Late yesterday afternoon I received a call from my sister in Canada saying my mother was dying. I had just returned from a swim with Asha and I was planting seeds in trays on the front deck. Symbolic somehow.

My mother only entered the hospital one and a half weeks ago complaining of some abdominal pain near where she's had an operation for a hernia in the top of her stomach in December. She'd been healthy until then. The only pills she was taking when I visited her last September were calcium tablets for osteoporosis. She is 77.

At 2.00am I called the hospital. It was 8.00am there and my sister was able to hold the telephone receiver by my mother's oxygen-mask-covered face. Her voice was weak but she was lucid. We were each able to say the three most important words I know, "I love you." When I called at 6.00am she was sleeping, but I was able to speak with my sister, who had spent the night by my mother's side. I indicated that I would not, at this point, attempt to get flights for the 27 hour journey from New Zealand to Ontario. It's a tough call, but I have been connecting consciously with my mother each night for the last two weeks. Part of me has known something was up.

And now I sit here at 9.30am. The sun is shining, burning off the last of the morning mist. I've been for my walk to the Pa (the lookout) and along the beach. I've rescued a crab which was stranded on low tide, returning it to the wet sand at water's edge where it quickly burrowed in. A White-faced Heron had stalked the shallows of the estuary, in search of breakfast. A kingfisher dive-bombed a passing dog. I returned to the garden to stake some tomatoes and Jerusalem artichokes toppled by a recent storm. I am happy. Nature is my balm. I feel and know I am connected with all beings. I see my mother's imminent passing as part of the continuum of life, as an essential part of the vast tapestry of existence. And I am grateful for the technology that allows me to remain connected by voice with ones I love who are physically so far away.

Excuse me. I've got go and use that technology, the telephone, so that I can once again utter that essential three word phrase, "I love you."

My special guest on this featured Voices from the North program, Butterflies, has been a vegan for nigh on 30 years. She stopped eating meat at the age of 12 when her brother pointed out to her that the thing on the plate in the middle of the table was an animal's tongue. Thus began a lifetime of speaking up for the rights of all of God's creatures and living the vegan lifestyle out of a heartfelt respect for all life. Butterflies has recently published a book of her poetry titled, Metamorphosis: Poems to Inspire Transformation, that is a natural extension of her wish to extend her words into the wider community. It's a beautiful book with beautiful poetry and photos, many from the author herself.

But our talk during this interview recorded in 2007 focused on another book of Butterflies', this one called Incredibly Delicious: Recipes for a New Paradigm. This stunning creation is the result of something like 8 years of research and preparation. It is more than a vegan recipe book; it is jam packed with quotes from respected and renowned characters and authors like Count Leo Tolstoy, Albert Einstein, John Robbins (author of Diet For a New America), Leonardo Da Vinci, the Buddha and George Bernard Shaw-a veritable Who's Who of the vegan/vegetarian movement.

The book, colourfully illustrated, has over five hundred incredibly delicious recipes, many inspired by the years that Butterflies spent as the head chef at the Gentle World vegan restaurant in Maui.

When Butterflies became a vegan, there were very few resources available and little support to make such a paradigm shift in living. Today, there are vegan replacement products available for just about anything you are used to eating that is made up of animal or dairy products.

Listen to this inspiring interview as Butterflies speaks of the wonderful health improvements that came for her and her family and friends when they shifted their eating away from animal products to fruits, grains and vegetables. She even elaborates on the potential benefits of a vegan diet for your dog. How about that?

Butterflies is a regular contributor to the Australian magazine, The Vegan Voice.

I mentioned in a blog not long ago, Nature is My Balm that my mother was dying. The service for her was today and I wrote the following words which were read out on my behalf by my brother-in-law. I know this is intensely personal, but I've decided to share this widely because ultimately we are all part of one big family. The one certainty in life for each of us is that one day we will move on. I don't see this as something to be saddened by. It is a time to celebrate the contribution each of us has made to this world and to wish each of us well on the next stage of the journey. May the following words have as much meaning to you as they've had for me and my family.

First, let me thank you all for being here to remember and to honour a beautiful woman, my mother, Audrey Haines. I know Mom would have appreciated.... Let me rephrase that. I know Mom appreciates the presence of each and every one of you. So do I.

What makes a woman like Audrey so special? It's probably all the little things she did. Added up it becomes a big thing and a worthy contribution to creating a loving world.

I think my mother (and my father) gave a wonderful example of living out their dreams. After Dad's early retirement from the Bell, they travelled each winter in their 5^th wheel trailer, eventually finding a wonderful place outside of Tucson, Arizona to spend the colder months. They took up new crafts. Mom loved the connection she felt with Native American culture and she even made clay pots in the traditional way. She and Dad took over the reigns of their hiking group, regularly leading people on diverse hikes in the stunning mountain scenery around their winter home. They were happy Snowbirds.

When Dad died in 2002, part of Mom died with him. The gap that she felt then was one none of us could adequately fill. Mom continued to live a good life and completed dreams including last year visiting the Panama Canal with Nancy. Mom had wanted to see this magnificent feat of human perseverance and engineering for a long, long time.

