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    Finding God: This Is the Trip
    Finding God: This Is the Trip
    Finding God: This Is the Trip
    Ebook134 pages1 hour

    Finding God: This Is the Trip

    By Wren Richardson

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    About this ebook

    A near-death experience (NDE) caused by a reaction to anesthesia allows the author, Wren Richardson, to provide a profoundly healing message to a surgical assistant. The message is about moving forward in life, even after weve lost someone we love. Its one that we all need to hear. Wren gives an account of her transformative journey, which began at a young age with questions about the existence of God. She shares her struggles and triumphs that occurred during the integration of her NDE and the newly found spiritual awareness of what happens when we die.

    Every now and again, we meet someone whose lifes journey inspires our own. Wren Richardson, the author of Finding God: This is the Trip, profoundly inspired my life, and thanks to this book, she may inspire yours as well. Her story transformed my appreciation for the apparent operation of a greater spiritual reality in contemporary life. Wrens journey reveals many treasures. Her writing is as entertaining as it is enlightening. May you enjoy and be enriched by Wrens journey as much as I have.

    Gary E. Schwartz, PhD,
    professor of psychology, medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and surgery director, Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health, University of Arizona. Author of The G.O.D. Experiments and The Sacred Promise.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInspiring Voices
    Release dateOct 25, 2012
    ISBN9781462403141
    Finding God: This Is the Trip
    Author

    Wren Richardson

    Wren Richardson continues to teach and practice aesthetics. She and her husband, Dale, still enjoy life in their desert canyon home. They hike, grow herbs and vegetables, and reserve time to spend with the kids, grandkids, extended family, and pets.

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      Book preview

      Finding God - Wren Richardson

      Copyright © 2012 Wren Richardson

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      Inspiring Voices books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      Inspiring Voices

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.inspiringvoices.com

      1-(866) 697-5313

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      ISBN: 978-1-4624-0314-1 (e)

      ISBN: 978-1-4624-0315-8 (sc)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2012918643

      Inspiring Voices rev. date: 10/23/2012

      For my family,

      friends,

      fellow NDEers, seekers

      and the mission.

      Contents

      Author’s Note

      Acknowledgements

      Chapter 1 FINDING GOD

      1.1 Old Truths

      1.2 The Dream

      1.3 Believing

      Chapter 2 THE ANALYTICAL AESTHETICIAN

      2.1 The Near-Death Experience

      Chapter 3 THE MESSAGE

      3.1 Our Beloved Pets

      3.2 The Psychic Magician

      3.3 In the Eye of the Beholder

      3.4 Spreading the Word

      Chapter 4 THE UNLOADING ZONE

      4.1 Getting Back in the Saddle

      Chapter 5 THE CHROMA-ZONE

      5.1 Connections to Rainbows

      Chapter 6 PIECES TO THE PUZZLE

      6.1 Near-Death meets Hollywood

      6.2 A Dog Finds a Way

      Chapter 7 DRAWING THE SPIRITUAL LINE

      7.1 Staying Tuned In

      Chapter 8 IN-SYNCH

      8.1 A Door Opens

      8.2 A Door Closes

      8.3 Going with the Flow

      Chapter 9 PERSPECTIVE

      9.1 Keeping Me on My Toes

      Chapter 10 MY DOG

      10.1 Another Connection with Rainbows

      11 MISSION CONTROL

      11.1 The Epiphany of the Juice Boxes

      11.2 Bringing Out the Best in Others

      11.3 Your Life Review

      Author’s Note

      I have a story to tell you. Originally my plan was to record it for my family and a few friends, but I decided to make it available for anyone else who needed to hear it. It’s taken 13 years for me to feel comfortable enough to put the story out there for the world to see, and strangely enough it feels like the timing is perfect.

      My primary reason for sharing the story is because it feels like it’s part of my mission. I’ve written a true account of events that took place in my life, told from my perspective, but I’ve changed most of the names of the people involved.

      I know that many of you have had a near-death experience (NDE), or know someone who has. The integration process can be challenging, and I’m hoping that this book will help in some way.

      There are quite a few accounts of NDEs out there, but mine’s a little unique because of a message I brought back with me. I pose many questions about that for you to ponder.

      I think questioning is the first step in a spiritual journey. Then you have to walk your own path and gain your own insights. The good news is that you never have to travel alone.

      I Hope you enjoy the Trip!

      Acknowledgements

      Almost every person who’s been a part of my life has at least a single thread woven into the tapestry of my story. They have all influenced me in some way during the journey, even if they were in my life for only a short time. Everyone has been a part of the mission.

