"Life Is A Gift"

I was raised without religion.   My parents were born in England and attended strict Catholic boarding schools where the nuns ruled with an iron fist.  It was commonplace for children to be hit with belts and sticks when they stepped out of line,  without opportunity to explain themselves.  They were also beaten and told they were ‘sinners’ for avoiding religious protocol.  The approach to God at these places did not seem come from the spirit of mercy.  

My father was a bit of a radical free-thinker, and he did not take kindly to being forced to conform to dogma.   As a result, he became very opposed to organized religion once he reached adulthood.  At his first opportunity, he took my mother, my sister and myself across the ocean to Canada to start a new life without anyone else’s judgement or control.   I remember he would always tell us to think for ourselves.  Not to allow anyone to dictate what was right and wrong, or what we could and couldn’t do.  He felt that through guilt, fear, and brainwashing, religious institutions had mastered a way to keep people under their thumb and prevent them from thinking for themselves.  We never attended church with our family except on the occasion of a funeral or wedding.  But even after everything my father had told me, something stirred within me.  Something called to me, and I knew there had to be more.

At the age of nine, I met a girl at school.  Her family had a strong faith, and belonged to a small Presbyterian church in our community.  I was always intrigued and curious about what went on there, and one day I asked if I could join them.  Of course they were thrilled.  My dad?... not so much.   He didn’t understand why I wanted to go, but to his credit, he didn’t stop me.  I think he figured I would be bored to tears and not want to go back.  But that was not what happened.  In fact, I attended that little church with them every Sunday for 3 years, until we moved away.  At that time, I started looking for another church, and from then on, I found and attended a few different churches throughout my youth (usually because of being relocated due to my father’s job).  Eventually, at the age of 19, I moved on my own from eastern Canada, to the west, where I still am today.  
It was at that time that I began to explore my faith in a more personal light.  What did it mean to have a relationship with God?   I was ready to expand beyond what a single religion had taught me.  I had questions that I wanted answers to.  What else was out there?  There was so much to know.  The depth of Spirit is bottomless.  There is no way to ever fully understand it because it is ever-evolving.  We know this by observing Creation in the ever-expanding Universe.  God is a Shapeshifter.  Always challenging us, changing us, giving us something new.  

This brings me to my most recent musings….

Michael has this way of surprising me with His teachings.  They sneak up on me when I’m least expecting it, and the lesson never seems to be the obvious one.  As we all know, our world just lost an angel.  The Angel, Elizabeth Taylor -  beautiful friend to our Michael, and amazing humanitarian to this world.  I know that she had been struggling with her health in the last few years, and that Michael’s death had hit her very hard.  So when I initially heard about her passing, I felt a kind of peace in the idea that she was with Him again, and how joyful their reunion would have been.  But later that day, when I was in prayer with Michael; and by that I mean, those quiet moments – you know them – when you feel Michael close to you.  So close that you almost expect Him to materialize physically before your eyes.  You feel His energy, and you know He is sharing Himself with you.  It was in this moment that I felt something unexpected.   I felt sorrow.  I asked Him why… was He not happy to see His friend?  What arose in my heart was this:  “There is always sadness in passing.  Life is a Gift…”  

At first I was confused by this.  I know life is a gift.  Why would He say that?  And I still didn’t understand His sorrow.   But now there was only silence.  It is not unusual for Him to throw me a single bread crumb,  then leave me to find the rest of the way home  on my own.  This used to frustrate me to no end.. but then I realized what a brilliant teacher Michael is.  He does not allow me to cut corners.  He insists that I think for myself, opening a window to my wondering, then leaving me to discover where it leads.  So once again, I considered His words and allowed them to take root in my soul.  The human soul is the Great Translator.  It speaks all languages, deciphers any code, and unravels every mystery.  It is often an uncomfortable process for me, but the result is indescribably beautiful. 

Death.  Thinking of this wasn’t something new to me.  I had spent a lot of time (like everyone, I'm sure) considering what happens to the soul after it leaves our physical body.  In my early soul work, I believed that when we die, our spirit leaves our body and is transported into Heaven, where we would live an eternity of happiness with our loved ones, serving God and rejoicing in His Love.  As I continued my soul journey, however, I felt like there was more to the equation, and I began to think about reincarnation and the idea of ‘soul evolution’. 

I believe that all of Nature is a reflection of God.  Whatever exists  here on this planet, exists because of its Creator.  For every action there is a reaction.  For every behaviour there is a consequence.  The Earth is constantly evolving.  Species are constantly evolving.  We are constantly evolving.  So, spiritual evolution made sense to me. We watch a plant bear fruit, turn to seed, and rebirth itself.  Why would our lives be different?  Why would the human spirit not follow the pattern of the rest of nature?  The belief I arrived at then,  was this...

We are all spiritual beings, living here on earth with other spiritual beings.  We have all entered into these lives with certain lessons to be learned, and that our lives here present us with opportunities to learn these lessons.  Once our present lives come to an end, we are then taken to a place of rest and reflection, where we can look at the lessons that we learned, and decide what other lessons we are ready to tackle, including those lessons that we were unsuccessful with in our last incarnation.   We then return to earth in another life, in another body, in another place, with another list of ‘things to do’.  As we move through these lives, collecting these lessons, our spirit becomes more and more evolved until ultimately, we reach a state of completion.  It is then that our physical journey is over, and we enter our place in Heaven next to God. 

Who would have known that one sentence from Michael would make me not only re-evaluate everything I believed, but call me to question why it had ever even mattered in the first place.

