A Meditation

Throughout my life I have met people who have become spiritual friends. Some of these have been long personal friendships over years. Others were more brief but quite unforgettable. Spiritual friends are people who share some deep, intuitive connection. I am fortunate to have a number of such friendships and, although we seldom speak of the nature of our relationship I believe that most recognize it.

Through the Bellingham Cancer Center I have been working with a wonderful volunteer who practices a form of healing touch. Elizabeth places me on my back on a comfortable table, provides pillows for comfort, an eye pillow to block light, if I wish, and puts on some soft music to mask noise from outside the treatment room. As I relax my body and mind, she may ask what agendas or goals I have for this session. Then in the gentlest way she will lightly touch me, beginning with my feet and slowly moving to different parts of my body. Last Friday my goal was to integrate my body, mind and spirit.

Healing touch relies, in part on the ancient Eastern ideas of chakras, or energy centers at seven locations on the body. As the session began I used a relaxation technique which works well for me for physical calming. I imagine that my body is sinking into the table beneath me. As the body disappears I move more deeply into meditation.

Throughout this session I was very much at peace and seeking to be open to new information from that realm which is usually clouded by intellect. When Elizabeth touched the area of the heart chakra in the middle of the chest, I suddenly realized that my body seemed no longer sunk into the table but floating. As she moved to the head chakra, the image was that the whole of my being was contained in that small space. And when her hands touched the top of my head, the seventh chakra, I had a surprising insight. I thought "this is the way out". It was as though the physical birth canal was replaced at death by an exit point.

Following the session, Elizabeth pointed out to me that the chakras have been correlated with the seven sacraments of the Christian church. The heart chakra related to the sacrament of matrimony. It was when my relationship with Marilyn was touched that I felt my body floating rather than sinking. The head chakra is related to the sacrament of holy orders or vocation. In my vocation, my whole being seemed to become of a piece. And the last chakra is correlated to the sacrament of extreme unction or dying.

Somehow the images have been very comforting to me. It is as though we begin as biological beings in birth and grow into spiritual beings at death. There seems to be a wonderful process for entry into life and an equally wonderful avenue for exit.

I am grateful to Elizabeth for becoming a spiritual friend on this important part of my dance.