Feb. 12, 2014

Adapted Article from Kingsley L Dennis’ book: Meeting Monroe

Author: Kingsley L Dennis with introduction written by Jaime Leal Anaya

SuperConsciousness

          

 

 

This week we present you an exclusive article written for SuperConsciousness magazine by sociologist and writer, Kingsley Dennis from Britain, based on his book, Meeting Monroe: Conversations with a Man Who Came to Earth. He has often been a contributor to our magazine and has previously shared with us his assessment of the signs of our times, his vision for the future, and the current state in our evolution. This time he surprises and inspires us yet again with the unusual conversations in his newest book that he experienced in the spring of 2012. He literally ran into an unexpected man of wisdom in Andalusia in the south of Spain.

 

 

There are many stories of great teachers and enlightened beings walking alongside us, unnoticed, unknown, and observing humanity and intervening with their knowledge and wisdom in pivotal times of great need for our evolution. Sometimes they make themselves known to select individuals, ready to hear their message, in order to help us avoid our extinction and/or to prepare the way for future progress and growth in self-awareness and our collective consciousness. Kingsley’s story apparently is one of such stories. The message he shares with us is simple, but it is clearly still ahead of our times and something many hope will soon be humanity’s future. What is in store for us? What must we learn and change to reach our goal and ensure the human family survives many generations to come? What tools do each of us have readily available that can quantum-leap our evolution? What can we do as individuals to build and be part of a greater, profoundly conscious, aware, innovative and progressive human family?

 

 

Read the story for yourself and find out. Who knows, maybe next time you are walking down the street in an unassuming place, rich with nature’s beauty and simplicity, a great Master and person of wisdom will also come to greet you and share their vision and knowledge to aid us in these great times of change and enlightenment we are living in. Enjoy!

 

 

Let me introduce you to Monroe — you will not be disappointed. Or rather, I wish to introduce you to the person who I came to know as ‘Monroe’. My meetings with Monroe took place in a small town located in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park in Andalusia, southern Spain, about forty kilometers from where I currently live. It was March, 2012, and the spring had come early to Andalusia. The weeks had been kind to us with glorious sunshine and rising temperatures. Many of the flowers were blooming early, and people were preparing their vegetable gardens to begin planting the spring-summer crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchinis, melons, and the rest. I had driven to the small town of Benamahoma to park the car as there was a short walking route I wanted to take between Benamahoma and the neighboring town of El Bosque. As I was ambling through this mountain town I literally ran into a chap, dressed in white, who was sharing the sloping road with me. After a brief introduction (or rather apology for almost knocking him over) he invited me to his house for lunch. That was how it all began ...

 

 

 

“ ‘Would you say you are a bit of a daydreamer?’ the man asked as I walked beside him yet half a foot behind.

 

 

‘Well, I don’t know. I’m not sure really’ I replied.

 

 

‘I think perhaps you are’ he said smiling. ‘That’s okay though; everybody here seems to be dreaming! Yet some dream deeper than others. Do you know what we sometimes have to do for those who are only dreaming a little?’ The man looked at me with a wry smile. I had no idea where the conversation was going or whether he was joking with me. The whole encounter seemed somewhat playful to me; and so in the sun of the day I played along with a light tone. ‘No,’ I said, ‘what do you do?’

 

 

‘Well, we pluck them out of course!’ and he laughed. Stopping at the gate to a house that sloped down from the road of the hill he turned his gaze upwards and nodded. ‘That’s an eagle you can see up there; it has a nest on a mountain ridge like many other eagles. You can see them gliding on the air currents, their eyes focused below for movement. Eagles have sharp eyes. Have you ever wondered what humans look like from an eagle’s perspective?’

 

 

‘No,’ I answered truthfully. Again, the man nodded; then fixed me with a soft smile.

