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Elisabeth Kübler-Ross wrote that the near-death experience is often "a spiritual, sacred experience, which leaves the person profoundly transformed." 22 Such was the case for me, as I found I had received a calling to be a healer from my illuminating experience. Although I did not consciously choose this way of life on my own accord, this mission does give purpose and direction to my life. However, it has not been easy to feel compelled to practice something that is not only not understood, but is often ridiculed, or condemned for being offensive to someone else's religious or scientific beliefs.
The most difficult part has been accepting the difference between who I am and the person that others expect someone with a gift for spiritual healing to be. I have come to believe that this is, in fact, the most important part of the calling. It has shown me, at least, that revelations of God as an overwhelming feeling of love occur to ordinary people who ask for help. It demonstrates our enduring connected nature, despite our ignorance, or refusal to believe it. It shows, as does remote viewing, that we are all capable of higher sense perceptions. Further, it invites us to act responsibly, by cultivating an awareness of our inherent connection to each other, and connection to a transcendent, unifying intelligence. It has taken me many years to grow into these beliefs, as well as into the practice of healing.
I left Asia in 1974 in hurried confusion, and returned home to Seattle. On my first day back, I was "coincidentally" drawn to walk by a Quest bookstore, which specializes in books published by the Theosophical Society. Since the founding of the Theosophical Society in New York City in 1875, the primary mission of that international organization has been, "To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science; to investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man; and to form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color."
Theosophy incorporates the idea that we live in an ordered universe in which consciousness is evolving, and in which humans have an innate purposeful drive to develop and expand their spiritual awareness. This philosophical system teaches that knowledge and experience of a transcendent

 
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