Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Messenger of the Great White Brotherhood: Her Legacy of Love, Light and Wisdom for the 21st Century and Beyond

        It's now been almost 15 years since Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Messenger of the Great White Brotherhood, passed on and over 8 years since my testimony to her as Guru (see below) was first published.  In that amount of time, there have been any number of books, articles and essays written about Mrs. Prophet from a wide variety of people whose lived experiences form the bulk of their narratives, as do mine.  

     Whether they actually knew her personally in some way; knew someone else who said they knew her, or researched information about her to interweave with their own stories re: recent experiences with some of her followers, their words are out there, for better and for worse, and available for all to read. 

      Have I read any of the more negative books and articles about Mrs. Prophet and her work in the past twenty years?  Yes, I have.  I do not know about you, but, I have found that, when some writers resort to ridicule and mockery and cleverly-cute caricaturisations of other human beings and their beliefs, it reveals a lot more about them than those they are attempting to capture and dissect for their audience.  How sad is that?  

    And, so it is, with freedom of speech! 

   Onward!

   I say, kudos to the students of the Ascended Masters and devotees of the Guru Ma who have already written and continue to write their own accounts about their experiences* with the Messenger and the Ascended Masters and with their teachings and kudos to those devoted souls who understand alchemy and the significance of the colors of the seven rays and who embody the light and love of the Great White Brotherhood and share their spiritual journeys with strangers who come knocking at their door.

    Truly, the victory of the Messenger's life and legacy is found in the hearts of her chelas, whoever and wherever they may be. She is known to them and they are known to her!

*(See Recommended Links on side bar.)   

TESTIMONY TO GURU MA

 

                                            

Testimony to Guru Ma 

 ~*~

THE CONCEPT OF THE TEACHER

 After having chosen the Lord and the Guru no retreat is possible. The path lies only onward, and sooner or later with ease or difficulties you will come to the Teacher. When the [dark forces] surround you and close their circle, there will remain, only the path upward to the Lord. Then you will feel that the Lord is somewhere not far-off and that the silver thread is above you. You have but to stretch out your hand! We can meet without the help of the [dark forces], but more often only he who is pressed from all sides reaches out to the silver thread, and only in distress does he learn the language of the heart. One should feel the Lord and the Guru in the heart. ~Hierarchy, 112 

 ~*~

INTRODUCTION

      I did not know Elizabeth Clare Prophet personally, in a social sense. I did not know her children or her husband other than by sight or through the polite nod or exchange of “hello,” in passing. I never sat at her table, worked by her side or visited her home. Except for one specific time, my encounters with Mrs. Prophet during the last 10 years of her active involvement with The Summit Lighthouse were limited to that of attendee at the quarterly spiritual conferences; participation in various weekend services throughout the years, and as student during three 3-month long sessions of Summit University. It was usually during the conferences and Summit University that Mrs. Prophet, filled with the Holy Spirit, presented the teachings of the ascended masters, shared some of her life experiences, and gave dictations and an occasional special blessing. 

      Even though we were unfamiliar with each other in the course of our daily lives, the relationship I had with Mrs. Prophet on a spiritual level—on an inner heart level—was, and is, by far, one of the more intimate ones I’ve ever had. While she had many shoes to fill during her life—as wife, mother, friend, author, messenger—it was as spiritual teacher, as Guru Ma, that Elizabeth Clare Prophet entered my life in a most profound way. This deep connection that seemed to span both time and space continued after her retirement in 1999 and has continued to grow stronger since her passing and ascension in the autumn of 2009. This is my testimony to Guru Ma.

