When I met my friend, her
daughter was seven. The first time
I met her, I took in the wheelchair to which she was confined and realized, my
friend needs to be on 24 hour call, every day to care for her child. Then I saw the way my friend related to
her daughter; the love emanating between them was palpable. The patience and
consideration and unquestioning love my friend showed her daughter left no
doubt that this was not a burden, or a misfortune to be borne sadly. ‘This is my daughter; this is what
she’s like as a person, I love her completely,’ is what I read immediately in
my friend’s words and actions.
I learned so much from the
two of them. It amazed me how much
my friend was always herself, as well as a full-time mother. She laughs and makes me laugh all the
time; she’s a talented and tremendously motivated artist. She loves everyone and treats everyone
with kindness. Her daughter was
always her angel, her old soul; as she is now that she’s crossed over.
My friend’s beloved daughter
died last week, peacefully in her sleep, at the age of 25, just before Mother's Day and her 26th birthday. Although I hadn’t spoken to my friend
for a few months, I called her immediately when I heard; my heart could imagine how
torn hers must be at this moment.
I know she is happy for her daughter’s freedom, because she wrote the following poem, but I also know her mother’s
heart is aching. Here's her poem:
Angel Wings
I
know it now that you are free.
For
25 years you were my 'little Lauren Lee"
So
go...soar high and spread your angel wings.
Go
now to do those thousand things.
For
you are free now
To
walk, dance, talk and sing.
It
is beyond any words how much peace that brings.
My friend is a strong
dreamer with a deeply felt spirituality; she already knows what solace
listening to dreams can bring. I’m
so glad that dreaming is an open channel to her because communicating with our
beloved departed in dreams is common place; dreaming bridges the divide between
life in the body and life beyond it.
I write this as a tribute to
my friend’s beautiful daughter who can at last use her voice to talk and laugh
and sing and her legs to walk, run and dance. I write it to vision her in her new freedom and to wish her
well. I write this to let her know
that she is remembered, loved and respected. I look forward to hearing all the wonderful stories my
friend will tell me of her dreams, visions and communication with her
daughter. It’s how she says: “beyond
any words how much peace that brings.”
It’s one thing to say "I
believe in an afterlife”; it’s another to visit and explore that reality
personally. It’s easily done, but
rarely sought. Dreaming is, to say the least, undervalued, if not feared, in
much of our Western culture, though, that’s changing. Anyone who pays the slightest bit of
attention to their dreams and who is willing to learn something about the worlds of
dreaming from other dream explorers, can experience the certainty of soul
survival after physical death for themselves. Dreams of the departed are a pretty universal human experiences;
why anyone would ignore this treasure is beyond me
We live in a time of
countless reported Near Death Experiences (NDEs) and spontaneous or intentional Out of
Body journeys (OBEs); we’re familiar with shamanic journeying and meditation. Modern
theoretical physicists suggest we inhabit a multi-dimensional universe of many
parallel realities. Dream explorers will tell you that we have access to this
multi-dimensional existence through our dreaming. It’s organic; we were born with this access. All we have to
do is pay attention.
We come with a built in
spiritual portal that enables us to look within. For many though, their
cultural norms and myths steer them away from direct spiritual experience
towards religions that dictate what to believe and don't teach what can be
experienced.
Once you experience the
organic spirituality of your dreams, you don’t need anyone to tell you what you
have to believe. As Carl Jung
himself put it at the end of his years when asked if he still believed in God;
“Believe? I don’t believe; I
Know.” The look on the great
doctor’s face said it all; he beamed from within, his soul shining through his
eyes, part wise man, part trickster. (bit I'm referring to starts at about 4:57)
Wouldn’t it be nice to know,
once and for all, that there is Divine Love available to anyone who listens
within? Isn’t that just what Jesus
said; the Kingdom of God is within?
I think he meant that literally.
If that’s the case; isn’t it just possible that although our conscious,
ego driven minds rule when we wake, our unconscious connection to All That Is
expands, and if we seek, we shall find when we sleep?
It will take time for my
beloved friend to grieve her physical loss and all of us who love her deeply
will be by her side to make sure she has whatever support she wants. I know I’ll be privileged to hear many
of her wonderful dreams, too.
And, in a beautiful
synchronicity; here’s a message written to my friend’s daughter by a cousin when she
signed the on-line guest book:
Dear
sweet Lauren,
Memories of your beautiful, smiling face and peaceful vibes will
forever be in my heart. I dreamt of you last night. I played my violin for you
while you were smiling and clapping. Thank you for visiting me in my dreams.
You are and forever will be a pure, peaceful soul. We will all miss you dearly,
but can be at peace knowing you are in a blissful world now.
With all my love,
-----
This beautiful spirit portrait of Lauren is by artist Lorette Gaboury-Massa, Lauren's mother and my dear friend.
This beautiful spirit portrait of Lauren is by artist Lorette Gaboury-Massa, Lauren's mother and my dear friend.