 

 

‘Tell me young man; is it your fate today to eat your usual lunch of wild boar with a glass of red wine, or is it to try something new — some different kind of food?’ said the man. I really didn’t know what to say. I had no clue what ‘different food’ he was referring to. Yet I found it pleasant to be speaking with this older English man, for it had been a while since I had had the opportunity to converse in English. I felt I was in need of a decent chat in my own mother tongue; and this guy seemed to have a reserved quirky side.

‘Well, I’m open’ I replied.

 

 

‘Good, then follow me. Just imagine that I have a ‘Follow Me’ sign written on my back — that should make it easier!’ chuckled the man as he strolled down the path toward a normal looking white-bricked Andalusian house. I closed the gate behind me and, as instructed, followed the imaginary sign on his back.”

 

 

Thus began several intense weeks of our meetings, conversations, walks, and unexpected learning. You see, Monroe was no ordinary person, and yet at the same time he was very ‘normal’. What I mean by this is that I cannot be sure of his origins, as he spoke about the human species as if he were outside of it; yet his behavior fitted in almost perfectly with our surroundings. From the outside, Monroe was undetectable. He wasn’t noticed and he didn’t stand out — other than being non-Spanish in a Spanish country (although he spoke Spanish fluently). That is, Monroe appeared impeccable. He blended into his surroundings so that, unless he wished it, nobody would take any special notice of him. This for me was also an important part of what he had to ‘teach’ me — that whatever we do it is crucial we do so in harmony and balance with our external environments. It is not by standing out as a difference from our cultures/social milieu but rather by participating with them in a normalized manner that we are able to do our most affective work. And ‘work’ was something which Monroe was keen on stressing:

 

 

“‘Your species did not come this far for nothing. Neither is your species here for your own enjoyment — it has an important function as part of the reciprocity involved in all living systems … The Earth needs a residing species to form a group soul. That is, for there to be bonds of mutual love, respect, and wisdom between all members of the conscious species so that they act as a unity, whilst also retaining their individual freedom. This is a great cosmic task, and humankind today on your planet represents an early stage in this great undertaking. Now that’s not a cue to start thinking in terms of events being orchestrated by some ultimate Godhead, a grand figure that you have humanized by your limited imaginations, sitting upon a throne on high! Your species are only creating role-playing characters by these simplistic thoughts. Neither think in terms of perfection, as such grand evolutionary plans have their flawed moments too. Yet it is safe to say that humankind is nowhere near the capacity able to comprehend what perfection or imperfection means at this level. Your value reasoning is admirable at times, yet terribly burdensome too. It gets in the way of much more balanced comprehension; yet for now you need to keep your sense of duality and polarity, if only as a platform to step beyond these divisive categories.’”

 

 

It is true to say I had mixed feelings … I was intrigued with the encounter I had had with the man I now knew as Monroe. And to be fair I also very much enjoyed his company and listening to him. What he said appealed to me. It appealed to my sense of mystery as well as my urge to truly know more. I tried to recollect as much of our conversation as possible. What I did manage to remember I wrote down as accurately as I could, despite having the nagging feeling that there were parts I simply could not recall. Hence it was a good idea to bring a recorder for the following meetings. It was inevitable I would return. I was hooked by the very thing I was greedy for — more information and knowledge. I suspect that Monroe knew this, as he teased me with it; he dangled the bait before me and like a hungry fish I bit the line:

 

 

“‘You see there how grass and weed is growing through the concrete between the stones?’ Monroe asked.

 

 

‘Yes,’ I replied, seeing how there was indeed grass growing through the stone steps.

 

 

‘Do you know why a living thing grows in the most inhospitable place?’

 

 

‘No’ I said.

