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| The Heroic Journal
Living Your Resilient Life
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Welcome to another edition of The Heroic Journal. For new subscribers, we focus on the real life stories that helped individuals, communities and businesses get through great life challenges. Please join us the next few months as we interview people who have experienced a near-death experience, a job loss and retirement, a business which recreated itself and is thriving, even in a difficult economic season.
If you are anyone you know is interested in writing and submitting a story or in being interviewed for a story, please contact Missy Bradley at heroicjourney@comcast.net
Thank you for your interest. |
| "Do you want to go forward or go back..." : My Near-Death Story |
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By Henry W. Smiley
Millions of people have had near-death experiences. In 1975, Dr. Raymond Moody's best-selling book entitled 'Life After Life' focused public attention on the near-death experience on a much larger scale than ever before. It was Moody who actually coined the term "near-death experience."
My story unfolded the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 26, 1993. Late that day, my wife, Katy, our thirteen month-old daughter, Hannah, and I packed the car to make the 3 hour drive to visit with some friends for the weekend. I was exhausted from a very demanding week, so after our arrival I spent a little time in conversation with our hosts and promptly went to bed around 10:00 pm.
Around 1:30 am, Hannah began to cry - her usual 'it's time to feed me' refrain. I stumbled out of bed to find the kitchen so I could retrieve some milk for her. The layout of the house was such that there was an open flight of stairs off the kitchen that led downward to the basement. I was unable to find the light switch in the kitchen so I just fumbled my way to the refrigerator, got a bottle of milk and heated it for a few moments. En route back to Hannah, the only point of light I could see was that coming from the bedroom. Still groggy, not fully awake, I simply headed straight for the light and failed to see the unguarded opening of the stairwell. I stepped into the open stairwell, tumbled down 17 stairs, ending up unconscious at the base of the stairs. My head was pressed up against a wall that was directly across from the bottom stem and my feet were pointed up the stairs, on the bottom step.
Katy tells me that she heard the noise of my fall, and rushed to the kitchen. The kitchen was empty, so she turned to look elsewhere and saw something white at the bottom of the stairs. She could not find the light switch either, so she called upstairs to our host for some help. The lights were on, and they found me at the bottom of the stairs, unresponsive. Katy said that my neck was turned at a very odd angle.
The next five hours are, for the most part, not retrievable in my memory. Katy said I became conscious after a few minutes of her attempting to roust me. She said I then walked back up the stairs and asked questions, one after the other. I had no idea where we were or how we got there. Nothing made any sense to me whatsoever. It was clear that I could not grasp reality as I had known it.
At some point during the next five hours, I found myself in the presence of my guardian angel and another entity that was responsible to escort me to the next 'level', post this earthly life. I did not see the widely reported tunnel of light. I had no sense of a physical body, but I was fully aware in a surreal kind of way. My guardian angel and the accompanying escort possessed no human outline - each appeared in the form of an oval of bright light. There was no sense of concern of any kind and I was completely at peace.
My guardian angel spoke to my new consciousness in a feminine voice. This is the sum of the dialogue that I returned to full consciousness with:
Angel: "Do you want to go forward or go back?"
H: (I remember pausing for a moment before I answered her inquiry.)
I said, "I have no fear of going forward, but, I have a daughter and I would like to go back and be a father to her."
Angel: "Your wife and daughter will be fine if you do wish to go back."
H: (Another brief pause)... "Well, if you're giving me the option of choosing, I would like to go back and be a father to my daughter."
Angel: "Very well, you may go back. Just know that you'll have to deal with the trauma of your fall...."
As soon as my guardian angel said this, I became fully alert of where I was post my fall. I quickly realized I was on a gurney in a small hospital ER room. Katy and my host were seated in the room with me. I looked over to my wife, and said: 'I'm back."
My right wrist began to ache and I was told that I had broken it, along with a concussion from the fall. The doctor came back to put a cast on my right wrist and I left the hospital. When I returned back to our hosts' home, I walked into the living room to see my daughter, Hannah, seated quietly in the floor. I sat down beside her, picked her up, and shed the most loving tears I have ever released. I was blissful to have been allowed to return and be her father. She is now 16 and my son, Ian, born 9 months after this event, is now 14.
My life changed in some incredible ways after my NDE. I had always been a person who paid attention to the subtle parts of life - the space of feeling and knowing. But, I now experience a much larger awareness that extended beyond what we'd refer to as 'normal' perception. About a year after my NDE, I began to spend time daily in meditation. I am in my fourteenth year of this journey and everyday brings new revelations. My time in meditation has expanded my intuitive awareness in dramatic and powerful ways. During one of my meditation sessions I was made aware that had I chosen to 'go forward' and not come back, the cause of my death would have been a broken neck, post my fall down the stairs.
In the first 6 months, post my NDE, there was a calmer sense of flow in my life. It was clear that the power of the habitual patterns that I had used to direct my life by were still in force. This one area was where my awareness began to draw my attention on a daily basis. Spirit made it clear that our patterns were not who we truly are. These patterns included thoughts, believes, fears, questions, and on, and on, infinitum. I began relaxing my mind into a space of 'neutrality' before attempting to make a personal assessment of anything. This created more space for my private 'thoughts' to relax and it gave Spirit more room to suggest or show me other options. Regardless of what I was shown, the power of choice remained in tact. If we choose to slow down and listen incredible healing and insight can transpire in any life.'
