In our last blog, I shared about a very special book that has crossed my path.
“The Lost Teachings of Atlantis” by Jon Peniel changed the course of my life. It has been manna for my spiritual soul, feeding that deep part of me that craves a tangible experience of Spirit. I loved it so much that I read it several times over and began practicing the meditations and other exercises in it.
But that wasn’t enough. This is a book to be shared, so I contacted the publisher and ordered several extra copies to pass around to friends.
Rather unusually, those copies never arrived. Hmmm….that’s strange? I contacted the publisher again. By some force of nature or Spirit, those copies had gone astray in the post. They were being resent…but this time I decided to order 10 copies.
A few weeks later, a beautiful package arrived on my doorstep. Not only did it contain the 10 copies I had ordered and one or two free copies as an apology for the first order going astray…it also contained some precious little gifts (such as some frankincense resin) as a thank you for my order, and an acknowledgment that the experience hadn’t been effortless.
But even more significantly, it contained a hand-written letter from Jean d’Esprit. In addition to apologising for the books having gone astray, Jean shared how difficult a time it had been since Jon’s passing from his body, and how she missed him every day. As I read her words, an awareness came over me. Jean was Jon’s partner who he’d spoken about in his book. And her heart’s cry was heard so clearly by my heart.
My Invitation to Arizona
The letter finished with Jean inviting me to visit if I was ever in the US. And at that moment, I felt Jon with me, and I knew I was being asked to visit Jean. I didn’t know what I could say or do to help ease her sense of loss, but that was my intention.
So a couple of months later, my sister Susan and I landed in Phoenix, Arizona. Susan had also read and been deeply touched by Jon’s book, so it seemed perfect for her to join me. After hiring a car, we set off for the township of Payson, enthralled by the amazing desert landscape and iconic forests of cactus along the way.
From the moment we met Jean, it was a meeting of Souls who had known each other for lifetimes. She welcomed us into her heart and her home, and we spent 3 beautiful days with her, soaking up the stories about her life with Jon, and the profound journey they’d been on together.
She showed us photos of him, and his amazing eyes that seemed to penetrate deep into the Soul. I commented on some very unusual paintings in her loungeroom. She proudly announced that these were Jon’s paintings. He loved to paint, and did this under the pseudonym of Aiki Domo.
What struck me was the style he’d used…it was reminiscent of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting “Starry Night”, with its circles and swirls….although Jon’s circles were deeply textured, and his use of colour was quite surreal.
And as we journeyed together in stories and memories, it was clear to me that Jean’s grief sat just beneath the surface of every conversation. Her heart was crying from the loss of her soulmate. Yet just as clear to me was Jon’s presence. He was all around us – yet Jean’s awareness of that was clouded by her grief.
Jean lives a couple of hours from the desert town of Sedona, one of the well-known spiritual centres of the Planet. I’d always longed to visit Its canyons and red sandstone mesas, so when Jean asked us if we wanted to sight see, this was of course top of my list.
A day trip to Sedona was on the menu. We set off quite early in the morning, and as we arrived to a vision that was reminiscent of a visit to Mars, Jean explained about how Sedona is known for its energy vortexes. Wow – I’d never heard of that before.
Mystery and Intrigue in Sedona
We were greeted by a plethora of spiritual shops. One in particular called out to us, and we walked inside. As Jean was browsing through an array of beautiful crystals, my eye was caught by a pendant. As clear as day, Jon came to me and told me to buy it for Jean, as a gift from him. Without hesitation I did this…Jean was deeply touched by the gift, yet I was even more touched by its message. It was a little owl, and on it said “Wisdom Keeper”.
The gift was modest in value, but the meaning behind it was priceless. “Jean, this is you!” I said. “You’ve spent all these years learning from Jon. Now that he’s left his body, you are the wisdom keeper. That’s what he wants you to know!”
Across the other side of the road was a complex of shops. We wandered over there, and began some really fun browsing. As we walked into one of the shops, my attention was caught by a song playing in the background.
“Wow – what a lovely song!” I said, loud enough for both Jean and the shop assistant to hear me. Jean turned to me, with a wistful smile on her face. “That was one of Jon’s favourite songs”, she said. “And in fact, Sedona was one of Jon’s favourite places to visit. He used to exhibit his artwork here in some of the galleries.”
The presence of Jon was as palpable in the air as if he were standing right there between us (as I’m sure he was), grinning from ear to ear. He was using me to communicate with Jean, to bring his presence alive again for her, so that she would realise he was still with her…just not in body.
As we continued wondering, my awe at what was unfolding around me continued to grow. Suddenly, a set of stairs called me. Without hesitation, I said to Jean “Let’s go up here and check this out.” I could feel Jon’s hand at work once again.
At the top of the stairs was an art gallery, by a well-known Sedona artist “Honshin”.
As I wandered through the gallery, my jaw just about hit the ground. “Jean, come here!” I called. “Look at these paintings!!!”
I was staring at one of Honshin’s paintings, and at the large textured circles that he’d used in his artwork. It was so reminiscent of Jon’s painting style. How could that be? As I looked up at one of the paintings, I saw its name. It was a painting of an owl, and it was called “Wisdom Keeper”.
When you REALLY want to catch someone's attention...
Jean and I wandered into one of the other rooms of the gallery, when behind us we heard a huge bang that was so loud, it caused one of the paintings to fall. We raced back into the room. One of the windows had mysteriously come free of its latch and had swung closed with an earth-shattering “bang!”.
By this stage, Jon’s presence was absolutely undeniable. He had drawn us on the most amazing journey down memory lane, ensuring that Jean was touched over and over until it was absolutely undeniable that he – Jon – was indeed in the room with us.
Just before we headed home, we drove up a canyon. This had been one of Jon’s favourite places to visit, and he and Jean would sometimes stay overnight in a motel in this canyon. We hopped out of the car to have a wander…and as I walked across a small driveway near some conifers, I felt my head and the earth spinning.
Wow! I had just walked through an energy vortex! Now I knew what it felt like.
We left Sedona to drive back to Payson, and our hearts were filled with light and laughter. We couldn’t help ourselves - we sang at the top of our lungs for the whole drive.
From that day forwards, Jean and I have remained close friends, and I’ve had several other opportunities to visit her in Payson. Her grief has never returned.
Jon sent me to visit Jean. I have no doubt of that. And the 3 days I spent with her (and especially our trip to Sedona) were the medicine that healed her broken heart.
But the gift wasn’t only for Jean...
Jon hadn’t just been some external mystical being sending messages to me. He had reached directly into me and through me, in order to reach Jean. It wasn’t just his messages that touched her, but he brought his energy to her through me.
His enlightened Soul had come into me for that short period of time in Sedona, and the euphoria and Light that I felt within my being from that experience stayed with me for days to come, and its memory is never far away.
I know that Jon is still around me, keeping an eye on me just as he does with Jean. I reach out to him at times if I need some extra support. At times, I feel his hand at work in my life, ensuring that the right people and the right experiences are there in front of me. To say that I feel blessed and humbled by this experience doesn’t do it justice. These are simply words that sit on top of an ocean of deep gratitude and awe, for the time when Enlightenment came to visit me…not just for one dinner, but for 3 amazing days.
