12/21/2012 Is this the “end day” — the end of the world?




Indeed, we come to this world naked.



Looking at calm and content five-hour-old Porsche, we almost forgot about the ordeal she just went through to come into this world.
12/23/2012 Birth:

12/19/2012 An obstetrician made an announcement that baby Porsche could come at any time.

12/20/2012 No sign of baby Porsche coming out.

12/21/2012 Some believe that, based on the Mayan Long Count Calendar, this is supposed to mark the end of the world.

Being a smart baby, Porsche did not want to be called the “end-of-the-world baby.” She decided to stay safe and sound inside her mother’s womb.

12/22/2012 With all the drama surrounding the supposed end of the world, she needed to relax and get ready to come into this world.

12/23/2012 Porsche is ready, willing and charged up to get out into this intriguing world on the Lord’s Day — Sunday.

(Indeed, Porsche came out only half an hour after her mother went to the hospital early in the morning. She rushed out at 8:09 a.m., and did not even give her mom time to get an epidural. After she was born, many more babies were delivered one after another, packing the maternity ward. These cute and lovely babies came to testify that Dec. 21 was not the end of the world after all.)


The three pictures above are from http://lifecycle.onenessbecomesus.com/

12/25/2012 Rebirth:

11/05/2012 I started experiencing unbearable pain on the right side of my body. It was caused by a car accident. (Please see Can You Imagine……) The pain only lessened when I lay down, so I had no choice but to lie down and do nothing. I had been forging ahead all my life. I realized then this was the first time to pause —to stop completely and rest.

11/10/2012 At dawn, the sentence of “to die and to live again” rang in my ears.

11/11/2012 I saw a vision of a caterpillar transformed into a butterfly after going through almost a month-long life cycle; it finally came out of its cocoon, becoming a beautiful butterfly.

It seems there is a connection between “to die and to live again” and “caterpillar transforms into a butterfly.” But what does this have to do with me? I pondered. While I was resting, it seemed that time had stopped, but the earth was still revolving. Miraculously, whatever I needed during this period flowed to me. Thus, I was able to rest with no worries. I had plenty of time to think through the whole thing. This unusual and severe pain in my body reminded me that an external illness reflects an internal problem.

We are born naked and come into the world with nothing. But as we grow, we continually add layers of worldly things on ourselves (such as our past experiences, obsessions, attachments, etc.— both our own as well as what others have given us). Sometime the layers have become too thick
that they halt our growth and stop us from moving forward. Maybe it is time for me to take a lessonfrom a caterpillar shedding its skin — that is, letting go and transforming into a butterfly.

12/21/2012 What was supposed to be the end of the world came and left; I continued to meditate and search within.
The earth is still turning and revolving without stopping!

12/25/2012 Day of Rebirth
12/25/2012 Today after I read the description of a life cycle from caterpillar to butterfly by an eminent biologist (Bernd Heinrich), I was enlightened finally. He called this transition “a deathlike intermission.” The caterpillar shrinks and sheds its skin, and its organs dissolve.* Then the caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

I experienced this “deathlike intermission” through the horrible pain over last two months. After passing the day that was to mark the end of the world, I too passed this deathlike trial. I hope to be able to let go of all the “baggage” I’ve carried throughout these years. Ultimately, I will have a breakthrough from the original restrictions of life.

To die (deathlike) and to live again, I realized, is a rebirthing process. Maybe it is the end of the old self; yet the new self is emerging. Like a caterpillar going through a deathlike transmission, it has changed into a butterfly which no longer crawls on the ground but soars to the sky.

Today is my birthday. I thank God for leading me through this unforgettable experience. I feel like a brand new person now. It is such a great feeling to have this sense of freedom to explore a new realm of life. Like a butterfly, the sky’s the limit for me.

So this birthday is actually about rebirth. Dying, then living again. End of the old self; beginning of a new self. No longer a caterpillar; now a butterfly. That is what I’m celebrating.