Over the last year or so, which takes this story back to the fall of 2018 and truly came with extraordinary intensity on January, 26, 2019 when my daughter Emily ended her life. I have been trying to sort out the true nature of our existence on this sphere that we call earth. This took a few months to truly grasp out of the depths of the deep shock of having Emily leave this earth as the wonderful form that she was as a beautiful, loving young woman who was loved by everyone that knew her.
From my early thirties until my early fifties, I seemed to have lived in which could probably only be described as an unconscious state with periods of awareness that something was certainly not quite right. The draw into this unconscious operation of my mind and body is not unusual in our society and is no doubt the cause of most of the suffering we witness daily.
All the years prior to this period clearly laid the basis for me becoming such a remarkable ” flatlander”. I really enjoyed Eckhart Tolle’s remark regarding the past, ” I have little use for the past, and I rarely think about it “. That is exactly how I feel about it. It is fun to note that most of my time prior to my early thirties was spent in Saskatchewan where we were actually called “flatlanders”. This is interesting since it was also not common (if ever ) to discuss the “deeper depths of who you are”. It was much more common to find a way to make money, drink pilsner and run around the flatlands of the prairies doing all sorts of silly and irrelevant things.
To be clear, the unconcious life described here is not to imply I was not awake. I was awake alright but was not connected in any way with the true depths of who I am. When you are entirely living in illusion with thoughts and emotional streams dominated by ego, you will never achieve happiness. And in the worst cases this sort of daily ritual can lead to suffering and even death from all sorts of self inflicted tragedies including suicide or drug overdose just to name a few of the most obvious ones. One could drag in mass shootings, deep depression, alcohol/drug abuse, and all other sorts of mental health issues that are often not fully understood in the walking unconscious.
Over the last year there is so much to write about but I will save that for another day. Suffice it to say that I have committed hundreds of hours to understanding what actually has happened to me and Emily since January 26 ,2019. With Emily deciding that she was going to leave this earth in her current form, I was about to be fiercely forced into discovery. I knew something significant had happened to me and Emily and the last year has been spent in buddhist temples and other quiet places deeply studying and mindfully considering all that I feel and think.
Although I have had to remain active in all my normal work and family roles in Vernon BC, I have very methodically been confirming the clarity of my situation – in my mind. This has involved many hours in The International Buddhist Temple in Richmond where I did my five precepts and triple gem under the guidance and support of a nun named Shanru that has help me along the path.
Over the last year I have traveled numerous times to Vancouver, spent two weeks in Maui where I made numerous visits and one on one visits with a buddhist master, traveled to Spain and visited a diamond way buddhist retreat, and also walked the streets of the Krygz Republic in deep thought (while touring a gold property ). All of this leads me back to the same place – a deep feeling that my life and understanding of the true nature of our existence has changed forever.
Most importantly – it has made the goal of The Emily Dahl Foundation extremely clear. It is actually closely aligned with what Eckhart Tolle has written in in book , The Power of Now. Help others find their way out of suffering and into peace and happiness. And that was exactly what Emily was all about.
I am not the first one to write about the notion of fierce discovery. Ram Dass, a well known spiritual voice, who recently passed away has written about what he called “fierce grace” which I have called “fierce discovery’. When experience something extremely intense, like losing your child, the fierceness can have the effect of burning the illusion and ego to a crisp leaving you to reconstruct your views based on extreme clarity. It should be noted that this fierceness can also lead to a fueling of the ego and illusion and you often see this behaviour manifest itself as well when one is deeply affected by an intense experience. This fueling of the ego can lead to terribly destructive behaviour, anger and anxiety.
One of the spiritual teachers that has led me to the deepest understanding of the thought of awakening or understanding your true essence being is best selling author and teacher, Eckhart Tolle.
In one his lectures entitled “The Depths of Who We Are” Mr. Tolle quotes a famous writer Ken Wilber who uses a very good term called “flatland”. The flatland is a description quite simply of how we human forms run around on the surface of the sphere (earth ) in an unconscious way without any true understanding of the much deeper depths of who we are beyond this ridiculous setup of a human body.
This disconnection between a deeper you that is there for you to discover which is deeply connected to a much larger view of the universe versus the clutching and grabbing at all the things on the surface is what leads to suffering.
The events of January 26, 2019 ended my unconsciousness very abruptly and a much clear view of the true nature of my existence began to emerge as I truly came to begin to understand what Emily was trying to tell us all.
Eckhart Tolle’s video attached is short and extremely powerful.
The Emily Dahl Foundation goal is to work as hard and effectively as The Eckhart Tolle Foundation to help others understand the immense power of transformation. Whether it comes to you gradually or through fierce discovery, I am here to tell you that is there within you for to uncover and it is an amazing place to be.
I have Emily to thank for the remarkable transformation that she has taken us on.
Here is a final quote that could have easily come from Emily “The only purpose of my existence is to be used by others and to serve others” .
This idea left for us by Emily, this attitude, this determination must arise from the depths of one’s heart, from the very depths of ones mind.
Sherman Dahl, Feb 14, 2020
The Emily Dahl Foundation is pleased to be offering a complimentary copy of “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. The Eckhart Tolle Foundation share similar goals as The Emily Dahl Foundation and is hoping for further educational and support initiates to enhance the Vernon Community. In order to receive your copy please email us your details and The Emily Dahl Foundation will include you in our group list.