Día De Los Muertos

Yesterday, to prepare for today's Dia De Los Muertos ceremony, I made a pencil sketch of my Uncle who passed away about 7 years ago. He was a super important figure in my life who taught me at a young age all about the healing power of music and the breath. As I was doing this drawing, I was pleased to notice a small meditation bell sitting next to him on the log as he played the wooden flute he gifted me the last time I saw him. During our final conversation, he also told me the secret of how he came to change his name, which ultimately led to me taking on Glen as an additional first name for myself. We were very closely connected, and the older I get, the more similarities I find between us.

Last night during sitting meditation, I felt a sort of warm buzzing energy and breathed into it a few times. It almost felt like great big arms wrapped around me in a hug, so I asked silently "Uncle, is that you? If so, show me; please, give me some sort of sign." Seconds later, there was this weird foreign noise in the meditation hall: a sound you might hear from an old radio trying to find the right station. My roommates told me afterwards that they heard it too and thought it sounded like some kind of electrical interference in their neighbor's hearing aid. Whatever it was, the timing and the energy behind it were... wow! That was really something.

This morning, we all went back to the meditation hall for a 45 minute sit before the Day of Mindfulness folks came to visit. I've always struggled with sitting cross-legged more than about 25 or 30 minutes and always have to adjust my legs at least a few times when we do 45 minute sessions. This morning though, I started with some body scanning and a 12-color meditation Uncle taught me a long time ago until the pain in my legs started to get kind of intense. Instead of shifting positions, I thought it might be time to call in a favor: I got as far as "Dear Uncle," and WOOSH! My entire body felt as though I was being dipped into a cocoon of warm light and healing energy, buzzing intensely all around every part of my body. It was a beautiful feeling so I kept breathing with the intention of holding on to it as long as I could. I remember Uncle describing that very sensation to me once during a conversation on quantum healing, but I can't say I've ever held it so strongly, so I'm pretty sure I wasn't holding it myself... When I heard the bell sound to end meditation, my legs were barely sore (usually they'd be totally numb and in a good amount of pain, and my toes (which always need to crack) did not need to crack at all. I was shocked.

I'm so glad I'm here, and I'm so glad Uncle's spirit decided to show up here with me too. The beauty, the mystery, the gratitude... what an amazing gift.

May you and all your relations be well in this life and afterwards 🙏❤️