My Journey part 5 – A Near Death Experience and A Course in Miracles

I had at this time left my University computing career. We had a family pet and aquarium business which grew for some time then competition led to its collapse. My health collapsed with it and I ended up in hospital intensive care with pericarditis, which is an infection of the heart membrane, and pneumonia at the same time. The doctors could not bring the fever under control for a few days. A nurse later told me I had almost died; a psychic much later told me I had died and had had a near death experience (NDE). While in that fever, I had some expanded experiences. One was working with angelic beings to release the souls of people who had died in the hospital but were still earthbound. I could “see” the souls being released and rising up into a vast vortex to be met by the bright beings ready to assist them on their soul journey.

This left me physically very weak but something had shifted in me. I knew that I had to give priority to continuing my spiritual growth and spent several years by myself in Sydney.

Something else of great significance occurred which I did not fully acknowledge or retain at the time. I started to develop the symptoms of urinary retention which I had had before. I was taken to Katoomba Hospital in New South Wales and was asked to wait in the treatment room of intensive care, because the only doctor on duty was attending to an emergency. As the pain increased, I began to walk around and call on the Masters I knew of from the meditation groups to help me. I called on the Archangel Michael, Sananda and others but the pain just got worse. Finally I found myself addressing God by name and it became bearable until the doctor came. She was very apologetic and gave me excellent treatment and I stayed in hospital overnight. For many, this would be natural but it was not for me. I did not think of myself as having a real connection to God or Jesus at the time.

A lady in one of the meditation groups was prompted to drive across Sydney to loan me “A Course in Miracles” which was felt to be transmitted by Jesus. I went to the Academy in Byron Bay, New South Wales, several times; then moved there in July 1999.

We had light sessions in the morning and evening with additional study in the afternoons for six days of the week. This was the first time in my life that I had been immersed full time in an intensive spiritual practice. It was very effective in furthering my growth. In the morning session, we would use music and movement to raise our vibrations, then one of the teachers would speak on some aspect of the Course which was appropriate to the group at the time.

I remember walking on the beach with our principal teacher, Hector, discussing my development. He then quoted from the Bible: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all else shall be brought unto you”. As he said this, I could “see” myself focusing all my attention above me and sensing many things being swept in from the sides to join that upward sweep. I did not think of myself as religious at the time.

Within a few months, I was offered a plane ticket to attend a worldwide gathering at the Academy in Wisconsin. About 60 of us set off filling most of the upper deck of a Boeing 747. The meeting was to start on the 9th of September 1999: 9-9-99. There were about 600 people there from many countries for the three weeks of the gathering. I learned more from the Master Teacher, Charles Anderson, who had the same birthday as Sai Baba (and also Mother Teresa). I delayed my return to Australia several times, then met Raya, a student of the Course from California. She came to visit me in Australia soon afterwards and we were married.

I learnt a great deal and had many experiences in Wisconsin. One important one occurred in an evening session with just a few others present. We had been using music and some movement as usual to raise our energy. I was immersed in this when my back arched strongly and some others had to support me. I had experienced the rising of the Kundulini energy from the base of the spine for the first time. After a while I could stand by myself again and became very still for a long time. This occurred once more.

Raya and I stayed with the Academy in Byron Bay for about a year, then had the feeling that we needed to continue away from any organized group.

I was beginning to feel that I wanted to do something more structured. I saw an article in a Sydney newspaper about Dr Tennyson Yui, a teacher of Tai Chi. He had learnt from masters in China and had been ballroom dancing champion of Hong Kong. I began learning soft forms of Tai Chi and one martial form. He had created a soft form, Supreme Tai Chi, which drew from traditional forms. As a new student, I learnt the movements mechanically. Then after some time I began to experience something else. As I moved my limbs, I could feel the energy in my limbs but also in the space around my body. The energy involved seemed to have a locus which moved in space with the changing position of my limbs. This was the first time that I had extended my perception to the non-physical dimension while doing a physical activity. This was an important step in the opening up of my perception. Tai Chi also gives many health benefits, as does Qi Gong which I now do.

