Thursday 3 March 2016

The Boy Who Died and Came Back by Robert Moss


In The Boy Who Died and Came Back by Robert Moss, we learn how Robert’s three near-death experiences affected who he was at the time, how he came back from the brink of death, and why each death made him who he is today. This personal narrative takes us through previous life investigations, shamanic journeying, travelling through time and space, and stepping into the world of conscious dreaming. This is a book that teaches beyond what the past was and what the future will be. Robert brings definition to how we can live in the now and why it can be so important.

Robert praises those who have influenced him throughout his work. From Carl Jung, Psychiatrist and father of Analytical Psychology, to Michael Harner, Anthropologist and founder of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies; from Tom Porter, Bear Clan elder of the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne, to Jane Roberts, author and voice to the spiritual leader, Seth. Robert also met with great storytellers through his dreams where he was educated that the recollection of past lives can heal, and contemplating suicide can “exile a part of our soul to a realm of the dead.” Travelling deeper through the veil of time and place, he met people or characters that meant something to the story that was yet to unfold. He was taught through other languages, signs, and people in the dreams that he was the storyteller of their stories. After the death of his father, he received messages from his father’s spirit to help those left behind. It became Robert’s calling to teach others what he learned through his dreams.

An amazing piece of this book is in the telling of Robert’s joining with his first animal spirit. It is a moving description, and is helpful for those who may not have experienced Shamanism for themselves. He also speaks of “anamnesis,” or soul remembering, which was the recollection of his memories of his past lives. This helped him become prepared to meet with all of his guides and teachers who would take on the physical form of what he was able to mentally receive. Robert tells us that the ego only allows through what makes sense to us in this reality. It blocks other time and space communications which is why we tend to forget our dreams. Through practice and training, we can learn to open a portal to the multiverse and learn from what our “outside” experiences can teach us now. From what we learn and create within our dream world, we can manifest and recreate our life in this reality. 

The time between deep sleep and coming awake, the hypnapompic state, and when just about asleep, the hypnagogic state, is the place of our communication and adventures between multiple universes. Robert speaks of how you can learn to achieve this state while awake and with purpose. He teaches his students to consciously dream so they can work out how to dream better, and take what they learn from those dreams and manifest them into reality. He tells us of the positive attributes of dreaming in groups or communities where several people can meet up, share, and learn by consciously dreaming together. By setting intentions, sharing dreams can help to create positive outcomes for individuals and communities.

This entire book is an adventure in knowledge and seeking answers, from the simplest to the most difficult questions of life. Robert mentions that the most important teacher or guide to life for each of us may be “a self on a higher level.” We can rise to our higher self to watch a slow motion movie of our situation to give us the time we need to make the proper decisions or take the right route to our destinations. In reality we are on a constant pace that is almost impossible to keep up with. With a little help from our wiser and somewhat removed self, we can learn to see our options in life from a clearer view.

Robert tells of his own connections with his higher spirits. He heard enlightening tales and stories that gave him understanding and a desire to find out more. There is much to learn from the communication between dreams, old songs, folklore, and the many simple messages each day that we miss or take for granted. Throughout his life, Robert learned that it was important to listen to what goes on around us each day, and that dreams are a form of communication with our past and present about the more important time of now. We can also learn so much from other cultures. The ancient and indigenous people before us shared dream webs within their communities to create change and healing amongst their people. What worked in the past can be something that helps better our future. 

I learned so much by reading The Boy Who Died and Came Back. It was my first time touching on the subject of Shamanism so it was a whirlwind of information and crazy adventures for me. But the further I read, the more questions it answered. I enjoyed hearing that the guides I have met in my meditations will be with me always. And as we hurry along our fast-paced lives and forget them in the back of our minds, our guides, spirits, and fellow dream consciousness will be waiting to give us signs that it is time to slow down, take notice, and listen to the messages all around us. It is comforting to know I am not alone on this long journey of life, and I look forward to practicing conscious dreaming and walking with my guides. I am also thoroughly excited to read some of the other spiritual books that Robert Moss has written. Why stop now when I can learn more from such a great conduit of knowledge.

Originally Posted in the May 2014 edition of Becoming Psychic Magazine
 
Cross-posted on Goodreads