 

 

‘Because it can,’ replied Monroe. ‘Life is incredible once it is let loose. Now let us put this into perspective and move across the grand picture. The history of the Earth shows a slow yet accelerating transformation from lifelessness to life, from primitive sense-forms to developed consciousness. It has not, mind you, always been a smooth journey. There have been profound moments of collapse; yet the adaptation of life on this planet and its ability to immerse itself into its energetic environment is a marvel. You are not the result of mechanical forces, operating blindly within a sea of chance. This is such a disenchanting and, may I say it, post-primitive stage of thinking. I say post-primitive because even the primitive stage is more accepting of the place of life within a grander sacred order. Yet the ignorance that comes later, posing as scientific rationality, is so awkward and dry. It has no scope for the magnificence of love and compassionate wisdom. So you burn your feet trying to reach for the stars through rocket fuel. Amazingly odd!’ Monroe cocked his head with a little smile in my direction.

 

 

‘I guess we’re still learning’ I said smiling back at him.

 

 

‘I guess so’ said Monroe in a sort of conspiratorial tone. ‘Yet,’ he continued, ‘Life must become responsible for itself. Until that time it must accept the possibility that there are guiding and nurturing forces. Do you really think conscious life made it this far upon its own good fortune? Or perhaps, like many others upon this planet, you believe that it is the survival of the fittest that has been the evolutionary driver, battling away through generations to be top of the evolutionary tree? Really, it’s a bit silly, don’t you think?’ ‘Well, I do agree that Darwinism has now been pretty much taken apart by modern science and only a minority now accept a strict Darwinian interpretation’ I replied.

 

 

 

‘Pretty much. Although more people than you think still adhere to a fundamental Darwinian interpretation of evolution. Creationism or fundamental Darwinism — it’s the same mechanisms of extreme beliefs in operation, and the same inflexibility to incorporate new ideas into one’s conditioned belief structures. Really, is it so strange to think that there might be an intelligence behind evolution? Many of your scientists often talk of nature as if she is imbued with intelligence; and many of the braver ones actually talk in terms of conscious intelligent fields in nature. So, your fields of thought are gradually getting there. You just need more time for the seeds to develop within your culture. The seeds have already been sown. After all, it is the duty of a nurturing intelligence to make sure that the seeds are sown — at the right time and in the right place.’ Monroe slightly raised a finger from his folded hands on his lap as if to emphasize his next remark. ‘Growing times, mind you, vary from years to centuries; and sometimes beyond. Farsight is quite amazing when you see it in operation.’

 

 

‘I have no way to comprehend this’ I said after a short pause; ‘yet it feels reasonable to me.’

 

 

‘Reasonable it is’ agreed Monroe. ‘There are in fact many indicators of this operative design in your own recorded stories. Again, through your polarity lens, you name them as history or myths. History has been used, and abused, to record the past and can be used to connect with a future; whereas myth belongs to the eternal present. Both these carriers of information, streams of code, have woven themselves through your species history as veins supplying your lifeblood. Myths, especially, are part of your genetic inheritance as a species. Thousands of years can pass, your greatest monuments reduced to dust, and yet myths live on as long as there are people in the world. Whatever passes in our conversation as unreasonable for your thinking patterns or unrealistic for your senses, then just put it down as being another myth — a mythology being woven between friends!’ Monroe turned to me and gave what I remembered to be such a warm and genuinely affectionate smile. I remember the glow of energy I felt when receiving this smile. And for that brief moment I felt a strong kinship with Monroe that I could not put into words. It was as if I had known this man for such a long time, instead of the few short hours of our meeting.

 

 

‘At this stage it doesn’t really matter whether you believe it or not,’ continued Monroe, ‘as belief is only a category for storing information which you have no rational explanation or science for. It’s a convenient little box to place opinions and events that take your fancy, interest you, or are curious about, and yet which you have no credible means to validate. It’s amazing how society accepts beliefs, or the right to hold beliefs, no matter how crazy they are, yet has little or no capacity for validating experiential reality. Artificial reality seems to be the general agreed upon true ‘one god reality’, because it can be uniformly attested to, manipulated, and controlled. Yet the reality that lies beyond the filtering mechanisms of human sense organs — what you call subjective non-ordinary states — are seen as oddities, party talk, or madness. Anyway, you have your myths, and be thankful that these eternal seeds of wisdom remain firmly planted in your species soil. Are you comfortable?’ This question coming from out the blue startled me out of my thoughts.’”

