What is Death?

The following is an excerpt from The God Dichotomy: Letting Go from a chapter called "The Death of Malachi."

I found myself sitting on the marble bench waiting for Teacher to arrive. Teacher's energy arrived well before his essence as my smiling guide sat beside me. "How are you and what

can I help you with?"

"I just saw Malachi die," my voice trailing off with a hint of sadness.

"Lo hayah mavet me-olam."

"What? I don't understand."

"Lo hayah mavet me-olam. Death has never existed."

" How can death never exist when I just saw Malachi disappear

beneath the waters of the Gulf of Mexico," I protested.

"It wasn't a death, it was a resurrection," Teacher corrected.

"A resurrection? Doesn't one have to die before one can be

resurrected?" I asked.

"I don't think you fully grasp the meaning of resurrection nor do

you understand the concept of death," Teacher began.

"I guess I don't. Please explain it to me."

Teacher thought for a minute before beginning. "Lo hayeh mavet

me-olam comes from Rabbi David Coopers book God is a Verb and

translated it means death has never existed. God is eternal, immortal

and is connected to all things. If any connection to God ever dies it

would imply God was mortal, and the God Energy can never be mortal

and immortal at the same time. It's a dichotomy which cannot exist."

"So what is death then?" I interrupted.

"Death is a resurrection."

"But to resurrect, one first needs to die," I asked, totally perplexed.

"Jesus was the great example of what resurrection really means.

Unfortunately people remember his death on the cross and then

speaking to Mary Magdalene in the garden with the stone removed

from his tomb. So it was easy to assume his resurrection meant an

overcoming of death and returning to the world of the living. While

it is certainly possible, the real resurrection, however, happens

within consciousness. Resurrection is simply an emergence of a new

consciousness. As Rabbi Cooper stated, 'Resurrection is the heralding

of a new era, a transformation into a consciousness previously unknown

in which reality undergoes a profound change.' Jesus entered a new

level of consciousness, one not requiring a physical body."

"But he did appear in body to his disciples," I interrupted again.

"Yes, but it was not the same body which died on the cross; it was

an enlightened body illumined by Love. Remember, Mary and his

disciples didn't recognize him at first. His message was not that we

can emerge from the throes of death, but death is a gateway to a higher

state of consciousness. One cannot attain a higher consciousness

without letting go of what is holding them back. For humans it means

letting go of ego."

"And how do we do that?" I asked.

"Very few people can. The physical body was designed for a limited

existence. Once the body ceases to function, so does the ego and people

are resurrected to a higher consciousness, the state of enlightenment.

Remember the book Power vs. Force by David Hawkins?"

"Yes."

"Remember the levels of consciousness he described and how you

came to measure your parents' consciousness level at the time of their

deaths?"

"I remember."

"What was their consciousness level?" Teacher asked.

"As I remember, it was well over 600, approaching enlightenment,"

I replied.

"Exactly."

"So what you're saying is when we die we become enlightened?"

"Correct! Death is a gateway to a higher consciousness. But one

cannot embrace a higher consciousness without discarding the robe

of the ego. Most people are unable to shed this robe during their

lifetime. Physical death releases the conscious soul from the prison

of the physical body while, at the same time, overcoming the needs of

the ego. It truly is a resurrection, just not the type you're thinking of."

"If Jesus entered a higher consciousness even though he was already

enlightened, are there levels of enlightenment? I asked.

"Oh yes! Just because you've become enlightened doesn't mean you

attain God Consciousness. Resurrection is an ongoing process until

one reaches Divine Consciousness, where the true Oneness exists. The

Kybalion states the following:

'Death is not real even in the Relative sense - it is but Birth

to a new life - and You shall go on, and on, and on, to higher

and still higher planes of life, for aeons upon aeons of time.

The Universe is your home, and you shall explore its farthest

recesses before the end of Time. You are dwelling in the Infinite

Mind of The All, and your possibilities and opportunities are

infinite, both in time and space. And at the end of the Grand

Cycle of Aeons, when The All shall draw back into itself

all of its creations - you will go gladly, for you will then be

able to know the Whole Truth of being At One with The All.'

"This is one of the great Hermetic Teachings."

We sat on the marble bench for a while, me rethinking what I just

heard and Teacher, I'm sure, waiting patiently for further questions. "I

guess I need some further insight about consciousness."

"Let me leave you with this thought," Teacher began, "going back

to Rabbi Cooper and God is a Verb, he states:

"God is not what we think It is. God is not a thing, a being,

a noun. It does not exist, as existence is defined, for It takes

up no space and is not bound by time...(It) includes every

attribute but cannot be defined by any of them individually

or all of them combined...We have given a name to the

Unknown and Unknowable and then have spent endless time

trying to know it."

"There is no science," I began, "that can identify God. There is no

philosophy that can define God. God cannot be explained, God can

only be experienced."

"That pretty much sums it up," Teacher smiled as we embraced in

a parting good-bye.