Sunday, June 10, 2012

Heaven


When we dance we can choose to worry about doing it “right,” expressing ourselves, being in the moment or setting any intention that we wish.  We always have a choice about what to believe about ourselves (and everyone and everything else, too).   We have a choice of what to take away or give in any situation. 

These choices color our lives, moment to moment.

I want to share an extraordinary experience I had.  I also want to say that both of my parents were good people. I loved them both.   I believe they did the best they could; if they had known better they would have done better…just like all of us…and I was fortunate to be able to make peace with both of them before they passed.

My parents separated when I was six.  There was a lot of drinking and yelling in our house.  My dad left, but no one told me anything, and I knew better than to ask.   So, since I lived with my mom, I saw my dad very infrequently until I was a teenager.  I never felt that I was (at all) important to him.  I felt easily forgettable.  I loved my dad, but we were never close. He was a conservative Republican WASP, so it is surprising that he loved to read Edgar Cayce (a psychic healer and author who believed in reincarnation).  My dad told one of my sisters that if he could, after he died, he’d come back and try to make contact.

After my dad passed away, I was asleep one night, and he came to me.  When I saw him, he didn’t look the same as I remembered, but still, I knew it was him.  I felt a feeling of perfect bliss running through me.  I said, “Dad, what are you doing here?  I thought you were dead!”  He said, “I’m not dead” and he showed me a piece of paper in his hand.  I thought it was going to be his driver’s license with a picture since he didn’t look the same.  But it was his death certificate.   He said, again, “I’m not dead!”  Still feeling that incredible joy, I said, “I love you, dad,” and hugged him.  He said, “I love you.  I loved you before.  And I love you still.”

I could have chosen to believe that this was my subconscious giving me a dream of something that I longed for that was unresolved in my life.  Or I can think of it the way I do think of it.  I believe that this was “real,” especially because the feeling of it was different than any “dream” I have ever experienced.

I’ve read in many books that “heaven” is not a place, but a state of being.  In the Gospel of Thomas, from The Gnostic Gospels, by Elaine Pagels, “Jesus said…[heaven]… is a state of self-discovery:  ‘Rather the Kingdom is inside of you…What you look forward to has already come, but you do not recognize it…The Kingdom is spread out upon the Earth, but men do not see it.’  That Kingdom then, symbolizes a state of transformed consciousness.”

I love this quote, too:

“‘Tell me one last thing,’ said Harry. ‘Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?’
Dumbledore beamed at him...’Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?’”(J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.)

 So what is real?  It depends on each of us. 

We can choose to find our own heaven and dance there -- every day of our lives.

It is within our power.

A NOTE:

I set the goal of writing this blog for 52 weeks.  As I said last week, I will start again in September, but not on a weekly basis.  I want to thank you for taking the time to read what I have written.  I am honored that you did! 

May you be at peace
May your heart remain open
May you awaken to the beauty of your own true nature and your oneness with All That Is
May you be healed
May you find heaven on Earth

Love,
Sue



4 comments:

  1. So very beautiful...............

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  2. This is a perfect piece with which to end before your "break." I love it! I believe that heaven can exist in the here and now or never at all. It's really up to us in choosing our perspective, isn't it? :-) Personally, I choose to find it each and every day in the mundane. And dancing is definitely one of the ways (which I share with you) that I experience heaven on earth. Enjoy your break, and I'll look forward to reading more of your inspirational blogs upon your return. xoxo

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  3. Sue, this was a perfect ending to your inspirational blogs. Thank you for what you continuously give to me and everyone else who has the fortune to dance with you on a regular basis. Your beautiful words will be sorely missed. Marina

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  4. Loved this piece. I often struggle with my choice of perspective. Too often it's easy to blame ourselves for other people's actions. Your columns encourage us to forgive and love ourselves. Thank you. I look forward to your next blog

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