 

 

Monroe had a habit of startling me out of my thoughts … by asking unexpected questions; or abruptly shifting the direction of the conversation. Or sometimes just by entering into prolonged silences. At one point he asked me out of the blue:

 

 

“‘Have you never wondered where your thoughts come from? Do you think that all your thoughts are the result of neurons firing inside your head; just some sparks of electric passing through your neuronal passageways? How does humanity account for great leaps of inspiration? Why are there geniuses when everybody is gifted with the same structured brain? Have these such thoughts ever entered into your head?’

‘Sometimes, yes’ I admitted. ‘I have often wondered where thoughts originate from and whether they are formed inside the head or can be picked-up from outside.’

 

 

‘I see’ nodded Monroe. ‘You tell me that both sometimes you think of these things, and also that you have often wondered on these matters. Mmm … both sometimes and often. How should I interpret that?’ said Monroe as if speaking to himself. Then he turned to me with a big grin, as though letting me know that all was okay. ‘Now, let me offer this perspective. Just as the human body is composed of many parts, of different organs with different functions that operate in their own individual ways; when they come together they form a whole, interactive, communicative body. Likewise, think of a color, any color; the color is the same whether it is represented by a drop or an ocean. The essence of living intelligence is simultaneously a part as well as the whole. There are ‘parts’ of this whole intelligence that can enter into the human being and communicate through both conscious and unconscious thoughts. This is one form of interaction between higher intelligence and humanity that allows for evolutionary guidance to operate.’

 

 

‘And the other form?’ I asked after there had been a suitable pause. ‘The other way is indirectly,’ continued Monroe. ‘It operates through representatives, or emissaries, that are fully human yet developed enough to have the capacity to perceive direct communication with higher intelligence. Such persons weave through life implementing events here and there, being social and, for the most part, passing unnoticed amongst humankind. You need to realize that the essence of a thing is often not what it appears to be. Thus, there has always by necessity, and design, been those on your planet who can see — ironically, though, you don’t see them!’

 

 

‘Why is that, are they invisible?’ I asked innocently. At this remark Monroe chuckled quite audibly.

 

 

‘No, it’s because they are completely normal, and people are usually on the lookout for something that fits their twisted imaginations. Of course, you have plenty of suppliers for this ongoing demand. A word of advice — always watch out for the weird ones! They usually have too much of both beard and egos. Yet we are moving ahead of ourselves.’”

 

 

Monroe was usually dressed in smart yet casual white cloth trousers and cleanly pressed white short-sleeved shirt, which revealed his healthily tanned arms. On his head he often wore his white Panama hat. There was nothing about this man — or rather this figure — that would cause anyone to suspect he was anything other than ordinary. His ordinariness, in fact, was his perfect disguise. And with this perfect disguise we often went on rambles through the nearby mountains, admiring the spectacular views:

 

 

“‘Are you painting the world?’ asked Monroe after a long silence between us.

‘I’m just gazing out; wondering how it is that everything I see is but a slim part of the whole’ I replied in a somewhat distant voice.

 

 

‘You and everybody else’, said Monroe briskly. ‘The world as you know it — your world — is painted by you; by billions of painters stocked with a very limited palette of only a few colors … You seem to think that the world is an immovable object. The “world” comes into being through perception. The core aspect of reality is that everything is vibrational information. Everything is just waveform. Reality is a sea of energy from which universes ripple on the surface. Do you remember as a kid sitting on the beach and watching a wave roll in from the sea toward the shore?’ asked Monroe.

 

 

‘Sure. It used to be one of the few things I would do if I ever went to a beach. Sit and watch each wave coming in from far off; and crash when it hit the sand.’