~*~

     Much can be forgiven him who even in darkness has preserved the concept of the Teacher. The Teacher uplifts the dignity of the spirit. We liken the concept of the Teacher to a lamp in the darkness. Therefore, the Teacher may be called a beacon of responsibility. The bonds of the Teaching are like a saving rope in the mountains. The Teacher is revealed from the moment of kindling of the spirit. From that moment on the Teacher is inseparable from the disciple. We do not see the end of the chain of Teachers, and the consciousness imbued with the Teacher elevates the attainment of the disciple as a precious, all-penetrating aroma. The bond of the disciple with the Teacher forms a link of protection in the uniting chain. Within this defense deserts bloom. ~New Era Community 

~*~ 

BEFORE

MY LIFE BEFORE GURU MA 

       I grew up in a Catholic household in the Midwest, where my parents were devout yet independent in their approach to spirituality and the church. My mother had a few books on Catholic mystics and on astrology, along with a very interesting book entitled The Lost Years of Jesus Revealed, by the Rev. Dr. Charles Francis Potter. She let me read all of them. My father’s life as a Catholic began when he was baptized as an infant—my grandparents’ best friends were a Jewish couple named Hen and Jerry and they chose them to be their son’s godparents. At the baptism, the parish priest realized that they were Jewish and refused to go ahead with the ceremony. My 6-foot tall Irish grandfather supposedly looked down at the priest and said, “Fine. Then he won’t be baptized.” He was baptized. 

     In college I majored in theology and religious studies, and later went on to earn a master’s degree in Human and Religious Studies. It was during this time that I began to investigate other religions and spiritual paths, beginning with Autobiography of a Yogi and Self Realization Fellowship lessons, the Bhagavad Gita; the life of Gautama Buddha, etc. I wasn’t quite sure who or what I was looking for, but I knew that I had not yet found it. While I was in graduate school, I met my future husband, John, who had also been raised Catholic. I soon found out that he not only believed in reincarnation like I did, but he had almost every book the Theosophical Society had in print. I had never heard of Theosophy or the Masters of the Far East before but I became more intrigued with every book I borrowed. 

     We married in 1979 and the following year, John went to graduate school in Chicago to specialize in orthodontics. After graduation, we ended up living back in Ohio where he started his practice and we settled into family life, welcoming two delightful daughters within the next 3 ½ years. During this time, John brought home several books by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and we both read them. We had always wondered what had happened to the Masters mentioned in the Theosophical books, and were delighted to discover that they were continuing to teach and help mankind through their messengers, Mark and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. 

     In the fall of 1987, John and I decided to attend 1 day of a Summit Lighthouse conference that was being held at the Penta Hotel in New York City. We figured that it was the closest Elizabeth Clare Prophet would get to Ohio, so we flew to NYC, spent that night and most of the next day shopping and sightseeing, and then went to the mid-afternoon presentation before returning home. As it turned out, Tom, a young friend of ours who was living in NYC at the time, was also interested in hearing Mrs. Prophet, so he met us there and I sat between him and John for the next 2 ½ hours. 

      When we took our seats, Mrs. Prophet was already on the platform talking about some of the ascended masters and their teachings. Behind her was a beautiful altar and to her left was a screen where images of the different masters were shown. Elizabeth Clare Prophet was lovely, radiant and welcoming. To my great relief, she looked quite “normal.” She wore make-up and had a beautiful white outfit on that seemed like a combination of California chic and Bloomingdales. We listened to Mrs. Prophet give a dictation by the ascended master El Morya (the “Morya” and “Master M” of the Theosophical Society), stood in line afterwards to receive a blessing on our foreheads, said goodbye to Tom and then left for the airport. It was the last time we would see Tom—both he and John passed away the following summer. John died at 36 from pancreatic cancer and Tom at 24 from pneumonia. Both deaths hit a lot of people quite hard, leaving many in shock and in that awful “twilight zone” of grief that anyone who has ever lost a loved one understands. 

     About 9 months prior to his death, John had placed his practice for sale in the hope of relocating someplace out West—Colorado or Montana. After he died, I decided to go forward with our plans and, after several trips back and forth to scope things out, moved to Montana with my daughters. I chose Montana over Colorado for one reason only: Elizabeth Clare Prophet was there and there was a community of people who, like my husband and I, had embraced the teachings of the ascended masters and the spiritual path they offered. Leaving family members behind wasn’t easy, but I knew we’d be returning for a lot of visits and some of them would come out and visit us. It wasn’t so much that we had to get out of Ohio, it was that we had to get where we were supposed to be. 

     In less than one year, John and I joyfully connected with a spiritual teacher, and sadly disconnected from each other as he left this world in what seemed to be a very untimely death. As Charles Dickens said, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...."

