Thoughts at the end of the first decade of the new Millennium…
As the end of 2009 approaches, causing me to reflect on the past ten years of experience and eventual emergence from a ‘die before you die’ death experience which began in 1997 and culminated in 2001, I am resonant with the insightful thoughts of Teresa of Avila , when she was considering the twenty plus years she journeyed in order to “become established” in God… “On the one hand I felt the call of God; on the other, I continued to follow the world. All the things of God gave me great pleasure, but I was held captive by those of the world. I might have been said to be trying to reconcile these two extremes, to bring contraries together: the spiritual life on the one hand and worldly satisfactions, pleasures, and pastimes on the other.” This little Spanish girl evolved into a remarkably spiritual woman. As a girl she could say passionately, "I want something that will last forever!" She became one of the world's greatest mystics. In order to progress and evolve in