Honoring Stephen and Ondrea Levine

I have studied with some amazing teachers, but Stephen Levine had the most profound impact on my journey of awakening. Why? Because he taught me how to be fully present for my life – all of it – and how to meet whatever I am experiencing with great heart (What’s in the Way IS the Way!).

Stephen and his wife, Ondrea, founded the Hanuman Foundation Dying Project back in 1974. For a number of years, they had a 24/7 hotline in their home to help people with challenges surrounding death. Out of this came many books, periodicals, and recordings on topics that focused on spiritual traditions, practices, and education promoting compassionate living and dying. The gift Stephen and Ondrea gave to me and to the world is the ability to use the challenges of our lives (including death, whether of a person or a life experience) as an invitation to open to Life.

A few months ago, I had a wonderful conversation about Stephen with Cheryl Jones. Cheryl is a therapist and educator, and I was honored to be a guest on her Good Grief radio show (http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/86590/whats-in-the-way-is-the-way). Cheryl spent a lot of time with Stephen in California around the time her partner was dying of cancer and he helped her stay open during one of the most challenging times in her life. We laughed because we decided we are both “Stephen and Ondrea Levine Groupies.” They were such courageous people at a time when what they were offering was nowhere to be found.  I want to honor Stephen and Ondrea for the important work they have done over the years. 

I have read all of Stephen’s books (multiple times over the years), and my favorite is Healing into Life and Death. This book is so powerful because it is a culmination of their experiences working with thousands of people on their deathbeds. The title that more appropriately describes the contents of this book is “Healing into Life.” There are stories of people opening to Life around their illnesses and death, but those stories inspire me and countless others to open to Life right here, right now, before we die!

The last time I read Healing into Life and Death was probably 30 years ago. I was inspired recently to read it again cover to cover, and it has been really interesting to see what I underlined so many years ago (and also what I didn’t underline). I absolutely love Stephen’s definition of healing: “Bringing awareness and mercy into that which we have held in judgment and in fear.” He is telling us that who we truly are is the vast, open, heart-oriented space that our struggling self is happening in. We don’t have to die to discover we are this space.

If you have not yet done so, I invite you to read this brilliant book. It will teach you how to meet yourself exactly where you are and to keep your heart open, no matter what is happening in your life. May you be so blessed to have your heart torn wide open so you can discover the vast space in which your struggling self lives. As you recognize that you are so much more than the storyteller in your head, you will discover that in bringing your struggling self the awareness and mercy it has been waiting for your entire life, it relaxes and you open again to this amazing river of creativity that is Life.   So, thank you, Stephen and Ondrea, for the important work you have done for my own journey of awakening that has allowed me to invite thousands of other people back into the joy of being open and present for Life!

Image – Heavenly Chimayo by Cathy Carey 20 x 24 oil on linen www.cathycareygallery.com
Available at The Ranch at Taos Gallery, 119A Kit Carson Road, Taos NM 87571