"It's a Great Day to Die!"

Wow, what a crazy thing to say during the most sacred and holy
time of the year! Yes, it is-especially since this famous cry of
freedom was uttered by Crazy Horse, the Sioux chief who defeated
Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Why talk about death at the time of year when people are most
focused on eternal life? What better time! Isn't this season of
rebirth the best time to celebrate a wake for the dead things in
our life-the beliefs and patterns that no longer serve us?

This month of December we endure the shortest, darkest day of
the year-the day with the least light shining on our lives. And
it is also the month of the return of the light-as days get
longer and brighter, and the life-giving sun shines stronger
each day. It's a great time to die to old limitations and
outmoded ways of thinking.

Death is Not What We Think It Is

The word used for "death" in the Aramaic tongue-the language of
Jesus and the Bible-literally translated means "not here,
present elsewhere." In most ancient and native cultures, the
border between life and death is highly permeable. This natural
transition is not feared, but rather welcomed as an opportunity
to liberate oneself from endless unconscious cycles of repeating
patterns.

Death-the inevitable ending of each life event-is actually
something that we experience in every moment of our lives.
Transitions from life-to-life, as well as from moment-to-moment,
are opportunities to renew our lives with fresh, authentic
passion, excitement and vitality. In facing the truth of death
directly, we have the opportunity to come fully into life. "Die
to the moment!" counsels St. John of the Cross.

Death is a Sacred Rite of Passage

Death is actually only a loaded word for "transition" and an
emotionally charged label for a very natural, safe "rite of
passage." Our current Western society has lost touch with the
value of preparing people for this basic reality of life:
constant change, continual transition from one form to another.
Until the modern era, sacred rites of passage have been
important to the health of human societies for thousands of
years, enabling individuals to negotiate their life transitions
with purpose, ease and meaning.

Is it time to re-embrace the fact that we are constantly dying
and recreating ourselves? If so, we could help each other to
master our transitions between careers, relationships, marriage
and divorce. Together we could move with grace through grief and
loss, addictions, and illness. We could teach ourselves and our
children to celebrate the coming of age, menopause, midlife
crisis, aging and spiritual awakening. Our reward would be a
more harmonious journey on this planet.

"Make Death Your Ally"

With this motto indigenous shamans advise us to make the
inevitable demise of each moment-and of each life-a source of
power and a well of motivation to live more vibrantly and fully
in each moment. "Dying" is our friend when we allow it to remind
us to let go of expectations of how "things have always been." "
Death" is our ally when we let it remind us to open again and
again to choosing innocence-that is, choosing to be innocent,
free, of the past and preconceptions of who we are. Being
innocent means living fully in each new moment-leaving the past
behind.

"I Feel Like I'm Dying!"

Some common feelings people experience when moving through life
changes and personal growth are the emotions of impending death,
or of wanting to die. Tribal people recognize these feelings as
signals that the soul is integrating more fully into the body,
threatening the beliefs of the personality and who it thinks "I
am."

The ego, totally identified with its limited view of itself,
feels threatened when something "unexplainable" or "
uncontrollable" happens, or when something familiar begins to
transform into something unknown. So, when we only identify with
our ego personality, we feel in danger of dying. When we
recognize that it's only our old beliefs that are dying-not our
physical bodies or our real self-we can allow the old points of
view to dissolve.

Overcoming "Life Fright"

"Life fright" is extended "stage fright!" The whole world is the
stage and the scary, intimidating audience is everyone outside
of us. And the irony is that we are not really afraid of dying-
we're afraid of really living. Most people on Earth are having a
Near-Life Experience! Afraid to speak our truth. Fearful of
disapproval and rejection. Anxious about our safety and survival.
Scared of deep love and joy!

Does life fright limit our ability to enjoy self-expression,
creativity and professional and personal fulfillment? You bet!
But we can learn powerful tools to integrate and release our
inner saboteurs. We can open to a new sense of ease, aliveness,
spontaneity and freedom in all areas of our life.

Ancient Tools to the Rescue!

From the ancient wisdom of spiritual traditions and native
cultures, we can learn easy, effective techniques to dissolve
our old beliefs-and the intense emotions that go with them. At
the core of most meditative practices is the guidance to feel
human emotions as pure energy, sensation or vibration-without
the labels and names we usually use to identify them, without
the need to understand, intellectualize or categorize them.
Labels create resistance and confine us to feeling the
experience inside the box named by the label. If we welcome "e-
motions" as "energy in motion"-flowing sensations, pulsating
vibrations-we can release our death grip on our belief system
and allow our old limiting paradigms and self-images to
transform.

Then every day becomes a good day to die-to our outmoded ways of
thinking and living. We can clear our soul of the karma, trauma
and drama blocking our natural trust, openness and vitality. We
can release ourselves from past influences and present-day self-
defeating patterns. We can live and love freely again. We can
recover our natural aliveness, creativity and playfulness in
order to heal, grow and blossom. We can reclaim wholeness,
meaning and joy. We can complete the past, fully enjoy the
present and creatively open to the future.

People in touch with ancient and native wisdom know that dying
is simply a transition to another state of existence-a state of
light energy. At this time, we are experiencing a worldwide
transition as light energy infuses the entire planet and all of
its inhabitants. If we label these feelings "dying," "depressing"
or " scary," we will experience the energy within that label
framework. If we experience these same feelings as "flowing" "
dense sensation" or "exciting," we can surf the tides of
transformation. Ancient and indigenous wisdom teaches that by
embracing and moving with unlabeled vibrational energy, we
experience life's changes more easily, playfully and quickly.
When we master our emotions, we master Death. When we master
Death, we master our happiness!

Does He Know Something We Don't?

Mahatma Gandhi suggests:

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to
live forever."

Why not assume the next moment-the next life-will always come
along? What do we have to lose? Only fear. What do we have to
gain? Every gift each moment has to offer!

A New Year's toast to you:

Here's to a new year, new life, new moments, new horizons, new
possibilities, new joys!