Today, while flying from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, I'm thinking about the notion of dying to the world of separation and insufficiency, and being born again with a completely spiritual focus. That is, we, ceasing to regard ourselves as bodies with names and characteristics, advance to knowing ourselves as pure spirit - 'the image and likeness of God,' with all of the power and blessings that that suggests - while utilizing a physical vehicle through which to navigate the earth-plane.

What I am speaking about here is a complete transformation from one state to another, a process that is easier understood after studying the metamorphosis a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.

When a caterpillar is ready to transition, it forms a chrysalis around itself; and inside of that structure, it completely dissolves into what could best be described as a gooey mess. And, when that protein-filled goo re-forms, the DNA that was the caterpillar is not the same as the DNA that is now a butterfly, even though every ounce of matter the caterpillar was, is used in making up the new organism.

When thinking about the transformation the human undergoes, we know that it is a spiritual one. We can see that, even though the physicality, or DNA, remains the same, the individual's consciousness is so changed that the attending outlook and behavior are completely different. What is the same, however, is that everything that was deposited, over lifetimes, into the human's consciousness was necessary to create the emerging spiritual being. And, what were probably experienced as a breakdowns, were actually a breakthroughs.

We know that experience is required for the acquisition of knowledge, and, in order to develop the power and clarity to make godly choices, un-godly choices are much- needed catalysts. As with the butterfly, it is necessary to crawl before we fly, and the resulting growth and development require patience. This is why we must be eternally thankful for every step along the path – messy or otherwise – that brought us to the death- bed of limited, fear- based consciousness, and into the birthing- chamber of God- consciousness; and, to an awareness that allows us, nay, mandate us, to say yes and thank you to, and for, what we have become.