When I was 20 years old. I was a single Mom with a daughter. Life was tough. It was tough financially, and emotionally. There are a lot of obvious demands on a single Mon, that only a single Mom can tell you about.

I was feeling a bit down and overwhelmed. Then this strange thing kept happening to me when I lay down to sleep at night. As soon as I came to the point where I would have drifted off to dreamland, I felt as if my spirit was being pulled out the top of my head.

To say the least this was quite disconcerting, and disturbing. This happened night after night for many nights. I struggled to stay in my body. I was terrified. I thought I was dying.

Finally I decided I better go to see the doctor. After all, isn't that what one should do when death looms its head?

I scheduled an appointment with this old German doctor on California Drive, in San Mateo. When I arrived the nurse had me change into one of those charming gowns, that allows your backside full exposure to the elements.

The doctor came into the examination room and asked me why I wanted to see him. I explained to him that when I closed my eyes to go to sleep at night, that I feel like my spirit is being pulled out the top of my head. Every night I eventually sleep after an exhaustive battle to keep my entire being in tact.

The doctor checked my eyes, ears, took my temperature, and checked my blood pressure. Then he excused himself. I waited in the examination room for a very long time. Eventually I dawned on me that he must have been busy and forgotten about me waiting for his return. I poked my head of out the examination room and asked a nurse close by when was the doctor coming back. She looked at me incredulously and said he is done with you. I asked what did he say was wrong with me? She replied that he said that I was perfectly fine. She instructed me to get dresses, pay my bill, and leave.

When I walked out of that doctor's office I was amazingly down. I thought to myself that the doctor did not care that I was dying. My life meant nothing to him. I had not idea what I was going to do. I was very sad that he could not "fix" me.

That night when I started going to sleep, once again I felt my spirit being pulled out the top of my head. I thought to myself, "Why fight it? It has happened every night for so long. I had to give up."

With that my spirit zipped up through the top of my head. I raced through a dense darkness. I was headed for a very bright light. I entered what seemed like a long tunnel of light, but I went through it so fast that I was amazed at the speed.

As I more fully entered the light I was filled with over whelming joy. A voiceless voice told me that I was loved, cared for, and watched over. I was told that what I was going through was a temporary state. That everything was all right. I was told not to worry, to keep faith.

I thought to myself  "I am dying! Who is going to take care of my daughter!" With that I snapped back into my body. I was immediately awake and actually was so excited I couldn't go back to sleep. I stayed up most of the night just reflecting on this experience, and its meaning.

I realized that all we go through here on Earth in the physical body is closely monitored by a Higher Power, one that we call God. I knew too that we are all loved, regardless of the seeming mistakes, or breeches from our core ethics. We are here to have a physical experience, to challenge what we know. This is like a school, but we are so totally immersed in the education, and the tests we attract, we forget that it is not the complete reality. We only see a small portion, there is so much more to us and our life dramas than we could possibly comprehend while walking our path.

What I gained from this experience was that life is like a mystery novel that we take part in as a character in the novel. We really don't know why our lives take the twists and turns that delivers us to pinnacle points. The pinnacle points are not our destination, they are only stop points along the path. The mystery will not unravel until we read the final page. The final page is when we join the others that wait for us in the light. To embrace us on our return, and congratulate us on our successes and counsel us on our misinterpretations of any life experiences.

All is well, and everything works out exactly the way it is supposed to turn out. We are called to face our shadow side, and called to reconcile our darkness with the light. Then the truth will dawn upon us.