KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

The Fear of Death: A Great Illusion, by Ginny Brock

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Fear is the most fearful of all things, and it, in itself, is an illusion. The fear of death is one of its greatest cultivations. Death can freak you out totally. And unless you think about it, take it apart molecule by molecule, and begin to figure it out, it will continue to paralyze you. Look around the next airport you visit. White knuckles everywhere, intestinal uproars, darting eyes, shrill rudeness, and suspicion fill the air. The fear of death has a grip on at least half of the travelers there.

No one is immune to fear; it goes around like the common cold. It infects whole congregations with ideas of hellfire and damnation. The politics of fear affect whole populations. Put a snake within ten feet of me and some primordial instinct takes hold and I discover that I can jump five feet off the ground—and fly the rest of the way. Well, more or less. The fear of death has given me wings.

Illusion or not, fear can really turn on the jets inside us. It's called an illusion, because if we think it through we find that there are things we can do to change the emotion. Whistling a happy tune with a snake rearing back to strike doesn't quite do it for me. But I can get the heck out of its way—quietly and with a minimum of fuss.

Mohandas Gandhi, the great Hindu pacifist, was once quoted as having said that the more he thought about it, the more he studied, the more he became convinced that sorrow over death may be the greatest illusion. "There is no death," he said. "No separation of substance."

Sorrow may be an illusion, but it also brings great physical pain. Gandhi is saying that if we can see through the illusory mists of sorrow with its incumbent pain, if we can understand and believe that there is no death, we can then take the deep sorrow out of grief.

We don't die. I know that. Our physical bodies stop working when, for whatever reason, old age, illness, or accident, the source of their energy departs. "The dear departed" is what we miss, what we grieve for, but in the reality of the collective consciousness, their energy is still very much alive, very much within our own sphere of consciousness, our own physical and ethereal space. It hasn't left us.

But you already know this. You're just not sure whether you believe it or not. Have you ever felt a spirit? Or heard a spirit? Have you ever seen one in a dream? Most of us have. And most of us shake our heads in disbelief and say, "I've had too much coffee!" It's not easy to admit that you've seen a ghost; nobody wants to open themselves to ridicule. And it's not surprising. For centuries, we've been well tutored in keeping our mouths shut about such things. But there have been some over the years who weren't so prudent, and they paid for it. It wasn't all that long ago that people who said they saw dead people or people who claimed to be able to communicate with the dead, would be hauled up before some pontifical city council, and asked to explain themselves by a group of blustering, pot-bellied old men spraying spit all over the place. The next thing they knew, they were being carted off to the nearest fire pit. And the whole village showed up for the fireworks!

Well, I see dead people. I feel them, I hear them, and I communicate with them. I have no fear of ridicule, and because witch burning has become unfashionable, I'm not afraid of institutional councils or inquisitions. I'm hoping to light up the village in a very different way, with light that can permeate that darkest part of our greatest fear—the fear of death.

Since childhood I've been aware of other realities that hang out with us. Ghosts, if you like, auras around people, I pick up mood or illness in someone very easily. But I never paid much attention to any of this as I was growing up. Much like a dog or a cat, I accepted their presence without question or much interest. They just were. It wasn't until I lost a parent, and then another parent, and then a husband that I began to take serious notice. Following my husband's death, I began to study everything I could get my hands on that had anything to do with death and dying, but most particularly, soul survival. Little did I know that all of this study was actually preparing me for the most devastating event of all—the death of my youngest son at age twenty-six.

"He died at 3:20 p.m. …The ticking of ice on the windows had stopped. Snow fell gently on the city. It blanketed the asphalt, the brick walkway, the street near the hospital. No birds sang. Nothing moved but the steady, white flutter of Rocky Mountain snow. Denver lay still beneath its crystals. As still as death and the silence that comes with dying."*

Buried under the rubble of my life, the cave-in of my existence, I searched for every teacher on the subject of soul-survival I had ever had. I researched the writings of Plato, Socrates, the French philosophers, and the Transcendentalists of New England (who included Walt Whitman, Longfellow, Emerson, and Louisa May Alcott). And then one evening, sitting in the gloom of a hotel bedroom, exhausted and filled with paralyzing sorrow, a shaft of light broke through the darkness. It began to glow, and to grow stronger and stronger as it filled the space around me, permeating the blackness, its warmth melting the ice in my heart as I stared in awe at the spirit of my son.

My physical eyes were open and trying to focus on something they couldn't see...my sixth sense, my spirit watched in amazement. He was alive, whole, feeling—his hair was dark and curly brown—just as I had seen it five days ago before he died, and his cheeks were flushed. When his eyes met mine they were filled with tears. The emotion I felt in him was stronger than any emotion I've ever felt on Earth. My son lived!

We don't die. We go on from here, leaving the limiting constraints of this human body behind. What a relief! We once again become the magnificent spirit being that is our natural state. We move on thought. We manifest our desires, our wishes in thought, and our understanding of all things human is clarified and we are filled with deep compassion beyond our earthly understanding. So I am told. In myriad conversations with my son I learned about the place he's in. These talks are usually preceded by a massive whoosh of energy that signals he is with me; I feel his essence, but not only that, I hear his voice, I can feel his skin—living and warm, I can touch his face and his hair.

I still miss his physical presence. So much. I would like to pick up the phone and just say "Hi!" I would like to hug him and hold him just one more time. When I have those very human thoughts, I suddenly remember that I can. He hasn't gone far. Of that I am sure.