 ~*~

 

RECOGNITION

THE MOMENT I RECOGNIZED MY GURU  

       That fall, I attended several sessions of the quarterly conference, and it was during one of them that I recognized Mrs. Prophet as the spiritual teacher I had been looking for the last 18 years of my life. I don’t remember the specific date or service, but I do remember it as if it was yesterday. 

      I was sitting in the audience, on the aisle, about 8 rows from the front, on the right side of the room. Mrs. Prophet was sitting up on the altar; uplifting mediation music and songs played in the background as people returned to their seats after a break. I looked around and, though quite comfortable in the environment, I was not sure that I wanted to uproot my small family so soon after our loss and move across the country. I was also not quite sure who, exactly, Elizabeth Clare Prophet was. 

     Earlier, during the break, I had the opportunity to talk with a few other attendees, who, for the most part, referred to Mrs. Prophet as “Mother,” except for one man who kept saying, “The Messenger this; the Messenger that.” Now, I grew up familiar with the term “Mother” as it related to the Mother Superior of a convent. Whenever we visited my great aunt, who was a nun, we’d always have to say, “Hello, Mother,” if her superior came into the room. As a child, I wasn’t keen on calling anyone but my mom “mother” and that’s about how I felt when I heard people at the conference calling Mrs. Prophet “Mother.” And, after listening to the fellow say “the Messenger” a couple more times, I had to ask whom he was talking about. He looked quite astonished and said, “The Messenger! Elizabeth Clare Prophet!” It really did not ring any bells. I thought, “Uh, oh. What is this all about here?” 

     So, back in my chair, a few minutes before the session began,  I started talking to God (in my mind). I thought, “Well, God, this is a nice place, she’s a very lovely woman with a saintly glow around her and the people are really nice and friendly and I love the books. But, I don’t need or want another mother and I can’t relate to the idea of a “messenger.” So, please, please let me know why I’m even here.” As I finished my thought, everything changed. Immediately, an intense yet comforting vibration went straight through my body. The bhajan that had been playing in the background the last few minutes, Manasa Bhajore, sounded as if someone turned it up several decibels. Though I was unfamiliar with the Sanskrit words and their meaning, as soon as I heard the phrase "Guru Ma," there was an enormous sunburst of white light that shot out and emanated from the heart of Mrs. Prophet, right through my heart. It filled my body and everyone and everything in the entire room like a scintillating, radiant orb that went through and beyond the walls, out into the atmosphere. I’d never experienced anything like it, and it lasted as long as the bhajan did. 

     It was in that instant that I knew I found my spiritual teacher, my guru, Guru Ma, and she entered my life and my heart and soul in a most profound and undeniable way. I decided to move to Montana and stay there as long as she was teaching. While I didn’t know exactly how life with a living, breathing guru would unfold, I knew that I was definitely where I needed to be and where I wanted to be. 

 ~*~

~*~

AFTER

LIFE WITH AN UNASCENDED AND ASCENDED GURU

     My family and I lived in Montana on and off for 5 ½ of the last 10 years that Elizabeth Clare Prophet was actively leading The Summit Lighthouse, before she retired in 1999 because of health problems.  During those 10 years, no matter where I was living, being a chela of an embodied Guru became the warp and woof of my life.  I attended as many quarterly conferences that I could and experienced first hand the comforting and renewing fire of the Holy Spirit through Mrs. Prophet when she gave dictations from the ascended masters and lectures on their teachings.  I also attended three 3-month sessions of Summit University, where students studied the Bible and different teachings of the ascended masters, along with the psychology of the soul and Eastern religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

     Raising two young children by myself was a challenge in itself, but having a deep connection with a spiritual teacher who was also a chela in the chain of hierarchy and a mother, helped a lot. It wasn’t so much that I was interested in how she raised her own children, because four out of five were grown by then, but rather that I studied the teachings of the ascended masters that Mrs. Prophet put forth regarding children and the importance of their spiritual development, along with their emotional, educational, social, creative and physical development, and then applied those concepts and recommendations to my own family in a way that worked for us.  It was the understanding and practical application of the spiritual laws and disciplines taught by Mrs. Prophet that helped me in my journey as a parent. 

