DEATH & THE AFTERLIFE: A MYSTICAL OBJECTIVE
BACKGROUND
I genuinely am a spiritual and not a religious person. I have always been open to all faiths in my thirst to learn about where we came from, who is the Supreme, where we are going, and whether our brief life here really has any bearing on the afterlife.
You see, I was brought up Catholic and with clearly defined principles. Furthermore, as a Maronite Catholic of the Eastern tradition, we are governed by social norms in addition to religious disciplines. However, when the authority cannot and will not venture into unknown territory to respond to my nagging questions, I find my faith ceremonial and redundant, hitting a crisis point. It has happened to me twice, where I broke away completely from my faith to probe into new territory.
The first time at 38, and the second time at 50. The first time, I did not venture far from conventional religion. I read the Holy Koran which is a beautiful piece of Arabic literature in social values and disciplines, that will never have the same impact translated into other languages. Simultaneously, I wanted to know more about the Protestant and Evangelical Christians by studying their Christian theology and ideologies. I benefitted enormously from both. But it was the Old Testament that pulled me back to Catholicism as the manifestation and fulfillment through Christianity. I returned with a deeper understanding and a more objective vision. I returned refreshed. A discovery that required a wider non-doctrine spectrum.
The second time, I had been through a 2nd life transformation of deep shifts and problems. I could find no answers or enlightenment in my mainstream faith. I chose to venture further afield with a form of Arhatic Yoga called Pranic Healing through Master Choa Kok Sui. It was so fulfilling, that I embraced it and vowed to definitively adopt all its principles of meditation and healing. It was all-encompassing, practical, and tangible. However, reading a study on Jesus’ sayings suddenly provided deeper enlightenment and reinforced my archaic faith with deeper understanding and fulfillment that surprised skeptical Me!
I adapted my faith to my newfound enlightenment of rituals upholding mindful breathing, vibrational mantra chanting, visualization, and chakra treatment…all synonymous with Taoism/Daoism with the core philosophy of the Prana, our life force and energy source radiating through our respective auras. I am in my 18th year and pursuing it religiously.
DEATH
I cannot carry my audience through all my learning stages and discoveries that led to my transformation. I can certainly do so through independent articles. Otherwise, I will disrespect the conditions of this contest and exceed the number of words.
I now believe that every time we go to bed at night, we willfully surrender our souls for repair, maintenance, and energization. It is a reminder that it shall one day discard our bodies through death, and we must hold ourselves accountable before each nightfall with the loving intent to improve ourselves.
Regarding death, I have learned 2 lessons. The first is that it is essential and inevitable for progressive transformation. The second is that we shall only leave when we are ready to depart, not without an advance premonition. Therefore, we must always seek the path to make ourselves ready. Fulfilling our course in this life with loving kindness is the preparation to be well-received in the afterlife.
By listening to our soul through mindful meditation, we shall obtain all the answers, wisdom, and understanding we require through the course of our lives.
THE AFTERLIFE
Today, I have the conviction that if we discipline our bodies and minds, we discipline our hearts and emotions. By doing so, and living a wholesome life in harmony with our environment and the universe, we find balance and unity with our soul which conveys the Wisdom of Eternity. This Wisdom manifests in mystical dreams, and oftentimes in profound encounters with other free souls when the communication is synchronized beyond explanation, and without the earthly trappings.
I have been fortunate to have dreams that manifest all that I have sought as explanations, like when will I die, how will I die, what will become of me, etc. This is when I realized that the name, I intended for myself, although synonymous with the same name given to me at birth, was a mystical decision. My name at birth is Sami (observe the spelling), whereas I chose to write it as Sammy, for Samuel. Sami, in my culture, means noble. Whereas, Samuel was the name of the prophet who since his childhood had visions in his dreams (the Old Testament).
I dreamt that I would not die a physical death (which probably means a peaceful death), but rather be transitioned instantly into a soul through an unusual cosmic encounter on a quiet and still night in a peaceful and isolated location. I shall become a transparent being in contact with transparent beings in blissful surroundings. Devoid of all earthly emotions, I shall be in a permanent state of peace, serenity, fulfillment, and deep joy. I shall have no mental impediments or geographical obstacles in my will. A will that contains the black box of my entire past life experiences. It will suffice to communicate silently through thoughts and act with intent alone.
At one point, I thought of someone I was concerned about in a particular place. I instantly found myself standing before the person, but I could not communicate with him because he was on this earth and I could only attempt to telepathically influence his thoughts — not his will. I could guide his path — but not change his course. He was complicated in his thoughts, while I was lucid and purposeful. I understood that my compassion and protective concern was because I chose to be his guardian — angel.
This is my personal experience of death and the afterlife. To me, it was an instant transformation to being someone so peaceful and fulfilled, I was in permanent blissful joy, thanks to the fusion of both my discovery of the profound Eastern Tradition in union with the Message of Salvation and redemption — but certainly not one without the other.
To conclude, the adage in my culture applies appropriately, “There is goodness and blessings in all that manifests and exists”. We only have to be mindful and receptive. Fear is an evil for the fainthearted. Courage emanates from innate self-confidence. No belief is occultic. Besides, occultic actually means “unknown”. We must seek and we shall find. We must ask to obtain a reply. We must knock and it shall be opened.
I will be very curious to learn from all my fellow writers their own vision of death and the afterlife, in the expectation that I’ll still learn something new. I seek to learn every day to enrich my soul and mind -the only eternal capital.
Sammy RNAJ
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