Sacred Tree Nepal

I love Nepal I traveled there in 1996. It was a life changing experience. I spread my Mom's ashes there after seeing an amazing image of the Green Tara.

The Green Tara is a bodhisattva - an enlightened being who refuses to go to nirvana until she enlightens all souls. She is the divine Mother - the mother of all the buddhas. She embraced me on a pilgrimage to the Nepalese mountains.

My journey to those mountains was one of healing. I had come to spread my recently deceased mother's ashes into the sacred landscape. I came with a tour group of 14 people. We hiked through the mountains each day. On the day of the most difficult climb, I fell terribly ill. I thought I was going to die. But I got through it. The next day, I felt rejuvenated. I saw the sun rise, and I embraced the beauty of the morning. I felt like I had died the night before, and that I had been reborn. I knew in my heart that this was the right day to spread my mother's ashes.

After breakfast, we began hiking again. In the afternoon, as we were ascending to a monastery in the mountains, I saw a magnificent river carving its way through the landscape passionately. My eyes were drawn above it. Three hundred feet on a cliff, I saw an image of the Green Tara. I was awestruck by the shooting stars painted above her figure. For a few moments, I felt connected to the eternal. I felt my mother communicating with me, telling me that she would always be with me.

On the evening I heard the shocking news of my mother's death, I stared at the sky hoping for an answer... a reason. Blazing through the Chicago night, I saw a shooting star... 'Mom'? That same evening, my older brother also saw a shooting star in the night, as he tormented over my mother's death. We both were moved to write and express this at her wake.

When I saw the shooting stars above the Green Tara, I knew that I was meant to be there at that moment in time. I felt my mother's love, and the warmth of her embrace. For a few moments, I felt that I was one with the universe, and that I would never be alone.

The stars and the Green Tara embraced me. I was filled with peace and a sense of letting go. I knew this place was where my mother wanted her ashes to be united with the universe.

Afterwards, on a short sabbatical in the Ozarks at my family home, my passion for the Green Tara spewed from my paintbrush and my soul. She has been my guardian from the moment I saw her on the cliff. She embraces the world, and assists all who ask for her guidance. She demonstrates her magic when one is letting go... and bliss transcends.