Edward Hays ~ Author, Artist & Storyteller
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The Door of Death

3/23/2016

 

This was Ed's final blog entry on Wednesday of Holy Week in 2016,
​just days before he opened the doorway to his own Good Friday.


The Door of Death


Dear old and new friends,

     Good Friday honors the death day of Jesus, and on that day we are forced to ponder what we typically try to deny, our own death. We live but a short span of days, and it is our common belief that the day of our death ends all of them, so no wonder we try to deny its ugly reality. Christians revere the image of the cross, a paradoxical sign of the power of repulsive evil and also the triumph of life over death. Among the countless meanings of the symbol of the cross is the End; so it is used to mark grave sites. Traditionally tomb stones have two dates, the deceased’s birth date and the death date…but something is missing! Following the death date there needs to be those legendary words of the Saturday afternoon matinee movies that ended with the hero or heroine in a hopeless situation: “To be continued!”

     This Good Friday consider that Teilhard de Chardin taught the need of new religious symbols, rituals and prayers that embrace our new understanding of the influence of evolution, quantum physics and our place in an ever-expanding cosmos. I propose one new radical change…abandon the cross of Calvary and replace it with Jesus nailed to an old large door! Pause and take a few moments to create in your mind this new image of Cavalry; envision on top of that barren hilltop is a 15-foot-tall, 8-foot-wide, old weathered door to which is nailed the dying Jesus of Nazareth.

     A door symbolizes passing from one state to another. Doors open to the mysterious and are an invitation to dare to voyage into the beyond. Death is integral to ongoing evolution and its doorway to new life. Easter celebrates that death releases us from our human limitations to experience the freedom of the unlimited, unrestrained boundless new existence with an entirely innovative relationship to Life and the entire star staggering cosmos. This new Easter existence is beyond the feeble comprehension of our small human minds. Only our imaginations can create a teeny glimmer of the utter magnificence of this new life of living in communion with everyone and everything. Each of us this moment is an unfinished creation awaiting the process of being fully created into our personal Good Friday and Easter.

     On our fateful day, like the dying Jesus we will plunge into oneness in the Mystery of Life, God, with all the earth and the cosmos of billions of galaxies. Mark and Matthew in their passions stories relate the last human words of Jesus as he died, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” John has Jesus declare the end of his mission, “It is finished.” Luke has the last words of the dying Jesus, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

     I propose new final words of the dying Jesus! His last words were the very same as those of Elizabeth Kubler Ross. She was a Swiss-American psychiatrist and famous pioneer in her work on death and dying. When asked where she was going when she died she said, “I’m going out dancing among the galaxies.”
Dan from Pittsburgh
3/24/2016 02:46:15 pm

Beautiful. Thank you so much Ed!

I'll be thinking of this tomorrow, with the Veneration of the Door.

Peace be with you, and may your Easter be wonder-filled!

Keith geary
4/3/2016 07:46:41 pm

Fr. Ed has passed.

Tom Skorupa
3/30/2016 12:48:26 pm

I fully trust, dearest Edward, that you too will go out dancing among the galaxies. Godspeed.

In grateful love,

Tom

Dan
3/31/2016 12:03:07 pm

Dear Friends of Ed,

If ever there was a premonition. If ever there was a Saint. This one will be dancing among the galaxies.

Will miss you so very much dear friend Ed.

Dan

Michael
3/31/2016 11:55:29 pm

I will never, ever, ever forget my time at Shanti with you Ed. Though it was brief, it (and you) made a lasting impact in my life. I am proud and blessed to have had you in my life. Ti Amo!

Catherine Jantsch Butel
4/2/2016 09:47:21 am

From years ago, as I was a neophyte in the spiritual path, I can still remember Ed's reflections on the mystery of death as it accompanies us through life -- the presence of his casket, the prayers suggesting that each time we enter the night's sleep we "practice surrendering to death" and each morning is a resurrection. The Shantivanam community and Ed's writings have had a profound impact on my worldview (and cosmic consciousness), and guide me still in the dance. Shanti+ Catherine

Betsy Evans
4/2/2016 02:34:07 pm

Lace up your dancing shoes, Ed. You're almost there!

Jane Mahoney
4/3/2016 07:10:34 am

I am who I am because of U Ed an I long to dance with U in the STARS‼️

John Glassman
4/5/2016 08:49:32 am

Words limit my description for the sense of loss, joy and admiration of Ed's impact on my life. I smile when I think of him. Forever imprinted on all our hearts.

Jan Voshart
4/6/2016 10:52:37 pm

When Tom and I moved out to New Mexico, Ed made us a card with a quote from Julius Caesar IV--"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune, omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries." That pretty much sums up the events that began with a yellow Toyota finding its way on gravel roads, somewhere in Kansas, to a place I could barely pronounce--all those years ago. It has been a rich, surprising, and lovely journey. Thanks for helping me grow my sea legs. Bon Voyage, dear Ed! Here's to Zero gravity!

Mair Dundon
10/17/2016 11:45:23 pm

I just came across this while I was looking for a book title. My whole family was beautifully held and inspired by Ed's amazing stories and all of the community and spirituality that we experienced at Shantivanam. I still have my yellow prayer flag and fondly remember walking through the fields waving them. Our family joins with you all in celebrating this doorway and entry into the galaxies to come. I know each and every time I see a dandelion, I stop to bow and will remember Ed fondly. I will continue to spread the love for his books and stories. Love to you all.


Comments are closed.


    Edward Hays


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