My blog posts have been few these last few months. This is because a close family member is confronting a potentially fatal illness, with lots of complications. We have now been dancing with death for almost three months, with the outcome still to be decided. 
A few days ago, as I was driving to the hospital, I started thinking about the dark energy of death hovering around us. As I was feeling into this energy I heard the words, “The Protective Specter of Death” and saw in my mind’s eye a warm and caring energy surrounding and blessing us.
My first reaction was, “How shocking and inappropriate! What a cruel joke.” I was appalled.
But the word “protective” would not go away. Every time I tried to put something in its place, the word, and the feeling of protection kept coming back with increased energy and insistence. How weird!
But I have learned that if something won’t go away or keeps coming back, it carries important information. In this case, I figured there must be a truth in this phrase that was calling me to discover it. I too, have danced with death, when many years ago I was diagnosed with advanced stage cancer. I realized my soul was now asking me to extract and combine the wisdom gained from these two experiences. So I asked myself, “Why is the energy of death protective?”
Death itself, when it ultimately happens, is protective because it liberates us from any physical suffering, and offers a spiritual transformation that frees both our body and soul to move on to new experiences that add to our wisdom and spiritual expansion.
But the energy of death, that is, the specter that hovers over us when the issue is as yet undecided, can also be protective. It clears away all external distractions so that the really important things in life become much more apparent.
It encourages us to live in the moment, to appreciate all the wonderful things in physical life that we might be leaving. Like a soldier going into battle, the colors are brighter, the food more savory, the bonds between loved ones more precious.
It asks us to lay aside the anxiety inherent in not knowing the outcome, and to instead celebrate the small wonders and brief moments that are really what life is all about; the bright energy of a young nurse, the quiet but constant support of friends and neighbors, and even the necessary disruptions that take us out of our everyday routines into new territory and new challenges. The change in routine is not just about the person who is facing death, but also his or her loved ones and caretakers. Their lives are also disrupted and turned around with regular actively curtailed or brought to a stop completely.
It also demands that we ask profound questions about how we want to live our lives. Mundane and externally directed activities and externally acquired attitudes are revealed for their lack of importance and depth. We are challenged to think about how to structure the rest of our lives if death grants us more time. We are asked to reassess our attitudes and beliefs. Our grudges and resentments no longer seem important. We acquire new understanding about, and compassion for, others who are suffering.
In this way the specter of death can be no less transformative than death itself. When the dark energy of death looms over us, transformation will happen one way or the other. Either we will die and be transformed into a purely energetic being for a time, or the dance with death will challenge us to reevaluate our lives, reconsider what is important, and choose to experience this life in new ways.
And so the energy of death IS protective, not so much of our bodies, but of our souls. The specter reveals itself as the Dark Lady, the dark ground beneath which seeds are sprouting with new creation and important insights.
When we’ve reached a point in life where our experiences are “the same old, same old”, or when we have chosen a path that is inappropriate for our current life’s real purpose, the specter of death hovers over us protectively, asking, no demanding, that we choose which kind of transformative experience we want. There is no judgment. Either way is fine. Either way we will move forward to grow, experience new things, and expand our wisdom and understanding.
We are cared for and blessed. All is right in this world and beyond.
You can learn more about the energy realm in my book, “It’s All About Energy: Adventures in Expanded Reality”, found on Amazon, and on my website, www.transformationalexpansion.com.