Spiritual Estate Planning – Part Two

Read Part One of this article here.

By Elisa Novick

We are all going to “shuffle off this mortal coil.” Even those masters who are purported to have appeared to their disciples after they died had a physical death first.

When I asked about this topic, I received this:

You came forth with this idea that you were going to live forever and then was disappointed that it would not be so. This is a shared destiny and a shared thoughtform of those who incarnate on this earth — that it is somehow shameful to die or leave this platform for another. How this came into being had nothing to do with that. It had to do with recycling quickly in order to learn more. Something as transparent as that has been thought of — that the quickness of the return was designed for maximum learning and there is nothing terrible in that.

This fear that all will be lost is an unfortunate consequence of the soul’s need not to conflate all the happenings at once, but to string them out in time and to make some sort of orderly progression from one topic to another. It makes the plan into a sharp shard, one that cuts through to another and another and another lifetime, so fast that you can put it all together into a convenient learning package. That sounds cold compared to all of the emotionality associated with coming into a life and leaving it behind, but that is the truth and simplicity of it.

No one here will go through anything that has not been considered and planned in intricate detail, including all the alternatives, as decisions are made and choices found and tried and discarded. All of the benevolence you associate with this system is true and much more. So giving away the earthly goods at the end of the lifetime can be a joyous occasion as can be the sharing of the learnings and wisdom that have been brought into being through your gift of intelligence and all of the mishaps you have suffered or overcome.

Come to this joyfully and you will be in good stead with the plan and purpose of this world.
–The Inner Master

What if we took another view of life? What if life were a precious project that some essential part of us undertakes intentionally? A project has purpose and certain actions that are taken to fulfill that purpose, and parameters by which we decide that the purpose has been fulfilled and the project completed.

You might say, “How do I know what the purpose of my life is?” People flock to therapists, ministers, spiritual teachers and psychics to try to find out what their purpose is. Others never think about it at all; they are too busy living their lives to think about them. Yet if you take a bird’s-eye view of your life — what has motivated you, what you have been trying to achieve, and the results — an underlying purpose can appear, shining through.

Sometimes it is to accomplish a certain action in the world, but often it is a lesson, like learning how to love, or find balance or inner strength, or participate in and experience life fully. We have incompletions from previous actions that need to be handled. And unless you came into this lifetime to rest, which some have, there is a sense of a desire for some kind of progression — an improvement or expansion on what has gone before.

Once you have an idea of your purpose, you might evaluate how you are doing with it. (Notice that I use the term “evaluate” rather than “judge.” Our innate desire for perfection can lead us to pain when we judge ourselves.) If you knew that you were going to live only two more months or two years or 20 years, would you still do what you are doing in the way you are doing it? Or would you change to be sure you did what you needed to do to fulfill your purpose?

As a spiritual counselor I have worked with people to assist them in aligning their lives with their purpose and completing their goals, and in loving themselves and forgiving their judgments so that when they get to the end of their time, there is a sense of completion and peace. Many are “last timers,” meaning this is their last embodiment on Earth, which can mean a lot of mop-up, clean-up to do. It is difficult to die when there are unresolved conflicts, unforgiven judgments, unkept agreements, and unspoken feelings; all certain return tickets.

It is also hard to die when the people around you cannot let you go. I once worked with a family in which the aged mother was dying of cancer. The doctors had given up trying to treat her, and when the family ran out of money they sent her home from the hospital to die. Yet she had not died. She was lingering, causing untold hardship to everyone, month after month.

The entire family was pretending and reassuring her that she was going to get better — that the doctors would come up with something. When I spoke with her privately, she said that she felt complete and was satisfied with her life and wanted to die, but she didn’t think her family could manage without her or handle her death. When I spoke with her family, they said they felt ready to let her go, but they were ashamed to tell her because it might hurt her feelings. I suggested that they share their feelings honestly with each other. It was a moving and beautiful meeting. Two weeks later she died peacefully.

Is it possible that if we shift our view of life to encompass successful completion with loving, open communication, we can spare ourselves and those we love much pain and confusion and fear, and create a wondrous transition into whatever our next steps may be? We may not be able to completely avoid the grief of parting, but we may be able to find joy in a life completed in peace.

To listen to and read past conversations with Elisa Novick on Planet Waves, plus her articles, please use this link. You’re invited to visit her website and Facebook page to view more photos of Bali and leave comments.

Elisa Novick, MSS does profound work as a healer, teacher, counselor, coach, minister, and facilitator of workshops and trainings in personal, professional, and spiritual development. She can assist you to clear personal, karmic and genetic patterns that have limited you and teach you exquisite attunement skills so you can become the magnificent master of life and Light that all of us are destined to be. Elisa has been assisting people in their growth since 1982 through her counseling practice and in facilitating over 1,000 workshops in holistic health, human development, family constellation, systemic constellation, organizational dynamics, planetary healing and spiritual awareness. You may email her directly at elisanovick [at] thrivingplanet [dot] org.