Leaving the Shell

A Guided Christian Meditation for the Dying

Bring your attention to your breathing. Feel the air entering your lungs. Feel the air leaving your lungs. For so many years, the air moved in and out of you. But the air didn’t give you life. I gave you life. I gave you life before your breaths, and I will give you life after they have ended.

I was there for you when you began this form of existence. I am here for you now, as you let this form of existence go. 

Soon you will move out of the shell you have lived in for so long. You couldn’t imagine life outside the shell. But soon you will be joining me. 

Inside the shell, you see so little. You are so dependent on your limited brain. You perceive only those things your limited brain can perceive. And the brain perceives such a tiny fraction of what is. Leaving the shell, you will no longer be constrained. You will be open to possibilities and experiences the brain could never have imagined.

Outside the shell, you will discover true freedom. You will see everything as it really is. And what it is is love. That is what awaits you, the reality, the full splendor of love. Love without boundaries. Love without end. We are all pure love. You will see that soon. You will enter into this ocean of love. You will be without boundaries. You will be without end. 

When you are ready. 

You may be feeling some fear. I understand that. It is natural to feel fear of the unknown. But it isn’t really unknown. You have already experienced it, in fleeting moments. Remember looking into the night sky. It is so vast. It is endless. It is beautiful in its stillness. Remember looking out over the ocean. It is so immense. Everything comes together in the ocean. That is what it is like. It is like the night sky and the ocean. And so much more.

And you won’t be alone, just as you aren’t alone now. I will be there for you. I will take you into my arms and guide you. I won’t leave you alone for an instant. I have never left you alone and I never will. Because I am just like you. We are both love. And love calls out to love, and love responds.

For now, your love is constrained by that shell. You don’t need that shell anymore. It has served its purpose. It has allowed you to experience. Remember when you were a child, playing in the snow? Remember your first kiss? Remember having children? You needed the shell. It allowed you to have those experiences. Now you have those memories. You will always have those memories. They are part of the love that is the real you. They aren’t owned by the shell. You don’t need the shell. It no longer serves you. Now it only holds you back.

Soon, you will be free. Freer than you could have imagined. As free as those snowflakes drifting in the wind. As free as those stars in the sky. As free as love unbounded and unconstrained. As free as freedom itself.

Your shell is collapsing. It won’t last much longer. That’s the way things are meant to be. You don’t need it anymore. Whenever you are ready, just walk through it, into my arms. It will be so wonderful to be together. There is so much I want to show you.

Let go of your fear. Let go of your breaths. Let go of your shell. You have done this before. Do you remember now? I was there for you then, and I’m here for you now.

Take my hand. Follow me. Leave the shell where you found it.

And be free.

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Spiritual questions:

• Are you ready for death?
• Have you accepted the inevitability of death?
• How do you think it will feel to be free?
• Is there anything left undone?

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This is one of the Parables for the Spiritual but not Religious Series.

July 27, 2019 - This was written with the Roundhouse Writing Group in Santa Cruz, Guatemala, remotely from Guanajuato, Mexico. The writing prompt for the session was: Focus on your breathing.

The photograph of the egg shell is by Jo Naylor and made available through Flickr and Creative Commons, some rights may be reserved.

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