 

 

‘Yet the vision of a wave rolling over the ocean until it finally reaches the shore is an illusion. It is not one wave that comes galloping across the water. The wave does not move; it is the sea, a blanket of water that lifts and falls and gives the impression of a moving wave.’ Saying this Monroe took the cloth that had wrapped the fruit and ran his finger beneath it; and I watched as a peak ran across the surface of the cloth.

 

 

‘What you interpret as a solid object moving above the sea of energy is rather the effect when the bed of energy rises. You perceive objects rather than the underlying energy that connects. And by focusing on the appearance of objects you become sucked into a sense of isolation; of a world that is static and devoid of connective energy. Humankind needs to realize that the world they live in is not static, even though it may appear so to them. A person can control very little of their circumstances, and the things which happen to them. However hard a person may strive, the impacts of the environment around them are constantly changing and having an effect on their life. In order to cope better in the world each person should learn to become more flexible and versatile — to bend in the wind like a willow tree, I think is one of your expressions. Also, to not treat transient things as the end and be all of everything; it would be better to treat the transient as the constant in human life. The fleeting is the norm, and yet so many of you cling to totems and objects as if they were the enduring elements of a life. And so your life becomes vulnerable because its stability relies on untrustworthy things. This is why you lot are constantly in fear, whether you recognize this or not. Deep down you know that you cling to the fleeting, and yet to let go seems to bewilder you. It is an odd condition to observe. Frankly speaking, I find myself both amused and bemused by this behavior.’

 

 

‘Do we make you sad Monroe?’ I asked.

 

 

‘No’ he smiled. ‘You just make me crazy.’

 

 

Yet despite our crazy effect on Monroe, I never felt anything other than his genuine warmth, like the sun’s rays falling on my back. At the end of each meeting I had the sensation of joy and fullness, regardless of how much my mind could remember of the day’s conversations.

 

 

If you wish to engage with the world, participate with your reality, you should present yourself for it. You should be saying — “Look, here I am. I’m ready for you. I’m prepared to negotiate with reality. You can work with me – I’m committed”. In this slippery world you walk through, it is important to be impeccable. Don’t give reasons to your detractors. Neither be an excuse for yourself nor an excuse for others to use against you.’

 

 

 

‘You’re talking like we should be warriors’ I replied.

 

 

‘That’s right soldier – head up, back straight!’ said Monroe in a tone mocking a drill sergeant. ‘Warriors of a kind’ he then added, smiling. ‘And why should you not be? If you are not a warrior within then you have fear. Fear is one of the most dangerous things for people. Fear pulls a person further into the trap of your reality and lessens your potential for perception. Fear is a wonderful distracter; it keeps you occupied on the mundane, and on the false.’

 

 

‘And what are the other dangerous things?’ I asked as we sat down at the table to eat.

 

 

‘Self-doubt, of course’ replied Monroe almost casually as he poured me a glass of water …

 

 

Monroe left me with many questions where I had no idea what to say. That is perhaps part of the beauty of it — and part of the work too. Yet if anything, Monroe was also quick to point out that despite the self-doubt and distraction in the world, we — each one of us — has all the tools we need inside of us:

 

 

‘A jewel in the mud is still a jewel — never forget this’ said Monroe, eyeing me directly. ‘Do not lose the precious centre. It is about integrity and self-respect. Self-respect costs nothing, and yet it gives the Earth. Whatever you have to deal with, do it with a willing heart. The coming years will be harsh to half-heartedness. Passion of the self is not about emotionality, nor intensity; it is about being genuine and fully present. Stop looking for enlightenment — first you need to become fully human. Now that is your goal!’

 

 

 

‘And should it be everyone’s goal also?’ I asked, not sure if Monroe was talking to me or specifically about me.