“Life is a Gift.”  Whatever quality that Michael laced this sentence with when He offered it to me was transforming.  This is one of Michael’s finest gifts, and it is so present in His music.   He has a way of expressing something and making others feel it.  Whatever words do to devoid something of meaning, Michael can resuscitate it.  He breathes life into everything.  He has this way of expressing something that we all have heard a thousand times, and making it new again.  How remarkable. 

So, when I allowed these four words to seep into my soul, what surfaced was an epiphany.  I was stunned.  The Gift is not what comes AFTER life.  This IS the Gift.  Right here, right now.  This moment.  THIS IS IT.  LIFE is the Gift.  A very personal and unique Gift entrusted to each one of us.  The Holiest of undertakings... to be carriers of Life. 

Is it really the work of a Loving, All-Knowing God  to observe us from above while He waits to see if we will manage to find the right religion, and by this "grace,"  be redeemed ?  To make life a test of faith,  or some kind of suffering intended to earn us eternal life and a place with Him in Heaven?  

So here we are, all fumbling through life, most of us hoping to get it right.  Some of us seeking escape or comfort, others anticipating an ultimate reward.  How ungrateful !   Is it really God we seek, or is it immortality?   We have been given this glorious planet absolutely teeming with beauty and possibility.  An original work of art, designed in perfect mastery, and we are waiting for more?!   The human race needs to be humbled.  Is anything ever enough?  No wonder Michael was so passionate about teaching us to take care of our planet.  No wonder He was so desperate for us to Love each other, to make that change, to teach us that we are all ONE.  No wonder He was so humbled and awed by this Earth and everything in it.  And no wonder He was grieving for Elizabeth, because she has left this beautiful place behind.  Is her soul somewhere now reflecting in some place or state of knowing… watching us… seeing us all wandering around, hoping for something better and breaking her heart as she witnesses our lack of joy and appreciation for this one precious, sacred Gift that she now sees so clearly?  Wishing for an opportunity to come back to this Heaven and LIVE?!   Because this is where Love is.   Here, on this planet.  In the trees and the birds and the oceans… and in us.  God exists in all life.   He has been here all along, waiting patiently for us to recognize Him, so He can finally embrace us in a Paradise Consciousness that is the essence and intention of our very soul.

God is everywhere.  There is no reuniting with Him.  Our being alive is proof that He is already inside us. Knowing this, we no longer need more.   Confirmation of life beyond the moment of Now becomes irrelevant.  We are already in Eternity.

…And to evolve spiritually until we have learned everything and reach completion?  How is that even possible?  There is no end to God.  The Universe is continual.  Time is a circle.  Spiritual completion already lives in the molecules of our own design... the unbreakable unity with the Divine.  It is He who completes us.  Not lessons, or time, or knowledge, or any advancement that the finite human mind finds enlightening. 

We have likely heard the expression that we create our own heaven or hell here on Earth.  How true this is.  Granted, some of us have been given advantages that others haven’t.  Some have physical or mental handicaps.  Some are born into poverty.  Some are trapped in war-torn countries.  There are countless situations in the world that cause struggle and challenge.  This is what makes everyone’s Gift unique.   True joy comes, not from circumstance, but through intimacy with God.  And it is within this intimacy, where we can begin at last, to learn to share unselfishly,  to accept all differences,  to care for the Earth,  Her creatures and one another,  to appreciate beauty in all its forms,  to listen without ego and Love without limit,  and teach one another to do the same.   Then,  at last, we will being to understand what it means to pass through the gates of Paradise, and enter the kingdom of Heaven.

See you there :)



HEAVEN IS HERE

You and I were never separate 

It's just an illusion 

Wrought by the magical lens of Perception 

There is only one Wholeness 

Only one Mind 

We are like ripples 

In the vast Ocean of Consciousness 

Come, let us dance 

The Dance of Creation 

Let us celebrate 

The Joy of Life 

The birds, the bees 

The infinite galaxies 

Rivers, Mountains

Clouds and Valleys 

Are all a pulsating pattern 

Living, breathing 

Alive with cosmic energy 

Full of Life, of Joy 

This Universe of Mine 

Don't be afraid 

To know who you are 

You are much more 

Than you ever imagined 

You are the Sun 

You are the Moon 

You are the wildflower in bloom 

You are the Life-throb 

That pulsates, dances 

From a speck of dust 

To the most distant star 

And you and I were never separate 

It's just an illusion 

Wrought by the magical lens of Perception 

Let us celebrate The Joy of Life 

Let us dance The Dance of Creation 

Curving back within ourselves 

We create 

Again and again 

Endless cycles come and go 

We rejoice 

In the infinitude of Time 

There never was a time 

When I was not 

Or you were not 

There never will be a time 

When we will cease to be 

Infinite, Unbounded 

In the Ocean of Consciousness 

We are like ripples 

In the Sea of Bliss 

You and I were never separate 

It's just an illusion 

Wrought by the magical lens of Perception 

Heaven is Here 

Right now is the moment of Eternity 

Don't fool yourself 

Reclaim your Bliss 

Once you were lost 

But now you're home 

In a nonlocal Universe 

There is nowhere to go 

From Here to Here 

Is the Unbounded Ocean of Consciousness 

We are like ripples 

In the Sea of Bliss 

Come, let us dance 

The Dance of Creation 

Let us celebrate 

The Joy of Life 

And You and I were never separate 

It's just an illusion 

Wrought by the magical lens of Perception 

Heaven is Here Right now, this moment of Eternity 

Don't fool yourself 

Reclaim your Bliss

~ Michael Jackson, from "Dancing The Dream"

Blessings, Love, and Wisdom to all

Siren xxx

03/27/11

Copyright 2011 © by Siren