Update on 1/19/19:  My memoir, Angels in the OR: What Dying Taught Me About Healing, Survival, and Transformation, can be pre-ordered now. It is a #1 new release in several categories.  I would love it if you helped me make near-death experiences more mainstream.

Anita Moorjani’s amazing near-death experience is described in her book Dying to be Me.  If you want a preview of what she describes in her book, check out this Ted Talk.

In the video, Moorjani leaves her audience with five brief lessons from her NDE.  I’ve quoted her main points below and added some of my ideas to each of her topics below.

1. Love should be the most important focus in life. You must love yourself and value yourself.  We teach others how to treat us.  You should not allow others to bully or control you.  The more you love yourself, the more love you have to give to others.
2. Live life fearlessly. Love keeps you safe, not fear.
3. Humor, laughter, and joy  are vital. Kids laugh and enjoy life all the time, but these states of being get conditioned out of us.  Joy is more important than any other spiritual power.  If our politicians learned to laugh, we’d have a different political climate.
4. Life is a gift, not a chore.
5. Always be yourself. Be as you as you can be.  Shine your light as bright as you can.  Embrace being you.

Love More:  Definitely choose love over fear but realize when something you are calling love is not really love. Love is never manipulation, and manipulation can come in many forms.  Someone can even tell you that you aren’t that spiritual for choosing not to be with them and love them.  You might only be choosing to love yourself and choosing a love and life situation that fits your desires more than that person and situation fits what you need.  This is o.k.  You get to make all kinds of loving choices for yourself.  You don’t have to do what others want you to do and call this love.  You get to do what you want to do and know that it is love.  Life works better this way.

I think of love as kind gestures and moments when we simply choose to be our best self with someone.  Being your best even when others are at their worst is difficult but loving. Love is something we do for ourselves and for others.  We respect the boundaries of others, and this is a form of love as well.  Other people do not have to take care of all our needs.  We can take care of ourselves and cutting down on our neediness can be a way of being more loving.

Love is wishing the best for everyone, even when they have wronged us.  Love is hoping others can always be their best selves.  Love is expanding someone’s understanding, not letting them live in fear.    Love is many things, and I’m still learning about it.  I do know that love is the opposite of fear. Love will be the subject of many more posts because most NDErs come back knowing that love is the most important thing we can do while in these bodies; love deserves lots of radio, television, and blog time.

Live Fearlessly:  We mistakenly think that if we spend time fearing something we might come up with strategies which might prevent this thing we fear from occurring.  Love is your greatest protector, and even when life happens—when the thing you fear most happens—keep loving yourself through it.  This will help you heal faster.

When I’ve had the most success manifesting, I have clearly seen an image or outcome that I want and worked hard towards achieving that goal without letting negative ideas interfere with my progress.  Then, I stayed the course, never doubting the inevitable positive outcome.  Fear doesn’t play into the equation, not even a flicker of it.  When I have failed at something, fears are always there multiplying and breeding in my mind and in my life.

When I think of living fearlessly, I think of never shrinking away from a challenge, but diving in, willing to learn, grow, and succeed.  I think of small moments as well—moments when we choose to talk with others around us instead of being silent and looking at our phones, moments when we make connections, share our thoughts and feelings, and allow our hearts to expand and include more people.

Laughter as Medicine:   I wish I was funnier than I am.  I can be goofy, and occasionally funny, but I wish I was hilarious.  Luckily, I have friends who make me howl with laughter.  May you find these people and talk with them often, and when you can’t find funny friends, watch funny videos and comedies.  Years ago, I saw the movie What the Bleep Do We Know, and the clip about the woman who cured herself of cancer by watching funny movies resonated with me.

Laughter is literally healing.  Surround yourself with people who make you laugh, and you will be happier and healthier.  I’ve always thought that silliness is a form of soulfulness, an ability to not take one’s self or life too seriously.  When all else fails, laugh at people who take themselves too seriously.  They are so funny!

Life is a Gift:     Though I’ve had moments when I felt tired or discouraged after my NDE, I usually remember that life is a gift.  Whenever I feel bored, I think about how to make a certain “boring” task more enjoyable or meaningful.  Washing dishes becomes a moment where I meditate on all the ways that I need to clean certain negative ideas and images from my mind.  Taking out the trash becomes a moment when I think of dumping all of my juvenile and immature behaviors in a dumpster and being done with them.

I take time to savor my food.  Though I remember being overwhelmed at how amazing all food tasted after my NDE, I quickly realized that awareness helped me slow down and enjoy each meal instead of greedily rushing through it.  Greediness in any area of life isn’t all that sexy.  Your share can be wonderful and special without having to want everyone else’s share for yourself.  Life is indeed a gift.  The more you take time to realize it in certain moments, the longer and more beautiful the journey seems.

Be Yourself: I’ve learned the hard way that it isn’t any fun to diminish who I am to please others.  In other posts, I’ve written about family member’s righteousness and insistence on being “right.”  I’m not here to make them wrong.  I’m here to express myself and who I am.  I do this effortlessly in some areas of my life, and those areas of my life work well.  The areas where I dim my light and become less of who I am are not the best areas of my life.  I’m working on being more whole, more me, more true to what I believe and living aligned with these beliefs.  I hope you do the same.

I hope you love your original, wonderful self, chase your dreams and goals fearlessly, laugh even when it is at yourself, and never forget that every moment here on earth is a gift, not a chore.  Make your moments enjoyable.