 

 

‘Everyone has their own mountain path to find; yet being fully human applies to each person that walks in a human body. Status is what society constructs around social roles and activities. A road cleaner can be more highly developed than a prince. Many great wisdom teachers in your past have gone unnoticed because of the natural disguise of social status. People are conditioned to overlook that which they are not expecting. You would be surprised to learn of how truth has been literally in front of your eyes all this time.’

 

 

‘So being more fully human is also about seeing correctly, as well as inner balance and stability?’

‘Being fully human’ said Monroe with lucid voice and emphasis, ‘is about clear perception and inner recognition. It is also about emotional, mental, and psychological balance. Being more than who we came here as is what we are here for. Only when we engage with our own development can a person begin to perceive beyond the false borders of a limited reality. Human self-development also aids and supports development upon other levels also; these levels you do not yet perceive, yet they are very real and very, very necessary. In other words, what I am trying to get across here — if you have not already figured this out’ said Monroe with a flick of a glance toward me, ‘is that evolution of the human being is a composite necessity. It is a necessity not only for each individual’s well-being, but also as a necessary factor within a much grander picture. And that is part of what is already unfolding. You do not need to look surprised.’ Monroe stopped walking and turned on the path to face me directly. ‘You already know everything — all of you do. Yet it has been shielded from you. All the help we have given you, and all the assistance you have received from other quarters, has been to facilitate your access to your own awareness and records of the truth. A true guide works to make themselves obsolete.’ Monroe turned away and continued walking down the sloping path.

 

 

Obviously I did look surprised. Looking back on my moments with Monroe I am ‘surprised’ that I was not in a state of surprise more often! As well as having the ‘precious centre’ within us, it was also a matter of time … and my time with Monroe had come to an end:

 

 

‘This time is yours now. We have let loose many chains and attachments you were not able to see. The future is truly yours to embrace and be a part of. Along with discomfort there are great waves of supportive energies coming your way. Take my word for it whether you “believe” me or not. Humanity will be part of a great future; I know because I have seen it’ said Monroe smiling. ‘The question that remains, however, is how well you ride yourselves through this change and how you deal with the necessities and potentials ahead. This part is in your hands, collectively and individually’ Monroe said with a gesture of his open hands. ‘I would like to say good luck, yet it is not a question of luck. So instead I shall say good doings and good beings!’ Later, once we were outside, Monroe came forward and gave me a hug.

 

 

 

‘Inspire yourself to move forward — and be an inspiration for others. Pass it along …’ said Monroe as he clasped me by the shoulders. ‘You have all the tools you need … within you. It is up to you to seek them and use them. Monroe smiled once more and turned to walk away.

 

 

‘What is the greatest tool we have?’ I quickly blurted out. Monroe turned as he closed the gate between us.

 

 

‘It is the energy of genuine unconditional love, without fear or anger. You already know that.’ Monroe, elegantly dressed as always, strode off on the mountain path without another look. I watched the figure in white disappear over the first hill, the sun shining high in the spring sky.

 

 

 

Now and then I still laugh when I think of Monroe. I have changed, and continue to change. The world continues to change too; and there are many more changes to come. Humanity did not come this far for nothing — we have all the tools we need within us. Now the journey really begins … thanks for listening!

 

 

For more information about Kingsley L Dennis visit his website http://www.kingsleydennis.com/

Beyond Death

  Interview with Dr Tony Cicoria                                           

JANUARY 2008

superconsciousness.com

Author: Suzanne Nichols  

 

 

           

 

In 1994, Dr. Tony Cicoria was talking to his mother on a pay phone when he was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning. Abruptly, the 42-year-old orthopedic surgeon and man of science found himself out of his body, detachedly observing the efforts to save his life. Upon returning from this near-death experience, Cicoria discovered a new and insatiable desire to play the piano. Soon, he began to compose his own music, often working straight through into the early morning. Cicoria’s story is featured in Oliver Sacks’  book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and The Brain. In honor of the book’s release, Cicoria performed his original composition, “Lightning Sonata,” before a live audience. SC Magazine’s Suzanne Nichols spoke with Cicoria about his perspectives on time, reality, and creativity.