When I visited Mom in August and September last year, she was still quite healthy and she was still writing in her journal to Dad every night. He was her rock. She was his anchor. We might say she hadn't let go and moved on. Mom had moved on-to a new way of being. She had created a bridge through her belief and her writing with the other world and she continued to truly communicate with the man she loved despite their residing in different worlds. There is something quite special in this.

It has probably been mentioned already today but at the risk of repetition, on Mom's last day in the Tillsonburg Hospital, she kept repeating, "Home, Jim." I know she was met by Dad when she died and I am genuinely happy that they are truly reunited. There is no more powerful force in the universe than love and that force has brought these two special people together again. May you too realise that they are never further away than your next focused thought.

May we each honour my mother by doing as she did, by each day being a little more loving and by living out our dreams.

God bless.

John

I walked out this morning before 6.00am, bathed in the startling light of a fat platter of a moon hanging boldly over the bay to the west, a moon that had been absolutely full only a few hours before. I don't think I recall the moon ever being brighter. It almost hurt one's eyes to look at it, so intense was its reflection of the sun.

The very first hint of dawn tinged the eastern horizon as I plunged down through overhanging acacias to Mill Bay, so named for the timber mill that saw a few decades of fervent activity before closing its doors almost one hundred years ago. Crickets murmured their haunting angelic melodies from the undergrowth on the roadsides. The lightest drizzle washed my face and head and slightly dampened the shoulders of my jacket.

I turned when I reached the shoreline as is my custom, and began to skip up the hill, delighting in the movement which drew comforting warmth to my fingers and toes on this cool, late summer morning.

The misty rain had stopped by the time I crested the ridge of Rangikapiti Lane. The fat and exultant, haloed moon reflected an extraordinary sum of the sun's light, freed from the temporary clutches of scattered cloud that had obscured it moments before. A dark band of cloud hung heavily over Mangonui, and light rain began to fall as I turned to walk the ridge. Suddenly a full rainbow, devoid of the usual stripes of multi-colored light in the pre-dawn darkness, stretched low across much of the eastern horizon, the top of its arch just nudging the dark, sodden blanket above.

I had never seen this before, and I was filled with the thrill of discovery. My mind cautioned against such feelings, reminding me that it was only the refraction of light through the water vapour from the brilliant full moon. Ignoring these intellectual ruminations, I felt only that childlike wonder that often arises when one is confronted with the magic and amazing beauty of the natural world.

Do you remember the absolute delight that each new experience gave you in your infancy? Do you continue to live with the bubbling joy that is natural when embracing each moment anew? Or is your response tainted by conditioning you've accumulated along life's journey?

The world is an enchanting glade of infinite newness when one abides in a present untouched by the past.

John Haines is the author of In Search of Simplicity: A True Story that Changes Lives.

PS: The image looks nothing like the rainbow I describe above. I just think it's an intriguing picture.

Here's the link to where I found it:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3412/3194963974_3a0c3085a7.jpg

In snooping around the internet for an image for a blog this morning, I came across the following words. There are more than enough links to keep you busy for a long time. Full credit and links to the original website are found at the end of this post. Watch the video. I think you will agree that Jack Haas is a master musician.

"The union of spirit and flesh is the 'one thing' spoken of by Hermes Trismegistus, who was also known as Mercurius, in his Emerald Tablet; it is the aqua vitae and quintessence of Alchemy; it is the Qi of Chinese Qigong; it is the Tao of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu; it is the Mysterious Female and tenuous matter of mystic Taoism; in Hinduism it is represented by Ardhanarisvara, who is the union of Shiva and Shakti, of being and non-being; it is the Great Way into Zen stillness, the Mother Luminosity or Rainbow Body of Dzogchen Buddhism, and the enlightened body of Buddha; it is the Tree of Life, linking Heaven and Earth; it is the  transfiguration of the canononical Gospels, and the 'rapture' of Revelation; it is "of movement, and of rest", as declared by Christ in the Gospel of Thomas, and "The Word become flesh", of the Gospel of John; it is the ascension to unity spoken of in the New Age movement, and it is the eternal OM of the Goddess Lakshmi; it is the foundation of the Kabbalah; it is the unified wave structure of matter, of the new physics, and dark matter of astrophysics; it is the body electric of Walt Whitman, and the body divine. In short, the union of spirit and flesh is the essential component of all progressive cosmologies, for it is the true enlightenment. Historically this 'oneness' has been called advaita (non-dual). However, the non-dualists of history seem to have overlooked the flesh as being part of that oneness, and continually declared that the body, and all matter, were merely illusion. Fortunately humanity is at a point in its evolution where the flesh can be known to be divine, and a new advaita in which emptiness and fullness are one can come into being. For some people there must be a healing of the pain caused by division in order for them to return to the original harmony of the cosmos. The use of Tibetan singing bowls and Crystal singing bowls can assist in the re-union of our harmonic oneness. This eternal unity is well documented by Masaru Emoto, and Helena Blavatsky. One of the key players in this re-union is the Green Man. In traditional Buddhist spirituality this profound unification is known as Maitreya. In Hindu lore this new vibration is known as Kalki. In Taoism this union is practiced by the circulation of the light. Ken Wilber calls it the one taste, which in Tibetan Buddhism is known as Yab-yum. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother spoke of the divine body. It is through this new, and absolute, unity and oneness that the true ascension of Sophia, our cosmic being, occurs. This is when the vibration of flesh is raised into the vibration of spirit, and the vibration of spirit descends into harmony with the flesh. Within this new and holy oneness, nothing shall be alien: matter is mind, will is consciousness, and flesh is now holy ground! A truly Pagan event: the divination of matter has occurred. This unification is the actual intent behind the Christian Eucharist and the Catholic communion; the word 'catholic' means 'universality'- or, that which is without limits. Communion is thus the integration of the body (flesh) and the blood (spirit), of Heaven and Earth, of form and formlessness, of Creator and Created, and of He and She. The Aquarian Age is upon us, and Love is the one and only Law. And, as in the Jeweled Web of Indra- in which the entire cosmos is made of hollow gems, each filled with nothing but the reflection of all other gems- we must now know and feel that separateness is an illusion and we are all actually an interdependent, multidimensional, infinite oneness. Each of us is everything. A great silence. A new vibration. An holistic ascension. This is the Aquarian Awakening into the Cosmic Christ."

