What happens on the other side of death, and desirable ways to approach this journey, are matters much too important to take on trust from others. We need first-hand experience, and we got plenty of it in my Death workshop in Ann Arbor over the weekend - including a delightful account of what carry-on bags you might be allowed to take with you on a flight to the other side. The title of this workshop is "Making Death Your Ally: Shamanic Approaches to Death, Dying and the Afterlife". Some of the itineraries we follow, and some of the depth experiences of those what have followed these trails in the past, are reported in my book Dreamgates.
In a series of shamanic journeys, powered by drumming, I asked the dreamers in our circle to check out various departure lounges for a journey to meet people who are living on the other side of physical death and to explore conditions in the afterlife. We experimented with a crossing by water, a transit through fire, with entering the embrace of the Great Mother, with traveling on a beam of light and longing from the opened heart, with taking off from a very special airport or another place of ascent to seek the beloved of the soul in a higher realm.
I love fresh experiences that expand our understanding of multidimensional reality and how to move back and forth between adjacent worlds. In my own prior journeys, I had been to a location I call the Silver Airport, where travelers to the Other Side are offered a number of travel options but can't get through security until they have left all their luggage behind. In one of my visits to the Silver Airport, I saw bags being placed on a carousel that took them into the mouth of a fiery furnace, where they were consumed.
A man named Bill in the Ann Arbor workshop had an experience on his arrival at this kind of airport that we all found fresh, entertaining and inspiring. He arrived at the airport in a black town car. When the trunk was opened, he found he had an incredible amount of luggage. Bag after bag came out, much more stuff than could possibly fit in any trunk. He was told he could take none of this with him. All this luggage must be left behind, and would be destroyed.
He was allowed to take only two carry-ons. They were tagged “Love” and “Wisdom”. He opened these carry-on bags and found they were vastly bigger inside than out. There was room for anything and everything that mattered.
Drawing by RM: "Getting My Wings Out of the Luggage"
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