 

 

SC: Is there particular insight into the nature of time and/or reality as you had known it prior that was significantly changed as a result of your experience?

 

 

DC: Sure. When I had the experience the thing that I was struck about was that time did not exist. I did not have any sense of time. I could have been gone for a week and there would not have been any appreciation of time as an entity, per se. But one of the things about the whole experience was the confusion I felt when I initially separated from my body. I knew that I had gotten struck, and I knew that I had gone flying backwards and then I was standing there, and I was confused. There was nothing that signified that I had left. It was a continuum of consciousness. There was never a microsecond where I wasn’t thinking and conscious of everything I was doing. But, the thing that was lacking was that there was no connection to this reality, whatsoever. You know, as I floated up the stairs and I went into the room where the big family gathering was, I saw my kids as I was passing through. And I had really no concern other than the fact that when I saw them, I just had the feeling that they’re going to be fine.

 

 

 

When I left my body and, the first thing that happened was I separated, and I was standing there and my mother-in-law came running down the stairs right toward me and she was screaming, and she ran right past me. I was kind of shocked, and I turned to follow her and that’s when I saw myself on the ground and I saw everybody around the body. And I thought, “Okay, now I understand.” The first thought that I had was, “Oh, shit. I’m dead.” And so, you know, the consciousness was going, and the consciousness was just incredibly mind-bracing.

 

 

For a brief microsecond the highs and lows of my life just kind of flashed in front of me, and it was, okay, that was that.

 

 

But I had no need to stay there. It was like, “Oh, well, so I’m obviously going someplace else.” For a brief microsecond the highs and lows of my life just kind of flashed in front of me, and it was, okay, that was that. Then when I left the building, that’s when I was surrounded in this aqua-colored, bluish-white light, for lack of something better to call it.

 

 

When I was in the light, I no longer had any connection to previous reality, but yet my consciousness was absolutely racing, and I was absorbing all of the feelings that I was having of how wonderful this was and there isn’t any negative thought, everything is positive thought and love and warmth and a great feeling. It was just incredible. Right about the time that I realized, “This is the most wonderful thing that anyone could experience,” boom, I was back! And I remember when I was suddenly back and I realized I was back, I was angry. I remember screaming, “please don’t make me go back, I don’t want to be here.”

 

 

SC: And so it was, what, maybe a month or two after that that the music, the passion to listen first began to happen?

 

 

 

DC: It was about that. It took me a couple of weeks to kind of get over what had happened. At that point I went back to work and I tried to get my hands on anything I could read that had to do with lightning. I was trying to understand what had happened to me. And then the music started. The first thing that came was just the desire to hear piano music. I started to listen and I didn’t question it all that much. It was shortly after that that I thought, “You know, I really want to be able to do more than that. I want to be able to play this music.”

 

 

 

So I just said fine, and I ordered all of this music that was on the CD. I ordered the sheet music. Right about the time that I ordered the all this music, the babysitter says, “I’m moving. [And I need a place to store my piano.]” And I thought, “Well, this works out for you and it works out for me because I’d like to have a piano to try to tinker with and you need a place to store it.” That’s one of those little god-winks . . . and so the piano shows up.

 

 

SC: Now, during this time, had you already started hearing what you refer to as “music from heaven” or original music, not the compositions of others?

 

Then every time I would sit down to work on whatever else I was trying to work on, this other music would just kind of muscle its way in and say, “I’m here now, and you need to listen to me.”

 

Continuous Life

 

Certainly there is controversy in the scientific community and medical community about what ‘Out of Body Experiences’ (OBE) and ‘Near Death Experiences’ (NDE) represent. One school suggests that all of this is hallucination based on cell death. Dr. Sacks feels like he has to explain everything I have seen and experienced on a neuro-anatomical basis. In fact, Dr. Olaf Blanke’s study published in the journal Brain, 2004,

found a spot in the temporal lobe/amygdala that when stimulated produced a type of phenomenon similar to an OBE.

