The recent film Hereafter, directed by Clint Eastwood, stars Matt Damon as a reluctant psychic who, whenever he touches people in a certain way, has jolting visions of loved ones who have recently died.
I liked the film so much I saw it twice. One of the minor themes is the suggestion that people who have had an NDE have much less fear about death, because they have seen the "other side" and know that somehow everything is okay.
This brings me to the subject of self-realization, or enlightenment. In every spiritual tradition, it is described as a kind of ego death, a dying before you die, a death and a rebirth.
Who or what dies when you become self-realized? It is obvious to anyone who is realized: the little "me," the ego or "I" is what dies, or rather, is seen to be the conceptual illusion is is. Yet we, as the conscious or aware being who is present, are still very much here!
We still have an ego, an I or me thought, but now we know we are not those thoughts. We know that we are not any thought, in fact, but rather the ever-present awareness or being-ness behind our thoughts, our stories.
Once we know that (which is the essence of "self-realization"), then we use thought consciously as a powerful, creative tool, free of any "self" (or "me") interest. Then we can truly contribute to humanity in the ways in which we are drawn.
As we approach the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year, it is a good time to contemplate your own "death" and rebirth. A good subject to meditate on is this: "What if this was my last day on earth? What would I want to do? With whom would I communicate? What do I want my state of mind to be?"
Above all, be present right now. Welcome whatever is arising right now. Remember always: presence is the true power in life, because it brings you into right here, right now... the starting point of any new creative venture.
Friday, December 10, 2010
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