      The manifestation of this book could not have been possible without the continued support and encouragement of my husband Dale while the hours that I spent sitting at the computer passed by.

      Heartfelt gratitude to the operating assistant Luke for sharing his perspective in detail about what transpired in the operating room that day. I’m especially grateful to Dr. Gary Schwartz for listening to and documenting our story, and for steadfastly encouraging me to write this book.

      My gratitude goes out to all of my friends and family members who took the time to read the story and give me their thoughts while it was being written. Distinctive praises to my mother Jody for her tireless help in editing it.

      Love and treats to Bojangles, Murphy and all of my other four-legged friends for their companionship.

      Prayerful thanks to the heavenly forces in my life.

      1

      FINDING GOD

      MANY PEOPLE LIKE ME have had near-death experiences. Through these transcending events, life is demystified. Something much bigger than ourselves is revealed; a master plan in which we all play a very important role.

      Within the framework of this plan, we can craft a life of our choosing from an array of possibilities. Every choice that we make (good or bad), and every action that we take, is recorded. Certain aspects of our journey may be relived during a life review. Even though some of our worst choices may be forgiven, nothing is forgotten, all for the purpose of learning.

      I didn’t fully understand what it was to be human until my sense of self was no longer contained within my body. Our human bodies provide us with survival instincts to protect ourselves and the ones who belong to us. When our choices are guided by these fear-based human inclinations the result is often negative.

      When others wrong you, they may have just been following their instincts. They were just being human. Forgive them and learn from it. Forgive yourself when you’re less than perfect because you are human…and learn from it. With each lesson, rise higher above the fear, and turn it into faith in yourself and in others. It’s faith that will bring you closer to the divine.

      Without the protective barrier of human instincts, a vulnerable spirit is exposed; one that can finally conceptualize the lessons of the master plan. I learned that the most satisfying parts of our lives come from the choices that we make, which have the end result of bringing out the best in others. Before we act, we should think about how others will react. Be good, but don’t stop there, act in a way that will help others to be good. That’s the most challenging task. Although I am not proficient in this aspect of my life, I know that I, like everyone else, am capable of advancing toward perfection with the help of God.

      Like many people who have had a near-death experience, I struggled with getting back to the business of living afterwards. The most challenging aspect for me, was dealing with a facet of my experience that appeared to be unique. My trip to the other side had an anomaly; I was given a message to bring back with me. The message was accompanied by a strong sense of urgency to locate the intended individual and share the contents. The lingering effects of the near-death experience provided me with an ability to help me accomplish this task. That ability faded the moment the message was delivered.

      In addition to this assignment, I had to come back to fulfill the more common aspect of a near-death experience, my life mission. I didn’t bring back the memory of what my life mission was, but I felt that I was supposed to somehow share everything I had learned. I had received a number of new truths, but before I could effectively share them, I had to learn how to weave them into my own life. The integration process would require an examination of the old truths, and an understanding of why God allowed this bump on the path of my personal journey.

      Old Truths

      As a young child my beliefs were simple; God existed and so did Santa Claus. They were both from a supernatural realm, and always knew if you’d been bad or good. My maternal grandmother, Grandmommy, used to affirm that if you had misbehaved, you’d likely be the recipient of coal and switches in your Christmas stocking instead of presents. Likewise, I learned that people who behaved badly would end up going to bad places when they died, but if they were good, they would have everlasting life with Jesus in heaven.

      I thought there was empirical evidence that Santa existed; presents always arrived on Christmas, and the cookies and milk that we left for him were always consumed, as were the carrots that we left for the reindeer. As for the existence of God, I had evidence all around me. I was taught that he was responsible for the creation of all things that lived. Grandmommy’s back yard was full of God’s creations. As a child, I could meander through her flower garden full of yellow snapdragons, green bells of Ireland, purple irises …and see God.

      God was present in other forms in Grandmommy’s house. He hung on the walls in the form of pictures of Jesus and wooden crucifixes. There were boxes of brightly colored beads that she would spend hours a day weaving into rosaries with just a bit of steel wire and some needle-nosed pliers. Grandmommy took care of me during the summer months when I was out of school and my mother was at work. One day she sat down with me, gave me my own wire and pliers, and patiently instructed me in the art. She told me that by helping her, I had become part of a missionary’s work. After hundreds of the rosaries were constructed, they would be shipped from her church to a village in Africa.

      For my parents, God’s existence wasn’t nearly as simplistic. The love of God seemed to be overshadowed by the divisions of the Christian religion. The beliefs of my mother’s side of the family (Grandmommy) were staunchly embedded in the Catholic Church, and my father’s side of the family was Protestant. My parents avoided the complexities of marriage that occur between a Catholic

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