May is the month we officially honor mothers. Personally, I look back with gratitude at the women who came before me. I was blessed with a loving mother and strong grandmothers. Their cultures differed, but their struggles and strengths were similar.
Gramma and Grandpa Rojas, 1940’s
Gramma Rose, born as the daughter of a doctor in Mexico, expected a life of social status and privilege. Instead, she was orphaned young, moved to Colorado and developed fortitude living in cramped quarters with her older brother’s family. Her character was further honed through a stressful marriage to my grandfather and the six children that followed.
Nana Betty was born in Illinois, the daughter of Norwegian immigrants. Her romantic, roaring 20’s exuberance led to a teenage marriage to handsome, dark-haired Ed, my grandfather. At sixteen, she gave birth to my mother, Gloria, followed by the birth of my Uncle Eddy the next year. By the time she was twenty, the Great Depression had cast darkness across the nation. Burdened with two children and a husband struggling to keep food on the table, her girlish dreams had turned into harsh realities.
Nana Betty Bennett
Ultimately, after World War II, both women encouraged their husbands to leave their respective states and follow the dream of California. Neither knew what might lay ahead in the Golden State, but they had the courage to sell off their belongings and head West for a better life.
I once asked my Gramma Rose how she and Grandpa had the courage to leave their family and friends in Colorado. She shrugged and said with a smile, “Loco.”
Nana told me her mother cried and cried when the family had stopped by for a last goodbye before driving toward Highway 66.
“Why are you crying?” Nana asked.
Her mother replied, “Because I’ll never see you again.”
At the time, Nana thought her mother was being ridiculous. But, as it turned out, her mother was right. There were phone calls, but never another time together. Never another hug or shared meal.
Nana Betty and Gramma Rose have both been gone over twenty years now. Yet, I can hear them in my mind, recall poignant and bittersweet conversations. They are just two of the countless generations of women before me who carried on despite dashed dreams the best they could, with the opportunities that came their way.
This meditation is dedicated to them and to all the mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and on and on and on……
Healing the Feminine Ancestral Soul will also be available in the Sleep Meditations Page.
On this Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, I dedicate this post to Pope Francis, who passed away early Monday morning. He was keenly aware of the fragility of this planet and its inhabitants. He admonished us to change our ways of consuming destruction to conservation and preservation.
Though I’m not widely traveled, I’ve been blessed to live in vastly different environments. I was raised in the mild climate of Southern California, then lived thirty years in Oklahoma, where “the wind comes sweeping down the plain.” Later, I enjoyed the Spirit of Aloha for six years in the Hawaiian Islands. Currently, I find myself nestled beneath the protective arms of the redwoods in Northern California.
Now in my 70th year, I love Planet Earth more than ever–the sounds of creatures, whipping winds in branches, scents of roses, herbs and cut grass. And oh, the sights I’ve seen–majestic volcanic hills and miniscule shiny beetles. I’ve stood awestruck under the starry Hawaiian night sky, and huddled–praying–in an Oklahoma basement for the tornado to pass us by. Gaia energy rippled through me while swimming Hawaiian white-capped waves, jolted me through California earthquakes, and startled me as thunder crashed and lightning lit the Oklahoma skies.
Oh, what a wonderful world! And, how I want my grandchildren to thrive and bask in the beauty of nature. The Earth can be exploited, trashed, and destroyed. Or it can be protected, valued, and preserved. Each of us can make a small difference; collectively we can make a huge difference for the future of the planet. Or is it too late?
Well, I’m an optimist and a woman of faith. I believe there’s hope for the old girl, Mother Earth, yet. I’ve created this meditation to support and honor the planet.
Join me this Earth Day in honoring Pope Francis’ legacy to create a vibrant home for all creatures of the earth for generations to come.
As he points out, the pandemic brought the reality of death into heightened awareness for a society that had learned to take longevity for granted and consigned dying to hospitals and nursing homes, far away from daily life. Mike has been exploring Out-of-Body Experiences (OBE) since 1987. He’s come to understand that consciousness goes on beyond human body habitation. One of his life purposes is to be work with Retrievals, which helps souls lost or “stuck” in lower dimensions, aka the bardo in Buddhism, purgatory in Catholicism, or simply “limbo” in secular terms.
A large section of the book relates many of Mike’s Out-of-Body Experiences as he might have written them in a personal journey. They reveal a much more complex Afterlife than simply heaven or hell. Some spirits stay earth bound, while others reside for a while in other lower frequency dimensions, often in “Consensus Realities,” not so different from earthly societies. Mike’s astral body travels these lower realms as an explorer and also as a helper for the lost souls needing assistance going to the Light.
Other sections of the book offer insights into the value of having a “good death” for a soul to go directly to higher realms. He also declares reincarnation is as real as gravity on Planet Earth. It’s the way life works.
How to Have a Good Life After You’re Dead is a very interesting addition to the growing lexicon of books on other dimensions beyond the human 3-D reality. The phrase we are spirits having a human experience seems to be gaining more credibility all the time. Mike Marable shows us that death is merely a transition into another existence and that life goes on and on and on.
