Pinoys troop to the cemeteries today, Nov. 1, to celebrate All Saints’ Day, that Mexicans call Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
The Spaniards ruled Las Islas Filipinas through Mexico (pronounced Mehiko), their main colony in the Americas, by way of the Galleon Trade. That’s the reason Filipinos and Mexicans share some Castilian traits, including indolence.
Anyway, why remember our dearly departed only on one particular day of the year, when they should be remembered at all times the whole year round?
They may not be with us in physical form because they’re already in another dimension, but they’re watching over us from where they are.
They may want to help when we’re in trouble or to share our joy, but they rarely – if ever – show as apparitions, because that would be violating cosmic laws.
So, if you’re in trouble, mentally seek their help (read: pray), for they’re in a place where nothing is impossible.
Banish the notion that some of our dead relatives or friends are suffering in the fires of hell due to worldly misdeeds; there’s no such place. Peace, tranquility and joy reign where they are.
We can’t honor our dead by going to places where they are buried, because they’re not there; they’re everywhere. We may honor them in our hearts for that’s where they are.
As Kahlil Gibran in his poem “The Prophet” said:
“If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
“For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.”
If you feel bad because you can’t go to the “resting places” of your loved ones today, for one reason or the other, you should realize that they will never, ever begrudge your absence. They are no longer confined to one place; they’re everywhere.
Anyway, you can visit their graves at any time after Nov. 1.
* * *
Do you believe in haunted houses or places?
Many people swear by them. I do.
When a soul leaves the body, it still has free will, like a living person.
Some souls choose to stay on and refuse to travel towards the Light, despite prodding from their spirit guides. Catholics and members of other faiths call these beings guardian angels.
Souls that are adamant in refusing to leave become ghosts that, although they mean no harm, haunt places where their physical forms had developed personal attachments or where they died instantly.
Haunted houses or places are examples of where ghosts are staying. These souls eventually go Home, convinced that they no longer belong here.
Some souls want to convey to the living important messages that they can’t articulate, as they no longer have physical forms.
A case in point was a strip of highway in Sierra Nevada, where a naked woman appeared on the roadside.
A passing male motorist, attracted by the sight, got down from his car and followed the naked woman, who led him to a ravine. There, the man saw a wrecked car that had fallen into the ravine. Inside the wreckage was the body of a woman. Beside the body was a toddler that survived the accident.
The dead woman, through her ghost, led the man to the wreckage in order to save her child.
I’m not making up that story. It’s in the Destiny of Souls or Journey of Souls by Michael Newton, both of which are non-fiction books.
The moral of the story is: never fear ghosts. Besides not having the capability to harm you, they probably just want to send a message, but are unable to articulate it because they no longer have bodies.
If you see a ghost, try to connect with it through telepathy (your thoughts) and inquire how you may be of help.
* * *
A friend was so distraught after his wife left him for another man, he thought of committing suicide.
I told him that would not solve his problem, although he would be at peace in another realm.
“Your lovely daughters need you. Besides, she’s not the only woman,” I admonished him.
He said he couldn’t bear the pain of being jilted, and taking his own life would spite his wife.
I said, OK, your wife will be full of remorse. She might even visit your grave, with her lover in tow.
After shedding tears for a while, I told him, she might crack open a balut (unhatched duck egg, a Pinoy delicacy, said to boost a man’s virility) and ask her lover to make love to her on top of his grave.
“Don’t you think that would add insult to your injury?” I asked him.
Of course, I was only joking, but my friend is still alive and has found another woman who’s madly in love with him.