   As a chela of the Ascended Master, El Morya, Elizabeth Clare Prophet was an example par excellence.  No one’s life is a perfect piece of cake, without ups and downs and mistakes, and Mrs. Prophet’s was no exception.  Regardless of what was going on in her personal life, with the community or on the world scene, she continued to strive upward on her own spiritual path toward her ascension.  Faith, hope, love, perseverance, loyalty and obedience to the Guru and to the Law and non-compromise of the Law and the disciplines of the Law were the qualities of the soul, spirit and person of Elizabeth Clare Prophet that I took note of and strove to emulate during the highs and lows of my own life.

     When Mrs. Prophet retired in 1999, we had already been living in Ohio for over a year.  It was quite disconcerting to realize that she would no longer be physically present during the conferences, and that the number of times we’d even see her in the future were minimal, at best, because of the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.  I was taken off guard with the announcement.  Later, upon reflection, I realized that although I had been physically away from my Guru for quite some time, the tie between us had become stronger over the years. It was comforting to remember that nothing really changed between us on the inner, even though on the outer, there was an incredible and profound loss.

     The years between Mrs. Prophet’s retirement and passing went by in a way that could almost be described as how life goes by when living a long distance from a close friend or family member. During those 10 years, I studied and applied the teachings of ascended masters; raised my daughters through high school; traveled a bit and spent time with family and friends; dealt with the death of my youngest brother; started a non-profit group; welcomed a third daughter into my life; saw the older two off to college and begin their careers, all the while keenly aware of the inner tie to my Guru. 

     When a friend called to tell me that Mrs. Prophet had passed away peacefully in her home on October 15, 2009, it took a while for it to sink in.  It was, I believed, a very big deal, not just for her chelas, who had known and loved her from near and afar, but for those who would now read her books, learn about the ascended masters and encounter Guru Ma for the first time as an ascended guru.  I was very grateful that I had the opportunity to know her during a period of time in her life that, cosmically speaking, was but the blink of an eye.

     It’s now been almost 15 years since Elizabeth Clare Prophet moved on to higher octaves.  I can witness to the fact that the love of the Guru for the chela and the bond between them spans time and space.  Whether at inner levels or through the vast amount of teachings she left us, Guru Ma continues to inspire, comfort and counsel her chelas in a most powerful, personal and practical way.

 ~*~

 

THE DANGER OF HAVING SEVERAL GURUS

 Many legends express the danger of having several Gurus. Let us cite one of them. "One pious woman had three sons. Each of them had chosen a venerable Rishi as his Guru. But one of them conceived the idea of increasing his powers by asking two more Rishis to be his guides, though his mother had warned him of the danger of such a thoughtless action. The time came when the Rishis began to teach the three youths to fly. The third youth asked the two other Rishis to strengthen his flights, so that he might be ahead of his brothers. But the whirlwinds sent from three places crossed and the light-minded fellow was torn to pieces in the air; whereas his brothers flew safely in the direction of the Rishi chosen by them." Thus people remember the law of Hierarchy. One might adopt this law. From every standpoint of knowledge science confirms other laws of life; however, one should not look with an oblique eye. ~Hierarchy, 253 

 ~*~

ATTRIBUTIONS 

Attribution:  Elizabeth Clare Prophet, How to Develop Your Heart Chakra, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2wsUal6RS4&t=1s

Attribution:  Mountain Peak (c) Galina Andrushko/Dreamstime.com

Attribution:  Tibetan Plateau Scene Overlook Everest (c) Lin Gang/Dreamstime.com

Attribution:  The Everest at Night (c) Chuanwentao/Dreamstime.com

Attribution:  Holy Indian Mountain Arunchala (c) Smejnaya/Dreamstime.com

Attribution:  Mother of the World, by Nicholas Roerich.

Attribution:  Mt. Ama Dablam (c) Bayon/Dreamstime.com

Attribution:  Sunrise (Mt. Everest) (c) Ambar Tamang/Dreamstime.com

Attribution:  (Desert Flower)  (c) Agawa288/Dreamstime.com

~*~

Original post:

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016

Free! Brochures, Posters and Four eBooks: On The Soul, Reincarnation and Abortion

 

                                                                                  

"...This is the time to lay down one's life for one's country and one's children and especially the children in the womb. Pray about these things, beloved, and think not so much of yourselves but of the agony of souls who must go through this abomination of abortion or who are aborted by the latest pill.

