It's a Wonderful Life Review
Beverly Brodsky
"I have come with my whole life written upon
me." These are the opening words to an unseen God to be
pondered in night-long meditation by a Jewish Renewal rabbi on the
evening of her ordination. And how true it is in the life
review portion of the near-death experience. There we view,
through empathic goggles a flawless video of our entire life in
which we become all the players of our highest and lowest
moments. The perennial Christmas week film "It's a Wonderful
Life" reaffirms meaning through angelic intervention to show a
suicidal man what the world would be like had he not ever
lived. In contrast, in the NDE life review we see what the
world is like because we have lived. The lessons of this
review are available for all students of the literature, whether
you have had such an experience or not. By understanding our
ability to create joy or pain, we can reclaim our power, and focus
on living our lives by the light of spiritual understanding.
With compassion for our mistakes, the life review teaches us to
strive to live impeccable lives of increasing mindfulness and
awareness of our starring role on this brief stage.
