Several years ago I was relaxing on a sunny hillside at the Northwest Fall Equinox Festival. The ground was still warm with summer’s heat and autumn’s soft, golden sunshine was baking my bones. As I drifted into sleep I thought how marvelous it was to be alive at this time of year. A hand pressed down on my shoulder. I jolted awake and looked up into the grinning, vaguely crazed face of my friend Blythe. “What happens when you die?” she said. I swallowed the obvious answer of “I haven’t a clue, but if you continue to wake people out of a sound sleep with that question you will soon find out,” and just stared at her. Blythe has a closer relationship with death than most of us. Over ten years ago she was diagnosed with a weird form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and decided against treating it with radiation and chemotherapy. Instead, she follows a spiritual path that includes a regular quigong practice. She’s doing… Read More »