Sometimes someone will say, "Yeah, you're a writer—you can imagine anything you want! Maybe you're imagining all this." And that's true. As a writer I have a boundless imagination that I recognize as such and I understand very well. It will take me anywhere I like; I can make it do anything I want to. The difference between it and this other energy is that I cannot manipulate it. The messages I get are sure and come from outside of me and my knowledge. I cannot change them or make them sound the way I want them to. They just are.

So, death is not an illusion. But because we are human we feel the illusion of sorrow and grief. The best part of this is that we all have the ability to transcend our humanity; most of us have just forgotten that once we were vibrant spirit beings who could do miraculous things. We still are, but now we're covered in this sheath called the human body. It's not impermeable. There are constant "bleed-throughs," and memories from the other side. Have you ever dreamed you were flying? Voila!

We are vibrant spirits living on a human plane with all its difficulties. Fear may be our greatest challenge. Could it be that one of our reasons for being here is to conquer fear in all its aspects, in all its disguises? I'm thinking that that is the secret of true happiness.

*From the book By Morning's Light by Ginny Brock. Copyright 2012 by Ginny Brock. Used by permission from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012. All rights reserved.

Back in my high school days, I saw a black male shadow in my room, sitting beside the window. This experience left me horrified for a long time. I always have goose bumps for no apparent reason. A few months ago, I decided to practice meditation for relaxation. At that time, I started to hear a high pitched sound, then later on, very soft, faraway voices that I couldn't comprehend. I also saw pictures and images with my eyes closed and once with my eyes open. These frightening experiences led me to ask the universe to stop all these things at once since I couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly everything was back to normal. A year ago, a reputable local psychic told me that I'm also psychic. I have always been interested in psychic stories and experiences. What I want to develop is precognitive ability. Can I just choose to develop this particular ability and none other? Thank you for your help and guidance.

Marissa

Susyn:

It's not unusual to be frightened when first encountering psychic experiences; in fact, that's one of the reasons people often try to repress or ignore such events. Because they have no one to talk with about these experiences and no way to control them, people naturally feel uncertain about them.

Everyone is psychic on some level. With the proper direction, we encourage our gifts to grow. You are free to focus on the powers you want to develop, but you must accept that by doing so, other abilities will awaken as well. It's said that information is power, so your best recourse is to study with an individual or group to learn how to control these events and protect yourself.

When I began to develop my psychic gifts, I too was scared of some of the things that were happening. While I loved expanding my knowledge of tarot and astrology, I sometimes found myself channeling, which frightened me. When I tried to ignore or repress it, I began to develop some physical problems.

After a few years of immersing myself in the world of metaphysics, I sought out other channelers to learn how to control these events and use them to help others. Once I realized that this gift would help my clients and that I could be just a transmitter instead of being influenced by these spirits myself, it was easier to embrace these gifts.

You have the ability to see and hear spirits as evidenced by your seeing the shadow of a man beside your window and hearing faraway voices. This is a gift you can develop and use to help other people. Whether you need to warn them about something or relay important messages, surrounding yourself with light and protection will keep these events from affecting you personally.

Initially, I recommend you keep your focus on the gifts you want to develop and explore the many divination techniques employed by psychics to see which ones you are drawn to. Becoming part of a group of evolving metaphysicians or training with a professional whose talents you respect will create a safe environment for you. Once you are under the guidance of an advanced metaphysician, you will be able to explore any aspects of psychic practices you find intriguing.

To open up and develop your psychic gifts, you simply have to spend time each day in study and practice. As you learn to trust your gifts and share them with the world in whatever way Spirit would like you to use them, you'll begin to relax and enjoy your journey. Good luck on your path to enlightenment!

*****

Mata Maya:

It is not possible to prevent the development of some senses and abilities while pursuing the development of related senses and abilities. This is like wanting to travel to Australia and see nothing but Koala Bears. When we go exploring in new territory, we can't control what we will encounter; to experience exciting new worlds, we must have courageous, adventurous hearts.

However, I am thinking that what you are really wanting is to be able to only have positive experiences - to not have anything happen that is frightening or upsetting to you ñ and this is far more doable. It is possible to have a very smooth, pleasant journey through psychic development. The way to achieve this is to first study, understand, and work with natural spiritual law.

If instead, you put developing psychic powers first, it's a bit like deciding to sail a boat from South America to Africa without first charting a course, learning how to sail, and studying how you might deal with some of the challenges that may arise.

The first things to know are that you are creating your own reality all the time, and like attracts like in the Universe. If you are fearful, you will tend to attract frightening experiences. Because many people are frightened when they first encounter strange phenomena, stories about scary experiences abound. If you are full of faith and expecting only the best, however, it will be natural for you to have a wonderful time.

It's common to be both intrigued by psychic experiences and drawn to them at the same time. At some point, your interest will grow stronger than your fear, and you will feel drawn forward into psychic territory. The faster you are able to lose your fear, the smoother and more positive this journey will be.

There are many things you can do to accelerate this process. Since it's normal to fear the unknown, the more you study psychic matters and grow familiar with this area of exploration, the more confident you will tend to feel. It can also be very helpful to study with someone who is highly knowledgeable and experienced in psychic and spiritual matters.

I can assure you that the only thing you have to fear is fear itself. With this in mind, there is no need or reason for you to limit how your psychic abilities manifest for you. Trust that you are always safe, remember that everything happens for a good reason, and allow your passion and curiosity to lead you to the information, lessons, teachers and experiences that are just right for you.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.