Blessed ones, let us take up the cause of the Great White Brotherhood. Let us not ascend and say, 'My God, why did I not do more!'" 

                       ~El Morya, PoW Vol 46 No. 8 

If you or someone you know is pregnant and deciding whether or not to have an abortion, consider reading any of the free eBooks available at soulchoice.org or download the brochures to become more aware of why a soul needs a physical body in order to be in the right place, at the right time and with the right people for its own evolution.  Learn more about the soul, reincarnation and abortion.

Attribution.  Leonardo da Vinci.

Links to Lectures, Rosaries and Prayers with Elizabeth Clare Prophet

 

     As requested, here are links to several video lectures by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and prayers that have been mentioned in current and previous posts and are invaluable to anyone seeking a higher truth and a higher way to live their life.  They are free, available 24/7.

    Highly recommended!

Self Mastery Through Self Knowledge:

                      Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse

Lecture: Karma and Reincarnation:  9 Cats and 9 Lives, Part 1 

Lecture:  Karma and Reincarnation:  9 Cats and 9 Lives, Part 2

Science of the Spoken Word:

        Devotional paced decrees:  Heart, Head and Hand

Violet Fire Decree with Elizabeth Clare Prophet

Life Begets Life (Part 1):  Abortion from the Perspective of the Soul

                      Mother Mary's Rosary for World Peace

Learn Something New Any Hour of Every Day! Listen to Ascended Master Online Radio Shows.

 

                                                

       

                Are you interested in learning something new at any minute or hour of the day when it is convenient for you?  Look no further than the 9 years worth of incredible weekly episodes of invaluable information based upon the teachings of the Ascended Masters through their Messengers Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet, as offered by the Ascended Master Online Radio Show on Voice America!

             Where to begin?  Consider the 11 part series entitled Enlightenment Master Class .  Each episode is less than 1 hour long and, like all the other shows,  presents interesting spiritual teachings that have a practical application in your and your loved ones' daily lives.

               Episode Description:

Imagine sitting at the feet of the ascended masters in rapt attention as they share their wisdom and understanding of Truth, cosmic law and the real reason for Being. For many, this would be the answer to their heart’s deepest longing and, perhaps, the culmination of a journey through untold lifetimes and countless opportunities to re-enter the consciousness of God. Good news! There is no reason to imagine this, for the opportunity to study with the masters is real and available to you right now....

               Highly recommended!

        

Agni Yoga Series: Helena Roerich on Abortion 1933-1934

 

The ability to discern the real state of things and to see the true colors of people is the basic requirement to enter the Path. ~Helena Roerich

The value of human life in the womb is not, as noted before, a new concept or one embraced only by those of Christian or Orthodox religions.  Before Elizabeth Clare Prophet's teachings on abortion in the late 1900's, were those of Helena Roerich, wife of Nicholas Roerich*, (now the Ascended Master Nicholas Roerich), and the amanuensis for the Master Morya.

Below, are a few teachings on the topic of abortion that can be found in the Agni Yoga Series. Considering that they are just a decade shy of being a century old, if you did not know the date of their publication, you might think you were reading something from a contemporary spiritual or esoteric organization.

Letters of Helena Roerich I

Letters I, 19 June 1933

And now let us turn to the subject of abortion. To deal with this problem now is quite timely. There appear currently the most disgusting articles about it and some of them are written with the approval of the clergy. On this subject I shall quote some paragraphs from the Teaching:

“The spirit is connected with the embryo at the moment of conception. It begins to enter in the beginning of the fourth month when the first nerve and brain channels are being formed. The formation of the vertebral column brings in the next degree of possession of the body. Wonderful is the moment of birth, when the consciousness of the spirit flashes up brightly and then blends with matter. There are even cases when words are pronounced at birth. The final possession of the body takes place at the seventh year of a child’s life.” It is also said, “Even as hunger directs toward food, so the spirit is directed toward incarnation, as only matter can give the new impulses.”