It is not necessary to have a NDE in order to expand your awareness to feel and sense life in a more dynamic and insightful way. What I've learned is that the quality of one's life is demonstrably related to our individual choice to slow down and nurture our awareness. There are many paths to achieve this.
I began to read about other NDE experiences and I began a journey of expanding my own understanding and awareness through the insights of others.
I have spent the past 15 years assisting others to slow down and become more aware of the unseen dimensions of their own lives. The insights I receive are frequently beyond my understanding, but they consistently assist others to comprehend their lives better and that's all that matters to me. It is truly an amazing and purpose-filled experience - my life long passion beyond that of being a father. The most demonstrable thing I have learned from my NDE is that we are not alone on our journey in life. Our guardian caretakers and celestial forces team together to assist us in unimaginable and unthinkable ways. We truly live in a world that has limitless potential and unending miracles.
I encourage you all to slow to the pace of peace and fuller awareness in your lives.
Blessings,
Henry W. Smiley
www.solutionsintuitive.com
615.308.9539 |
| Famous People Who Overcame |
Louie Anderson, comedian (trauma)
Terry A. Anderson, journalist (Prisoner of War for nearly 2,500 days)
Maya Angelou, poet (trauma)
Joe Biden, Vice President (loss of family in an accident)
Drew Carey, comedian (trauma & military)
Paul Orlalea, Founder & Former CEO of Kinkos (Learning "disabilities")
J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series (poverty & depression)
Michael J. Fox, actor, activist & author (Parkinson's)
Bill Porter, top salesman for Fuller Brush (Mentally challenged)
Miep Gies, the woman who hid Anne Frank (war)
Patty Duke Astin, actress, activist & author (bipolar disorder)
Bob and Lee Woodruff, broadcaster & author (Traumatic Brain Injury)
Patricia Neal, actress (stroke)
Coco Chanel (poverty)
Rayna DuBose, former basketball player for Virginia Tech (amputations)
Milton Hershey, founder of The Hershey Chocolate Corporation (repeated business failures before the success)
Dave Ramsey, author, tv & radio talk show financier (bankruptcy)
Walt Disney (repeated business failures before huge success)
Many of those listed above have been interviewed and those stories are available on the Internet and in books they have authored. Their lives are/were inspiring. |
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| Movies and Book recommendations |
The Soloist (movie and book) - Steve Lopez
A true story about a Julliard scholarship musician who became homeless after plummeting into schizophrenia and the LA Times writer who tried to make a difference. Two men, very different journeys, helping one another to transform.
Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks and A Writer's Life - Kathleen Norris
Kathleen Norris' journey through the process of acedia ("spiritual sloth" and "being unable to care"). As she experiences "soul weariness" what she does to become restored. This book looks at the process of The Initation phase of The Heroic Journey.
Facilitating Posttraumatic Growth: A Clinician's Guide - Lawrence G. Calhoun & Richard G. Tedeschi
An excellent book at the look of Posttraumatic Growth (as opposed to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) from the clinical research of Calhoun and Tedeschi at University of North Carolina - Charlotte..
Call It Courage - Armstrong Sperry
Call It Courage is a Winner of the prestigious Newbery Medal. A story for ages 10-12 (or older!) about a young boy discovering his inner strength. |
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 Quotes |
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One way to become enthusiastic is to look for the plus sign. To make progress is any difficult situation, you have to start with what's right about it and build on that. (Norman Vincent Peale)
The alternative to despair is courage and human life can be viewed as a continuous struggle between these two options. Courage is the capacity to affirm one's life in spite of the elements which threaten it. The fact that courage usually predomi-nates over despair in itself tells us something important about life. It tells you that the forces that affirm life are stronger than those that negate it. (Paul Pfeutze)
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. (Seneca)
Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. (Llyod Jones)
The world is filled with those who would keep us from singing the songs we want to sing, painting the pictures we want to pain, skimming the stones we want to skim. Some are bosses, some are officials of oppressive regimes - and some are our mothers, fathers, teachers, husbands, or wives, who for whatever their reasons, try to stifle the life force that makes us who we are. But we have this choice: We can empower them, or we can empower ourselves. (Richard Bode)
The voyage into the self is long and dark and full of peril, but I believe that it is a voyage that all of us will have to make before we are through. Either we climb down into the abyss willingly with our eyes open, or we risk falling into it with our eyes closed - a point on which religion and psychiatry seem to agree. (Frederick Buechner) |
| Resilience and Heroic Journey Seminars |
| CEU's for all behavioral health professionals, nurses, nurse practitioners and more. Clergy, recovering people, professional caregivers and business leaders may find this seminar useful in your position of serving.
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The Psychology of Resilience: A Multi-Modal Approach to Thriving Using the Heroic Journey will be presented in a full-day format in these cities in the United States in the upcoming months.
May 1, 2009 - San Diego, CA
May 27, 2009 - St. Louis, MO
May 28, 2009 - Evansville, IN
May 29, 2009 - Indianapolis, IN
June 16, 2009 - Marietta, GA
June 17, 2009 - Atlanta, GA
June 18, 2009 - Birmingham, AL
July 8, 2009 - NASHVILLE/BRENTWOOD, TN*****
July 9, 2009 - Knoxville, TN
July 10, 2009 - Asheville, NC
For more information on location, registration and course content, you may upload a brochure at www.theomnibuscenter.com (Go to 2009 schedule and click on the city link).
This seminar and more than one hundred more are are available in half day, full-day and multiple day formats for clinicians and general public. Please contact Melissa (Missy) Bradley for more information call 615-377-6002 or heroicjourney@comcast.net |
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