Dr. Melvin Morse later called this spot “The God Spot.”

 

The other school suggests that consciousness survives the body at death. There are literally hundreds of case studies documenting survival of consciousness at death. One poignant case is from Dr. Michael Sabom’s book, Light and Death: One Doctor’s Fascinating Account of Near Death Experiences. Dr. Sabom shared the story of Pam Reynolds who had a gigantic aneurysm at the base of her brain that would be fatal if it ruptured. To do the surgery to remove it, the surgeons put her on cardiac bypass, cooled her body temp to about 60 degrees F, and drained all the blood from her head...she had a flat EEG; by all definitions, she was brain dead. When she was revived after the successful surgery, she described an OBE where she observed and heard verified details of what transpired in the operating room, experienced a tunnel of light, saw deceased family members and even a cousin who had just died and she was not even aware of that death previously.

 

You can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can’t ascribe what we have seen and experienced as cell death

when we can come back from another dimension with proof that it exists.

 

 

• Dr. Tony Cicoria

 

 

 

DC: That started fairly early. It was shortly after the piano came. I woke up, I remember, it was about 3:20 in the morning. I had woken up after having this vivid, vivid dream of standing actually outside my body and I was watching myself play. But the music I was playing was nothing that I’d ever heard before. And the realization that I had was that this was all my music, that I had actually written this. The dream ended when the piece ended, and I woke up with a start and I sat on the edge of the bed and I went out to the piano. I had an idea of lines and spaces and that I could write down at least the idea of what the music was. The only part that I could write down at that moment was actually the last part of it. I wrote that down in a rudimentary way, with no measures or anything else. But I knew I could at least write down the basic idea and in my memory, it was playing. Then every time I would sit down to work on whatever else I was trying to work on, this other music would just kind of muscle its way in and say, “I’m here now, and you need to listen to me.”

 

 

SC: Dr. Sacks (referring to you) says, “he grew to think he had had a sort of reincarnation, had been transformed and been given a special gift, a mission to tune in to the music that he called, half-metaphorically, the music from heaven.” Is that something that you would still say is applicable to how you feel about your experience now? This is kind of a new life for you?

 

 

 

DC: Yes. It has completely changed the way I look at life. So I think there has been a virtual rebirth in the way I think. And the music, as I quoted to him, it’s not something that I make myself do. If I sit down and I relax, I’m almost like tuning into a frequency, and it comes in blocks. It doesn’t come a little at a time, it comes in entire blocks. And I’ve had just pages downloaded into my brain at one time.

 

 

SC: I love that phrase – downloaded into your brain. I like that a lot.

 

 

 

DC: Yes. It has completely changed the way I look at life. So I think there has been a virtual rebirth in the way I think. And the music, as I quoted to him, it’s not something that I make myself do. If I sit down and I relax, I’m almost like tuning into a frequency, and it comes in blocks. It doesn’t come a little at a time, it comes in entire blocks. And I’ve had just pages downloaded into my brain at one time.

 

 

 

SC: How you would describe the change from how you thought before to how you think now? Are you still a practicing orthopedic surgeon?

 

 

 

DC: Yes.

 

 

 

SC: So that’s a continuum, in terms of your practice of medicine, that you’ve maintained throughout this transformation. Can you more specifically pinpoint how your thinking may have changed or how the way that you live your life has changed?

 

 

 

DC: If I had to sum it up, I would say that I have a very spiritual approach to the interactions that I have with people as a learning experience. Even when things are bad, I look at it as, okay, what am I seeing; what am I supposed to be learning; how is this supposed to enrich my experience in terms of who I am and applying that to people that I interact with on a daily basis. The point is that everything happens for a reason.