Blessings on your journey.

Consciousness is matter. Body is mind. Spirit is flesh.

Everything is everything. Everything is the same thing.

Everything is the same one thing. One. Flesh is now holy ground. Amen.

"The union of spirit and flesh creates a subtle new harmony.

Two unique worlds come together, and through our hearts unite into one.

For it is only in the voice of the flesh, that the song of the spirit is finally sung."

Jack Haas

Purchase art prints or other items containing Jack Haas' visionary digital art at:

http://www.celestial-art.net/

The website where I found this is:

http://www.spiritandflesh.com/index_frame.htm

I have transcribed below a set of affirmations I have used and enjoyed for many years. I received a copy of them from a friend, but I know not the source of the original words. I am posting these affirmations here because I trust that others will derive as much benefit from them as I have. If anyone knows the original source of these words please let me know. I would like to include them in a book on affirmations I am working on and I would like to get permission to use them in print and to acknowledge the source.

I am a clear and open channel for divine power and love.

I am perfect just as I am.

I now stop judging myself and others for what simply is.

Every individual is on their own particular path of self realization and our experience is a reflection of this.

I am relaxed, confident and efficient.

I am completely safe.

There is nothing to fear.

Therefore, I fear nothing or no one.

I accept and love everyone and everything as it is - and everyone accepts and loves me as I am.

I now stop holding back and stifling my feelings.

I now allow all my feelings to flow freely.

Everything works out exactly as it should for everyone concerned.

Therefore I need not worry about the past, the present or the future.

I trust implicitly the process of life.

The universe never lets me down.

My intuition never fails me.

I am always guided in my thoughts and actions.

Every moment I am fulfilling my destiny.

Life is for me a joyous - loving - exciting - learning - growing - forever journey.

And I am forever (I use ‘eternally' instead of ‘forever' here) grateful.

Yesterday, beginning at the unusual time of 4.15 am I was interviewed by Mike Meier of the syndicated radio show, The Morning X. It was a more civilized time for Mike in Michigan-11.15 am the day before! We spoke for more than half an hour about my journey In Search of Simplicity. When I mentioned that the simple villagers I spent significant portions of time with in the 1980s-the  Hunzas of Northern Pakistan and the Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea-would  be unaffected by the current economic crisis, Mike countered with the comment that the Amish in his area of Michigan were the same. When approached about their feelings about the money situation in the world they would typically respond, "Financial crisis? What financial crisis?" I then corroborated his views with my experiences each time I visit southern Ontario. The Mennonites living there would also be virtually immune to the situation we presently find ourselves in. I love taking a drive through the areas in which they live without cars and electricity. Some bring produce to the farmers markets in their horse drawn buggies. Their fruits and vegetables are always of the finest organic quality.

Why do I write this? Because I think we can all learn from these examples. We don't need to return strictly to the ways of our pasts, but any of us can grow some food in a little garden. Even apartment dwellers can plant garlic, onions, lentils and buckwheat in pots for living greens to enhance their salads. I learned years ago that I don't need to grow all of our food, but there is tremendous satisfaction (and very real health benefits) in growing some of one's food organically. Get planting! For more on this check out what Gaia member Lee O'Hara has to say at http://www.organichomegardener.com/.

Happy gardening.

Here's the link to the interview I had on Morning X, Friday, March 20, 2009 beginning at 11.15 am: http://www.stickam.com/viewMedia.do?mId=183242782. Mike and I begin our discussion about 5 minutes into this segment. Enjoy.