By Caroline Demoise, Master Trainer, Chapel
Hill, NC, USA
My experience with tai chi has led me to regard
my daily practice as an opportunity to cultivate
Tao in everyday life. Sun Lutang expressed the
ultimate goal of tai chi as harmonizing with
Tao. Tai Chi is a meditation on breath, a meditation
on alignment, a meditation on fluid movement
and being in the flow of life. But tai chi is
not the only way to experience the unity of
life and our intrinsic interconnectedness. Dr.
Pam Kircher discovered that spending time with
people near the end of their lives listening
to their experiences as they prepare for transition
can bring an awareness of the spiritual aspect
in life, clarity on important matters, and a
sense of peace and calm. In addition to those
with a terminal illness, having a near death
experience at any age often opens a person to
awareness of spirit and Tao.
Wisdom like this is acquired by examining
our experiences and deeply contemplating the
meaning of life. Everything in life is grist
for the mill of reflection. Examining our motivations,
actions and behavior with compassion and insight
brings us closer to understanding the truth
of life on earth. Seeking to make sense of life
is a common theme among people in every culture
down through the ages. A variety of spiritual
practices give people a framework to understand
life’s inner dimension and a pathway to
feel their energy body and connect deeply with
spirit.
Many people focus on the physical aspect of
life for years until one day an experience shifts
their attention to life under the surface of
work, relationships or accomplishments and they
begin to wonder about the meaning of their life.
When the moment has come to look inward, to
contemplate and to make peace with the experiences,
apparent successes, challenges and presumed
failures in human life, a door opens to experiencing
the richness of life and a remembering of who
we really are, a spiritual being having a human
experience.
In the same way that people come to tai chi
and discover a deeper aspect than they ever
imagined, approaching the end of life is a rich
opportunity to grow into an awareness of life
beyond the physical and to review one’s
life from an expanded, meaningful perspective.
Dr. Kircher’s audio book, Love is
the Link, chronicles her work as a hospice
physician and introduces the listener to meaningful
stories from people who have had “near
death experiences” and stories that the
terminally ill shared with her.
I had read Dr. Kircher’s book years ago
and found it fascinating. But when I heard the
same material read aloud in her voice, it was
like having her in the room with me sharing
an important spiritual conversation. Transforming
this book into an audio experience presents
the material in a powerful way. The concepts
come across at a much deeper level and the information
feels more intimate and personal. If you are
interested in acquiring this wisdom and sharing
it with others, visit her website www.pamkircher.com.
It is comforting to hear how people who have
had a near death experience find their lives
have changed. Listening to the stories of terminally
ill people help us remember who we really are
– an expression of spirit, that for a
limited time inhabits a physical body for a
human experience. The peace they encounter as
they become aware of spirit remains with them
and forever changes their lives.
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