Greetings to you, this day. I am Jeshua. And today I would speak with you, at your request, about that which you call death, and dying.
For in this world, even though it be illusion, these bodies that you have do seem to die. And the dying seems to you, does it not, to close a door upon the manner in which you can experience this, this creation of yours, this world of space and time, and yes, these very bodies of which we speak this moment.
Have I not spoken to you before, and offered to you words which are designed, truly, to bring you peace? And have I not said to you, “You are not a body. You are free”? And have I not said to you, “There is nothing in this world which you want.”? And I have I not suggested to you not to value the things of this world? And have I, as well, not said to you, “If you choose a thing which will not last forever, it is of no value whatsoever.”? And, of course, does that not mean that your body is of no value whatsoever?
And in a time when you are perhaps saddened, in your humanness, in your caring, one for another, in this world of bodies and space and time– in a time when you are sad that someone has seemed to die, you are wont, of course, to ask “How can these words bring us peace?” Can you speak to us in such a way that peace can come to us as we look upon death, be it our own, or be it the death of one whose form we have dearly loved for much of a lifetime?
Ah, remember, when I say to you, do not value the things of this world, never for one moment is it a suggestion for you not to love those same things. And as you would approach someone’s death, whom you love, I would admonish you not to interpret any of my words in such a way as to make you think that I am saying, do not love, or do not care. For such is not the case. When I say do not value, I simply mean, do not be confused about what you are.
And that is the essence, that is the thought, when it becomes experience for you, that will bring you freedom, and will bring you peace, in times like this. Your body is not what you are. You are so much more. You are beyond this image, this illusion, of a body. And one whom you love whose body seems to die– that body is not what he, or she, is. And therein lies your peace. Simply realize that when you die, you change not. And when a loved one dies, he, or she, likewise, changes not. And when I died upon a cross two thousand years ago, nothing whatsoever changed about the reality of what I was, and what I am.
And yet you say, why am I sad? Can you comfort me when I, when I cry tears, and am sometimes wont even to feel guilty for crying the tears? Pause for a moment, and think of how sad it might be if someone whom you loved for years dies, as you put it, and you, in your humanness did not care. Can you feel the emptiness, and the sadness, if one should die, and no one should desire to shed a tear.
And what are the tears, then? Are your tears not a validation of the love that is within you? And are your tears not a simple celebration of two lives that came together, and in the coming together, created joy and love? And that, indeed, is the purpose of creation itself– for spirits to flow together, and to create love and joy. And so, if you would look upon your tears this moment, you will see within your being, and hear a voice that says– “Yes. It was love, and it was joy.”
And if you, then, know that a body that dies changes nothing, and in reality does not even bring about separation– if you know that, and you have welling up within you a tear that sings you a song of love, then in that can you be at peace? And indeed, you can.
And what of the struggle, what of the struggle that comes when you think about your own aloneness in the absence of another body? Then, truly, of course, you are looking into the face of your own fear. And what do you do when you are afraid? Simply realize, as with your brother, it is a call for love. And so as you feel within yourself, in your grieving at the death of the body of one whom you love, as you look at that face to face, then can you not, as well, hear the message of love? For only the awareness of love can generate a call for love. Do you see?
And sometimes you might wonder, how is it the Holy Spirit can only see love in everything, even death? And this is one way in which He does. Even when you are afraid, and you are calling for love, you could not know to call for love, out of your own fear, unless, within you, the love that you were seeking was there.
And so your tears, as you shed them for another, are truly a celebration of the sharing of love, and the creation of joy. And your tears, as you shed them for yourself, are but your promise, to yourself, that within you, truly, exists love, the Love of God.
And one more thing I might suggest to you this day– As you approach the experience of another’s dying, attempt to approach it in the awareness of your own, and your brother’s, freedom. For have I not told you, it is not possible that anything can befall the Son of God except that it be of his own choice? No accidents are possible within the world of freedom which God has created. And so even, even death itself, is an exercise in freedom.
And as you would grieve for another who has died, as you would grieve for him, or her, then let your thoughts shift to the awareness of freedom, and of safety. And as you know, at a level deep within, your beloved is living a life of perfect freedom, in a world where he, or she, and all beings, are absolutely safe. As you realize that he, or she, is absolutely free, and completely safe, in God’s world, then what happens to your belief in tragedy? It disappears, does it not, in the twinkling of an eye?
And as you would, in the awareness of freedom, grieve for yourself this day, which you do in your humanness, perhaps you can choose to alter your thinking so that you can speak to your beloved, and say to them– “I trust you.” And even though there may be a fear within you that arises from your own thoughts of aloneness, open yourself to placing trust in your beloved. And if it were not a gift of love, then even death could not occur. For it is possible, I promise you, to look upon every circumstance, including death itself, and see it as an act of love.
And so as you now, this moment, trust your beloved, and out of the stillness within, say these words– “I love you, and I trust you.”– as you open to that, and you are still, then what you shall become aware of, truly, is a gift of love.
So death itself is but a change in form. And form, as I have told you, matters not. In this world, in your humanness, once again, you have come to love the form, to live out your creations here, to learn of love and joy, in celebration, to exercise creation within your unlimited freedom. And death itself is nothing more than that.
And so this day, as you think about death, realize that it is given you to see things differently. This I have told you before. And as you see things differently, what shall you find? Simply that of which we have spoken this day. You will find the celebration of a life of love and joy. And you will find within you the promise that love is there, always, speaking to you and calling your name with infinite gentleness. And as you see things differently, you will find reason to understand, and to trust, the perfect freedom given you by God, the absolute safety in which you live your lives.
And above all, above all, you will find within yourself, and within your beloved, the awareness that you are so, so beautiful, as the spirits that you are– and the awareness that you are loved, loved, loved, beyond any measure of your comprehension.
My blessings, my blessings upon you this day. That is all.
Brent A. Haskell, Ph.D., D.O.
(Editor’s note: Brent Haskell is the author of Journey Beyond Words and The Other Voice: A Companion to the Text of The Course Chapters 1-15 (Miracles Studies Book). During October, 2012, I had the pleasure of meeting Brent at the Miracles In The Mountains conference in Cañon City, Colorado and hearing him give a presentation there, during which he offered to send several articles – including this one – via an email to those interested.)