing sorrow at this time, experience it fully. For when joy comes around again, you will appreciate it that much more.

Grief and Mourning… What’s the Difference?

A Grieving Angel bowing head to cry

A Grieving Angel bowing head to cry

What is Grief?
Grief is the normal and natural reaction to loss. The grieving process may be set into motion anytime one experiences any form of loss, whether it seems significant or not.

This grief reaction can range from the loss of an item to the loss of a dream, the death of a bad relationship to the death of a great relationship. One may grieve a person they loved and knew well, while another may grieve someone they never met. Celebrity deaths, missing children and abductee deaths, featured on the news, are examples of this. Some people, who seem depressed in life, may actually be grieving the current condition of our world and planet. Continue reading

The Wall of Mystery

A great wall of mystery

A great wall of mystery

“There is an ancient story in the East that tells that there was a wall of mystery. Whenever anyone tried to climb up the wall to look at the other side, he smiled and jumped over, and never came back again. So the people of that country became very curious to know what mystery was behind the wall. Once when someone was climbing up the wall to see what was on the other side, they put chains on his feet, and held him so that he would not go over. When he looked at the other side, he too was delighted with what he saw and smiled; and those standing at the foot of the wall; curious to know what he had to say, pulled him back. But to their great disappointment he had lost his speech.”  (Excerpt taken from The Music of Life by Hazrat Inayat Khan)

Since the beginning of time, mystics have sought the answers to the many mysteries of life. Much of that time has been spent in endless speculation. But perhaps the greatest of all life’s mysteries is that of death.
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Stairway to Heaven

With her impending near-death experience quickly approaching, Melania, age 78, was rushed to the hospital by her son at the first indication that something was wrong. There, at the hospital, it was determined that Melania was having a heart attack, a heart attack that caused her to flat-line. As the minutes passed, concern grew that if she could not be revived soon, she would suffer brain damage.
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Ho’oponopono… an Ancient Hawaiian Healing Technique

Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian healing practice of mental cleansing that focuses on forgiveness and reconciliation. Also known as the Hawaiian Code of Forgiveness, it is believed that when you forgive another, you are actually forgiving yourself. When you forgive, you are set free from the painful emotional states that fuel thoughts and feelings of darkness. But mostly, you are set free from the past. Ho’oponopono means, “to put right.”
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Christian’s Visit

In an auditory after-death communication, Christian shows up for his 2-year anniversary.

It was March 31st all day yesterday. Christian’s death and birthday, 2 years ago. Shortly after 11 am, I looked at the place on the floor where Christian had struggled for his life, exactly 2 years earlier, while he assured a hysterical me, that he would be alright. By noon, he had left this world. The doctor said it was an arterial vascular mass that caused his brain to suddenly hemorrhage.

The day ticked by, and being an important date to those of us left on Earth, I was excited about the possibility that he would make an appearance. Surely, he would know how much that would mean to us, on this bittersweet occasion.
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Be Here Now!

a stairway into the heavens

Stairway to heaven

With the two year anniversary of Christian’s passing quickly approaching tomorrow, March 31st, I’ve had a lot of heaven on my mind.

I’ve been thinking about my loved ones that have gone before me, and how much I’ve missed them from my life.

I’ve been remembering the short visits to heaven I’ve had during dreams, near-death, and out of body experiences, where I felt God’s full presence and the pure love that exists there. And, although I am extremely grateful for the knowledge these experiences have brought me, the downside is that many times, I experience an intense longing to be there, rather than here.
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Stages of Grief

Stone angel crying in her grief

Stone angel crying in her grief

Grief is a normal response to a painful loss. Made up of many emotional states, the grief process is the inward journey we must take if we are to heal the pain associated with our loss.

Although this article is geared toward grief over the death of a loved one, the grief cycle is relevant for any loss. The grief process provides a natural way for us to recover from our loss and move forward.

Generally the grief cycle includes: shock and denial, bargaining, pain, anger, depression and finally, acceptance. However, depending on the individual and the circumstances involved, navigating this terrain can be much more complicated.
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Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.. “Ask and you will be given.”

Dr. Kubler-Ross

Dr. Kubler-Ross

I’ve selected this story from Dr. Kübler-Ross because it is such an inspiring classic of a near-death experience. It illustrates an example of a man that had given up all hope. After losing his entire family all at once, this man was naturally devastated. The experience he was about to have would completely change his life forever.

If you are grieving and barely hanging on, read this story carefully. Sometimes, like the man in the story, we are called on to face great trials in our lives. But hang on, there’s often more to the picture than we can understand from our limited perpective.
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After-Death Communication and Signs

The Apparition John Everett Millais

Spirit Visitation

After-Death Communication (ADC) is, as the name implies, a communication between the living and the deceased. Also, as indicated in the name, it implies that the deceased are not really dead, as we know it, but living somewhere in another realm without their physical body. And, truth be told, the deceased would probably say they were experiencing even more aliveness than when they were living in the physical world! At least, that’s what I’ve been told!
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Waking from the Dream…

A Soul’s Perspective

(This poem came to a broken-hearted me, three months after Christian’s death. Showing me another perspective, it was a welcome gift of cheer, comfort and relief given to me from a higher aspect of myself)

I dreamed I was a body,
and you, a body too.
I dreamed bad things could happen,
both, to me and you.

I dreamed that there was sickness,
that death and loss were real.
I dreamed we could be separate,
Oh! … the pain that we could feel!
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“I’m Just a Room Away”

A few nights ago as I was retiring to my bed, I thought of Christian. Now gone for almost two years, I asked him, “Where are you? Are you close by… or far, far away? Please come for a visit. We miss you so, so much!”
With this, I fell fast asleep.

The next morning I woke up remembering this dream….

There was a room where my life played out. In it, I lived, slept and did all the things of life.
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