Therefore, it is not hard to imagine how much suffering the spirit that is ready to incarnate endures from the forced interruption of life already begun, or from the averting of an incarnation even planned by karma. What a difficult karma the ignorant and criminal parents prepare for themselves!

Letters 1, 17 April 1934

3. You mentioned a most painful problem of today’s life—the question of the legality of abortion. Of course, there are no two opinions on this subject: abortion is most definitely murder. Therefore, only in cases where the mother’s life is in danger should it take place. But it is wrong to think that a woman who is guilty of abortion always attracts low spirits. The karma of the whole family should be taken into consideration. Often we can notice that in a family where one of the children is worthless the other children are not bad. Karma ties groups of people for long, long thousands of years. And often, even a high spirit has not unimpeachable, irreproachable parents. And it is significant that the dark forces are especially against the reincarnation of highly developed spirits, and they try their best to prevent the reincarnations that are dangerous for them. And, once more, it is not the purgatory of the Subtle World that prevents spirits from reincarnating, but only the crime of the parents. There is not a more powerful purgatory than the earthly life, if all the potentialities of the individuality are intensified. It is said in the Teaching, “As the one who hungers longs for food, even so, the spirit that is ready to incarnate longs for the new incarnation.” Therefore, one can imagine what suffering the spirit undergoes by reason of artificial prevention. The spirit is connected with the embryo at the moment of conception, and gradually enters the body in the fourth month when the nerve and brain channels are being formed. Therefore, abortion is permissible only in exceptional cases.

7. Certainly, I approve of the fight against abortion, but how will you fight this evil? There are no laws which can either preserve or forbid anything. That is why I, personally, think that first of all you must battle by uplifting the level of consciousness of the growing generations, directing it toward the right comprehension of the human cosmic mission in general and that of motherhood in particular. Thoughts should be directed toward creative work and broad problems of the General Good on a cosmic scale. It is important to establish the world’s scale. Again, we return to the same fundamental question: upbringing and education. As the Great Mind expressed it, “The source of all suffering is ignorance,” which is so true; and the history of humanity, with all its dark pages of persecution of the best representatives of knowledge, proves it.

*Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York City, New York Video Tour

Violet Flame! Violet Flame! Violet Flame!

 

If I discovered the violet flame and was thinking as an entrepreneur, it would be the equivalent of finding a marketable fountain of youth.

The violet flame is a multifaceted flame. If it were a product, we would be saying: "Get seven for the price of one. Seven unique uses for one purchase price--mercy, forgiveness, freedom, opportunity, alchemy, diplomacy and transmutation." (Messages from Heaven, Page 51).

Now, I know I've already written a lot about the awesome powers of the violet flame in previous blogs, but I truly believe that we can never know too much about the violet flame or invoke its powers too often. Consider some of the key points about this magic elixir, as mentioned in Chapter Six of Messages from Heaven, by Patricia Kirmond, available as paperback or eBook:

~I think that if any aspect of the violet flame is neglected, it is the flame of opportunity.... Many lightbearers pray daily for new, better or different jobs, but they rarely think to invoke the flame of opportunity, which can help open the door to new options.

~At its most powerful, its greatest gift is that it can change atoms and electrons.

~Jesus used the violet flame in many of his miracles.

~If you have an illness, the violet flame can reverse the entire condition, unless the illness is a karmic necessity for your spiritual evolution.

~The violet flame can assist in the speed of recovery and the success of any [medical] procedure.

~Any condition that troubles a person, whether it is political, financial, medical or psychological, will always receive benefit when we send violet flame into its cause and core.

~The violet flame is the foundation for the new age. We will enter this age successfully to the degree that we comprehend and utilize this flame.

~The violet flame is truly the key to penetrating through the mire of what burdens you.

~...it is important to remember that you must give violet flame decrees from the heart, with visualization and oneness with the decree, in order for change to occur.

~You must not hesitate to use the violet flame in every room that you enter and in every conversation that you have. You can give a call such as, "In the name of the Presence of God and my own Christ Self, I ask for the violet flame to clear anything between this individual and me that could interfere with my talking with him this day." (Pages 52-54.)

Interested? Want to begin right now?

