diagnosed and she couldn ’ t decide whether to go the radiation and chemo route , he suggested she fly down to Tulum , Mexico , and meditate with the ancients . You will come home with clarity , he said . And she did . “ I would rather have quality of life , not quantity ,” she said . No drugs .
He put her on a strict diet of no sugar ( cancer , he says , thrives on sugar ) no dairy , no wheat . And after many other alternative remedies , within two years two of the tumors disappeared completely and the third one had shrunk considerably . With her lifeforce renewed , she had energy for her ten grandchildren , her many friends , and her painting .
She published a book , went on a book signing tour , did readings and kept her job as a successful nondenominational minister . Last year when she turned 84 , the tumor that hadn ’ t quite disappeared began growing again . She was experiencing severe pain and her doctor asked her what she wanted to do this time . She said , “ I think I want to eat whatever I want and have as much joy with the time I have left .” Family members and friends had lists of ideas and doctors and protocols , arguments about why she should stay with us as long as there was a possibility of her survival .
Her response was , I ’ m done with this part of my journey . I ’ ve had an amazing life . My kids are all settled . My grandkids have been launched . I have no outstanding issues , no unresolved story lines , no unfinished business . I feel complete and at peace .
I kept quiet . Because her argument was hard to argue with .
My sister and I FaceTime almost every day and it has been fun watching her savor her beloved croissant with gobs of the forbidden cream cheese , listen to her describe the delicious red lentil soup she made that morning , read me a poem she had written years ago that she had just found in her files . She calls me late at night animated about a film they just finished watching . You have to get it , she says , it ’ s on Netflix .
Is this the profile of a person who ’ s going to die in three weeks ?
How are you doing , my husband asks me . How am I doing ? It ’ s the question I keep asking myself . If my sister were lying in bed , weak and weeping I ’ d be getting on a plane , sobbing in public and jumping into bed with her . But she ’ s as alive as anyone .
I ’ m reading a book by Deepak Chopra , a pioneer of integrative medicine . In “ Metahuman ,” he says we go way beyond our physical selves , that our bodies are an information construct , that we don ’ t stop at the barrier of our skin . He writes that we have no boundary , that we are constantly emitting heat and a mild electrical charge that is part of universal fields that extend into infinity . So wait . Does this mean if she dies she actually does continue on ?
I have believed in reincarnation for fortyfive years , since I first began reading and listening to Eastern spiritual teachers .
So , of course if she dies she continues on . But I was okay with reincarnation in theory . Am I okay with it in practice ?
Eckhart Tolle , another great teacher , says death is just going from form to
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