Begin from the end

MANILA, Philippines - Wouldn’t it be amazing to begin this life already knowing what it was all about? Knowing what path you were meant to take and how that would end? It would definitely save us the heartache of tragic love stories, the disappointment of failed endeavors or impractical dreams. It would be like watching a James Bond movie knowing that despite the chase, the torture, the loss of life — James would walk away with both the cool car and the hapless chick. What could be happier than that?

What if I told you, I knew someone who now wakes every morning beginning the day with the end in mind? Her name is Anita Moorjani.

Diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer (lymphoma) and fighting for four long years, Anita fell into a deep coma in 2006. What was to follow, however, was beyond the magic of fairy tales. As her organs failed, she crossed the threshold of what is commonly known as an “NDE” — a near-death experience — and in that crossing she realized her true worth and what was actually causing her disease.  Thirty hours later, she woke up and declared that she was healed. Surprisingly enough, after four days of tests, she was absolutely right and completely cancer free. To this day her almost immediate recovery has defied all medical knowledge. How could this possibly be? Anita believes that we all have the power to heal ourselves and that there are miracles in the universe beyond what we imagine. Simple enough? Maybe not…

What sort of beginning did her life have that led to this initial “end”? As we find out, her life was no different from many of ours and sadly, perhaps we are on the same inevitable path. She encountered challenges in trying to forge her own career. Having been born into a traditional Hindu family, she was also pressured into meeting and marrying the “right” man. Almost like a tug of war, she would teeter between cultural and religious customs and her own “inner voice”. She was caught up in a life of expectation — other people’s expectations. To act, to look, to be a certain way so that life for them would continue to make sense — even though it didn’t make sense to her. Sound familiar? Almost like a typical telenovela in the making — a John Lloyd- Bea Alonzo blockbuster for sure.

Don’t stories like these just want to make you scream and pull all your hair out? Wouldn’t you love to just shout — “What the hell is wrong with you people? Life must be better than this!” And life, Anita discovered, was exactly that… better, happier and definitely without judgment. But not before she allowed all the fear of being affected by the good opinion of others to pervade her life — not before she allowed this disease called “cancer” to enter her world — and so it did.

Anita was dying long before her body showed the signs. In many ways, so are we. Each time we are not true to ourselves in matters both big and small, we suffer. Every instance we decide based solely on what others may expect, we suffer. This is what many of us encounter everyday. This is why Anita, much like the title of her book Dying To Be Me states, had to die to be who she truly was. This is her message: you DON’T have to die to be who you truly are. You just have to stop fearing it.

Anita’s miraculous recovery and everything after it, is a story of pure gratitude and love. She talks about seeing the same world through different eyes. She was left changed in so many aspects. Things and people that no longer resonated with the person she woke up as began to fall away. She began to live everything in the moment. She was no longer afraid of anything. More than that, she felt compelled to try her best to make sure that other people weren’t afraid as well.

She talks about “remembering your magnificence” and how forgetting about it can actually bring you closer to disease than you even realize. She speaks of “Love” in all its aspects — not just showing love but “BEING” love. Just by being true to ourselves, we become instruments of this loving energy — just by being who we are. I guess St. Francis of Assisi wasn’t so far off either.

So here is one woman bent on living each day as if it were her last and trying to get everyone to do the same. What proof do we have that this perspective actually works? Notwithstanding the fact that she transformed from being declared dead to being released from the hospital 100 percent cancer-free, is she really happy? Does this world make sense to her? Does she feel all the love she wishes for everyone around her? What if I were to tell you that the answer would be an absolute, emphatic, resounding “YES!”

Then again, don’t take my word for it. Read hers. After all, what do you have to lose? You never know, all endings may really be just beginnings.

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For more information, call 897-0383/897-0307/ 0918-8970383, or visit www.arkeology.org