Visit VIOLET FLAME WORLD - LIGHTING THE WAY  for everything you need to know about the Violet Flame in English or in Spanish LLAMA VIOLETA CONMIGO.

Here's one of the best Youtube Videos on the violet flame available with Elizabeth Clare Prophet:

Originally published: 8/6/11  9:24 PM.

Two Remedies for The Brokenhearted and Bereaved

 

        Sometimes, there really are no words to describe the grief people may suffer due to the loss of loved ones and friends, especially when the death is sudden and unexpected.  Even after a long-term illness, death, when it happens, can be an enormous shock to those left behind.

       In our family alone, we've lost two loved ones in the last 2 1/2 months--a much loved 95+ year old grandfather who was alert and basically healthy up to his last week of life and who tried to not be annoyed with God and the universe that it was "taking so long" for him to move on, get to heaven and see his beloved wife again; and a much loved son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin, who died unexpectedly 4 days before his 42nd birthday, from a health condition he kept mainly to himself. They are both in a better place, and we are all here with the empty places and spaces in our hearts and homes, seeing them "everywhere" we go.  It is, as all who have lost loved ones and friends know, very surreal, for a very long time.

     (If you or anyone you know are in need of resources for grief, please check out the post Words for the Elderly, the Sick and the Dying--Practical Resources.)

    For anyone who believes in an afterlife, I would like to share some advice I once received from a very wise and experienced psychologist, Dr. Marilyn C. Barrick, with whom I spoke in the early years after my husband died at the age of 36, leaving me with two children under the age of five.  

   During one counseling session, Dr. Barrick told me two things that made a huge difference in my life and in my grief process.  First, she said that if I had any "unfinished business" with my late husband, I could say a prayer to Archangel Michael to take me to the retreats in heaven to meet him there and wrap things up, for as long as it took.  There was no limit to the number of times I could make such a request.  So, I did.  And, after about a year, things shifted, and I rarely had the need for such a prayer, but have, over the last 34 years, occasionally put it to good use.  The prayer was something like this, and can be said for anyone who has passed with whom you may need resolution.  You can say, "Holy Christ Self," or "Higher Self," or "Higher Power," or whatever works with your beliefs:

"In the name of my Holy Christ Self, I ask Archangel Michael to take me in my soul and soul consciousness to the retreats in heaven to meet with __________.  I ask Archangel Michael to guard and protect me and my soul to and from the retreats."

   The second thing she told me was, I believe, the most helpful practical spiritual tool I've heard of so far in my life:  She told me that I could, at any time, write the Higher Self of my husband and pour out my heart and tell him anything I wanted or needed to; ask Archangel Michael to take the letter to my husband's Higher Self, and that the angels and his Higher Self would make sure he got it (at a soul level).  This was the formula she shared with me, and I have used it many, many times over the last 3 decades, not just with my late husband, but with family members and friends who have also passed on:

    Sit comfortably at a desk or table and, on a clean sheet of white paper, begin your letter to your loved one by writing almost as you would any other letter:

     "Dear Higher Self of ______________,  according to God's Will: (Then pour your heart out)

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________.

          

     Love,

     ___________________"

     Then, you fold the letter up, ask Jesus, God, the angels, to fill up the void left in you (after you've poured your feelings into the physical letter) with his Light, with the Light of God, so that no more darkness or suffering enters you.  

    Next, you say a short prayer to the angels asking them to take the letter to your loved one:

     "In the name of my own Holy Christ Self, I ask the Angels to take this letter from my heart to the heart of the Holy Christ Self of ___________."

    Then, you safely burn the letter in a pan, fireplace or on a sheet of aluminum foil--wherever you can safely consign the letter to the physical flame, so that it is burned and the angels carry it to the higher realms, the etheric/fire realm, where the Higher Self of your loved one is.

                                                               ~*~

    That's it.  I cannot describe how healing and liberating this ritual was and is for me and for others who are aware of this most practical spiritual tool.

                                                                              ~*~

~Thomas Moore, Irish poet, lyrics:

(Baylor A Capella Choir)

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the comfortless, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure;
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying—
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.

Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above;
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

Attribution: Angel of Grief. By LuciusCommons - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3007006