The light was brighter than any light I’ve ever seen before, and yet not blindingly so, like looking into the sun. Perhaps it was the “purity” of the light that made it possible to stare into it. And then within that light appeared Sri Yukteswar and Yogananda, both as clear as day, radiating so much love, so much joy, that it’s hard to describe. As I embraced and moved closer and closer into that light, the love and joy increased until I felt like I couldn’t possible “hold” anymore, that I would burst in ecstasy with more love than I …

“I come not to entertain you with worldly festivities but to arouse your sleeping memory of Immortality.” ~ Paramahansa Yogananda

In her book about her own experiences with her guru, Yogananda, and his teachings, Priceless Precepts, Kamala (Silva) wrote the following about the above quote: “Inner assurance of Immortality is an important need of the soul. To know that Self is not dependent for its existence upon the form in which it resides is one part of the need; and the other is the heart’s longing that the Self will remain a ‘conscious’ part of the whole.”

I think Kamala beautifully expresses …

Over time I came to realize that the brief merging of my soul, my consciousness, with that of Tayo’s during the lung procedure (see entry 11) and the words he had for me then set the stage for the unfolding of the rest of my life, including the preparation for my transition. As I learned from Tayo, certain souls (in addition to my guru Yogananda) had been “assigned” to me to help me stay on track as I finished this incarnation and then to help me cross over when it was time. And lately, that time seems to be growing …

As I pondered my recent experiences that prepare me for my actual transition, I realized that it is, once again, necessary to go backwards (Mercury retrograde again) before going forwards, for the seeds of my current experiences were planted almost two years ago when I underwent an experimental procedure that was supposed to help me breathe better by reducing the volume of non-functioning lung tissue.

I had fully discussed the procedure with Tayo, who of course told me he would be there with me. (While it wasn’t possible in person, his spirit/soul would be in attendance, along with both Sri Yukteswar, …

Typical of most people at the end of their life—the current incarnation—I’ve been reflecting on what I did, and what I didn’t do; what I accomplished and what I didn’t accomplish. I think there’s always some sadness that we didn’t get more done, that even with the best of intentions we weren’t able to carry out everything we wanted to do. And I’ve also found that what so many before me have said, at the end of life we tend to have more regrets for things we didn’t do than for things we did do, and while some of the …