Delicate Courage

(Grief) "I have experienced the tendency to invalidate grief by comparing it to another. I have had trainees come up to say, "I don't know if I can do this work because I have never grieved." The problem here is one of definition and comparison; not of an unfeeling person. All of us have experienced grief if we just listen to the murmuring of our hearts. Recapturing the magnificence of my heart rests in my ability to accept my own grief, and to realize that I have always felt deeply about the suffering in the world around me. If the problem lies anywhere, it is not in our inability to feel, but perhaps in being overloaded with feelings of grief at an early age and not knowing how to release them. So many people have now convinced themselves that they are unemotional or unfeeling. The opposite is true. Our wholeness lies in our ability to recognize this and to reclaim our awareness of our sacred connection to all living things." (Visual Experience) "Almost a year after Jess passed, I was watching a Cher special on HBO. Jess and I had seen Cher live and always enjoyed her as a unique personality and performer. The HBO special was recorded at the MGM hotel in Las Vegas. Just as Cher was about to begin her finale, I Believe, I saw Jess begin to materialize about fifteen feet away. Internally my thought process was struggling to surrender to the brilliance emanating from his ascended state. It is hard to explain but it was like if you suddenly came face to face with a very spiritual being, such as Jesus or Buddha, how much of their magnificence could you let in? Jess was radiant, not completely formed, but I could see his face and luminous smile. Effulgent white light encompassed him, almost giving the impression of angel wings! Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks, as I opened to his transcendent beauty and consciousness. I became aware that perhaps part of the reason it is difficult to communicate with our loved ones after they pass is because we are in such different states of awareness. Perhaps our grief prevents us from perceiving the glory of their new life. I was so full of gratitude that Jess had come to share himself with me in this manner. I was also very thankful that I had moved through enough of my pain to behold him in this light."