At this stage of my life, I had a young family. It was while I was standing at the sidelines watching my young son play soccer, that another father suddenly started telling me about nearby meetings of a Sai Baba group. I did not know him and had not introduced the subject. I had seen a brief segment on Sai Baba in a documentary on evidence of the travels of Jesus in India. I began going to the meetings and learning to chant; initially getting tongue-tied with the Sanskrit words. Within a few months I was off to India in a group with my wife. There were so many rich experiences in that journey. The first memorable one was waiting outside at dusk at an airport and feeling transfixed. Our group leader, Ann Audet, had me sit away from the others until I began to function again.

Our group was fortunate to have two interviews with Sai Baba. In one, he manifested a ring for me. The interview room was tiny and I was sitting on the floor next to him.
He was speaking to all of us and said:
“I am a manifestation of God”.
Then he turned to me, tapped me on the knee and said:
“You also are a manifestation of God.
The only difference is that you have not yet realized it.”

This was a very important thing for me and the others to hear, but it did not really hit home until I was given the vision of the creation of my own soul years later – that I described at the beginning of this story. I had a second trip to India seven years later.

Soon after we returned, Ann began having meetings in her home. In addition to the chanting and reading, she also included guided meditation. This was a new experience for me. One member of this group, Trudie Moore, who had the spiritual name Raya, began teaching many aspects of spirituality and invited me to join. So I learned about energy, chakras, auras and many other things; as well as experiencing the guided meditations. She was very talented and I had private sessions with her, where she would channel a being who was appropriate for the work that was being done. After some time she told me it was time to go ahead on my own.

Some years later, I again felt I wanted to be part of a group. Within a week, three separate people told me about Brian Terrill and I joined his group. There were initially just three men named Brian, Brian’s wife Joann and two other women. We used a recorded meditation and Brian would channel questions and answers, sometimes from Sananda. I suggested he channel the meditation as well and we had various Ascended Masters guide us on wonderful journeys. The numbers grew and he moved from a flat to a house then conducted meetings in premises next to Sydney airport where over 100 would attend. I became his sound man and helped with workshops and other events. Brian’s spiritual name was Alton Melchizedek.

Alton went to America to learn the “Flower of Life” meditation technique from Drunvalo Melchizedek. I learnt it here and then began to teach it.

As the numbers grew, Alton was guided to host a smaller group on a different night to the public meeting. The guided meditations progressively furthered our development and led to the exploration of newer aspects of ourselves. It was a wonderful time. The entity guiding us was sometimes one of the Ascended Masters but usually Sananda. I thought of him as holding the Christ Consciousness at a time when I did not have any real connection to Jesus.

I had guidance sessions with Alton but also learned to channel myself with his help and that of Kyeren, who was one of the other women in the original group. I remember the experience of getting the first halting words when I was sufficiently tuned in to hear. This was a very valuable aspect of my growth, because it involves the development of faculties which are normally dormant. After some time I could channel to a small group and convey the words that were being said, but also the feeling that was being sent down; sometimes very intensely.

It was around this time that I had a most important experience. I had been pondering humility and had been looking at where I was in my development compared with some others. I was by myself in a simple meditative state, when I felt a most beautiful loving energy approach me. I knew it was Sananda. Not a word was said, but he just stayed next to me for quite some time. The only way I can describe it, is that he fully saw and acknowledged every aspect of me just as I was. He was seeing me as I was created by God and sharing the seeing with me. As I thought about this later, it was recognizing the inherent magnificence of every being. There was not one shred of ego involved in this. I felt that true humility was not about diminishing yourself (or aggrandizing yourself) but simply seeing the whole you exactly as you are.

This period in the nineties was very rich and intense, and led to the next phase.