WE ALL DIE....

The last several days, I've experienced a series of insights...if you will. For background, you need to know that in February 2009 I spent three days in the hospital being treated for a clot in my heart. At that time the doctor....not the most sympathetic, or empathic man, for that matter, I have ever met.... informed me and my children that I had a 50% chance of living one year.

To say that I was shocked is an understatement.

I had always enjoyed remarkably fine health, exercising daily, and generally living a highly active life. Suddenly, all of that changed.

COMING TO TERMS WITH DEATH

Coming to terms with one's mortality, I can assure you, does not happen in the blink of an eye. When my daughter, a minister at Ananda Spiritual Community in California, suggested I had best take a look at my fourth chakra, the heart chakra, I knew she was absolutely correct. I honestly could not say that I held any anger or intense resentments about any thing or any one, but I promised to reflect on it further. Maybe I would become aware of something I had overlooked, someone I had unfairly judged.

For the past twenty-two months, I have lived with the awareness that death might be lurking around the very next corner, always puzzling what it all means spiritually. And yet, let me hasten to say, my heart has improved significantly. When I was in the hospital, my heart was pumping at 18% of capacity....when it hit 35% of capacity six months later, I was elated...I'd been told it would never get that good again. And just a couple months ago, I learned that my heart now pumps at 65% of capacity....which is considered very fine and quite normal, thank you!

Still, I have an obstruction in the right muscle....or sometimes they say a blockage in the heart....it can be pretty confusing. And I haven't really figured out what's going on with my heart chakra.

JOURNEYING EAST, CONVERSATIONS ON AGING AND DYING

Recently, I found a book, Journeying East, Conversations on Aging and Dying (books.google.com/books) by Victoria Jean Dimidjian, published by Parallax Press in 2004. In it, she interviews nine spiritual leaders, mostly Zen practitioners. Rodney Smith, Seattle Insight Meditation Society, concludes his interview “On Living and Dying Without Pretension” with the following: “Thinking in terms of time, living in terms of time is the very blockage of the heart.”

And, serendipitously, it seemed, all at once my world shifted....living with the awareness of death for the past twenty-two months is my spiritual path....everything and every one shares impermanence. And, if I can live in openness, with a sense of the eternal all round, even the obstruction of my heart metaphorically, spiritually, and physically may mend itself.

WELCOME TO KNOWING WOMAN - INTRODUCTION

Hi. Thanks for clicking over to my blog.

My name is Jo Garceau. Two years ago, when I was seventy-six, I published a book, Knowing Woman, Nurturing the Feminine Soul. A number of readers requested that I expand on the ideas I wrote about, and especially to share my reflections on spirituality, heart health, shamanic astrology, growing older, and current issues.

Allow me to introduce myself: raised Roman Catholic in the 1930's, I married and had four children, three sons and a daughter. When I was thirty, I began to volunteer in politics. One thing led to another and after running political campaigns in Washington State, in 1969, I became assistant to the governor. After leaving government, I worked as a part time campus minister at The Evergreen State College while enrolled at a seminary offering an off campus degree. Later, armed with my new Master's in Human Values, I spent eight years in an ashram in California (more in the book, much more!) and have been meditating since the early 70's. Spirituality is the focus of my life.

My youngest son, Greg, and I share an apartment in Vancouver, Washington. Another son, Paul, lives in Portland and is single. My daughter, Suzanne, has lived at Ananda ashram in central California with her husband and four children for many years. Two of my grandsons are away from home, one at college and the other looking for work in Seattle. My fourth child, Warren, recently moved to Provo, Utah to continue drama studies.

I an a Shamanic Astrologer with a Gemini 10th house, which means I am eclectic about my work and like to stay involved. Before I retired as a customer service agent, I started a tiny business that does many things. Sometimes one area is "hot" and another cold and so I manage to make a little income one way or another... I read astrological charts in person and by phone, including for clients overseas. I book appointments for my teacher, Daniel Giamario (see shamanicastrology.com...I am listed there too), sell books over the internet, sell my own books directly, and work one day a week at a local metaphysics store, Celestial Awakenings....

In February 2009 I suddenly learned that I have what I prefer to call a "heart issue"....apparently not a heart attack, but arrhythmia and a serious blood clot. My first doctor coolly delivered his opinion: "You have a fifty percent chance of living one year." Perhaps the best description of my condition is congestive heart failure. By combining alternative and regular medications and disciplines I have recovered significantly in the past 21 months. I currently attend Qigong classes twice a week and swim at least once a week, and know I should do more. The medications have slowed me down and I limp a bit, and it is hard to walk as I used to. I wear a pedometer to measure my daily activity.

Over the past two years, I have offered discussion groups on Knowing Woman and on the astrological Turning of the Ages. A couple weeks ago, I began offering a free weekly meditation and conversation. So far, people seem pleased.

I want this blog to be interactive. Your comments, questions and suggestions are important to me. Please introduce yourself, and let me know what you are thinking about, what you would like to know and what you are doing. Together, we can build a community of wise women and men.