Earlier, I briefly described my three "Near Death Experiences" and what I learned from each of those distinctly different passages about the apparent structure of our lives here – on this Earth, and now in the "Eternal Moment," stretching out beyond this physical being...but it was left to me to realize the Why?
We're passengers (passer-bys) in these bodies. We're each a fully accounted-for part of an unimaginably spectacular, largely unperceived spiritual system. Each of us has a "mission" to be fulfilled – a set of lessons to learn, karmic tasks to achieve for our process of spiritual evolution. It's really the stuff that myths are made of, and for.
"Mythology pitches the mind beyond that rim, to what can be known but not told."
Joseph Campbell
Before I tell you what I came to about the Why?– about our three great purposes – I feel I need to mention a serious underlying conundrum that's accompanied me since my experiences crystallized in my life: That nothing any one of us thinks, does, or says is really all that important at all on a planet that's funneled many billions of souls...but then our feelings, thoughts, and actions also connect us to everything that is really important in Life. It stands to reason that I only need to take Life's lessons seriously, not myself.
So for our first great purpose, it's about Expression – about discovering the best qualities of being human. Not the most selfishly gratifying, but the most fulfilling. Naturally this includes all the wonderfully human experiences of passion, sex, sentiment, thrill and chills, accomplishment, and sacrifice – not just for selfish, self-centered ends (and never to the detriment of any other sentient being), but instead selflessly contributing to the welfare of others whenever possible.
I mean self-expression as in discovering your authentic self – who you really are, and what your positive, life-fulfilling role is – whether it's protecting and caring for others, building bridges, fixing finances, creating revelatory art, expressing your soul on paper, etc. – all the things we can do for one another (all the "markets" we find). It's not always fabulous at all, or about being rich and famous, or about what others might think of you. It's a more meaningful definition of success. It's about being who you're meant to be in this life. Being alive in your expression, and respecting the pure expression of all Life.
Next, it's about Evolution. About that which motivates us to our greatest good, to our highest spiritual state. What sends us into tomorrow morning, or into "The Sweet Hereafter" growing and continuing to learn and expand into our shared Source of Being in the best and most fulfilling way possible. Naturally this includes an ongoing effort to develop real character, compassion, tolerance, and willingness. To become truly open-hearted, and expansive within your emotional life, and outward through your philosophy and approach to living. All negativity is resisting this personal spiritual evolution.
This amounts to not only the spiritual evolution of the self that we personally carry through every life, but also to the evolution of all Life, as the whole is a confluence of all it's smallest parts. We are all of one growing mind, alive in an ocean of consciousness, expressing that growth in each of our own little ways; but unlike the other divine life forms on this Earth, we alone have the spiritual responsibility of stewardship. The material demands of human ego and desire are only aspects of this little human-being we must overcome – obstacles that impede us, but that we all inevitably surrender to our expansion into spirit (like it or not). It's best way to do this comes by finding our true medium (the third purpose)...
It's about discovering that Love is the true medium of Life – the substance that all positive creation springs from. It is the air creation breathes, the water it drinks, the lubricant upon which it glides along – within us or without us. It's easy for us to believe that material powers: force, decay, the physical flesh and elements of this life are it's medium, but they are only it's constituents, or symptoms of being human – the realities of Consciousness animating as different forms. They aren't what creates it, lies beneath it all, flows through it, enfolds it's beginning and "end," and provides this life it's ultimate gratifications, fulfillments, and achievements (which are those heart-based rewards that completely overwhelm the senses and intellect).
Love creates all those motivations and sensations that humankind struggles to describe as it's greatest testament to Being. Our collective mission is to return to that medium of Life – to return to Love (apologies to Ms. Williamson). Every question is answered, every problem is solved, every challenge is met best by Love. It's the smallest, the largest, and the actual medium of Life itself...and so, it is our home. It's where we are destined to return to. It is the why in "Why are we here?"
This second part concludes my simplest summation of every thing I learned by dying, for the first three times. Now I just have to try to live it, and encourage you to live it too.
"In the end, love is the only medicine that can heal the wounds of the world. In this universe, it is love that binds everything together. As this awareness dawns within us, all disharmony will cease."
Amma
Read about this and much more in: How to Get to Heaven (Without Really Dying), Wisdom From a Near-Death Survivor from Llewellyn Worldwide available direct on this site, or online. The first book: How to Survive Life (and Death), A Guide To Happiness In This World and Beyond is available the same ways – but ask for it it at your local bookstore!
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